/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>176870
"Uh... okay... I'll trust you on this... I will admit, I am curious

>>176869
"Probably not, but..." She shows her teeth in a strange smile. "Well, deer and ponies cannot. So I don't think ponies and nagas can."

>>176871
He breathes out. He definitely does not look pleased

"Yes. We are out of firewood" He says. "I need to go get some."

>>176866
>"Okay then, we could use your help with something, but you must swear to not tell another soul about it."
"I do have a report to write about this site.. but, all on-scene research is confidential." The mare replies
"What is it?"

>>176872
"I made sure to bring plenty on the sled," Amber insists, lowering her head slightly. "I don't think we have ever run out so fast before."

>>176874
"Oh." He says. His ears move back, then back up. "Well, you know, we share firewood with other ponies so... I have to help them. We work together for the good of the herd, you know."

>>176873
>>176872
"We are missing sarcophagus. Specifically, we are missing Curwhinny's sarcophagus. You say you were sent here by university, so I will assume you know who he was and why it is so worrisome that his sarcophagus is missing. We think one of other archaeologists moved it somewhere else in catacombs for later retrieval. We need your help in locating where it was stashed."

>>176872
"Well, maybe, but...Bright Dye did make a good point. I do look a lot like a pony, at least from this end. Maybe it would be enough of a similarity to allow...you know..." She taps her hooves together some more, before taking the end of her tail and rubbing it between them. "You know?"

>>176875
She looks back up at him, her eyes wide and pleading. "Shouldn't I come with you then? We could carry more firewood and I know the best spots to find it."

>>176876
"Hmmm, the Sarcophagus of Curwhinny himself? Well, if Curwhinny really is buried here, he was likely buried with all of his favorite items, as Necromancers do get possessive that way, possibly waiting for resurrection. He was a clever mage, so it's likely that he would have had his minions carry him into a secret chamber in his final hours, sealed away to watch over him until his final hours. Such a chamber should be behind a secret door, or possibly magically sealed up with conjured stone and only accessible breaking down the wall, or through a Passwall. It would likely be deep within the dungeon, with something guarding the area to fight off whoever might disturb him... Where did you say you fought an undead knight?"

I have to sleep soon.

>>176878
He looks down at the little pony, kneels to her, and places a hoof on her head, patting her mane.

"Little pony... I need to go out into the forest. I am going with Pakkasen Alla. To get it. It's not really work for a filly like you. Didn't you say you saw a moose in the forest earlier? Yes, I should not have let you go out alone earlier. Moose can be dangerous. And you saw how Makea almost froze... Ugh! No place for a filly."

>>176877
"No? I don't know." She tilts her head. "You want to... get pregnant by a pony? Or have... eggs, or whatever lamias do? Why would you even want that?"

>>176879
Alright duly noted.

Silver has a face that's difficult to place in the darkness of the catacombs. It suggests he's not exceptionally pleased with the answer given.

"Perhaps in other cases, yes, but not here. He was not buried willingly, but sealed by force in stone sarcophagus, costing many lives in process as invading force of militia ponies raided catacombs many years back. After I left, these archaeologists came in, and I discovered that it had been swapped out with one made of iron."

>>176880
"If I hadn't gone out with Jakala, Makea would have froze. If I kept all of us safe alone, shouldn't I be safe with you and Pakkasen Alla?" she insists. "You aren't going to attack the moose, are you?"

>>176882
He ruffles her mane, and Amber is soon blinded by her golden mane moving in front of her eyes.

"You did well, little pony. Don't worry. We've got this."

>>176880
"I dunno, if I found a nice pony like Free Rover and I wanted to give mom some grandchildren and he was okay with it..."

Kira continues to play with the end of her tail.

>>176884
She scrunches

"You really have the hots for that Customs buck, don't you?"

>>176883
pony is ruffled

"I go out into the forest more often than you do. Surely I can help? What if you lose your way?" she pleads as she struggles to reorder her mane.

>>176886
He scrunches

"Why don't you go play with your little friend, Jakala? I'll take you out cutting firewood once the weather improves."

>>176885
"...maybe..." Then, in an even quieter voice, "...he was nice..."

>>176881
>After I left, these archaeologists came in, and I discovered that it had been swapped out with one made of iron."
"Then what makes you think that it's still here in this dungeon?"
"Anyhow, if the Sarcophagus was created to seal him, it must be a magical item. If I come within range of it, I could detect it with my horn. A sarcophagus is big: there's only so many places they could have hidden it." She continues
"Or, we could just go aboveground and interrogate the archaeologists up there. It shouldn't take long."

>>176887
"The weather isn't too bad. I can carry some firewood and it'll mean what we have will last longer. You know I wouldn't get in the way!" Again, Amber's voice is that high-pitched pleading, muffled by her mask, and she looks vaguely distraught as she looks up at him.

>>176889
"That is exactly why we think it is still here in catacombs. It is big, it is heavy, and it would not be easy to move out of here without somepony noticing, especially as there is only one way out of here that could even be used for it. Both of other exits have stairs, and would you want to carry heavy stone sarcophagus up flight of stairs?

"We are hoping we can find it without confronting others, first. It would be too easy to deny accusations, then move sarcophagus out while nopony is looking. We are hoping we can avoid spooking them."

>>176888
"Nice?!" She scrunches and her ears go down

"You know... you said it pretty accurately a while ago, when you said there are predators and there are prey. That pony buck, and all of those with him, are predators. And they see us as prey, to be exploited as they please. That buck wasn't even afraid of you! Like... he wasn't even intimidated by you... Okay, I can see why you would want to have sex with him, but he's not nice!"

>>176890
Still kneeling and petting her

"Tell me, little Kultainen, why do you want to go?"

>>176891
"Well, we could search through every room and open every door. Once we do that, I could use my magic detection while strolling down the hallway."

Sleeping now

>>176892
Kira gives her a sad, but understanding look.

"I know, I know, it's just...I dunno, I got what you could just call a feeling from him. I don't know why he wasn't afraid of me, though, not even at first. You know his first reaction upon seeing me was to just go, 'It's just a little snake', and attempt to pick me up?"

>>176893
"That is possible. It is not so massive that it can not be done. Though, uh..." Silver looks behind Rosey at the colt still on the floating magic disk. "...will that...thing...make detecting magic more difficult? I assume it is magic and that is why it is flying."

>>176896
Under her breath,

"Of course he'd pick you up." Then normally, "That feeling is attraction. You've come upon maybe the first male that wasn't afraid of you, so your body responds by submitting to him. But that's all that feeling is. Attraction. That doesn't make him 'nice'. Being fearless isn't a sign of niceness. Quite the opposite, actually."

>>176896
>"...will that...thing...make detecting magic more difficult? I assume it is magic and that is why it is flying."
"I can easily distinguish between the magic of others and my own. Besides, if your story is true, this sarcophagus should be sealed with magic so powerful that it would easily eclipse any other auras."

>>176900
"Alright. Lead way, Rosey Ring."

>>176898
"...maybe I just need to get to know him better first..."

>>176903
"First I'll need to see every room in this dungeon. Once we've opened all of the doors, I can douse the hallways in a systemic fashion. Since you've been here before, you can show me."

>>176905
(Posey's Detect Magic spell functions as a 60 ft cone shaped emanation. Same goes for her Detect Undead spell. It should be able to douse an entire hallway.)

>>176907
Hmmmmmmm...well, there shouldn't be all that much left of the catacombs to search through manually.

>>176907
See, this is kind of why I wanted a map, it makes it a lot easier to understand how to search a dungeon, and avoid obvious limitations such as thick stone walls blocking lines of effect.
In any case, Posey wants to start by checking every (known) room in the dungeon, then she'll decide when and how to use her detection spells.

>>176892
The filly looks down. Dare she tell him what she knows? She's just a little filly and probably can't convince him, but he's her father! He's a good pony, but even a good pony will do anything if he's desperate….

Amber shivers in front of him as she stares into his eyes. "I know what you're going to do," she squeaks out, trying not to whimper. "Papa, I know what you're planning to do and you can't do it. You understand how wrong it all is. Killing him won't help your fears, and it won't keep us safe. You need to think of something else or we'll all be guilty because of it."

>>176907
>Has to contemplate if it’s too meta-games to explain why this course of action is extremely inadvisable
Is it the part about searching all of the rooms, or using a spell to detect magic?
The search comes first.

>>176909
See >>176763

Read that. Also note the presence of a well-like structure in the central room, and a stone platform in the chamber. Ask about a specific room for a more detailed description.

>>176909
I didn’t even think about how the stone and dirt walls would limit the effectiveness of Posey’s Detect Magic spell by 90%

>>176911
His face goes entirely pale and contorts in never-before-seen ways.

” Kultainen Hämärä.”

Taking his hoof, he wraps around Amber’s barrel, licking her up, or more likely, dragging her across the ground. He drags her away from the store, and towards a location he must think is private. This certainly scares the hell out of her.

He turns to her, and in a voice that is an attempt at a quiet shout says,

”Do you have any IDEA what is going to happen? There’s an inspector from the Central Council making the rounds to see if the villages are in compliance. He’s supposed to be here tomorrow. He’ll probably be here in five days, seven days tops. When he sees these sick ponies walking around, he’ll call in for medical doctors from Everfrost. And there will be an investigation. And he’ll hear all of these ponies talking about suns and seraphs and spirits and whatever. And do you have even the slightest idea how much trouble we are going to be in?!” He’s beyond exasperated. “No. You don’t get it. Kultainen. We’re not supposed to have those nice dresses, or talk about spirits. We’re not supposed to do anything like that. And Pakkasen, and Ukkonen, and I are in charge of the village, so far as the Central Council is concerned. It’s our job to keep the village in compliance. And when the Inspector sees this, and he hears this, it’s… You have no idea. I am in danger. You might be. Your brother might be. You definitely won’t be going to school, and he might be kicked out.”

>>176904
It’s probably possible for Neela to get scrunchier, but it isn’t clear how. She puffs up her cheeks.

“He told you to eat me!”

>>176914
>>176913
Well then.
Which rooms have we not seen so far?

>>176915
Kira sinks down further into her coils. "...I told them I wasn't going to. You know I'm not going to eat you, right?"

>>176903
"What floor did you say you found the false iron sarcophagus on? An iron sarcophagus is even heavier than a stone one: there are limited paths through which they could have carried it. It's likely that they carried the stone one on a nearby path, or carried it to another room on that floor. If they've taken interest in it enough for them to tamper with it, it's likely that they're interested in performing ongoing tests and examinations on the actual piece, which means it needs to be stowed in a location accessible to the archaeologists, somewhere they can travel in and out of to access the sarcophagus without drawing attention to themselves."

Posey pauses
"Tampering with the grave of a lich is serious business, as it could have wide-reaching consequences on the city. This for all intents and purposes counts as egregious mismanagement of dark magic, and the false sarcophagus is evidence by itself (a sarcophagus is, by definition, made of limestone). It's possible that I could convince Mr. Horizons to order a halt on all archaeological activities on the property and order the return of the sarcophagus to its proper location for security concerns: I don't expect them to comply, but if they try to make a break for it and smuggle out the sarcophagus we could set up an ambush for them as they come to retrieve it. Of course, that plan would make a scene that I might rather avoid..."

>>176918
>>176914
Silver points out the location of Curwhinny's final stand to Posey (which I imagine our gracious GM pone has more of a description of its location than I, the player, currently do.)

>>176919
First order of business would be to check for skid marks, and then the surrounding/lower floor.

>>176918
>I bet these grad students did want to carry that heavy ass stone up or down stairs. They probably kept it on the same level.
You finally understand me!

>>176916
Posey has explored one of the laboratories, the big room downstairs, and presumably, the storage rooms on the side downstairs and the downstairs hallways. They are currently in the central room that cuts across between hallways.

>>176921
Posey checks every room on the way to the place that Silver says the original sarcophagus once was.

>>176918
The small, yellow mare, previous identified as Dr. Faucet, speaks:

“Let me clarify what is going on here. There is a room behind the… well, I suppose it’s a bedroom - there’s a room behind that that was opened and contained a casket on a stone table. There’s this large inscription, I think it’s oin chalk but I haven’t examined it in detail - that claims the casket contains a lich and do not open it. Our leader, Peer Review, does not believe lichs exist - or to be a little more accurate, doesn’t think a mage calling themselves a lich can exist for two hundred and forty years without, well, food or a replenishing magic source. So he ordered it opened, probably to prove the point. But he tasked a grad student whom I’m pretty sure is only here to avoid the draft. So apparently he defied that order and switched out the caskets, hiding the original one. I think he thinks he’s not paid enough to open a casket marked ‘contains a lich’ to find out if it contains a lich or not. The compartment is on this floor. It’s behind the bedroom. We’ve already searched that room, the bedroom in front of it, the library, the smaller library, and the laboratories on the other side from where you came.”

>>176921
>grad students
Not only grad students, but commies too: they'll do as little manual labor as possible.

"The sarcophagus probably didn't move far. I would assume the archaeologists hid it somewhere near, perhaps in a closet, underneath a tarp or rug, or buried under some loose bricks and rubble. Keep an eye out for anything that could hide an object of that size. Once we hedge out possible locations on the floor, I can use my dousing to find any traces of magic related to the sarcophagus..."
She then pauses
>>176908
"... Say, what exactly did you intend to do with the sarcophagus when you found it?"

>>176924
"For starters? Making sure it has not been opened. Part of me is curious about couple of things, if he really did make final transition to becoming lich, or even if he was if I have managed to destroy him and put him to rest. I thought I found his phylactery and had it destroyed with help of Father Maren here in city, but there is chance that did not work or it was not actually his phylactery. Knowing for certain would put any worries to rest, but...would you want to open sarcophagus that had pony's possible final message of 'do not open, lich inside'?"

>>176923
>Our leader, Peer Review, does not believe lichs exist - or to be a little more accurate, doesn’t think a mage calling themselves a lich can exist for two hundred and forty years without, well, food or a replenishing magic source. So he ordered it opened, probably to prove the point.
Posey bursts out laughing at this.

I think this is the first time Posey has laughed. It's such a peculiar laugh, in her usual soft and beautiful singsong voice, but something about it is... ominously dreadful, malevolent, and borderline supernatural. It booms and reverberates far further than should be proper for a mare of her size, echoing over itself until it fades out all too slowly, like howling ghost in the distance backed by a chorus of kerning spirits. It lasts only a few seconds, but it lingers, refusing to die...

Even Gloomy, the sickly little Colt on the disk, seems spooked by this development, his eyes widening in surprise. It seems his mother doesn't laugh often.

Posey finishes her outburst with a cute gigglesnort.