Ponaria: Symphony of the Neigh [IC II]

[DigoDragon]

"Transport of cargo to Tanari? Well, it'll go to Arendale if you want it there fast. Probably want to hire a team for the second leg. Come into the office to fill out the paperwork." The way Annette said that didn't sound quite like she was talking to Midnight. She pleasantly opened the office door and calmly ushered him inside.

Assuming Midnight enters, Annette closes the door and then the counter window for privacy. "Getting into the mine is easy. Getting out? Heh, that's the FUN part. You look like you can handle yourself though. Alright, two ways I can help you. The easy way is to disguise your group as the delivery team for the next food shipment. That'll get you in for... maybe an hour, hour twenty tops. You need more time, you do it the FUN way-- I forge you some prison papers, you get thrown in. Do your business, then we break you out with a forged pardon. Assuming no one sees through the papers, you get spring free without a fight."

Spirit frowns a bit. "Voodoo is a sacred art of ancestor prayer and extremely precise blessing; perverting that... well, I'd not like to rile up those spirits that aid my spells. If you're talking about juju curses, I can see your angle, but those tend to have hidden costs. Laying one tends to mark you with a bit of splashback; you're lucky if you just end up with bad luck for a while, and if you do it too often... well, there's a reason most old Bòkônon are absolutely draped in amulets of curse protection themselves. What else do you have?"

Nitro scratches his head. "Well, the only other thing I got is a scroll I won from a traveling gypsy. You cite the incantation and burn the parchment. Gotta do it upwind though. The smoke will seek out the names of who you want cursed, and blammo-- bad luck for the day. Favorite chair break, chip their tooth on lunch, come down with a nasty skin disease. That sort of stuff."

[One Tin Soldier]

"Transport of cargo to Tanari? Well, it'll go to Arendale if you want it there fast. Probably want to hire a team for the second leg. Come into the office to fill out the paperwork." The way Annette said that didn't sound quite like she was talking to Midnight. She pleasantly opened the office door and calmly ushered him inside.

Assuming Midnight enters, Annette closes the door and then the counter window for privacy. "Getting into the mine is easy. Getting out? Heh, that's the FUN part. You look like you can handle yourself though. Alright, two ways I can help you. The easy way is to disguise your group as the delivery team for the next food shipment. That'll get you in for... maybe an hour, hour twenty tops. You need more time, you do it the FUN way-- I forge you some prison papers, you get thrown in. Do your business, then we break you out with a forged pardon. Assuming no one sees through the papers, you get spring free without a fight."

"An hour, hour twenty..." Midnight thinks about it. "I don't know, how big is the place? We need to find two ponies in there, and I don't know how long that would take. Oh, and that's right, we would need a way to get them out, too."

[DigoDragon]

Frostbite and Ace make it to the docks. The place is busy in the usual way, with ships sailing for the day to fish or transport goods and ponies. Oddly, the dockmaster's building seems closed up. A little sign on the covered window reads 'Be back in whenever minutes'.

"An hour, hour twenty..." Midnight thinks about it. "I don't know, how big is the place? We need to find two ponies in there, and I don't know how long that would take. Oh, and that's right, we would need a way to get them out, too."

"You need to get two ponies out...? Then you probably want the hard way. It's a large compound, and unless you're the type to just go in swinging, you'll need to crawl through the mines a bit to find your targets," Annette says. She takes out a notebook and jots down some information. A few lines appear to be a description of Midnight. "Alright, I'll set you up to get smuggled in. Go to the town of Tanari and I'll have someone get you and a few friends smuggled in as 'temporary' prisoners. I'll make sure Rita is in on it. She'll probably meet you there."

"I will tell you, I've gotten ponies smuggled in and out a few times to get some information, but never to break out prisoners before. These two better be worth the trouble."

[Beacon of Chaos]

Frostbite and Ace make it to the docks. The place is busy in the usual way, with ships sailing for the day to fish or transport goods and ponies. Oddly, the dockmaster's building seems closed up. A little sign on the covered window reads 'Be back in whenever minutes'.

Frostbite finds a place to sit down and wait for the others. "Your friends seem nice," he says to Ace, mostly as a way to break the silence.

[DigoDragon]

Frostbite finds a place to sit down and wait for the others. "Your friends seem nice," he says to Ace, mostly as a way to break the silence.

"I guess they are," Ace replies. "Ivy is pretty friendly and all. Otto too, but he seems really shy around anyone he's not familair with. Triss is kind of... Triss."

[Beacon of Chaos]

"Heh, yeah, I noticed. Is it just you four learning at the library?"

Spoiler: OOC

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I feel like this question has been answered before somewhere but I can't remember for the life of me. >_<

[One Tin Soldier]

Frostbite and Ace make it to the docks. The place is busy in the usual way, with ships sailing for the day to fish or transport goods and ponies. Oddly, the dockmaster's building seems closed up. A little sign on the covered window reads 'Be back in whenever minutes'.



"You need to get two ponies out...? Then you probably want the hard way. It's a large compound, and unless you're the type to just go in swinging, you'll need to crawl through the mines a bit to find your targets," Annette says. She takes out a notebook and jots down some information. A few lines appear to be a description of Midnight. "Alright, I'll set you up to get smuggled in. Go to the town of Tanari and I'll have someone get you and a few friends smuggled in as 'temporary' prisoners. I'll make sure Rita is in on it. She'll probably meet you there."

"I will tell you, I've gotten ponies smuggled in and out a few times to get some information, but never to break out prisoners before. These two better be worth the trouble."

"Trust me, they are," Midnight says determinedly. "And thank you for your help. It means a lot to us." He starts to head back out of the office, but pauses at the door. "Oh, and how will we know the pony in Tanari?"

[Fable Wright]

Nitro scratches his head. "Well, the only other thing I got is a scroll I won from a traveling gypsy. You cite the incantation and burn the parchment. Gotta do it upwind though. The smoke will seek out the names of who you want cursed, and blammo-- bad luck for the day. Favorite chair break, chip their tooth on lunch, come down with a nasty skin disease. That sort of stuff."

Spirit shrugs. "A nithing storm should be enough for my purposes, thank you." He pays off his tab with Nitro, takes the notes on his curse, collects his spider and refreshes her charms of warmth, and finally heads to the docks to reconvene with the party.

[DigoDragon]

"Heh, yeah, I noticed. Is it just you four learning at the library?"

Ace shakes his head slowly. "There are three others, but they travel often. Kind of like adventurers. They'll be gone for weeks to months at a time. They're all older and more experienced, so I guess Master Librarian sends them out on quests."

"Trust me, they are," Midnight says determinedly. "And thank you for your help. It means a lot to us." He starts to head back out of the office, but pauses at the door. "Oh, and how will we know the pony in Tanari?"

"That could be important to know," Annette says with a smirk. "Ask for Slately at the Squeaky Wheelbarrow tavern. Can't miss him, he'll be the pudgiest stallion there."

Spirit shrugs. "A nithing storm should be enough for my purposes, thank you." He pays off his tab with Nitro, takes the notes on his curse, collects his spider and refreshes her charms of warmth, and finally heads to the docks to reconvene with the party.

Spirit will see Frostbite and Ace standing outside the closed dockmaster's office chatting with one another.

[Beacon of Chaos]

Ace shakes his head slowly. "There are three others, but they travel often. Kind of like adventurers. They'll be gone for weeks to months at a time. They're all older and more experienced, so I guess Master Librarian sends them out on quests."

"Quests, huh? Do you know what kind? Back home, ponies would get sent out on quests by the elder council. We were never allowed to know what they were doing... Most never came back." Frost's ears fall at this. He wasn't on a quest, or at least not one he'd been given, but he wondered what had befallen those that had come before him.

[DigoDragon]

Around this time, Beryl and Crossguard will have arrived at the docks. The paladins have a copy of the book, and are looking into a few things they were told about.

"Quests, huh? Do you know what kind? Back home, ponies would get sent out on quests by the elder council. We were never allowed to know what they were doing... Most never came back." Frost's ears fall at this. He wasn't on a quest, or at least not one he'd been given, but he wondered what had befallen those that had come before him.

"Mmm, not sure. I'm not privy to the quests the Master Librarian sets the older students out to. Most of the time they come back with old tablets and journals filled with translations of ancient writing, so I guess a lot of it is looking for lost history? I don't know."

[One Tin Soldier]

"Right, got it," Midnight says. "Anything else we'll need to know?"

[DigoDragon]

"Right, got it," Midnight says. "Anything else we'll need to know?"

"No, not until you meet the contact. Remember-- Slately. Squeaky Wheelbarrow," the mare says. She continues to write some notes down and waves you away.

Midnight will find the gang outside the office when he exits.

[Fable Wright]

Spirit waves at Beryl and Crossguard as they approach. "Did you find anything at the Temple of the Sun? And did you keep the original copy of the book you borrowed? Ah, good. I've learned what I've set out to; I should probably be able to put a lasting curse on the owner of the prison, and also that Azurah is probably a geomancer living with a pack of wolves to read the flow of Equestria's energy and future. Any updates on Heliodor or the incompetent chief of police?"

[McNum]

"Hey Spirit!" Beryl says cheerfully. "Yep, we kept the book. But they did find it... very interesting. I bet that'll ruin somepony's day." She looks a little too amused at that idea. "As for Heliodor, we talked to somepony who was amazed that I got so much of Heliodor's legend right. He'll send me the full text magically, so that'll be a fun read. Apperently there's a way to tell if I'm him, but it would have taken several days, and we're in a hurry."

She looks a bit more downcast "Unfortunately, we couldn't get an army of Paladins to storm the mines. They actually suggested just buying them free, lecturing me about how there sometiimes isn't a good choice to make. In this case, letting evil 'win' and get paid off to save two ponies would be worth it." She sighs a bit "I don't like it... but I can't say I won't do it either if it comes down to it. I just didn't expect the Paladins to be the ones to suggest a bribe, you know?"

[One Tin Soldier]

"Right, you got it. I'll go find everyone else, and then we can get going."

Midnight walks out the door, only to stop with a look of surprise.

"Found them!"

"What are you guys doing here? I thought you were looking after your own leads."

[Beacon of Chaos]

"What are you guys doing here? I thought you were looking after your own leads."

"Been there, done that. What about you? Any new info?"

[DigoDragon]

As the party discussed the results of their morning endeavors, Ace wanders off to talk to a sailor. You can't hear what the conversation is about from this distance over the busy ambient noise, but the sailor seems to be cheerfully pointing at a decent-looking sailing ship several times. Ace seems a little scrutinizing, but agreeable to whatever the sailor is discussing.

Spoiler: Midnight & Spirit only

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You seem to notice a tingle of magic emanate from Ace's horn at one point when the sailor turns away to say something about the ship.

[Fable Wright]

Spirit excuses himself from the conversation as he sees Ace apparently looking for a ship, and quietly walks up behind and waits for a good moment to slip in a quiet word with Ace. When he does have a chance to get in a word without interrupting or letting the sailor overhear, he'll pull Ace over and speak quietly. "Can't imagine it's easy finding a ship willing to take on a giant spider. Getting an early edge was a good call, rather than sandbagging it until after a problem comes up. Quick warning, don't try that in Clan Henry territory. Being branded as evil spirits is the last thing we need."

[DigoDragon]

"Don't worry. Spider's coming," Ace whispers back.

Some more bartering back and forth, and Spirit witnesses Ace able to haggle the price down from 8 silver per pony to 7 silver and the spider travels for free. The concession is no private room, the group travels on deck, but as the trip is only four hours, it doesn't seem to be an unreasonable concession.

[One Tin Soldier]

"Been there, done that. What about you? Any new info?"

"Oh yeah, Annette here just got us hooked up with a way into... the place. And, you know, out. We'll need to talk to another pony in Tanari to actually get started." He looks around at all the other ponies around the dock. "You know what, I can give you the details later. But the main thing is that Rita's connection looks like it will work out."

"So if you guys are all done, will we be leaving now? And are we still going to see that diviner first?"

[McNum]

Beryl walks up to Spirit and Ace. "So, did you get us a boat? I'm looking forward to it, I've never really sailed before." She adds "Since you paid for breakfast, want me to pay for you here, Spirit?"

[Beacon of Chaos]

Beryl walks up to Spirit and Ace. "So, did you get us a boat? I'm looking forward to it, I've never really sailed before."

"Me neither! I'm excited! I want to see what kind of fish live in this ocean!"

[DigoDragon]

"I got a ship willing to drop us off at Nabru for 7 silver pieces a passenger. The spider gets on for free. We don't get a room though, just sit on deck for the trip," Ace explains.

"So, it's that ship over there. They leave in 10 minutes or something." The ship Ace points at is a small sailing ship fitted for transporting cargo more than passengers.

[Fable Wright]

Spirit shrugs at Beryl's question. "I am used to the nearest on hand picking up the tab. If you want to, go ahead. Likewise Crossguard or Midnight or Frostbite, or anyone who seeks to make friends." Then he realizes something. "Er, Ace, please try and stall the boat while I run back for the spider. I don't think I can get there, explain the necessity of speed in returning to the boat, and return within 10 minutes." With that, he dashes off to the inn, trying to hurridly ritual cast Speak with Animals along the way and retrieve the spider before the boat leaves.

[Beacon of Chaos]

Frostbite heads over to the boat, eager to get going. "I'm going to go get a spot at the front!" he calls to the others.

[McNum]

Frostbite heads over to the boat, eager to get going. "I'm going to go get a spot at the front!" he calls to the others.

Beryl can't help but smile at Frost's outburst. "That sounds like a fun idea, maybe I'll join you." she adds.

She walks up to the pony Ace was negotiating with and takes out one gold and four silver. "Hiya. I'm Beryl. I'll be paying for myself and our zebra friend. He... forgot his spider, he'll be right back." She hands over the money to the other pony. "If that spider causes trouble, call on the zebra or me to deal with it. We can both speak spider. The zebra is Spirit and the spider is Sheila, by the way."

[One Tin Soldier]

Midnight flies up over the ship, getting a good look at it before following Frost and Beryl onto the deck. "I've never even seen a ship up close before," he admits. "Looks a lot more complicated than just loading up and pushing a cloud. Less work, though."

[DigoDragon]

With that, he dashes off to the inn, trying to hurridly ritual cast Speak with Animals along the way and retrieve the spider before the boat leaves.

Spirit manages to find his way back and his spell is cast, but unfortunately the time it takes does eat up his window. Luckily, Sheila is sitting on a large web just outside the window, attempting to catch small birds in it. She notices the quick pace of the zebra and regards him with curiosity.

Frostbite heads over to the boat, eager to get going. "I'm going to go get a spot at the front!" he calls to the others.

The ship's bow had a few stacks of rope and the chains for the anchor. However there is still room enough to stand here for the trip. Frost can see that the crew is done packing the cargo and is now preparing the ship to leave.

She walks up to the pony Ace was negotiating with and takes out one gold and four silver. "Hiya. I'm Beryl. I'll be paying for myself and our zebra friend. He... forgot his spider, he'll be right back." She hands over the money to the other pony. "If that spider causes trouble, call on the zebra or me to deal with it. We can both speak spider. The zebra is Spirit and the spider is Sheila, by the way."

"Is your zebra going to be long? It is time to set sail," the sailor says, mentally counting the coins. "If he's not on in five, he is not on."

Midnight flies up over the ship, getting a good look at it before following Frost and Beryl onto the deck. "I've never even seen a ship up close before," he admits. "Looks a lot more complicated than just loading up and pushing a cloud. Less work, though."

"Feh, shows what you know," says a sailor who is busy trying some ropes and untying others with lightning speed.

Ace pays the sailor for his passage and climbs aboard. He sits up near the front and just watches the sailors do their thing preparing the ship.

[Jurai]

Crossguard boards the vessel. "Hopefully, this is a smooth voyage."