FoE PNP G-Platypus Session 54

[18:31] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  *****G-Platypus: The City of Broad Withers - Session 54*****
[18:31] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Screaming.
[18:32] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  A primal, instinctive vocalization expressing fear or pain or surprise.
[18:33] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  The wastes give plenty of reason to scream.
[18:33] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  *****Session Start*****
[18:34] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  The group has fallen asleep after the party, staying with Deadly Nightshade in the communal room of her orphanage.
[18:34] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  They awaken to the sound of a commotion coming from outside.
[18:35] * Blackberry_Jam is up in just a yawn and a stretch, early morning cigarette in her mouth, but unlit. Shouldn't be smoking around children, doctor!
[18:38] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Blackberry_Jam awakens to see Deadly rushing back in thin-lipped and determined. She hardly makes a noise as she slips over to the foals beds. She gently pulls down the firsts blanket, striving not to awaken them. She continues working her way around checking their beds.
[18:39] * Blackberry_Jam gives the caregiver a concerned, quizzical look from her spot on the bed.
[18:40] * Snack_Cake is still half-asleep. She's not usually a morning pony, but at least she's sort of a little bit aware of things happening around her even if she can't comprehend them.
[18:43] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Her motions are fast as she speeds through the foals beds, replacing the covers without waking them.
[18:43] * Scrap awakes with a start, he gets out of bed and listens to hear what's going on.
[18:44] * Blackberry_Jam starts to climb out of bed. The speed at which Nightshade is moving is a little disconcerting.
[18:46] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly is nearly through with the last of the foals beds, her straight lips curling down in a definite frown.
[18:47] * Scrap looks at her, wondering what the problem is, but keeps quiet, not wanting to wake the foals.
[18:47] * Blackberry_Jam approaches her, as quietly as she can...
[18:48] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly checks the last bed, her brow creasing and her lips pulled down in a worried frown. She bustles past Blackberry_Jam heading toward the door.
[18:49] * Blackberry_Jam opens her mouth to speak, but quickly closes it and follows after her, shrugging the last of her barding on. "Nightshade?"
[18:51] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly's ear swivels back toward Blackberry_Jam's voice and the door. Her attention, however, is out. "Nanny!" she calls, her voice carrying. The heavy robot trundles up toward the house.
[18:52] * Blackberry_Jam frowns a little, setting off at a light trot to catch her. "What's going on?"
[18:52] * Scrap follows, wanting to know what's going on.
[18:53] * Snack_Cake stretches out a bit and looks around, before tapping at the bottom of the bunk above her. "Thunder? You awake yet?"
[18:53] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  She says a few quick commands to the robot and it turns. "Headcount's off." The loudspeakers on Nanny start playing music, "Come out, come out, where every you are..."
[18:54] * Blackberry_Jam puts a hoof to her mouth and stops. "They... snuck out during the night?"
[18:56] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly sucks her lip. "I've checked the playground already. They know better... and Spanner's afraid of the dark."
[18:58] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Inside the house, the foals continue to be blistfully unaware of any problems.
[18:58] * Blackberry_Jam nods slowly. "We'll cover more ground if we split up... How far could they have gone, do you think?"
[19:00] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  "I don't know... she wouldn't have left the hill on her own... she wouldn't have left the house on her own..." Deadly looks about twenty years older as she frets. She calls out for Spanner and starts to trot over toward the back garden.
[19:01] * Blackberry_Jam isn't sure where to start looking, so she trots in the opposite direction of Deadly. "Spanner? Deadly's worried! If you can hear me, just say something!" She calls as she trots further.
[19:01] * Scrap listens, looking out. The one good thing about his old eyes was that he could see better at night.
[19:03] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Canary wakes, oddly, a card from his tarot deck has somehow made it out of the deck. He's rolled over on it in his sleep and it has adhered to his forehead.
[19:03] * Canary pulls it off to look at
[19:04] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  The dark of early morning still covers the area, though it is lightening by the moment.
[19:04] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Canary finds the card to be the Seven of Swords.
[19:04] * Scrap heads off in another direction. Berry did say to split up.
[19:06] * Canary first checks to see if anything of his had been stolen
[19:07] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Canary's things are all accounted for.
[19:08] * Canary turns the card over, considering the other possible meanings. "Independance? Breaking free? Being clever?"
[19:10] * Canary moves to find the others. Maybe something of theirs was missing instead.
[19:11] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Canary can see Snack_Cake stirring in the bunks opposite him, Thunder and North both appear to still be asleep. The door to the outside is open and he catches a glimpse of Scrap out there.
[19:11] * Canary steps out and ooks to Scrap, "Did you lose anything?"
[19:12] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly seems to notice something, angling back toward Blackberry_Jam who has spotted the same. Cloven hoofprints have been left in the soft dirt of the garden. The go toward the house and Blackberry_Jam sees another set heading away again, but these are deeper.
[19:12] * Scrap looks back. "A foal ran off. We're looking for him."
[19:13] * Canary nods, "That's a pretty important thing to lose." He slips the seven of swords back into the deck
[19:14] * Blackberry_Jam raises a brow. "Looks like they were in a hurry... And took some things with them."
[19:14] * Canary tilts his head, "Which foal?"
[19:14] <Scrap> "Spanner."
[19:15] * Canary nods, "Spanner search in the works, got it."
[19:16] * Blackberry_Jam starts following these newer tracks. "What was Spanner like? Did she ever... seem... like she'd run away?"
[19:17] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly places a hoof on her chest. "Princesses above..." She looks at the tracks. "Never! And these hoofprints are cloven."
[19:18] * Scrap goes back to looking. His wings would come in hoofdy right about now.
[19:18] * Blackberry_Jam followfollows. "So something... /took/ her."
[19:19] * Canary looks to Deadly, "Zebra? Buffalo? Deer?"
[19:20] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly hunkers down, looking closedly at the tracks and following them down. She gives a weak nod. "Cloven hooves... hours old... about our weight... maybe a bit lighter..." She shakes her head to Canary. "Bipedal... added weight going back." She points down the hill to the southwest. "Headed that way."
[19:20] * Blackberry_Jam blinks. "Bipedal? Like... a... minotaur?"
[19:22] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  "Small... but maybe." She looks down toward the buildings past the park and then back up to the orphanage, wracked with indecision.
[19:23] * Blackberry_Jam is still following the tracks. "Scrap, Featherbrain, go wake the others up. We're following these."
[19:23] * Canary looks to Scrap, "Who is featherbrain?"
[19:24] * Scrap blinks as he didn't realize he got turned around and walked toward Berry, but nods and heads inside.
[19:24] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly keeps pace with Blackberry_Jam. "Do you have a tracker? I'm pretty good at it but..." She glances back up toward the house on the hill.
[19:27] * Snack_Cake decides to let Thunder rest a little bit longer, and trots about the place, looking for the other ponies. She especially wants to look for the young mare, to offer to help make the foals something tasty to eat.
[19:28] * Scrap finds Snack_Cake when he gets inside. "Snack_Cake, Berry needs us outside."
[19:29] * Blackberry_Jam shakes her head, pausing a moment. "We don't, or at least, if we do, we've never needed one until now..."
[19:32] * Snack_Cake glances at Scrap and nods. "Do you know where Nightshade is? I wanted to ask her about making the foals something nice to eat."
[19:34] <Scrap> "She's with Berry. A foal's missing."
[19:34] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly nods. "Then I guess I'll have to come with you."
[19:35] * Snack_Cake was not expecting that. "Missing!? Just... gone?" Now she's worried. "Oh no..." She heads outside to go find Berry and Nightshade!
[19:35] * North_Star steps outside with a yawn, his barding and satchel sloppily put on. "What's all the noise about?" He asks, yawning.
[19:35] <~Blackberry_Jam> "Can your robot handle looking after the foals? I'd hate to take you from them."
[19:36] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly looks back, "Well... yes... but they might worry. I should at least tell them I'm going."
[19:37] * Scrap walks over to North_Star. "A foal's missing. Berry wants us outside."
[19:41] * North_Star blinks himself awake before nodding. "Alright, then." He starts for the door, looking down at the ground and the plethora of tracks around it."
[19:42] * Scrap gets Thunder as well and heads back outside to meet back up with Berry.
[19:42] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  North_Star can indeed see the plethora of tracks leading off toward the southwest.
[19:43] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly double back, heading back up to the house. She passes Snack_Cake and the others on her way back inside.
[19:43] * Blackberry_Jam points in the direction the tracks head, then turns to the assembled ponies. "Once Nightshade's told the foals the plan, we'll follow these tracks, and we should find whatever made off with Spanner."
[19:44] * North_Star looks up towards the southwest and steps out, walking towards Blackberry_Jam.
[19:46] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly slips inside the orphanage and starts waking the foals. She explains to them that she's going out looking for Spanner, who's wandered off. While she does, the group plans.
[19:49] * North_Star looks around for Snack_Cake, "Didn't Snack say something was off to the Southwest?"
[19:49] * Blackberry_Jam makes sure her weapon is loaded and securley tucked in it's scabbard. "It's probably a minotaur, since I can't think of anything else that walks on two legs with cloven hooves. And, it probably isn't friendly. But what I don't get... Nopony heard a thing. No strugg-
[19:49] * Blackberry_Jam turns to look at North_Star. "What?"
[19:50] * Snack_Cake is definitely worries as she joins Blackberry_Jam and the others. "Is it true? One of the foals is... missing?"
[19:51] * North_Star looked at Berry and Snack_Cake. "Hey Snacky. That thing Tom brought up yesterday. Wasn't it off to the southwest?"
[19:51] * Blackberry_Jam blinks again. "You talked to TOM yesterday?"
[20:01] * Snack_Cake nods, slowly. "It was during the trip here. He wants me to go check on someplace a bit further away... something about 'unauthorized access'."
[20:02] * Blackberry_Jam frowns. She glosses over the fact that this wasn't mentioned to her earlier... She looks to North_Star. "It's possible they're connected, but it doesn't seem likely. Regardless, we're going after this foal."
[20:05] * North_Star rubs his chin,
[20:06] * Snack_Cake nods emphatically! "We have to find them!"
[20:06] <North_Star> *'unathorized access' could mean a couple of possibilites with this missing foal business. Neither of them seem pleasant. He looks up at the group, Snack_Cake's battle cry breaking his train of thought.
[20:09] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly emurges from the orphanage. She's donned some kind of armor that seems to break up her outline even more than the sneaky mare's dark coat already did. She moves over to Nanny. "Emergency, Nanny. Full Defense."
[20:14] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly leaves her robot to it's perimeter defence and slips down to join the group. A large, silenced pistol rides in a shoulder harness within mouth's reach, notably the same setup Slag uses. Her armor is very well maintained... exceptionally so... almost like it's never been used.
[20:15] * Blackberry_Jam would sincerely hope that it's never been used. She takes Deadly to the head of the pack and follows next to her.
[20:17] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly slips quietly along the path, picking her way through debris and noting little, nearly imperceptible signs of their quarry passing. The track passes into it's second hour before they come upon a mostly intact factory. "The tracks lead inside."
[20:18] * Blackberry_Jam turns to Snack_Cake. "What's the map say?
[20:18] * Snack_Cake checks her map.
[20:21] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Checking the map, Snack_Cake can see this factory does seem to fall at the same location as the marking for the Prism storage location, even though the centuries old signage marks it as a bakery.
[20:23] * Snack_Cake is even more worried, now. "This is the place he marked..."
[20:23] * Blackberry_Jam 's face is creased with a frown. "Perfect."
[20:24] * North_Star reads over Snack_Cake's shoulder and looks up at the building. "Why a bakery of all things..?"
[20:25] * Scrap looks around. He sticks to the front, but out of Deadly's way, just in case.
[20:25] * Blackberry_Jam rears up and posts up at the closest entrance. Shotgun raised, she peeks inside.
[20:25] * Snack_Cake shakes her head. "I don't know..."
[20:27] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly looks very nervous as she slinks up to the other side of the doorway from Blackberry_Jam. She is visibly trying to steel herself. She drops her muzzle down to take her pistol and shakes just slightly as she holds it.
[20:28] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Through a small gap in the door Blackberry_Jam can see the dust inside has been disturbed by heavy hoof traffic, mostly of the cloven variety
[20:28] * Blackberry_Jam looks Deadly in the eye before nodding and sweeping inside. She turns on her laser sight, too. CQC was her specialty, after all, nothing like breaching a doorway to get her back into the swing of things.
[20:29] * Scrap follows her in.
[20:33] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  The doors swing open as they sweep in. They are in a small factory store. Most things are gone from the shelves. There are markings for many types of bread and for more generic items one would expect in a small convenience store. A few items are still scattered about.
[20:33] * North_Star holds his own shotgun at the ready as he lets follows the group in, the sounds of him loading two shells, one Flechette, the other Dragon's Breath, into their respective barrels.
[20:35] * Blackberry_Jam looks to Deadly, slinking in, following the trail of disturbed dust.
[20:35] * Canary makes sure his brush gun and .45 pistol are loaded
[20:36] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly slips off to the left, a shadow amongst shadows. She might not seem like a confident fighter, but she's got hiding down.
[20:37] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Along the shelves can be spotted a roll of bandaged, a syringe of Med-X, some basic tools, some flatwear, and two dozen bottles of wonderglue.
[20:38] * Blackberry_Jam makes a note to collect some of those once they've cleared this place out. She follows the dust trail further.
[20:39] * North_Star looks around the shelves, keeping an eye towards the back of the group, in case somepony tries to trail them.
[20:39] * Snack_Cake sticks toward the rear as they explore inside. She nervously holds her weapon ready. Anything even remotely connected to TOM absolutely terrifies her. Something is going to go horribly wrong, and there's a /foal/ at stake!
[20:41] * Scrap let's Blackberry_Jam and North_Star take the lead and sticks close to Deadly. She doesn't look like she's done this many times before.
[20:42] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  As the group approach the slightly ajar door at the back of the store, a lilting tenor melody floats from behind it. "What do sing, what to do. Turn the filly into glue... Hack them off, seal the stump. Make the filly nice and plump... Always plump, never lean. Baby's like it when they scream..."
[20:44] * Blackberry_Jam looks to North_Star, a look of determination on her face. Pointing her weapon through the door, she aims her laser-sighted shotgun riiiiight at the source of that... song, if you can call it that.
[20:46] * North_Star nods, bringing his own shotgun up and shifting to see through the open door himself.
[20:47] * Snack_Cake gives a horrified gasp. How horrid can you be that you would do... THAT to a foal!?
[20:49] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Cracking the door, they can look out on the factory floor. Several large mixing machines have been converted to rendering vats. Beside one such vat, heated and filled with liquid, sits a table. Spanner lays upon it, hooves tied to the four corners. Just behind the table stands a very small minotaur, perhaps just pony height. He seems to be deciding between a hatchet or a peculiar looking saw.
[20:51] * Scrap watches and listens for when to help them, watching out for Deadly still.
[20:58] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Snack_Cake and Thunder_Strike can see a large shape perched up on a catwalk.
[21:00] * Snack_Cake stares, wide-eyed. She prods Blackberry_Jam in an effort to get her attention quietly, and points toward the shape!
[21:01] * Blackberry_Jam follows Snack_Cake's hoof up to the shape in the cieling. She gets North_Star's attention. He's the one with the rifles, after all. She motions for Scrap to join her up front, if North was engaging targets farther away.
[21:02] * Scrap nods and whispers to Deadly. "Wait here." He then joins Blackberry_Jam.
[21:02] * North_Star looks up at what the other ponies are stareing at, reaching back to get his rifle from it's slinged position.
[21:02] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Perched up in the rafters, looking at them at the door, stands a large leonin shape, bat wings off it's sides and a scorpion tail up over its back.
[21:03] * Scrap waits to see what the others are going to do.
[21:05] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Neither the filly nor the diminutive minotaur seem to notice them. He tosses the saw to the side and brings the heavy hatchet up over his head.
[21:12] * North_Star looks down at the taur, then up to the creature in the rafters, drawing his rifle in place of his shotgun. He looks over at Blackberry and Deadly, one was the leader, the other was the quiet one out of the group, he'd take their lead.
[21:14] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly hollars and rushes past, she doesn't hesitate when one of her foals is in danger. "You stay away from her you goat-legged son of a bitch!"
[21:15] * Blackberry_Jam had /just/ gotten through explaining to the entire group how rational thinking and strategy was the way to go... Shame on her for expecting the same of others...
[21:19] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Righteous fury must guide her shots as her pistol quitely throws three 12.7mm rounds down into the minotaur, causing him to stagger back, ax still above his head.
[21:20] * Blackberry_Jam heaves a heavy sigh.
[21:28] * Scrap enters instinct mode and acts without fully think, not too different from usual, and takes a running leap off of the scaffold toward the minotaur to try and finish him off.
[21:29] <Scrap> thinking*
[21:30] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Dark, translucent wings sprout from Scrap's back, not unfamiliar to the flying talismans used by the zebra's during the war. It sends him over the table toward the shocked and bleeding minotaur.
[21:32] * Scrap attacks him once he reaches him.
[21:37] * Scrap also brings out his claws too.
[21:43] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  The minotaur reels back under the slashing blows. He keeps to his hooves.
[21:45] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  The small minotaur barely stays upright, snorting blood. "You! I will turn you into glue like the rest!"
[22:06] * North_Star brings his rifle up, lining the crosshairs up with the middle of the manticore and sending two rounds down at him.
[22:24] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  The manticore recoils from the shots, the bullets digging deep into it as it screeches in pain.
[22:29] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  THunder lines up a shot through the doorway, landing half her twinshots on the minotaur, he wails in pain as the energy washes over his body.
[22:30] * Blackberry_Jam is intent on putting an end to that minotaur, stepping in the room and firing off a pair of shots at head level.
[22:39] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  The minotaur's head gibs into a cloud of pink and grey chunks.
[22:41] * Blackberry_Jam blinks a little. The weapon handles exceptionally well... it doesn't require nearly as much control or force as her older ones.
[22:43] * Snack_Cake was ready to attack the minotaur, but the others were much quicker on the draw than she was. That does mean, however, that she can make sure the filly is okay! She rushes over and tries to free her, sticking herself right in front of the filly. "You're gonna be okay... you're gonna be okay!" She keeps half an eye out for the other creature that was watching them from above...
[22:44] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Spanner's cheeks are slick with tears, her bindings are pretty simple, and Snack_Cake manages to get them off her in no time.
[22:48] * Snack_Cake pulls the filly close and looks for a place she can take her that would be safe from the current danger.
[22:55] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  WIth a hissing growl, the critter launches itself from Thunder_Strikes bag like a missile. It latches onto the manticores face and rakes its eyes with its brutally sharp wingclaws. The manticore tries to fly, but only gets one flap that sends it over the rail and down to crash by one of the large vats. The critter-that-you-don't-name clings to it's head, jabbing it's stinger into the soft flesh around it
[22:55] <Mister_Clacky|GM> 's eyes until it stills.
[22:55] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  jabbing it's stinger into the soft flesh around it's eyes until it stills.
[22:56] * Blackberry_Jam whirls around as the critter brutally murders it. "Oh... Yeah. Totally playful, cute, and innocent..."
[22:57] * Scrap watches the scene then his sides as his "wings" begin to fade once more.
[22:58] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly rushes up to Snack_Cake, giving the filly a hug around the pink mare. "You're safe. We were worried."
[22:58] * North_Star watches the critter attack the other, larger critter, bringing it to the ground. He keeps hsi thoughts to himself as he trots down towards the manticore.
[23:00] * Blackberry_Jam checks the drum magazine on her weapon with a sigh. She finally lights that cigarette and collects those bandages and Med-X.
[23:01] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Deadly gives a squeeze. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here." Spanner sniffles. "Wha-what about the others?"
[23:02] * North_Star looks up from the manticore towards Deadly and Spanner. "Others?"
[23:02] * Blackberry_Jam turns her head, the same question on her lips.
[23:03] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Spanner points to a patch of floor under a suspended vat. The sheetmetal is partially pushed aside, revealing some kind of descent
[23:05] * Snack_Cake frowns and hugs the filly. "There's more down there? Don't worry... we'll help them." She gives the filly to Nightshade. "Nightshade will take care of you. Don't worry!"
[23:05] * North_Star looks at the bit of floor, then up to the manticore. Figuring it'll be there when he gets back, he walks over to the to hole in the floor. "Keep back.." He warns, bringing his shotgun back into his hooves.
[23:05] * Blackberry_Jam slowly trots over, puffing on her cigarette. "Scrap, let's take a look." She says, pushing the sheetmetal more to the side. She flicks on her laser sight once more.
[23:06] * Scrap helps her out and looks in with her.
[23:07] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  Moving aside the sheet metal shows a spiral stairway down. On the level below, just visible, is a heavy metal door. A Prism logo emblazoned on it.
[23:07] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  *****End Session*****
[23:08] <Mister_Clacky|GM>  750 XP. +1 Karma for Snack_Cake on rushing to the filly in the midst of combat.
[23:10] <Mister_Clacky|GM> Everyone gets an extra 31XP for my super-drugged generosity