Continuing, and hopefully introducing new characters.
And on the wrong damn post number
1713 replies and 84 files omitted.
>>177831Heating is nice, and not something Dust is used to.
He's much less used to the deer however, as he pauses for a moment to determine what she is.
>>177831"Well, maybe not. If documents that I found with fruit are anything to go by...I think it was fruit from Tree of Life. That is probably least unnatural thing in this world."
>>177832>>177830"Hello." The doe smiles at Defiant Dust and looks him up and down. She is a spotted deer, presumably from Hindia in Zebrica.
She looks at the wine
"Aquelian wine?" And after a pause
"Why would you get Aquelian wine..."
>>177834She slowly approaches him, and with her claw, starts to feel his fur.
>>177835His fur is just as soft as it looks, and is even softer than it was just this morning. Silver smiles at his griffon.
"It is still me, I promise you, just...well, younger. This is how I looked back in my prime, when I was about your age. I suppose it is now 'am your age', at least for moment. I do not know how long that fruit will last, or if being separated from tree that it grew on for hundreds of years has reduced its effectiveness at all and made effects temporary."
>>177835"Oh, well, I figured you would like it. You know, like a gift or a treat for you."
>>177836She looks at him, and rubs her claw through his fur
"Be thankful for today, knowing it will never last." She says, running her claw through his fur again. "It kind of puts emphasis on that, doesn't it?"
>>177837Neela stares at the bottle, then picks it up and examines it
>>177838As Neela does so, Kira goes upstairs to grab her equipment. She comes down wearing her studded leather armor, with her bow, arrows, and spear in her possession.
"So, did the maintenance pony come by? Did you two...you know?"
>>177838"I suppose it does." He continues to smile at his griffon, as she keeps playing with his new younger chest fluff. "As for 'today' today, I was stopped by pony from Customs. It appears they need help with another mission, and my reputation after Hoebuck has grown quite bit. I do not know how long it will be, they said there is plane involved, but when I get back I would like to experience being young again with you all."
>>177839She's all dressed up now
Neela, simply turning her body, smiles gleefully
>>177840"You're leaving?" she asks
>>177841Silver nods. "To go on whatever this mission is. They are sparse with details. Something to do with Navy, up in Trottingham. Good money, apparently. Enough money perhaps to get expansion built onto this house, get bedrooms added for Clip, Mint, and Orchid. And enough money left over to have some fun with."
>>177841"Hehe, it looks like you two did! Nice job!" Kira smiles at her deer friend. "Okay, me and Dust are going to go look for that job opportunity. I'm guessing you'd rather stay here and enjoy your bottles of wine while listening to the radio?"
>>177842"Trottingham? That far away?" After a pause
"Come back, will you?"
>>177843"Job opportunity?"
She sits down
"Sure, I can stay here."
>>177844"Alright. Be careful if you head out, don't get into any unnecessary trouble or draw attention to yourself, especially from the law. I know you're smart enough to not do that, but I'm just making sure. Oh, and here's some spending money in case you need anything." Kira gives Neela 100 Bits. "I'll be back, okay?"
>>177844"You know I will. No way I could stay away from you." Silver rubs the end of his snout against Jubilosa's beak before kissing her.
The faint 'clink' a teacup and a slight ruffling of pages are the only sounds accompanying the strange bat in the Customs office. His hooves are wrapped gently around a book titled "Metaphysica", penned by Aristrotle, and he seems quite content to wait (while secretly glad that this isn't realtime).
>>177835Dust nods at the deer, obviously surprised at the number of Zebrica natives that are present in this town.
>>177832Dust makes his way over to the couch, and places his cargo besides it as he takes a seat while he watches the lamia and deer interact.
Sorry, conked out >>177848Hey, no need to apologize! I know ponies gotta sleep sometime.Kira takes the opportunity to get a closer look at Dust's cargo. "Are you a warrior of some type?"
>>177814>"You don't look like a fighter"Posey at this point as taken out a comb and has been attending to Gloomy's mane, along with her own.
"Does any mage look like a fighter? The most powerful unicorns are indistinguishable from your average pony, it they're wise that is." She says
>The Monkey's Paw CurlsIf that's what it takes to get to lvl 7, then so be it.
>>177816I'm back now.
>>177831>"Is that not a little unnatural?""Of course it is, it's magic afterall." Posey says, announcing her presence as she enters with a toss of her mane and a whirl of her cape, her golden eyes blazing with enchantment. She has donned her chain shirr armor and her traditional spined dastana bracers, her sword as her side and her new polearm crackling with electricity.
Gloomy makes a similar gesture as he walks behind her, albeit less impressively. He brandishes his crayola crayon in his mouth.
>>177851>>177844>>177846Silver breaks his kiss with his griffon short as he's interrupted by the armored mare. "Ah, right, this here is Rosey Ring and her son, Gloomy. I met her earlier at catacombs, and she is coming along on job. Rosey, Gloomy, this is Jubilosa and Paper Clipping." He motions to the griffon and young stallion, respectively. "I am just saying my goodbyes, letting them know about situation before I go to get my equipment."
>>177848"So uh... who are you?" the doe asks, staring at the Zebra. She's brown in color with many white spots. She's not very large, but probably around average for what she is.
>>177846"Hehe" She nuzzles him back, and then kisses him, placing her claws around his shoulders in a hugging embrace.
>>177851>>177852If Posey goes inside, she would see that there is a staircase going up to the right, and behind it, objects like a couch and a table in a living room, going on in an open floor pattern to windows and a door on the other side. There is a white wall with some items and a door to the left. Silver Sword is hugging a dark brown griffin female and even kissing her. There is a kind of small ecru colored unicorn stallion behind the two with a red mane, looking on.
After Posey speaks and Silver speaks, the Griffin says, in an irritated voice
"Oh
of course you went out and found some young, unicorn mare.
And brought her home."
>>177851The house, before Posey enters - if she enters - is a beach house, with two floors that is raised on stilts on a kind of grassy and sandy patch immediately next to the ocean, on the peninsula north of Horseshoe Bay. It is white in color and timber framed, with a wooden staircase leading up to the front door.
>>177851The gnoll tilts his head and says
"I can't say I have seen many mages at all. There was this one pony who did magic... I guess he didn't look like a fighter either." He leans over to Posey, and starts to sniff her.
>>177854Silver scrunches at Jubilosa, but it feels more like it's being directed at the unicorn.
"It is nothing like that, I promise you." He whispers in his griffon's ear.
"To be honest with you, she is kind of...weird. She just popped up out of nowhere in catacombs wearing chain armor and wielding sword with her son floating on some kind of magic disk, saying she was investigating local haunt. She says she is Necrologist from local university, as well as being 'Warmagus', whatever that is." >>177854>Griffin says, in an irritated voiceSeethe, Jewbird. You kind will be eradicated.
>if she entersShe's been invited, so she doesn't hesitate.
>sniff herPosey smells like roses and moonlight, but beneath her pleasant aroma that is a very subtle, near undetectable trace of blood, plague charnel miasma: the scent of death itself. It's so subtle that only a Gnoll or another creature capable of taking scent as a feat might notice it.
(Posey has the Unnatural Aura trait; animals don't like her)
Rosey Ring looks around the house
"I'm a very busy mare, so let us talk business now, shall we?"
>>177856>Silver scrunches at Jubilosa, but it feels more like it's being directed at the unicorn.Oh no, it's directed at Silver
She listens in to Silver
"Oh... I see... I would ask where you meet these people, but apparently the answer is 'The catacombs'. Mala said you were dropping off the car around there?" She moves her beak together and head upwards as she says the first part, and sounds concerned but mostly calmed down.
>>177857>Seethe, Jewbird. You kind will be eradicated.>If she's been invitedI don't think she has been, but there's a landing from which Posey can stand and look through an open door.
>>177857The gnoll takes an unmistakable interest in Posey's scent. He continues to sniff her, sometimes bringing his nose close to Posey, until she either forces him to stop, or they reach the house.
>>177858>>177857"Yes, just for moment while I am gone. It will be back soon." Silver nuzzles his griffon a bit more. "I love you, Jubee. I will be back before you know it." Looking back at Rosey, Silver replies. "All I need to do is grab couple of things from upstairs and then I am ready. Will not take more than minute."
Silver goes upstairs alone, disappearing into a room that must be his bedroom before coming back out and downstairs in genuinely about a minute. This time he has a bundle of firearms with him, including from what can be seen a bolt-action rifle with a bayonet, and a pump-action shotgun. "Okay, I am ready."
>>177858>I don't think she has beenOh
>The gnoll takes an unmistakable interest in Posey's scent. He continues to sniff her, sometimes bringing his nose close to Posey, until she either forces him to stop, or they reach the house.Posey stops at the door, and turns to look up at the gnoll
"May I come in?"
>>177859The griffu closes her eyes and nuzzles him back
"But do come back to me, will you?"
Mala comes inside.
"I got the pistol and the sword. What else should we get?" He asks, and he himself walks upstairs.
>>177860The gnoll looks down
"Well it's Silver's house. I think he'd be okay with it?"
>>177861Posey seems to believe that this is good enough to overcome her psychological phobia, and she enters the building after the Gnoll.
>>177861"Weapons, ammo, medical supplies. Anything that would be useful for fighting."
>>177859"Who is the client for this operation?"
>>177864"Navy, up in Trottingham. Apparently they reached out to Customs all way down here in Baltimare because of Hoebuck."
>>177862Inside, both the gnoll and Silver have gone upstairs, but the griffin and the unicorn remain downstairs
>>177863Mala:
"I have your greatsword, my scimitar, the dagger, and that pistol from yesterday. Uh, anything else?"
>>177866"I think that will do us."
>>177867"Do you have your armor? And that new sword?"
>>177865"Have you already negotiated compensation?"
>>177870"Well, we have not yet actually
arrived at Customs to negotiate compensation. We need to get back on truck and travel all way over to there."
He looks around hopefully, but Ms. Skies hasnt returned swith her supervisor, so he resigns himself to more of Aristrotle.
Paltry, in comparison to diogponies (diogenes xp) , but worth the read if only for context.
>>177850"A warrior I am truly not
For destiny tied me a different knot
Although I fight to keep the peace
I am ultimately cut from a shaman's fleece.'
>>177854Dust turns towards the inquistive deer, still surprised to see her
"My name is Defiant Dust
I am not intruding too much I trust.
But meeting your friend, a creature of legend
Has left my out of place feelings much lessened."
>>177871"Very well then."
Rosey Ring turns to leave the house, towing her colt behind her.
It would be at this point that her cutie mark is visible for the first time: a dark sun in a white sky
(kudos to anyone who gets the reference)As she leaves, her horn begins fastening her hair into a sort of war bun, with a casual air that suggests she's done it enough times to easily do so without a mirror. She begins tying her tail similarly.
>>177874"Oh of
course" the doe rolls her eyes. "Everyone likes the Nagini...
>>177873A green stallion returns
"Yes?" He says
>>177875Is this white sky distinct from her white coat?
Googled it. Oh God >>177876>Is this white sky distinct from her white coat?No, her coat is the sky. Her cost is snow white.
>>177875>>177876Silver addresses his griffon and the young ecru stallion with a "Look after the house while I'm gone" and a wave goodbye, before joining the snow white mare outside alongside his gnoll friend. He looks back at Gloomy again. "Do you need foalsitter for him? It sounds like we are going into combat zone. It is definitely not place for colt."
>>177874"Ooooo, shaman! A place in a tribe that commands wisdom and much respect! I'm a hunter for my tribe, myself. Oh, I'm ready to leave if you are."
>>177877>>177878The gnoll likewise tilts his head
"You're taking the colt?"
>>177876He seems a little surprised by her reaction, but brushes it off as the two seem to have a history
>>177879Dust nods and grabs his roll that seems to be armor and weapons. He hesitates for a moment, but ultimately decides to grab his other packs as well, just to make sure he doesn't over stay his welcome.
>>177880"Well, I was considering it. It depends how long the mission will take. I could summon my foalsitter, but I figured he could use the experience. My master started me even younger."
>>177878"Hmmm." Rosey Ring seems torn
"What do you say, Gloomy?"
Morale Check to see if Gloomy is insane enough yet to indulge Rosey Ring's bloodthirst (until I can gain the mentor feat, I cannot control this NPC)
[1d20 = 19] >>177881"You can leave your things here." The deer says. "They are safe with me."
>>177882The gnoll
"I wish my mom taught me such things when I was your age. Mostly she just drank and yelled at me."
Griffin:
"I can look after him. It's alright. We've got a nice place and several colts just a little older than him here."
>>177881>>177883Hmmm. Perhaps, Kira wonders to himself, this zebra needs a place to stay. She'll have to think on that, as they get to know each other better. She does look at the deer in such a fashion to try to communicate to her not to mess with Dust's belongings, if he does leave them here in the apartment.
"Have fun!" She waves goodbye to the deer, and slithers out the door, presumably alongside the zebra as they travel towards Customs together.