Ponaria: Symphony of the Neigh [IC II]

[DigoDragon]

~ Bottom level of the Koldstone Barrow, 8:50 pm ~

Crossguard looks the rapier over. She picks it up with her ponykinesis, and steps away to look it over and test it out.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Intelligence check to see if she recognizes the craftsmanship, as well as what the blade is made of.
[13]+2 = 15

After a quick examination, Crossguard determines that the blade is made of a silver alloy (electrum), but it is hard and retains its sharpness despite the usual softness of silver. As for the craftsmanship, the design is most commonly known from somewhere within Elysium. The blood stains are very smooth on the blade, as if the color was simply subsumed into the metal.

"Well, let's see how this goes. Please don't be cursed," says Frostbite as he slips on the ring.

The ring fits perfectly! Nothing seems to happen however. No flashy lights, sudden painful curses, or screams from beyond the veil. On the other hoof, Frost feels like the temperature in the room around him subtly dropped a couple degrees.

[Jurai]

Crossguard smiles. "Impressive... It's not often an Elysium forge works with electrum." She tests the rapier out, giving a few quick swings away from the party.

[Fable Wright]

Spirit shrugs and slips on the boots. No one else seemed to want them, at any rate. He walks over the ice formed by the serpent mouth trap, cautiously checking how his body responds to the cold and how well he can balance on the ice. Maybe even check his balance by doing a small hop on the ice.

[McNum]

Beryl spends some time looking over the robe. All of these little patches slowly begin to make sense to her. Daggers. Rope. Healing Potions. "...a rowboat?" she mutters out loud in surprise. "...and this one is... a hole? How does that work?"

Slowly she feels like an inventory of the stuff the robe has is building up in the back of her mind. What an odd robe. As the list ends she notices that it ends with "Bag of 100 Gold (2)".

"I think this thing has money in it, too." she says out loud before really getting any selfish thoughts. "...two-hundred gold? If I'm reading it right, at least. I can add that to the pile if you want, but I'll admit, I kind of want to buy a bow, too. I'm not a bad shot, you know, but longbows are pretty steep, so I couldn't afford bringing one from home." She goes through her mental inventory again "...and some spell scrolls. Hm. Is 'Magic Missile' or 'Burning Hooves' any good?"

She tears her mind away from the "Yay, new stuff!" induced daze and then remembers where she is. "Actually, I have a question. What do we do about all the dead ponies down here? Somepony probably misses them somewhere... do we tell somepony about this? We can't really take them anywhere."

[DigoDragon]

Crossguard smiles. "Impressive... It's not often an Elysium forge works with electrum." She tests the rapier out, giving a few quick swings away from the party.

The blade is well-balanced and sturdy. The smith that crafted this knew what they were doing.

He walks over the ice formed by the serpent mouth trap, cautiously checking how his body responds to the cold and how well he can balance on the ice. Maybe even check his balance by doing a small hop on the ice.

Although the trap has been disabled, the hall should still be cold given all the ice still around, but it didn't really seem like much of a bother to Spirit, nor did the ice-laden ground feel very slippery.

"I think this thing has money in it, too." she says out loud before really getting any selfish thoughts. "...two-hundred gold? If I'm reading it right, at least. I can add that to the pile if you want, but I'll admit, I kind of want to buy a bow, too. I'm not a bad shot, you know, but longbows are pretty steep, so I couldn't afford bringing one from home."

Trace is now on Beryl's left, listening intently. "You got a robe that's loaded, and you are willing to share? Hmm, I knew you were the kind one, Pinkie."

She goes through her mental inventory again "...and some spell scrolls. Hm. Is 'Magic Missile' or 'Burning Hooves' any good?"

Ace is now on Beryl's right, listening intently. "Pretty common combat spells. Frostbite does Magic Missile. I don't know if he does Burning Hooves... I mean, his name being all... about the cold... you know that's a good question. Hey Frost, do you know fire spells?"

"Actually, I have a question. What do we do about all the dead ponies down here? Somepony probably misses them somewhere... do we tell somepony about this? We can't really take them anywhere."

"We could just report the bodies to the... um, nearest settlement and they can recover them," Ace suggests.

[Fable Wright]

Spirit nods in agreement with Ace. "These bodies must not stay in the mausoleum. This place is Trent's thaumaturgic heart; allowing Brotherhood corpses to molder in here would soon send the family to ally with the creatures." Then he picks up the cloth wrapping he dropped next to the pile, and offers it to Ace. "Oh, hold on to this. Once we get back to town, I think it's time you make your first minion. The right way, this time, without any uncontrollable spirits interrupting."

[McNum]

Trace is now on Beryl's left, listening intently. "You got a robe that's loaded, and you are willing to share? Hmm, I knew you were the kind one, Pinkie."
Ace is now on Beryl's right, listening intently. "Pretty common combat spells. Frostbite does Magic Missile. I don't know if he does Burning Hooves... I mean, his name being all... about the cold... you know that's a good question. Hey Frost, do you know fire spells?"

Beryl suddenly feels really crowded. "How about this, everypony? I add one hundred of the gold to the common pile to be split, and the two spell scrolls are up for grabs if anypony wants them. But I want to keep the other hundred gold for a nice bow and a quiver of arrows. ...I wonder if Basuto has a Crystal Empire one, crystal bows are pretty."

"We could just report the bodies to the... um, nearest settlement and they can recover them," Ace suggests.

Spirit nods in agreement with Ace. "These bodies must not stay in the mausoleum. This place is Trent's thaumaturgic heart; allowing Brotherhood corpses to molder in here would soon send the family to ally with the creatures." Then he picks up the cloth wrapping he dropped next to the pile, and offers it to Ace. "Oh, hold on to this. Once we get back to town, I think it's time you make your first minion. The right way, this time, without any uncontrollable spirits interrupting."

"That's going to be a fun story. 'When we broke into the Trent's family tomb, we saw somepony else had done so, too, but they're all dead now.' Um... I think we'll have to have Crossguard say that one. If any of us say that, it's going to sound really bad, even if we DID just save the town from a curse. Can you do that, Cross? Paladins are expected to do things like this, right?"

[Fable Wright]

Spirit shrugs at Beryl. "Or we could just dump them outside the entrance. No lingering infestation, no awkward explanations. Oh, and with regards to the cash? Keep it, at the moment. We can always divvy it later, and someone else might need a lump sum purchase in the future; it's best to keep it in reserve for events like that. Rituals for Ace, weapons for you or Crossguard, or putting up cash for a deed of land."

[Jurai]

Beryl suddenly feels really crowded. "How about this, everypony? I add one hundred of the gold to the common pile to be split, and the two spell scrolls are up for grabs if anypony wants them. But I want to keep the other hundred gold for a nice bow and a quiver of arrows. ...I wonder if Basuto has a Crystal Empire one, crystal bows are pretty."


"That's going to be a fun story. 'When we broke into the Trent's family tomb, we saw somepony else had done so, too, but they're all dead now.' Um... I think we'll have to have Crossguard say that one. If any of us say that, it's going to sound really bad, even if we DID just save the town from a curse. Can you do that, Cross? Paladins are expected to do things like this, right?"

"We'd have to spin it as though we were defending the tomb, Beryl. And most ponies don't know anything about the Brotherhood and/or choose to not know anything."

[McNum]

"We'd have to spin it as though we were defending the tomb, Beryl. And most ponies don't know anything about the Brotherhood and/or choose to not know anything."

"Ah, I get it. 'We acted on a rumor that somepony was about to break into the barrows, to cast some curse, but while the bad guys got away, we broke the curse.' That's good enough for the common ponies, I'd think. Though... your order probably needs the full story. If they stole some Trent ancestor's body, this might get a lot worse than a curse."

Beryl adds "I might want to talk to them again myself. I'm pretty sure now that I'm a different... flavor of Paladin. But I'd like to stay friends with them, and maybe they know somepony I should talk to."

[Fable Wright]

Spirit shrugs and begins hauling the bodies outside of the tomb. "In my homeland, we'd merely set the stones themselves on fire until this abomination of a tomb burned to the ground, and all would know a shaman had done their sacred work here. Your customs of bending the truth for some and not others are strange to me." He glances up at the architecture and egotism involved here. "As well as your customs of letting monuments like this stand once found." He shudders, then resumes his dragging.

[McNum]

Beryl shrugs. "It's not our tomb to burn. This is the Trent family's tomb. You could ask them to burn it, but on second thought... don't. Noble families like to keep their dead ancestors around."

Beryl starts fiddling with her new cloak. "Okay, let's see now... this one?" She tears off a patch, and finds a rolled up scroll in her hoof. "...this should be the Magic Missile one. Could somepony who can actually read this thing check that?" She holds out the scroll to let Ace or Frostbite have a look.

[Fable Wright]

Beryl shrugs. "It's not our tomb to burn. This is the Trent family's tomb. You could ask them to burn it, but on second thought... don't. Noble families like to keep their dead ancestors around."

Spirit briefly pauses hauling corpses to give Beryl a funny look. "Have you never realized why that is? It's simple. A mausoleum like this keeps the Trent family in a state of stasis. So long as this stands, the Trent family will see themselves as gods lording themselves over the common pony, cannot lose their wealth and influence, and will keep their dragon blood as weak as these thinblooded ancestors and their obsession over it as strong as always. Only our missing Sa— escaped this mixed curse." He shakes his head. "In the zebra lands, we see abominations like this for what they are. Self-inflicted curses all to desperately hang on to one ephemeral gain. No, one does not ask the Trent to burn this down; that's like asking a cultist to burn their ritual book. But it must be done regardless, for them and the good of everyone around them." Then he gets back to his dragging.

[DigoDragon]

"Oh, hold on to this. Once we get back to town, I think it's time you make your first minion. The right way, this time, without any uncontrollable spirits interrupting."

"I'm allowed minions?" Ace asks skeptically. "Hmm, I guess I should brush up on my studies."

Beryl suddenly feels really crowded. "How about this, everypony? I add one hundred of the gold to the common pile to be split, and the two spell scrolls are up for grabs if anypony wants them. But I want to keep the other hundred gold for a nice bow and a quiver of arrows."

"Oh, and with regards to the cash? Keep it, at the moment. We can always divvy it later, and someone else might need a lump sum purchase in the future;"

"Let's not be a complete downer, White-out," Trace comments to Spirit. "If the curse is lifted we could probably use rooms, baths, a little dinner..."

Beryl adds "I might want to talk to them again myself. I'm pretty sure now that I'm a different... flavor of Paladin. But I'd like to stay friends with them, and maybe they know somepony I should talk to."

Ace looks slightly confused. "What flavor? Like cherry or something?"

Beryl starts fiddling with her new cloak. "Okay, let's see now... this one?" She tears off a patch, and finds a rolled up scroll in her hoof. "...this should be the Magic Missile one. Could somepony who can actually read this thing check that?" She holds out the scroll to let Ace or Frostbite have a look.

Ace lets Frostbite check it first if he wants.

Then he gets back to his dragging.

Trace follows Spirit while hovering in the air, acting as moral support, just with less morals and no tangible support. Ace on the other hoof hooks a hoof on a body and tries to help drag it out of the barrow. "Burning this place down would be bad, but I can agree to piling the bodies outside for now."

[Fable Wright]

"I'm allowed minions?" Ace asks skeptically. "Hmm, I guess I should brush up on my studies."

Spirit wipes his forehead as he heads back into the dungeon for another body. "I brought three into this dungeon, haven't I? Why wouldn't you be allowed at least one of your own?" He shakes his head. "It's a minion, not your first volcano. The latter, incidentally, you'll have to wait on."

"Let's not be a complete downer, White-out," Trace comments to Spirit. "If the curse is lifted we could probably use rooms, baths, a little dinner..."

Spirit pauses to consider. Then... "Oh, if you insist. First date, no mandibles. Second date, things get webby."

Ace looks slightly confused. "What flavor? Like cherry or something?"

"More of a mint, really."

[McNum]

"...I'm more of a strawberry, really." Beryl muses just loudly enough for everypony to hear.

She then reaches into her cloak and pulls out ...a bag? "Oh, neat, it comes with a bag! A hundred gold coins would have made a mess if they were loose change." She adds the bag to the common money pool. "I promised, so here it is. I'm keeping the other one for a bow and other girly things."

(OOC: Can we get a recap on how much money there is in the pool to be split?)

[DigoDragon]

"I brought three into this dungeon, haven't I? Why wouldn't you be allowed at least one of your own?"

Ace starts counting around the room in a vain attempt to come up with three minions. He doesn't seem to get past a count of one, the alligator, and the gator just gives Ace a hiss that causes the little unicorn to back away. Slowly.

Spirit pauses to consider. Then... "Oh, if you insist. First date, no mandibles. Second date, things get webby."

"Snowball, if I weren't jonsing for a bowl of snacks right now, I'd dignify that with a riposte," Trace replies, "But instead I'm off to get those snacks. Pinkie, if you divvy out the money, I call dibs on my share. See you at the tavern."

And with that settled (but not really) Trace flies up, grabs a piece of cloud, and with a 'yip yip' he flies under the cover of night toward the village.

"...I'm more of a strawberry, really." Beryl muses just loudly enough for everypony to hear.

Ace glaces at everyone else looking for clarification on what that's supposed to mean.

"Oh, neat, it comes with a bag! A hundred gold coins would have made a mess if they were loose change." She adds the bag to the common money pool. "I promised, so here it is. I'm keeping the other one for a bow and other girly things."

(OOC: Can we get a recap on how much money there is in the pool to be split?)

Spoiler: Updated Money Count

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40 copper coins
36 silver coins
131 gold coins

[Fable Wright]

"The one minion you see, the one you don't realize, and the one you can't see." He pats Ace on the back, before responding to Beryl. "You're definitely a strawberry on the whole, but your order is a mint to the other orders' licorice, molasses, and jalapeno."

With a grunt, he dumps the last body at the entrance of the tomb, then trots over to calm his gator and perform a chant to allow him to communicate with the gator. "I deeply apologize for your discomfort down there. I can't promise that I'll never ask you to do something like that again; if you prefer to get a ride back to your swamp, I could not blame you."

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm seriously considering using Locate Animals and Plants to track down a giant spider of some variety as a companion, so if the poor gator wants a break, this is a good time to split off. Spirit will still visit whenever he heads to Basuto.

[Beacon of Chaos]

Frost, intrigued by the pearl, wanders up to Midnight and offers up his ring. "Trade ya?"

Ace lets Frostbite check it first if he wants.

Frost glances over the scroll. "Yeah, Magic Missile. It's a spell I already know. Probably best if Ace takes it. Or maybe Crossguard? You know some magic, right?"

[Jurai]

Crossguard nods. "A little bit, though I prefer to do battle with my blade."

[One Tin Soldier]

Spirit briefly pauses hauling corpses to give Beryl a funny look. "Have you never realized why that is? It's simple. A mausoleum like this keeps the Trent family in a state of stasis. So long as this stands, the Trent family will see themselves as gods lording themselves over the common pony, cannot lose their wealth and influence, and will keep their dragon blood as weak as these thinblooded ancestors and their obsession over it as strong as always. Only our missing Sa— escaped this mixed curse." He shakes his head. "In the zebra lands, we see abominations like this for what they are. Self-inflicted curses all to desperately hang on to one ephemeral gain. No, one does not ask the Trent to burn this down; that's like asking a cultist to burn their ritual book. But it must be done regardless, for them and the good of everyone around them." Then he gets back to his dragging.

"I think you might be exaggerating the importance of this tomb just a bit," Midnight says skeptically. "I feel like burning it down will just get them angry at us, not mystically lower their social status."

[Fable Wright]

Spirit shrugs. "You have your beliefs, o chanter of bloodstone. My faith has its own. There's a reason you bury your dead and strike against graverobbers, where we offer our lost in sky burial. Still, there's only one way to find out, is there not? One little imitation volcano is all it takes." He grins and rubs his hooves.

"Though, you may be misunderstanding. I don't claim that the Trent will lose their status. At least, not necessarily. If they have the wise and skilled managing their finances, their wealth may surge and dragon blood may flow ever-stronger through their veins. They will only crumble if they've become complacent. It's a curse, not a blessing, that I seek to free them from."

[DigoDragon]

With a grunt, he dumps the last body at the entrance of the tomb, then trots over to calm his gator and perform a chant to allow him to communicate with the gator. "I deeply apologize for your discomfort down there. I can't promise that I'll never ask you to do something like that again; if you prefer to get a ride back to your swamp, I could not blame you."

"Swamp good. Too cold here, no sun or water. Don't like littlest pony, smells bad. There is swamp outside. Need long sleep." The gator gives a glance over to Ace, though the little stallion had already wandered into a conversation with Frost on magic scrolls.

Frost glances over the scroll. "Yeah, Magic Missile. It's a spell I already know. Probably best if Ace takes it. Or maybe Crossguard? You know some magic, right?"

Crossguard nods. "A little bit, though I prefer to do battle with my blade."

Ace reaches out for the scroll and reads it over silently. "I already know the spell too, but it doesn't hurt to have a back up." In the excitement of getting something useful, Ace gives Frost a big hug.

[Fable Wright]

"Swamp good. Too cold here, no sun or water. Don't like littlest pony, smells bad. There is swamp outside. Need long sleep." The gator gives a glance over to Ace, though the little stallion had already wandered into a conversation with Frost on magic scrolls.

Spirit nods. "I'll bring you food sometimes, even though you'll no longer travel with me. Just stick with me a little while longer as we bring you back." Then, his work done, items gathered, and loot properly acquired, trots back towards the possibly-still-covered-in-flour inn they found earlier.

Ace reaches out for the scroll and reads it over silently. "I already know the spell too, but it doesn't hurt to have a back up." In the excitement of getting something useful, Ace gives Frost a big hug.

Spirit waves a hoof to Ace as he trots past. "Ace! One question for you. That being, what did we do wrong in this dungeon?"

[DigoDragon]

Spirit waves a hoof to Ace as he trots past. "Ace! One question for you. That being, what did we do wrong in this dungeon?"

Ace forgets to let go of Frost and ponders Spirit's question before he answers. "Well, I think we were trespassing on private ground. But... no one probably saw us so I guess it's okay?"

[Fable Wright]

Spirit shakes his head. "No, standard adventurer license covers that. What we did wrong was simple: We didn't have forward information. Think about it. We only saw one enemy in this dungeon. If we knew where it was, and what its intentions were, before stumbling haphazardly across it? We could have annihilated before it equipped its arms and armor. Just something to think about." Then he continues trotting into town.

[Beacon of Chaos]

Ace reaches out for the scroll and reads it over silently. "I already know the spell too, but it doesn't hurt to have a back up." In the excitement of getting something useful, Ace gives Frost a big hug.

Frost seems taken aback at this sudden display of affection. He'd expect this from Beryl but not from Ace. "Oh... um... Y-you're welcome," he says, giving Ace an awkward pat on the back.

[DigoDragon]

"What we did wrong was simple: We didn't have forward information."

"Forward information?" Ace says as he watches Spirit trot away. "Oh, so we gotta spy on our enemy? Hmm... spy versus spy..."

Frost seems taken aback at this sudden display of affection. He'd expect this from Beryl but not from Ace. "Oh... um... Y-you're welcome," he says, giving Ace an awkward pat on the back.

Spoiler: OOC

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Ace finally lets go of Frost. "Oh, was I being too forward? Sorry, I uh, don't know how far personal space radiates from someone."

[Jurai]

Crossguard chuckles. "Typically, young apprentice, it's a yard." She looks to Spirit. "And while our research may have been insufficient, it would have been even less favorable for us to dawdle around."

[McNum]

"Sometimes you do need to take a chance and go for it. We couldn't have known about the guardian, I was honestly expecting vampire spawns again, but we did find out that what was wrong in town came from here." Beryl pauses for a moment. "...did we ever find out who the flour writer was? I think we need to get back to town and ask around. Or at least see if the inn has a warm bed... and see if it's still broken now."