In the far-off, northern island of Mended Horn, the party there has learned that they face an enemy they have dubbed "The Traveller." They have decided to go to an old, abandoned village there in hopes of rescuing some communist sailors.
In Baltimare, Dark Star tries to get things in order, while Virgin Flame looks for her old friend.
1177 replies and 65 files omitted.
>>186845For the moment, at least, it seems that Silver's plan to bargain with The Traveller has worked. No new summons have attacked.
Far off in the distance, however, is the sound of gunshots
>>186844It's in the bomb bay, should he look
She looks to him
"Sort of... Not really... Maybe, if we cannot leave."
>>186843"Oh, it's an interesting thing to study. But they couldn't want to kill us. Would they? Why would they want to silence us?"
[Read more] >>186847Yes.
But. There is a
nasty taint. Oil? Fuel?
>>186848Brie may may actually be the only one. Only Dust is outside. Well, Dust and the throng of griffins and ponies the other party members have drug along. Oh. And Mala. Mala is outside with Brie.
Mala looks up at Brie >>186846He's more focused on the ponies.
"Study? Did you know Dr. Evening Damp?" he questions.
>>186846Shrugging, Brie attempts to crouch. And make his way toward the sound of gunshots.
"Perhaps it'll be a right fellow such as myself, with the presence of mind to not....
He thinks to.himself. pist.at the ready. Move Silently ]1d20+15]
Oh ffs [1d20+15 = (2+15) = 17]
>>186850"Yes, he was with us on the ship in the forward cargo hold before we made a break for it."
>>186852Not his... best work, but Brie makes his way down the hill. He can't see the source because of the fog, but he hears the sound again.
>>186849Brie is being negligently nonvocal, but he clearly is expecting to shoot something in the vicinity
>>186846Silver: "As I said, they do not want world to know what it is they are attempting to study. You have seen what it does, what power it wields. If it gets out that Stalliongrad is studying it for their own ends, it will not look good for them. It would cause international incidents."
>>186854He does a whistling chirp, preparing to engage. The intent is to draw attention without being obvious.
>>186856"Well...." She is about to speak, but stops. Eventually, she adds,
"It is more than Stalliongrad studying it."
>>186855>>186857The sound seems a little further away than imminent
>>186858>>186860Is the direction Brie is pointing in towards the North Bay?
>>186861Cuz I know? Its over there *points*
>>186859"Oh... That is unfortunate. Several countries in the International." She tilts her head
"Should I be saying this?"
After a pause,
"You can go near it, sort of, but you can feel it. It has an aura, like an electric charge. You should not stay near it long, and do not sleep. Your dreams will be unpleasant at best."
>>186860>>186861Yes.
[Read more] >>186863The griffon nods thoughtfully.
"You were a lab assistant on the Kostroma? How did you know when to evacuate?" >>186863>>186860Silver: "It sounds as though Traveler and GRU have come into conflict. That is good for us. We have some time while they are both distracted." He returns his attention to Pipette. "Stalliongrad would still not want word of this thing to escape this island. They want to keep it secret. What better guarantee of secrecy than to permanently silence those who would have spoken of it?"
>>186863If no one else is seemingly responsive, Brie is still quite interested in the sound of gunshots.
>>186866>>186867Excuse us, I thought you were creeping towards their source, and outside the airplane. You would have to climb in to talk with us.
>>186864Breathing in,
"I knew better than to go to sleep. Many of us did, in the science crew. It had been giving us dreams. We thought we were more vulnerable than the rest of the crew. There was a disagreement with Science officer Light Water, and a griffin from the international contingent, and a few of his crew, who wanted to try to awaken the creature. We wanted to keep it sedated and study its powers, or disect it if possible... It was just after nightfall, when Light Water had more access to it than we... We did not lock the hold well... It seems that other ponies were affected. The ships crew. The marines. They held a sort of mutiny. But they must not have been fully conscious... we did not realize what it was doing, or how far it had gotten."
>>186865"I am not surpised, but are you sure they will not welcome us home?" She asks
"Yes, but... They trust us, right?"
>>186866crack [Read more] I would like to apologize for being so scarce this evening. I have been very busy.
>>186869"Where is Light Water now? Is he still on the Kostroma? Did you know about this plane before you came here?" He pauses.
"Excuse me, I don't think I got your name.">>186871Do not fret, Friday evening is a highly competitive time slot for many.
>>186870Sure
>>186871pets ze posey>>186872"No... I think he is on the Kostroma, but he may have come to land. My name is Patient Pipette."
>>186869Silver: "I am certain they would not. That is why they sent GRU, not some regular division of marines. They are Stalliongrad's 'problem solvers', in that they are sent to cover up their mistakes, not fix them. Kira says you know where airship and Commissar are. Come with us.
We will stop Traveler, fix this mess, and keep you all safe."
>>186874She lowers her head, then looks down, then back up.
"Well... Okay... Have you spoken to the Commissar?"
>>186875Silver: "We have not seen him yet. That is where you could help by leading us to him. We are going to gather as many friendly forces as we can on this island before we make our assault upon Kostroma."
>>186873>>186874>>186875He nods with Silver's proclamation.
"You have our word, Miss Pipette. When we arrived at the village where his holdout stayed, they were under attack and we helped them, but he was missing. He might still be somewhere on this island." >>186876"I know where he is. He will have ideas."
>>186877"Light Water... He's either on the Kostroma, or here."
>>186878Light Water isn't the commissar, is he? I believe he's the Fellow Traveler's chief spokespony.
>>186879Pipette believes that the two are
not together.
>>186878Silver: "Good. There is one thing I hope to do first that will take just moment, then we will be off."
Based off of the locations Pipette gave, what's closer, the Commissar or the Airponies?
>>186879Light Water's the chief scientist, Black Heel is the Commissar.
>>186871Turning to Posey, Silver asks her, "Your magic, or that scroll...could they do anything to make this fight against Traveler easier? Or perhaps make it so that GRU can not pursue us when we make our escape from this island?"
>>186879"Commissar" is Commissar Black Heel
>>186881Two sources of sound, both on the North Bay. One is a little North and to the east on the shore. The other is to the west somewhat, and north, near the center of the island on the shore. Each is around about one mile away.
>>186882The commissar unambiguously, as they are on the same hill.
>>186883Hmmm, okay then. What's closer: the Commissar, or the leviathan whale skeleton?
>>186884The commissar still, although the whale skeleton is likely closer than the airship
>>186885"Well, there is the torpedo and explosives... We were looking at the radio, for long range communication."
"We should leave soon."
>>186877Innuendo
[1d20+16 = (5+16) = 21]"You should not be so polite. We are supposed to be pirates.">>186882"It is possible." Posey replies
>>186887"Yes, this plane had several. The radio is long range and can be heard further away than short wave."
Hmmmmmm...okay. The plan currently in motion:
1.) Find the Commissar, rescue him if necessary, and recruit him to the group band of creatures.
2.) Have Posey reanimate the leviathan whale skeleton, for aid against the Traveler and/or disabling the ship the GRU came here on.
3.) Find and rescue the Airponies, and assess if the airship is in a repairable state or if its engines need to be scuttled.
4.) Go to the Kostroma, kill the Traveler, use magic to send a message out across the island to the formerly-possessed ponies to return to the ship ASAP, and escape the island with as many of the defecting commies as possible.
>>186886>>186890Silver: "You have been on this plane longer than us. Do you think they can be brought with us?"
>>186892Why do we need to find the commissar?
Also, these steps need not be in order. The air ponies should come first though.
>>186891Rooty tooty point and shooty
>>186892"Not easily. The radio is in the plane and the torpedoes are heavy. The one here is stuck in the plane"
>>186889Is innuendo even a 3.5e skill? I thought it was 3rd edition only?
>>186890mild concern"It's a little risky to be on a crashed plane with enough undetonated explosives to sink a ship. To sink a ship…if we can transport one of these torpedoes, we could easily sink the Kostroma. Guaranteeing the Fellow Traveler's destruction would need us to get closer."