FoE RPG G0 - #014 Shortcuts and Surprises

[19:46]<SpiritOfFate> =====================================
[19:47]<SpiritOfFate>	Royal_Lace sees the old house she belong to in her dreams, ruined. The halls and hallways, crumbling, yet no light comes in. The windows are boarded, the doors broken shut and a strange shadow lurks in every corner. Then she wakes up, back at the slavehouse. The number of ponies inside isgreater now, many tired of their pointless quest.
[19:49]?	Royal_Lace yawns and stand up on her hooves, stretching as she looks about at all the ponys before moving to the door to see how much of the day she slept away.
[19:53]<SpiritOfFate>	The sun is high, but strangely a deep mist seems to have descended over the region. The distant wall fades in white, only a few metal reflexes passing through
[19:55]?	Royal_Lace raises a brow, A heavy mist would be perfect for sneking around in later. As good of news as that was she still needed to plan ahead a bit, figure out where to strike next. The armory maybe? It was an idea, for now she felt hugry again and decided to leave the building for her second serving of slop today if there was still any left.
***
[20:02]<SpiritOfFate>	There is a ball of clumped mush on the bottom of the food through. The water through is full, as usual
[20:05]?	Royal_Lace gags at the sight of the remaining slop, she would take her chaces scavenging for grass and such, maybe this dragon hunt would give her a chance to do so while at the same time exploring a bit more. Moving instead to the water she drinks her fill and wanders off to look for something to eat as well as find the exact location of the armory, she couldnt get cloe to it right now but she could at least get a look at it.
[20:14]<SpiritOfFate>	The land looks particularly barren today, the mist not helping much. Royal_Lace sees the slaves and guards that were still moving back and forth in their hunt, Shaky and the twin included, the unicorn taskmaster overseeing the movement. Eventually Royal_Lace notices the guard shack by the garage. It seems to have been reinforced and surrounded by a fence of its own
[20:16]?	Royal_Lace makes note of this and starts to think about possible plans to make this work... of course the shack was already well guarded but now it would be even more so. Mist would help but she definately needed a plan. Decideing to circle the shack she looks for weaknesses in its defense before wondering off looking for more grass.
[20:23]<SpiritOfFate>	The shack seems to be sturdy, well locked and there is a griffon resting inside, as far as Royal_Lace can see.
[20:25]<Royal_Lace>	not wanting to draw any more attention to herself right now Lace wonders off... only to fail to find more grass. Sighing she instead decides to continue looking around, this time moving to look around the junk piles, first for grass and then for anything useful again.
[20:42]<SpiritOfFate>	Scavenging the landfill, Royal_Lace manages to find a rusty hook and an old lantern full of oil
[20:47]?	Royal_Lace grins and picks up the goods and placing them under a sheet of scrap metal so she could reclaim them later that night when needed.
[20:49]?	Royal_Lace trots off to look for more to eat before heading back to the slave house when it is time for the food to be refilled
[20:51]<SpiritOfFate>	Royal_Lace, buries her hoof in an unseen bush of stinging nettle, finding some edible grass around the same spot
[20:56]?	Royal_Lace scratches at her hoof as she makes her way back to the slave house, looking about at the slaves around her and listening to see everyones reactions to the obviously failed dragon hunt as well as any other useful information as she gets in line for food.
[21:10]<SpiritOfFate>	Royal_Lace sights a commotion as she returns to the slavehouse. The owner is back, shouting at the mass of slaves who gather around the empty throughs. "-and where is your sense of duty?! I gave you a simple task, and offered a generous reward, yet none of you shows the least competence. How insulting it is that some of you nurture pretenses of becoming free ponies, if you can't prove yourselves worth of it! You don't deserve it, and it is onl
[21:10]<SpiritOfFate>	y through my generosity that you are allowed to live. But you don't seem to realize that."
[21:11]?	Royal_Lace slows to a stop as she joins the crowd to listen to the pony rant
[21:15]<SpiritOfFate>	Doodad continues. "But it is time for you to learn that you are not entitled to my gifts. None of you will eat until this dragon is found." The crowd gets agitated, though the guards keep watching it. Shaky, who is nearby, seems to be panicking. Some ponies look weary, some look revolted, all manage to look unhappier than usual.
[21:19]?	Royal_Lace frowns and cant help but look mad, she knew things would get worse before they got better but to try and starve them? What sort of incentive was that? She had planned on liberating the guards armory tonight... but she may just have to work instead on getting food to the ponies, maybe. Of course there were other ways of getting food. Lace remains slient to here if there was any more to the speach.
[21:23]<SpiritOfFate>	Doodad just trots away, followed by two guards, leaving the slaves distressed and confused.
[21:25]?	Royal_Lace 's look of anger dose not leave her face as she begins to move amongst the ponies, putting he silver tongue to work trying to ask around questions about any nearby towns as well as where the food here was kept.
[21:37]<SpiritOfFate>	As Royal_Lace's thoughts turn to her friends, she feels as if something was pulling out of her chest, slightly. For some reason she thinks they are still close.
[21:38]?	Royal_Lace is both comforted and troubled by this tought
[21:39]?	Royal_Lace swollowing down the odd mix of emotions she continues to ask for info about any nearby town.
[21:46]<SpiritOfFate>	An old blue pony tells her they usually keep the food in a warehouse  on the east wall. When you ask about the nearest settlement, the ponies avoid your question, but some whispers come from left and right. They say it's an one day trip, some say there are raiders along the way and it's dangerous, others say that is a lie to keep the slaves from running away, a voice says it doesn't matter because they slave catchers capture slaves on the run,
[21:46]<SpiritOfFate>	 you also hear some vague rumors of a sanctuary beyond the west river.
[21:54]?	Royal_Lace obsorbs all this info and weighs her options as she heads inside to rest, it was going to be a long night... and she wasnt sure if she would be able to do it or not, but she was hopeful. Luck had been on her side so far, she just neede it to hold for a change, just once she needed to be lucky, not for her but for the other ponies here.
[22:58]<SpiritOfFate>	The fruit of a withered tree fights to keep hold itself, away from the barren ground below
[22:59]<SpiritOfFate>	Royal_Lace wakes up little later
[23:01]?	Royal_Lace opens one eye and looks around the slave quarters to see if anyone was still awake or paying close attention
[23:06]<SpiritOfFate>	The slaves seem to be huddled up together, sleeping
[23:07]?	Royal_Lace quietly stands, gathers her hidden items in the slave house and sneaks to the door, looking out to see how hard it would be to make it around the back of the slave house tonight. If she had to she would risk teleporting from inside but not if she could help it.
[23:09]<SpiritOfFate>	The guards seem far more active tonight, lights moving along every corner of the terrain, but the darkness and the fog could make it possible
****
[23:20]<SpiritOfFate>	Royal_Lace makes her way to a silent corner of the landfill behind the house, before hearing a whisper from her back. "what are you doing?"
[23:23]?	Royal_Lace whips around, her eyes opening wide in shock at the whispers behind her. How had one of the guards seen her when she had been so carful? It was all she could to to stop herself from screaming or pulling out her knife right away, maybe she could still talk her way out of this
[23:27]<SpiritOfFate>	It's the twin. He studies her, unsure of what to make of it.
[23:30]?	Royal_Lace eyes shift right and left, mind racing for a sutable lie, Why in the devil did he follow her out here? "I uhhh... though I could find the dragon? yes, durring the day he would certainly be hiding but out here at night he may be sneaking around and taking risks, I thought I migh have a chance of catching him. What about you, what are you doing out here? You know you could get in allot of trouble for this"
[23:41]<SpiritOfFate>	The twin raises an eyebrow. "Huh, I guess that makes some sense. But you can't stop a dragon. Look at you, you are scared of your own shadow." He says, misreading her nervousness;
[23:44]?	Royal_Lace nods, quickly regaining her composure now that it seemed he was buying her little white lie, "Yes well... I dont have to stop him do I? If I can just find out where he is hiding that should be good enough, right? why dont you go back to the slave house, ok? I am already risking my hide out here, I dont want yours on the line as well... you know, It accurse to me I never got your name"
[23:49]<SpiritOfFate>	"Buck Twin." He says flatly. "This dragon, it will kill you."
[23:51]?	Royal_Lace bites her lip, she had a feeling she wasnt going to be able to shake buck as easily as she hoped, "Well I appreciate your concern but Im sure that so long as I stay out of sight I will be fine, what im worried about are the guards and so should you! I dont imagine they would be happy if they found either of us out here at this hour, so why dont you head back to the slave house Buck, I really dont want to see anypony hurt"
[23:57]?	SpiritOfFate looks at you, you can see his eyes seem to lack something, but it's hard to tell what. "You didn't get it. You will die. If this dragon can beat down guards and keep away from every slave, what will be one scrawny filly."
[23:57]<SpiritOfFate>	The twin^
[00:00]?	Royal_Lace starts to sweat again, this was worse than him not buying her stories, he belived her... he just wasnt willing to let her go, he was worried about her. Normally she would be touched but now? out here? they were risking there necks talking like this. Sucking in a quick bit of air she steadied herself for what she was about to say. "Ok.... Im not out here looking for the dragon"
[00:05]<SpiritOfFate>	He seems to think about it for a moment. "...this is a bad time to do whatever you are up to."
[00:07]?	Royal_Lace lowers her head a bit as she works up the courage to spill her plan, or at least the basics to him. She really hardly knew him. "Well you see... there really is no need to worry about a dragon, since there is none... but, if your willing to help me for a bit and stay quiet I can make it worth your while. Im about to do... something, and if i can get your word to stay calm and help I will tell you what is going on"
[00:08]?	Royal_Lace pauses, "Better still I can probably get that bomb off your neck"
[00:11]<SpiritOfFate>	He blinks. "...what did you say?"
[00:14]?	Royal_Lace nods, "I belive you heard me correctly, If you just stand still for a bit and let me...", Pausing again she steps closer as her horn starts to softly glow as she starts to prepare for her spell, "do a little magic...I was just about to pic up a few things that I have hidden away before leaving for a few hours, come with me and I can remove the collar"
[00:20]<SpiritOfFate>	He looks at her and seems to cough slightly, only it grows into an affected muffled laugh, wich stops suddenly. He stares blankly at Royal_Lace. "...fine."
[00:23]?	Royal_Lace nods with a smiles, then focuses and she pops them into the slave houses attic, moving a hoof quickly to her mouth as she indicates the need for silence as she collects both the bags of caps and the key, before moving back to Buck and preparing for another jump, this time focusing on the farthest point she had seen from the gate a few nights ago in the direction the slaves had indicated the town was in. Then... poof!
****
[19:31]<SpiritOfFate>	Royal_Lace, sees herself in an old suburban street of cracked asphalt and rusted lightposts, still managing to give some light. The houses outside are in a better state than the ones found before, even if some still cracked.
[19:33]<SpiritOfFate>	Buck Twin shakes his head, dazed by the sudden repeated popping.
[19:34]?	Royal_Lace looks about with a supprised look on her face as she pulls off her rag dress and perfectly cleans herself with the casting of another spell. She couldnt have possibly already found the town could she? She was never this lucky.... if anything she was more on edge than before.
[19:49]<SpiritOfFate>	Royal_Lace notices a blackened brown stencil on the wall of one of the houses, a pony skull crossed by two bats, which seems to be covering a blue symbol underneath. Further down the road she can see the shape of a police building in the dark. The road goes on, dotted by the working lights, disappearing behind a hill
[19:50]<SpiritOfFate>	Buck Twin looks at Royal_Lace. "What did you do?"
[19:53]?	Royal_Lace pulls on her newer dress and turns to face Buck, "Like I said before back at the scrap yard, Magic. I just teleported us... well im not sure yet but we are no longer inside those walls"
[20:00]<SpiritOfFate>	Buck Twin collar starts to beep, his eyes go wide.
[20:01]?	Royal_Lace eye go wide as well as her horn glows, levetating out the key and moving to his side, "Dont move! Ill get it off!"
[20:03]<SpiritOfFate>	The twin shakes. "T-take it off!!"
[20:05]?	Royal_Lace jabs the key into the key hole on the side of the collar, twisting it madly and jerking the key out before tugging the collar off with her magic and, not sure what ells to do with it, throwing it as far away as she could down a nearby alley.
[20:12]<SpiritOfFate>	The collar disappears with a clatter, leaving the unicorn bound only by his horn supressor. He pants, recovering from the shock
[20:14]?	Royal_Lace seeing the device she remembers her own deactivated one and pullls it off as well as her collar, wouldnt exactly help her disguise to still keep the thing on. now she turned the key to the lock on his horn in hopes it would work, otherwise she would need to try and pick it. "Sorry about that... didnt know it would do that, first time I have taken anyone with a working collar outside the walls"
[20:17]<SpiritOfFate>	The twin looks back at her, patting his neck. "It is not the best idea..." He sighs. "...so, I'm free?"
[20:19]?	Royal_Lace shrugs, circiling her hooves as she slips the keys back into her new dress, tying her rag dress and pulling it inside out to use as a sort of make shift bag (the thing really had proven so very useful for her). "Unless you want me to bring you back, I really hadnt planed on taking you with me but the longer we waited around there the more likey I was to get caught".
[20:22]<SpiritOfFate>	A group of ponies seem to leave the police district and shout at a distance. He nods
[20:24]?	Royal_Lace lowers her horn and cleans Buck with a simple spell, whispering to him as she glances at the ponies stepping out of the building. "Ok, Ill explain as soon as I can. But right now I need help finding my way to someplace to get food for the slaves back at the Scrap Yard, ok? Long story short the dragon beat it while the getting was good, Im the one throwing a wrench into things"
[20:29]<SpiritOfFate>	The twin chuckles. "And why didn't you?"
[20:30]<SpiritOfFate>	The group approaches. Royal_Lace manages to see their bloodied sports gear.
[20:31]?	Royal_Lace smiles, "Maybe becouse I thought I could do more help for everypony while inside... ummm, Im not so sure here is the best place to be Buck, do they look a bit..."
[20:36]<SpiritOfFate>	"Trouble. I see that." He puts himself on a fighting stance
[20:38]?	Royal_Lace nods, looking at the approching shadow before glancing back at Buck, scewing her brow in confusion at his stance. "What are you doing?". Horn glowing she nods to a nearby building. "Why dont I just get us up ontop of one of those and out of there way... seems much more safe to me"
[20:39]<SpiritOfFate>	"...that works." He moves closer
[20:41]?	Royal_Lace smiles and with a thought the two of them disapear with a small flash and pop, appearing on a nearby rooftop looking down below at the scary ponies below. "If you havent already noticed I like to avoid direct conflict if I can, besides all we have between us is a knife and I doubt we would have held them off for long... whoever they are"
[20:55]<SpiritOfFate>	The group looks confused below, the twin observing them as they run around.
[20:56]<SpiritOfFate>	The twin glances back at Royal_Lace. "Nopony can run away forever."
[20:58]?	Royal_Lace looks around the town, trying to judge where they were in relation to the town. Already she was praying this wasnt the town in question. "Well Im hopeing we dont have to... If I can just find our bareings I can continue to try and get us to the nearby town... think you can lend me a hoof? Im not exactly the best when it comes to navigation".
[21:04]<SpiritOfFate>	He looks around for some time and point a luminous billboard far away. "I have heard before of the circling lights of the free grounds, but slaves aren't allowed there."
[21:06]?	Royal_Lace squints at the billboard, "Free grounds? Pardon me for asking but what exactly are the free grounds? I trust its someplace devoid of these dangerous sorts below us?"
[21:07]<SpiritOfFate>	"The settlement of the free ponies."
[21:09]?	Royal_Lace smiles, "Oh well that dose sound nice! lets head there, you ready to go? Im going to try and get us close enough we can walk the rest of the way"
[21:15]<SpiritOfFate>	The twin nods. "One more of those, then?"
[21:16]?	Royal_Lace nods, "Yes... not sure how many more times I can take you with me, not used to company on these trips". Focusing again Lace brings them, she hopes, within a few blocks walking distance of the sign Buck had pointed out to her.
[21:19]<SpiritOfFate>	He blinks. "So... what? You are going to leave me wherever?"
[21:24]?	Royal_Lace rubs her head as they reappear, she was using alot of magic in a small amount of time. "Like I said thats up to you, I can take you back with us... although that dose involve going back for your collar now that I think about it. In any case i can and will do that if you want. Otherwise I can leave you here with some caps if you want. I really didnt plan for company"
[21:24]<Royal_Lace>	"Unless you have another idea that is"
[21:33]<SpiritOfFate>	He just "Hm"'s. There is a tall wall between the suburban area and settlement proper, but it doesn't go all the way around. A couple ponies watch for threats on top of it. Around it, an old bar and a roadside motel were made into a collection of houses and stores
[21:39]?	Royal_Lace nods, "Ok then... why dont I give you some caps to find a room, cloths, and food. Having a place in town I could teleport to safely would be nice. Also you could spend the day looking around town for things I need. Hows that for a deal? Your freedom and payment in caps for helping me here in town?"
[21:41]<SpiritOfFate>	"That sounds fine to me." He nods back
[21:42]?	Royal_Lace smiles, "Good then lets try and see if we can find you some lodging for the night... and hopefully a store or two open as well"
[21:49]<SpiritOfFate>	"How do we do that? Don't they have a common room?"
[21:51]?	Royal_Lace frowns as she trots toward the hotel and stores, "Im... not really sure, never made it far enough into an escape to make it to a settlement before"
[22:34]<SpiritOfFate>	The hotel entrance is a short walk from them. Three of the lower rooms were outfitted into stores. "Railway Armory", "The Gizmo" and "Everywhere Emporium"
[22:36]?	Royal_Lace looks to Buck and trots up to one of the shops, choosing "Everywhere Emporium", not really needing an armory at the moment and not really having much intrest in any place named the gizmo. Reaching the door she looks to see if its open