/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>176693
Posey, with no reservations against abusing her powers, immediately attempts to charm the stallion with her gaze as she enters the room.
DC 19 Will
"Good [insert canon time of day here], Mr. Horizons. I am a local Necrologist by the name of Rosey Ring." She says
"I have been summoned here on suspicion of residual malevolence on the property down the block. I've been tasked with making a site visit to ensure it is properly excised."

>>176695
He looks up to her and speaks with more real curiosity than veiled hostility

"Uh, summoned by who, exactly? And who tasked you?"

>>176696
>he looks up at her
I reiterate my attempt to charm him
>summoned by who, exactly? And who tasked you?
"The Academy Of Arcane Sciences, by the Dean himself." Posey says
"This is a matter of public security, as it's purported that a lich resided on the property. Since the site has been disturbed, it's imperative that it be inspected for residual dark energies. Curses are serious business, a threat to pony life and property; ensuring that they are properly excised is a matter of public safety and personal liability..."

>>176697
"Weren't the lich and the zombies taken care of?" He says, concerned. "They were all destroyed, right?"

>>176698
>"Weren't the lich and the zombies taken care of?"
"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Posey says, with a wistful expression
"But liches aren't the type to stay buried for long. That aside, there remains the issue of Haunting Presences. Just because you can't see any zombies doesn't mean they are not there; they could be lying dormant as haunting presences tied to the land. Haunting presences may either occur sporadically in places of death and misery, or artificially by powerful mages. This site meets both criteria."
These are facts about undead that Posey is sharing to spread paranoia, not lies.
"Furthermore, it's possible that the lich may have poisoned the land to make it more suitable for it's presence. It isn't always obvious at a glance, but such a monster may have cursed altered the land in various ways other than haunting presences. Curses. Contingent Spells. Manifest Zones. Hidden Portals to Tartarus. Any of these factors could reveal themselves unexpectedly if they are not dealt with immediately." Posey says, ominously
But then her tone and expression softens
"But we don't mean to cause you any unnecessary worry, Mr. Horizons. We're only wish to inspect it for the security of our fair city. We wish to ensure that you are made aware of any potential liabilities sooner, rather than later, and any measures that may need to be taken to excise residual traces of dark magic... And not to be the bearer of bad news, but.. it may affect your insurance premiums." Posey says, wincing at the last part

>>176699
His face shows concern, and that concern deepens as Posey lays out the gravity of the situation. "Can't we just bury it?" He tries to interject. However, his expression contorts into sheer horror when she mentions the potential effect on the insurance premiums. He stands up, pushing back his chair.

"What can be done?!"

>>176694
>>176693
>>176691
Behind, the door opens, and the curtain is parted

"Keskiyön" A familiar voice says with force but not at excessive volume. "We need to talk." Looking back, it's the stallion that helped Amber with the mare earlier.

>>176700
>"What can be done?!"
"Well for starters, I'll inspect the property with my magic to assess the gravity of the situation. I would appreciate any documents or maps related to underground structures. If I do sense any haunts, I will attempt to excise them on the spot, but there are powers in this world in cannot face on my own."
>"Can't we just bury it?"
"The archaeological dig seems to already have disturbed the burial of whatever lurked there, but if we're lucky we may just be able to rebury it or transport contaminated materials. Building on top of it may be another story..." She puts on a sympathetic expression
"I can understand what sort of stress you're going through. I come from Farbrook, and the menace of dark magic on our lands has been ever so dreadful, especially with frequent attacks from the shambling dead."
"But momma is-"
"Hush, sweetie. Momma is working right now."

Posey continues
"I'll inspect the site, but I would advise you to keep this under wraps, if you can. If the government, or worse, your insurer, gets wind of the situation, they'll send their own inspectors, and CelEeEHstia knows *cough*, pardon me, knows what they might do then."

>>176701
"Shambling dead?" His ears are down. "We uh, we don't have maps, no, we... we didn't know it was there until a couple weeks ago.

He leans forward
"Can you clear it? Clean it. De-haunt it? Whatever, just make it not like that?"

>>176681
Do the captain's logs with the map have anything of interest of note on them?

>>176681
"You won't have to so long as I'm here," Kira boasts, puffing out her pony chest before she continues, "How did you all manage to become roommates? Is it like me where we just happened to meet, or did you all know each other for a while before?"

>>176702
>"Can you clear it? Clean it. De-haunt it? Whatever, just make it not like that?"
"I can try. Secular channeling is a skill of mine. I can at least attempt to make the haunt reveal itself. Bear in mind, removing a haunt isn't a simple process, and it could take a while." Posey says
"But I will try. You'll at least get an assessment of the situation, with my professional opinion. I'm doing this in the name of scientific research, and public security, so so long as you allow me to conduct searches and observe activity on the site, there won't be any service fees." She continues
"If you could sign a permission slip for me to visit the property without alarming the workers, that would be appreciated."
She pulls back her cloak, to reveal the chain shirt around her chest
"Ponies see a professional mare in a zombie-bite suit, and they assume she's up to no good. Tsk tsk..." Posey laments, shaking her head

>>176703
Maretania September 734, spotted land coordinates blah blah through fog attempt made to land abandoned for rough terrain and poor visibility

Falabella July 743 land-based birds spotted and hovered around the ship for two days. Mirage showed cone-shaped buildings and temples.

Lady Joy 762 Nimbussian cutter Petros encountered two weeks from Vanhoover. Sails at full dress, hailed us down. Said was underponied for journey as the captain and most of the crew went ashore for supplies, attacked by hostile indigenous pony-like creatures, ship barely escaped with none of the landing party making it back to the ship.

A clipping is attached about an Olenian whaling ship, that purports to have killed a juvenile devil whale in the middle of the Thalassic Ocean, though more by accident than design as it was rammed by the ship. When cut open, the whale's stomach was found to contain several very fresh specimens of a variety of crab that is known to only inhabit shallow bodies of water, 200 or fewer feet in depth. This is in an area of ocean where the expected depth is 2 miles.

>>176704
"Well Lash I've known for a while as he is of the same culture and we hang out in many of the same groups. Girka... ugh, I guess you could call her a work colleague. I met her later."

>>176705
He nods.
"Yes, yes. Those university folk... The city insisted on them. They are hardly mine. Here. Show this to anyone who challenges your right to be on the property. Be they police, other construction workers, or the university ponies." He says, and hands Posey a hoof-written ticket of permission to be on the property 'For research purposes valid until February 10' with his signature.

>>176706
"A work colleague? Was this from the factory work or was it from later?"

>>176707
"Later, when I had to do odd jobs." She answers.

>>176706
"This is interesting...it could still be false reports, but I am inclined to believe it. Thalassic Ocean is big place, and much of it remains undiscovered. We would need sturdy vessel, however, and plenty of supplies and rations to last for potentially weeks..."

The map of the non-existant land masses between Equus and Zebrica, are any of the points of interest noted in places Silver recognizes, or are they noted on the mysterious land masses?

>>176708
"What kind of odd jobs?" Kira looks at her friend with clear interest in her eyes. She really wants to know more about her new friend's story.

>>176709
"Heh, you can't actually want to go out into the ocean to look for lost islands... Can you?"

Points of interest at least seem to correspond to real land masses. Roll knowledge.

>>176710
Her ears are up, and she slowly lowers her head while staring silently.

"Like selling things on the street..."

>>176712
"Ooooo, what kinds of things?"

>>176712
[1d20 = 8]

"Why not? Could you imagine being first pony to make official contact with these mystery pony, and what kind of prestige it would bring you?"

>>176713
"Well... tickets for events, food, trinkets..."

>>176714
"Well..." She rubs her hoof. "There must be some reason it hasn't been found."

Silver recognizes the bat pony city, Tenochtitlan, and then some location in the Summer Isles or perhaps the Meridines.

>>176715
"Could be it is shrouded in some obscuring magics. This one report mentions fog, which could be conjured rather than natural occurrence."

Hmm, alright. Perhaps places to check out in the future, and of course Silver can still take this map to a cartographer or other map expert for further information. He's been able to get through a lot more of all of this than he had originally thought he'd be able to. He finally gets to the manuscript for "Remnants of Skyros".

>>176715
Kira bounces in her coils excitedly. "What kinds of events? And trinkets? Were they anything like the things I sold to the pawn shop?"

>>176716
Remnants of Skystone reference?

>>176693
>>176694
>>176700
Amber smiles apologetically as she is tugged backwards. "Sorry for bothering you, Mr. Shopkeeper." She is definitely noticing a pattern though. Everypony is talking about the sun arriving a couple weeks earlier than it should and the spirits coming into the world. Amber must talk with this Metsän Vaeltaja because that's the source of all these rumors. But then, the shopkeeper's daughter's dreams seem to confirm them too. Amber is disappointed in not having had those dreams herself, but when she thinks about it she can't remember having any dreams at all–

The stallion's entry interrupts her train of thought. "Papa! This is the stallion who helped watch over Makea Amy after we found her," she points out.

>>176706
>'For research purposes valid until February 10' with his signature.
"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Horizons. I will begin the examination immediately."

(What's the date today?)

>>176723
Posey then leaves back for the property, with a smug, satisfied look on her face, brandishing the permission slip with the glow of her horn.
Posey returns to the site with some actual intent to do her job, and begins sweeping the site for any signs of undead activity or abnormalities that may have been caused by the lich poisoning the earth and/or laying curses on the land during his time there. The looks for phantom tracks that could indicate haunting presences manifesting around the surface. She also checks the local plantlife for uneven withering that could indicate negative energy pollution (gotta keep up that Necro-botany gig).
This naturally leads her to search the underground facilities.

>>176716
The manuscript is hardly a manuscript at all, but a collection of unrelated stories assembled under a cover page.

The first is a philosophical musing on the nature of cycles, and in particular, the fate of civilizations that exist in each cycle. The paper starts off by pointing to the acknowledged fact - or at least, the widely accepted theory - that the earth is of infinite age, that all that is on it has always existed, and that the world as a whole goes through cycles. Civilization as we see it in the world is of a relatively youthful age, and if the previous cycles left any remnants, they are not readily visible. So why is there so little remaining from previous cycles? Surely civilization developed to a high enough degree to leave behind signs. So how exactly do cycles come to an end, and why do they leave so little behind? The paper examines the speculation. A slow decline or decadence does not tend to create the complete renew we see or seem to see in the world. Disease would explain the population decline, but not the lack of ruins. A catastrophic event like a global flood is more plausible. The paper fixates on the renewal having a more divine-spiritual mechanism, like a "snap of the finger" to bring the world to an earlier state, perhaps a literal reversal of time. It also acknowledges the possibility that some outside force, especially spiritual entities, engage in a sort of culling that reduce or prune developed civilizations at the end of a cycle.

The next article is written by an explorer about ruins in the Equestrian Southeast. Temples, irrigation systems, bridges and various other ruins are relatively common in the Tenochtitlan basin especially. However, these belong to the relatively recent history of the indigenous ponies of the region and a collapse that took place around the time of the Empire of Quetzalcoatl, and from which that culture has never perfectly recovered. The account starts by detailing a few ruins seen in by the explorer and by other parties in an area further north, especially around the area inhabited by the Cavalum. These include usually large foundations, though these are often covered by dirt and soil, and columns that are made of single blocks of stone or solidified mortar. The meet of the account is of the author's personal venture into a territory that is almost entirely unexplored by Equestrians as it belongs to the Cavalum. He was told by a chief of a particularly ancient and impressive ruin in a gorge some miles north and asked to be taken there. The chief refused to allow the author nor any stallion access to the region, but a fellow party member, a mare, was allowed access. She was taken to a gorge that was more than five hundred feet in height on either side and twice as wide with a river flowing through it. At one part of the gorge, rock protruded from either side in an unantural manner and possessing unnatural angles, and seemingly composed of mortar or cement. This stretched up on either side the entire five hundred feet and protruded each direction fifty feet on average but almost two hundred feet on the left bank, though at points the eroded and chipped figure could be believed to be a natural formation. Other blocks existed further downstream, sometimes the size of a house. The author noted that the Cavalum would not claim the ruins as their own but claimed them to have been ancient at the time of their ancestors. The author speculates as to whether the dragons possessed once a civilization much greater than the culture they have today, given the grand dimensions of the ruins.

The next article is taken from a ship's doctor from the trade ship Daffodil on stop in an island in what was then the fresh new possession of the Aquelian Meredines. The island was known by Equestrian visitors to possess a set of ruins in the shallow waters on the island's eastern coast which the author decided to visit and examine. These ruins, which the author acknowledges are believed by some to be a natural formation, include long blocks of more or less rectangular stone that extend along the lagoon bottom for hundreds of feet, and are eight feet in width and five feet on average above the floor, and seem to be made from a different material than the surrounding seabed or the reef. These blocks occur occasionally in a rectangular pattern, like frames. The natives claim no memory of when these evident ruins were new, but say they have been there as far back as their stories go.

Another story is an account of a traveller speaking to Zebra king Zibn Zambusa. Zambusa recounts that he followed a caravan deep into the central desert of Zerbica, and saw through a haze of sand the base of large stone structures that he identified with tales of a lost city. A member of that caravan claimed to have entered the structures, and found the dimensions and proportions of the structures to be very large. In particular, he saw depictions of horned equine figures with wings, evidently the subjects of worship. The king likened the images in this account to Princess Celestia, which is why the king recounted the tale in the first place.

A final paper talks about caves in the Equestrian Southeast and other locations. It mentions that in most cultures in the regions, caves are considered haunted or entries into the underworld by native ponies. Some bands of the Cavalum, however, recount tails of an enter race being forced below ground in past eras by their foes and claims that some caves connect to their subterranean domain.

>>176728
Hmm...perhaps originally these stories were unrelated, but it's clear they were put together in this "manuscript" with a purpose. It's clear whoever put this together, possibly the artist of the first philosophical musing, means to string together a story of a great expansive civilization, ancient and lost to history. It was absolutely the intent of the author to lead whoever might have ended up reading this towards this conclusion, regardless of it's factuality. Paired with the map of the mystery landmass between Equus and Zebrica, Silver believes he might have found a guide for investigating this supposed lost civilization. He shows the manuscript along with the map to Pear.

"You have studied this region quite extensively, yes? What do you think of this?"

>>176717
Neela looks up and then down, angling her head down. Her hooves are still curled hanging over the bed.

“Uh, yeah. Sure. Like that.”

>>176724
>>176739
Does Posey find her way underground?

>>176739
"Did you like doing those odd jobs?"

>>176723
Like... January 24, or... something like that. Between January 20 and January 30 for sure.

"Celestia Speed"

>>176724
This feels like at least one roll

Please be aware, there is a foundation, a small farm-house (not that old), a well ruin, a couple trees, uncut grass....

>>176740
Posey may either:
Walk down into the quarry and past the ponies while holding out her permission slip. This option is hindered by Posey's lack of a middle finger to show alongside her permission note.

Or,
Search for an alternate entrance

>>176742
"Sometimes, yes, but..." She looks down, and pauses for several seconds "... No..."

>>176743
Kira looks with intense curiosity at her deer friend. She flicks her tongue.

"What did you like or not like about them?"

>>176743
>This option is hindered by Posey's lack of a middle finger to show alongside her permission note.
Posey innovates: she conjures a floating, glowing, technicolor-flashing middle finger with her magic as she strolls past the other ponies.

>>176743
>"Celestia Speed"
Posey yelps and trips a bit at the words, the door hitting her in the butt as she moves out the door.
>This feels like at least one roll
Whatever it is, here it is:
[1d20 = 3]
Posey is eager to go underground or indoors ASAP, preferring to stay out of the sun.

>>176746
>3
Gonna roll to see if Gloomy found anything interesting, -2 for being a child
[1d20-2 = (2-2) = 0]

>>176748
Nope...

>>176729
"So, let's see if I understand this. There's supposed to have been an entire civilization, or even several, that were at least as advanced as us? Or at least, as advanced as we were a thousand years ago? And the only evidence they left behind is third-hoof hearsay and a few rocks that are unusually straight? Heh. Could this 'Zibn Zambusa' not be bothered to go in and look at the ruins himself? A cyclical model of the universe is far from universally accepted. Sure, the old Celestialist religion, and most of our philosophers have believed it, as do, for example, the Buffalo, or the most common of the Kirin religions. But the Changelings believe the universe to be fresh and new, and the Griffonian pantheon believes something similar, as do, for example, the wolves of Equus. And I've heard of those ruins on Balamy. Those are either natural formations, or the ruins of a much more recent civilization." Breathing out

"But still, it is a fact that many things that are built are forgotten and lost. Many civilizations have come and gone already. This is a fact. The ruins of old Karthinia dot the cities and farmlands of modern Wingbardy and Toulouse. The lost city of Trot was destroyed by Changeling attackers. Both the Crystal Empire and Tambelon have into and back from the veil of darkness. Even this... bunker, this... this construct we are in right now... was lost and unknown for two hundred fifty years, despite being right here, on the edge of a manor. It is a fact that there are many cities and towns of eras long gone in the Equestrian jungles that have been abandoned after rivers moved, or disease killed ponies, or war caused them to be abandoned. And then, even those theories that reject an infinitely old world, do generally believe there was some kind of cataclysm that destroyed those who came before. So... maybe? I am sure there is something there. I just don't think it's as mystical as some may think. But personally... I think that what is there, is just as interesting."

>>176746
Kek

Posey enters inside into a tunnel going to the left and the right which is held up by stone on the floor and ceiling. She does not feel haunting presences.

>>176748
Gloomy runs off after something that is moving.

Wait. It's just a lizard. Actually, better stop him. He might run into a snake, or a poisonous spider.

>>176745
Nice

>>176744
Looking up and around
"Oh, ponies and griffins bitch [in a mocking tone] 'Hey, this is fake. I want my money back. You stole my wallet. myee myee myee myee myeem'."

>>176750
>Posey enters inside into a tunnel going to the left and the right which is held up by stone on the floor and ceiling.
Posey slowly walks into the tunnel, with intent on searching the entire underground.
She looks down both paths for anything that peaks her interest.
>She does not feel haunting presences.
Posey remains hopeful. She proceeds with intent to begin her revelation ritual once she is at the deepest point in the dungeon.

>>176752
Along either side are two doors. Going through either takes Posey into a large room which has recesses in the ground, the rusted remains of chains, and a few bones in a pile.

>>176753
>a large room which has recesses in the ground, the rusted remains of chains, and a few bones in a pile.
Ooh, that's a great sign.
"Oooh, I like this place already. Feels a bit like home, doesn't it Gloomy?"
"I can't see, momma..."
"Oh, sorry sweetie, let me just.." (can Posey's horn produce light? I can't cast light)

>>176750
Silver nods in agreement.

"It is interesting just to see what really is there, just as it is to speculate on what could have been there. I imagine there was something that came before us, though what it was or if they were even ponies or something else entirely is up to debate. I know lots of ponies have tried to claim that there was ancient alicorn civilization predating modern ponies ever since Celestia and Luna first appeared. I would like to look at these ruins and other places like them to see for myself. It also sounds like you would want to go see."

>>176751
Neela's impression gets Kira to giggle. "That's silly! But what do you mean by fake?"

>>176754
>Can Posey produce light
No. Well, technically yes, her magic is luminescent, and that luminescence has some utility, just not enough to illuminate a room of this size. The room is 40 or so feet across, with a few pillars to hold up the ceiling. Gloomy could see things a few feet away, but not up to the walls.

>>176755
"No... Celestia and Lune earned their alicornhood..." She says this not so much as speaking to Silver, but to no one.

"I don't think dragons built anything though... Go see them? Well, yes. Actually, that's where we are supposed to be. We are supposed to be investigating settlements belonging to the Windigo Worshipers of Windy River, rebels against the Equestrian Rule shortly after the integration of the Marexica into the Equestrian Covenant."

>>176756
"Oh, you'll have to go ask them. They didn't like the watches and bags and what have you we sold them."

>>176757
>Gloomy could see things a few feet away, but not up to the walls.
He doesn't need to see far, so this will work.
Posey proceeds to examine the room, searching through it's contents.

>>176757
"Why would they complain about buying watches and bags? It's not like you forced them to buy them...you didn't actually force them to buy them, right?"

>>176757
"Sounds interesting, though I imagine you would much rather investigate them with different company than what you are currently keeping." Silver smiles at Pear, though whether she can see it depends on where and how the light from her flashlight is shining. "Which I suppose leads me...even from searching these few rooms, we have come across plenty of clues leading towards new adventures, finding that what has been lost or perhaps never found in first place, and what I have learned throughout my life is that adventures are always better with good company." Taking one of her forehooves in his, Silver continues. "How about it, Pear? Would you like to go on these adventures with me, be my partner, discover these lost stories waiting to be told? I have this feeling, we would do great things together."

>>176758
(Posey is just going to keep moving from room to room until or unless she finds something interesting. If you have a map, I would appreciate seeing it but by bit.)

>>176761
>>176758
I think there is a map somewhere for part of the structure, though it's from the perspective of entering from a different entrance than Posey used. This is a quest from half a decade or more ago, and there are no formal notes, only old posts. What I can say for sure is that Posey is on a "lower" level, this lower level is ringed by hallways that ring the whole structure, there is at least a large rectangular room that Posey is currently in and that she can discern was used for keeping beasts or animals, I think there are multiple vaulted square rooms used for general storage in the lower level... somewhere, and
there are two stairs going up a level to the higher level, with stone steps that are damaged. Upstairs, there is a central room accessed by the hallways with a well in the center and a hole to the ground level, on the side closest to Posey is a bedroom/study with a chamber behind it, and on the side opposite is a library. On either side are small rectangular laboratories, about three on each side. The hall rings around in front of these with catacomb burial spots on each side, until it goes to a tunnel that connects to the surface through what was once a trap door in a house. The entire structure is very symmetrical. I'm sure I am forgetting something, like evidently a smaller, breakaway library. But Posey is only going to find stones and debris that's piled neatly into corners if she simply walks through. She must search or otherwise to discover something that hasn't already been destroyed, pillaged, or taken by the militia who stormed through here, or the raiding party, or the archeologists

>>176759
"Oh no, of course not," She forces a smile

>>176760
"Yeah, they aren't the best of-" gasp. She breathes in, and looks up to him. "Um..." Her ears go down, and Silver can see her teeth reflect in the dim light. "Well, I mean..."