Red Hoof of Doom: City of Bridle IC

[MandibleBones]

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b610/mandiblebones/red_hand_of_doom.jpg

Out on the frontier, the weatherponies can only do so much. As such it is the hottest summer the city of Bridle (http://bridle.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Bridle), in the Elsir Vale (http://bridle.wikia.com/wiki/Elsir_Vale), has known in many years. In this heat, rumors of unrest and trouble to the west fall on the uneasy ears of the ponies, occasional griffons, and others who make up the city. Still, there is hope, for the rumors of trouble have brought outsiders into the city. Commerce booms along the Dawn Way, and the newcomers have brought an expertise to the city that gives hope to all.

It is the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, and though Celestia cannot, for reasons unknown to the common pony, travel out to the Elsir Vale, her sunrise was beautiful this morning.

[THEChanger]

Boom.

Lord Emeraldcoat stumbled out of his laboratory, coughing and spluttering as a cloud of smoke followed him. "Another set of beakers broken. Curses upon fate." Simon moved away from the door as the smoke cleared, staring into the bright sky. So much for that recipe for a non-magical healing potion. The mixture had been too unstable, though luckily Emeraldcoat himself was unharmed. The dark green unicorn sighed, and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. This heat was proving to be quite oppressive, and Simon did not think he would make much progress on a new formula today. "Down to the market to find some new beakers, then, and perhaps a trot to the Craven Raven for a drink." Nipping back inside, Lord Emeraldcoat used his horn-pouch to brush away the soot on his outer coat, and then set down the road to Brindol Market. Hopefully they'd have some beakers there to replace the ones he'd just lost.

[MandibleBones]

The market is indeed bustling today, as ponies who have been up since before dawn set up their stalls at first light. Most of the stores in town have small booths, but as the nearest glassworks is in Stalliongrad, it's the wagons and caravans of the traveling tradesponies where Lord Emeraldcoat might find his beakers.

One edge of the market appears to look promising: the rare Zebra caravan from the northwest arrived the other day along the Dawn Way, and many ponies are gathered around to see sundries from the great plains. Small glass artwork gleams in the light: it's not too far a stretch to think other glasswork might be available as well.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal trotted around Bridol Market, only stopping from time to time to check the list he had made for himself. "Let's see. Carrots. Got those!....Tomatoes. Yup, that too. Only thing that's left is.....nothing. Great! Time to have some fun now!"
Tucking the paper back into his saddlebags he looked towards the sky, taking in the warm rays of the sun. The heat didn't bother him and in fact, he enjoyed it. Somehow he just felt more energetic like this, even if he did sweat a bit.

Waving hello to a few bypassing ponies, he made his way towards the zebra caravan. Places like those were always a good opportunity to pick up some interesting things, or at least to look at some interesting things.

[Rendel Nep]

A half dozen ponies stand to attention, fully attired in the stereotypical double breasted white coats and the bouffant hats covering their manes. Cordon enters the kitchen, steely eyed and serious. He eyes his cooks up and down pacing down the line. He draws his breath and addresses the assembled staff. 'Ponies this is it, The Summer Celebration. We've been preparing for the last 3 weeks. Perfecting new recipes, securing the finest ingredients and why? Because we're going to give this town the best bloody tucker they've ever got their hooves on. We are going to make their taste buds explode, ponies.We will make food so good they'll be begging for more. ' he tells them and finishes the address with the almighty battlecry:'NOW GET OUT THERE AND SHOW THIS TOWN REAL FOOD! You are Dismissed.' The assembled ponies cheer and quickly dispatch to their stations.

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat carefully approached the Zebra caravan, gently squeezing his way towards the front of the crowd. His keen eye quickly ran across the wares brought from the great plains, searching for any odds or ends which could be useful to his experiments. It wasn't too often a Zebra caravan came through, after all. Today must be his lucky day.

[MandibleBones]

EMERALDCOAT AND CHARCOAL

Lord Emeraldcoat easily find the beakers he's looking for — perhaps a bit more... artistic than the mad scientist is looking for, but they are marked accurately enough. The leader of the zebra caravan, a tall stallion with a rakish eyepatch, walks over to him.

"That's good Zebrican glass," he says, with a heavy accent. "But I can't help but wonder what brings you over here. Are you perhaps interested in some of the rarer minerals from our homeland?" The zebra gestures to a small stall, where a zebra filly sits reading a thick book. Rows and columns of small boxes tower behind her. It's enough to remind someone of his lab, if Lord Emeraldcoat's lab were portable.

"Or perhaps it's our own cuisine?" the zebra says, gesturing to another stallion stirring a large vat of some kind of stew. "I tried some of your city's this morning," he adds, gesturing to a large takeout box from the restaurant Cordon's Blue, "And though I was highly impressed, I like to think ours is also worth paying a few bits for."

As Charcoal trots up, the zebra's eyes glimmer.

"Ah, but I can see you're both ponies of taste, and that taste bends to the mysterious. So perhaps you'll be interested in our small collection of pre-Celestian artifacts, trinkets, and other oddities. You'll want to go see my sister for those." He points to the back of the zebra camp, where a small tent is set up, in stripes of grey and purple. The caravan-master straightens up, addressing both Lord Emeraldcoat and Charcoal.

"Where are my manners? I have not introduced myself. I am Msafiri, master of this caravan. It is my great pleasure to meet you charming ponies."

If I could have you both roll spot checks, that'd be very kind.

CORDON YAMSFRY

The morning has gone without a hitch. In addition to the reports of success from the field — both at the celebration grounds and at the market — ponies have been in and out of Cordon's Blue all morning. And not just ponies: a dashing zebra stallion came into the restaurant and ordered enough food to feed a caravan, carrying the large box out on his back.

The griffon mercenary Axehaft (http://bridle.wikia.com/wiki/Axehaft) grumbled a bit at the lack of meat, but once she tried Cordon's soupe à l'oignon (all the way from Prance!), she proclaimed it the best she'd tasted since she last saw her cousin Gustave back in the northern griffin tribes.

Even the old weapons merchant, Righteous Shank (http://bridle.wikia.com/wiki/Righteous_Shank), was in today, trying to cut Cordon a deal (pun intended, he assured the chef) on new silver serving ware for the "hordes of customers you're sure to expect after this success."

"You know," Cordon overhears a unicorn mare saying to her companion, a well-dressed earth pony stallion with a rapier for a cutie mark, "It's a shame this is such a popular restaurant. I haven't had food this good since I was last in Canterlot."

"It can't be helped," her companion replies. "Besides, Silver, we're 'patronizing the common pony's establishment.' It will look good when you're rallying support, especially if old Justy isn't on your side."

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal's eyes light up, and he slightly hops in exitement. "Artifacts? Oddities? Oh, those are always great! Especially when they're magical and explode or have sealed evils inside them. Those are the best ones, because they always do something awesome!" He runs off immediatly, only to stop after a few meters and walk back.
"Oh, and I'm Charcoal. Nice to meet you, Msafiri. Charcoal grabs his hoof, shaking it vigorously. "Your caravans don't come into town often enough. There's just always so much new stuff, and I love new stuff! Besides, zebra food is brilliant. So many spices they don't use around here and plants I've never seen before and really silly names. I'll be sure to have some later."

He seems to have finished talking for the moment to everypony's relieve, as he runs of towards the tent promised to be filled with curiosities.


[roll0] to spot.

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon gives a smile and an uncommitted but receptive answer to Righteous shank. As regards to the scheming ponies, Cordon lingers around for a bit longer in order to listen in on their conversation then goes to the kitchen and handles their order personally.

[THEChanger]

"Msafari. A pleasure, I'm sure." Lord Emeraldcoat appears rather distracted, his attention focus more on the glass and less on the zebra speaking to him. "While I'm sure the contents of your caravan are most intriguing, unless you happen to possess a master alchemist in your ranks, I'm afraid it is only the beakers I'm interested in at the moment-and only then if they are accurate and strong." The dark green pony's head shot swiftly up from his examinations, looking Msafari directly in the eyes. "Can you assure me that these beakers can withstand rigourous heating and cooling cycles, and be counted to be accurate to the nearest milliliter?"


Spot Check-[roll0]
And I think an Appraise Check is in order as well, to get a sense of just how much these glasses are going to cost our good Lord.
Appraise-[roll1]

[MandibleBones]

Lord Emeraldcoat

Msafiri smiles a little too widely. "Of course," he says. "We take pride in our work and only show the best to a customer such as yourself."

The beakers he is trying to sell Lord Emeraldcoat are indeed of masterwork quality, and he's asking 55 golden bits for them: a fair price. He has another set behind him that are of adequate quality as well, for only 5 golden bits, but these are not quite as perfect. Behind them are a number of individual glasswork items, ranging in quality from the very rough to the exceptional, and in price from a single silver bit to a couple golden ones. Strangely enough, some of them look like they were once part of a larger kit: Emeraldcoat is aware that these are usually sold all together.

Cordon Yamsfry

The two ponies don't say more, instead digging in to an appertif until Cordon leaves. He realizes, once he reaches the kitchen, that these two ponies are, in fact, Dapper Blade (http://bridle.wikia.com/wiki/Dapper_Blade), owner of the Laughing Manticore, and his special somepony, Lady Silver Tongue (http://bridle.wikia.com/wiki/Silver_Tongue), the second-most-powerful political pony in Bridle.

As Cordon slaves over their meals, one of his line cooks trots over to him, whispering.

"Ah, Chef Yamsfry?" he mutters. "There's a bit of a problem. You recall our standing order of good sweet onions from Prance? We ordered 300 crates? It seems there was a mix-up. They've given us 30. That will last us..." he looks around, at the large piles of bowls from Cordon's hit soup. "Uh, at the current rate, that will last us three days. The next shipment's a month from now." He swallows, nervous.

Charcoal

As Charcoal canters toward the antiquities tent, he notices something. All the zebras may be road-weary travelers, but he suspects it's not normal for them all to sport bandages, recently-healing wounds, and light scars. They've had some trouble on the road - on the Dawn Way, of all places! - and it might very well be the reason the market is smaller than usual.

The antiquities tent is filled with rare baubles. Some of them Charcoal recognizes right off as well-crafted trinkets, but not actually pre-Equestrian, pre-Celestian, or anything else. But others... there is an amulet which appears to depict the Royal Pony Sisters triumphing over the creature Discord, all in silver. There is a pegasus helmet that looks as old as Equestria itself. And Charcoal's eyes are drawn in particular to a polished gem, golden colored and bright, resting on the back of a crudely-carved, bipedal lizard creature, which seems older than all the others, but doesn't seem to belong at all.

"Ah," says the matron. "You strike right to the heart of the matter." She's an older zebra, bearing a resemblance to Msafiri. "I am Hekima, and you, young Charcoal, have stumbled across something that interests me as well."

[THEChanger]

Zebras.

Lord Emeraldcoat smiled in return-though his was cold, a mere gesture without emotion behind it. "I have no doubt you do, monsieur Msafiri. Though I must confess I am curious. Many of these glasses are meant to be sold in a set. Yet I notice much of the set is missing. A highly irregular business practice, I must say." Lord Emeraldcoat held the zebra's gaze for a moment before turning away. "Still, it is no business of mine how you conduct yours. I am interested in purchasing these beakers. I do, however, prefer to conduct my business in trade rather than coin. I find the small pieces of metal easy to misplace. I am a craftsman of no small skill, and possess a knowledge of alchemy. Perhaps there is something I can make for you? How long shall you be here in Bridle?"

I used the explosion of his old beakers to get him out of the lab, and then remembered I left him no money to purchase new beakers with. Let's try this then.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal is caught off-guard at being called by his name, and eyes the old zebra with suspicion. "You know my name already? I guess that makes things easier, since we don't have to introduce ourselves. Usually people don't know my name, though. Except when someone tells them. Or when they read the sign at my shop, but then they usually ask 'Are you Mr. Charcoal?' and I have to say 'Yes.' for them to know. And this isn't my shop, so you haven't read the signit. Too bad, really. I put a lot of effort into that sign. Did someone from Canterlot send you? I swear I didn't do anything that could potentially cause a disaster. This time it really isn't my fault." He seems slightly panicked for second, but calms down again just as quickly.

Edging a bit closer to the crystal, he looks at it with a strange curiousity in his eyes. "What's with this stone, anyway? I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it, although I've never seen many crystals in the first place, so I'm not sure. And that lizard-thingy looks really cool. Can you tell me more about it? Is it some awesome magical artifact? I knew there would be something really interesting in here, but I didn't expect the mysterious name knowing." His horn starts to slightly glow with a bright orange as he scans the object for traces of magic.


I'm gonna Use detect magic to search for a magic aura in the gemstone.
[roll0] in case a spellcraft check is needed.

[MandibleBones]

Lord Emeraldcoat

The zebra sighs. “The story of the beakers and the story of how long our little caravan intends to remain in Bridle are, I'm sorry to say, quite intertwined.” He points at the wagons, behind some of the goods, and for the first time, Lord Emeralcoat notices that some of the axles are broken. Additionally, there are several zebra resting, injured, in the broken carts, and even the caravan's guards seem to be favoring one leg or another.

“Bridle is usually our halfway stop,” Msafiri confides, speaking in low tones so as not to attract other marketgoers' attentions. “My cousin, Zaafira, and my sister, Hekima, run a caravan from Fillydelphia back to Zebrica; I run the caravan the other way. We meet in Bridle, halfway through, every few months.” He sighs.

“You know, I expect to run into the occasional band of griffon brigands, even highway-ponies. But this...” He waves Lord Emeralcoat over to his own wagon, where several mismatched pieces of arms and armor lie in a heap. “I don't know what they were. They stood on hind legs like a young dragon, but had neither scales nor coat. They were dark orange, and they wore these on their heads.” Msafiri bangs a hoof against one of the helmets, which doesn't dent. Painted on it is a bright red, clawed hand. “They set on us with swords and bows. As you can see, they injured several of my guards, and trashed several wagons. We got out with what we could. Thank Equestria none of us were killed. And stranger still...”

He lifts a thick canvas cloth off one large, glass flask, covered with a metal lid. Whatever the liquid is inside, it glows with an unearthly light, like viscous fire.

“You say you have a knowledge of alchemy, Lord Emeralcoat. Can you tell me what this is, that caused three of my caravan to suffer such burns that they will not be ambulatory for weeks?”

Charcoal

Hekima smiles. “Young ponies expect a mysterious woman selling mystical objects to be all-knowing,” she says. “It costs me nothing to make an assumption, to play the part. I've overheard your name before, is all, and you fit the description.” She pauses, laughing quietly at Charcoal's need to catch his breath. “Yes, you fit it well.” She steeples her hooves. “To business, however.”

And then she waits as Charcoal examines the stone. It glows very, very faintly with divine magic, but a few seconds are enough to tell the investigator that while this stone has been touched with magic repeatedly — perhaps as a divine focus — it is not magical in and of itself.

“My half of the caravan was traveling west on the Dawn Way,” Hekima says. “Between Stalliongrad and Bridle, where the Marth Forest touches the road, we were ambushed.” She frowns. “There were enough of them that we were surprised, but not so many that my guards could not fight them off eventually. Like giant lizards, they were, walking on their hind legs and holding weapons. Their leader had this around his neck like an amulet.” She points at the statue. “Some of them got away,” she adds. “And they took my cousin Zaafira with them. Injured, we were, and in no condition to chase after them, into the woods. We came here, hoping to find help from my brother. Instead, we find that he, too, has been ambushed along the Dawn Way, and is in even less condition to help us.”

She closes her eyes, no longer smiling.

“The rumors about you are that you investigate things, young Charcoal,” she says. “Can you find out what happened to my cousin?”

[Rendel Nep]

You're kidding me? You're *Buy Some Apples!* kidding me?! Cordon exclaims and frowns, This isn't some *Buy Some Apples!* twisted sick joke, is it? No? OK then. He glares into space for a moment then smiles and quickly jots down something on bit of a scrap paper and hands the assistant a note Alright, I think I got a bit of a compromise. What I need you to do is quickly alter all the sandwich boards to this.Then once I'm done I'm going to have to hunt down some other vegetables for soup fodder.
With that problem seemingly resolved, Cordon gets back to cooking the Very Important Ponies meal.

Note:
Summer Sun Celebration Special: Onion Soup Supreme. Stocks limited!

Cooking Roll (even though this probably warrants a take 10 or 20): [roll0]

[Theoboldi]

"Can I find out?" A tiny shimmer shines in Charcoal's eyes, and he strikes the very best heroic pose he can muster. "Heck yes I can. If your cousin's in trouble, discord himself wouldn't be able to stop me. You came to the right pony. Well, usually I deal with more magicky stuff, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to do this too. It's not like this would be the first time I'll end up in mortal danger. I've already got experience on that."
He stops for a second, thinking the situation over. After a short moment of utter silence, he continues. "Okay, give me as much information about them as you can. I don't think I've ever heard of these guys, so they probably aren't horrible abominations from beyond the stars. Did they look like dragons? I think young ones walk on their hindlegs, though I'm not sure why you would be attacked by teenage dragons. They're usually not that organized. What weapons did they use? Oh, and most importantly, can I take this with me?" He points at the stone that had caught his attention in the first place. "It has some traces of divine magic. Nothing inherent, sadly, but I'm pretty sure it was used as a holy symbol. I might the find a use for it. Not sure what kind of use, but you never know when you might just have a need for the symbol of some unholy lizard god."

He stops again, trying to remember whether he has heard of his symbol before, and concentrates on the whispering voices inside his head for just a moment.

Can I use knowledge (Religion) to find out which god this symbol is used for?
In any case, here's my roll. [1d20+9] knowledge religion
Let's just hope I don't waste a natural 20 here. >.>
Edit: Alas that method of rolling is not the GitP one. Curse you, maptools! I'll just wait until I get an okay on the knowledge roll, then post it in the OOC thread.

[MandibleBones]

Cordon Yamsfry

The line cook dashes off to change the signs, leaving Cordon to his cooking. It's not the best dish he's ever made, but it's good enough that he pronounces it satisfactory. Even that pompous nag Blueblood back in Canterlot wouldn't complain about eating it. Well, he probably would, but it wouldn't be any fault of Cordon's.

Charcoal

Hekima's sad smile is back the moment you agree to help her. “Of course you can take it with you,” she says. “Think of it as a down payment on the reward: and if it helps you rescue my cousin, so much the better.” She scrunches up her nostrils, trying to remember. “They weren't dragons,” she says. “I've seen dragons. Dragons can be bribed, and most of them speed Equestrian if not Zebrican.” She shakes her head. “No, these were... a lizard people? Lizardapes? Lizardfolk?” She nods, satisfied with her last choice. “They used swords, curved ones like my ancestors used once, and some of them had spears.” She points at the lizardfolk carrying the gem. “They looked a lot like that, actually.”

[MandibleBones]

Lord Emeraldcoat

The substance seems to be a derivative of... by Princess Platinum, is that Hellfire!? No, on further analysis it just smells that way. It could be the bottled remains of a breath weapon: you recall stories of some dragons whose fiery breath clung like burning tree sap to their prey. But you suspect Msafiri would have mentioned an actual dragon, and there's the scent of brimstone... hellhounds, perhaps? With clinging breath? You've not seen a hellhound summoned in Equestria since... well, you heard of a couple being summoned during the Nightmare's brief return two years ago, but not for at least a thousand years before that.

[THEChanger]

As Lord Emeraldcoat examined the vial, he felt a very old, and yet very familiar, feeling creep up his spine. The chill was unmistakable, and one he had thought he had long put behind him. After all, he had thought he had seen all that could cause it in him. Not since that night had he felt this. Yet, here it was.

Fear.

Emeraldcoat swallowed nervously, and looking to Msafiri, it was visable how nervous he was. "Is there a place we could continue this discussion in private?"

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal returns from his trance, and looks at Keima, his expression without any of his usual joy. "This might be worse than I expected. From what I can gather, we probably are we dealing with some cult of sun-worshipping lizard people here. I haven't seen this sort of symbol before, but I can't think of anyone else who would possible use one like this. The problem with that is that these guys are supposed to be extinct. Legend says that discord wiped them out over a thousand years ago."

Pausing, he picks up the stone, staring at it for a few seconds before he puts it away into his saddlebags. "Those guys would have been hidden for over a thousand years if they really are what we are dealing with. I really hope I'm wrong about all of this, because otherwise I might be in a bit over my head. They couldn't have hidden for such a long time without help, not if they usually are as violent as their attack suggests. Did you ask anyone else for help on this? I sure could use someone else to help me."

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon does rte finishing touches and sends the food out.It's all about the good impressions. For Celestia's sake, let's hope it counts for something. Cordon thinks and carefully observes his customer's reactions.

[MandibleBones]

MARKET

“Well,” Msafiri says, taking in Lord Emeraldcoat's worried face with more worry of his own, “My sister's tent is as private as we're likely to get. She's also our... well, the closest thing we have to a mystic. But she couldn't make heads nor tails of it.” The zebra shakes his head as he walks over toward the tent into which Charcoal recently vanished. “But she'd seen it just recently, too,” he adds. “I forgot to tell you why we're not pushing back toward Fillydelphia: she was ambushed along the way as well. Some sort of lizard creatures, but they had the same kind of strange creature with them, breathed this out all over her guards.”

Inside the tent, Hekima looks thoughtful. “All of us are a little too injured to make the trip into the woods,” she says. “That's why we're looking for help: if we wait until our injuries heal, Zaafira might not make it. If we go now, we might not make it. But my brother was supposed to be making inquiries as well...” She throws open the tent flap, coming almost nose-to-nose with Msafiri and Lord Emeraldcoat.

“Oh,” she says. “Here he is.”

CORDON'S BLUE

As Cordon leads his restaurant staff in delivering the fine meal to his two distinguished guests, he notices they clam up entirely when the staff surround them with plates. Whatever they were discussing, they do not care to be eavesdropped upon. Silver Tongue eats daintily and quickly, with the air of a noblepony, more concerned with the political capital being wasted by an extended mealtime than taking any true delight in the dishes presented — though even she cannot help but not appreciatively at the more-than-adequate fancy fare. Dapper Blade, by contrast, takes his time, savoring each bite of the meal as if it might be his last. He turns to Cordon with a sly smile, tilting a head toward Silver Tongue and shrugging, as if to say, “Nobles. What do they know?”

Both leave immediately after Dapper Blade finishes, a scant few minutes after Silver Tongue. As it would be somewhat rude to just leave coins on the table, there is a small bag full of more bits than the meal is worth — but not so many as to appear insulting — left at Dapper Blade's place instead. Cordon's chief waiter, a Unicorn by the name of Proud Service, deftly pockets the bag: it is destined for the restaurant's coffers, from which Cordon will have the lion's share after expenses.

As the chef watches the staff clean up, and the lunch rush fades away to a steady stream of singletons and small parties in search of fashionable tea snacks, the line cook with the apple-bucking onion problem approaches him again.

“Two things, Chef Yamsfrey,” he says. “First, this was in the bag from the two ponies at your special table.” He passes the chef a note, still in an envelope and folded, just once, to fit into a small bag.


“If we're all still here in a month, see Lady Silver Tongue about patronage. For that matter, come see me — I should like to see about a joint effort. — D.B.”

Such things are common to the Canterlot nobility, though Cordon would hardly expect to find them here. Before he can truly ruminate on the matter, however, the line cook has his attention again.

“On the second issue, I've changed the signs as you said, and located an alternate source of onions,” he says. “There's a farmer's market up in Elsircross that sells some of the best fresh produce in the Vale. They might not be all the way from Prance, but they grow onions in the Fancy style that caramelize so well for soup, and using local produce, as you're aware, is its own draw.” The line cook shakes his head. “Only problem is the roads. There's those rumors of bandits — you'll need a caravan, and no mistake.”

[Theoboldi]

"Lord Emeraldcoat! I didn't greet before, I'm sorry about that. So hi! Did the zebras ask you for help too?" Charcoal jumps on the spot, seemingly having forgotten everything else but the pony in front of him. "I really hope they did, because you're exactly the help I need. Well, actually I need somepony big with muscles, but you're good too. Oh, where's my manners? How's the research going? Did that potion thingamajig you were working on work?"
He stops suddenly, remembering what is going on. "Uuuh, maybe I'll ask about that later. There is some weird stuff going on. And her cousin has been kidnapped by evil swamp-lizards!" He points at Hekima. "Which are supposed to be extinct! Can you help us, please?"

[THEChanger]

"Charcoal. It's a pleasure, as always." Lord Emeraldcoat restrained himself from shuddering visibly. Charcoal was a useful pony, but his unbridled enthusiasm for everything could prove grating. "Sadly, the formula for the healing potion is still unstable. I need to run more tests. But for now, we have more important matters to attend to." Lord Emeraldcoat activated his horn pouch, placing the flask Msafiri had shown him on a nearby table-very carefully, so as to make sure the mixture wouldn't explode. "While I don't know anything about...evil swamp-lizards, this mixture concerns me greatly. It goes far beyond traditional alchemist's fire. It appears to be a derivative of some form of fiery breath. I would normally be inclined to say it came from a dragon, but it smells of hellfire. I think-and this is a rather big think-I think it came from specially bred Hellhounds. If you were attacked by these, er, lizardfolk, it may be they have access to infernal summoning. In any case, this mixture is extremely dangerous. I might like to study it, if I might. For now, I would advise taking the injured to the Shrine of Equestria. Hearth's Warming is one of the best healers in the city. If anyone can speed their healing, it will be her."

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal seems surprisingly silent for a few seconds, staring at the vial. He almost seems mesmerized by it's contents, not really listening to what Lord Emeraldcoat is saying. Finally, he opens his mouth again, speaking more slowly than usual. "Hellfire. Yes, this explains a lot. And raises a whole lot more questions. I wonder how they got it into liquid form."
He turns back towards Hekima and Msafiri, his face bearing a look of fierce determination. "Mister Emeraldcoat here is right. I don't know how, but somehow they have gotten themselves the help of tartaran forces. Granted, hellhounds are some of the weaker ones there are out there, but the fact that their breath has been harvested like this has some worrying implifications. Your brother might be in more danger than just for is life."
He pauses for a second, letting the information sink in. "I don't know about his lordship here, but I'll do what I can. Tell me exactly where you got ambushed, and I'll get going immediatly."

[Rendel Nep]

Hmm, You know what, seeing as the Lunch time rush is over, I might do a quick run around myself. See if I can find a Caravan that's getting ready to go. Cordon answers. He then changes out of his work outfit and informs his Sous chef of his absence.Just going to head out for a bit so hold the fort while I'm gone. I shan't be too long. Oh and.. once you subtract the cost of Dapper Blades and Silver Tongues meal, split about half amongst the staff. The rest is to go into the coffers.

Cordon Then heads out to search for a caravan for his desperately needed onions.

[MandibleBones]

EMERALDCOAT AND CHARCOAL

Msafiri and Hekima trade looks.

“Elsircross,” Hekima says. “They came from the pathway north, from the woods near Elsircross. Where the Dawn Way turns off.” Msafiri nods.

“There's a better way to that town,” he says. “Just here.” He hands Lord Emeraldcoat a map (http://bridle.wikia.com/wiki/Elsir_Vale?file=Vale.jpg), showing the river Elsir running northeast, and the smaller path running north-south that meets up with the Dawn Way next to the Marth forest. “If you take a riverboat, you should make better time and have a rest before you venture into the woods.”

CORDON

The market is still bustling, but no ponies seem to be going to Elsircross by caravan today. “You might try the river Elsir, just north of the city,” says a young earth pony filly, manning a sweets merchant stand. “My aunt Ladybug says they send a ferry up the river every night, and back the next morning.”

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal nods, his face showing a bold smile for a second. "Don't worry. You've asked just the right pony for this. I'll be back with your brother before you can say rescue operation. He throws a short glance towards his saddlebags, suddenly seeming a tiny bit sheepish. "Uh, right after I bring my groceries back home, of course. Almost forgot about those. I should have some time to do that before the ship goes. And maybe grab some things. It would be really akward if I was unable to find those lizard-guys because I forgot a piece of chalk." With, he runs off to gather his equipment at home, leaving the two zebras and the lord behind.

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon smiles at the Fillybefore speaking.The river, huh? that sounds far quicker than a caravan. Thanks for your assistance. Oh and do you have any mints? he then asks while fumbling around for some change.

[MandibleBones]

EMERALDCOAT

The two zebras watch Charcoal leave. "What a strange young pony," Msafiri says, before Hekima cuffs him lightly on the head. "Like you were any different at his age, little brother," she says.

CORDON

"Certainly!" the filly says. "We've got mint brownies, mint cookies, hard peppermint sticks, soft peppermint chunks, after-dinner-mints, mint chocolate ice cream, peppermint stick ice cream, fresh mint leaves, mint tea and mint juleps." She pauses. "But I'd have to get my aunt Ladybug for the last one, on account of I'm too young to serve alcoholic beverages."

[Rendel Nep]

Hmm, I'll have one each of your hard peppermint sticks, soft peppermint chunks and after-dinner-mints. I've sort of realised that depending on imported goods is a dangerous business currently. Plus my sweet tooth is acting up. Cordon picks out.

Once he's received and pays for the sweets he'll head over to the dock.

[MandibleBones]

"That'll be two copper bits!" the young filly says, cheerfully accepting the money.

The river Elsir is broad and deep, perfect for trading. The two bridges leading north out of town are tall enough to let riverboats through, and several are pulled up against the green bank near the market. The ponies — and griffons, and even a diamond dog or two — who command them direct Cordon (and Emeraldcoat and Charcoal, later on) across the bridges, where a single boat sits tied to a semi-permanent dock.

The rest of the boats pale comparison: though it floats well above the water in its presently empty state, it bears thick ironwood planks for armor. Two griffons, wearing light armor in the colors of Axehaft Securities (http://bridle.wikia.com/wiki/Axehaft) mercenaries, prowl the deck, and a light ballista sits on the back. Two enormous paddlewheels rise from the sides, a faint glow of unicorn magic about them even while still. The bow bears the name River Swan.

A gruff-looking pegasus — who would look even more dangerous were she not bright pink — greets Cordon when he arrives at the dock, not getting up from what looks like a bean-bag chair made to resemble a cloud.

"Ferry leaves at six," she says, not looking up from Daring Do and the Fury of the Dragonqueen. "Four gold bits for passengers; a gold bit per five pounds for cargo. If we get attacked, you get the passenger fee back."

[Theoboldi]

As he draws the last line, Charcoal takes a look over the floor of his house. Drawn in chalk, a mystical rune covers a large portion of it. Charcoal carefully positions himself in front of it, careful not to step on any of the lines and smudge them.
"Finally. Now, what was it again? Ah, yes." He clears his throat, then proceeds with the ritual. "MALPHAS, THE TURNFEATHER, I CALL YOU TO SERVE ME!" A few seconds pass, before the telltale sound of fluttering wings fills the air of Charcoal's home. Within moments, the entire area above the summoning circle is filled with furious white doves appearing out of seemingly nowhere. Charcoal stands by calmly, waiting for the field to clear. He doesn't have to wait for long, as a pegasus with a coat even darker than him steps from the middle of the birds. As he speaks, his tongue licks across the air not unlike that of a snake and his eyes are filled with a strange ambition. "I have been called. You seek to hunt the woods like me, and watch Equestria from its skys? I can give you that, and so much mo-"
"Yes, I know who you are, Malphas. Strange name for a pegasus, by the way. Anyway. Someone has been kidnapped, and your skills are exactly what I need to save him. Your little bird thingy especially. This whole thing will probably take a few days, so I'll summon you the next few days every day, okay?"
"Every day? Many days? Please do. The void is lonely, little unicorn. I'll give you the powers that you wish for, and help you achieve what you desire."

Charcoal simply nods, stretching out his hoof towards the pegasus. "Let's do this then. I don't want to miss the boat. I really need to start drawing smaller runes. Filling out the entire room is nice and theatrical and all, but it takes a bit too long. And it uses up way too much chalk. Uh, where were we? Oh, yes." He touches Malphas' hoof, and the pegasus dissappears, simply melding into him. His teeth and tongue already turning black inside his mouth, Charcoal leaves his home, making his way towards the docks.


Binding Check: [roll0]

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat returned to his laboratory, beakers in tow. His alchemist's tools now in full working order, he could resume work on his elixer. Yes, his studies called to him, and nothing would distract him. Certainly not the plight of the zebra family, who apparently had lost a sibling to these lizard-things. Nor any curiosity regarding the connection those creatures had with the Lower Planes. No, those were Charcoal's departments. Simon was a scientist. He had no time for adventuring. His work was far more important.

This Lord Emeraldcoat repeated to himself over and over again as he strapped his dynamo cannon to his back, connecting the appropriate wires to the stump of his horn. But of course he was going. Charcoal was skilled, but impetuous, and young. The pony would only endanger himself and the zebra captive. A more experienced hand would be needed. Then again, just because Lord Emeraldcoat was joining Charcoal didn't mean his research would have to stop. Packing the various vials, beakers, burners, and tables into a Handy Haversack(a relic of his days as a mage), Lord Emeraldcoat marched down to the docks, ready to board the ferry to Elsircross.

[MandibleBones]

As the ponies arrive at the ferry, coming up on six in the evening, the boat is in fuller swing and ready to depart. In addition to the captain and the two griffons, an old earth pony, looking more than a little hungover, has manned the wheel in the stern. The captain herself is perched near the ballista.

"Alright," she says. "Welcome to the River Swan. I'm Captain Swan Song, and these two dangerous folk are Gerhard and Alexia, under contract to defend this boat. We'll be in Elsircross by ten. Stay out of the way of the paddlewheels and you'll be fine. Any questions?"

[Theoboldi]

Waiting for the captain to finish her speech, Charcoal simply leans against the ship's rail. His eyes are focused on the raven sitting on his shoulder and the raven's eyes are focused on him. Seeing the world through two seperate pairs of eyes at once always had caused him headeaches whenever he summoned Malphas, and the fact that he had somehow gotten himself in a staring contest with himself didn't help matters this time around.
"Where does he even get all of you birds from? Is there some kind of demi-elemental plane of avian creatures I missed? It wouldn't the most overly specific plane I've heard of."
With a sigh, his gaze finally relents, and he focuses his attention on the river beneath him. He muses over the things Hekima had said, wondering whether he has gotten himself into something way over his head this time. After all, demons and ancient malevolent spirits were easy for someone with his abilities, but a whole tribe of cultists with the help of devils was a different matter entirely. With a sigh, he waits for the boat to depart, trying not to worry too much.

[Rendel Nep]

No, can't think of anything I need to ask urgently. Although I do wonder how often if anyone's ever burst into song upon hearing that question... Cordon replies and then blinks and frowns at what he just said. I have no idea as to why that popped into my head. Possibly the royal wedding? Cordon shrugs and becomes silent.

[MandibleBones]

Swan Song snorts. "More often than you'd think," she says to Cordon. "And I don't know what you're talking about," she says to Charcoal. "There's no more birds than normal."

Just making sure all three of us are here before I move this posse onward.

[Theoboldi]

"Huh?" Charcoal is ripped out of his musings by Swan Song's answer. "Oh, sorry about that, miss. I wasn't really paying attention." Charcoal repositions the bird on his shoulder a bit, trying to make it face the same direction as himself.

A sudden realisation crosses his face, as his and the bird's eyes peek at his mouth. "Uh, don't worry about my teeth. I can't have them in their normal colour as long as I need this bird around. Well, I'd like to, but Malphas insists on having them black and it is his bird."

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon nods with understanding, he's a very metropolitan pony after all. Good for you mate. Although I gotta say that's very unusual. Chokers I get but black teeth? Anyway you're welcome at my restaurant whenever you like. He offers his hoof to shake. The name's Cordon Yamsfry, pleased to meet you.

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat glanced sideways at the mention of Malphas. The name triggered something in his mind, and the gears began to turn.

"Malphas.
Ancient legends of a pegasi, locked away from the cycles of Equestria.
Murderer. Traitor. Betrayed.
A name. Vestige. Spirit, not truly existant.
Another name. Binder. Magi, who worked with the Vestiges of legends of old. The spirits recieve new life through the Binder. The Binder recieves parts of the Vestige's power.
Experiments with Otiax the Key to the Gate and Tenebrous the Shadow that Was prove unsuccessful. Lack of specific knowledge regarding the manner of making a pact renders that line of research a dead end. Prejudice regarding Pact Magic renders further inquiry too dangerous.
Verdict regarding Charcoal: Binder. Unusual, but based on prior research, not a liability."

Simon nodded towards the bird. "Useful, having birds around. If one knows how to read the chirping. You can glean a lot from the birds."

[MandibleBones]

"Right," says Swan Song, clearly surrounded by crazy ponies. "Well, let's get going, shall we?"

The River Swan travels swiftly up the Elsir, powered by magic and the sheer grit of its captain and the old wheelpony. Though occasionally the passengers see wild animals — a bear here, some wolves, both timber and otherwise, there — none of them approach the riverboat.

About halfway through the journey, though, something feels a bit off.

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b610/mandiblebones/Bridle%20Crowd%20Encounter%201/E1R0_zps2add6a97.jpg

Details in the OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14627697)

[MandibleBones]

Gerhard is the only one who spots them initially, just glints of fiery eyes in the woods along the bank. He bellows out a challenge, keeping you all from being surprised, and takes to the air toward the bank, meeting their leader in a tussle of beak and claws.

As they come out of the woods, it's easier to make them out: four riders, small creatures like the goblins out of the old stories, riding strangely draconic dogs with eyes of blazing flame. Emeraldcoat knows his hunch was correct: these are clearly Hell Hounds, if not traditional ones.

Unfortunately, Gerhard didn't know that, and the leader's mount catches him with a faceful of clinging fire, which sticks to the ground around him as well. The goblin leader urges his fell steed back a few steps, to get it clear, then adds two arrows from the longbow he carries to the mess in and around Gerhard. One of them finds the mark.

The other three riders are not idle: one brings his hound to the bank, taking quick aim at Charcoal and loosing two more arrows. One embeds itself in the ironwood armor of the side, while the other chooses firmer purchase in Charcoal's shoulder.

The other two come close together on the other side, both loosing arrows at the earth pony at the wheel. Two of them find the mark, and the old wheelpony grunts in pain. The shock of the sudden assault barely fazes Swan Song, who curses in Griffon before yelling "In the Storm's name, woe be upon you!" at one of the riders who shot at her helmsman. It doesn't look as if it did much: a stronger will than she expected hides behind the goblin's eyes.

Finally, Alexia gets into the fray, charging at the nearest of the two grouped riders. It's just what the Hell Hounds have been waiting for: both breath as one, coating her in the sticky breath — but she expects it, and manages to avoid a good bit of the breath. It does keep her off guard: she manages to fail in her task of hitting the rider or his steed.

It seems as though the passengers have seconds to act before more arrows come their way.

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b610/mandiblebones/Bridle%20Crowd%20Encounter%201/E1R1_zps46d2c160.jpg

Initiative:
18 Gerhard
17 Goblin Hellriders
16 Swan Song
11 Alexia
10 Emeraldcoat
8 Charcoal
7 Cordon

Charcoal takes five damage. The griffons are looking a bit worse for wear, but nowhere near heavily injured. The rider at B11 looks to have taken a bit of a hit from Gerhard.

Spellcraft DC 17 to identify Swan Song's spell.
Curse of Ill Fortune, a level two cleric spell from the Spell Compendium.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal recoils in pain as the arrow burrows itself into his shoulder, shrieking in pain. He watches in shock as the griffons race towards the diminuentive attackers on the clearly fiendish hounds, not quite sure what to do. Finally, he manages to calm himself down somewhat, and quickly seems to fade into nothingness as he turns invisible. "Okay, Malphas. Let's see if your powers really are as great as you said they are." Unseen, he quickly drops himself on the floor, trying to find some cover behind the railing. He yelps out shortly as he hits the ground, the arrow in his shoulder still paining him. "Agh! Bad idea. Stupid bipeds with their stupid bows."


Tactics! Using the terrain in my favor! And cheating by going invisible!
Also, have a spellcraft check. [roll0]

Edit: Actually, make that spellcraft roll a 19. I forgot to write down the synergy bonus to spellcraft on my sheet.

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat analyzed the battlefield. Four Hellhounds, with some sort of riders. Goblins? Maybe. Earlier he would have told anyone who asked that they were just stories. But after witnessing a Binder at work, zebras asking for help after being attacked, and Hellhounds jumping from a riverbank. Things were a bit different.

Simon sent a mental command, and the contraption upon his back whipped into position. The machine was reminiscent of a crossbow, but wires and pumps lined it, and a massive tube held arrows leading into the barrel. A second mental command, and a pump let a dark blue liquid drain into the barrel. Taking careful aim, Simon pulled a lever with his teeth, and a freezing arrow flew out of the barrel towards the Hellhound which had attacked Gerhard. "Equestria smile on us this day, and the Twin Princesses guide our arrows and claws."

Dynamo Cannon, away!

Spending an Inspiration Point to activate Absolute Zero. All damage from Dynamo Canno this round is Cold Damage. I now have 9 Inspiration Points.

Attacking Hellhound at E7. Precision is going to Hit.

To Hit-[roll0]
Damage-[roll1]

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon doesn't budge instead he draws breath and shouts
"STAND STRONG ALEXIA AND GERHARD! YOU STRONG WARRIOR TRADITION SERVES YE WELL.THY MUST SEIZE THE INITIATIVE AND DRIVE THESE GOBLINS BACK TO THE DARK WOOD THEY HAVE COME FROM! EVERYONE ELSE FIRE WHATEVER THOU CAN GET THEE HANDS ON! EQUESTRA WILL PREVAIL!" He stands
defiant in the face of danger.

Rally as a full round action - everyone get +1d6 to their damage. If he can get a swift action then everyone is also subject to his Motivate Ardor- +1 to attack and damage

[MandibleBones]

Impressive as Lord Emeraldcoat's Essence Cannon is, it seems the Hell Hound is just a bit faster, and the cold-powered bolt misses. Charcoal hides, while Cordon's rallying cries bring new life to the defenders.

These Hell Hounds' AC is 16, unfortunately. Cordon got his Swift Action too, yes. Considering the way the initiative worked out, I decided to just forgo the surprise round entirely.

The second round brings the combat to a deadly level. It turns out griffon mercenaries don't play nicely, and Gerhard's claws and teeth tear his Hell Hound target to near shreds. The Hell Hound responds with desperation, his own fangs and claws cutting deep into the griffon. The lingering burn from its breath doesn't seem to be helping either. Then the rider dares to fire two shots at the griffon. Gerhard takes a swing, but the rider moves his Hell Hound in the way, sacrificing the beast to deal more damage. The Hell Hound is dead, but the rider puts his arrow deep in the griffon's shoulder.

Not taking terribly kindly to being shot at by an Essence Cannon, the rider on the leftmost side feeds a potion to his beast. The Hell Hound takes quick flight, landing a few feet from the wheelpony and Lord Emeraldcoat. It briefly crosses the engineer's mind that this Hell Hound hasn't breathed fire yet when it swiftly rectifies that problem.

It hurts, like wax melted to near-gas and poured on a broken horn to cauterize the wound, and it clings just the same, only this is everywhere. Lord Emeraldcoat knows it's just going to stay around, keep hurting for a few seconds before it cools, but it's not fun. Worse, it's hit the driver, and he doesn't have the same experience with pain that the engineer does. He's prone on the deck, shock setting in, and the River Swan stops moving forward.

Back on the riverbank, the goblin rider in front of Alexia shoots at Gerhard, missing and drawing a nip from the griffon in front of him. Her beak clacks closed on empty air, only for the Hell Hound to try to bite and claw. A claw and a bite miss; the other claw doesn't, but it's not too much of a wound. The lingering breath from the two attacks she took earlier looks like it hurts just as much.

Seeing a chance, the rider in the rear looses his arrows at Gerhard, then spurs the Hell Hound forward to set up a flank with the griffon's opponent. Armed only with a bow, the flank isn't yet effective... but it doesn't stop the hellhound from clamping its jaws on Gerhard's neck and twisting. The griffon goes down hard and does not move, his eyes staring at the boat, lifeless.

Swan Song sees her guard and driver down, and makes a decision. "ALEXIA! GET BACK TO THE BOAT!" she yells, before dropping both her wings down with a rush of wind. It flows out, past the rider on her boat, to the bank, where it spreads out nearly 120 feet long, two feet think and 30 feet high. There will be no more arrows from the shore.

Alexia looks for a moment as if she will disobey, rage and grief causing her to mimic the actions of the Hell Hound that killed her comrade by breaking the neck of the Hell Hound in front of her. But duty takes hold, and, the thread of melee attack removed, she retreats through the wall of wind to the boat.

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b610/mandiblebones/Bridle%20Crowd%20Encounter%201/E1R2_zps5454bb80.jpg



Hell Hound 1 at B11 is dead; Goblin is still up.
Breath Weapon deals 11 fire damage to Lord Emeraldcoat, Reflex DC14 for half. It will deal half damage (of either 11 or 5, depending on save) on the next round thanks to Clinging Breath.
Breath Weapon deals 11 fire damage to driver; Driver is prone and dying. He will take 5 more damage next round.
Gerhard is dead: a critical hit took him directly to -10.
There is a Wind Wall (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/windWall.htm) running through line F, indicated by the blue. I will not require a Spellcraft roll to identify what Swan Song cast, obviously.
Hell Hound 3 at D17 is dead; Goblin is still up.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal reappears seemingly out of nowhere, his horn already crackling with burning, eldritch forces. His face contorts in rage as he shoots a deadly blast towards the creature's mount. "Guess what? Your little pet won't protect you from me! This is for that arrow!"

Having fired this shot, he gets up, ready to fall back in case the other goblins deploy similar tactics to this one. Doing that, he notices the raven still sitting on his shoulder, as if nothing had happened. "I need to get a real familiar. You're useless!"


To hit: [roll0] against touch AC
Damage: [roll1] and [roll2] sudden strike

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon grabs for the driver and pulls him away from the flames. He fishes out a small baked good. Have a cookie, it's delicious. I'm optimistic that this won't be your last meal. If it is, I promise it'll be a good one. He quietly tells the prone stallion before feeding him the cookie.

Feeding the Driver a Cookie of CLW [roll0]

[THEChanger]

Emeraldcoat hissed in pain as the Hellfire bubbled over his skin. The pain was excruciating. Worse than any he had felt before. His eyes flicked to his left momentarily to see the other pony travelling with them dragging the pilot away from the flames, and feeding him some sort of pastry. Fat lot of good it'll do the poor thing. Simon would see what he could do for the pilot pony-after this abomination was off the ship. Taking a step back, Simon sent a couple signals to his Dynamo Cannon, once again coating the bolt in freezing liquid. Hopefully, he would be able to hit the vicious Hellbeast at closer range.

Activating Absolute Zero again. 8 Inspiration Points remain.

Taking a 5-foot step back to L15, still taking the 2 points of fire damage from the Clinging Breath.

Attacking the Hellhound aboard our ship. +1 to damage and to hit from Cordon, +1 to damage and to hit from Point Blank Shot, +2 to hit from Precision. Oh, and a +1d6 to damage from Cordon too.

To Hit-[roll0]
Cannon Damage-[roll1]
Rally Damage-[roll2]

[MandibleBones]

The Fury of Lord Emeraldcoat might be the next title in the Daring Do series, because the icy arrow he releases slams the Hell Hound against the gunwale. The Fury of the Strange Binding Unicorn With Eldritch Powers From Beyond Space and Time would be accurate as well — Charcoal's blast finishes the job and kills the Hell Hound — but it's harder to fit that on an young pony's adventure novel.

Cordon's cookies are, in fact, so good that the wheelpony blinks his eyes and briefly returns to consciousness, before the second agony of the clinging breath returns him to a dying state. It hurts Lord Emeraldcoat as well, but he managed to avoid much of the initial blast and thus only takes a little from the residue.

Seeing his mount killed under him, the goblin on the boat tries for a single shot at Swan Song — which misses — before deciding discretion is indeed the better part of valor and diving into the water, washing up on shore. The sole remaining mounted goblin urges his beast into a run, dashing off into the forest at a brisk clip. His compatriots advance through the wind wall, also aiming at the pony who conjured it, but whether because she's already on the move or because the wall affects them at this range, they too both miss.

Swan Song, as previously mentioned, moves: a wand in her teeth, she mutters words around it and brings the wheelpony fully back into the land of the conscious. Alexia, meanwhile, decides the archers need something more martial to shoot at, and dives at the shore, digging her beak into the back of the goblin who just arrived there.

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b610/mandiblebones/Bridle%20Crowd%20Encounter%201/E1R3_zps4409b212.jpg

Wheelpony was at -2 and dying, Cordon's cookie healed him to +3, residual damage from clinging breath brought him back to -5, and a cure light wounds from a wand brought him up to 7.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal's face is graced by the most fiendish smile he can muster as he observes the situation off-deck. "Let's see how good the rest of you ugly little gnomes are at swimming, shall we?" Having said that, another bolt of pure magical energy is released at the hellhound closest to Alexia as Charcoal makes a hasty retreat back to the other ponies on board.

[Rendel Nep]

Now you're better... Cordon get back up and draws his repeating crossbow.Take this you putrescent litttle monster! He exclaims as he releases the trigger.

Attack [roll0] Damage [roll1] Aiming at F11

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat took a step forward, and brought his Cannon to bear once again, this time targeting the Hellhound Alexia was in combat with. This would most likely be his last cold bolt-he needed to conserve his resources, and who knew what lied ahead.

Hey! Guess what I'm doing?
7 Inspiration Points left.
To Hit-[roll0]
Cold Damage-[roll1]
Rally Damage-[roll2]

[MandibleBones]

The dwindling numbers of opponents is a small spot of hope, and it gets bigger: Lord Emeraldcoat's freezing bolt slams home into the prone goblin, and Charcoal's blast finishes is.

Even Chef Cordon gets in on it: even as he fires, the shimmering shields protecting the remaining goblin disappear, and his crossbow bolt, too, finds a mark. Cordon's goblin retaliates, downing a potion and sending a painfully accurate shot directly into Charcoal's shoulder. It's not cold iron, but it still hurts.

The goblin facing the angry griffon doesn't risk the attack drinking a potion would bring. He looks as if he wants to step back, but the wind wall would keep him from attacking Alexia, so he risks a bite to take a shot at point-blank range. Sadly, the griffon's bite misses; more sadly, the goblin's arrow doesn't, sinking nearly to the fletching into her chest. She roars in pain and range, then swings one mighty paw across the goblin's face, leaving four deep gashes. Even in pain, the relief on the goblin's face that he is not yet dead is apparent.

It doesn't last: Swan Song, having helped Cordon to ensure her wheelpony stays alive, moves back to the ballista and puts a well-aimed bolt through the goblin, killing him and pinning his body to the earth like a butterfly in one of Lord Emeraldcoat's collections.

Charcoal takes 5 damage (DR factored). Injured GHR1 at F11 is only remaining Goblin. All Hell Hounds are dead or fled. For some reason photobucket is being stupid about uploading my photo, so no map this time.

[Theoboldi]

"Oh for Pete's sake, why don't you just give up?" For a second after this, Charcoal seems awfully silent, only to suddenly scream out a word of sheer, primal hatred, seemingly contorting the very air around himself. Weaker than normal dark speech, it still is an affront to all things living, managing to cause a cold sweat to run down Charcoal's back and causing bow of the goblin that has just shot at him to tremble with an incredible force. It bends dangerously, risking to break.


Using Baleful Utterance on the goblin that just shot at me. Let's hope those bows aren't magical, otherwise I might just have done something really stupid.
Will save DC 16 against shattering, and if it is shattered DC 16 fortitude against being dazed for 1 round and deafened for 10.

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon briefly considers the badly burnt pony that he barely rescued and his resolve hardens. He fires a second shot at the remaining goblin.

Attack [roll]1d20+12[roll] Damage [roll0]

[Rendel Nep]

trying attack roll again [roll0]

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat started at the sheer hatred behind Charcoal's words. The noble Unicorn would never have guessed the pony could contain such raw anger. It appeared his new associate was full of all sorts of surprises. Regaining his composure, Lord Emeraldcoat took careful aim, and shot an arrow towards the goblin currently engaged with Alexia. Hopefully, his aim would be true.

Unaugmented Dynamo attack.

To Hit-[roll0]
Cannon Damage-[roll1]
Rally Damage-[roll2]

[MandibleBones]

Lord Emeraldcoat's shot drives deep into the last goblin, taking it to its knees. Then its bow shatters in its hands, courtesy of Charcoal's strange powers. Cordon steels himself and fires his crossbow... and suddenly the forest is silent again.

After a few moments, the birds start chirping again. The river laps against the shore. The wheelpony, still quite injured but at least ambulatory, moves the boat a few feet closer to shore while still keeping it out of the muddy shallows.

Swan Song and Alexia go to collect Gerhard's body; Alexia is, incongruously for her fierce nature, near to tears. Some clues, perhaps, can be found from the bodies of the goblins — the Hell Hounds fade to a pile of ash after a few minutes.

Everyone gets 1200 xp. The goblins wear chain shirts, too strangely-shaped for ponies to wear well. Two of them carry masterwork short bows (the third is scattered all over the last goblin), and there are two potions of True Strike in what look like very-well crafted bottles (these can be drunk as a move action rather than a standard). Finally, there is, in the saddlebags of the dead lead goblin, a pair of horseshoes that set your mane on edge... but not necessarily in a bad way (Minor Wondrous Item).

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal looks at goblins lying before his hooves, contempt in his eyes. His horn glowing slightly, he magically pulls the arrows out of his shoulder as he examines the creatures. "This is bad. Whatever these things are, the fact that they were riding hellhounds is pretty troubling. Fiends don't normally show up in such large numbers, and much less do they serve ugly little goblins that aren't even supposed to really exist. And these aren't even the lizards I was searching for! Does anyone else want to reappear out of extinction and ride hellhounds while we're at it?"
He pauses, looking at the horseshoes that have been found. Quickly pulling out a monocle out of his saddlebags and putting it over his eye, he starts identifying the object. "At least they left something interesting behind. Now let's see what this is."


Using my artificer's monocle and at will detect magic to identify the horseshoes.

[THEChanger]

"All of this is indeed troubling." Lord Emeraldcoat's Dynamo Cannon flicked back into its resting position, and he drew close to the railing, gazing at the shore. He knew of the fiends, of course, from his studies into the darker arts, but it was true that Hellhounds were not normally seen in large numbers in this world. And for goblins of all things to attack them was disturbing indeed. "I fear our world may be changing, and not for the better. Old stories are coming to life." In the recesses of his mind, Simon wondered if he might have had something to do with these changes. The thing he had summoned into the world was powerful, after all. Shaking such thoughts out of his head, Lord Emeraldcoat turned to the other pony who accompanied them. "Thank you for your help, friend. I do not think I have had the pleasure of making your acquaintance. Lord Emeraldcoat, of Castle Emerald." The noble Unicorn made a sweeping bow towards the other warrior.

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon Yamfry, pleased to meet you. He bows in return. Hungry? I can cook something up while you tell me what those things are. Not to brag but the food I cook has been touted as 'Magically Delicious' more than once. He offers with smile but there's a hint of concern on his face.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal puts away his monocle, turning towards Cordon. "I'm Charcoal. You know, the guy who runs the investigation agency for supernatural and magical things. Oh, and, uh, thanks for the offer. I guess I could use a bite after all that. Magic is a bit tiring. He blushes slightly, returning the smile. "Uh, I saw you healing that other pony before. Maybe you could take a look at those wounds I took? That would be, uh, nice. Those arrows hurt me alot." He shoos the raven off his shoulder, sending it away to look around the area for other nearby hellhound riding troops. The bird flying away, Charcoal's grin becomes slightly nervous as stretches out his shoulder a bit.


Go Malpha's influence, a.k.a. shipping! :smalltongue:

Also, I'm sending that bird ahead to scout for other goblins. Not because we will encounter any, but because I want to use that bird for something at least. >.>

[Rendel Nep]

Yeah I'll see what I can do, checking for arrow head fragments never fun although you'll heal better if you eat something. Magic is Fry chips, after all. Just give me a moment to to speak to the captain Cordon reassures the black stallion, looking at the entry wounds along his body but seemingly oblivious to to Charcoal's attraction . He then switches his attention to the Captain of the boat and quickly draws her attention briefly.
Swan Song, Would you allow me the time to do some cooking? I probably only need somewhere to do some chopping and a fire for a stew pot. I wasn't actually expecting I'd need to cook but it might spare you the expense of having to use your wand any further. he inquires.

[MandibleBones]

Swan Song nods. "Definitely," she says. "As long as you don't mind being any later to Elsircross." She and Alexia have taken Gerhard's body belowdecks. The wheelpony doesn't look terribly well. "A fire would not go amiss," Swan Song admits.

Incidentally, your Iron Chef food lasts a few days. I don't know that I actually ever said how long, so let's call it 1+Iron Chef Level days, within reason (biscuits and cookies would likely last that long or longer, a fluffy soufflé might not).

[Rendel Nep]

Charcoal could you help and get a fire going? You've proved to be very er, talented in that field of expertise. Cordon asks and he starts preparing a simple veggie stew that has obscene amounts of garlic and waht ever else he can find.

Imbuing food with Cure Light Wounds- Craft (cooking) [roll0] (improvising)

[Theoboldi]

"Sure! Watch as I work magic beyond anything you have ever seen!" Charcoal's horn starts to gleam with a bright light, arcane energies flowing freely around him. Rather dissapointingly, the only ensuing effect is that a pair of flint and steel leave his backpack and place themselves in the middle of the firewood. "One of these days I need to learn an actual fire spell. This should be more than sufficient, though. At least for now."
He quickly gets to work igniting the wood, and one minute later the smell of burning lumber starts to fill the air.
Charcoal quickly lays down next to the fire, gazing into the flames and dining on the stew. "Thanks for the food. I appreciate it. Usually there are no cooks of your abilities around when I go on these kinds of missions."

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon tries some of the stew he cooked and almost instantly his expression sours. Wow, I apologise.That's not up to my usual standard. Normally it's a lot better, In fact I'd return this if it was served to me in a restaurant. He says, critical of his own food.

[Theoboldi]

"It's great, really. Especially given the circumstances. I don't think I could cook to the best of my abilities with the corpses of....these things all around." He edges a tiny bit closer to Cordon, then looks at the griffon mercenarie, his expression saddened. "Oh, I'm sorry for what happened with that other guy. You probably knew him pretty well. Or maybe you didn't, but even then it would be bad because he worked together with you and all that. I'll make sure something like this doesn't happen again, though. I'm already on a journey to stop some other hellhound riders, but I'm gonna try and stop these too, since they're dangerous for ponies and griffons and zebras and everyone else. I think mister Emeraldcoat is helping too, but I'm not all that sure about him. Still, at least I am going to bring down some vengeance on those guys."

He pauses, taking another sip of his stew. "Honestly, I don't see what's supposed to be wrong with this. A bit too spicy maybe, but I like that." Once again, he edges just a tiny bit closer to Cordon.


You're making this way too easy. :smalltongue:

[Rendel Nep]

Is he coming onto me? Cordon suddenly thinks. Nah must be my imagination, he must just be wanting get closer to the fire quickly dismissing it.

It's missing basil, i wasn't able to caramelise the onions and wheat flour isn't the ideal thickener for this sort of stew and there's too much garlic and rainbow. Needs more pepper. Cordon rants on, clearly worked up as to all the faults with the stew.

Sense motive[roll0]

[MandibleBones]

After recovering poor Gerhardt's body and taking nearly an hour's rest, Swan Song herds you all back onto the River Swan. "One of them did get away, after all. I don't fancy being here when he comes back with friends." The rest of the trip to Elsircross is uneventful, if a bit subdued: any voyage that begins with death is unlikely to be a terribly blessed one.

You arrive in Elsircross in the late evening. The town sits in a small valley, very likely cut by the river Elsir itself. The edges of the mountains nearest it are blanketed with the kind of wet trees you'd expect to find in a floodplain, and the nearby Marth Forest looks much the same. It might once have been a thick jungle: now, it is closer to a rainforest, even in this dry summer.

From the look of it, Elsircross is a rough, bustling frontier town filled with self-reliant ponies. At this time of night, most of them are indoors. Two things stand out.

By the light of Luna's moon, you can see several buildings' roofs are burned away, as if some searing light just cut through them. In the distance, mid forest, something glimmers brightly in the moonlight.

"The Crossed Horns is the inn here," Swan Song points out. "You're likely to find good beds there, and breakfast in the morning." She nods at the River Song, which sits tied up at the dock. "I'm going back downriver in the morning, but I'll be back every evening. When you're ready to leave, let me know — the return trip's on me. We'd all be dead without your help."

[Rendel Nep]

Thanks, Swan Song, I for one will keep in touch. Might even have something longer term in mind too..

Cordon disembarks and waits for the others before heading over in the direction of the inn.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal nods towards Swan Song, smiling weakly. "I appreciate it. Watch yourselves, things might be getting worse in the future, what with all those fiends and extinct creatures coming back. I probably should write to Celestia about this whole thing when I get back home. Or maybe somebody did already, things looking as they do around here. People don't usually like burned roofs, but I don't know much about the local customs. It would save me a lot of time if they already did. I'm not all that good with letters, you know. I just don't know what to write into them, when there's so many things to talk about. Anyway, I've got a zebra to save."
His eyes catch a short glimpse of Cordon walking off, and he coughs slightly before continuing. "Uh, I'll save him right away. I just have a few things to do first. Not to mention, I probably should let the bird do some scouting before I run off into the woods. I could get myself into trouble that way, and that would be an awfully silly way to die."

The raven on his shoulder crows and takes off, moving towards Marth Forest to check out the source of the glow in the woods. Charcoal himself follows behind Cordon, fully enticed by Malphas' influence, trying to look as if he just coincidentally wants to go the same way. "Come on, Charcoal. Just say goodbye to him and leave it at that. You can't just leave Hekima's brother waiting." He hesitates for a moment, but quickly resumes his trot. "But he's so wonderful and courageous and humble. I can't just let him go away."

[THEChanger]

Being a pony, Lord Emeraldcoat does not possess arms. This has been a source of frustration for him on multiple occasions, as lack of manipulative limbs has been a limitation on his experimentations.

However, as Charcoal carried on after Cordon, Simon's expression very clearly communicated the sense of crossed arms and tapping hoof. "Thank you, Swan Song. If you are ever in Bridle, I encourage you to stop by my laboratory. I would be more than happy to mix you up some items you might need." Simon then hurried off after Charcoal. The pony was rather obviously following Cordon-though, such things might not be so obvious to the object of his apparent obsession. "Charcoal! There is the matter of a certain missing zebra we should be attending to, yes?"

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal stops dead in his tracks. His expression, unlike Lord Emeraldcoat's, is rather reminiscent of a pleading puppy. "But Mister Emeraldcoat, I've already sent the bird to search for him. I'm sure he will find him...." He hesitates for a moment, his eyes frantically trying to avoid meeting Lord Emeraldcoat's gaze before giving up on this futile endeavour. "Yeah, you're right. We need to save Zaafira before it's too late, and I can't just risk his life and soul because of my own wishes. But Cordon is the most woundrous and charming and courageous stallion I've ever met. I can't just let him run off like that!"

[Rendel Nep]

You two aren't going to the inn? Cordon calls out waiting on the wharf.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal's head twists around to face Cordon at an incredible speed, his face showing no memory of any rescue-work left to do. "Of course! I'll be coming right along, just wait for me!" As he returns his attention to Lord Emeraldcoat, he cracks a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this. I won't stay at the inn, I promise, I'm only going to spend a little time with him and go into the forest tonight. Heck, that way I might even catch those lizards in their sleep! Good plan, isn't it? Okay, I only now came up with that. But it's a good plan! I can see in the dark, and those lizards probably can't. We'll have an advantage this way. Can I please go with him? Please? Comeon, I'm sure there'll be lots of great people at the inn. There always is somepony to talk to where there's food! And we can get some more information there, if you want to do that."

Not really waiting for Lord Emeraldcoat to answer, Charcoal runs off behind Cordon. "Sorry to keep you waiting. We needed to talk about business. Mister Emeraldcoat is pretty serious about that sort of stuff."

[Rendel Nep]

No problem. I don't think I've asked yet but what is your business here? I'm on or was as it may pan out, a simple business trip to secure some onions for my speciality soup after an erroneous order has left the restaurant's stocks short but now I'm wondering if that's going to be taking the back-seat considering recent developments. Two legged monsters riding fire breathing demonic diamond dogs definately doesn't- (...damn) is bound to result in the trade routes being cut off. Cordon explains, chatting as they make their way to the inn.

[Theoboldi]

"Well, you're right about that one. The zebra caravans in bridle have already been attacked by some hellhound riders. The routes being closed is only a matter of time if these attacks continue. And that's not the least of our problems. Me and Mister Emeraldcoat are currently trying to save a zebra who was kidnapped by a bunch of lizards. Lizards that also have access to fiendish support and have been extinct for over a thousand years. All things considered, I'm pretty sure they're going to sacrifice him and his soul in some unholy ritual to some tartaran devil lord."

He pauses for a second, sighing shortly. "And that's the bad part. Devils don't bring back ancient monsters and give them mounts and information on how to extract the hellfire from their breath just to kill a few caravans. That's the sort of things demons do when they're bored. There has to be something more behind this whole thing. But hey, solving these kinds of mysteries is my job. And this time around I even have some help." He tilts his head towards Lord Emeraldcoat, pointing at him.

[Rendel Nep]

wait...WHAT!? Cordon exclaims and then just stops. OK, before we proceed any further, would you like me to accompany you? I mean...the day to day operational problems of a small town restaurant pale into insignificance in comparison to the impending sacrifice of a young Zebra for unspeakable dark rituals. He asks and chastely dismisses his own errands.

[Theoboldi]

A glimmer shines up in Charcoal's eye and he breaks into giggling. "Really? You want to come with us? Yes, of course I'd like you to accompany me! We can go right away if you want! And then we're gonna kill some fiends together! And stop some evil cultists! Oh it's gonna be so much fun! And- uh...." He pauses for a second, his previous glee now reduced to a short, nervous laughter. "Sorry, there's a life at stake, forgot about that for a second. Anyway, we can use all the help we can get, especially when it's someone as tough as you. Should we go right away, then?" He directs his last question to Lord Emeraldcoat and Cordon both.

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat's eye wasn't twitching. No, no, that's a trick of the light. A noblepony does not allow his eye to twitch, even when dealing with such...insufferable...ridiculous...childish...dist urbed...

"Yes, I think getting underway as swiftly as possible would be best. Mr. Yamsfry, your assistance is most appreciated. Hopefully we are not already too late." Lord Emeraldcoat looked to the sky, thoughtfully. "Charcoal. Any idea which direction we're heading?"

[MandibleBones]

As Lord Emeraldcoat speaks, Charcoal's raven lands on his back, barely alive and resembling his master's name more than a little. "Caw," it caws, very weakly.

The bird noticed a large temple, recently restored from ruins, near the source of the glow. It was then hit by some sort of sunbeam, resulting in its charbroiled appearance. You get the impression that, had the bird shown up during the day, it would have been disintegrated.

The translation of his chirp is "Please don't make me do that again."

[Theoboldi]

"Huh. Well, I know where we're not heading. Looks like there's some big temple over there that shoots sunlight at birds. And with all those burned roofs around, I guess it shoots at ponies too. I doubt it's dedicated to Celestia, since she doesn't usually want to kill innocent birds with the power of the sun. Actually, make that a never. Though that makes me wonder...."

He rummages through his saddlebags, holding the holy symbol the zebras gave him before his face. He eyes it with suspicion, trying to make sense of the situation. "The lizards we are searching for are very probably sun-worshippers, as far as I know. Pre-Celestia ones, in fact. I doubt that the discovery of a big light-spewing temple and simultaneous re-emergence of crazy cultist lizards is a coincidence. Should we check the temple out? If it belongs to those lizards, it's possible that they'd perform their rituals there. Otherwise we'd have to search along the Dawn Way and hope for the best."

Charcoal sighs. The whole situation confuses him. If only he could figure out how the devils fit into the equation. How did a cult of sun-worshippers manage to form an alliance with them, and what did they get out of it? Was it even an alliance? Had they somehow managed to enslave hellhounds for their purposes? And if yes, how? Questions run through his head as he waits for an answer to the one he posed to the other two ponies.

[Rendel Nep]

I don't think I can help with that. I studied history, geography, the natural sciences and of course, Cuisine. Ran out of time for Sentient studies and I certainly doubt a supposedly extinct species is going to be the subject of anything other than ancient arcane annuals. I guess we can always do field research. Cordon responds. So where're we going? He asks.

[THEChanger]

"We go to the temple." Lord Emeraldcoat had collected himself, and began taking charge of this...team, of sorts. Odd sort of team, but he would work with what he had. "It's our best lead, currently, and if these things are sun-worshippers, a temple that shoots blasts of sunlight sounds like it could belong to them. We'll have to be careful. Charcoal, do you think you can lead us there?"

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal takes a look at the slightly singed bird on his shoulder. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Well, the bird can. I'll have to ask him." Shining a nervous smile at it, Charcoal starts speaking to the bird. "Would you take us to the temple? I know you really don't want to go back there, but I promise I won't let you get burned this time." The bird gives off a very disappointed caw , before he takes off into the air, showing the strange group of ponies beneath it the way to the temple. "Thank you! Okay, now we just have to follow the bird, guys. He'll lead us there."

[Rendel Nep]

Alright then, Onward!Cordon exclaims while rearing up before running off to keep up with the crow.

[MandibleBones]

Though the temple isn't terribly far into the thick woods — which begin to resemble a jungle the further into them the ponies trek — the going is slow. It is very dark, and if Charcoal's bird were not constantly cawing ahead of them, the ponies know they would be hopelessly lost. Bugs bite them, strange creatures rustle in the darkness, but our heroes continue to slog forward.

Finally, there is a glimmer of hope: a clearing, not too far from where the bird suggests the temple must be. A small pond, the water not too dirty, sits in it, and even a few mushrooms Cordon identifies as edible. The moon shines brightly enough to see, at least better than in the thick of the woods. The night is silent, even the fearsome howl of wolves is no longer heard. In this idyllic place, it seems to the ponies like everything might turn out alright after all.

That is, of course, when the javelins start embedding themselves in the ground around you.

Four creatures reveal themselves with that first volley, though by Luna's grace or blind luck, none of their javelins hit the ponies. Three of the ambushers cling to the branches of the trees above like monkeys, but they look like bipedal lizards with fiercely green scales. A fourth rises from the very pond which looked so peaceful a moment ago.

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b610/mandiblebones/Bridle%20Crowd%20E2/E2R1_zpsd14fe7e3.jpg

Roll initiative please and describe your first-round actions. There will be no surprise round.

[Theoboldi]

Taking a few steps backwards, Charcoal slowly moves away from the javelin embedded in the ground before him. "Well, looks like we're in the right place. That's good at least. Too bad we got ambushed again, though. I really don't like being ambushed, it always ends with some weapons embedded in various parts of my body. At least if the ambusher's are using weapons. It still hurts when they aren't using weapons to hit me, though. Good thing these guys have awful aim."

His horn starts to crackle with dark energies, before unleashing a deadly blast at the Lizard inside the rightmost tree. Having done this, he quickly turns around, seeking safety behind the burly cook.


[roll0] initiative
[roll1] to hit for [roll2] and [roll3] in case Cordon gets to go before me and does that rally thing.

[Rendel Nep]

You bring Violence and Hate to our Fair kingdom? I know nothing of your ilk but in the name of her Majesty, you are not Welcome here. Go now or we'll send you packing ourselves. Cordon Booms across the clearing. Lord Emeraldcoat, Charcoal, it's quite evident they seem to only respect shows of force. Let's give them some shock and awe.

Initiative [roll0]
Activating 'Motivate Ardor' aura as a swift action and Rally as a Full round action.
OOC I'd rather charge but they're in the friggin' trees man! Actually the effect on happens next round. There's mainly a lot of rhetoric and shouting before you receive your bonus damage.

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat didn't speak. He simply activated his Dynamo Cannon, and let a bolt fly towards the nearest lizard. He then took a couple of steps towards the other two ponies, consolidating their position.


Initiative: [roll0]

Dynamo Cannon shot on lizard at H4.

Add 1 to the To Hit roll if my initiative is lower than Cordon's. Adding Precision to to hit.

To Hit-[roll1]
Damage-[roll2]

Then move to J9

[MandibleBones]

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b610/mandiblebones/Bridle%20Crowd%20E2/E2R2_zpsd706f81f.jpg

Cordon rallies the party. Two lizardfolk release javelins at Lord Emeraldcoat, missing him both times. The other two aim for Charcoal with more success. In retaliation, Charcoal vaporizes the lizardfolk in the tree, and Lord Emeraldcoat's cannon deals heavy damage to one of the others.

Charcoal takes a whopping 2 damage after damage reduction. Whomever decided this was a CR4 encounter needs to be shot. Out of a cannon. TO THE MOON!

Initiative:
20 - Cordon Yamsfry
18 - Lizardfolk
17 - Charcoal
9 - Lord Emeraldcoat

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal stumbles back a bit from the pain of two large pieces of wood and metal hitting him. "Oh by Luna's grey moon! Why am I always the one who is targeted by painful flung objects?! Can't you just aim at someone else? Or just not attack people? It does nothing more than annoy me, you know. And I don't like being annoyed." He unleashes another barrage of arcane energies at the lizard sitting inside the pond, intent to destroy.



Eldritch Blast on Lizardfolk 1.

[roll0] to hit.
[roll1] damage.

Curbstomp battle! http://i.imgur.com/jaolo.png

Not with those rolls, though.

[Rendel Nep]

Bah I know what you mean. Not even the tiniest attempt to parley, they keep flinging their spears. I wish they would just get on with it and charge us. Oh well, on my mark..FIRE! Corrdon complains before marshalling (?) a volley.

Continuing to maintain rally (move action) Attacking #1 [roll0] Damage [roll1]

[THEChanger]

"Focus, friends, focus. Just because they're cowardly does not mean they aren't dangerous." Lord Emeraldcoat recalibrated his aim once more, to strike the lizard he had previously hit.

Attacking lizard at H4.

To Hit-[roll0]
Damage-[roll1]
Rally Damage-[roll2]

[MandibleBones]

Cordon's assault wounds the lizardfolk in the lake, who immediately dives to the bottom and hides. One of the others yelps, “Ioth Tirek, wer weloh jivi sventa Harshaak! Vur nomagqe Kilraak!” and lobs his javelin at Cordon, hitting the most recent offender in the shoulder for more damage than he expects. The second tries to follow suit, but fails, perhaps because of his injury at Lord Emeraldcoat's hands. Neither gets the chance to attack again, as Charcoal's blast makes vapor of the uninjured lizardfolk and Emeraldcoat finishes what he started.

Only the thuds of the bodies as they fall from the trees mar the sudden silence's return.

Draconic Translation
”Holy Tirek, the tiny horses destroyed Harshaak! And maybe Kilraak!”

Combat Results
Cordon takes 8 damage from a critical javalin hit. The remaining Lizardfolk is hiding in the pond. Combat is either over or not, depending on whether you want to try to find and kill the last one. If you're okay with it being over, gain 400 xp each, various small gems worth a total of 200 gp, and a cloak of resistance +1.

[Rendel Nep]

ARGH! Damn it. I guess I deserved that. Cordon flinches at his shoulder wound. I guess we fended them off for the most part. He concludes surprised by the briefty of the fight. So what did that one say? he asks pointing to the corpse.

[Theoboldi]

"I don't speak lizard. Though I'd guess it was something about me nearly disintegrating two of them, mister Emeraldcoat using actual firearms, and you firing a gigantic crossbow. People who only use javelins usually are panicked by that." He walks over towards the pond, curiously staring into it. "I wonder if this leads anywhere? Because if it doesn't, I really want to see how long that thing can hold its breath." He smiles as he sits down to wait. A short moment of cruelty was fun every now and then, especially when directed against evil reptiles who throw sharp sticks at ponies.


Is everyone okay with me taking 100 of the gold? I have no use for the cloak, so one of you guys should take it.

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat lifted some of the gems into his backpack with the amulet around his neck, and went to Charcoal's side. "Hard to say where it goes, if it goes anywhere. But as much as I dislike things which try to skewer me, we do have more pressing matters to attend to. The zebra is our reason for coming out here, and I think is somewhat more important."

I'll take the other 100 gold, if you'd like the Cloak Rendel?

[Theoboldi]

"Yeah, you're right. I hope he doesn't come out of that thing when we're gone and ambush us again later though. Or maybe he's gonna swim through a tunnel down there and warn his friends. Or maybe he'll swear vengeance upon us for taking out his allies and turn up again two weeks later with some ancient powerful magic artefact and try to avenge his people. And maybe he'll learn how to use a sword just so he can use it against us and be a lone avenger! That would be so awesome! But maybe not. Let's hope we scared him off for the moment at least."

Finishing his non-sequitur, Charcoal floats the rest of the gemstones into his saddlebags, ready to trot off behind the magical bird again.

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon bends his neck sideways trying to get his mind around what Charcoal just said. After briefly processing it he nods. Better you having the archnemesis than me. I'm more cut out for professional rivalries with dastardly chefs with grand titles like 'Monsieur Flambé or Baron Von Apfelstrudel. Anyway I don't think he'll be much of problem unless he can find a way to be less flammable. Anyway, Lord Emeraldcoat, you're quite right. He replies still unsure of what exactly Charcoal said.
One day Trottingham, one day he very quietly reassures himself

Nope, Cordon has a cape already.

[MandibleBones]

As you divide the spoils of your victory, the lizardfolk does not come out from his hole. Perhaps he drowned, perhaps he crawled into some cave, or perhaps he died of his wounds — even Charcoal can't see through the muck, though the dark does not bother him.

The clearing seems to be the herald of a more open area of the wood, and when you leave it, up ahead, the sight you behold far closer than you might have thought. The path you have been following opens onto the edge of an immense gorge that has been carved from the hills by a fast-moving river several hundred feet below.

On the other side of the gorge, a complex of ancient-looking stone buildings is silhouetted against the jungle canopy. Two immense ziggurats frame some smaller structures in the center. To the south, a seriously damaged bridge spans the gorge.

Even in the darkness, you can see the bright light from atop the northernmost ziggurat. The device pulses with a white light that grows and dims in a rhythmic sequence, like the breathing of a living thing.

Temple
http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b610/mandiblebones/templesurroundings_72dpi_zps29539593.jpg

[Rendel Nep]

Rather impressed Cordon gives a whistle. *phew* 'I assume by the Doom beacon, that this is the place? He asks, head seemingly fixed at the sight before him.

[Theoboldi]

"Birdie?" The crow caws, given the strong impression of wanting to say "Of course this is the place, you morons." then resigns himself to nodding. "Okay. You're dismissed for now. Go and do whatever birds do when they aren't controlled by magicians."

"Yeah, looks like this is it. And it seems like we're lucky! That thing didn't fry us yet, so we might be safe! No time to lose then, gnetlecolts." Charcoal walks a few steps forward, stopping just a moment before he falls into the gaping pit before him. He looks into its flowing waters for a few seconds, at the broken bridge in front of them, then at the surrounding area. "Well, I can't see an easy way over there. Except if we suddenly all learned how to fly, but I think that would require us to become alicorns. And I don't know how to become an alicorn, so that won't work. And I don't have any knowledge on how to do that spell that gives you those cool butterfly-wings. He glances over his shoulder, peeking inside his saddlebag, and his face suddenly brightens as he gets an idea. "What I do have is rope. Lot's of rope. But no grappling hook. Why didn't I buy a grappling hook? Okay, I need that rope for other stuff than getting across rivers, but grappling hooks are cool. I need to get one."

He pauses for a second, sinking into thought about the problem. The moment of peace does not last long however, as he turns towards Cordon. "Cordon, can you try tying this rope around one of your crossbow bolts and shoot it into the other side of the river? Then we'll climb across, like spies do in all those stories! It's gonna be so great!"

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon nods. Seems reasonable assuming the rope holds. I'll just get out of my mail, last thing I want to do is fall in and drown because my armour is too restricting. he says and proceeds to remove his armour. Once he's done, he gets his crossbow out gets into position next to the tree by the bridge. I'm going to try and aim for that tree.He says, pointing to the set of bushes north of the temple.

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon ties the rope according and takes aim, primes the repeating crossbow* then fires. Attack [roll0] ** BULLS EYE! Cordon proudly announces.

*Correct technical term censored due to being a dirty word despite also being discrimination against male fowl.
**range penalties may apply

[MandibleBones]

Cordon's bolt does indeed sink firmly into a tree on the far side of the gorge. A few tests of the rope later, and the three of you are happily zip-lining down to the other side. How to get up again, well, that seems to be an interesting question.

Nope, I applied the range penalty to your difficulty. You're good.

[THEChanger]

Simon approached the rope with some reluctance, but zipped across. Steadying himself on the other side, he shook his head vigorously. "No more ziplines. We take bridges from now on." Looking back over his shoulder, Simon grimmaced. "Actually, we may have to take the bridge back. We're too low to go back over the line. I suppose we'll deal with it when we return." Shielding his eyes, Lord Emeraldcoat stared at the massive light atop the temple. The structure was both enormous and old, odd things in Equestria. "Alright. Lay low. Try not to attract attention to ourselves. Remember, this is a rescue mission. We find the zebra, we get out. We try not to enter combat if we can avoid it. Everyone clear?"

[Theoboldi]

"I'm clear as can be, sir!" Charcaol does a short salute, although it's impossible to tell whether he is mocking or serious. "Now, how are we going to get into that thing? It's pretty big, so there has to be more than one entry. Most people don't like having only one entry point, because then they have to walk around the whole thing to get inside. That's usually annoying. Though I don't know how lizards feel about that kind of stuff. They don't have as many legs as we do, so they probably need less energy to walk. Anyway, how about we just try to find a way inside at the middle? They probably have guards on those big temple thingies, so they'll see us if we approach them. What do you guys think?"

[Rendel Nep]

No Idea, I have no way to relate to these reptiles. Although if there is a service entrance or something we should use that. Hmm, perhaps we draw out the more observant ones with a distraction of some kind? Like an eternally glowing gem that happens to just float there? My problem is I can't be stealthy, not with this barding nor with my marshaling ability. Cordon says, partly thinking out loud.

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat considered Cordon's words. "A service entrance? Maybe not quite, but..." Simon approached the nearest wall of the temple, and ran his hoof over it. He studied the work carefully, trying to see if it was reminiscent of any style he knew of, running through what he knew of architecture for clues of a plan, a secret passage, anything.

Sorry. I live in Boston. It's running into Finals week, we've been working so hard, and then...well, you know what happened. I've been kind of rocked lately.

Anyway. Knowledge Architecture check, to see if Simon knows anything about this style of building/a sneaky way inside. I think the Cutie mark bonus might apply here, but I'm not sure so I won't include it. If it does, add 6 to the end result.

Know: Architecture-[roll0]

[Rendel Nep]

What are you looking for? Cordon asks, hoping to assist in some way.

[MandibleBones]

The temple is all open air —*Lord Emeraldcoat thinks there must be a village hidden in the trees somewhere, because it's unlikely any lizardfolk are living on top of the two temple mounts. The pens in the middle, however... even in what remains of the night, you can see some activity and glowing eyes.

[THEChanger]

"Okay. The main presence of the lizards will be inbetween the two bigger structures. Those seem to be more the temple bits. I say we try and get into the closer one first. Less likely to run into anyone."

[MandibleBones]

Though the stairs are facing in toward the pens, the lowest tier of the near ziggurat appears to be scalable with a minimum of effort, and the three adventuresome ponies find themselves looking upward at four more levels. There does not appear to be a door inside at this level. Down toward the far end of this side appears to be a heavy ladder. A trail of blood leads from the near turn toward the ladder, then turns to ascend it.

http://i.imgur.com/YPv8bZs.jpg

May I have spot checks, please?

[Rendel Nep]

There's something odd about the ladder. I'd be cautious about using it.Cordon comments, unsure exactly what's wrong.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal does not respond to Cordons words. He is completly fixated on the bloody trail in front of him, visibly distressed. "Oh dear. This isn't good. No, not good at all. Blood means someone's been injured. And with the way it's splattered, they must have dragged him-...no, better not to think about it. Thinking too much about these things is never good. Let's keep thinking to a minimum."

Worry covers his face for a moment, and he stays silently in place before he regains his composure. "Let's just go on. We don't have any time to waste."

IC reasons for horrible rolls and possible incoming character development. What's not to love?

[THEChanger]

Simon closed his eyes as Charcoal began chattering once more. The pony was starting to lose any vestige of control he had to begin with. Emeraldcoat was about to shake the poor thing out of his panic, when miraculously, Charcoal managed to calm himself down. Simon sized up the other pony to make sure he was okay, and then nodded. "Absolutely." Of course, Simon was cautious. The blood did mean that there had already been a scuffle in this area, and some of the combatants might still be in the area. He flicked his cannon into firing position, just to be sure.

[MandibleBones]

When nothing happens for a few moments, the ponies advance cautiously, ready for a fight. Remembering the lessons of the boat, they spread out, but not too far — there's only so much area. This time, however, they're ready for anything.

Except, perhaps, the "ladder" ahead of them sprouting tentacles and advancing on them as they approach. At the same time, an un-Equestrian moan comes from behind them, as an oddly-glowing, vaguely equine creature swathed in rags ascends from the floor under one of the larger bloodstains. Though no eyes can be seen, if it had them, they would burn with bloodlust.

It's a good thing you're ready for anything.

http://i.imgur.com/u2qGt52.jpg

Initiative, please. There will be no surprise round.

Image credit for the non-ladder undead goes to http://harikon.deviantart.com .

[Theoboldi]

An almost unnatural silence seems to surround Charcoal for a second. His glare is glued to the dark figure at the corner, and slowly, his eyes begin to fill with sheer disgust at this terrible, soulless abomination. "A wraith." He knows what this creature is. How its kind come into being. There aren't many fates he would consider worse than becoming one of them, and none of them he would ever mention to anyone whose sanity he values. Even worse, chances were good that the lizards had created it. Few ponys, heck, few people of any species were evil enough to just turn into a wraith upon death, and even then it required large quantities of negative energy. He would never understand how someone could be vile enough to do this to somepony.

"Very well then. If you two have magical weapons, focus everything you have on the ghost. If not, don't bother. Leave it to me. And try to stay out of its range. Its touch is deadly."
As he speaks, Charcoal's horn starts crackling with burning, dark energies, fueled by nothing less than the hatred he feels at the mere sight of the monster before him. The lizards would pay for this. But for now, destroying the wraith would have to do. With the last word spoken, he fires a blast towards the wraith, hoping that his magic will show some effect.


A bit dark, I know. Hope that no one is bothered.

[roll0] Initiative
[roll1] To hit the wraith
[roll2] to actually affect him because incorporeal
[roll3] if I actually do damage him

[Rendel Nep]

Well if you know what you're doing, flambé it extra crispy. I'm going to hoof to wrung with the ladder but first...
Cordon clears his throat. I think this might apply to this situation but when the elements of harmony first got together they encountered a haunted portion of the Everfree forest. Everyome was terrified until Pinky pie sang a song. I won't sing it because it'd sound terrible but I will however paraphrase the lyrics. Stand up tall my brothers! Face up to your fears! Then, Then you will see that they can't hurt you! Just laugh my friends and surely your fears will disappear! and with that he rallies his new found friends.
initiative [roll0]
Full round action to Rally!

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat swung around to face the...wraith, Charcoal had called it? Nasty business, the undead. He knew that better than most. A grimace crossed the noblepony's face, and he muttered under his breath. "Magic? No, gave that up a long time ago. I have science on my side." A low hum could be heard from his cannon, as lights along the side flickered and flashed. Then, a bright flash, and a bolt of what seemed to be pure force lashed outwards towards the wraith. Cannon fired, Simon took a few steps backwards and aligned himself with Charcoal. He really didn't feel like engaging in close combat with an undead at the moment.

Initiative-[roll0]

Initiative will probably be less than Cordon's, so I will factor in Rally damage. Using Terminal Velocity for 2 Inspiration Points to do Force damage with my Cannon, and add a point to damage. Precision goes to To Hit.

To Hit-[roll1]
Cannon Damage-[roll2]
Rally Damage-[roll3]

Then moving to D8. Cause really, why be close to a wraith, when one can be close to Charcoal the superpony instead?

[MandibleBones]

Though the ponies react almost at once to the sounds of combat, the wraith is freakishly fast, closing immediately with Lord Emeraldcoat. It rears up to deliver a spectral hoof, but perhaps the suddeness of combat startled it: its hooves clatter to the stone without striking the old inventor. Beneath it, the blood trail hisses and bubbles at the undead thing's touch.

Cordon's rallying cry is welcome, bringing hope and laughter even to this dark hour before the dawn. Charcoal, dually inspired by the rally's simple joy and his hatred's dark energies, blasts the wraith with eldritch energies, and Lord Emeraldcoat's follow-up likewise strikes it. For a moment, it seems the undead creature can't tell if it should continue striking at the engineer or pursued the warlock.

The aberration playing at being a ladder, on the other hand, only has the one target — it closes with Cordon and swings at him like a line cook with a cheese tray. The tentacle slams into the chef, causing enough pain to elicit a wince, at least.

The wraith, deciding that the pony who damaged it the most must come first, moves toward Charcoal and strikes — its icy hoof deadens a portion of the pony's shoulder.

http://i.imgur.com/vw5XZbz.jpg

6 damage from a slam attack to Cordon. Charcoal takes 1 damage after DR, and must make a DC 14 Fort save or take 3 CON drain. If Lord Emeraldcoat has a melee weapon (even hoofshoes) equipped, he may take an attack of opportunity as the Wraith leaves his threatened square. In the interest of moving this along, I have taken the Wraith's action for this coming round, as it goes first.

Initiative:
Wraith 26
Cordon 20
Charcoal 15
Emeraldcoat 13
Mimic 7

[Rendel Nep]

*OOF* Cordon grunts as he's pounded by the Mimic. He maintains his rally and it's current theme of the laughter song with a Ha Ha HAAAA!, the last one coinciding when he takes to striking the mimic.

Motivate Ardor (Swift action) +1 damage to all attacks
Maintain Rally- Move action
Attack (Standard Action) Power attack for +3 damage [roll0] Damage [roll1] +[roll2] Cold damage
Designate the mimic as Cordon's dodge focus.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal cringed as the ghostly hoof moved through his shoulder, but not because of the pain. A wraith's touch did not hurt. But the cold one felt through it was unreal. Not even the most horrible blizzard could compare to the way it seemed to just suck out a body's energy, reducing it to nothing more than a pale husk. It was no energy-drain, but certainly came too close for comfort.
Nearly stumbling over his own feet, Charcoal used the little energy he had left in his arm to maneuver himself between the wraith and Cordon. He wouldn't let that thing get to him, no matter what. Besides, the song that Cordon was strangely soothing, considering the situation. The poor soul obviously had no idea what he was facing.

Returning his focus on the wraith, he charged up another ray. "The living won't fear you. Just accept that you're dead! DIE ALREADY!" Again, a stream of eldritch energies made its way towards the spirit, and Charcoal prayed that it would affect it.


I think I might switch to past tense from now on. It's much easier. >.>

Anyway, I'll do a five-foot step to D9, then fire an eldritch blast.
[roll0] Fortitude against CON-drain.
[roll1] to hit
[roll2] miss chance
[roll3] damage

Edit: Oh darn. At least I probably just destroyed the wraith. Being the main damage-dealer feels good.

[MandibleBones]

That will indeed kill the wraith, if Lord Emeraldcoat would like to turn his attention to the Mimic.

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat watched in horror as the wraith struck Charcoal, and then in amazement as Charcoal struck back. The pony was, indeed, incredibly powerful. Beneath the rather childish exterior, it seemed Charcoal was possessed of something...more. "Focus. There is still a threat." Aiming his cannon at what had once been a ladder, Simon let a non-energized bolt fly forward. Hopefully Charcoal would be alright.

Bonuses from Rally, Motivate Ardor, and Precision. No Inspiration points spent this round.

To Hit-[roll0]
Damage-[roll1]
Rally Damage-[roll2]

[MandibleBones]

Sir, confirm that crit and roll the rest of your damage, please :-)

[MandibleBones]

http://i.imgur.com/ucnarAS.jpg

Cordon smacks the mimic, keeping up his rally, as eldritch energies from Charcoal's horn finish off the wraith. It dissolves into a black, shadowy mess and slowly sinks through the floor as Lord Emeraldcoat lets loose a might blast at the aberration. Several rungs break, and everypony can see flesh and bone where an ordinary ladder would only show cracked wood. The ladder shrieks, flailing wildly with one tentacle, which misses — just in time for the second to slam with ferocity into Cordon's side.


It's a good round for critical hits, apparently. 18 damage to Cordon from a slam attack. The wraith is dead. One of these days, I'm going to find an encounter correctly balanced for you three... but it is not this day, apparently, despite this being nominally an EL7 encounter versus your 5.2 party level.

Initiative:
Wraith 26
Cordon 20
Charcoal 15
Emeraldcoat 13
Mimic 7

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon Briefly sees stars but from the corner of his eyes he can tell that Lord Emeraldcoat and Charcoal have already defeated the wraith. Giggle at the Ghostly, Guffaw at the grossly, Friends!!! he says taking a more cautious strike this time.

5ft step to C10
Defensive strike -5 to Attack +5 to AC
Attack [roll0] Damage [roll1]+[roll2]
Continue rally.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal stumbled in place, the wraith losing its form before his eyes. Whoever it had been in life would now be at peace, even if he was unsure whether the soul had been destroyed or set free from the evil that was corrupting it. Either way, he allowed himself a smile. "Aren't you supposed to say something thoughtful in moments like this?"
A yell from behind his back quickly tore him from his thoughts, however, as the battle raged on behind him. It wasn't time to celebrate yet. With a spin, he turned around, another ray flying past Cordon and at the strange tentacled creature.



[roll0] to hit
[roll1] damage

[MandibleBones]

With Cordon's hit, the mimic staggers. It has no visible eyes, but anypony can see it's panicking. The reason why becomes apparent as Charcoal's hit splatters it all over the temple wall.

After Cordon's hit, it had 1 hp left. So no, the crit wasn't necessary. Combat is over; take 700 xp each.

[Theoboldi]

"Eeew. Not again! I really need to stop putting so much power into those blasts." Somehow, Charcoal had managed to keep himself on his legs. His shoulder and half of his leg felt dead, but the battle was won, and more importantly, everyone was still in one piece. Shapeshifters and undead not included.
Limping, he made his way over to Cordon. "I liked your rendition of the song. Even if it was less of a song and more of a speech. But speeches are fine, too." As he spoke, he noticed Cordon's injuries. The mimic had obviously given him a few painful hits. "Are you okay, Cordon? You're bleeding a bit there."

[Rendel Nep]

I am?Cordon asked clearly a bit dazed. That ladder must have really been hitting me with the tentacle-pseudopod-*gasp*-rung limb thingy, whatever that was. Oh and thanks. I had to improvise. Not actually much of a singer. Got to admit, it's left me battered and bruised. he says in rather short breathes.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal nodded, smiling."Good to see that you're okay, at least. Celestia knows what we'd be doing if you weren't as tough." Pausing, his sight wandered towards the wall. "Too bad our ladder is now splattered all over the wall. Though I never was all that good with ladders anyway. They just aren't made for hooves. Except when they're stepladders. But this wasn't one. Not that it was a normal ladder either. Shall we try and scale the wall, then?"
Having finished talking, he tried to make his way over towards a cleaner section of the wall, only to nearly stumble over himself. "Agh! I think I'll need a restoration spell as soon as we're back. Good thing you didn't get hit too, Mister Emeraldcoat."

[THEChanger]

Simon rushed over to make sure the other pony didn't topple over. "Woah there Mr. Charcoal. Easy now. You're not scaling anything in your current condition." Lord Emeraldcoat looked over the two other ponies. "I wish we had ourselves a proper healer. I don't have the skill to treat these sorts of wounds right now..." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. That line of thinking wouldn't be helpful right now. They needed to press onward. There was a zebra that needed them. "Okay. If you two are still feeling up to it, we'll circle around the rest of the temple, see if there's a ground entrance. Climbing should be our last option."

[Theoboldi]

With some effort, Charcoal to stand up again. He wasn't in pain, he had barely even been injured in the battle. But his leg had barely any life left in it, hanging almost immobile in its socket. Still, it would have to do. "No. We can't waste any time with that. You two can help me up if I can't make it by myself. At worst, we can use my rope to pull me up. But if we circle around the zigurat now, we're only going to risk Zaafira's life and increase our chances of being seen. We won't make any detours."

[Rendel Nep]

Actually... I have a recipe that'll have you literally climbing the walls. Although I kind of need to save some of my best cooking for myself. That fight took a lot out of me. Cordon informs the others.

[Theoboldi]

"Make some for yourself, then. I can wait. It's not like the numbness in my arm is going to spread. Did that sound sarcastic? It wasn't supposed to be. Anyway, you're the one who runs up to a monster's face and beats it in, so you probably need the healing more than I do." Charcoal giggled shortly, then continued.
"Though if it's okay with you guys, I'll stay invisible from now on. That way we can surprise those lizards even if they ambush us again! Oh, I can't wait for the looks on their faces!"

[Rendel Nep]

yeah...sure. I got to confess though. In all the excitement about the news about the rescue of the Zebra filly... I kind of didn't get any extra rations...or any regular adventuring equipment. I kind of fully expected to be sleeping at the the inn then talking a business plan with an onion farmer and then to make a return trip. Cordon admits somewhat embarrassed.

[Theoboldi]

"Don't worry, I think I can help you out on that one." Charcoal opens his saddlebags, and takes out a smaller pouch, handing (hooving?) it over to Cordon. "I normally use this everlasting ration. It should contain enough for you to make one more meal, then it will have to recharge until tomorrow. And you'll have stolen my lunch, but I guess you're in greater need of it right now, so that's fine."

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon samples the rations provided Yuck, I know I won't being losing my job any time soon but those rations are still handy. he then goes about doing his imbuing.

Cure light wounds [roll0]

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal was quite amazed by Cordon. Somehow that stallion was able to cook without fire nor equipment, and his food still seemed to take off the edge from the injuries he had sustained. Sometimes, he just felt like swooning about him, but there was no time for that now. "Are you ready now? I'm asking because you've eaten your food, and you're not bleeding as much anymore, so I guess you've done your gastromancy stuff. I wonder why they never taught that in Celestia's academy? Probably because then no one would have visited the other courses anymore. And you would need to add aditional, more nutritious components to your spells, but that's only healthy." As he spoke, Charcoal slowly turned more and more translucient, dissapearing before the others. Needless to say, his constantly rambling mouth was the last thing to dissappear. "So, now to climb that wall. Well, it can't be that difficult. Just gotta stay away from the parts that are slippery because of the blood from that....super-changeling, I guess, and we should be fine.
Doing his best to ignore the numb feeling of his front leg, Charcoal then did his best to scale the zigurat.


For the case that I can't take 20 for a total of 18 on this climb check for whatever reason, have a roll.

[roll0] climb

[MandibleBones]

Despite the troubles of hooves, the walls are rough enough that, with careful efford, Charcoal is actually able to climb to the next level of the zigguarat over the next hour. The sun is beginning to glow on the horizon.

Yes, taking 20 is an option. If the other ponies want to try to climb as well, they should be able to take 20 in the same time.

[Rendel Nep]

*puff* Yeah really regretting not packing any food. I got another recipe that'd have us climbing up the walls. Honestly, the better I get the more I surprise myself. Although other than the healing imbue I keep most of them to myself. I don't want to hear any complaints from angry parents about their colts and fillies climbing the walls orhanging off the ceiling. Cordon says as he struggles to climb the wall.

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat panted heavily after ascending the wall. This was not something he was used to. He was a researcher, a scientist. Not an adventurer. Climbing up walls, dealing with strange creatures, today was a hard one. Still, there was a life to save. They needed to press forward. "Day is coming soon. We need to find the zebra fast, and get back to town." Simon began searching for some entrance into the temple. Hopefully it wouldn't be as difficult to find their rescuee as it was to climb that Celestia-forsaken wall.

Might as well roll Search, see if Simon can find anything that might be useful.

[roll0]

[MandibleBones]

Lord Emeraldcoat's keen sense of attention to detail locates a door, cleverly designed to appear as part of the ziggurat, at this level. Opening it could take some skill, however.

[Theoboldi]

Unseen by the others, Charcoal took a closer look at the door Mr. Emeraldcoat had just found. The stallion sure had an eye for detail. How had he found this thing? And within only a few seconds of climbing that wall, too.
Truth be told, this was a pretty nice door. Fine craftslizardship. Almost seemed to meld into the stone. No hinges, no mechanisms, and it probably was thicker than...other doors. "I gotta think of analogies for these kinds of situations." No way to simply blow it open.

But wait. What was that? Up in the corner of the door there seemed to be a tiny rune. It stood out on the otherwise undecorated walls of the zigurat. And somehow even Charcoal doubted that one of the reptiles had tried to chisel some graffity into the wall. Surely they had paint for such things. Then again, these creatures had been gone for more than a thousand years. Perhaps paint hadn't been invented back then. He decided to figure that out later.
Right now, he settled upon trying to detect whether the rune had any magic place upon it, to see whether it was safe to touch it.


Gonna cast detect magic on the rune.
[roll0] spellcraft if needed.

If it's safe, Charcoal is going to try and push it like a button.

[MandibleBones]

The rune is the draconic word for "Sealed," and radiates weak conjuration.

Tried to post this last night; boards were being funny.

[Theoboldi]

"Hmm. Looks like this rune is magical. And I'm going to guess that it controls the door. Mostly since there's nothing else we could open the door with. Too bad I can't read the thing, because that would be pretty helpful in figuring out what it does." Charcoal made himself visible again, turning to the others.

"Dispelling it should do the trick. I think. Or it might just break the only opening mechanism this door has. You can never be too sure with these magic doors. There were a lot of them in Canterlot, too. Never really got why, they're a horrible security measure. You can get around them easily if you're prepared.
While we're on that note, do any of you guys have dispelling equipment of some sort? I don't actually know any dispelling spells. I could...uh, try to prepare one, if you can give me a few minutes, but I'd like to avoid having to do that. If there are alternatives. Partly because it's not even guaranteed to work." His smile seemed to carry a hint of nervousity for a second during those last few sentence, but it faded quickly. Hoping for the best, he waited for an answer from the other two ponies before him.


It's a strange moment when you realise just how unreliable expell vestige actually is. While we're on that note, do you have any abilities that grant rerolls, Rendel?

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon shakes his head. No I never got along well that much with magic. All the stuff I got on me is just part of my fighting gear. I barely got a C in magic kindergarten you know. He admits.

[THEChanger]

"I've not practiced magic in some time." Lord Emeraldcoat spoke coldly. A small spark spit between the sharp spikes of his broken horn, as though the mention of magic caused the latent energies in his body to jump. The spark caused Simon's flanks to shiver. He did not like to be reminded of what he had lost.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal sighed. Of course no one had the ability to dispel magic. This was not the kind of day where good things happened. He was left with only one choice, and it was one he did not like. "Well then. I'll do my best. This is going to take a while, though."
With that, he opened up his saddlebags, a piece of chalk floating out of them into the air. Propelled by the young unicorns magic, it began its work on the ground, moving here and there, drawing an ancient symbol into the dust. "Cordon, don't be worried by what's going to happen now. I'll summon up a vestige. It's a sort of ghost thingy. Just leave the talking to me, and I'll have this door opened before you can say 'overly complicated sealing system'." As he drew the last line, Charcoal spoke the words to summon Malphas. MALPHAS, THE TURNFEATHER, I CALL UPON YOU ONCE AGAIN!"
Once again, the sound of fluttering wings filled the air as a swarm of birds just emerged from the rune before him, surrounding him and trying to distress him, before finally settling on top of the rune. And from their midst Malphas emerged again, his face filled with obvious distress and fear.

"Why have you called me again? The pact has been made. Have I not been helpful?"
"You have been more than helpful, Malphas. But I need your help no longer. Time for you to go back."
"You spoke of days. I do not want to be lonely again."
"Sorry, Malphas. But you cannot stay any longer. Go away."
For a moment, neither one of the both spoke. They just seemed to be staring into each others eyes, a strange duel of wills taking place. Finally, Charcoal's horn started to glow as the pitch-black pegasus before him turned away his gaze just ever so slightly. And suddenly, just like that, the figure dissipated into nothingness, leaving only a slightly stumbling Charcoal behind.

This moment of weakness didn't last long, however, as the mage's eyes contracted and he gave Cordon a shocked glance. Had he really fallen in love with him? Then, he gave Lord Emeraldcoat an even more shocked stare. Had he really told him about it? "Uh, Mr Emeraldcoat? Whatever I told you about Cordon wasn't really my idea. That was the vestiges fault. Not that I said anything bad about you, Cordon. Just a lot of, uh, strange stuff. Heh. I'll just continue with the summoning, alright?"

He swiftly turned away from the others, again starting to draw on the ground. It was a different symbol this time around, somewhat similar in shape to an eye. After a worried sigh, partly because of what he had done and partly because he knew what the being he was about to call would possibly turn him into, he spoke the words call the new vestige. "KARSUS, HUBRIS IN THE BLOOD, I REQUIRE YOUR AID!" And just like that, he appeared. His form was grotesque, nothing more than a large boulder, fountains of blood shooting from it in all angles. Luckily, it was not real, otherwise the whole area would soon have been covered in a crimson tide. "I have foreseen that you would require my aid, little one. And with my help, you will become the most powerful unicorn in all of equestria. For the power I can give you is beyond anything you know." Karsus. Charcoal knew the legend. He knew what this 'power' had done to once so mighty mage. And he knew just how difficult Karsus would be to control. Still, this was his only chance. "Actually, I just need you to open this door. But I will let you stay around after that. As the pact requires."
"Just one day? I suppose it will have to do. You are not going to regret this, little one. Even the princesses could only dream of the might I wield."
Exagerations. But as always, Charcoal didn't mention it. "Good. Then it's a deal." He reached out towards the rock, and as he touched it, the two seemed to meld into one. The vestige now filling him with power, Charcoal returned his attention to the rune on the door.


Long post is long. Anyway, have three dispel checks. Because that's all I have. Did I mention they are only at +3? I'm not going to do a binding check, mostly because I'd fail it anyway, so consider that autofailed.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

If this was all for nothing, I'm going to be rather mad.

Edit: ლ(ಠ_ಠლ)

[MandibleBones]

Charcoal's theatrics aside, his three attempts to dispel the rune do not seem to have any effect.

Difficulty was 14, unfortunately: 11+CL (3)

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat looked on expectantly as Charcoal made a pact with another one of the spirits. A "Karsus" by the sound of things. Who seemed rather full of himself, but best not to question the spirits.

Then again, Charcoal's efforts seemed to have been in vain. Perhaps it was time to start questioning the spirits after all. "Power even the princesses could only dream of, eh? Hubris in the blood is right." Simon muttered to himself as he leaned closer to the door. "Perhaps some good old fashioned science can succeed where magic fails." Of course, Simon had no way of knowing if he had a solution to the problem. But it was worth a shot, at any rate.

Let's roll Knowledge: Architecture. Perhaps there's some weakness in the structure of the door we can exploit to get around the sealing magic. Might as well throw a Knowledge: Arcana too, see if we can divine the magic in the rune.
Know: Architecture-[roll0]
Know: Arcana-[roll1]

[MandibleBones]

Strangely enough, it appears as though the rune's conjuration is holding the door together entirely. If you were to, say, destroy the rune — whether through dispelling or some other fashion — the door would likely crumble.

[Rendel Nep]

Wait.... what did he say about me? and is that strictly legal? I mean overthrowing the princesses...that's a high offence regardless if you revere them or not. Cordon asks bewilldered by what just went on.

[THEChanger]

"Nothing of importance, Cordon. And the spirit was exaggerating. Don't worry overly much about it." Simon lifted himself from his examination of the door. "It appears that the only thing keeping the door in place is the glyph. Seal in Draconic. Appropriate, as it happens. But if we can remove the glyph, I think the door will fall open. Cordon, if I may borrow your hoofblade?"

[Rendel Nep]

Hmm? Go ahead. Cordon answers absent mindedly handing the blade over.

[Theoboldi]

While Cordon and Emeraldcoat were busy talking about the events that had just occured, Charcoal just stared at the rune before him. That worthless little vestige. Not only had it utterly failed to remove the glyph, but now that magicless scientist told him that it only had to be destroyed? He had thrown out his invisibility for nothing? "NO! This rune will not....mock me like this! I wield supreme magic and I will not back down from a prestidigitation made by some bipedal freak! If it needs to be like this I shall be the one to reduce this symbol to a pile of rubble!"
With an uncharacteristic anger, Charcoal began firing blast after blast at the rune, only stopping when it had been turned into a smoking crater, panting heavily.


Assuming I deal half damage for using a ranged weapon, and that this counts as a normal stone wall, and that the symbol counts as only one or two inches deep, I should be able to deal enough damage to destroy the symbol in a few rounds.
Let's face it, none of us have a decent strength score. Using the blade would take forever. :smalltongue:

[Rendel Nep]

I... um... wow... that's a lot of fire. Cordon comment somewhat flabbergasted.

[MandibleBones]

After several minutes, with the sun beginning to peek over the horizon, Charcoal manages to destroy the rune. The door crumbles into sand — magic was the only thing holding it together. Inside is a single room (~25 feet by 25 feet), which looks quite lived in — several pieces of sturdy wooden furnature surround the place, while a surprisingly firm bed stands in one corner. Torches light the room dimly. A spiral stone stairwell leads up from the corner opposite the bed.

[Theoboldi]

"Hah! Arcane supremacy wins yet again! No door shall stop me anymore. Now, let's get inside. There's no need for us to get burned by some large, fiery beam of light. Even if those lizards need such a pathtically large and impractical structure to fire it, I still assume it is rather painful in the rare case that it should hit something." With a nothin less than complacent grin upon his face, Charcoal swiftly entered the room and immidiatly started observing its decorations. "Would you look at this. Looks like we just entered through the emergency exit. Either that, or someone wanted to have a better view from his room. I assume its the room of someone important, though. Most of those reptiles seem to live in huts on the outside, and this looks quite luxorious in comparison. Perhaps their leader? Probably, at least."
Looking at the stairwell across the room, he momentarily seated himself on the bed. "If you want to search the room, Mr Emeraldcoat, be my guest. You seem to be good at that. Maybe you'll even get lucky and find a map of this place. Otherwise, I suggest that we take the only way we have further into the temple, and try to be as quiet as possible. Like spies. I should buy some of those leathery ninja-catsuits, in case something like this ever happens again, really."

[THEChanger]

Simon's eyes went wide as Charcoal let loose a flurry of arcane blasts against the rune. The cloud of smoke and dust produced in the attack made his eyes water somewhat, but no one could argue the success of Charcoal's anger-driven efforts. The door was now open. Lord Emeraldcoat gingerly stepped past the threshold, his eyes scanning the room. Charcoal's suggestion, though less polite than Lord Emeraldcoat was used to dealing with, was a good one. If the room did belong to someone of importance, who knew what might be hidden within.

Another Search check, seeing if anything special is in the room.

[roll0]

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon shakes his head in disbelief but quickly dismisses the matter for now
After losing the sage and oregano so often, I'm pretty good at hunting down things. Let's make this a little contest Cordon thinks before tackling the room at hand.

Search check [roll0]

[MandibleBones]

Lord Emeraldcoat finds, among the scattered refuse on a writing desk, a wholly out-of-place bit of writing. While the few letters or scraps elsewhere in the room are on some form of papyrus and written in some crude mixture of blood and iron, this letter is on true, thick paper, scribed in a stern but elegant stream of truly high-quality inks. A good wizard might dream of her spellbook scribed in such quality... indeed, at first, the engineer mistakes it for a scroll. It is written in draconic — its similarity to long-forgotten magics is enough to tell the inventor that. At the base, next to what is clearly a signature, is a stylized drawing of a red, dragon-like hand.

Meanwhile, Cordon has found something almost as interesting: the pattern on the floor interlocks like the teeth of a gear. The whole floor must open — and looking up, it appears as if the ceiling holds the same pattern. A final moment, and a strange pattern appears on the far wall, where a tapestry is torn aside to reveal a very familiar image: etched against the wall is the rising sun, framed by an alicorn. A keyhole pierces the image, and surrounding it are words in High Equestrian:

Ave Imperatrix Solaris! Ultima ratio regum — defendere equestria patria contra umbras Tirecus. Surgit! Surgit! Surgit! Ave Caelestibus!

"Hail the Solar Empress! The last resort of the Kings to defend Equestria against the shadow of Tirek. She rises! She rises! She rises! Hail Celestia!"

[THEChanger]

Simon placed the paper into his bag for safekeeping. The writting in Dragonic was one of the few languages he did not know, despite his former training in the mystic arts. But surely someone back in Bridle would be able to read it. It seemed far less important than Cordon's discovery, at any rate. "Hail the Solar Empress. The last resort of the Kings to defend Equestria against the shadow of Tirek. She rises. She rises. She rises. Hail Celestia." Lord Emeraldcoat surpressed a shiver as he approached the image. "Well. It seems this is an ancient temple to Celestia." He gazed about the room. Just how old was this place? And how did Celestia fit into all this?

Knowledge Architecture to see if Simon identifies any mechanism related to the designs on floor, ceiling, and wall. Also if he can pinpoint an age for the temple in general.

Architecture-[roll0]

[MandibleBones]

The temple is, in fact, old enough to predate Celestian rule. Lord Emeraldcoat can guess, based on his knowledge of engineering, that the correct key inserted into the slot will set off a chain reaction, opening up the floor and ceiling. It looks as thought there is a small area in front of the keyhole which will not open, enough for a pony to stand, and a path leading around the wall to the stairs.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal lifted himself up after his companions had done the work of removing the tapestry. Lord Emeraldcoat was right, even if his observations did raise some new questions. "Yeah, looks like it. Still..." From his bags, he quickly removed the gemstone he had received from Keima, making it float before his eyes. "These reptiles we are fighting are sun-worshippers. Words like these would probably be blasphemy to them. They aren't the ones who build this temple. But if that is so, why are they here? And in such large numbers? Not to mention that giant laser-thingy on top of this temple. I am pretty sure that Celestia doesn't like ginormous super-weapons build in her name. I think, at least. It didn't get to talk to her that often back in Canterlot. She never seemed all that aggresive to me, though. At all."

He paused, putting the symbol back into the safety of his saddlebags' pocket dimension. This 'Shadow of Tirek' worried him. He had never heard of it, but the voices at the back of his head seemed to recognise it. Something about the plane of shadow and an artefact? Before he could gather any more information, however, they seemed to lose interest in the matter and went back into their usual inane mutterings. Sighing, Charcoal hoped that the whole thing had nothing to do with his current undertakings. Ancient Artefacts would only make things more complicated than they already were.

"I guess we're gonna take the stairs, then? I doubt that the ruby fits in there. Besides, there still is a zebra to save. Tally-ho, or something like that."

[THEChanger]

"Well, it looks like a key, being inserted into that hole, would operate some sort of mechanism which unlocks the ceiling and floor..." Simon shook his head. "But we don't have the key, so that's useless for now. I think the stair are our best option. Talley-hoe indeed." The green pony began to make his way down the stairs, slowly and carefully. Hopefully there would be no more surprises waiting for them.

[Rendel Nep]

Find it somewhat odd that this temple, dedicated to her majesty actually predates her. Too bad we don't celebrate more of our history. Cordon comments quietly as they trot down the stairs.

[MandibleBones]

The stairs lead up, toward the apex of the pyramid. Indeed, they come out into bright dawn light at the top. It's flat, with a massive crystal orb in the center on some sort of primitive gyroscope. Already, it shines bright with the first rays of the sun. A crude table, covered with old blood, stands in front of it by the wide stairs leading down into the courtyard... it looks like rickety wickerwork, clearly a recent addition compared to the rest of the temple.

Moments after the ponies arrive, three lizardmen crest the stairs. In front is a well-built, red-scaled lizard wearing white robes and various gold jewelry; clearly a priest of some kind. The two green-scales behind him are nondescript, like the lizardfolk you'd fought before, except that they're dragging between them a struggling zebra, who looks scared out of her wits.

Everyone seems a little shocked to see each other... and then the priest screams and begins chanting something probably hazardous to everyone's health.

Initiative, please. There will be no surprise round. Combat layout will be posted this afternoon; I'm not on my home computer.

[Rendel Nep]

Choarcoal, Emerald Coat, not going to have time to rally right now. Cordon says , drawing his hoofblade.

initiative [roll0]

[Theoboldi]

As soon as the lizard's shouting tore him out of his suprised stupor, Charcoal could not help but crack a smile. After the encounter with that wraith, he had thought-....no, it was better not to think about that. Now, it was time to be a hero. He spoke, nodding towards the frightened zebra. "Hi there Zaafira. Funny, all this time travelling here I thought you were a guy. Anyway, we're the cavalry. And as for you, reptiles..." With a quick surge of magic, he opened up his saddlebags, once again retrieving the golden gemstone from them. He wove it around before the lizards' eyes, like a a treat before a pet, before holding it still in the air.

"Whoever your gods are, the sun belongs to Princess Celestia now. Don't you forget that." Having said that, he spoke a single word in an ancient tongue, one that seemed to carry unearthly amounts of contempt and loathing. The gemstone shattered in the air, breaking into tiny pieces. Hopefully, this would make those creatures angry enough so they would ignore the zebra behind them.


Move action to remove the holy symbol from my backpack, then I use baleful uttereance to shatter it. Let's hope it wasn't worth too much. Should a lizardfolk stand next to me by the time I take my turn, I'll take a 5 foot step to safety too.

[roll0]

[MandibleBones]

http://i.imgur.com/PGzTT6g.jpg

The large lizardfolk is dressed in what appears to be black dragonscale half-plate, and carries a large longsword that bursts into flame as he waves it around. That big yellow thing is the orb; it provides partial cover. To go beyond the edges of the map is to fall off the top of the ziggurat (it's only about 15 feet, but you'll have to come back around to the stairs to get up in combat).

Initiatives:
Cordon: 21
Sss'kor: 19
Lord Emeraldcoat: 18'
Zaafira: 18
Lizardfolk: 16
Charcoal: 8

Still waiting on Lord Emeraldcoat.

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat's cannon swiveled into firing position. He had no wity reparte, only mental calculations as to how hard it would be to fight with the orb in the way.

Sorry. Friend was celebrating her birthday. Just got home.

Initiative-[roll0]

Start fight with 5 Inspiration Points, for my own reference.

[Rendel Nep]

Taste the Rainbow! Cordon shouts as flings a pocket full of rainbow essence salts at the Hulking lizard man priest.

Spice fu Dazzle DC 14 reflex . Duration [roll0] rounds

[MandibleBones]

The hulking lizardcreature takes the spices full in the face, and bellows with annoyance, pain, and general lizardy rage. He stumbles forward, swinging his sword in a downward arc... but is dazzled by the spices and misses, the blade cutting a furrow into the sandstone just in front of Cordon Yamsfry.

http://i.imgur.com/JT0DwBG.jpg

[THEChanger]

Well, aiming around the stone would no longer be an issue. Their enemy had graciously come to them. Simon took a step back to allow his allies more room to maneuver, and fired his cannon.


Five foot step to G1
To Hit-[roll0]
Damage-[roll1]

[MandibleBones]

Though his cannon misses the hulking brute, it's not the only thing that does, as one of the lesser lizardfolk tries that javalin trick again (to little effect). The other hauls a drooling -- probably drugged -- Zaafira toward the altar.

http://i.imgur.com/MWNEH5t.jpg

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal sightly panicked as he saw one of the lizards dissappear behind the orb, together with the poor zebra. At least his actions had managed to lure one of them away from him. He hoped that he had bought Zaafira some time with his actions.
"Do you have any idea who you are dealing with, reptiles? I am Charcoal, the greatest and last magician you will ever lay your eyes upon! I have studied under Celestia herself and wield power beyond anything your underdeveloped brains could comprehend! Now run, before I turn you into ashes with a mere thought." Finally finishing his boasting, he shoot a blast of dark, fiery energies at the lumbering hulk before him.


[roll0] to hit with eldritch blast
[roll1] damage

[MandibleBones]

When Charcoal fires his eldritch blast, he leaves an opening for the priest to take an attack, and he does, swinging the flaming sword back up and cutting a deep furrow across the magician's flank. It doesn't stop the blast from hitting, however, and the menacing lizard roars in pain.

17 damage to Charcoal, after damage reduction, from an attack of opportunity. A reminder that Eldritch Blast is a Spell-Like, Spell-Likes provoke AoOs, and large creatures usually have a space/reach of 10.

Initiative:
Cordon: 21
Sss'kor: 19
Lord Emeraldcoat: 18'
Zaafira: 18
Lizardfolk: 16
Charcoal: 8

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal winced in pain as the strike connected. The wound burned, literally, as the sword's fire did it's work on the flesh of the young magician. However, the fire soon was quenched, as an entire flood of blood gushed out of the cut, creating a large puddle beneath everypony's hooves and running down the side of the zigurat in a crimson waterfall. Charcoal's vision blurred, as he struggled to stay on his hooves. His efforts were in vain, however, as he finally collapsed into a mangled heap, slowly bleeding out.


Overly massive amounts of blood brought to you by Karsus.

How did I forget the whole reach thing? Alas, Charcoal now is at -2. Can he at least get a cool scar from this?

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon has no to time to react to his friend suddenly being struck down. Instead he hopes that he can give Lord Emeraldcoat the cover he needs to fire. CCordon's expression to a determined glare as he steps forward to fend off the hulking priest's huge swings.

Swift action (motivate ardor) +1 damage
Combat Expertise +5 dodge bonus to AC -5 to attack
Designate Feat +1 dodge bonus to AC Total AC 23

Attack[roll0]
Damage [roll1]+[roll2] cold
Crit confirm [roll3]

[MandibleBones]

Though Cordon's strike is strong, and clearly hits the hulking lizardthing, it clatters uselessly off the thick scales and thicker armor. The priest attempts to return an attack, but, still dazzled by the spices from Chef Yamsfry, manages to swing wildly -- if that attack was any more of a miss, he could have entered it in a beauty pageant.

There is a scuffle by the altar, which Cordon can barely see -- the zebra seems to have regained a bit of consciousness (or, more likely, was acting more subdued than she was), and spits out words in Zebran before sluggishly dodging a claw from her guard. Next to Cordon, Charcoal wakes, cool scar already forming on his flank.

Spellcraft DC 16 to identify cure light wounds, as cast by a 5th-level archivist with Reach Spell. Charcoal heals 12 hp and is still prone - please remember to crawl away five feet before attempting to attack again or stand up.

[THEChanger]

His keen eyes scanning the battlefield, Lord Emeraldcoat saw Zaafira being dragged towards the altar. His mind whirring, Simon barked an order in High Equestrian. "Remember, my companions, our priorities! The lizards are nothing to us. We must rescue the zebra!" So saying, the pony dashed across the top of the ziggurat, moving into a position to fire his cannon at the lizard attempting to kill Zaafira. His cannon whirred to life, and a bolt shot towards his target-hopefully buying Zaafira some time to awaken.

Full movement takes me to A1, the upper-left corner, and hopefully an unimpeded shot at the lizard at C7. Inspiration goes to To Hit, as per usual.

To Hit-[roll0]
Damage-[roll1]

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal slowly started returning from the realm of unconsciousness, his body twitching slightly from the sudden energies running through it. What had just happened? The last thing he remembered was him firing off a blast of magic, and then a terrible, burning pain suddenly filling his body. Nearby, someone was yelling around in High Equestrian. Something about priorities and lizards.
His eyes sprung open, and he stumbled back unto his hooves, only to fall over again moving himself away from the giant reptile that had come much too close already.

"HOW DARE YOU! How dare you attack Charcoal, the most magnificent master of malign magics! You have just made an enemy beyond your understanding! I'll destroy you! I'll burn this entire altar down! I'll-" His speech broke into the Tartaran at this point. "-shatter this orb into a million tiny shards! My vengeance shall be unspeakable! And then-"
Finally, he fired a blast of dark, eldritch magic at the lumbering creature standing before him, continuing his ranting all the while.


Yes, Mister patronising DM (:smalltongue:), I'll 5-foot to F2, and if that is not possible, then to G2. After that I'll fire an eldritch blast at the big guy, except if he has already moved closer towards me, in which case I'll do nothing, to avoid being torn to shreds.

[roll0] to hit
[roll1] damage

[MandibleBones]

Charcoal's blast moves right through the armor and tough skin, wracking the creature with pain straight to its core -- and this time, it's too far away to do anything. Meanwhile, Lord Emeraldcoat's cannon fire finds far better purchase in the minion than the armored brute, and the lizard goes down. The other, sensing that he's more likely to survive fighting one pony than two, moves to gaurd Zaafira, tossing another javalin at the mad scientist who downed his fellow minion.

There is no longer a living lizardfolk at C7. The other lizardfolk moves to guard Zaafira and hits Lord Emeraldcoat for 3 piercing damage. Updated map will happen eventually; I am at work without photoshop and Imgur is blocked here for no readily apparent reason.

[Rendel Nep]

Nothing to you, you mean you buffoon. If I relent at all he's going to paste us. Cordon complains, trying to maintain his defensive stance.

Combat Expertise +5 dodge bonus to AC -5 to attack
Designate Feat +1 dodge bonus to AC Total AC 23

Attack [roll0] Damage [roll1] + [roll2] cold

[Theoboldi]

"-your intestines be wrapped around a tree until you are sorry! I won't even turn you into a new pair of shoes because your skin will not be useable for it after I'm done here! You'll wish that you had never been born with limbs!" Apparently finished with the ranting part of his tantrum, Charcoal fires another blast at the apparent leader of the lizards, barely noticing what is happening around him.


I hope those threats weren't too silly.

[roll0] to hit
[roll1] damage

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat winced as the javelin pierced his flank. It was a grazing shot, but it was still painful. Aiming his cannon at his attacker, the green pony replied in kind, a bolt blasting through the air towards Zaafira's guard. Should the lizard fall, Simon moves toward the zebra, to hopefully help him away from the massive lizard.

Attacking the enemy.

To Hit-[roll0]
Damage-[roll1]

If the lizard dies, Simon moves to A7, to prepare to rescue the zebra. Hopefully the big lizard doesn't notice.

[MandibleBones]

http://i.imgur.com/kp2lFRX.jpg

Charcoal's bolt again slams into the lizard priest, who continues to roar in pain and rage. As Lord Emeraldcoat's magnificent cannon finishes the second lesser lizard, Zaafira crawls over carefully to take shelter beside him. The Zebra looks more or less alive, but she's moving slowly, and more than a little uncoordinated.

That would be the withdraw action, in her case...

Remaining Initiatives:
Cordon: 21
Sss'kor: 19
Lord Emeraldcoat: 18'
Zaafira: 18
Charcoal: 8

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon, sensing the changing fortune of the battle, possibly from all the lizard-man blood, moves onto the offensive and makes a more concerted strike on the hulking lizardman priest.

Make a 5ft step towards the lizardman (I swear I typed this before in the first post after initiative but apparently not)
Power attack +2

Attack [roll1d20+9[/roll] Damage [roll0] + [roll1] cold damage.

[MandibleBones]

Cordon's attack misses, but the lizard looks reasonably bloody anyway. Taking advantage of his superior position, the lizard priest lays a hand on himself, chanting in a quiet voice that seems completely at odds with his earlier bellows.

Cure Moderate Wounds for [roll0]

[Rendel Nep]

The lizard-man didn't allow Charcoal the freedom to cast in the midst of melee nor would Cordon. As the Lizard-man pleads to his unholy god, Cordon tries a another strike.

Attack of opportunity (?)
Attack [roll0] Damage [roll1] + [roll2]

[Theoboldi]

"Awww, begging to your superiors now? I wouldn't expect any better from some cultist. After all, the insignificant amount of power your masters have given you so far is less than I wield in even just my eyelashes. Don't you realise that the one you should be bowing before and begging to is me?" Charcoal laughed, his voice filled with contempt and an utmost smugness. Another ray made its way towards the lizards, hopefully finally felling the creature.


A warlock's life is simple, yet fulfilling. You know what I'm gonna do.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[THEChanger]

With the zebra now in safety, Lord Emeraldcoat turned his attention back to the massive lizard. With a few deft motions, Simon turned the cannon into firing position. A loud hum began to resonate through the cannon's barrel, and a small packet of energy hurtled towards the foe, exploding shortly before making contact.

If the zebra is moving on its own, I think that means he's stable. Back on the offensive.

Using two Inspiration points to activate Terminal Ballistics. Damage is switched to Force, and I add +1.

To Hit-[roll0]
Damage-[roll1]

[MandibleBones]

With all three ponies battering on him, the large lizard-creature looks near to death. Zaafira begins chanting loudly, summoning some sort of magic of her own, but it doesn't go off immediately. The rage-driven priest raises his sword one final time, slamming it down into Cordon with furious strength, before the combination of Charcoal's next blast and a sudden lightning strike bring him down.

His mighty sword falls and loses its flame. Around his neck, he wears an amulet, and his armor looks interesting. Zaafira staggers over to you.

"Thank you," she says, still slurring a bit. She assists in identification of the items, and casts cure moderate wounds on the three of you.

Cordon takes 18 damage, which I believe puts you at 0 precisely. I took the liberty of narrating the last round, since he's about to be hit (nearly inevitably) by Charcoal's warlockky goodness and Zaafira's call lightning.

Loot is: +2 flaming longsword. +2 black dragonscale half-plate. Periapt of Wisdom +2.

Everyone gains 1400 xp.

[Theoboldi]

"No, thank you." As Charcoal talked back at Zaafira, he flashed a smile that seemed more self-serving than grateful. "Even though I, Charcoal the Magnificent, of course had the entire situation under control, your spell still aided my survival when that degenerate's sword hit me. I didn't expect your help in that battle. Usually the distressed damsel hangs back and does nothing. Then again, if this was that kind of story I'd have fought that lizard with a rapier and it would have ended with him hanging off the edge of this zigurat, me pulling him back up, him then trying to backstab me, and then falling to his death. And then I gallop off into the sunset. Though it's a bit early for that, seeing as it's only early morning."

As his motioning of his visions of a grand finale came to a stop, his head turned backwards to look at his flank. The scar would definitly stay around for a while, running directly over his cutie mark and covering nearly the entire vertical span of his side. Even though he would not be able to admit it at the moment, that cut could have meant his end in a heated battle like that. With a now slightly more sheepish smile, he turned back towards Zaafira.

"Anyway, thanks. And sorry that we were so late. This place had better security than we expected. And we got ambushed a few times. But we should be able to escape fairly quickly now, considering that we killed nearly everything that tried to stop us on the way. There still are a few questions that need answering, but that can wait until you are safe and sound back at the caravan."


Does that lizard have another one of those amulets, by the way? I assume he is carrying some kind of holy symbol, and since I destroyed the one we had, I probably should look for another one, just in case.

Also, does she perchance have lesser restoration prepared? I'm still missing three points of constitution here.

[MandibleBones]

Digging through the fallen priest's robes after the armor is removed reveals a brass disc with an image of a golden sun etched into it. It looks... oddly familiar.

Give me Knowledge: Religion. Also, Zaafira does not have Lesser Resto prepared, and cannot find her prayerbook - she is now out of spell until she finds one, except detect magic

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat guided Zaafira back to the other two ponies, allowing the injured zebra to lean up against him. "Alright, easy does it there." Listening to Charcoal's little rant, Simon shook his head. "Quite. My name is Simon Emeraldcoat. This, as you've no doubt figured out, is Charcoal, and the third member of our band is Cordon Yamsfry. Msafiri and Hekima sent us to find you. Are you well enough to travel quickly? The other lizards will have undoubtedly noticed our scuffle here."

[MandibleBones]

"I can... go," she says. "Still woozy. Drugs. Was biding time." She shakes her head, trying to clear it. "Has anypony seen a book - like a spellbook, full of prayers?"

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon groans before recovering and getting up. Ow. Ugh, knew it. First time I drop my guard in favour of offence and he floors me. Thanks by the way. he says, thanking the Zebra. No clue, we've barely had time to get a chance to do a decent search. he answers. Wait... Didn't you find one, Lord EmeraldCoat? he asks, suddenly remembering.

[Theoboldi]

His eyes widening, Charcoal seemed to be completly baffled for a few seconds. This didn't make sense. There was no way these creatures got their power from her. It was unthinkable. Not for the things they were doing here. Wraiths, ritual sacrifices, a giant solar-powered laser...
There was no way she would approve of this. Nonetheless, the symbol that was etched on the disk he held in his hoof was Celestia's cutie mark. Or at least, very close to it.

"Horsefeathers." Charcoal tried to listen to the voices at the back of his head, hoping that they would be able to shed some light on this. But even they seemed to only be able to connect the symbol to the princess. The mage's thoughts turned back to the wall Lord Emeraldcoat had found in the room below. 'Hail the Solar Empress.' These lizards were working together with devils and the undead. Just what was going on here?

"Cordon? Emerald? I think you need to have a look at this. I think the lizard-priest was using this as his holy symbol."

[THEChanger]

"Well, I found a scroll. But I'm not sure that it is what you're looking for Zaafira." Using his amulet, Simon pulled out the dragonic parchment he had found in the room below, and sent it over to the zebra. He then turned his attention to what Charcoal was blather-

"No." Lord Emeraldcoat shook his head vigorously. "This makes no sense. Why would the lizard be channeling power from her? Is...is this her temple? I don't understand."

[Rendel Nep]

Subversion, Corruption, it's been done before. Cordon supposes. From the evidence we saw below, this was a temple prior to her ascension,I can only assume that might have some power over her. He points out. but...I'm only making wild guesses here, I'm just a chef.

[Theoboldi]

"I'm...well, I'm not sure. If this place is in some way connected to her ascension, there may be a possibility for that. Maybe they have found a way to syphon away some of the divine magic she grants to her clerics? But why would they carry her symbol around if that is the case?"

For the first time in perhaps years, Charcoal had no idea what to do. Usually he was able to make stuff up as he went along, find some way to continue even when things looked down. He had never been one to give up. But right now the thought that Celestia, his former mentor and idol for all of ponykind could be involved in something as vile as these monstrous rituals just was too much. From the buttom of his heart, he prayed that Cordon somehow was right about this.

Almost unnoticeably, he weakly shook his head, before continuing to speak. "For everyponys sake, I hope you're right. I mean, you must be right. I'm sure she would never condone something like this. Not her." By now, he almost was on the verge of tears. "You know what? Let's just destroy this thing. It is a mockery. Turning the rays of the sun into some weapon, and then they even have the guts to fuel it with blood-sacrifices. Emeraldcoat, look if there are any weakspots on that gyroscope. I'll knock it down. Break it into tiny pieces and let that orb fall off this temple."

[THEChanger]

"I concur." Lord Emeraldcoat went over to the great orb, and began to examine it, searching for the point he knew would exist, the one point where a strike could dislodge the orb from its perch.

Knowledge Architecture. Let's bring 'er down.

[roll0]

[MandibleBones]

A simple hoof tap from the rear, and the orb is destabilized. It begins to move, leaving the roof — at first, slowly. Then, as it reaches the stairs, it picks up speed. It bounces down into the center of the two ziggurats, where the repeated impact is finally too much for it, and it explodes.

Wind rushes out; if the ponies were not up this high, with much of the pyramid to disperse the blast, they would at a minimum be knocked down. Down below, trees are broken and the fencing the lizardfolk used to pen in jungle animals is flattened — as are the remaining lizard people.

Silence reigns for a moment, then a figure appears at the top of the other ziggurat. It seems almost like a minotaur, before the sun's rays hit it: a hobgoblin, a creature out of legend. Next to it hovers a smaller creature: a white dragon. Even at this distance, you can tell they are glaring at you — and then, with a word unheard at this range, both disappear into thin air.

[Theoboldi]

Charcoal smiled. It was not a out of joy. His smile was a cold, contemptuous one. Zaafira was still alive and breathing, and the lizard-people had been crushed by their own weapon. But on the other hand, he had just discovered that Celestia either had become some sort of 'Nightmare Sol' or that someone was able to steal the magical power she provided. Neither possibility sounded very pleasant to him.
Then there was the business with all these strange returning creatures. "First we fight goblins, then lizard-people, and now there's a hobgoblin? What's next, an invasion of humans?"

He turned towards the others, his face bearing a more determined look than usual. "Anyway, let's get out of here. We destroyed their superweapon and their encampment right along with it. There's nothing left to do here. I don't think Captain Twolegs and his faithful assistant are going to call backup, but the quicker we get out of here the faster we can get to the buttom of...well, all of this. I hope so, at least."


[roll0] knowledge arcana to judge the general age category of that dragon, based on size and other stuff that I can see at this distance. Because I can.

[Rendel Nep]

After witnessing the dramatic spectacular, Cordon gives a satisfied nod.
How do you know all these different kinds of bipeds? Cordon asks before moving on.
Anyway... just let me go through the Check-list for a bold and daring adventure in case we've missed something. I memorised it years ago. he says and starts listing off the items.
One, Enter Villainous lair, Check.
Two, make surprise discovery about villain's lair... Check.
Three, Soundly defeating the bad guys, Check.
Four, rescuing the damsel in distress from the current villain. Check albeit with assistant from subject damsel He nods but turns to Zaafira
Thanks by the way. he says with a smile.
Five, giving the looming plot device a kick in the guts causing it to dramatically shatter or explode. He turns back to look at the mayhem below.Definitely check... he notes
and lastly Six, loot the villain's lair, as to forestall their recovery? he asks turning to the others.

[THEChanger]

"Normally, I would be all for a bit salvage, but we may be a bit pressed for-" Lord Emeraldcoat looked over the side of the pyramid, and smirked. "Actually, I revise my opinion. I think our lizard friends will be a bit preoccupied parleying with their dark gods. Let us see what can be found."

[Theoboldi]

"I can't believe you guys. We're investigators, not adventurers! Though I suppose I could use some a few bits for new shower-curtains." By now, Charcoal's demeanor seemed somewhat warmer. Even though he wasn't quite sure why, something about Cordon's insistant optimism just got through to him, even if it was utterly misplaced.
"Allright, fine. But only because it could help us find more information about these guys."

[Rendel Nep]

Look at it this way, they have made undeclared war on us, they're quite happy to sacrifice perfectly innocent equinids and they're probably doing dark and eldritch things to our God-princess and honestly I thought this was an adventure.

[MandibleBones]

In any event, from the top of the ziggurat, stairs lead down to the mess between the two pyramids, or down the way you came.

[Theoboldi]

With a sigh, Charcoal started making his way towards the staircase leading down into the ruins of the lizards' encampment. "Am I the only one with standards around here? I mean, I may have destroyed several hundred priceless pieces of architecture over the course of my career, but I never plundered anything. Have you ever heard of the Bearers of the Elements stripping the old castle in which they faced Nightmare Moon bare of any treasures?"

"I guess we should search for Zaafira's spellbook, though. What is a magician without her spellbook, after all? Of course, some magicians don't need one, like me. But she does, so it's important for her."
He paused, looking down towards what was left of the small camp of lizards. "Uh, we'll probably have to walk through there to get to the other side of the camp. Are you all ready to wade through a field of charred corpses? Because that might be slightly icky."

[Rendel Nep]

Cordon dismisses the notionPuh-lease, Do you know how many carrots and turnips I've butchered (http://youtu.be/KmK0bZl4ILM)? That's nothing. Not to mention the hazards involved with dealing with pumpkins. Cordon retorts, completely unfazed.

[MandibleBones]

Zaafira indeed finds her prayerbook, after turning over a dead lizardman who had it clutched to his chest when he was blasted face-down. Lord Emeraldcoat finds a strange amulet, which is clearly magical - but he has no idea what it is, or where it comes from. It is likely quite powerful, and radiates Divination, Enchantment, and Conjuration. Cordon finds, at the top of the opposite pyramid, five opals the size of his hooves, valued at about 500 bits apiece.

Finally, Charcoal notices nothing about the surrounding area, because he's a bit distracted: he's noticed if you turn that strange Celestian disc just so, it becomes a key - just the right size to fit the lock downstairs.

Unable to stymie curiosity without at least a look, the properly-pooped party of ponies prances heads down to the priest's living quarters, standing around the edge of the room to try their luck with the lock. Hidden gears grate, and the floor begins to open, though the ponies are safe on their ledge. They can feel the rising sun shine through to them as the entire top of the pyramid opens as well. Soon, all that is above them is the hanging stand which, until very recently, held a glowing golden orb.

Below them is another story. An obsidian floor would be too dark in anything but direct sunlight to make out details, but since the ponies have direct sunlight, they can make out a perfectly circular ring of a black metal - Lord Emeraldcoat can tell, at this distance, that it's adamantine. There is no way to get to the floor from here, nor to climb back up once down in the pit - and it appears, to the engineer's eyes, that this is intentional. Whomever built this chamber did not want anything climbing out.

Charcoal can guess the reason why: it's either a summoning circle or, possible, a gate to another plane... and neither is the kind of thing you want to just leave around.

Why such a thing would be in a temple with Celestian imagery all over is still under discussion as the party takes a rather less eventful trip down the river on the River Swan, heading back toward Bridle, a day and at least one good night's sleep later. The barge stinks mainly of onions, but Cordon, at least, knows that's no bad thing - his soup is saved, no matter how much Swan Song curses in a rather unponylike fashion.

Moving everyone along rather quickly, but you've got a moment to discuss what it might mean amongst yourselves. Come Wednesday, or if it looks like everypony has said their piece before that, I'm moving ahead with merging you all with the main party via Zebra Shenanigans.

Charcoal
The circle is clearly a portal to the Plane of Shadow, currently inactive.

[Theoboldi]

As the River Swan made its way across the water, Charcoal was skipping from side to side on the deck, his mouth running seemingly endlessly. "Okay, let's try to piece this together. Celestia fights some guy called Tirek at some point before she ruled Equestria. Who is armed with some magical artifact thingy that is named after himself. She uses the portal we found to go to the Plane of Shadow to fight him there. Did I mention that thing led to the Plane of Shadow? You know, the place filled with shadows and evil nightmare creatures? And with shadows I mean the nasty, undead kind, not the one that's below you when there is light. Because it totally does. Did, I mean. It doesn't anymore.

So she fights him there, goes back through the portal, deactivates it, and someone builds her this temple. Maybe lizards, seeing as Celestia didn't rule over everypony back then. Then Discord happens, and the lizards go boom. Then Nightmare Moon, then a thousand years, and then devils happen. For some reason. And the lizards come back along with an assortment of other brutes. For some reason! And somehow, they get power from Celestia. Even though by all means, she should have made that big cleric guy fall faster than a.....a....something that falls fast! AGH!"

Charcoal stomped his hooves on the ground. He was frustrated, and so angry that part of him just wanted to start yelling at the top of lungs and tear everything around him apart. Creatures from old ponytales were raiding the countryside, armed with magical weapons and unholy powers. Zaafira couldn't have been the first one to be kidnapped, nor would she be the last one. If something wasn't done about this quickly, many innocents would die. And the worst part about all of this was that they had no real clues to go on. No names, no adresses, only some vaguely mentioned history that was but forgotten by most ponies. "I...I don't know what we're going to do about this. Does Canterlot already know about these creatures? If not, we need to inform them. Or not. What if Celestia really is in cahoots with these lizards? Can we still trust her to send help? Kicking the ground again, he turned towards Cordon and Emeraldcoat, hoping to find some kind of encouragement. Right now he was in dire need of it, and it showed on his face.


I really need to start writing shorter posts.

[THEChanger]

Lord Emeraldcoat waited patiently as Charcoal ranted and raved about their findings. It was understandable that the younger pony was distraught. Strange things were afoot. The boundaries of what they had previously thought were real were slowly breaking down. "Charcoal. You need to relax. We currently know nothing about what is going on. I grew up in Canterlot, and studied under Celestia herself. I can not believe that she is somehow aiding these lizards, though she may be connected to the temple which was built. For now, we must trust that Celestia is still on our side in the coming battle." Simon looked out over the river, and sighed. "As to what we do next, we must commission a messanger to go to Canterlot as fast as possible. A pegasus, most likely. While we wait for news, we must do our best to prepare Bridle for attack."

[Rendel Nep]

I agree with Lord Emeraldcoat. I doubt Celestia has has been involved with this affair ever since that temple was abandoned. We might also want to speak with Shining Servant as well. Maybe the High priestess of Celestia could give us some insight into what's going on or who's this Tirek figure is. Cordon suggests.

[Theoboldi]

"Yeah. Sure. We need to try anything in our power to get some information on this. I don't think Shining will know much more than I do about Tirek, but there might be a chance." Charcoal paused. He placed himself next to Lord Emeraldcoat, looking at the water floating by below, leaning on the railing.

"I know what you're trying to say, your Lordship. Don't forget that I also was trained by her. She taught me how to use, and more importantly, control my powers. I remember a point where I was barely even able to control my talent for Dark Speech. Whenever I got angry, or sad, or something, I started breaking things. Just by yelling and screaming. She never got angry at me for it. Instead, she helped me master it, until I could control it as I do now. There isn't a better teacher or kinder soul in the entire world of Equestria."

For a moment, Charcoal seemed to be somewhat vacant. His mind was busy thinking of happier days. A few seconds passed before he shook his head, returning to the situation at hand. His face now had taken a somewhat more determined tone. "Emerald? Cordon? You two are right. There is no way Celestia is involved in this. But we still can't ignore what has happened here. Whoever we are fighting, they are using her powers to their own end, whether or not she knows about this. She needs to be warned about that. For her sake as much as ours."


I feel I might have made this a bit too melodramatic. Sigh.

Also, a short question. The description of the amulet we got was assuming that we cast identify on it, right? Since Charcoal has an Artificer's Monocle and infinite detect magic, he would have been able to do that.

[Rendel Nep]

Of course we can't ignore what happened. What we stumbled on was huge and no doubt as soon as we arrived we'll let the relevant ponies... Horse apples. I just realised... I think some ponies might already be somewhat in the know. Cordon tries and reassures Charcoal before going into detail.
So with the summer sun celebration... I had quite few customers and two VIPs happened to show up: Dabbler Blade and lady Silvercoat. The pair's patronage was a blatant attempt to draw popular support. I'm not a fan of my establishment being used as a political tool but they made it up with a generous tip. Anyway, the two seemed rather pessimistic about whether or not Bridle would be standing in a months time not mention implied they might have to wrestle control from Just cause. Our news might just be the excuse they're looking for. If we don't trot carefully, this is going to get politcal. He cautions.

[THEChanger]

Simon mulled over the information Cordon had provided. That was not something he had considered. Politics had always been a bit beyond his interests, but from what he knew, Silvercoat was quite the tricky lady. "In times like this, we cannot afford political maneuvering. We must stand strong and united. I will pay a visit to Just Cause when we return, to obtain his opinion on these events. Hopefully all ponies involved will be able to see past their political desires."

[MandibleBones]

Unlike the trip up the river, the trip back on the River Swan is entirely without incident. Despite her cursing, Swan Song seems subdued by the loss of her crew the day prior, and has, the remaining griffon confides, spent the entire time the ponies were away in what remained of the tavern, burying her head in salt and whisky.

All plans of discussion leave the ponies' heads upon returning to Bridle, as the knowledge that they have been up for nearly 48 hours without sleep. Though Lord Emeraldcoat does manage to dispatch a mesenger requesting an audience with Just Cause before his head hits the pillow, and Cordon, half-asleep, is able to direct his associate to unload the much-prized onions, sleep claims all the ponies quickly upon their hurried return to lodgings. They sleep from the barge's arrival in the early evening straight through until morning.

Lord Emeraldcoat's messenger returns, informing him that Just Cause will see him in the afternoon. Likewise, Shining Servant is busy all morning with the business of the sun-worshippers, but agrees to see Charcoal and Cordon first thing after noon devotions. In any event, Cordon has an opportunity to see that his loyal assistant has the restaurant well in hand, even without the master chef glowering at the kitchen help.

The zebra's stall at the market is closed, with a sign saying that the family is together recovering from their recent trauma, and the stall will re-open tomorrow. A shorter, hoof-written note directs "Lord Emeraldcoat and Mssrs. Charcoal and Yamsfry" to join them just before dawn for their reward.

OOC: I will gladly conduct your respective meetings via PM to avoid slowing us down too much - sorry if this is a bit railroady, but just trying to get the party together.

After meetings that leave the ponies both relieved and troubled, and another's night's sleep to return them to normal rhythm, the pre-dawn light finds the three brave companions in the market square, outside the Zebra stall.

Zaafira stands with Hekima and Msafiri, reading from a weather-beaten book. "Hello," she greets you. "If you are ready for your reward, it comes with the dawn."

Hekima smiles, gesturing to an open patch of ground next to Zaafira. "The lady of Earth whom you call Equestria has many servants, and these spirits tell me another set of brave ponies requires aid. The hobgoblin menace is greater than even the Princess of the Moon suspects." She steps around the open ground, standing away from Zaafira.

Msafiri winks - at least, you think so. It's more of a blink, since his eyepatch still covers one eye. "After all, little ponies," he says, "they say the reward for work well done is... more work." With that, he steps to the third edge of the circle - for now it is clear there are runes traced into the dirt of the market square, and a circle between the three zebra. The wind picks up and they intone a rhyme together.


Hoof and mane, tongue and tail,
Sun and Moon, earth and sky,
Hear our call: to us, avail
A path where ponies are needed nigh.

The first rays of Celestian dawn poke above the hills and strike the circle, golden light filling the runes until the circle glows white.

"Step through quickly, my pony friends," Msafiri directs. "The portal will remain open for a short time only."

"Destiny," Hekima says, "that is your reward."

"Good luck!" Zaafira adds.


THE PORTAL BECKONS (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15974614#post15974614)