[MLP] Roleplaying is Magic IC: The Broken Road.

[Balmas]

The bloody thing was speaking in Equestrian. An ancient dialect, perhaps, but the bloody thing could talk! Stop, word, Grifon... These were recognizable. But those rocks... He shrunk a bit looking at the glowing stones; his neck hurt, and the experience was not one he wished to repeat.

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Spending a point of willpower to get a +8 bonus to the +5 courage.

(1d20+13)[24]

EDIT: And aren't I glad I did.

He looked behind him at the frightened griffon; to be certain, he felt the same. But he had to know just what this thing was. Taking off would likely result in a repeat of the past performance, and somehow he doubted the griffon would be as likely to revive him should he fall.

Figures danced in his mind, doing a utilitarian jig. It appeared to be sentient, being capable of speech; it also showed restraint, being clearly capable of shooting both him and the griffon. It wasn't some rampaging monster, all evidence to the contrary. The clearest way to finding out what it was seemed to lay in attempting a parley. Really, not his strong suite, but, what else could he do against a beast like this?

The fact that he was scared stiff of it and only barely containing his urge to flee really had nothing to do with it; honest.

Thus, though his nech ached and his wings twitched, begging him to run, he simply stepped in front of the griffoness, and attempted to make himself non-threatening. Had he ever heard this language before? Maybe written in a dusty tome in Canterlot, or behind the griffon-statue-guarded doors of the Manehattan library?

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Attempting a mind check to pick up any patterns in the creature's speech, such as the meaning of Dief. Ultimate goal is to understand a bit of its language.

I'm not sure that researcher would apply, but I'd argue that it does; after all, he's looking for information both in what is being presented him and calling in what he's learned. Heck, it might even qualify as his special purpose of "Discovering, Recovering, and recording new knowledge." Perception, so wary also applies.

+5 mind, +1 researcher (maybe), + 1.5 whatever the die roll is if it qualifies as special purpose, rolled twice for Wary.

[roll]1d20+6[/roll]
[roll]1d20+6[/roll]

Okay, forum, be that way.

Also, thanks dice. Both rolls were a six, so it's 11 if researcher doesn't apply, and fifteen if researcher and the special purpose and researcher both apply.

(Just rolling for fun: next die roll would have been a sixteen, for a total of 28. Dangit.)

[TheAmishPirate]

Just then, from the other side of the dunes, there arose a cry of pained frustration:

"Confound these rocks!"

This was a desert for Celestia's sake! And a desert was filled with sand, which was made up of, what else? Rocks! And with such a vast desert - apparently able to house such a grand variety of rocks that some could simply get up and dance the foxtrot - one would think that rocks would plentiful! That one could simply, say, pick a direction, trot a few yards, and be up to their withers in fine specimens of granite and shale. "And yet, here I stand, surrounded by nothing but evidence to the contrary!" The earth pony growled and ranted, pacing back and forth in front of his "best" choice. That he should stoop to using such low-grade material, and in such a time of need! It made him just...just...he whirled about and gave it a sound whack with his foreleg.

"Dumb rock!"

He immediately regretted his decision. Hopping about on three legs, the hapless earth pony gingerly sucked on his injured foreleg, only to be sent into fits of spitting and hacking as he got a mouthful of sand. Curse everything! And especially this rock! If it could have the decency to be at least somewhat passable, then he would still have four working legs! This had gone beyond saving everypony; now, it was personal. "Dare to clash with that creature's complexion, hmm? Try to make me settle for below-average effort on your part, hmm?!?!" the young businesspony muttered darkly as he hobbled over to his suitcase and dragged it over to the stone. With deft hooves, he flicked open the clasps, laid out a paper for mixing colors, and popped the lids off a set of earthy-toned paints.

He stared down his adversary, brush clutched between his teeth. "I'll show you what's worthy of a Cork!" The gauntlet thrown, he flew at the rock like a pony possessed.

[Two things: One, your call if he needs a Fortitude save for kicking the rock. Two, he's going to be painting the rock.

Mind 3 + Job Painter 2 + Skill Painting 4 + Potential special talent? His 'perfect rock' would be one that highlights and complement's this construct's unique shape, coloration, and maybe it's movement too, although that sounds more in line with Rarity's talent and bringing out beauty. Feels like it might be a stretch, but it's your call. Definitely getting Creative Trait on this.

Any other penalties?]

[One Tin Soldier]

Grease watched the creature from the top of the hill while it advanced toward Dive Bomb and Rinda, threatening them with its glowing hoof as its voice echoed through the night air. Threatening? It... it wants something. The significance of this was not lost on the mare. If this is an artificial construct, its the smartest one I've ever seen. But I can't be sure. Once again, she took in the positions of her companions. The only ones who seemed to be in immediate danger were Dive Bomb and Rinda, though Crown Cork was yelling about something over the next dune.

I'm safe here. It seemed like it was after me, at least partially, so maybe it would be best if I stayed out of the way. She immediately crushed that thought. There was a young colt standing just over there being threatened by a giant rock beast. She would be sent to Tartarus before she would let it be said that Grease Spot let a pony down when she could help.

She ran back down the dune, back towards the thing she had just fled from. For the moment, though, she did not purposefully try to attract its attention. There was helping a pony in need, and then there was getting yourself in harm's way for no good reason. For now, a pummeling did not seem imminent, and she would save her distraction for a time when it was necessary.

As she ran, however, another thought occurred to her. I have no idea what I'm about to do here.

[TheAmishPirate]

[Rolling!]

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Okay. Rolling Mind 3 + Job Painter 2 + Skill Painting 4 - 2 Penalty = +7 to the roll. Applying Special Purpose and Creative Trait to roll twice.

Roll 1: (1d20+7)[9]
Roll 2: (1d20+7)[20]

Translates to:

Roll 1: 10
Roll 2: 27!

Dang, if only I'd spent that point of Willpower on this frivolous roll.

[Ravian]

"Luna flick me!" Soot cursed under her breath as her spell surged. I hate that spell! It could just sputter out like normal spells but noooo, it has to explode in my face and... give... away... my... position... her train of thought ended as she saw that the rock creature was staring straight at her.

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Courage check (1d20+4)[6]
(Soot's down to 2 Courage)

Soot could only stare as the creature rumbled something unintelligable to her fear addled mind. It found me and now it's going to kill me and I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I died she closed her eyes ready to accept her fate when the creature simply lumbered off.
"Not dead?" she whispered. As this fact began to find validity in her mind, she began to regain some semblance of reason and what once seemed like a threat from the behemoth suddenly seemed more like something else Magiese? Prioriteit? The thing's speaking garbled Equestrian! she mentally shouted as the epiphany struck her.
She watched the stone monster face Dive Bomb and Rinda and utter its proclaimation Stop dit net daar, dief? I've heard that enough things to know it's saying "stop thief". That's why it's only attacking Grease and DB. But what did it think they stole? she scoured her brain for some sort of indication of what the two might have done. It was difficult since hse was only half paying attention to them before the rocks started shouting at them when Dive Bomb moved them.
Dive Bomb. Moved the rocks. she facehoofed. Foal doesn't know when to quit, does he?

Okay so this thing is just a giant granite guard. It should be no different then other guards, except it's huge and throws large rocks at ponies. Now what to do?... We could probably outrun it but there's no cover for us to lose it for miles, and if it's some sort of magic construct thingy it'll probably keep following us. Proclaim our innocence? No the thing would only activate if somepony moved the rocks, and I haven't met a guard yet that considers "I didn't know" to be a valid defence. That leaves... Turn ourselves in, or at least Dive Bomb. With luck it doesn't consider stealing a death sentence or at the very least it'll bring us somewhere to judge him before execution. It would give us time to figure something out.

She shouted towards Dive Bomb and Rinda's direction "Dive Bomb! Turn yourself in! It thinks you're a criminal!"

[BlasTech]

The monster advanced, seemingly having no trouble in keeping its foreleg levelled at the pegasus while it walked on three limbs. The words it had spoken, although belying intelligence, remained incomprehensible to Dive Bomb. He couldn't even say for sure whether the words that sounded Equestrian weren't just some random coincidence of phonetic evolution.

There was the rustle of wings, before his view of the monster's visage was obscured by something brown.

"Back off you hunk of dirt!" shouted Rinda. "You want to lay a pebble on this kid, you're gonna have to go through me!"

The monster actually recoiled from the angry gryphon, the rocks on its face shifting as it took in this new information. It paused for a moment, before speaking again.

"Grifon. Voorkoms dui daarop soldaat. Is dit jou gevangene?"

Rinda flinched as the monster spoke, the rumbling of its voice reverberating within their chests.

"I-I don't know what the heck you're talking about you moron. Speak proper Equestrian!"

The monster paused again, before replying.

"Mawasiliano kushindwa, na kujaribu lugha mbadala. Hii ni mfungwa yako?"

There was a moment of mutual silence, which the gryphon used to tense her wings. She was about to leap forward when another phrase came tumbling out of that bass maw.

"Communicatio defectum, attentassent alternis lingua. Hoc in vinctum?"

Everyone flinched that time, the words were not easily translated, particularly to one who hadn't studied them, but the language was familiar.

[DC 10 mind check to partially translate the Old Equestrian on the spot (difficulty lowered because this is a fairly easy sentence). DC 20 to have a proper translation for the rest of the scene, presumably via the person relaying the words. (Heck, at this point you can probably guess what it's saying OOC)]

******************

Meanwhile, on the far side of the dune, Cork had finished his work. It was not quite a true masterpiece, but it was an effort the painter could be proud of. The newly painted rock shone in the moonlight - the paint seemed to flow along the contours of its body, its hues a near perfect compliment to the strength, yet beauty of the creature.

Now all that remained was to bring it back up the slope, where it could be displayed to its intended recipient.

[DC 10 body check to carry it up]

[Balmas]

Dive Bomb coughed a bit, stepping back and away from the wing. Sure, he appreciated the gesture, but he could have done without the bits of sand flung in his face as the griffoness postured. And seriously? Kid?

"Criminal? What for?" he asked the unicorn.

Then, his jaw dropped, his bristling wings flattening down. Not only was this thing talking, but it was speaking different languages! It had to be; the patterns of speech, the different word forms...

If possible, his jaw dropped further. He'd heard that language before, he was sure of it! It could be seen on old pegasus architecture, museums and such. Back when the pegasi were a race of militant warriors, that was their language, he thought.

If only he'd paid better attention to the aspiring lawyers, this might be a bit easier. As he slowly began to hover, the wheels of time turned back to the old schoolcloud in Cloudsdale, trying to dredge up the relevant memories. The droning voice of old Mr. Scroll filled his memories.

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Error: Player-character separation compromised; Latin training exposed; Error...

+5 mind, spending a point of willpower to get a +7 bonus.

(1d20+12)[27]

Whatever technique Signed Scroll had used, it must have worked. Dive Bomb opened his eyes and stared at the creature. Fighting to contain the flush in his cheeks, he quietly informed Rinda, "He wants to know if I'm your prisoner."

[TheAmishPirate]

Crown Cork surveyed his work with a dissatisfied "harumph!" What else could he say when there was clearly so much more to be done? The blending on the right side was off by a hair, the asymmetry was all wrong, and he shouldn't even get started on the pencil-thin pockmarks. But with life and limb on the line...he supposed it would have to do for now.

Using his suncloak as a makeshift harness, he started the long, arduous process of shifting it up the hill.

[Okay, I have Body 2, and that's just about it. Any bonuses for the makeshift harness?]

[BlasTech]

Whatever technique Signed Scroll had used, it must have worked. Dive Bomb opened his eyes and stared at the creature. Fighting to contain the flush in his cheeks, he quietly informed Rinda and Grease, "He wants to know if I'm your prisoner."

"Well I don't know ... are you?" Hissed the gryphoness.

Using his suncloak as a makeshift harness, he started the long, arduous process of shifting it up the hill.

[Okay, I have Body 2, and that's just about it. Any bonuses for the makeshift harness?]

[You can have a +1 modifier for improvised tools]

[TheAmishPirate]

[You can have a +1 modifier for improvised tools]

[Aight, let's roll this:]

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Rolling Body 2 + 1 for tools = +3 bonus
Roll: (1d20+3)[13]

With an effort worthy of the Cork name, the lean Crown dragged his earthen masterpiece up the dune. Now it was just a question of getting the creature's attention...

[Balmas]

"Well I don't know ... are you?" Hissed the gryphoness.

"You're a guard! What would you say?" He buried his muzzle in his hooves; he hated situations that needed snap decisions. More time... he needed more time! It was speaking a language he understood at last, and could maybe fake a response, but what did he say?

He stared nervously at the light pulsating from the rock leveled in his direction and gulped before touching down. Still, his wings twitched, obviously wanting to fly more than he did. "Non sum vinctus. Non ego sum criminalis. Quid es?" No reason to lie to it, right? After all, what was the worst that could happen? That it would decide that this made him its prisoner, and that it would execute medieval justice on--NOT thinking that way, please. He shuddered, and looked directly at the rock beast. "Cur nocere... nobis?" Man, he wished he'd retained a bit more than he had of Scroll's history lessons.

[One Tin Soldier]

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Mind 5
8+5=13

Grease came to a stop just behind the rock creature as it exchanged words with Rinda and Dive Bomb. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as its last words rang a bell in her mind. She hadn't heard that in years, since her days at university, but she recognized the words language, defective, and prisoner.

She was surprised again when Dive Bomb seemed to have an even better understanding, replying in halting, uncertain words. She couldn't tell whether he was confirming or denying its question, but she fervently hoped that his answer was the right one. At any rate, there was nothing she could do about it now. All she could do was stand directly behind the large, threatening figure and think about just what she could do if it decided to attack again.

[Ravian]

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Mind check
(d20+4)[17]

While the language was still largely strange to her, Soot knew she had the general meaning down.

"Criminal? What for?" he asked the unicorn.

"Probably because you were shoving rocks around that it didn't want you to shove around!" Soot shouted back towards Dive Bomb "I don't know! There's usually something you're doing that these law and order types don't want you to do. Normally I would run, but I doubt we could all keep clear of it forever so unless you wanted to wing it alone or can come up with something clever turning yourself in is your best bet. It would at least buy us some time to figure things out."

[BlasTech]

The creature paused for a moment after Dive Bomb spoke, the runic patterns on its body humming.

"Query negatur. Ordinationibus non debet communicatum *** mitigate." it replied, its voice ponderous. Shifting its weight, it levelled its foreleg at Dive Bomb again.

"Vos arguimur intemerandam me, et intercedendo completio directivam. Si te non vinctus in grypium, captus es. Deditionem."

"Err" Rinda muttered, shifting her stance in the sand. "I don't know what it's saying, but I don't like the way it keeps pointing that thing at you."

The tip of the rocks were already glowing with blue light once more.

[DC 15 courage check for 3 damage, save limits to one]

Translation:

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Query denied. Directives are not to be shared with criminals.

You are accused of tampering with me, and interfering with completion of the directive. If you are not a prisoner of the gryphon, you are under arrest. Surrender.

[Balmas]

A criminal? For moving a bunch of rocks? If he didn't want to know about this thing, he might even be affronted.

For now, the glowing rock held his attention. Did this thing do anything else besides shove rocks in faces?

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(1d20+4)[23]

Courage now at three.

This thing was getting seriously annoying. He began relaying information to his companions, and then stared at the rock beast.

"Non scis quid mihi saxa moventur," he began, aware of how miserably he was slaughtering the language, and hoping he could get his point across. "Sum sciens et volens, cur rupes solutus. Dixi non solvere legem. Non sum reus, ut loquatur nobiscum.

"Auctore te agere? Praesidio esse credo quid?" he challenged. If this thing wanted him to surrender, he'd know all that he could, by Sol. "Quod crimen poena quibus accusor? Oportet te esse non probo pecus si mihi reddat praesidium."

That's right, keep it talking, stall for information. Oh, and show no fear. As he talked, he translated for his friends.

"You've got experience with guards, right?" he asked Soot. "Turning myself in is really the best answer?"

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I did not know what you were. I am a scientist, and wished to know why the rocks glowed. I meant to break no law; I am not a criminal, so you can speak with us.

On whose authority do you act? Why should I believe you? What is the punishment for the crime of which I am accused? I must know that you are an honorable guard and not a simple brute if I am to surrender.

[Ravian]

After Dive Bomb translated Soot winced "You had to say 'I didn't know'? I can just hear him now 'Ignorance of the law is not a defense for violating it'" She mimicked the tone of the stone guard as best she could. "As far as dealing with guards, no turning yourself in is usually the worst option, in Manehatten your best bet is to run and try to lose 'em somewhere. Problem is this ain't Manehatten, and this guy's worse than your typical guard since he won't get tired of chasing us."

"Let's hear what they'd do to you first before we look at other options, though. If the universe is kind, which is a long shot but hope never hurts, you might get off light. If it's not he'll need to take us somewhere for judging, he said 'under arrest, that implies he can't act as judge or jury. We might have a better chance with a living judge, or if not we could slip away somewhere along the way."

[TheAmishPirate]

It was then, when all hope seemed lost, another voice, the voice of their salvation, cried out:

"~Yooooo hooooo! Over here!~"

Crown Cork, making no effort to hide himself, stood atop a nearby dune next to a brilliantly painted stone, waving to the collected ponies and...rock thing. "Worry no more, my friends! For I believe I have with me the solution to our little misunderstanding! May I present to you, seen for the first time by pony, griffon, and rock creature eyes alike...a Cork brand boulder!"

He gracefully trotted around the boulder, motioning with his tail to show off all its lovely features and design. "What stone construct would be without one? Just look at how the colors flow, accentuating the overall form! Oh, I believe our guard here would look simply dashing with this little gem on his chest. Dive Bomb? Do ask this rocky fellow if he would accept this gift from me in good faith, won't you? Let him know there are no hard feelings? I'd ask myself, but I can't make head nor tails of his stony vernacular."

[Ravian]

Soot turned as she heard Cork's voice and stared slack-jawed at the colt presenting a rock only one word could escape her as she stared in disbelief.

"What?"

[One Tin Soldier]

Grease watched the proceedings with bated breath. Could Dive Bomb talk his way out of this? The colt seemed so uncertain in social situations, but he was the only one who remembered enough Old Equestrian to talk to it. And if he failed...

Her thoughts were interrupted by Cork's arrival, calling in a singsong voice from the next dune over. Carrying... a rock. As a gift. For the rock monster.

"What," she said flatly, at precisely the same time as Soot.

[BlasTech]

The rock monster paused for a moment, allowing Dive Bomb's words to sink in. When it spoke again, its voice was implacable.

"Ignorantia, impertinens. Excusat, impertinens. Questionum, rejicitur."

"Deditionem. Finalis occasio placitúram." It rumbled, emphasising its words with another point of its foreleg.

And then everyone's attention, Rinda and the rock monster included, was distracted by a call from the top of the dune. There was a moment of complete silence as the creature's mind took in the new development.

"Quid?"



OOC:

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DB has a DC 15 to resist another 3 points of courage damage, save limits to one. However, Cork's sudden and comical appearance restores two points of courage to anyone witnessing it. This can prevent a sidelining.

Translation:

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"Ignorance, irrelevant. Excuses, irrelevant. Questions, rejected."

"Surrender. Final opportunity to comply."

"What?"

[Balmas]

Dive Bomb pondered the words, staring into its eye... socket... glowie bits, and began to formulate a response before the words of the other colt sank in. Staring blankly at Crown, he formulated a truly eloquent response:

"Quid?" Blinking a bit, he shook himself back to Equestrian. "I mean, what?"

He shook his head at the other pony's antics, and turned again, only to find himself face-to-glowing stone. This again?

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I'm hoping that the +2 goes on before the roll. That makes Courage +5. If not, just deduce it and tell me.

(1d20+5)[7]

Well, aren't I glad for that +2 bonus now, because that's his courage score.

Dive Bomb shrank back from the glowing stone, but resisted the instinct to fly.

Well, this was clearly useless. The stone guard clearly was either stubborn or stupid enough to resist all inquiries. Looking away from the illuminated lump of hurt, he pondered his options. He could fly away, probably, but he was stuck in a desert with no idea where he was; there was just as much chance that he'd run out of food before he ran out of desert. The thing had proven accurate with its rock before, and if it was true to its stony nature, then it probably didn't need to rest. Besides, if he left, this thing might take it out on his companions. The surest way to maximize good...

He sighed, shrugged and nodded. "Ego deditionem. Innocentes amici, sinite illos."

It really was a very pretty rock. Had he... he had! There was paint on the rock! He'd painted a rock to give to the giant thing that was about to take him to Luna-knows-where!

...He'd done a bang-up job, too.

"Ego non teneo quare , tamen meus amicus vota addo vos a pictoratus silicis."

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What?

I surrender. My friends are innocent; leave them alone.

I don't know why, but my friend would like to give you a painted rock.

[TheAmishPirate]

Crown tut-tutted gently at his bemused comrades. "A gift. A peace offering. Or in this case, perhaps 'bail' would be the better term?" He airly chuckled to himself. "If this creature is so upset with his rocks being tampered with, then what better way to make amends then presenting him with a brand-new designer rock?"

Dive Bomb was, of course, relaying this in perfect detail. All that was left was to wait for the creature to accept his gift! Crown stood by his creation, head bowed in deference, and a pleased smile across his features.

[One Tin Soldier]

"Um," Grease said, glancing up at the creature. "I'm not so sure that giving it another rock will help all that much."

[Ravian]

"Or" Soot posed "Worst case scenario, he sees it as a bribe, a something tells me he's not the type to take that kind of thing." she looked uup at the rock creature with an axious exspression on her face.

[BlasTech]

The monster hummed.

""vos ... vos ... vos ..."

The runic patterns on its body swirled, casting the desert around it in an eerie red and black light. Its rocky visage swivelled to regard Cork on the ridge and Dive Bomb in the valley. For a moment it seemed torn before it rounded, one last time, on the pegasus.

"Tu capiatur et urbs tradita re vel quinque Sanctum ius gentium. Si nolueritis, vos capax."

The swirls flared and a small puff of red magic and light leaked from the side of the monster.

"Erroris ... erroris ... directivam conflictu ... unitas non deviare a primaria directoriae."

"Conserva me. Liberare. Sustentet"

It turned away from Dive Bomb, and began ascending the slope towards Cork. Those red eyes seemed to flash as they waved over the earth pony and his boulder.

"Conserva me. Liberare. Sustentet"

Approaching the top of the dune, it uttered two more words.

"Hoc ... datur?"

OOC:

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Courage rolls for Cork and Soot to maintain their nerve. DC10 for 2 courage damage, save negates. Given the monster's appearance, the need for ongoing courage rolls will likely continue until the confrontations are over.

Translation:

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NB: This translation gets a bit funny, due to multiple alternate interpretations of some words. Alternate meanings are contained in brackets.

"You ... you ... you ..."

"You will be arrested and handed over to the Sanctum city (or perhaps Holy City?) of Five international law (maybe five nations?). If you resist, you will be incapacitated."

"Error ... error ... directive conflict ... unit may not deviate from the primary directives."

"Preserve. Deliver. Uphold".

"Preserve. Deliver. Uphold".

"This is ... given?"

[Balmas]

Dive Bomb's eyes lit with the greedy glow of incoming knowledge. Finally, they were getting somewhere! Somewhere with answers! A city? Out here? It was all he could do to not grin with excitement. Sure, he was under arrest for an innocent mistake, but he was going to learn something new; maybe this new city would have new medical techniques that he could take back to Equestria!

And, you know, not getting pegged by flying rocks is always a plus.

As the monster turned away, he heaved a sigh of relief. That thing was scarier than flying a category four, and with none of the exhilaration. Well, if he was going to go, he'd better sketch a map for the others.

Mid-stroke, he paused. The rock was leaving... Struggling? Somewhat odd, but understandable. Some kind of error? Was this thing a slave or something? No wonder it was irritable.

"Etiam, datum est," he stated, landing softly behind the beast. "P-pinxit eam sicut rep... reparationem pro aliquod"--his eyes screwed up as he searched for the right word--"damnum ego causatur."

He frowned, and wondered what was the appropriate way to say, "Sorry," in the old language. Dolor? Dolet? The grammatical rules were coming back, but there remained some gaps in his memory.

"I'm going to go with it," he said quietly. "You don't have to come." With a few more strokes of the pen, he ripped the copy of the map from his notebook and gave it to Grease Spot.

"It says there's a city of five nations, five laws... I'm not certain of the translation. Definitely a city, though." Despite his excitement at a new city, it was beginning to sink in that he had no idea what was going to happen. Had to be brave, show them a smile. "I should be alright as long as I don't try to run away, and who knows? Maybe I'll learn something." Blinking rapidly, he turned away. "Y-you should be al-alright. If you t-travel by night and sleep by day, you should m-minimize heat exhaustion and be able to travel farther."

He turned back as a thought struck him. "Do you need any medicine before we leave? I have a small supply..."


Translation

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Yes, it is given. He painted it as reparation for any... damage I caused.

[TheAmishPirate]

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Rolling for Courage:
(1d20+6)[19]

Up close, the creature was twice, nay, thrice as breathtaking as he'd imagined. Any horror he felt found itself shoved to the back of his mind as his creative vision took in the rock monster. Who knew when he'd get a chance again to study the contours of living rock? With his most charming smile, the young businesspony made an elegant bow with his foreleg. "Indeed, it is freely given. Take it in good faith, and know we mean no harm."

His ears perked up, catching snippets of Dive Bomb's announcement. "Simply out of the question," he stated matter-of-factly, loud enough for the others to hear. "Do wait until after diplomacy has finished before making rash decisions, would you?" Leave a pony in his care to the clutches of this automaton? Surely somepony must be joking? Or perhaps they weren't aware of the caliber of Cork they were dealing with here?

(Assuming Dive Bomb is continuing to translate. And Cork is assuming everything he's saying is getting literally translated back. )

[One Tin Soldier]

"A city?" Grease said, glancing down at the map that she had been given. The apprehension in her chest was easing rapidly. "Don't be ridiculous. That's the best news we've had all day!" She felt like she could hug the colt, or maybe the rock monster. "Dive Bomb, this thing is going to lead us back to civilization!"

She paused as a thought occurred to her. "Well, hopefully it still is inhabited. We have no way of knowing how long this thing has been out here. But still," she said quickly, not wanting to squash any hope, "Even if it leads us to an abandoned city, there will still be roads and maybe maps."

[Ravian]

Soot nodded in contentment at this conclusion "Cities are good, we might get a fair trial with a pony judge. Or we could just bolt when we get there, even rock monsters would have problems in tight alleys."

[BlasTech]

The rock monster approached Cork's masterwork, ignoring the debate of the other ponies around it. It raised a sandy hoof and placed it on top of the boulder.

"Conserva me"

*CRACK*

The sound of the boulder fracturing was like a gunshot, echoing off the nearby dunes and away into the night. Like tiny, jagged serpents, the cracks spread out from where the monster was pressing with its hoof until they stretched around the circumference.

"Conserva me"

More blue magic began to pour from the creature's hoof, soaking into the cracks and flooding their patch of the desert with etherial light. With a second, much smaller crack, a tiny fragment of the boulder came away. It floated up the creature's foreleg, accompanied by swirls of energy, rising up until, with an almost inaudible "tink" it touched the river stone.

More and more fragments of the rock began to break up and away from the boulder, following the streams of magic until they too began to merge with the creature's body. The glow of the magic built, brighter and brighter, until everyone had to shield their eyes from the glare.

"Conserva me"

*FWASH*

Spots danced in eyes for a few minutes, until their night vision recovered. When it did, the boulder was gone. The rock creature stood tall, but changed. It's river-stone body seemed bigger, fuller, with a different colouration that blended both the dull red of its original body with the paints that cork had used. The rune trails were changed too, no longer did they glow red, but now had a soothing blue hue to match the creature's magic.

"Sui instaurabo explere finitur. Memoria ... vexatis. Reparat inefficax, Revertetur ad primaria directoriae."

It looked at Dive Bomb for a moment, considering, before starting down the far side of the slope, seemingly not caring if it was followed or not.

"Conserva me. Liberare. Sustentet" it repeated, as it began to walk away to the West.

OOC:
[Cinematic Mode is over, Narrative mode is resumed]

Translation:

Spoiler

Show

"Preserve"

"Preserve"

"Self repair complete. memory ... damaged. repairs ineffective, return to primary directives."

"Preserve, Deliver, Uphold"