1492 replies and 121 files omitted.
>>180165Mala shakes his head
"That's not how that works."
>>180164You wanna join in on the [-ransacking[/-] searching?
>>180165Kira: "Sounds good to me!"
>>180162Before they leave, Silver takes the one good spearhead, and checks the papers located inside the boxes.
>>180166"How would you prefer to do it?" Posey says
>>180167Posey helps herself to the bone spearheads
>>180167These are written up by a typewriter, and are in a foreign language
>>180168Mala backs down. Literally
>>180169"I thought so." Posey says, smugly
"You can hold on to that watch though." She says, as she leaves the building
Posey moves towards the other structure
>>180169>>180168Well, if the papers can't be read, then Silver attends to Mala with pets. "You are not so used to even shares or items freely given, are you? I noticed how you hid that pocket watch as if it was your most precious possession, my friend."
Kira: "I have a pocket watch, too!" Kira excitedly shows it to Mala.
>>180170And so the group follows Posey.
>>180171Mala:
"No. Usually when a subject was not completely looted by the zebras... or more often, when we were cutting up corpses, and there was a golden filling, or maybe they had swallowed some jewelry, it was about who got to it first. And even then, you had to hide it, or it would be taken from you."
Mala moves back at Kira's pocket watch, but then moves his head to look closer at it.
"I... I see... I've never had one before."
>>180170>>180171Please note the presence of two smaller structures. This one, however, is actually larger than the last, with a shorter ceiling, and no windows. Dark wooden walls. Door is closed
>>180172>it was about who got to it first. And even then, you had to hide it, or it would be taken from you"It was like that where I did my training too. We could do it that way, but since we need to ride the same transport home I would prefer waiting until we got back before we descend into barbarism." Posey says
"Where did that thief go, anyway? Did he fly off? Oh well."
>doorPosey awkwardly waits for someone else to open the door.
>>180172Kira is...a bit grossed out by the description of cutting up corpses, as she doesn't know much about the Hoebuck job and Mala's place in it, but she keeps showing Mala her pocket watch so he can look at it. "When I came to Baltimare, I went to a pawn shop to sell the gold and jewelry I brought from my homeland, and they let me have a pocket watch as a gift. It's pretty neat! I imagine you'll love yours as well!"
Silver: "I imagine you will. And no, there will be no fighting over loot, do not worry. If you see something useful, you can keep it, and rest of it will be gathered together, sold, and profits shared among all members of party. That is how adventurers such as us do it."
As for the door, Silver is more careful this go around, trying the doorknob and peaking through should it prove to be open, rather than just barging in.
>>180173"How do you... wait until you're home to do that?"
>>180174Mala says:
"You can't really change your mind on who has what..."
The door is closed. It is unlocked.
>>180175"We put it all in a bag, and then we fight over the stuff in the bag when we're done with the mission." Posey says
>>180175Kira: "I imagine it's all on an honor system? Like, trusting everypony else to do what you would do and contribute the loot and money to a sort of central pile. Trust and honesty is very important to Harmony!"
Silver peaks through the doorway to make sure there aren't any hostile entities on the other side.
>>180176Kira: "Oh, I can watch after the bag and make sure everyone gets their fair share! That way we don't have to fight over stuff!"
>>180177"Just put it on the disk." Posey says, gesturing to her magical disk
Posey peaks behind silver
Note that Posey has Darkvision
>>180176Mala:
"Oh."
>>180177>>180178It is indeed dark, and not easy to see into the whole structure with just a peak
>>180179Does it
appear to be safe though, at least from where they are?
>>180180Nothing jumps out at them.
Literally nothing jumps at them.
>>180181Posey has her unseen servant push the door open as she readies her weapon for anything that might jump out anyway.
>>180181Silver enters cautiously, clearing the way for the rest of the group.
>>180183>>180182Kerosene lamp on the wall, paper on the floor, and a big table with a giant knife - functionally a sword - laying on it.
>>180184Posey goes up and examines the sword.
A raised portion of the roof allows some light in.
What is blatantly visible without a deeper search is a set of boxes and barrels in the back, stains on the floor, another table besides the one with the knife/shortsword on it which has an open notebook, a rack of knives with most missing, a few tools against the wall, and kerosene lamps on the wall. There is also a stove.
>>180185Blade length of eight inches and a wooden handle that is four inches. It's a single sided blade that seems more for slicing than stabbing.
>>180186"Looks like a butcher shop." Posey says
None of the items look fancy/magical, right?
Search check to check for anything interesting
[1d20+5 = (17+5) = 22] >>180186The raised portion of the roof, what does it look like exactly?
Silver checks the fuel level of the lamps. Kira investigates the boxes and barrels to see what they contain/used to contain.
>>180192"The prior inhabitants left in a hurry. They didn't even take this necklace with them. If the lamps still have fuel in them, that supports this notion."
>>180186>a rack of knives with most missing"Somepony took some, but not all of the knives. It could be that they took them as weapons when a fight broke out, like that ice pick we saw earlier."
>open notebookPosey opens the notebook.
>>180195>Opens the open notebookI mean Posey picks up the open notebook and reads it, starting with the page it is open to.
>>180145"One might expect hunters to have different types of spearheads, but wouldn't they be of similar material? I can't see the practical reasons for this collection.">>180157should've put points into appraise to know the origin of the coins or bills"A family crest? Perhaps one of the griffons was nobility. We should hold onto that as a clue.">>180176"Our goal right now is to resolve a conflict, not to create a new one," he says in a dismissive tone.
>>180195>>180207Cavaliere also looks at it, expecting to find either a ledger or the same language as before.
>>180192>raised roofA physically overlapping gap in the roof, presumably to allow the movement of air, with rolls of wool that can come down. The rolls are tied up.
A couple of the lamps are empty, two are half full.
The barrels seem to have an animal product in them
>>180188>MagicalProbably not
The pallets and barrels, aside from the tools, notebook, and lamps, are presumably the most interesting thing. Well, maybe the stains on the floor, which may be blood or body fluids.
>>180209>SpearheadsOne of the heads is clearly the broken tip of a larger blade. One is visibly corroded white and green. Another is chipped, and one is in pretty good condition, having been hammered and shaped well, with barbs at the bottom. Unlike the steel head, these do not have long, metal shafts.
>coinsCavaliere doesn't need to be a numismatist to recognize the portrait of Grover V on half of the coins.
>>180211What's in the notebook?
We should probably check the bottom of the barrels, in case any treasure was stashed beneath the animal product.
Just put a stick in there and poke around.
>>180211What kind of animal product?
Are we doing stuff tonight?
>>180213The first note, in a familiar style
"My Dear Ingrid,
No boat has come by in more than a month. You haven't gotten any of these in a month. Maybe I'll give them to you in person when the ship comes around. We don't have enough new blubber or furs to justify a ship coming by anyways.
Nils says he knows why Sørvik had us stay. He says he heard Sørvik talking to himself. He says that Sørvik owes a lot of money to griffins he shouldn't. I can believe it. Both the debt and the talking to himself. He gets drunk and locks himself in his cabin at night. He'll wear that damned crown, even though it does not fit his head. Nils has had enough of him, as has Ingerstad. I have had enough of him. I have had enough of Ingerstad and Nils as well. There's no more protesting of who will do their duties, but there's always an air of resentment. I suspect Nils has been through my things again. I have nothing he wants, anyways, besides by share, and he's not getting that. I should have gone back in November with the others. Two more weeks of eating seal meat every day and we are done for good, and I am back to you, my dear Ingrid.
Lovingly, Johan Bøkli"
Hastily written,
"Sørvik has gone mad. He's put on that damned crown and started muttering. He's not just drunk. I've seen in glowing with light. Damn Seapony crown is cursed. I am making a run for the boat. I am leaving here if I have to pilot it myself, to Hel with the consequences."
>>180214Looks like rendered fat, or oil.
>>180223Posey raises an eyebrow at the last part.
"I said sea magic is not to be taken lightly. It looks like their foolish leader was cursed or possessed, by an artifact they didn't even know how to use, too blinded by greed to save themselves." Posey says
"We know where most of them went now.... It's not impossible that Sørvik, or what's left of him, might still be haunting here... Be on guard." She continues, holding her halberd close
She brandishes the necklace
"This could be be a lion, but does it not also look like an Anzu demon? Sørvik might've shared his body with something nasty, attracted by the power of the sea crown."
>>180225"If the cursed Sørvik is still here, it's plausible that the Marines have already run into him. We should be careful.
>>180226Cavaliere turns to Posey.
"Do you know about these sort of spirits? What can you tell us about them?" >>180223>>180226Silver: "It seems like this Sørvik found out what Johan was doing and sabotaged boat before attacking him. That is my guess, at least. It is possible there was also mutiny, judging from blood everywhere and missing knives. I am not so sure of Sørvik becoming cursed with anything but madness. It sounds little bit like what our new friend Sea Stone was being affected by, but that could also have just been hypothermia."
Kira takes her spear, and pokes around in the fat/oil looking for anything that might by interesting at Posey's insistence.
>>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."