Fallout: Beyond Equestria 139: The Last Free Town (Part 16)

[2015-06-17 13:22:47] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Previously...
[2015-06-17 13:22:54] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright flips open a notebook. "Just as a sampler, what did he call you? And what did you call him?"
[2015-06-17 13:23:12] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mwana tells Bookwright, "He congratulated me on a pony whore, and said it was a step up from the pleasure bots at Upendo Doa.  I told him I would have to take his word for it, and that it explains the scars on his flanks.  Also, he is Vespertilio and I called him Cruentos."
[2015-06-17 13:23:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright "Right, right. Thanks." He scribbles. "...two houses... ...dignity... ...civil hooves unclean..." He closes the book. "Thanks again!"
[2015-06-17 13:23:23] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
[2015-06-17 13:23:32] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The Cruentos with the skilled tongue steps forward, "We study the old tongues of trade. We offer protection, do not be afraid."
[2015-06-17 13:23:40] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Noble_Heart smiles slightly at that prospect. "That would imply that we are not already safe enough on our own, wouldn't it? A strange claim to make in such an otherwise-civil port." She looked up and around at the myriad of buildings. "A place like this would not exist if most of its citizens were hostile."
[2015-06-17 13:23:47] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The zebra calls back, "The Silos is a safe and friendly place... for those who travel beside a respected face."
[2015-06-17 13:23:58] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Shatara blinks ant tilts his head at Jugeote for a moment, before he realizes at everyone is speaking pony. "Oh! Uh...they're offering us 'protection'...and Noble isn't convinced..." He emphasizes with talon-quotes.
[2015-06-17 13:24:07] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Jugeote nickers.  "Thing you need the most protection from around here is the Cruentos."
[2015-06-17 13:24:15] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Noble_Heart frowns. "We would not be very good pirates if we required protection, would we? We liberated this ship from its controllers. Armed forces of Roam. And now you would tell Us that We need protection from those who claim to be Our friends?" She lets off a 'tsk'. "That, to Us, sounds more a threat than an offer."
[2015-06-17 13:24:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The Cruentos calls back, "This is a town of scum and villainy.  You can do better than a Wameli.  Stay here long and you will see."
[2015-06-17 13:24:27] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Get_Lost waves a hoof "hey thanks for the warning! ta-ta!"
[2015-06-17 13:24:29] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
[2015-06-17 13:25:29] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Jugeote smiles to Shatara.  "Looks like Council has word of the Goblet... as does everyone else."  As if on cue, a teeth-hurting grinding sound echoes through Tres as the silo doors swing shut.
[2015-06-17 13:25:41] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Shatara is about to ask her what is going on, when the overpowering screech of metal drowns out everything.
[2015-06-17 13:26:03] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Jugeote rolls her eyes.  "I was waiting for that."  To Shatara, "We're sealed in now.  I'm sure they're closing the others up too, just to make sure.  Some families don't trust the Wameli not to run off with the Griffin's Goblet and leave without them."
[2015-06-17 13:26:14] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Jugeote admits to Shatara, "To be fair, we absolutely plan to."
[2015-06-17 13:26:17] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
[2015-06-17 13:27:00] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Noble_Heart sinks into the deck of the ship, surrounded be green flame, and is gone.
[2015-06-17 13:27:08] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Noble_Heart struggles against the darkness, calling out as she's consumed in more than a small amount of panic.
[2015-06-17 13:27:31] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
[2015-06-17 13:27:38] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Stoicae thrashes in the air, trying to stab at the fallen doctor.  She finally tries to hurl the spear at the doctor, getting a lucky shot as the spear slashes across the neck.
[2015-06-17 13:27:43] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The magical energy tip cauterizes the wound immediately, preventing the doctor from a fatal bleeding wound, but the magical energy warps the flesh near her windpipe, causing the unconscious stripeless to begin to choke.  Without immediate medical expertise, she will die.
[2015-06-17 13:27:52] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Stoicae, meanwhile, turns her head towards Parlay and shouts in zebra.  The bot beeps pleasantly and dutifully translates in a voice much more calm and reasonable than Stoicae's own, "You have to kill her.  Look at her conviction bands.  She is a necromancer."
[2015-06-17 13:28:07] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright drops the zebra. "She is a prisoner and can do nothing while unconscious. Furthermore, she just made /my friend/ sink through a wooden deck with her necromancy and I want to get her back intact and I can't /do that/ if she's dead!"
[2015-06-17 13:28:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright finishes on the upward curl of hysterics. He jerks his head urgently at Get Lost. "Do you think you can keep this zebra alive? Magical energy wounds are beyond my simple skills."
[2015-06-17 13:28:30] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Shatara freezes up. Too much was happening too fast. Noble disappeared. The one responsible is unconcious and choking to death, and another insisting it must be.
[2015-06-17 13:28:39] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi grumbles and growls. She hit her head on something. She had a thick skull, but it was still irritating
[2015-06-17 13:28:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream looks between them. Noble's gone. She's gonna find out where.
[2015-06-17 13:28:54] <Mare-Do-Well> 3olden_Dream begins to shout out commands. "Get, get on this here necromancer and find out if she's star necromancer, Sleipnir necromancer, or Lunar necromancer. Or changeling. I'm /really/ hopin' it's a changeling, so we can expose it for what it is."
[2015-06-17 13:28:57] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
[2015-06-17 13:29:25] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Fallout: Beyond Equestria, Session One Hundred and Thirty-Nine: The Last Free Town (Part Sixteen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BigolJfoANw
[2015-06-17 13:29:39] <Mare-Do-Well> 3--- Session Begins ---
[2015-06-17 13:30:02] <Mare-Do-Well> 6By the light of her shield, Noble_Heart can see walls of rough-hewn stone... an unnatural cavern.  The floor is a pattern of cobblestones.  All else is darkness.    After a moment, her shield drops, seemingly of its own accord.  Without light, she can see nothing at all.  And she doesn't have the magical strength left to expend on light.
[2015-06-17 13:30:11] <Mare-Do-Well> 6After a moment, she does see something in the darkness.  A light, very faint.  Moving towards her.  By the time she can make out what it is, something dead reaches out for her...
[2015-06-17 13:30:18] <Mare-Do-Well> 6...pulling her into squishy hugs.
[2015-06-17 13:34:25] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
[2015-06-17 13:34:26] * Get_Lost frowns "how am i supposed to know if she's a necromancer? i can tell you if she has a concussion..." starts studying the uunconscious shaman
[2015-06-17 13:36:03] * Golden_Dream nickers, losing a little composure. "Sorry. Jus' get her alive. And then after I tie her up, awake."
[2015-06-17 13:37:31] * Shatara shifts his attention to the surrendering striplesspones, collecting their weapons.
[2015-06-17 13:37:32] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The shaman is far worse off than just unconscious.  The warping of her flesh from the magical energy weapon has closed off her windpipe.  Fixing the damage will be a major feat, but one that will have to wait... without a tracheotomy right now, she will be dead within moments.
[2015-06-17 13:39:28] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi meanwhile begins to regain some of her color.
[2015-06-17 13:39:33] * Noble_Heart blinks in some surprise at the unexpectedly squishy hugs. Or any hugs, for that matter. She was definitely somewhere else, that was certain. She struggled to try and summon her magic for even a light. But alas, even that eluded her. "Hello? Miss Doo, We presume?"
[2015-06-17 13:39:53] <Mitzi> Mitzi rubs her head and looks around, slowly regaining her bearings as her aggression and anger begin to subside. She sees the copious amounts of blood and fleshy bits on her claws.
[2015-06-17 13:40:03] * Golden_Dream attempts to pull Stoicae aside. "Congratulations, y'all are promoted from prisoner t' character witness. First, I'mma /really/ yell at Mitzi fer' puttin' holes in our galdurned ship, and then I'm gonna show you why this prolly ain't really a necromancer."
[2015-06-17 13:40:06] <Mare-Do-Well> 6Noble_Heart, likewise, is beginning to feel more herself.
[2015-06-17 13:40:46] <Mare-Do-Well> 6She can feel the ghoul pony nod while hugging her.
[2015-06-17 13:43:10] * CopyCat peeks timidly over the ship's railing, looking inwards. Her front hooves hold the side of the ship while her back half dangles, hanging onto the edge like a kitty. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/25/90/5a/25905a94c1592d0105564793b255959a.jpg
[2015-06-17 13:43:52] * Shatara blinks confusededly at CopyCat.
[2015-06-17 13:44:04] * Golden_Dream looks to the stripeless crowd. "Then, we're prolly gonna dump you and them lot a day or two's walk from th' death wall if y'r still interested in goin' back. Somewhere else if y' ain't."
[2015-06-17 13:44:18] * CopyCat swallows at the sight of Mitzi's gore-dripping claws. She was very glad she'd decided to hide under the ship when she did. "I-is it over?"
[2015-06-17 13:45:49] * Golden_Dream starts going down to where Mitzi wound up. She went from slightly overwhelmed to half-way livid in no time flat. "Mitzi, get yer' fuzzy butt over here. I need t' talk t' you."
[2015-06-17 13:46:36] * Mitzi frowns, then looks up as she hears Golden_Dream calling. She begins to look around for a door to the room she was in, or some other way to move about the cabin
[2015-06-17 13:46:46] <Mare-Do-Well> 3None of the stripeless protest Shatara's gathering of their weapons.  Most of them haven't stopped staring at Mitzi.
[2015-06-17 13:47:03] * Mitzi fell through the floor into the cabin, is mostly out of sight
[2015-06-17 13:47:37] * Shatara directs the disarmed zebras to form in a managable group.
[2015-06-17 13:47:38] <Mare-Do-Well> 3(Or, more precisely, at the hole Mitzi fell into.  And the rivers of blood.)
[2015-06-17 13:47:54] * Bookright "It's over, CopyCat. I think."
[2015-06-17 13:48:03] * Mitzi feels some of that blood dripping on her and looks up. She looks immensely disheartened
[2015-06-17 13:49:04] * Noble_Heart gently spreads a wing around the ghoul. "Are you well? Have the zebras hurt you? We must be beneath Roam, if the Spirit of Secrets is to be believed." She frowned in the darkness and struggled to get a view of anything nearby.
[2015-06-17 13:50:27] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Meanwhile, while Shatara tries to round up the stripeless, two flying robots are zipping between them.  Pink-E is delivering rapturous welcomes while Parlay starts translating the glyphs on their conviction bands.
[2015-06-17 13:50:58] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"Hello!  Welcome aboard!  We are mighty pirates, and you get to be our crew!..."
[2015-06-17 13:51:16] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"Insubordination - three counts."
[2015-06-17 13:51:39] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"...I'm Pink-E!  The official pirate welcoming spritebot!..."
[2015-06-17 13:52:01] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"Subversion - two counts."
[2015-06-17 13:53:00] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"...and I'm here to tell you that you couldn't have picked a more fun group of pirates to be captured by!..."
[2015-06-17 13:53:03] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"Treason."
[2015-06-17 13:53:24] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"...Why, this is doing to be the best pirate ship EVER!"
[2015-06-17 13:53:37] * CopyCat clumsily scrambles back onto the deck and looks very sheepish. She spots Get_Lost fussing over the rapidly dying shaman and heads over to join her.
[2015-06-17 13:55:33] * Get_Lost retrieves the first cutting thing she fings and operates the shaman
[2015-06-17 13:55:45] * Mitzi slumps onto her haunches as blood drips down on her. She just holds up her bloody, gorey claws and stares at them.
[2015-06-17 13:56:49] * Get_Lost actually, she really had a scalpel! this will make the emergency procedure a little less meh, probably
[2015-06-17 13:56:56] <Mare-Do-Well> 6Noble_Heart can feel the ghoul shake her head.  Then the faint light rises into her view.  It's the Element of Laughter.  The light from the screen is very faint, and the images difficult to read, but Noble_Heart can make out that she is looking at a medical status report.  The stylized Stable pony on the screen is reading as having a healthy 0% radiation.
[2015-06-17 13:58:17] * Shatara pauses a bit, listening to the robot reading off the crimes. "Uh, Parlay...can you ask them how many of them are accused of crimes that *don't* surmise to 'failed to lick the boots of one's superiors'?
[2015-06-17 13:59:01] * Golden_Dream glares back down. "Mitzi. Up here. Now." Her temper was about to go over the boiling point, partially due to the mess things have become, partially because of how much she was seeing herself become what she hates the most.
[2015-06-17 13:59:03] * Get_Lost "here ,a cut here, a slice there... she wil probably die later..."
[2015-06-17 13:59:17] * Noble_Heart blinks and frowns. She struggled slightly to get to her bags. "We have something that may help. It is not much and may not last long, but hopefully it will be enough..." She begins digging through her bags searching for the still-unopened bottle of Sparkle~Cola Rainbow Crash she had picked up in the Crystal Kingdom Welcoming Center. It might be flat, but a glass bottle and
[2015-06-17 13:59:17] * Noble_Heart an over-abundance of preservatives would likely make it still drinkable.
[2015-06-17 13:59:46] * Mitzi gets back to her feet as she hears Golden_Dream call to her, lumbering around looking for a way back up to the deck
[2015-06-17 14:02:26] <Mare-Do-Well> 6Noble_Heart is quickly and rather fiercely hugged again.  The ghoul pony, her face illuminated by the glowing rainbow liquid of the zap-apple cola, is clearly smiling as she takes the drink and gulps it down fast enough a living creature would choke.
[2015-06-17 14:03:51] * Noble_Heart frowns. "We do not know how long it will last you. But We hope it will be enough for now." She stood and slowly looked around. "You must have been here for some time. We met the changeling who replaced you. It is... Worrying. And We are uncertain that Our message has even reached the NCR about the nature of the replacement."
[2015-06-17 14:04:33] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Parlay finishes reading the bands, several of which also include the charge of "insurrection".  All of the crimes listed are related to loyalty and obedience... save one.  The shaman's single conviction band reads "Necromancy".
[2015-06-17 14:06:27] <Mare-Do-Well> 3As Get_Lost intubates, the shaman's chest dramatically rises and falls as she is able to breathe again.
[2015-06-17 14:07:44] * Shatara also takes a moment to make sure the necropone is stripped of any potions, vials, and or talismans.
[2015-06-17 14:07:59] <Golden_Dream> 
ACTION waits for Mitzi to present herself to her. Her stature is stern and hardened, like a drill sergeant in a body of someone who's voice still cracks when she speaks. "Mitzi, I know things have occurred that /mighta/ jus' gave you th' wrong idea of what we do around here. That's okay. We've been on th' offensive side fer' all of three raids of ships. So lemme make things abundantly clear. We ain't murderers. We ain't tyrants. We a
[2015-06-17 14:08:49] <Golden_Dream> - We ain't monsters. We ain't even pirates. We're caravaners, and if I have my way, we ain't even gonna be that."
[2015-06-17 14:09:20] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Shatara comes away with a not-small collection of bottles, vials and strange objects.
[2015-06-17 14:09:23] * Golden_Dream crooks an eyebrow. "Am I made completely understood?"
[2015-06-17 14:10:11] * Mitzi frowns and holds up her bloody claws again. "Uh killed dem..." She looks to Golden_Dream, tears in her eyes. "Uh never dun dat befur."
[2015-06-17 14:11:18] * Mitzi clarifies, "Killed ponees dat deedn't attack furst."
[2015-06-17 14:13:17] * Golden_Dream would normally be all about forgiving her immediately, but right now, there's a whole lot of things going on and she's not in a good mood. "Mitzi, wash off yer' claws and get t' cleaning up yer' mess. We'll talk about makin' right on what you did later. Now, am I made completely understood?"
[2015-06-17 14:13:40] * Bookright "I don't think you were in your right mind, Mitzi. You looked... weird. Washed out. Drained of color. It's come back now, but... Hey, the same thing happened to Noble Heart! It's definitely some kind of magical effect."
[2015-06-17 14:13:44] * Get_Lost "good news is: she isn't going to die any soon... i need to give her back voice, now...."
[2015-06-17 14:15:43] * Mitzi sags a little and looks to the bloody smears and gorey bits that were all that was left of the two zebras she slaughtered. "Uh... Uh just felt so mad. So angry. Uh dunno whut deed eet."
[2015-06-17 14:17:56] * Bookright "Well, you're better now. And that's what matters."
[2015-06-17 14:19:12] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"They were Discorded," a ghostly voice says in Bookwright's ear.  "That's... what we used to call it, at least.  Chaos magic.  Makes you the opposite of what you are in your heart."
[2015-06-17 14:19:44] * CopyCat hugs Get_Lost as she successfully saves the shaman. "Well done!" She sits up attentively. "Is there any way that I can help?"
[2015-06-17 14:21:11] * Mitzi sighs and curls up her paws, keeping her claws pointed away from anyone else.
[2015-06-17 14:21:45] * Mitzi then begins to clean her paws with her tongue, as she was wont to do as a canine. The look on her face as she cleans the blood off is somewhat disgusted.
[2015-06-17 14:22:39] * Bookright "Wait, you've seen this before? Well, that explains what happened to Mitzi and Noble Heart, at least. I suppose it's what happened to these zebras too..."
[2015-06-17 14:23:03] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"Steals your color while it's at it.  Turns you grey.  I bet all the zebras from over there look washed-out, right?  Their stripes are faded away?"  The former Bearer of Loyalty offers, "How do you make sure you can trust the crew of a ship to follow orders if the ship discords everyone aboard?"
[2015-06-17 14:23:16] * Get_Lost "parlay, please be a dearie and check if you find the admiral down in the forest"
[2015-06-17 14:23:36] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Parlay beepboops and zips overboard.
[2015-06-17 14:24:09] <Golden_Dream> 
ACTION turns around, looking bitter and apprehensive. "Copycat, yer' gonna be th' one t' interrogate her. I want you t' use this against her and trap her int' revealin' where Noble went. I'm thinkin' either this here Zebra's a Changelin', or one a' Sleipnir's own. And Sleipnir owes me a favor. Try t' trap her by sayin' that star necromancers are too powerful, Sleipnir necromancers are unlikely, and th' Loonies' necromancer is super u
[2015-06-17 14:24:18] * Shatara gets a ping of realization. "These are rebels, individualists and nonconformists. What's the opposite of dissent...?"
[2015-06-17 14:24:50] * Bookright nods. "Right. Makes sense, in a horrible twisted fashion."
[2015-06-17 14:27:31] <Mare-Do-Well> 6Ditzo Doo rasps in response.  Then raises up the Element and peers at the dim screen.  In the light, Noble_Heart notices that she is minus her trusty chalkboard.  She searches the golden "PipBuck" for something, then looks around and points into the darkness.  She holds up the screen for Noble_Heart to see.
[2015-06-17 14:28:34] <Golden_Dream> (-Sleipnir necromancers are unlikely, and th' Loonies' necromancer is super unlikely.")
[2015-06-17 14:28:48] <Mare-Do-Well> 6The Element is providing a sprawling, confusing map.  You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
[2015-06-17 14:31:38] * CopyCat tilts her head at Golden_Dream, then she smiles and nods. "Okay! I'll be the best interrorgator ever!" She pauses then adds, "I hope she speaks Equestrian. Otherwise I'll just have to sing the zebra anthem at her until she gives in."
[2015-06-17 14:32:13] * Bookright "Uh, maybe you should wait for Parley to get back then.
[2015-06-17 14:33:38] * Shatara is not far away with all the robot buddies.
[2015-06-17 14:35:58] * CopyCat blows up her cheeks at Bookright and lets the air out slowly. "Why does no pony like it when I sing that song?" she mutters.
[2015-06-17 14:36:07] * Noble_Heart takes a look at the map then sighs and frowns. "That... Is not good. Our magic is spent and We suspect something in this cave is interfering with it as well." She looked around as best she could, which was not well. "Our friends will be coming. That much We can be sure of." Her voice got quiet briefly. "We hope..."
[2015-06-17 14:36:52] * Bookright "I'm just saying that singing the zebra anthem (badly) will only inspire our prisoners. They're, er, discorded, remember?
[2015-06-17 14:41:26] * CopyCat suddenly starts thinking about what it might be like to have an army of zebra at her command. She may be cackling a little.
[2015-06-17 14:44:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream spots an airship in the distance off the port side, moving southward at (for an airship) high speed.  Turning, she spots two more flying past several miles to the starboard.  And to the north, the silhouettes of several more vessels heading directly for them.
[2015-06-17 14:45:09] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright too notices the approaching remnants of a fleet.
[2015-06-17 14:45:20] * Get_Lost is still trying to mend the zera properly
[2015-06-17 14:45:31] * Bookright "Well. Uh. We're about to have company. We're still invisible, right?"
[2015-06-17 14:46:00] <Shatara> "I think so...uh...fly casual..."
[2015-06-17 14:46:30] * Golden_Dream immeditely barks at Shatara. "Shatara! Folks at 6 o' clock! Get yer' flank on th' steering wheel and get us outta their direct route im-fucking-mediately!"
[2015-06-17 14:46:32] * Get_Lost "want me to check the radio?" doesn't even raise her head from the patient
[2015-06-17 14:47:26] * Bookright gives Golden_Dream the hairy eyeball. "You do realize that you're not actually a captain and we're not actually crew, right?"
[2015-06-17 14:47:35] * Shatara eeps and takes control, evading the incoming ships as casually as possible.
[2015-06-17 14:49:13] * Golden_Dream gives Bookie an extremely severe look. "Bookie, you disagreein' with anything I'm sayin'?"
[2015-06-17 14:49:51] * Bookright replies coolly, "I'm just reminding you that politeness never goes amiss."
[2015-06-17 14:50:38] * Golden_Dream sneers. "I don't have time for this." She goes below deck to... Do something.
[2015-06-17 14:55:27] * Get_Lost starts working on the shaman, trying to recover her voice. she doesn't really go for the kind and fair. she is a wasteland medic, her job is to have ponies run again. but it will take some time anyway
[2015-06-17 14:57:05] * Mitzi looks as Golden_Dream departs, then back to Bookright, "Uh can't blame hur." She has finished cleaning the blood from her paws
[2015-06-17 14:57:51] * Bookright "Golden Dream is living proof that even armed societies aren't necessarily polite societies."
[2015-06-17 14:58:16] <Mare-Do-Well> 6In the weak screen light, Noble_Heart can see Ditzy Doo nod.  She begins to lead, checking the map repeatedly.  The light is not enough to see more than a few feet ahead, but the cobbled stone floors all look the same.  Sections of walls are imbedded with skulls or decorated in patterns of bones.
[2015-06-17 14:58:43] * Get_Lost is stitching and sewing, fixing all the problems, or at least the most part of it
[2015-06-17 14:59:57] <Mare-Do-Well> 6Every few yards, burial shelves are carved into the walls.  Some still hold zebra remains, oddly preserved, like mummies without the wrappings.
[2015-06-17 15:01:40] * Noble_Heart does her best to follow along behind Ditzy in the darkness. This was definitely not how she had planned to spend her day. "These are... Catacombs. The Catacombs of Roam." She paused briefly to look at one of the deceased Zebras, curious about how they had been preserved. Though she tried not to pause long enough to risk losing her ghoulish companion. "Strange. We were told
[2015-06-17 15:01:41] * Noble_Heart by one of the zebras We met that they immolated their dead, to protect against necromancers..."
[2015-06-17 15:02:48] <Mare-Do-Well> 6Several times, Ditzy Doo makes sounds easily interpreted as "oops, no this way".  There is much backtracking.  And twice she leads to gates heavily locked and barred.
[2015-06-17 15:05:25] <Mare-Do-Well> 6Ditzy cannot reply, but does repeatedly stop and reach out, as if to assure Noble_Heart that she is still there.  Or perhaps to assure herself that Noble_Heart is.
[2015-06-17 15:05:54] * Noble_Heart pauses by one of the gates to get a look at it. Curious about what they were and why they were built there. These catacombs must have been very old, but at the same time, they definitely seemed to have been maintained to some degree. Or built to last. How strange indeed.
[2015-06-17 15:09:39] * Get_Lost finishes sewing the ghoul's neck and puts a personal touch; before healing the wound, carves a small solaris mark next to the closed wound "here we go: all fixed"
[2015-06-17 15:11:02] <Mare-Do-Well> 6After an uncertain (but seemingly very long) time walking, the two are stopped by a raspy voice coming out of the darkness.  "Derpy?" it asks, sounding like sandpaper sheets being rubbed together. "That you?"
[2015-06-17 15:13:30] <Mare-Do-Well> 3There are cracks of artifical thunder to the north, and one of the approaching airships is torn from the sky in flames by the chaser cannons of two of the pursuing pirate vessels.
[2015-06-17 15:15:55] * Noble_Heart blinks in confusion at the sudden appearance of a second, apparently ghoul, voice. "A friend?" She asked her companion quietly, being unable to see who was talking.
[2015-06-17 15:16:25] * Mitzi becomes alert quickly at the thunder crack, scrambling to her feet. She didn't like thunderstorms, although she realizes quickly enough that was a weapon and not a storm. She looks around, trying to reascertain what was going on.
[2015-06-17 15:20:34] * Bookright "Oh, crud. We need to start flying a flag like the Rainbow Connection. Show that we captured this one."
[2015-06-17 15:30:31] * Goldy comes back up with a length of rope. "Hey, I need some of them red cloaks if y' gottem. We told them we was Crimson Caravans. They'll prolly get th' message if we flew red."
[2015-06-17 15:33:03] * Mitzi looks to Goldy, "Uh'll help." She could at least do that much. Hoisting and pulling were much better uses of her strength than... that.
[2015-06-17 15:35:52] * Get_Lost sighs and raises her head "she should be fine... what now?"
[2015-06-17 15:40:03] <Mare-Do-Well> 6"What?" rasps the voice.  "Who's this?  Not Imperial.  Guards don't call out 'friend'."
[2015-06-17 15:40:06] * Bookright "Right. Um. Has anyone here seen Parley?"
[2015-06-17 15:40:41] * Get_Lost "i sent here looking for the admiral"
[2015-06-17 15:40:45] <Get_Lost> *her
[2015-06-17 15:40:48] <Mare-Do-Well> 6Ditzy makes a wiggling motion with her wings that goes entirely unseen.
[2015-06-17 15:41:31] * Bookright "Well, we kind of need Parley to interrogate the prisoners... Shatara already disarmed them, but this ship doesn't have a brig."
[2015-06-17 15:41:43] * CopyCat leaves Get_Lost when the patient stabilizes. She approaches Mitzi, looking more than a little skittish. "Um h-hello Mitzi. I'm... um. I'm sorry if I made you angry earlier and... um... Sorry."
[2015-06-17 15:43:28] * Noble_Heart steps up closer to try and figure out who was speaking. She frowned slightly. "We are not a guard. Nor do we belong to the Empire of Roam. We were sent here by a shaman who was serving aboard the Leviathan, using some form of Alchemy. Or perhaps a bound spirit. We are uncertain."
[2015-06-17 15:45:06] * Get_Lost "okay, i'll check on her" opens a radio bridge "hey sweetie, how's the admiral thing going?"
[2015-06-17 15:50:51] <Mare-Do-Well> 6"You speak Equestrian," the voice rasps.  "Good enough for me."  Noble_Heart hears the source of the voice shamble closer.  "Don't suppose you have a light, do you, stranger?"
[2015-06-17 15:51:38] * Noble_Heart sighs quietly. "We would. But Our magic is spent at the moment. It will be some time before We properly recover." She contemplates a little more. "Sadly We did not bring any light sources in Our supplies either." A brief pause. "Who are you?"
[2015-06-17 15:53:32] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Parlay sends Get_Lost pictures of the forest below.  No sign, sadly, of the admiral, alive or dead.  Parlay does send some pictures of the incoming ships.  Most appear to be from The Silos, although there are a few Imperial ships fleeing with a fair lead.
[2015-06-17 15:55:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 6"Won't help," the voice claims.  "The Catacombs are full of Spirits of Emptiness."  There is a grinding cough.  "Gruesome Reminder.  Who are you?"
[2015-06-17 15:56:27] * Noble_Heart sighs quietly. "Noble Heart. From Equestria. Perhaps it is best that We were sent instead of Our friend then. The spirits here might not take well to someone who can actually see them."
[2015-06-17 15:58:04] * Get_Lost "alright dear, come back home, there's a hug waiting for you"
[2015-06-17 15:58:05] * Shatara continues to fly casual
[2015-06-17 15:59:23] <Mare-Do-Well> 3While living, the shaman does not appear likely to wake soon.  Probably more the fault of Noble_Heart's massive stunning attack than actual injuries or the medical attention she had received.
[2015-06-17 16:02:11] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Two Imperial ships fly overhead, moving quickly and apparently oblivious to the stealthy ship.  A third Imperial ship makes it within five hundred yards of the Umbra-class ship's location before being torn apart by explosions from inside the ship.
[2015-06-17 16:03:01] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Now all the ships still approaching appear to be pirate vessels.  And the /Cutlass/ is amongst them, third ship back.
[2015-06-17 16:04:59] * Get_Lost "we should tell them we're here..."
[2015-06-17 16:05:29] * Bookright "You're the radio operator. I think that task falls to you."
[2015-06-17 16:05:32] <Mare-Do-Well> 6"Your friend?  Who can see spirits?"
[2015-06-17 16:05:34] * Get_Lost goes to the radio and opens a channel with the pirates
[2015-06-17 16:05:55] * Shatara nods. "Get on the horn. Tell them we're close by, and friendly, but may be hard to find. And not to shoot if they do find us."
[2015-06-17 16:06:31] * Get_Lost goes for equestrian, being deprived of parlay translation "hello hello? rainbow connection here... we changed ship, do you hear me?"
[2015-06-17 16:08:05] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Get_Lost immediately hears Mwana's voice.  "Get_Lost?  That you?  We've got eyes on the /Rainbow Connection/ ... or what's left of her."  A pause.  "You say you've jumped ships?  To which one?  Where are you?  What colors are you flying?"
[2015-06-17 16:10:17] * Noble_Heart looks around again, trying to get a better feel for who this is she's talking to. "Yes. Our friend, Golden Dream. She's quite talented as well." She sighed quietly. "Our friends will come to save Us. They already know that Miss-" she cut herself off and blinked quietly, "How did you know her name?" They were in a pitch black cavern and the ghoul couldn't speak and had no
[2015-06-17 16:10:17] * Noble_Heart ability to write anything.
[2015-06-17 16:12:41] * Get_Lost "well we jumped on some sort of invisible imperial ship.... we're not very far from you" tells the colors of the ship
[2015-06-17 16:13:59] * Shatara frowns, hoping that wasn't too much information for an open channel. The language barrier would probably obsfucate it some, but...
[2015-06-17 16:14:07] * Golden_Dream starts hoisting cloaks. "I /think/ we got it! Get, what're th' odds we cn' get what's her name awake in th' foreseeable future? What are th' chances we can grill her?" They need to get Noble back. Never again. Never again.
[2015-06-17 16:16:29] * Bookright "I have a stupid question: Do we know how to turn /off/ the invisibility?"
[2015-06-17 16:16:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 6Noble_Heart hears a gruff bark of laughter, followed by more coughing.  "In our business, you know Derpy."  The ghoul next to Noble_Heart remains casually quiet.
[2015-06-17 16:16:50] * Get_Lost "ah, we could have declared war to an empire... i'm not really sure of it..."
[2015-06-17 16:18:10] * Noble_Heart blinks again silently, "What business would that be?" This... Maybe-ghoul had been not forthcoming at all it seemed. Which was slightly worrying, but they didn't seem to be hostile at least. She began contemplating what kind of contacts Derpy might have. From now, and from before the war. And why they would be here of all places.
[2015-06-17 16:18:26] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mwana hehs.  "Empire's already declared war on us.  Today, we gave it a hell of a bloody snout.  Did you see what happened to the Leviathan?  Just yes or no."
[2015-06-17 16:19:48] * Golden_Dream blink blinks. "... No. No, we don't."
[2015-06-17 16:20:04] * Golden_Dream said to Bookright.
[2015-06-17 16:20:18] <Mare-Do-Well> 6The voice counters, "What business are you in?  Why are you here?  And... who sent you?"
[2015-06-17 16:20:58] * Get_Lost "it went some sort of... i don't know...it made the sound of a toiled being flushed... only backwards"
[2015-06-17 16:21:24] <Get_Lost> so... yes
[2015-06-17 16:23:59] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The forward-most pirate ship flies past the /Eclipsis/.
[2015-06-17 16:24:38] * Noble_Heart contemplates that briefly. Then sighs quietly and lowers her voice slightly. "We have been hired by a caravan company to retrieve a very dangerous item, a balefire bomb, out of belief that it would be used to create an area of Equestria safe for ghoul habitation." She paused briefly, then scuffed a forehoof before continuing. "Or so it is that We have told Our friends. The
[2015-06-17 16:24:38] * Noble_Heart truth is that We were sent by the Followers of the Apocalypse, on order of Miss Fluttershy under suspicions that the Crimson Caravan company was planning a dangerous, perhaps foolhardy or even self-destructive effort to retrieve such a dangerous object from Zebra lands. Our job was to accompany those sent here to ensure the safety and preservation of Equestrian health and welfare."
[2015-06-17 16:24:38] * Noble_Heart She sounds more... Ashamed of admitting it somehow than she probably should be.
[2015-06-17 16:24:52] * Golden_Dream calls out. "Tell who's on th' radio that we're starboard side of th' forward most airship."
[2015-06-17 16:25:30] * Get_Lost becomes relay radio mare, tellinf to stripey pones whatever the others say her to tell
[2015-06-17 16:27:32] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Over the radio, Mwana then says, "If you can stay hidden, I think you should do so.  But you'll need to send a few of you ponies over.  The other captains are going to want to know what happened..."  He stops, apparently stepping away from the radio a few moments.  During the silence, the /Cutless/ and two other ships pass by.
[2015-06-17 16:29:00] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mwana returns, saying, "Soon as they stop arguing over whose ship to gather on, that is."
[2015-06-17 16:29:07] * Bookright "Uh, not sure how to use this... Uh. The /Cutlass/ just flew past us. This concealment technology is really good."
[2015-06-17 16:29:54] <Mare-Do-Well> 6There is a long silence.
[2015-06-17 16:30:02] <Mare-Do-Well> 6Then a fit of laughter.
[2015-06-17 16:33:10] * Noble_Heart stands by quietly with her head low and silent for the time being, waiting to see what this strange one would finally say.
[2015-06-17 16:33:15] <Mare-Do-Well> 6"Well, Noble_Heart of the Followers of the Apocalypse...." the voice chortles raspily.  "I'm Gruesome Reminder... of the Water Merchants.  We came here to get a balefire bomb and bring it back to Stalliongrad before your lot could."
[2015-06-17 16:34:33] * Noble_Heart chuckles quietly at that relevation. "That is surprising. It seems that your expedition did not go well then?"
[2015-06-17 16:38:27] <Mare-Do-Well> 6"You think we'd let Scarlet have that sweet commission?  All that would do is stave off Crimsons' inevitable collapse.  Bad enough having one rival company.  Don't need two."  Another cough.  Ditzy Doo holds up her Element, flipping through the screens until she brings up a face of a Stable pony sticking out her tongue.  She holds it up.
[2015-06-17 16:38:39] <Mare-Do-Well> 6"'Course the zebras had to have other ideas."
[2015-06-17 16:40:10] * Noble_Heart looks around. "SO it would seem. We met a shaman aboard the Leviathan who banished Us here somehow. Our friends already know that Miss Doo is here. So it is doubtless that they will come. Though perhaps not looking for Us." She paused briefly then tapped a hoof. "How long have you been here?"
[2015-06-17 16:42:09] <Mare-Do-Well> 6"We heard the Crimson's Caravans took the north route, over Shattered Hoof Ridge.  So we took the west route, across the ocean.  We got here /weeks/ ago."
[2015-06-17 16:47:19] <Mare-Do-Well> 6For the longest time, the pervading odor that Noble_Heart could discern was that of the ghoul beside her.  The dry, dead smell of the Catacombs themselves slowly crept in as they walked.
[2015-06-17 16:47:28] * Golden_Dream loads her crossbow. When the /Cutlass/ passes by, she attempts to find a good grappling point, then a good moment to swing out.
[2015-06-17 16:48:35] <Mare-Do-Well> 6 And shortly after Gruesome Reminder made himself known, Noble_Heart has been catching the pungent reek that comes from weeks without washing, as well as more unpleasant smells -- the stale smells of aging feces and urine and sickness.
[2015-06-17 16:48:48] <Mare-Do-Well> 6But there's something else as well.  Something from further into the Catacombs ahead... something much less pleasant, and reminiscent of a raider den or a slaughterhouse.
[2015-06-17 16:49:31] * Noble_Heart lets out a quiet 'hm'. "Well, your sources were correct. We did indeed travel over the mountains and down through the valley to get here." She paused briefly and snorted. "What is it that is further down this corridor..? You've been here for weeks-" she cut herself off again and thought aloud, "what have you been eating?"
[2015-06-17 16:55:59] <Mare-Do-Well> 6"Well, funny you should ask.  They don't feed us down here.  More like 'dump and forget'.  The damned vault zebras sent half the caravan down here.  Just me now.  And the rotting ghoul."  Gruesome Reminder chuckles again.  "You're the first food I've seen in days."
[2015-06-17 16:56:18] <Mare-Do-Well> 6"For, you know, limited qualities of the word 'seen'."
[2015-06-17 17:01:29] <Mare-Do-Well> 6--- End of Session ---