Noble Heart side-log

[17:07] <Kkat> Noble_Heart: how are you searching for the group.  You have a rough description and you know that they are headed upstream from Nexus on a steamboat named the /Princess Gambit II/.
[17:08] <Kkat> Following the stream, you have reached Grimfire Canyon.  They shouldn't be too far ahead, but night has fallen, the canyon is windy, and you don't exactly have a high PER score.
01[17:12] <Noble_Heart> Hmmmm
01[17:13] <Noble_Heart> Is there anywhere in Grimfire Canyon which is actually inhabited that I'd know of? If so, it seems like looking for lights from such a place by air would be the best course of action. Towns are pretty big, can't be that hard to see, right?
[17:15] <Kkat> Gaia Valley is "in" Grimfire Canyon, and it is supposed to be inhabited.
06[17:17] * Noble_Heart nods. Is going to try and stay high enough to avoid accidentally crashing into rocks while flying over the canyon and look for any signs of the place, at least for now. Trying to find a steamboat, at night, in a windswept canyon would probably be a bad thing to do by air.
06[17:17] * Kkat is realizing you could sneak up on this party by walking up to them.
[17:20] <Kkat> Make a PER check
06[17:22] * Noble_Heart totally fails that per check. >.>
06[17:22] * Noble_Heart is soooo gonna get lost. XD
[17:26] <Kkat> You can make out a long, mostly-rectangular form in the darkness.  It doesn't look natural -- a building of some sort.
[17:26] <Kkat> You can't make out any details in the darkness though.
06[17:30] * Noble_Heart swooped down in that direction, through the dark night. If it was what she could see then it would have to be a starting place. A band of troublesome ponies traveling by riverboat should not be hard to find, given a little time, all she needed was a starting point they might wish to come to.
[17:31] <Kkat> It is indeed a building.  A long one several stories high, stretching along one of the ridges high above the Ponytomic.  It is clearly pre-war and looks abandoned.
06[17:35] * Noble_Heart frowns just slightly as she lands on the roof, staring down into the river below. If the ponies she was seeking were coming up the river in a boat, they'd surely generate some kind of light in the darkness, wouldn't they? If not, she could at least spend a little time investigating this odd building as she waited for sunrise. Though she had to hope she could find them before then. Such an embarassment that would be.
[17:39] <Kkat> So... are you standing vigil on the roof?  Or doing some exploring?
01[17:41] <Noble_Heart> Standing vigil on the roof for the moment.
[17:43] <Kkat> Make a PER check at -1
01[17:44] <Noble_Heart> Failure again.
[17:44] <Kkat> Don't see anything for the first hour.  Still standing vigil?
06[17:49] * Noble_Heart decides, after what seems like forever just standing and watching, that she's not going to find them this way. Instead deciding to spend some time exploring this conveniently placed abandoned building. While she had little hope she'd find any clues to the ponies she was looking for here, it was something to do to spend her time, and far more interesting than standing on a roof staring into the darkness, no matter how beautiful the moonlight was on the water.
01[17:49] <Noble_Heart> Gonna head down and explore the building now.
[17:53] <Kkat> There is a roof access door.  It is, sadly, locked.  There is an open panel exposing wiring where a terminal ought to be connected, but the terminal itself is missing.  You spot a nearby skeleton and a toolbox.
06[17:56] * Noble_Heart frowns at the locked door, instead turning her attention to the skeleton and the toolbox. Pulling the box open with her magic to check inside and sift through the contents. If she was, perhaps, especially lucky today maybe the pony here had the key to that door. Though somehow she doubted it. Pre-war ponies were rarely so consciencious.
[18:00] <Kkat> The toolbox has a variety of basic tools, as well as what looks like a passkey.  You cannot read the writing on the passkey in this light.  With the tools, someone with mechanics/repair skills might be able to hotwire the door open.  (Requires Mechanics of 25.)
[18:03] <Kkat> Make an Intelligence check
01[18:04] <Noble_Heart> Success!
[18:05] <Kkat> The pony skeleton looks like an earth pony who probably got trapped on the roof.  The passcard may work on another entrance.
06[18:05] * Noble_Heart snorts briefly, that was no great surprise. For now she ducked the passkey away in one of her bags and moved to the edge of the roof. If she could not gain access from up here, perhaps below? Spreading her wings she took flight and descended, circling the building and looking for any broken windows or other openings large enough for her to fit through. Not the most dignified entrance, perhaps, but sometimes sacrifices must be made.
[18:08] <Kkat> There are a lot of windows, all surprisingly intact.  The first entrance you spot is the main entrance under a rainbow-shaped facade.  The main entrance is on the side of the building facing away from the river, with small, asymmetrical parking lot and a road leading away, curving down the cliffs..
06[18:10] * Noble_Heart looks off at the road briefly, before landing infront of those main entrances. For a moment she stands and casts her vision about. Looking for any sign of where the passkey she had retrieved from up above might be used. Curiosity had gotten the better of her by this point and giving up would be a sign of weakness.
[18:17] <Kkat> After a short look, you can spot a slot for a passkey beside a large set of double-doors.  There is a sun-shaped emblem covering the doors that you can barely make out in the night shadows of the facade.
06[18:25] * Kkat teehees.  "Waiting for them to shut down whatever they are doing?"
06[18:25] * Noble_Heart headshakes, was AFK making food!
06[18:26] * Noble_Heart pulls the passkey from her bags and levitates it up to the door, sliding it into the slot for such things. Convenience of entry would be good. Though she had doubts that the interior would be particularly friendly.
[18:29] <Kkat> A little light flashes orange above the slot and you can hear a hiss as the doors begin to open pneumatically, revealing the utter blackness of the building's interior, marked only by the very dim light seeping through squares of dust-and-grime covered windows.
06[18:31] * Noble_Heart frowns a little bit as she peers into the darkness. For once she found herself at a bit of a loss, darkness had always been a troubling concern for her. But it was no matter for now, taking a moment to recover the passkey, she stepped across the threshold and slowly looked around. Perhaps if she were especially blessed today there would be a still-functional light switch somewhere nearby.
[18:32] <Kkat> Luck roll
01[18:35] <Noble_Heart> Woo! Critical success (For as much as Luck can crit).
[18:42] <Kkat> Your hooves search for a light switch and seem to find one.  The room is suddenly flooded with a slickly light as dozens of circles of light come to life on the ceiling of the main room, and many more down the hallways that extend in each direction -- about a third of the lights originally built into the ceiling, but more than enough to see by.
06[18:44] * Noble_Heart blinks at the sudden flood of light into her eyes, shielding them with a forehoof briefly. Slowly letting her slitted eyes adjust to the darkness she took steps within, casting her gaze through the suddenly-lit building. The symbols on the front door weren't immediately familiar to her, and curiosity still had its hold. What might this place have been, once upon a time?
[18:45] <Kkat> Allowing you to see, for instance, the last tattered threads of a moth-eaten Equestrian flag.  The circular reception desk with intact-looking terminals.  And the fancy bronze company plate that dominates the wall between the stairwells, with it's huge emblem of a sun surrounding an excessively-endowed male alicorn.
[18:46] <Kkat> Along the base of the reception desk are letters reading:
[18:46] <Kkat>  SOLARIS
[18:46] <Kkat>   Research & Execution
[18:46] <Kkat>   Northern Complex.
06[18:50] * Noble_Heart frowns slightly as she stares at that plate. Tilting her head to one side, then the other. She had seen male alicorns before, after all she served the New Mother as much as any other amongst her family. But this one felt sacriligious somehow. Not of their kind. No brother nor son of her ilk. Just some fantasy concocted by ponies who believed themselves great and powerful. She snorted in derision and moved instead to the reception desk, spending a few moments to methodically check the drawers for any sign of a log-in key or notes about the terminals. Technology was never her strong point.
01[18:50] <Noble_Heart> ((Oop. I'm dumb. Scratch that last bit about technology.)
[18:51] <Kkat> (Tech really is a strong point for you, actually.)  :)
01[18:54] <Noble_Heart> (Yes, exactly. XD My brain is fail, sorry.))
01[18:54] <Noble_Heart> Still gonna check the contents of the drawers first, if there are any, on accoutn that that's easy and quick.
[18:56] <Kkat> Most of the desk contents are rubbish.  Although you get a fair collection of pencils, paperweights and clipboards that seem to have survived the passage of time.
[18:56] <Kkat> Luck roll.
01[18:57] <Noble_Heart> Failure this time
[18:58] <Kkat> You do find a two clips of 9mm ammo, but no corresponding weapon.
06[19:05] * Noble_Heart frowns a little, tucking the ammo away as well, now turning her attention to those terminals. The fast and easy part done, she would spend some time trying to determine whether or not she could break them. Such petty trifles would surely be no match for her keen mind and keener skills.
[19:06] <Kkat> Explosives Skill Check.
01[19:07] <Noble_Heart> Totally failed.
[19:08] <Kkat> The first terminal you attempt to turn on dies in a flash of sparks.  The second two simply do not respond at all.  The third makes an odd humming sound, like it's charging up...
[19:08] <Kkat> (fourth, even)
[19:08] <Kkat> (not third)
06[19:12] * Noble_Heart tilts her head to one side and steps backwards slightly. Terminals were not supposed to take that long to boot up. But perhaps these were simply old and decayed, or poorly made. It wouldn't be surprising, many in the pre-war era lacked the foresight to prepare for such eventualities. Or perhaps lacked the motivation. In either case, she stepped away from the terminal to spend a few moments looking around again. If it were to take time to start, she could consume herself doing other things instead.
[19:13] <Kkat> You have just started looking around again when the terminal explodes.
[19:15] <Kkat> You moved away from the terminal, but you're still going to get shrapnel.  Make a Luck roll
01[19:16] <Noble_Heart> ((Success!))
[19:17] <Kkat> You take only 1/4 damage.  25 points.
06[19:19] * Noble_Heart didn't even have time to raise her shield against the sudden detonation. Of all the things she was expecting a pre-war terminal in an abandoned building which had been apparently locked and sealed for centuries to do, exploding was definitely not one of them. Thankfully the distance to the blast reduced what would have been crippling injury to much less severe, but still painful, injury. "Short-sighted fools. Thy terminals are an abomination upon Equestria." She hissed quietly to the surroundings as she recovered her balance.
[19:22] <Kkat> Looking around a bit more, you spot a wall map of Grimfire Canyon.  You can see the Ponytomic, and a small split where water is diverted into another area and then back again through what looks like a small dam.
[19:22] <Kkat> Survival skill check
01[19:24] <Noble_Heart> ((Critical success, yay!))
[19:27] <Kkat> Despite being mislabed "Testing Zone", the area that a portion of the Ponytomic is diverted through is clearly Gaia Valley, and this building is at the far end, overlooking it on one side, and the Ponytomic on the other.
06[19:32] * Noble_Heart hmms, reaching out with her magic to carefully pull the map from the wall, not wishing to damage it, and folding it up to put in her pack. When she found these ponies she was looking for, having a map was certain to be useful to them as well. Slowly she headed for the stairwell, testing each step one by one with her hooves before putting any weight on them. After the exploding terminal she wasn't going to trust anything this 'Solaris' company owned.
[19:39] <Kkat> The stairs seem sturdy.  And once you get to the second floor landing, there are markings directing you towards "Execution", "Oversight" and "Biolabs"
06[19:41] * Noble_Heart frowns slightly. What were the ponies here doing? She moved from the stairwell and looked at those signs. First to Oversight. Whatever records these ponies had collected would most likely be there, if they survived at all.
[19:43] <Kkat> "Oversight" seems to be something akin to "administration", as this part of the building is full of offices and cubicals, with a myriad of desks and filing cabinets.  There are terminals galore, almost all seeming ruined.  But you do spot one whose screen is still glowing a strange orange color.
[19:45] <Kkat> You also find a corner area with a table.  On the table are with a coffee urn and a dozen pristine coffee cups.  There are a few framed posters on the walls nearby.  Motivational and company-pride stuff.
[19:45] <Kkat> "SOLARIS: the better alternative!"
[19:46] <Kkat> "SOLARIS: We spend less time testing so you spend less time waiting!"
[19:46] <Kkat> "SOLARIS: Anything Stable-Tec can do, WE can do FASTER and CHEAPER!"
06[19:46] * Noble_Heart slowly moves through the room, pullign open desks and filing cabinets with her magic as she passes, briefly glancing through the contents for anything which might be useful. Once she met the others perhaps she could bring them back here to properly search the building which so mis-used her kind's image. The orange glow of the terminal brought her full attention towards its secrets. "Ah, We are most pleased that thine materials might yet be recovered." Speaking to the ghosts of the dead, or the silent building, was perhaps not the most healthy of habits. But one born of years of being one with others. This time she was careful, raising her shield and standing away from the terminal before manipulating it with her magic.
[20:02] <Kkat> The terminal is password protected.  This is a moderately difficult terminal, requiring a Science of 50 to attempt to hack.
06[20:04] * Noble_Heart lets her shield fall once she's certain the terminal won't explode, stepping forwards only to find the password lock too difficult for her skills. She gave a derisive snort and then stepped away, perhaps she could return later to break the terminal. Instead she focused efforts on the filing cabinets, desks and drawers in the office room for the moment. If she could not have their electronic files, perhaps she could have their written ones instead.
[20:05] <Kkat> You find mostly garbage in the drawers, as well as a hoof-full of nicknacks that might be sellable for minor amounts of bottle caps.  In one drawer, you find a copy of "Solaris Monthly", with that extremely-male alicorn on the cover looking awfully smug as small colts and fillies gaze up at him in rapture.
[20:05] <Kkat> Luck check, please
01[20:06] <Noble_Heart> ((Success!))
[20:06] <Kkat> In one desk, you find three bobby pins.  And in another, you find a 9mm pistol and three full clips of ammo.
[20:07] <Kkat> Finally, as you open one filing cabinet, something falls down from the underside of the drawer, hitting the floor with a metallic clank...
06[20:09] * Noble_Heart practically growls at that image. Such audacity by a company which had scarcely even seen her kind before! Only princesses of Equestria had had their form before the end. This... Travesty of such utter nonsense was an afront. Briefly she considered destroying the magazine on the spot. Instead she spent a few moments glaring at it with cold disgust before stuffing it in a bag. If this Solaris had been doing something in the valley, it could be important to know about. The metalic clank from one of the later containers drew her attention to the floor, ducking down to look under the drawer.
[20:10] <Kkat> The room suddenly becomes much brighter... but only because the sun has just peeked up over the canyon walls and is shining in through the grimy windows.
[20:11] <Kkat> The light glints off the small, stripped tin bearing the name "Mint-Als"
06[20:13] * Noble_Heart levitates the tin off the ground and turns it over in her magic. This too goes into her bag as she headed towards those windows, giving a brief glance around for something she might be able to wipe them clean. Given the state of the building, that was probably 'nothing', but it was still a chance.
[20:15] <Kkat> Luck roll
[20:15] <Kkat> :)
01[20:16] <Noble_Heart> Success, barely.
[20:21] <Kkat> You look about, unsurprised that there is nothing akin to a towel to be found anywhere.  You are just about to give up when you spot something in the corner.  A small, circular floor-cleaning robot with the Solaris symbol on the back.  It looks like it could do the job... if you could replace the spark-battery.
06[20:22] * Noble_Heart sighs and shakes her head. With the sun coming up she no longer had time to play with this place. Instead she turned and moved back through the door, down the stairs and out the main entrance again. Taking flight once she was outside she circled the building to the roof, taking up a position to look down into the Ponytomac for any signs of a boat heading up the river. With the sun up there was much better chances than during the night. And if not, she knew where Gaia Valley was the be found, now.
[20:24] <Kkat> With the light of day, it is easy to spot the steamboat.  It seems to be parked just a little ways down the canyon.
[20:28] <Kkat> (At this point, you may fly down and greet the party if you wish.)
06[20:28] * Noble_Heart spreads her wings and takes to the air, swooping down off the building and flying towards the river, in the direction of the steamboat. She wasn't traveling too fast, but she wasn't being lazy either. She had wasted all night searching for these ponies, and sating her own curiosity, now was not the time to sit idly by.