Fallout: Beyond Equestria, 84: Origin Story (Part 1)

[2014-04-30 13:57:32] <Little_Gloom> 3After the disappearance of Sleipnir, the group split up to cover more ground as they scavenged Tragedy's End, moving quickly to minimize radiation exposure.
[2014-04-30 14:02:54] <Little_Gloom> 3Get_Lost and Shatara go for the military base, pulling what they can from the turrets first.  They find forty (40) MFCs and thirty-two (32) energy cells between the eight turrets.  In addition, Get_Lost is able to pull sensor modules from all eight.
[2014-04-30 14:03:11] <Little_Gloom> 3Shatara dives into the innards of the tank.  The rust in here is not quite as bad, although the air smells stale and coppery.  The rifle inside -- a long-barreled lever-action rifle with an extended magazine and a bayonet -- is in considerably better condition, having been shielded from the elements by the tank itself.
[2014-04-30 14:05:53] <Little_Gloom> 3There are six shells still in the tank, and a military helmet (blue, with a silver moon painted on it).  With a proper schematics, Get_Lost knows she can rig up a sensor module to a shell, creating a proximity-triggered IED roughly equivalent to a bottlecap mine.
[2014-04-30 14:12:31] <Little_Gloom> 3Additionally, they are able to strip some the bomber for replacement parts for the firewagon (equivalent to a "firewagon repair kit").  They are also able to bits of functional vehicular armor from the firewagon.  (Installing that will give the firewagon +4 armor, and the armor allows the firewagon to ignore the Armor Piercing (Light) quality on weapons.)
[2014-04-30 14:14:47] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream further explores the Wonderglue factory, gaining as much Wonderglue as she desires to carry.
[2014-04-30 14:17:19] <Little_Gloom> 3Also, she finds sixteen bottles worth of turpentine.  There are a few weapons, but they are all beyond repair.  The terminals in this place haven't been functional for centuries.  It looks like the most valuable items to be found here -- namely Blood -- were found promptly.  Although she could probably make a small fortune selling all these bonesaws...
[2014-04-30 14:22:48] <Little_Gloom> 3Moving to the Good Pony Canning Factory, Golden Dream finds that the factory canned preserves.  All manner of preserves from the orchard out back.  Giant vats of syrupy liquid have leaked all over the floor, the syrup hardening into a tacky floor with an icing of stuck dust.  Storage rooms are filled with empty cans and jars.
[2014-04-30 14:37:24] * CopyCat sings a little song to herself while she follows Golden_Dream. "~Princess caught me drinkin' devil's brew, she said it's not advised but it's up to you~ to drink the devil's brew~ the devil's brew~"
[2014-04-30 14:38:16] * Bookwright "I could go for some devil's brew right now... been dry for months."
[2014-04-30 14:38:48] * Get_Kitty helpa shatara scavenging all the stuff, also, makes him do it fast like an old bootcamp sarge!
[2014-04-30 14:38:48] <Little_Gloom> 3This place is highly radioactive, and Golden_Dream doesn't linger too long.  Considering the food shortage that Tragedy's End was facing, and the journey the remaining population was preparing to take, it does not surprise Golden_Dream to find the Sparkle~Cola and Sunrise Sarsaparilla machines in the cannery break room empty of beverages and bits.
[2014-04-30 14:39:29] * Shatara whines at Get_Kitty, wanting to look at every cool thing.
[2014-04-30 14:40:07] * Bookwright kicks a stone. "OW! Chipped my hoof... dangit."
[2014-04-30 14:40:16] * Get_Kitty "double time! i want those ammo packed ten minutes ago! stop whining or i'll give you a reason for whining!"
[2014-04-30 14:41:32] <Little_Gloom> 3However, one of the loading wagons has several crates of preserves that have never been opened.  The preserves are irradiated, but not moreso than used to be common in the Equestria Wasteland before the Gardens purged everything.  Golden_Dream is able to find enough food to last the entire group eleven days.  Double that if they eat sparingly.
[2014-04-30 14:43:45] * Golden_Dream grabs the crate. She licks her lips. She wasn't looking forward to drinking one of those weird rad-away potions, but she was looking forward to being able to tell ponies she did so.
[2014-04-30 14:56:34] <Little_Gloom> 3On her way back through the Good Pony canning factory, Golden Dream pokes her head into what she would guess was the foreman's office.  Sadly, it was in both looted and in bad shape.  She does find a single shotgun shell in a drawer, as well as a bag of potato chips.  "Sea Salt and Lima Beans" was apparently a "limited time only" flavor courtesy of Good Pony.
[2014-04-30 15:01:32] * Golden_Dream scrunchyfaces and takes the shell and takes the bag of chips. She wasn't going to argue. She wasn't going to turn her nose up on food. She'd learned a long time ago not to be picky lest you want to starve because mom and dad really worked very hard to get that food and there's not very much of it there.
[2014-04-30 15:16:03] <Little_Gloom> 3Bookwright's foray into the Lunar Army military office is guided by his spell, ensuring he finds items of knowledge (an bypasses nearly everything else -- although he cannot help but notice the partially-scavenged spider-bot collapsed in one corner).  His spell leads him first to a table with a large map filled with markings and labeled "The Divide
[2014-04-30 15:16:21] <Little_Gloom> 3... labeled "The Divide".
[2014-04-30 15:17:38] * Bookwright tosses it in his bag to peruse later.
[2014-04-30 15:18:27] * Bookwright scratch that
[2014-04-30 15:20:41] <Little_Gloom> 3The Divide, clearly, is the dozen-mile stretch of isthmus connecting this continent and the next.  On each end is a village, Tragedy's End and Mwanzo Mpya.  There are notations on mined areas and robot sentry patrols.
[2014-04-30 15:24:34] <Little_Gloom> 3The next document he finds is framed on the wall: the Tragedy's End Treaty.  From the document and its signatures, Tragedy's End and Mwanzo Mpya had declaired a truce with each other, despite the state of their parent nations, three years before the apocalypse brought the war to an abrupt end.
[2014-04-30 15:31:30] * Bookwright smiles sadly. "An example of 'peace in our time' if I ever saw one. This is a very valuable historical document. Too bad it didn't do any good."
[2014-04-30 15:36:37] <Little_Gloom> 3In addition, he finds book (Equestrian Army Today) and a magazine (The Adventures of Mare-Do-Well).  Finally, his spell leads him to an unusual safe made of thick, armored glass that has purpled with age.  Inside, he can barely make out books -- over a dozen of them -- kept in a specially-sealed environment.
[2014-04-30 15:38:49] * Bookwright "Oh man... Books! I love books! <Copycat, can you please send Get Lost in here? There's a safe here I don't think I'm skilled enough to open.>"
[2014-04-30 15:39:23] * CopyCat finds Get_Kitty and guides her to Bookwright's location!
[2014-04-30 15:41:08] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart's trip into the New Futures building is by necessity swift, the radiation in many areas of that building quickly pushing how much she is willing to absorb before she starts becoming a danger to her friends.
[2014-04-30 15:49:54] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart's search is largely for naught... but she does find a locked saddle-case leaning against a desk on an upper floor room whose giant window looks out over the vault... or would if massive metal shudders weren't covering the view.
[2014-04-30 15:50:02] * Get_Kitty studies the glass thingy for now
[2014-04-30 15:50:18] * Bookwright eagerly awaits Get_Kitty's diagnosis
[2014-04-30 15:50:53] * Noble_Heart frowns, levitating the container to take with her. It didn't seem there was much more she'd find here, sadly. But it was something, perhaps.
[2014-04-30 15:52:17] <Little_Gloom> 3Looking over the safe that Bookwright found, Get_Lost quickly determines two things: first, that the safe is designed to keep the books in pristine, mint condition... the kind of care that only a serious collector (or extremely rich mega-nerd) would go to.   Second, the lock is actually booby-trapped!
[2014-04-30 15:52:43] * Bookwright is totally a mega-nerd.
[2014-04-30 15:53:33] * Get_Kitty "i think that this thing will explode"
[2014-04-30 15:53:52] * Get_Kitty "if we're not really careful..."
[2014-04-30 15:54:32] * Get_Kitty picks her pickaxe "ALRIGHT LET'S DO THIS!"
[2014-04-30 15:54:50] * Bookwright "Um. What? Wait, it's booby trapped? Can you open it, er, safe-ly?"
[2014-04-30 15:54:57] * CopyCat claps her hooves. "Go get 'em Get_Kitty!"
[2014-04-30 15:55:49] * Get_Kitty "I HAVE NO IDEA BUT I LIKE A LOST CAUSE!"
[2014-04-30 15:56:20] * Bookwright pleads, "Please please please don't set off the booby trap!"
[2014-04-30 16:02:23] * CopyCat ponders. "Hmm, who would booby trap a book?"
[2014-04-30 16:03:50] * Golden_Dream hefts that case of preserves. "What're you talkin' about, Copycat?"
[2014-04-30 16:04:40] * Shatara pokes aroundthe base some, looking for cool army things.
[2014-04-30 16:04:47] * CopyCat blinks. "Oh sorry! I thought I was with Get Lost and Bookie for a moment."
[2014-04-30 16:07:00] * Golden_Dream gives Copycat a little frown at that. "Sometimes I really worry about you bein' all connected with everypony an' all."
[2014-04-30 16:07:39] * Bookwright begins to whistle. In his mind.
[2014-04-30 16:08:04] * Bookwright imagines pictures of pretty flowers. Some of them are shaped like books.
[2014-04-30 16:09:26] * CopyCat smiles cheerfully. "Sometimes I worry about me too."
[2014-04-30 16:11:16] <Little_Gloom> 3Shatara pokes around until she finds a room filled with radio and communications equipment.  Most of it is fried, but there is a box with lights on doing... something.
[2014-04-30 16:11:24] * Bookwright the pretty flowers begin to morph into pretty posteriors. Bookwright blushes and begins to think of rubber baby buggy bumpers.
[2014-04-30 16:11:36] * Get_Kitty starts working on the thing, slowly and silently "oh no..."
[2014-04-30 16:11:49] * Shatara investigates beeping and blinking and flashing
[2014-04-30 16:11:59] <Get_Kitty> "i think i disarmed it but i broke a pin...."
[2014-04-30 16:12:45] * Noble_Heart makes her way back to the fire truck to set the saddle box down beside it. She'd need someone else's expertise to get it open, almost certainly.
[2014-04-30 16:14:02] * Get_Kitty trying again, the science mare beats the lock "okay, it's done, but i'd be cautious when you open it, they could deteriorate quickly once in the open air"
[2014-04-30 16:14:13] * Get_Kitty leaves the boooks to bookie
[2014-04-30 16:14:23] * Bookwright "Thank you thank you thank you!"
[2014-04-30 16:14:32] <Little_Gloom> 3Shatara can't tell what the device does, beyond that it obviously has something to do with the base's communications setup... and that it was heavily shielded, enough to protect it from the megaspell pulse that wiped out most of the electronics in Tragedy's End.
[2014-04-30 16:14:45] * Bookwright carefully extracts the books, trying his best not to damage them.
[2014-04-30 16:15:41] * Shatara ponders. It would make sense for critical spell matricies to be sheilded from disruption.
[2014-04-30 16:17:17] <Little_Gloom> 3With a click, Get_Lost opens the odd safe.  She steps back, allowing Bookwright to open it.  The moment the safe door is cracked open, Get_Lost and Golden_Dream start receiving alerts on their PipBucks.
[2014-04-30 16:17:46] <Little_Gloom> 3Bookwright finds himself staring at a mint condition complete collection of Daring Do Adventures.
[2014-04-30 16:17:56] * Golden_Dream looks at her leg, first instinct telling her that there's a bomb on her leg.
[2014-04-30 16:17:59] * Bookwright "YESSSSS!"
[2014-04-30 16:18:28] <Little_Gloom> 3Fallout: Beyond Equestria, Session Eighty-Three: Origin Story (Part One) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SSUQxGjZZ4
[2014-04-30 16:18:33] <Little_Gloom> 3--- Session Begins ---
[2014-04-30 16:18:33] * Get_Kitty "bookie get away NOW"
[2014-04-30 16:19:30] * Bookwright ignores Get_Kitty. Instead, he snatches the first book off the top of the pile and carefully opens it.
[2014-04-30 16:24:55] <Little_Gloom> 3A split-second later, both Golden_Dream's and Get_Lost's E.F.S. start flashing notifications.  >> DDA Special Collection Volume I found !613#1457# << ... >> DDA Special Collection Volume X found !753#2417# << ... >> DDA Special Collection Volume IV found !698#8220# << ...
[2014-04-30 16:25:57] * Get_Kitty frowns "what the.... false alarm"
[2014-04-30 16:26:37] * Golden_Dream blinks. What the hell? "... Hey, Copycat, while we're talkin' about yer worryin' connection t' other folks, where are th' others?"
[2014-04-30 16:27:11] <Little_Gloom> 3An alert for each book in the safe... it takes Get_Lost but a moment to realize what is happening.  The books are tagged, each of them separately.  There appears to be something additional built into the tags, generating garbage numbers at the end of the alerts and likely responsible for the odd delay in the E.F.S.
[2014-04-30 16:27:49] * Bookwright 's eyes widen. "This is incredible. I've read some of these... old, tattered copies. Apparently it was an extremely popular adventure series. I think this might be one of the only complete collections still in existence. And in mint condition too! We have to bring these back with us. C'mon Get Lost, help me carry these back to the firewagon. And please please please don't damage any of them!"
[2014-04-30 16:28:35] * Noble_Heart stood by the fire wagon, helping to load what the others had found onto it.
[2014-04-30 16:29:23] * Get_Kitty is not convinced at all, turns out the external feed and starts working on the data she just recieved, looking for some sort of logic in the numbers she got, analyzes the tags and compares them
[2014-04-30 16:30:40] * Get_Kitty "mh yeah bookie, sure..." doesn't move, is probably not listening
[2014-04-30 16:30:40] * CopyCat looks down at Golden_Dream. "Either Get Lost is giving Bookwright the night of his life, or they've found some very rare books. Either way Bookwright is very happy."
[2014-04-30 16:31:44] * Golden_Dream scrunches her face. "Either way, tell him t' get his flank over to the wagon so we can get outta this radioactive place. Th' clickin's getting annoyin'."
[2014-04-30 16:32:57] * Bookwright walks carefully back to the firewagon, holding a single book aloft. He returns to the safe, and comes back with another. This might take a while.
[2014-04-30 16:33:56] * Get_Kitty sits on her cutiemark, her visor turned into a desktop, working in her own world at the speed ot thought
[2014-04-30 16:34:34] * Get_Kitty since pones, it's not a rerally fast speed... make it 56k
[2014-04-30 16:35:00] <Little_Gloom> 3With Solaris-level careful examination, Get_Lost is able to estimate that the gibberish strings are related to coordinates, but encrypted or scrambled.
[2014-04-30 16:35:07] * Noble_Heart blinked in some confusion at Bookwright's triumphant find. "Books? That is not such a surprise, really..."
[2014-04-30 16:36:59] * Get_Kitty goes back to the mortal world and reaches the others
[2014-04-30 16:37:49] * Get_Kitty "i think that all those tags attache to the books are used as a code. if they get close enough to the receiving ennd of it, they'll trigger something."
[2014-04-30 16:39:00] * Get_Kitty "also, probably, simply opening the box activated whatever was meant to be activated if it was in this base...."
[2014-04-30 16:39:10] * Bookwright returns with another book, places it gently on the firewagon, and goes back inside.
[2014-04-30 16:39:27] * Get_Kitty "bookie, are you listening to me?"
[2014-04-30 16:40:02] * CopyCat trota along with Bookwright and gives him a pat. "I'll lend you a hoof. The sooner we're done the sooner we can leave this radioactive death palace."
[2014-04-30 16:40:27] * Get_Kitty "i love palaces!"
[2014-04-30 16:40:41] <Little_Gloom> 3Shatara suspects that a fair amount of military-grade scrap electronics could be salvaged from this room, but it might be worth having Get_Lost or Noble_Heart take a second look.
[2014-04-30 16:41:42] * Shatara braenmessages CopyCat. <Uh...can I has a blinky-light-pone?>
[2014-04-30 16:42:42] * Get_Kitty is a bit confused "if he's asking for a quickie, he's quite cryptic.... ask him if he wants sex of a candle please"
[2014-04-30 16:43:57] * CopyCat message-thinks at Get_Kitty and Noble_Heart. <Shatara wants some sciencey help. Or some company. Go pet the catbird!>
[2014-04-30 16:44:47] * Noble_Heart blinks at that, frowning slightly. "Well, that is something which can be helped, in either case." She spread her wings and moved off to find Shatara and help with... Whatever needed helping with.
[2014-04-30 16:44:48] * Get_Kitty "noble, your turn"
[2014-04-30 16:45:21] * Get_Kitty in the meantime, tries opening the saddle box
[2014-04-30 16:47:27] * Bookwright comes back to the firewagon with another book. Placing it delicately next to the others, he returns to the safe.
[2014-04-30 16:49:08] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart arrives in the communications room to find her griffin friend there.
[2014-04-30 16:49:19] * CopyCat magic-picks up all the books she can carry!
[2014-04-30 16:49:34] * Bookwright "Beeee carefullllllll!"
[2014-04-30 16:50:13] * Shatara wingwaves to Noble_Heart. "The lights here are beeping and blinking and flashing and blinking and beeping..."
[2014-04-30 16:50:52] * Noble_Heart blinks in a bit of surprise, frowning as she takes a look around the communications room. Taking a moment to investigate the machinery. "It is quite an elaborate set-up here."
[2014-04-30 16:51:28] * Shatara shrugs. "It is a crucial military installation..."
[2014-04-30 16:57:45] * Get_Kitty is trying to open the box found by Noble_Heart
[2014-04-30 16:58:20] * Bookwright "Thank you for all the help, CopyCat."
[2014-04-30 16:58:29] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart is able to guide Shatara in scavenging four military-grade scrap electronics.  Further examination of the still functioning box leads Noble_Heart to believe that it is likely connected to Final Echo Numbers Station.
[2014-04-30 16:59:20] * Noble_Heart taps her chin. "It would seem this is where the Final Echo Numbers Station gets its messages... But there has been no living pony here to change the message in many years." She frowns at that. "Something strange is going on."
[2014-04-30 16:59:47] * CopyCat smiles. "No problem Bookwright! We really should leave though, before my healthy glow becomes too bright to look at."
[2014-04-30 17:02:00] * Shatara sits on his haunches. "Final Echo..." He thinks of the gryphoness who had uploaded her brain to it. "Brain uploading seems kinda strange..."
[2014-04-30 17:03:30] * Noble_Heart frowns and nods her head. "We wonder what implication it has to the soul of the one who is uploading. And what a mind without a soul might be like..." She looks to Shatara, gently placing a wing across the griffin. "Still, there are kind machines built of that technology. Those who now rule the Crystal Kingdom together, and the Sweetie Bot that assists them."
[2014-04-30 17:04:24] * Shatara nods and leans into the alicorn's hug.
[2014-04-30 17:07:16] * Noble_Heart smiles to Shatara. "We should head back to the others. Bookwright might be half finished with the books he found by now!"
[2014-04-30 17:07:43] * Shatara nods.
[2014-04-30 17:09:13] <Little_Gloom> 3Get_Lost unlocks the saddle case that Noble_Heart found, retrieving a Bowie knife, a memory orb and four doses of RadSafe... as well as a "crap badge" -- a badge that changes colors based on radiation exposure -- that has turned completely black.
[2014-04-30 17:10:44] <Little_Gloom> 3The moment Shatara steps out of the communications room, his PipBuck lights up with alerts.  A moment later, a string of notifications flash across his vision.  >> DDA Special Collection Volume X found !753#2417# << ... >> DDA Special Collection Volume II found !633#8111# << ...
[2014-04-30 17:11:46] * Shatara blinks and reels from the sudden influx of notifications. "DDA special collections? Wait, what?"
[2014-04-30 17:12:44] * Noble_Heart tilts her head and looks towards Shatara. "He was bringing out books. Some of the Daring Do series, We believe. Though We were not paying terribly close attention, admittedly."
[2014-04-30 17:13:44] * Bookwright "Yeah. Mint condition special edition, complete collection. Every single Daring Do novel is here, and there's a preface in each one by the author!"
[2014-04-30 17:13:50] * Golden_Dream rolls her eyes before offloading the pre-war food goods. "Y'all ready to leave?" She mentions before starting to play with her pipbuck. Why are these things tagged? Was there a way to remove them? "Copycat, I wish I could just kinda shake off bein' irradiated." She mentioned, smiling faintly. She's trying to lighten the mood, but she looks maybe a bit stressed out.
[2014-04-30 17:13:59] <Little_Gloom> 3Shatara's E.F.S. compass gains over a dozen faint new lights... item markers.
[2014-04-30 17:14:05] * Get_Kitty thinks aloud "hey, mnaybe this has something to do with numbercstation.... the tags attached to the books are something similar to encrypted coordinates, they should activatre when we're near the place they're pointing telling us we're here... but if we transmit them to that stationc maybe it will give us the proper place on the map, maybe?"
[2014-04-30 17:14:35] * Shatara oooohs. "I just got a bunch of 'cool-stuff-over-here' marks...
[2014-04-30 17:15:00] <Little_Gloom> 3They appear to correspond with the books.
[2014-04-30 17:15:04] * Shatara likes the cool-stuff-over-here marks. Cool-stuff-over-here marks saved his life.
[2014-04-30 17:15:09] * Golden_Dream blinks. "Uh. Right. And next yer gon' tell me th' weird order that they're in is somethin'."
[2014-04-30 17:16:06] * Get_Kitty "i'm working on it..."
[2014-04-30 17:19:03] * Golden_Dream looks up at Copycat before shrugging. "Hey, what's doin' magic feel like? I ain't never really got the chance to ask somepony."
[2014-04-30 17:19:48] * Get_Kitty "uhm... if we're done here, i'd say we move before radiation kills us..."
[2014-04-30 17:20:45] * CopyCat rubs her chin. "It feels tingly."
[2014-04-30 17:21:56] * Bookwright "Yes, I think we should go."
[2014-04-30 17:23:15] * Golden_Dream gets on the fire wagon. "Sounds cool." She gets on the wagon, adjusting for comfort. She wasn't taking her suit off until the radiation counter stopped clicking. "Hey, somepony pass me one of them rad-killin' potions.z'
[2014-04-30 17:25:15] * CopyCat approaches the firewagon and wriggles into the harness.
[2014-04-30 17:27:39] * Noble_Heart gets herself strapped in carefully. Readying herself to carry her friends away. "It seems strange to encode important information in fiction books. Whatever it was must have been important enough to hide carefully. In a way that only those using Stable-Tec technology could find..."
[2014-04-30 17:28:55] * Golden_Dream shrugs. "I 'unno. We have no idea where t' go with it. Where would we begin t' even find out what does what?"
[2014-04-30 17:29:25] * Shatara shrugs. "towards the cool-stuff-over-here marks?"
[2014-04-30 17:44:20] <Little_Gloom> 3(The cool stuff marks are apparently pointing at Bookwright's new collection of books... a separate marker for each.)
[2014-04-30 17:46:00] * Noble_Heart chuckles slightly. "We could each take a book, then those with PipBucks could easily find us again."
[2014-04-30 17:46:18] * Bookwright "NO!"
[2014-04-30 17:46:52] * Shatara chuckles at this plan, then pokerfaces at Bookwright's enthusiastic rejection of the idea.
[2014-04-30 17:48:13] * Bookwright "You could damage them! I must say no!"
[2014-04-30 17:48:28] * Bookwright "And besides, I think you have to have them all together for the cypher to break."
[2014-04-30 17:51:46] * Golden_Dream raises her eyebrow. "Why do ya'll think that it's a code thing?" She asks, removing her helmet whenever they were a safe distance away. "Could just be somepony way back when really wanted t' make sure nopony stole their stuff."
[2014-04-30 17:52:38] <Little_Gloom> 3In minutes, the group of friends from Crimson's Caravans take off into the air.  CopyCat and Noble_Heart guide them high over the wall, allowing them to see The Divide -- a sparsely forested stretch of land with the last of the foothills bleeding off towards expanses of blue visible both to the east and the west... the oceans.
[2014-04-30 17:56:15] <Little_Gloom> 3For most travelers, the Divide below would be a deathtrap -- a no-pony's (or zebra's) land filled with burried mines left by both sides, monsters and a few particularly hardy and crazed robots.  But thanks to their winged companions (and the firewagon), the group is able to cross the area in under an hour.
[2014-04-30 17:56:24] * Golden_Dream looks out from above. "Any of ya'll figure out where t' go from here?" She muttered, slipping on her old gear and sucking on one of the stashed away Rad-Away potions. Blegh. That one tasted like how bad elderberries smell mixed with something from under a sink.
[2014-04-30 17:57:23] * Bookwright "Well, there's the village of Mwanzo Em-somethingorother on the other end of the isthmus from Tragedy's End."
[2014-04-30 17:57:36] * Noble_Heart looks down at the passing forest. "To be honest, We are not certain anyone knows." She frowned a little bit at that. "But the first town would probably be a good place to stop."
[2014-04-30 17:58:11] * Golden_Dream narrows her eyes. "Wait, there's a town nearby? How d'ya know that?"
[2014-04-30 17:59:37] * Bookwright "I saw a map. Emwanzo-whatever and Tragedy's End had some kind of truce."
[2014-04-30 17:59:54] * Bookwright "Also I saw their truce document. Signed three years before the end."
[2014-04-30 18:01:04] * Golden_Dream thinks for a moment. "So, if there's an old-world town, there's gotta be a trail or a road, right?"
[2014-04-30 18:01:31] <Little_Gloom> 3Southward, the forest thickens.  Dark and jagged mountains rise forebodingly in the distance.  In front of them, a similarly massive wall ends the divide, this one apparently made of stalks of bamboo thicker around than the body of a pony.
[2014-04-30 18:01:50] * Bookwright "It's on the other side of the isthmus from Tragedy's End. Just fly and we'll find it. In fact, I'll bet that's it now."
[2014-04-30 18:02:27] * Shatara looks down at the curious bamboo wall, in sharp contrast to the concrete one left behind.
[2014-04-30 18:03:33] * Noble_Heart looks down towards the wall. "Zebra bred plants?"
[2014-04-30 18:03:33] * Bookwright ponies the BFG, just in case.
[2014-04-30 18:05:51] * Golden_Dream frowns. "That wall... I guess it's natural, but I don' think that was put there fer' a purpose." She looks around for a trail or paved road. There had to be something when it came to getting through a border.
[2014-04-30 18:06:05] <Little_Gloom> 3The clouds hang low, burdened with water evaporated from the oceans to either side of the isthmus.  They are light grey, not threatening rain yet, but promising it will come soon.  The air is laden with humidity and smells slightly of salt.  The ponies can see that the land that stretches out beyond the isthmus sinks into a tropical jungle basin.
[2014-04-30 18:07:17] * Bookwright "We're definitely in zebra lands now."
[2014-04-30 18:07:47] <Little_Gloom> 3This place, they can glean, gets a LOT of rain, the mountain ranges north and south creating a natural trap for the weather.   From their altitude, they can see the village beyond, complete with its own military outpost, including a tracked military vehicle bearing rockets.
[2014-04-30 18:08:06] <Little_Gloom> 3(beyond the wall)
[2014-04-30 18:08:43] * Shatara ooohs at the strange stripeypone military equipment. Had only seen the barest glimpses in stock photos in history books.
[2014-04-30 18:10:47] <Little_Gloom> 3A figure swoops up into the air to fly alongside them.  "Hey, you guys okay?" the friendly ghost asks, "You took forever."
[2014-04-30 18:11:07] * CopyCat peers at the military vehicle in the distance. "Noble_Heart, you don't suppose that thing is there for the express purpose of blowing ponies out of the sky, do you?"
[2014-04-30 18:11:37] * Shatara frowns. "Th-that would be a logical purpose for such missiles..."
[2014-04-30 18:11:47] * Noble_Heart looks down towards the vehicle and nods her head. "We would imagine that once upon a time that was the purpose it served. They must have had some defense against the attacks of pegasi, after all."
[2014-04-30 18:12:13] * Golden_Dream frowns. "I think that's th' place where th' element must'a fell. We gotta get underneath somethin' before it storms." She frowns. "... We wanna chance headin' there?" She asked, pointing out the outpost. "They're civilized. Somethin' this close t' a town that weren't wouldn't have those rockets still in th' thing." She looked down. "If we're headin' down, we best keep our heads down." They...
[2014-04-30 18:12:15] * Golden_Dream ...were in the Zebra Lands now. She didn't quite know how to feel about that yet, so she went with not feeling anything at all. "Oh! Hey, yeah. We were lootin' that one place, RD. We found a heap of supplies, met with th' first reaper, Sleipnir. Nice lady once y' get t' talk t' her. And we found a couple of scrap, and some comic books that everypony's all worked up about."
[2014-04-30 18:12:21] * Noble_Heart points out after a moment, "But Miss Doo and her caravan have traveled this way, to Our understanding, many times without significant difficulty."
[2014-04-30 18:12:52] * Golden_Dream shrugs. "Could just'a been keen enough t' avoid th' place."
[2014-04-30 18:12:53] <Little_Gloom> 3"That thing?  Naw," Mare-Do-Well concludes, "It's much bigger than it looks from up here.  That's was probably meant to take out Tragedy's End if the truce went sideways."
[2014-04-30 18:14:18] <Little_Gloom> 3Mare-Do-Well blinks.  "The... first reaper?"  Then, "Seriously?"
[2014-04-30 18:14:42] * CopyCat flicks her ears at the reply that Golden_Dream hears. "Ohh, it's for blowing up settlements. I'm glad we're not a settlement."
[2014-04-30 18:15:48] * Golden_Dream seems shocked to hear that. Oh, Celestia. They were there. They could've died. Rationality briefly went out the window, before it returned when motivation became an issue. "Yeah. I wouldn't go there yerself. Has somethin' against ghosts." She frowned. Serious time. "Rainbow Dash? You know anypony by th' name o' Xero?"
[2014-04-30 18:16:35] <Little_Gloom> 3Mare-Do-Well comments, more to herself than those she flies with, "Never really wanted to come back around /here/ again... but then, taking a look at Equestria, I don't think anyplace that's anyplace wouldn't remind me of my mistakes."
[2014-04-30 18:17:19] <Little_Gloom> 3Mare-Do-Well then looks to Golden_Dream.  "I...  don't think so?"  Then, "Maybe.  Something sounds familiar about it."
[2014-04-30 18:18:58] * Golden_Dream groaned a little. "Alright. You tell me when it comes back t' you, alright?" She looks down. "Hey, you said yer' real good at doin' recon stuff, right? If you were t' look for somethin' that got lost in that there forest, where would ya'll start?"
[2014-04-30 18:20:05] * Bookwright "Hey, um, Rainbow? Do you know anything about the 'Daring Do' series of adventure novels?"
[2014-04-30 18:20:29] <Little_Gloom> 3Mare-Do-Well considers, then begins pointing to spots all over the jungle.  "Probably around one of the ruins."
[2014-04-30 18:21:20] * Bookwright "I mean, it's kind of a shot in the dark that you might be able to help me, but... you were around for the existence... maybe you can shed some light on their history?"
[2014-04-30 18:23:06] <Little_Gloom> 3Mare-Do-Well looks to Bookwright in surprise.  Then nods.  "More than you can imagine."  She swoops forward ahead of everyone, then turns around, flying backwards.  "Welcome to the zebra lands.  First stop, the Tenochtitlan Basin."
[2014-04-30 18:23:13] <Little_Gloom> 3--- End of Session ---