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>>174209Her mouth agape, Amber gingerly touches a hoof to the glowing cutie mark, as if afraid it would start burning.
>>174210There is no burning sensation. Only the feel of her own hoof against fur, and her frog, hoof, and fur illuminated by the dim blue and burgundy light.
>>174211Amber gasps. She throws her head back against the pillow and closes her eyes, struggling to remember anything past the veil of sleep. Even if she did this just when she woke up she wouldn't be successful. Some things are unmistakeable, however, despite being mere feelings rather than coherent thoughts. Amber was running from the law, she's pretty sure, though she rationalizes this as subconscious guilt over the purloined letter or her fear of the Blackhooves. There were definitely griffons too, but that's hardly surprising given she bears the misfortune of seeing them every day.
One thing cannot be easily rationalized, however, and that was the vague recollection of music that she couldn't transcribe even if she heard it awake and sober. It was the most beautiful music Amber had ever heard, keen and terrifying, yet her intellect cannot quite grasp it. Merely trying to grasp onto the shadow of that memory chills her, leaving her feeling lonely and naked, and her eyes fly open before vertigo can fully set in. She sits upright in bed, shifts her thoughts to the nuzzling feeling earlier, and takes stock of the dim room.
Is Posey able to recover the cylinder?
Does she see anything else?
GM, what were those perception rolls for?
>>174191>>174189>>174213>>174223>>174199Posey feels something bite her ear. As before, there is no mystery here. It's (the same) ghost.
"The name is Turn Card, by the way."Entering into the water, Posey sees that the gun rests on a medium sized metal barge, which sits at an angle. Behind the gun is a cart that has slid off the edge of the barge. The water has low to moderate visibility, with large amounts of particulates, presumably algae, floating about. Walking onto the barge, and especially trying to mess with the gun, Posey stirs up mud and dead plant matter, which clouds portions of the water.
Posey places a wrench to the gun, but the bolt seems to be jammed.
"Looks like there is some rusting" >>174212The music... the beautiful, glorious music... She may not remember it, but she will likely pursue it in the days and months to come.
She feels tired. She has awaken a few minutes before her alarm has set her to awake - just enough to not be able to go back to sleep. The nuzzling was but a memory of her young lover's nuzzles the day before. But she can always be nuzzled more... until she can't. The sun is just over the horizon. At least she assumes it is. She can't see it from here, though its light is present. Even the Changelings know better than to stop the Princess from raising the light. The bed and covers are still messy from last night.
>>174204Khoi blinks
Jubilosa and Clipping are not quite "engaged," but do exchange words with each other as they continue to eat
>>174203"I mean..." His ear moves backwards, then forwards, and he leans back. Evidently he didn't get the answer he wanted.
"What is your spending range?"
>>174225"Nice to meet you. My masters dubbed me Rosey Ring, but you can call me Posey." Posey replies, before bending over to work
>but the bolt seems to be jammed.Posey tries to break the mountings, hoping the rust reduces its break DC.
She draws her crowbar and attempts to rend it off
[1d20+7 = (18+7) = 25] >>174226Amber groans. Most dreams she has had left her feeling refreshed, but the sheer mental energy of what she went through instead leaves her sapped. Her late-night dalliance certainly didn't help, but she rejects projecting any blame onto Mustard Trim.
She gets out of bed and takes a cold shower. Hopefully she can clean everything up and make it to work before the sun fully rises.
>>174228And...
crackIt snaps off, causing Posey to fall back. She may catch herself, but disturbing the mud in the process. Posey hears much disruption in the water, like fish moving.
>>174229Mustard
is kind of innocent of this...
The glowing has stopped. Amber has the time to shower. The cold water helps to wake her up on an otherwise hard morning.
>>174228As Posey bends over, they can see a view of her namesake: the black dot on her flank, surrounded by a ring of red fire.
>>174230>Posey hears much disruption in the water, like fish moving.Posey decides to move to shore quickly, having been nearly-eaten once already today. She draws her sword and waits for about a minute for anything to charge at her. If nothing charges, she goes back to retrieve her gun.
"Hydras... You can never be too careful."
>>174231"Nice flank.">get to the shoreWere it so easy. Posey is still many feet away, and in deeper water with heavy equipment. The cylinder is massive and heavy, and while it is possible for Posey to tie it to her back, in the meantime, it requires at least one hoof, making effective sword wielding impractical. Posey must chose between the two.
Even more mud is disturbed
"There is something in the water!" >>174232>"Nice flank.""~Thank you. I work hard to maintain it." Posey replies, momentarily ignoring the present danger
(Posey's main flaw is her vanity)
>>174233Posey's telekinesis is less powerful. She may roll but not levitate the cylinder with her telekinesis - the tendency of the odd-shaped ends of the cylinder to get caught in debris counter-acting the buoyancy of the oil and compressed gas in the steel cylinder. She may also use her telekinesis with her sword, but without a strength bonus.
>>174234Turn Card is about to say more, but another ghost - the unicorn - silences him.
>>174235>She may also use her telekinesis with her sword, but without a strength bonus.And here I've been imagining that she's been using her sword with her horn this whole time. Oh well.
On second thought, I could always make a slam attack or a charnel touch, so I don't really need to use the sword rn. Posey uses her horn to steady her grip on the cylinder as she scrambles to shore.
>>174237Posey looks to her left and suspects the worst.
>>174238Posey could maybe mistake it for log, a floating back pack, or even one of the ghosts. But it isn't the shape of the former, and much too solid to be the latter. Floating through the water, kicking, Posey can see the corpse of a pony. It's brown mane floats in the water, its eyes white, the flesh on its muzzle and hooves rotting away, exposing skeletal structure, all white the flesh has swollen and mummified. It has a pack on its back which also floats above the entity. It's coming for Posey.
Roll Initiative[1d20+3 = (17+3) = 20]Best to roll spot as well
>>174239Initiative
[1d20+9 = (12+9) = 21]Gonna make a knowledge (religion) check (free action) to identify this creature.
[1d20+9 = (5+9) = 14] >>174239Is this abomination visibly male or female?
>>174240Posey moves first. It's undead, angry, and seemingly not intelligent
>>174242The size, slightly more squared jaw, and the soldier's back pack and remnants of uniform would imply male.
>>174241There is movement behind
>>174243>seemingly not intelligent"A zombie, perhaps? That's odd, they're not usually sporadic animations..." Posey says, her momentary panic fading in favor of fascination.
Uses her first turn to move as far as she can onto shore. Once she's firmly on shore, she puts the cylinder down and draws her sword.
>>174244This would take up Posey's whole turn
>>174245>>174244While Posry is able to clear the barge and move to noticeably more shallow water where she can simply stand upright in the span of six seconds, she does not make it entirely on shore.
It places its hooves down in the mud, and bites at Posey
[1d20+5 = (2+5) = 7] >>174246Do the other monsters in the water become visible yet?
>>174247Behind the creature, trailing, appears to be another undead creature of similar nature, though the specifics cannot be determined
>>174248Assuming the monster's turn is over, Posey takes the Withdraw action to retreat to shore, where she can safely put down her cylinder.
This is a full round action. End of turn.
>>174249Posey can make it to shore. It makes another attempt at her
[1d20+5 = (16+5) = 21][1d20+3 = (17+3) = 20][1d20+3 = (11+3) = 14] >>174251Ow
Can Posey see how many zombies are within 60 ft?
>>174253Okay.
On Posey's turn, she draws her Unholy symbol and a surge of power rushes through her, her mane flowing in a non-existent wind and her eyes glowing.
"By the powers vested in me, I demand that you kneel!"
Rebuke Undead
Rebuking check
[1d20+7 = (8+7) = 15]Turning damage
[2d6+12 = (5+12) = 17] >>174254With this check, Posey Rebukes as an 8th level Cleric. Up to 17 HD of undead are affected, and anything with 4 or less HD is commanded. Posey can command up to 7 HD of undead at once.
Turning does not require line of sight, so any undead still underwater may also be affected.
>>174254Posey feels a very much existing wind rush quickly behind her. The zombie closest to the edge of the water lets out something like a shriek, then moves further down. It seems to kneel in the water, still mostly submerged.
>>174256What about the others? Are they affected?
Rebuked undead cower, as if in awe.
(Also I guess technically the ghosts might also be affected)
>>174255Correction, 18 HD in total undead are affected
>>174257screechesIt seems the other two zombies are affected
>>174259What about the ghosts? So they cower before Posey's power and beauty?
Posey nods, satisfied that the zombies are commanded.
"That's more like it. Now make yourself useful and come help me carry this giant gun."
>>174260The unicorn spirit seems to be awed. The other three ghosts seem to have fled.
But the two nearest zombies are commanded.
>>174261>The other three ghosts seem to have fled.Huh.
Well, they can't make it far with Posey carrying their haunted objects.
>But the two nearest zombies are commanded.These are 2 HD zombies right? Posey should be able to command three of them.
If the third zombie continues to attack, Posey draws her sword to engage it. If not, she heals herself and looks for the ghosts.
"Now where did those three go off to?"
>>174262The zombies are a bit larger than expected. The third zombie circles in the water, but none of the three seem eager to - or maybe even capable of - leaving it. The three zombies have retreated to their items. Posey can feel the difference, as previously the ghosts would lope in circles in front of and around Posey, creating a chill breeze, and Turn Card repeatedly touched Posey.
>>174263>but none of the three seem eager to - or maybe even capable of - leaving it."Anchorite haunting zombies; how peculiar... Perhaps they're bound to the boat, or the lake." Posey ponders
"I guess I'm carrying this thing home on my own then." Posey says
She takes a moment to examine the cylinder, to check if it's in good condition
>>174264It would perhaps be more accurate to say that the zombies are aquatic - their morphology shaped by the water.
The cylinder has rust in several areas that make it difficult to move up and down. However, it still has pressure and oil.
>>174265These aren't Lacedons, are they?
>However, it still has pressure and oil.If that's good enough for her masters to reverse engineer, then I guess Posey's mission is done.
>>174266Kinda, with ghast statsPosey doesn't really know much about engineering. The inability of the piston to move is concerning, but it does have structural integrity.
>>174267I was hoping I would meet Lacedons (aka drowners) in this swamp. They're useful to have around. They should be able to crawl on land too.Ghouls make up a large proportion of the Dread league, and Posey has seen many before, so would she recognize them?Posey peers closer to the decayed creatures, examining them more closely.
>>174268Sure? The command won't last forever thoughThe fur has fallen out, leaving a hardened, white skin. The eyes have a blue glow, but are white, with milky irises that retain slight purple and golden hues. One is clearly formerly a solider, based on the remnant of a green uniform and a backpack. The other has a pack tied around its waist, though it's harder to tell. The third keeps its distance but does not seem to have been a pony at all, but something bigger.