/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>173161
She looks around her for such a thing. "Coffee shop?"

Regardless if she sees one or not, she looks back to the yellow police stallion. "I'm really sorry if I'm causing a disturbance, Mr. Police Ponies, I'm genuinely not intending to. I'm just passing through the area." Her ears flop down and she frowns slightly. "It's a little disappointing having so many ponies run away at the sight of me. I'm really friendly, honest. I wouldn't do anything to hurt anypony, in fact I'd far far rather give you all a nice hug."

>>173165
[1d6+7 = (1+7) = 8]
[1d4+7 = (2+7) = 9]

The sword attack provrkes sn attack of opportunity, btw

Pup 1 attacks the hydra
If I'm not mistaken, it should be blind now, so it should have a big penalty to AC
[1d20+4 = (20+4) = 24]
[1d20+4 = (12+4) = 16]

Pup 2 attacks Posey
[1d20+2 = (7+2) = 9]
[1d20+2 = (11+2) = 13]

>>173168
Both of Pup 22's attacks hit
Rolling to confirm threat
[1d20+4 = (14+4) = 18]

>>173168
>>173169
[6d6 = 22] damage

And grapples
[1d20+9 = (4+9) = 13]
[1d20+9 = (2+9) = 11]

Hydra's turn rn, if it's still alive.

>>173166
"No!"
This seems to frighten the officers, and one seems to reach for a weapon.

"We do not want any hugs the yellow stallion says."
But it gets so much worse

"Excuse me? What do you think you are doing? Crime isn't high enough so you have to harass innocent passersby?"
Neela moves forward

>>173164
>>173162
>>173165
The hydra's final head is severed, and with it, blood spews into the water, and the creature drifts slowly upwards, pursued by the ooze that was formerly attacking it. That ooze hits it repeatedly, finally drenching the last of it in acid.

>>173171
It appears to be dead.

>>173173
Posey plunges her sword into it's heart as a coup-de-grace, just to make sure

.... This provokes an Attack of opportunity from Pup 2
[1d20+2 = (3+2) = 5]

>>173172
She holds her hooves up, both in innocence and to try to tell Neela to back off.

"It's okay, I didn't say I was going to, just that I'd much rather give hugs than hurt anypony. I know not everypony like hugs."

>>173175
The red stallion speaks
"Oh-kay... just don't go by the coffee shop again, okay?"

[1d20 = 6]

>>173176
36 damage, which becomes an unbeatable fortitude save.
Posey dismisses the spell, sending her puppies back from whence they came.

She, too, drifts to the surface, like a bloated corpse.
She climbs onto the beast and lets out a battle cry
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGHGHGHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

>>173177
>>173175
But. The yellow stallion argues back to Neela
"We received a call about a disturbance and we are going to investigate it"
Neela: "The only disturbance here is what you're causing!"

>>173177
>>173179
Kira nods.

"Okay, officers. I hope you both have a great day!"

She looks to Neela, and smiles.

"I appreciate you coming to my aid, but we've got it under control. Come on, you have to show me more of the city!"

Posey stays on top of the hydra for about a minute, nursing her wounds.

After that, she decides to investigate the metal structure she saw earlier in the bog, hoping that the major item table was rolled for this very hard fight.

>>173181
*2 minutes

>>173180
Kira didn't exactly have the permission of the officers to leave, nor does she have the compliance of Neela, but if she grabs Neela and slithers past the officers it becomes a matter of how much will does anypony/anydoe have to stop her?

>>173183
>>173184
>>173175
The officers aren't really motivated to stop Kira, but Neela isn't exactly compliant.

>>173183
>>173185
Kira definitely at least heavily encourages her deer companion to move on, and if that doesn't work then she gently wraps her coils around her to carry her. "Heh heh...sorry about that, she's really defensive when it comes to her friends. She's got that Equestrian spirit of friendship and harmony, you know."

Seeing that the officers aren't likely to pursue them, she waves goodbye to the two stallions, and disappears with Neela around the corner. Once they're a safe distance away, she lets go of Neela if she was forced to carry her.

"Sorry about all of that, Neela, I just don't want you to get in trouble for my sake."

>>173181
I have to sleep soon.
Muh treasure though.

>>173188
>>173186
There's some pretty cool treasure for Posey to find

>>173187
"The police are like that. They will just harass you for nothing. You can't just let them do that."

>>173189
Gonna roll search
[1d20+3 = (14+3) = 17]

>>173190
"I know, I know. I really appreciate that you would go to all of that trouble for me, Neela."

Hmmmmm...does she dare attempt to hug the deer?

I'm trying to figure out how to get this hydra corpse back to base...

Sleeping now.

>>173192
Neela is scrunchy

Kira may think twice about attempting to hug the little morsel, err, friend. It's best for there not to be any witnesses in case it goes wrong.

>>173195
Hmmmm...okay, that's a fair assessment. Still, Kira is very appreciative that Neela has already tried to help her with a situation. Onwards towards Westside they go!

>>173196
The next impediment...

A group of ponies, about 4 or so, at a check point. olive drab uniforms and rifles. It's a checkpoint

>>173197
"Wow, those look like military ponies. I didn't know there were military checkpoints in the city." With her usual friendly demeanor, Kira waves to the soldiers as she approaches carefully, not wanting to be shot.

"Hello! I'm guessing we need to show you our identification?"

>>173198
The ponies look at Kira as she approaches, watching her silently, but definitely holding onto their weapons

Finally, one, a green earth pony, says
"... Uh, who is passing through?"

>>173199
"Us both, she's showing me around the city and we're going to Westside."

She shows the ponies her ID bracelet and any of the relevant papers for both her and Neela to the military ponies.

>>173200
He looks at the IDs, then Kira, them Neela, and back at the IDs.
"So... We have two exotic animals owned by Kubana Kirafiki?" He says, seeming slightly confused.

>>173201
Kira nods as if it's a completely normal situation.

"Yes sir!"

>>173202
"I see..." He says, and looks to the creatures

"We're going to need to search those bags"

>>173203
Kira tilts her head at the military pony, and flicks her tongue.

"Why is that?"

>>173204
He answers:
"This city is under marshal law, and all bags and large shipments, especially bags that big, are subject to search for contraband at checkpoints."

>>173205
"Why's the city under marshal law? Also, what's considered contraband?"

>>173206
"Because of partisan activity. Firearms, explosives, ammunition, certain literature, and certain two-way radios are contraband."

>>173207
"Oh, okay!"

Confident that none of her items fit the pony's description of what is contraband, Kira lets the military ponies look through her bags.

>>173208
Neela is very hesitant, but doesn't have much of a choice.

The pony and another go through the sets of bags
"Why do you have this?"
The bow
"This"
The large amounts of money
"This"
A dagger
"And... whatever this is"
Some kind of crystal

>>173209
Bow: "That's the bow my mother helped me make when I was a little snakeling. I use it for hunting for food out in the wilderness."

Money: "It's the money I got from selling some foreign coins, jewelry, and a couple gold bars to a pawn shop. They were really nice ponies and have many wonderfully nice things, they even gave me that pocketwatch. You should really shop there sometime!"

Dagger: "Oh, that's my hunting knife. It's very useful to keep one around, you can use it for a very many things out in the wilderness."

Crystal: "Hmmmm..."

Is the crystal from Neela's possessions, or is it one of Kira's?

>>173210
The crystal is not Kira's the dagger wasn't supposed to be either

The pony's ears perk up
"So you're a hunter?" And "How long have you been here?"

>>173211
Oh, sorry, I thought he was talking about Kira's hunting knife.

Kira nods. "Yes, just like my mother and hers before her. Feeding the tribe is tough work, though now I'll just be feeding myself. I just arrived here in Equestria, went through Customs and everything. The ponies there were really nice to me, especially this one stallion, Free Rover."

Appraise: Kira looks at the crystal in question, pondering its potential uses.

[1d20+1 = (13+1) = 14]

>>173191
Does Posey find any tanks?

>>173214
If Posey doesn't find any tanks or treasure in the bog, she drags the Hydra to shore, piece by piece.

She then cleans herself off, and sets out to complete her mission, moving in the opposite direction that she came from.

Using the Consuming Vortex of Traal to conquer the continent for the League could be a useful late-game strategy. It takes advantage of the Blackhooves oppressive push towards secularism, because it's practically impossible to defeat without a decent number good-aligned Clerics to turn it.
It requires high levels spells and a large amount of gold to invoke though. Long-term goals.

>>173216
"Ha... Ha... Haha! A hydra! The trainees back in Mage would be so jealous. How to get it home though..."

Gonna bump one more time before bed.

>>173090
Gee, Hellheim, Mom let you have TWO cathedrals?
Amber nods her head humbly and enters the palace.

>>173191
Some feet behind and to the left of where the hydra was is the wreck of a small, metal framed boat. Inside is a saddlebag containing a canteen and a few other items, as well as another smaller bag containing a few coins and what seems to be jewelry.

>>173212
Kira can tell that the crystal is useful for storing magic.

He smiles
"Sounds like that one pony left an impression on you. Where are you from?" He asks

Another two ponies look at Kira, and lean closer, though keep a distance. The fourth keeps watch.

>>173343
Now that's something Kira didn't expect. Perhaps Neela knows some secret deer magic? Either way, she smiles back at the military stallion

"It was definitely a great impression for being one of the first ponies I've met. I'm from Dhamaji village, in Southeastern Zebrica near the Zeblu, the Roamans, Talonsvaal, and near the border of Kiria."

>>173344
Another soldier, a curious white pegasus, leans in, and tentatively extends a hoof, like one might do towards a stray cat, unsure how it will react.

He nods
"What... are you, exactly?"

>>173345
Kira just looks curiously at the hoof with a tongue flick, not making any sign that she's bothered by it.

"I'm a lamia!" She says this in a very manner-of-fact way. Apparently, a lamia is just whatever she is.

>>173342
Yay, treasure!
Posey examines the contents of the saddlebag, and puts on the jewelry.
She opens the canteen to check for hidden compartments.

>>173346
poke
A stallion has touched Kira's scales

"And you have just arrived in the city?" He asks, then adds, "Where are you going?"

>>173347
It's just a canteen. Hard to tell if it was carrying alcohol or water. The saddlebag includes a decayed hat, a set of photographs, a lighter, a small medical kit, and an electric torch. The jewelry includes a necklace and a bangle.

>>173348
the snek has been poked

All signs point to Kira not being bothered by the touch, and the stallion could continue touching her if he so desired.

Kira nods to the stallions first question, then answers the second, "Westside and the river. My friend is showing me around the city!" She taps her hooves together with some happy tongue flicks. "It's exciting getting to see Equestria!"

>>173348
Posey discards the decayed items, but keeps the jewelry.

Then she goes about her way to complete her mission, travelling in the opposite direction of the lake.

>>173350
>>173348
Oh wait, I should probably check Chekov's photos for clues that might aide me on my quest.
Are the photos scrutable? What do they depict?

>>173259
It's supposed to be one for the city, and another is the chapel for the Grandmaster personally, or at least, for the Order. Then again, what I had modeled this on was a city where each cathedral was of a different denomination

The guards give her the simple enough directions. Through the entrance, she is in a courtyard with a marble floor, a fountain, and columns decorated with motifs of wind. But crossing it to the left, Amber enters an foyer with a long marble staircase going up to a second floor, with tapestries depicting what seems to be hunts on either side. Here Amber also sees the white and black flag of Hellquill displayed prominently. Though the original construction is clearly hundreds of years old, there are more modern elements, most obviously the shinny new marble floors at the upper landing. She enters into a long hall, going right. To the left are large windows, and to the right, maps of Hellquill, and scenes of battles, and just as often, the modern flag of hellquill. Electric lighting pervades.

Amber ends in a large room with stone walls, surely the old refractory. It has vaulted ceilings, columns along the edges, and portraits of griffins, surely the old grandmasters, lining the walls above the columns. The floor To her left is an impressive artifact, a full-sized replica of the idol of Boreas, surely made out of gold.

But what is really most of concern to Amber are the griffins in the room. On the floor, and coming towards Amber from the right, as if they had themselves not been there long, are the familiar sights of Helder, wearing a vest, and Erich, with his violin. Felder lied is present as well, behind them and off to the side.

But in front of Amber are several tables, presumably meant for food but with no cloths covering them. These are in a line, blocking off the far edge of the room. These have chairs behind them, and by the wall, perhaps 20 feet behind and raised behind wooden steps covered in red carpet, are several wooden chairs, and in the center, a wooden throne. But these are not what is occupied. What are occupied are the chairs at the table closer to Amber.

In the chairs are seven griffins. Every one of them is male. They range in age from 30 to 65. They all wear the long, black leather cloaks of the Reformisten. Half are smoking. And moving forward, just about to sit down in the middle, wearing his tattle-tale black cap with a silver eagle symbol on it, is a blue-coated griffin whose identity Amber can guess based off of context, and his appearance in newspapers in Katerinburg. He smiles malignly and takes a seat.

>>173350
Does Posey try to go the same direction she was going when and before she crossed the river, or does she now go in the direction of the river?

>>173355
Yes. It appears to be family photos. A photo of a mare, a stallion, and a foal. A photo of what seems to be a one-story farmhouse. A photo of a tree with no leaves on the branches, with a barn in the background. There are more. Some are damaged.

>>173349
He presses her scales again

He looks around to Neela
"And who is your friend?"

>>173388
The snek is poked/pressed again. She feels firm and muscular, but she's got enough give to avoid feeling hard and uncomfortable. Her scales are nice and smooth to the touch. She points to Neela, simply saying, "She is!"

>>173387
>>>173350
>Does Posey try to go the same direction she was going when and before she crossed the river
Yes. To her original destination.
> It appears to be family photos. A photo of a mare, a stallion, and a foal. A photo of what seems to be a one-story farmhouse. A photo of a tree with no leaves on the branches, with a barn in the background.
Hmmm, sounds familiar...

>>173391
petting commences

"And who is she?" He asks.
Kira is in danger of Neela answering

>>173392
Posey can try to take what she wants. Surely there can't be more dangerous creatures, in the water, right?

And then move as she likes

>>173393
snek is pet

The petting stallion can feel her relax around where he's petting, and she lets out a little, happy, content sssssss.

She answers the other stallion's question just as matter-of-factly as she answered what she was: "She's Neela, my friend."

>>173255
ooh la la

>>173385
Amber looks with surprise to her friends. There is joy that they indeed made it, but this is drowned out by surprise at seeing them here rather than in the Ministry which is where they were headed. Did the rapture of music consume them too?

Amber is too surprised and nervous to say anything when the Grandmaster appears.

>>173393
>Posey can try to take what she wants.
This is for the Black Crusade. Mission failure is not an option.
>Surely there can't be more dangerous creatures, in the water, right?
If so, Posey will have to deal with them without spells.
>And then move as she likes
She marches onwards.

>>173394
pet pet

"Well..." He pauses

"You are free to leave. Have a good day, miss"

>>173396
Should she chose to walk along the edge of the lake, and then further south, she would walk along the edge of the raised forest floor, and a flooded swamp. Posey does find traces of battle: damaged trees, and a rifle simply set up against a tree.

>>173401
>>173396
I think you replied to the wrong post.
I think I'm going to go to bed, but if you have the time, I would appreciate a description of the next page in Posey's adventure later.

>>173395
He takes out a cigar, lights it, puffs on it, and then leans back in the chair, raising his high legs and crossing them. He speaks
"You played for my cousin, didn't you?" This question seems addressed to them collectively

"You can play, can't you?"

>>173402
>Posey does find traces of battle: damaged trees, and a rifle simply set up against a tree.
Posey follows the traces of battle, knowing that the damaged trees indicate tanks nearby. She looks for any treadmarks.
She also examines the gun, although knows it's not useful to her (she's only proficient in simple and archaic weapons).

I have to sleep now. If Posey walks her way into combat, I'll be up all night.

>>173402
Kira would, but it appears that the other stallion's petting is making her effectively melt into a lamia puddle. She has a perpetual touch-drunk look on her face with her tongue lazily having out of her mouth. She continues to make happy, contented snake noises, and the petting stallion gets the feeling that although she's larger than him, he basically has her in the frog of his hoof.

>>173406
Kira doesn't have to leave, but she does have to move aside, to make way for more ponies - especially in automobiles - to move forward.

Kira may be rolled over. And if she does, the stallion starts to rub her belly. Well, a little part of it, anyways.

Neela comes up to Kira, and looks at her impatiently

>>173407
She does roll out of the way for automobiles and ponies, and this does give the petting stallion the opportunity to give Kira belly rubs, discovering that she absolutely loves them. She looks goofily up at her deer friend.

"Heh heh...I like pony pets..."

>>173408
The lead pony says,
"No no, don't touch her. Pay attention to the check point. It can't be that interesting..." then he places a hoof to Kira, and starts rubbing her scales as well. And he doesn't stop.

Neela is scrunchy.
"I noticed. We have to move along"

>>173409
It is indeed that interesting. Both military ponies now have to wonder if petting all lamias is like that, and if other lamias also enjoy being pet by ponies this much. Kira seems to finally notice her friend's impatience and manages to snap out of her stupor despite receiving double pony pets.

"Right, sorry." She looks at the two military stallions with big apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, sirs, you are really super nice and I wish I could stay longer for more pets, but we have a lot more of the city to see."

>>173410
Kira may think she could be sent in to distract military garrisons. These stallions would likely give her more attention if they were not working. She gets a simple wave, and may move along, slithering closer to her objective.

>>173411
Kira smiles, and waves goodbye to the stallions after getting up. She finally leaves the checkpoint with Neela and continues on their way.

"Whew, sorry about that Neela. I don't know what it is, but there's something special about pony pets."

>>173404
Amber bows humbly. "We have, sir, and we can. There are no better string musicians this side of Griffonheim. What would you like from your humble servants?"

>>173413
"Can you play something... esoteric?"

>>173412
Kira is doubtless the only lamia these ponies have ever seen. Hopefully she isn't giving them the wrong impression. It does appear, however, that the ponies have found her weakness.

Neela scrunches, lowers her head and lowers her ears momentarily
"So I've seen." Then she turns back and looks to her
"You think you can get a townhouse near the river?"

>>173415
Sense Motive: Kira tilts her head at Neela's reaction, trying to get a feel of her thoughts about the ponies petting Kira.

[1d20+2 = (11+2) = 13]

"I think so. Is that what you would want, Neela?"

>>173416
She's irritated, most likely envious

She blinks
"I could not afford to live there." She says

>>173417
Hmm...perhaps if she wants pets like Kira gets, she needs to see what Kira is doing that causes ponies to want to pet her.

"Maybe I could. If only a few pieces of my tribe's gold and jewelry was worth so many Bits, then I should be able to get enough per month to afford a townhouse near the river. I know I'm not an artisan, but I have useful skills."

>>173418
Slithering through town, Kira notices a few things. One, the city is cold. Not extremely cold, but it's definitely not tropical. The asphalt and concrete sidewalks are colder and less pleasant to slither on than Kira would prefer. Also, Kira isn't exactly built for long distances, and it becomes tiresome.

The buildings around Kira are changing, becoming less often damaged, further apart, and smaller units.

She looks over towards Kira, and asks
"Like what?"

>>173419
She definitely would enjoy a nice rest along with something to eat. Getting pets at the checkpoint was nice, but she needs something to get her energy back up. At least this part of the city seems like it's nicer than where they came from.

"I'm a hunter, a trapper, a tracker, a bowmaker, and while I've never actually gotten into a proper fight before all of the hunters in my tribe are trained to also be warriors. I also know a bit of alchemy, though I can only really do basic recipes like my tribe's signature hunting oil. It's a pretty good skill set for a lot of things and, while I know you disagree with the idea, if I'm going to be working for R&M to get an audience with the governor...maybe I can also get paid for it too?"

>>173420
"How have you never gotten into a fight before?" She asks, then looks forward. Then she looks back "You can do alchemy? How well, exactly? And I still don't know why you would want to work for Customs" She looks ahead, and then almost starts speaking to herself. "Actually, it kind of makes sense. They prey on the weak and innocent. I can sort of understand why you get along."

>>173421
Unfortunately for Neela, her out-loud thoughts are heard by Kira, who scrunches.

"What do you mean that?"

>>173422
"Huh?' She asks

"I mean, you're... I don't know how old you are, but you look old enough to have gotten in several fights." She pauses and looks directly at Kira. "Don't you have to fight... you know. The things you eat?"

>>173423
Kira notices that Neela's deliberately avoiding answering her actual question, but she lets it go.

"Well, sometimes. Antelope, wild pigs, and other predators do put up a fight when cornered, but I mean like a real fight, against other sapient beings. I almost did, when the Talons came to our lands in retribution for us attacking the gold mine they had built that was poisoning our water supply, but my mother stopped me. 'You're not ready yet, Kira.' I'm definitely grateful for her doing that, especially in hindsight."

>>173424
"Why?" She asks. "Seems like you'd want to fight."

>>173425
Her tongue flicks, and she looks sheepishly off to the side.

"To be honest...not really. My mother was right, I'm not really ready yet to be a warrior. I'll fight if I have to, but I don't really have that 'warrior's spirit'. I'm more of a sneaky snake."

>>173426
"You don't really look like a warrior, except for the bow and the leather. How could you be sneaky? You're so big."

>>173427
"Oh, we should play hide & seek sometime! I can show you how sneaky us lamias can be."

She smiles, half serious, half joking.