1039 replies and 98 files omitted.
>>180230Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, Something, Nothing.
Wait a minute. There's something in one of the barrels at the bottom.
>>180231Kira grimaces, before bringing up her tail, and sticking the end of it into the barrel of gross fat/oil.
Kira: "Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...grossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgross..."
She does
not like how the substance feels on her tail.
She wastes no time feeling around for where she thought she felt the object. She looks like she could get sick before with an "aha!" she grasps the object with her tail and pulls it out.
>>180227>"Do you know about these sort of spirits? What can you tell us about them?"That's a good question.
Religion check
[1d20+11 = (7+11) = 18]>>180228"Leviathans live for centuries and are known to swallow treasures of power. The idea of Sørvik coming into contact with an unknown artifact isn't far fetched."
>>180231Posey helps with the search by using her unseen servant and horn to sweep the bottom and pull out whatever's inside.
>>180232Or not
>>180233Oh, I would also like to know Arcana, to see if I would know anything about such a crown.
[1d20+11 = (15+11) = 26] >>179000How much time has passed in the game since the red one's disappearance?
>>180232I was going to suggest just pouring out the rendered fat on the ground... but sure, that would work. Eventually. Once you've pushed it up against the side of the barrel and can fish it out.
It's a necklace, with pearls and a seashell
>>180235Cavaliere? He's still there. I think
>>180233What is the religion check on?
>>180234The specific crown is hard to say, as the exact culture it originated from is hard to say. But it isn't hard to imagine one being deliberately designed as a conduit of magic.
>>180233Silver: "I do not doubt that it was swallowed on accident by whale or 'leviathan' they hunted, and they found it as they carved whale up for meat and fat. I am just saying that curse that could be placed on it is likely just curse of madness, rather than anything like spirits taking over his body. I have heard of cursed objects like that before, whispering dark things into mind of those unfortunate enough to wear or wield them, like Helm of Shadows."
>>180235Does the red one you mention have "Star" in his name by any chance?
>>180237Silver: "Why did you not just pour out barrel to retrieve that? Or ask one of us to fish it out with our magic."
Kira sits there, with a tail covered in muck and holding a similarly mucky necklace, staring at him like a deer in headlights. "...I'm so dumb...can you get me a towel or something, please? I don't trust the water near that boat, what with all of the oil in the water."
Silver looks around for a towel, giving it to the poor lamia. She uses it to wipe up first herself, then her spear, then the necklace. Once it's clean, she inspects it closer.
>>180232"You don't need to do that, Kira. Let me help you." Posey says, as she reaches into the barrel with her magic.
>What is the religion check on?What Posey knows about the relevant sea spirits that Cavalier asked about.
>It's a necklace, with pearls and a seashell"Ooh, more jewelry!" Posey says
"..... That's the second piece of hidden jewelry in a row... Someone didn't want to share, but also didn't come back to claim it." Posey observes.
>>180237Gonna roll another Arcana check, to see if this necklace could be magical
[1d20+11 = (13+11) = 24] >>180241Very possibly. It looks to be of hippogriff design.
>>180240Are you asking about the lion on the other necklace?
>>180239Mala starts licking Kira's tail.
>The necklaceFour pearls, and a shell in the center on a thin, presumably silver necklace. The silver is not in good condition, and is corroded.
>>180242I thought I already asked about the lion and the answer was no.
As the licensed curse-checker, I will take the liberty of briefly placing the necklace on my neck to see if there's any magical power, before putting it in the plot bag.
>silverPosey cringes before she does this...
>>180242Kira: "Awww. I don't think being in this barrel has done this necklace much good..."
Silver: "Silver is not so hard to restore. With some hot water, baking soda, and polishing, we can make it as good as new."
Kira giggles at the feeling of Mala's licking. "T-that tickles!"
>>180243Not so fast, I believe Kira would like to try it on first. She
did go to the trouble of fishing it out of the barrel (even though she didn't have to).
>>180243poofIf it's magic, whatever it does is not immediately apparent
>>180244Okay. You risk the necklace of strangulation. Not like you need to breathe :3
>>180245Posey levitates it back to Kira.
>>180246>>180245Kira tries on the necklace, wishing she had a mirror with which to look in at the moment.
>>180235Although if you're talking about a certain
yellow pony... I don't believe he's formally disappeared
>>180247Kira suspects she may be pretty as a hippogriff. Or a seapony.
Anyways, it isn't clear what, if anything it does. Except look pretty. That, it does respectably well. Besides the corrosion. But it's a very pretty shell. It's easy to see why it was chosen for a necklace.
"It doesn't look like there's anything left hidden in this building. Whoever was hiding these treasures knew better than to put all their eggs in one basket. Let's search the remaining structures before we check the pier. With any luck, our colts will be sheltering in one one them."
Posey makes for the door.
>>180247Cavaliere looks over at the snakepony.
"It looks good on you, but we must find either those griffons or the ponies. There's not much daylight left."He follows Posey, moving past her to the next structure and opening the door for her.
>>180248>>180250>Kira suspects she may be pretty as a hippogriff. Or a seapony.Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
Kira: "I'd like to at least wear this out, if you guys didn't mind! I think it looks pretty!"
Silver: "That it does. If you change your mind later, we can always add it to look pile."
>>180249>>180250Silver and Kira follow Posey, though Silver has his doubts that the Navy ponies would have made for this location. Still, exploring is nice. It brings him back to his days as a young novice adventurer.
>>180251"Go ahead and wear it. We'll divide it later."
>agreeing with yourself in-character for why you should have treaure
Beyond these structures are another two sets of whale bones in the ground, though these are much smaller than the leviathan bones from before
>>180251>>180250>>180249The penultimate structure is smaller wooden structure with a closed wooden shutter over a window
Opening it up, it is an outhouse
Yes, it has been used recently
>>180253Alright. Who's going to crawl into the outhouse to find the ultimate treasure stashed at the bottom?
>>180252scroonchI can't just not have them interact with each other. Besides, I have business plans for them.>>180253>>180254Kira: "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! I am
not sticking my tail in that, even if it has that crown inside!"
>>180253Cavaliere inspects the bones. Are they juvenile whales?
>>180254You have an unseen
slave servant.
>>180255Silver's nominal cohort looks up at him
>>180256Roll! Oh, wait, I could probably just use my Unseen Servant to get it.
>>180256Beat me to it.
Magic is nifty.
Posey uses her unseen servant to check the bottom of the outhouse.
>>180257Silver pets Mala. "Do not worry, I am not going to ask you to check outhouse. I will not ask you to do anything I would not do."
>>180257I guess I'll roll wisdom?
[1d20+3 = (11+3) = 14] >>180257This is a roll for a bone-fanatic
[1d20+5 = (13+5) = 18] >>180253Posey uses her unseen servant to check for treasure at the bottom of the outhouse.
I will have to sleep soon
>>180259Mala tilts his head
"What?"
>>180260No, adults of a much smaller species.
>>180261Probably Minke whale
>>180262At the bottom is....
An empty bottle, and a pistol
>>180264Silver: "Oh, I thought...nevermind. Just happy to have you here."
pet pet pet >>180264A masterwork, +1, splitting, explosive pistol?
>>180265Mala is pet pet pet>>180266No, but it is covered in shit.
>>180264>No, adults of a much smaller species."These were either killed separately, or the leviathan was defending the whale pod."
>>180267The unseen servant drops the pistol on the ground.
"Well, that is the last structure. The only thing left in sight is the pier, and the cliff. Let us check the ship first."
I must slumber
>>180268>Last StructureNo. There is another
>>180269But you can go to the boat instead
>>180270Let's save the boat for last, and go to the last standing structure.
>>180270Let's check the last structure before the board. I expect combat on the boat.
Let"a search it quick. My strength wanes.
>>180272>>180271This one definitely has no windows. It's bigger than the last.
The door is thick and does not open easily.
Inside...
Are big blocks of meat, blocks of ice, and in the fore, a box that has blood, coagulated but still mostly liquid pulled on top of it, beneath it, and in a trail to the door.
>>180273Cavaliere opens the box, bracing himself for what he might find.
>>180273>big blocks of meat"Food was left behind. Now we know for sure that the griffons didn't leave out of hunger."
>and in a trail to the doorLet's follow that trail and see if there's anything interesting in this room.
Search
[1d20+5 = (1+5) = 6] Okay, gonna sleep now. Somepony else can roll to find clues and treasure.
>>180275Posey slips on a set of blood near the door, and falls
>>180274Inside of the box is...
Two bags of salt. Curative salt. One bag has been opened and is mostly empty. There may have been a third.
>>180278Cavaliere scoops up some of the salt with a claw.
"It's salt. But perhaps we're closer to an answer." Should I get involved or should we wait for Posey's player to get back online?
>>179629Amber's curiosity gets the better of her.
"How many spells do you know? I know unicorns are the best at magic of all the creatures in the world, save for the Princesses themselves. I haven't seen that much magic here in Baltimare though, which has me curious." >>180281"What?" She looks down in evident surprise, and then back up and towards Amber, and briefly lifts her right hoof.
"Well, what would you call a 'spell'? Is mending a tear in a jacket a spell, or simply a particular exertion of telekenesis? And what of the ability to simply look at a young mare, and recognize what would work best on her when she visits the mountains, or her aunt and uncle in Dodge Junction, or what she wears to the school dance with the colt that asked her? Is that a 'spell'? Well, it's a, it's a knowledge more than anything. A kind of insight you need both talent and experience to execute properly."
>>180280See
>>180277 >>180282She blinks as she mulls High Sewn's explanation over, and ends up looking more confused than before.
"I never thought of it that way. I've read about magic in stories, but I ain't got a clue of what it really is. Is it really just experience and insight like any other task?" >>180283With a small smile
"Well, what is magic, anyways? With enough practice, maybe you could have it one day, too." She frowns looking at Amber
"Even though that jacket of yours says otherwise..." She lifts a hoof to her chin, staring at Amber inquisitively
"Hmmmm... Perhaps I should recommend some reading for you to do, to see if that helps."
>>180284The younger mare perks up at High Sewn's encouragement.
"I'd love to do some reading, but what about? And where would I find the books? I met this older mare who's in a sort of reading club, maybe I could join that…what sort of books do you like to read?" >>180285"There's magazines on the latest designs in Manehattan and Canterlot. Even Aquelia and Aris, though those are a bit less... communicative, nowadays. Books on the industry, the history of the industry, and especially on the materials themselves. Honestly, even reading a field manual on Army uniforms would do you some good.
As for me." She moves back as if leaning "I
do like to do a quite a bit of reading. Tales of Romance, stories of love lost, and spy thrillers... And I like to delve a bit into" staring into Amber's eyes and with a smug smile, as if confident that simply uttering the name of the following esoteric field of black magic would give her power
"Economics."
>>180286Amber wags her tail as she grins.
"Oh, oh, so do I! I love old stories about adventure and romance, and I've read a few of the newer ones about spies," she replies, tactfully refraining from mentioning how her coltfriend's mother disapproves of such stories and has likely kept them from him.
Her smile falters into a more awkward expression with the mention of the dismal field.
"I don't know much about economics, aside from knowing how to account for my own money and how to save and invest. I mean, it sounds like I ain't doin' a good job of it now with my current situation, but it'll get better…but you probably learn all about economics from bein' a business owner." >>180289Hmmmmmmmmmm
Last I remember, he shot up some mobsters. But he didn't seem to want to tag along to kill some communists and rescue downed airmen.
Unless....
>>180290"Really?" She raises an eyebrow in an unrestrained expression of disbelief. But she does not linger on that.
"Well, you learn more about economics being a business owner than being a demogauge,
I can tell you that."
>>180292"Heh." She looks away. "Yes, I suppose I do. And oh no. It's
so much worse."
>>180294"Ugh. No, it's all too real. It means a creature who looks to rile up ignorant mobs with empty rhetoric to exert her own will. Take for instance this last Mayor - Blessedly I'm blanking on the name, though I doubt that will last much longer - that nonsensical pony they let come in after Ash. He had this scheme of regulations and taxes and-"
Amber may have realized that she made a mistake here. Like cracking open a dam.
>>180295Amber visibly does not like it when Sewn gets into a tizzy.
"Um, I'm sure I have a lot to learn about politics too, but I'd like to know more about what books you read. It's much more interesting and pleasant." >>180296High Sewn looks over at Amber and scrunches
"Oh sure, let's look to fantasy instead of what directly affects us. Anyways..." She repositions herself.
"Are you looking for specific recommendations? Or just my most recent read? I assume you're not talking about the 1013 New Mareland Army Corp Field Uniform Manual."
>>180297She taps her hooves together.
"Um, either? I ain't picky. I don't mind reading anything, even uniform manuals. I'd actually be curious as to how fashion is different for those foreign cultures you mentioned." >>180298"Oh, they have their own traditions. Aquelia has long been a tendsetter. Certainly more so in griffin spheres than here in Equestria, but it would be false to say that looking across the ocean to griffin styles is a recent phenomenon. Aris is newer on the world stage, but their styles are tried and tested. But that's a whole other subject. As for books... I suppose my most recent book has been
When the Apricot Blossums Fall, a sort of coming of age and romance set in Somland, at around about the turn of the millennium. Not the best, mind you, but I
do recommend it."
>>180299"That sounds intriguing, and it's a beautiful book title. How did you find it?"Rolling for knowledge about where Somland is:
[1d20+6 = (2+6) = 8] >>180300Amber could not find it on a map
"There's a bookstore I frequent. The mare there will give me recommendations. That's how I found that one, anyways. There are also reviewers in the magazine who read and recommend books in their monthly reviews."
>>180277>Nopony rolled>>180278>slipBalance check (watch me roll another 1)
[1d20+6 = (20+6) = 26]>saltCheck the bottom of the salt bags for treasure.
>>180280You didn't have to.
>>180303Bwahahaha! Slippery surfaces are no match for my vampony hooves.
>>180289I really liked him and the adorable romance he had with Blue Skies and I also really liked his interactions with Lunar Nadir. I hope we get to see them again soon.
>>180277>>180278Search: Kira gives searching the building her best shot, hopefully while finding more traction on the floor than Posey.
[1d20+5 = (1+5) = 6] >>180306Are all of the search rolls going to be 1s?
Cavalier, Dust, pls help us.
>>180303>>180304Posey is able to use her talent at spreading her legs to regain balance on the slipper floor.
>>180306The floor is oddly slippery; Kira simply slithers in place
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO2d90YedN0>>180306>>180303The floor appears to be covered in a thin layer of water that has frozen back over.
>>180307Yes.
>>180311>her talent at spreading her legsuwu
>Yes.I guess we could just spend several minutes here taking 20...
Posey helps Kira up.
>>180278Is there anything at the bottom of the bags?
Posey pokes around in the container of blood, looking for anything in it, and inspecting its quality.
>>180311>>180313Kira: "Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" The snej slithers and flails along uselessly, unable to get any traction on the icy floor. With a bit of help, Kira's able to be pulled back out of the building with Posey and Silver's help. She thanks both creatures for their help, but pouts and crosses her forelegs as she's unable to come inside to help with the search. Silver
is able to come inside, however. If Mala can come inside despite the icy floor, Silver looks over to his fellow fluffy friend.
Silver: "This may be weird question, but...can you tell what kind of creature blood came from through scent or some other manner? I will admit part of me is curious if blood belongs to all of this meat or...something else."
>>180319"Yes, I can, actually."
Posey smells the blood to determine it's origin, as she's stirring through it for hidden treasure.
Garv's player will not be available tonight. I think the same is true of Dust.>>180315Yes.
Salt. Curative salt.
>>180320Uh huh...
>>180319>Can Mala come inHe has paws that would give him better traction, but at the same time, let's see if the Nat 1 trend continues.
Mala
"I think... maybe... I can try"
[1d20 = 9] >>180321If they're not available, we should refrain from going to additional areas, lest they miss combat.
>>180322"Did you find anything, big guy?"
>>180324The location of encounters can change
>>180325>>180323>>180319Posey is a necrologist, but Mala is an evolved carrion eater. If anycreature can use the sense of smell to sniff out the subtle differences between blood and corpses, it's Mala
Mala:
"Griffin... I think."
>>180326Posey knows what griffon blood smells like. She had it just last week.
"Why would there be a container of griffon blood there? This isn't proper medical storage. It could only logically be for sacramental, or to be fed to some monster..." She appears confused, despite the comforting familiarity of the sight
"Something weird is going on. And something weirder is being planned. Whoever left this here did so for a reason."
>>180326Silver: "That is...oddly enough what my suspicious were going to be."
Kira, from outside: "They bled a griffon
dry!?!?!? Who would do such a thing!?"
Silver: "And more to point, who does it belong to?"
The blood appears coagulated, right? Could it be hiding something under the surface, such as was the case with the barrel of oil and the outhouse?
>>180328>Who would do such a thing"Vampires, ghoul merchants, cultists, demons, evil wizards, alchemists, the list goes on." Posey says
"The real question is why. For what purpose would they want this enough to store it here?"
Her gripe here polearm
"I have a hunch that whoever left it here might come back for it. Stay alert."
>>180329Kira, from outside: "Are you talking about
blood magic!? But that's, like, the most evil kind of magic there is! Who would be foolish or mad enough to think of trying it!? There's so heavy a price to be paid for using it!"
Silver: "Should we...dump it out? If it
is intended for something like blood magic, should we not deny them its use?"
>>180330"I'm more interested in seeing what they were thinking of doing."
>>180327Having an adequate number of receptors in the nasal cavity and brain to process food of smell isn't the same thing as familiarity... But nevermind that
>>180329>>180330>>180328>>180327Clarification:
The blood is not inside of a container. It is in two pools, which is to say, on top of, a wooden box/crate that was later found to contain bags of salt, and on the floor, next to the box, as well as in a smaller trail going to the door.
The amount of blood on the floor and on the crate is not as much as fits in a griffin, nor even necessarily fatal
The blood is coagulated, yes
>>180332Ohhhhhh, okay, that clears things up. Well, it's definitely a lot easier to dig through salt to see if it contains anything rather than a container of blood.
>>180332Oh
"Looks like a griffon was wounded in this room, and either limped their way out the door, or was dragged. Same as with the ice pick."
Are there footprints that could tell us more of the situation?
>>180333I thought we already checked the salt bags?
Anyway, I have to sleep. We can have the others roll checks to discover hidden compartments later.
>>180307Cavaliere indeed checks the salt bags and anywhere else that could be a hiding place.
[1d20+2 = (13+2) = 15]>>180313We don't have that much time.
>>180321I'm late but available now
>>180327"A griffon driven to the depths of madness can do many frightful things. So can one with a cold reason." >>180334If the blood left claw prints, it has since been disturbed by hooves, paws, claws, and especially the giant reptile. The blood looked undisturbed at first save for a claw print, but it's hard to say.
>>180336Inside the salt is only a piece of the bag evidently ripped off, and a single droplet of blood.
>>180339What about Nadir?
>>180337Oh, can Kira or Silver tell which direction the blood trail seems to be coming from?