Now, on Occupied Equestria: Silver is storming the Ministry building to find a changeling bomb. Posey is making her get away from unknown hostiles after an adventure in the city. Amber is trying desperately to flee the country. All of that, and more
>>169642If you intended for Posey to follow him into the woods, I'll just do that. Whatever moves the plot forwards.
>>169647Well, Posey's plan was going well so far, so her first response would be to do as she's told.
Then again, this could be an opportunity to find the lair before the rest of the group, so maybe she should follow.
Actually, that's exactly what she'll do.
Posey discreetly leaves the building.
She takes advantage of her Darkvision and her bonus to stealth to tail August.
>>169650Well, I could follow that up with a bluff check, but given this time of night that wouldn't really be feasible.
So if August notices Posey, she trots up to him and announces that she's coming too. If he asks why she says that the drunk stallions were making passes at her.
>>169647>>169642Posey wants a minute or two before she decides to follow August.
>>169648>>169649>>169650>>169651He runs off into the woods with haste. He carries an electric torch, his shotgun (mostly on a sling), and another notable peiece of equipment, a radio set. The woods can be obnoxious to traverse, with bushes and thorn brush, though sometimes clear paths of dead leaves, grass, or soft ferns allow for easy walking, and naturally this is the path August tends to take, until he finds a trail and walks along that. Conifers and a hoof full of evergreen broadleafs are present, but the overwhelming majority of the trees are deciduous in character, meaning the forest is overwhelming populated by leafless, barren trees. As such, visibility is much higher than might be expected at different points in the year. August's path is mostly straight west, but actually moves a bit north. He seems more concerned with periodically looking up into the sky than carefully examining limbs, and prefers more open areas. At one point he goes into a meadow, which turns out to be a field with a nearby farmhouse. He turns off the light, and walks around the edge, before going back on a trail. At more than one point, he takes the radio and speaks into it, conversing over it. His words are not recognizable, though not because of interference, as the night is quiet.
He stops more than once to listen..
Which ends in him turning his torch directly at Posey.
>>169652Naturally
>>169653>>169652I meant she *waits a minute or two.
Posey raises a hoof and waives awkwardly as the torch settles on her.
>>169654"
What are you doing here?!" He yells, sounding actually angry
>>169653>>169654"Hi... I.. figured I'd better just follow you. The other stallions were getting hoofsy." Posey says
"Any luck on the trail?"
>>169655*Ears flatten*
[pony whimpers]
>>169656Fuck. There's nothing more powerful than the sight of a frightened or saddened mareHe breathes in heavily, and is silent for a couple moments. He actually seems frightened more than annoyed.
"How long have you been following me, it's... you know it's not safe out here? Or rather, it could become very much not safe quickly."
>>169657"I know... I told you about the signs, didn't I?" Posey replies
"If you got hurt, who would call for backup? Better I tag along." She says
Gonna roll an opposed Cha check to goad him to do something he might not normally do. I'm applying a +1 Circumstance bonus for that prior Perform check.
[1d20+5 = (2+5) = 7]
>>169658Fuck
So much for being charmed
>>169658"No. I am scouting alone for a reason. Why don't you stay here where it is safe? Or better, go back?"
>>169660"Alright, I'll stay here... Just be careful." Posey says, pouting cutely
This is actually a lie, Posey intends to follow him, but is waiting to do so until he's a good distance away so that she can be beyond detection.
Bluff
[1d20+12 = (20+12) = 32]
>>169661He stares at her, then walks up to her, smiling. He takes his hoof, and places it on her cheeks. "You are a precious one, aren't you? Stay here then, away from those dissolute colts. I'll pick you up on my way back. Okay?" He takes his other hoof, and holds onto her in a rather possessive way.
>>169662He lets go of her, and walks off into the forest
>>169662"Okay..." Posey says
>>169663Posey waits until August leaves. Once he's a good 120 hooves away, she slowly follows.
Given the distance, Posey has the breathing room to take 10 on her check to tail August. Leaving nothing to chance, she takes 10, for a modified 19, before lighting conditions come into play, slowly prowling after him.
>>169663What does Posey see in the forest?
>>169664>>169667Posey stays a bit behind him. She cannot hear him, but she can see him. He will again pause, and speak into the radio, and look towards the sky. The forest is rather mundane. There are no signs of decay nor ash, nor decrepit wolves, nor supernatural mists. Posey hears a loud buzzing sound swoop overhead, and August runs into a clearing. In the clearing, he takes out what seems to be a gun, and shoots it up into the air. It releases a ball of light that illuminates August's silvery armor, then the green grass below him, and then the brown, barren trees, until it flies into the sky, hangs a moment, and arcs down, slowly coming to the ground. The meadow is illuminated nearly bright as day for perhaps a full minute.
The buzzing returns, and a small, flying craft appears overhead, itself having a light on. Something black falls out, which in turn is kept aloft in the air by large white sheets. It falls to the ground surprisingly quickly, and lands right on the edge of the meadow. August runs after it.
>>169671Posey discreetly follows August.
>>169671Can Posey get a better look at the object?
She stays further than 60 ft away.
>>169673>>169674Best guess? A bag or container of some kind.
August picks it up, and turns around, headed back the direction he came (and thus, towards Posey)
>>169675Seeing this, Posey backtracks towards the point where they last met.
>>169676August comes back, and encounters Posey. He is carrying a very heavy, black bag. He smiles, and looks towards Posey.
"Ready?" He asks
>>169678A pause, then he looks back to her with a smile
"I found the remains of a cart, which seems to have been connected with what happened here before. There were some items in and around it that were interesting enough to put in this bag I have. But I know that that cart marks the northern most point of where our former vampire came and went. He expired down closer to the river, and that is where my teammates will be."
>>169671>>169680Paladins don't lie...
"Let's head off then. I'm interested in what effect his lairing would have had on the environment."
>>169681"Surely it can't be much" He says. "It's been gone for decades."
He takes the radio, and moves around a switch, evidently changing channels. Then he picks it up and speaks into it.
"Succored Brave? Succored Brave? This is August. Come in? We're coming your way. The botanist found me. She's with me."
>>169682As Posey follows August, she asks a question.
"Say, how exactly did that vampire die anyway? I heard they're notoriously hard to kill."
>>169683>>169684He moves along, and takes out his shotgun.
"A combination of river water, magic swords, and trickery. They are not easy to kill, to be sure. Again, like a fungus. But they die all the same."
>>169685"Ah, river water. That'll do the trick... And here I was worrying that he might've respawned in his coffin."
Posey does not ask any further questions until they get back.
Once they meet up, how does the rest of the trip go?
>>169682
And it looks like I will be out for several hours
>>169694*offended but potentially aroused pony noises*
>>169695Oh, look who's still here ^_~
>>169682Once the rest of the group arrives, Posey looks them over.
How many ponies are they in total?
How many are pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies?
Posey decides to use the assess opponent action, to size up the group's leader.
[1d20+2 = (5+2) = 7]And she does so again for each other pony in the group, for them taking 10 for a modified 12.
>>169700I guess the leader's strength will remain a mystery.
What kind of equipment are they using? Weapons, armor, explosives?
>>169686>>169687Posey may have wished for a silent trip back, but August does not. If Posey had hoped that August would just ignore her getting what he wanted earlier, those hopes are dashed when he starts to ask her the following questions:
He smiles, and looks to her
"I never got your name?"
And later,
"What sparked your interest in vampires?"
And
"What was this 'magical thesis' you spoke of?"
>>169702>name"Call me Posey."
>what sparked your interest in vampires"My mother was bitten by one, many years ago."
>'magical thesis'"The effects of magical decay and entropic forces on the environment, and how to control them."
These are all true, although they omit certain details.
>>169703Also
"Which company were you working for, exactly?"
And
"What do you hope to accomplish by going to this lair?"
>>169704"The paper mill. They're interested on whatever might effect the quality of the wood in the area. Not interested enough to find an escort though."
>accomplish"The presence of a vampire has many widespread regional effects that can linger for years after the vampire is slain. You can sometimes even see the years that a vampire lurker in an area by examining the rings on nearby trees. I want to get a close examination of where the vampire lived to approximate the long-term effects of vampirism on the area, particularly around the coffin. I speculate that presence of vampires could have permanent effects on a region and its wildlife, and those effects might vary by the vampire's age."
>>169700>>169701Could I get an answer to these questions? Posey still saw them in the tavern.
>>169706>>169700Three unicorns (including the leader), two pegasi, one earth pony. The leader has a gun made out of angry looking pipes that oddly has the magazine sticking up from the gun, rather than down. Two others carry military bolt action rifles with bayonets, and then three carry "civilian" style bolt action rifles with no bayonets or handguards. Only the leader appears to have any armor, and he wears a flak jacket. Well, all of them have helmets, which is something.
>>169707What stats do you use for flak jackets? I don't have my d20 Modern files readily accessible right now.
Do any of these guns look like they're of the quality to be magical (masterwork)? Particularly the leader's gun.
>>169708Same as a chain shirt
None of the weapons appear to be masterwork (with the potential exception of August and one civilian gun). August's gun actually looks more cheaply made than any of them. All of them, save for one civilian rifle, are clearly made to be mass produced, mostly for conscript armies, and all but the one can be used by Earth Ponies and Pegasi