1777 replies and 51 files omitted.
>>176764Silver looks expectantly at Pear in the dark catacombs for an answer. Part of him wonders as he waits if they thought to install lamps or something for their archaeological work, of if they're short on supply.
>>176764"So what was the problem, then?" Kira tilts her head at Neela.
>>176763>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 archeologistsAnd search she does, walking slowly and deliberately through every room, until she finds something interesting, or bumps into another party member.
"Now let's see if this Curwhinny fellow left any legacy behind..." Posey says, more to herself than to Gloomy, which she levitates at hoof-length
>descriptionNoted.
>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.Well, I can't expect a GM to reproduce a map on the fly, but I did express interest in permanently settling in here, so I might like a detailed description at some point. No hurry though.
I need to sleep now.
>>176765It seems they did not. All they have is the one light that was brough by Pear, and it is aimed at a wall past Silver. Neither Silver nor Pear are actually very visible in the light.
"But I, well, I have a job here. I'm on sabbatical with the university. And I do need to study the Windigo Worshipers of Windy River. I need to publish something to keep my position with the University."
>>176766"Hmph! Ask them. I don't have to deal with them anymore. '
This isn't a real watch myee myee myee myeehm! Bah!" She lays down on her side.
>>176767>I might like a detailed description at some pointThis is doable, as all of the old posts still exist and are searchable, and I do believe incomplete maps exist. I just don't think you're going to get every stone overturned before the next big quest.
>And search she does, walking slowly and deliberately through every room, until she finds something interesting, or bumps into another party member.What I mean by that was a dice roll or spell, but if what you want to do is to find Silver, she'd stumble upon the flashlight and the noise eventually.
>>176768"Something tells me, looking at certain members of your party, that even if you went with them they would find way to take all of credit for whatever discoveries are made. They might try to steal your work, dispute your portion of credit, or undercut your efforts by publishing group's findings before you can, leading to it looking as if you merely copied them. I am not certain university would be very happy by how it looks." Silver breathes out, then continues, "But, if you made clear that there was something else you wished to pursue on your own to your party, something tells me they would agree. They are likely more than capable of investigating Windigo Worshippers without your assistance, and it means they get you out of their manes. And as for you and for university, well, just look at any of these potential adventures. What could be more impressive than pursuing lead on your own initiative, travelling all way across world, finding something lost to time, and coming back to publish your findings on something few knew even existed?"
>>176768Kira giggles some more at Neela's silly impression. "You've got that right. Okay, I really need to see if that nice old mare is awake so I can return her tea set. Did you want to talk more after, or is it getting late for you?"
I have awoken.
>>176768>What I mean by that was a dice roll or spellI think every room requires it's own Search check, so unless a room stands out I'll say that Posey takes 10 on Search for a modified 15 for each room, unless she sees anything that looks like it invites further scrutiny (a bookshelf that looks like it could be a hidden passage, a room that looks like it hasn't been entered in years, any place that looks like it could contain treasure/curses/secrets, etc).
Posey can passively take 10 for a modified 21 on both Knowledge (Arcana) and Knowledge (Religion): she would notice things that only a skilled mage and/or undead expert would notice.
Posey has Darkvision, and might notice things that a pony reliant on a torch or flashlight would not have noticed. If Curwhinny was undead, he might've hidden his secrets in a way that only the dead would notice, and Posey takes that into consideration as she checks the shadowy corners of each room.
For spells, Posey has Detect Magic as an SLA 1/day, and can also cast it out of her lvl 1 spell slots (Dread Necromancers don't have lvl 0 spells). She can concentrate on Detect Magic for up to 6 minutes at a time. Posey intends to fully sweep the dungeon for any and all items/curses/spells/runes, but first she checks how many rooms there are, so that she can divide her spell slots well enough to cover the entire dungeon.
After Posey has completed her systemic search and divination, she will seek out the deepest area in the dungeon, mediate for 10 minutes and begin ominously chanting in tongues to begin a ritual to force any haunts or lingering undead to reveal themselves.
Unless, of course, she bumps into somepony else first.
>>176776Ffs...
I don't suppose there are any medium armored ponies and/ponies talking around?
>>176719"Oh" Father says, looking at Amber. He looks back to the stallion. "Is this about Makea?" He asks, tilting his head. The stallion says nods his head, and with an annoyed tone, says,
"
Yeah. It's about Makea. It's about Makea and everything else. Get your flank out here. We need to speak in
private."
Father follows the stallion outside. They try to go between a set of buildings. There is piled set of logs near them, and they stand on the other side of the several barrels.
>>176774The room that Posey is in has a few severely rusted bars remaining standing. The rusted remnants of bars jutting from the ground or from the pillars, and a few in corners that lay piled, are a hazard to hooves, and suggestive that most of this room was divided into cages or cells. A large openning in the roof has been sealed.
Posey can feel that this place has been the site of great magic and great suffering. This lower section is oddly older than the upper portion, and also much more damaged. It appears that it was submerged in water.
>>176776Generally rolls should be respected. There is a time and place to fudge or ignore rolls. And that time and place is now, apparently.
From upstairs, Posey can hear vague suggestions of noises. To her left, something that sounds like a step, and a vague "hiss." To her right, what sounds like ponies talking.
>>176772Her ears are back fully
"I mean... It's my area of focus. The religions of the southeast."
>>176773Laying her head down on the couch as she lays on her side,
"Ugh, I wish we had alcohol. Or bowls... Sure." She says
>>176780>hazard to hooves, and suggestive that most of this room was divided into cages or cells.Posey levitates Gloomy up to safety, confidently relying on her damage reduction to avoid her own hooves being harmed.
>Posey can feel that this place has been the site of great magic and great suffering.Exactly what she was looking for. Posey looks almost giddy, perfectly in her element.
>It appears that it was submerged in water.Oof, water damage.
>To her left, something that sounds like a step, and a vague "hiss."Posey suspects this may be a monster, or worse, a has leak, and decides to investigate the source of the hiss, levitating Gloomy behind her.
Her ears track on the sounds of the ponies, but she decides to check the source of the hiss first.
>>176780"Is that all you want to focus on? This world is so vast, there are so many stories to tell and that are yet to be told, or have not been told for many centuries. Learning more about rest of world would also help to advance your studies of this region and its religions by contextualizing them in grander scheme of things."
Sense Motive: Hmm...is ears back good or bad in this context?
[1d20+3 = (15+3) = 18] >>176780"We'll get both of those tomorrow, don't you worry. I'm not gonna leave us without the essentials."
Gathering the cleaned tea set together, Kira slithers outside. She makes sure to hide her tail like she did last time as she knocks on the nice-if-slightly-racist old mare's door.
>>176781Posey goes up the stairs to find a small, rectangular room with blocky stone walls, shelves on two sides, a counter on the far side, and in the center, a stone circle that rises up about two feet and forms a rim of something like a well, with a rusted metal grate overtop. On the counter are empty flasks. On the shelves are flasks, jars, and viles. Sometimes they are broken, sometimes they are empty, and sometimes they are filled with things like mercury, pyrite, salts, and unidentified liquids and powders. On the stone circle in the center is a yellow sticker, clearly of greatly more modern origin, with a black-outlined triangle with an exclamation point in it, and the text "Danger Wild Animals."
>>176782The little pony is feeling awkward and conflicted
"Well, I mean... It
is important to me. That's my first time out here in the south. Well, it will be. I mean, aside from the lands around Stableside. It's my first time in the Tenochtichlan Bason. Or will be. It's what I've studied the most."
>>176783[1d20 = 3] >>176785"Uh...hello?"
Kira knocks again, hoping she's not being rude.
>>176784"It will not be your only chance to explore here. This place is part of world, after all, and how can we have world-spanning adventures together if we never explore here, as well? And when we do explore here, it will be under far better circumstances than you being forced out here by your university, and with far better company...that company being me, in this case, if it was not clear."
>>176784>On the counter are empty flasks. On the shelves are flasks, jars, and viles. Sometimes they are broken, sometimes they are empty, and sometimes they are filled with things like mercury, pyrite, salts, and unidentified liquids and powders."Looks like an alchemist lab, or what's left of one..."
>a stone circle that rises up about two feet and forms a rim of something like a well>"Danger Wild Animals."Posey suspects this might be the source of the hissing.
"Looks like a breeding pit for fodder subjects; Curwhinny was a shrewd mage. Whatever living thing could have survived all this time though? Perhaps whatever was kept here already turned long ago." Posey says quietly, quite curious, but still cautious (signs exist for a reason)
Posey curiously peeks into the well, levitating gloomy Gloomy well away from whatever monster might jump out to snatch him.
>>176789Poorly defined, black and white, Posey can see a grey face with sunken milky eyes looking back up to her on top of a naked equine face with plastic-like grey skin that's tight to the body. It then leaps upwards, hitting the edge of the iron grate, and slightly rattling it.
>>176787Roll Die>>176788"Heh, well..." She taps her hooves together, if Silver isn't still holding her hoof.
>>176790When Pear taps her hooves together, Silver takes the opportunity to grab them from above and below with his own forehooves, as he looks right into Pear's eyes. Or, at least, he hopes those are her eyes, it's a little hard to see in the darkness.
"What say you, Pear Faucet? Will you not be my partner?"
>>176790>grey face with sunken milky eyes looking back up to her on top of a naked equine face with plastic-like grey skin that's tight to the bodyPosey tries to identify this creature, particularly if it's undead (taking 10 on Religion for 21)
>equine face"Hello." Posey greets with a wave of her hoof, a bit mockingly
"Do you speak? I might be persuaded to let you out of there, if you're convincing."
>>176793"Ack!" It jumps up again, this time just barely missing the grate. Posey can see that actually, there is a second one in there. They appear to be undead, likely a permutation of ghast, albeit certainly a different variety from what Posey has seen before.
>>176791"I'll-" She looks down. "I" She looks back up. "I'll think about it. It's uh, it's a lot to think about."
>>176792No response.
>>176794Kira scrunches, and figures that the mare went to sleep. She doesn't want to make her upset by waking her up from her slumber, so she decides she'll check again in the morning when the mare is awake. She returns to their home, defeated.
>>176794"Heh, I suppose that is not no. You are extremely intelligent mare, though. I know when you think it through, you will come to right conclusion." He lets go of her forehooves. "Ready to continue search? That sarcophagus must be somewhere in here."
>>176779Amber tracks him as he goes with her heavily insulated head. What could they be saying that wouldn't be for a filly's ears? Too interested now, Amber sneaks behind the pile of logs to overhear their conversation.
>>176795Poor Kira... Hopefully she can disguise herself well enough in broad daylight.
When Kira opens the door, she can see that Neela is eating corn directly out of a carton with many little nibbles.
nibble nibble nibble>>176796"Heh heh... sure" She says, with an awkward smile
>>176794>They appear to be undead, likely a permutation of ghast, albeit certainly a different variety from what Posey has seen before"An aberrant ghast... Maybe an abyssal ghoul...?! No, such a monster couldn't possibly be trapped this easily." Posey says to herself
Posey suspects that this is a ghast that has gone completely feral (and thus nonverbal) as a result of going to long without feeding. She sees this as a potential asset
Posey gives a shrug
"Not feeling so talkative, I see. I guess it would be professional to force you to kill yourself right here and now, but.. your presence does lower the value of this property, so until next time, cagie." Posey says, walking away from the well.
She searches the remains of the alchemist lab for anything of value still here. If she finds nothing worth taking, she leaves and sets off in the other direction down the hall.
>>176798Silver resumes the search! There are still a couple of places to explore like the room underneath the well up top or the other side of this floor of the catacombs. It's also possible they overlooked something in the downstairs section.
"Have you figured out what all of this was built for in first place? It seems so...expansive, to be dug out by Curwhinny."
>>176798Kira giggles some more at the sight. "Wow, I guess you were hungry. How's the corn?"
>>176800"Storage of some kind for sure. Possibly it was for hiding items from Customs. Maybe it was for gunpowder, or aging wine... although the shape of the rooms isn't quite ideal for that. Curwhinny was a business magnate whose ships went to the far side of the earth. You should see his mansion on the waterfront in old town."
Roll Search>>176799The jars and flasks contain the aforementioned pyrite, mercury, and unidentified salts.
>>176802"I can not imagine how much money he must have made to maintain all of this research. How much does it even cost to import entire living mummy and its sarcophagus?"
[1d20 = 3] >>176803Kira giggles some more, and puts the tea set in the kitchen.
"Well, I'm fairly certain she's asleep. Makes sense, she's definitely on the older side. Well, she looked like it, I don't know how long ponies live for. But regardless of species old age always comes with a propensity for sleeping. I'll try again in the morning."
>>176802>unidentified saltsPosey looks closer at this, but if it's not anything special, she leaves down the hallway.
>>176804"When you already own a ship that's going to Maregypt, not all that much. Well, I mean, many mummies have been brought into Equestria and Griffonia."
Silver does not find the sarcophagus
"But yeah... point taken. His hobby must have been
very expensive..."
Roll Listen>>176805"Yeah, they live to be... uh... well pretty old." She moves her muzzle out of the box and looks over towards Kira. "What are our neighbors like, anyways?"
>>176806It may very well be. Hard to say.
Roll listen >>176807"Well I've only met the one so far. She seems nice! Though, I'm curious what she has against...'bats', she said? I mean, I don't think I look like a bat..."
>>176807"Well yes, but those are brought in for museums and like. This was living, animated mummy that he just kept in his laboratory. How much would it cost to slip that past customs?"
[1d20+3 = (18+3) = 21] >>176808"Ugh! Bats! One more menace to look out for at night."
She looks over
"You sort of do, just a little. You have snake-eyes. Bats have snake-eyes. You've also got fangs, well uh, sometimes you've got fangs. You have fangs right? No no, I don't want to see. Just asking. I just thought I saw fangs. But you've got fangs, you've got snake-eyes, and you've got those tufts on your ears. You kind of look like a bat if all you see is your uh, upper half."
>>176809"I don't know. He'd have the ship's crew on his payroll... very possibly the custom's agents, too. Paying customs at this time wasn't exactly popular. There was an established smuggling trade."
>>176809Silver hears a mare talking down the hall.
>>176810"But what's wrong about the...bat ponies? That's what they're called, right? Aren't they still ponies?"
>>176811>>176810Silver stops Pear physically with a hoof while shushing her.
"Hold up...I heard mare. There is not another member of your team I have not met yet, right?"
>>176807>Roll listenRolling to Listen to the salt
[1d20+3 = (12+3) = 15] >>176812"They stay up at night. They may rob you or burgle you, and just generally, they are more aware in the night than you are. They and they kind of do their own thing, apart from the other ponies."
>>176814A sound almost like a conch in the ocean, with a sort of sucking, and possibly... moaning? Whispers? Oh wait. Posey can hear a mare and a stallion talking to each other.
>>176813"I think you might have met them all. Maybe Mr. Loans is down here." Her eyes go wide, and her ears twitch. "But I think that's a mare..."
>>176815Move Silently: Silver whispers to Pear, "Stay behind me," as he attempts to move quietly towards the source of the voice.
[1d20+4 = (1+4) = 5] >>176816Silver proceeds forward and
Umph! Silver trips over a cobble stone in the floor that's at a bit of an odd angle. Her falls to the floor.
>>176814Posey hears something fall to the floor.
>>176815"Okay, I can get the being aware in the night. But why do they do their own thing? It's disappointing to hear that ponies don't really apply the principles of Harmony towards other creatures, but...not even their own kind?"
>>176817Silver swears under his breath, hoping nopony heard that as he stands back up and resumes making his way towards the voice.