Title: FOE PnP Group2 Ep5 Author: Tosxychor Pastebin link: http://pastebin.com/ApxipvD1 First Edit: Sunday 12th of February 2012 02:28:51 PM CDT Last Edit: Sunday 12th of February 2012 02:28:51 PM CDT [Begin Group 2 Session 5] Barometer sets the trap and moves back into the cave, far enough away from the entrance to not be affected by the flashbang, but also close enough to come running. Corrigan takes up position in a tree near the entrance, watching for any sign of approaching enemies. Banjo sleeps soundly in the back of the cave, trying to rejuvinate from his many utterly inexplicable injuries earlier in the day. Ember takes up position across from Serotin at the entrance, waiting huddled for the flashbang to go off, ready to jump the enemy and keep it from escaping. Serotin metaphorically stands at his new master's side, watching the other side of the cave, waiting for the flashbang to go off. Othelo lies asleep in the cave, trying to be watchful but her filly endurance not holding out long enough. All of them await the arrival of a single stranger, a mysterious presence that haunts their camp at night but leaves no other sign of its presence than a trail of glowing hoofprints. (FIRST ROLLS.  I want Barometer, Corrigan, and Serotin to do END rolls, no modifier.  Banjo, Othelo, roll PER, no modifier) (Congratulations, you all succeeded.  Now, every single one of you, roll PER checks at a penalty of 2.) The group both outside and inside the spacious cave hold watch long into the night.  Serotin's PipBuck chimes out the midnight tone a few hours into the watch, and life goes on.  Everything is deathly silent outside the cave, and inside the cave is tense and jittery.  The hour is late, and it becomes less and less likely for their intruder to show himself every passing minute. The sun breaks through the cave entrance, beams streaming inside.  Corrigan stirs from his perch, Serotin leaves his alcove, Barometer shakes herself out of a momentary fixation on a single point on the wall, and Banjo rises to meet the morning. Very quickly, however, the group realizes something immediately unsettling and worrisome: Ember is gone. In her place are an unbroken set of brightly glowing green hoofprints, stitching their way through the snow, and into the cave.  They bypass the trip wire completely, as if the intruder knew exactly where the grenades were.  Again, nothing in the camp is missing, but the tracks lead straight into the very back of the cave and back out again. The spritebot is off, again, his switch tripped remotely.  The hoofprints don't approach anywhere near the deactivated spritebot. "Ember! EMBER!? Oh... please let Ember be alright... this is my fault, I... I don't know how whatever-it-is got her...." Serotin's pipbuck clicks very slowly, even less than a single rad/second. "I should have stopped it..." "I... I don't know, I hardly know how this thing works in the first place!" However, more pressing matters avail themselves than Ember's departure.  Despite the less than one rad/sec counter, the total radiation counter is well over 200, creeping toward 300.  About this time, the entire group feels pangs of nausea. "Stupid... stupid..." Serotin says, kicking against the wall of the cave. (just gonna deal with the radiation sickness, dude?  You has it) Everypony here except Corrigan (and now Othelo and Barometer) is now suffereing from minor rad sickness. "Guys... I... I don't feel so good... oohhhhh..." "I... guys... really, I..." Othelo's words are somewhat pointless, as not thirty meters from the cave entrance, the tracks vanish without a trace.  Looking back at them, the tracks *start* there, move into the cave, and then vanish at the mouth of the cave leading out.' "Radawhat?" "What does... hurgh-" From his hollering, Banjo has obviously noticed something amiss about the dawn arriving.  Perhaps the others of the group might have noticed such a discrepancy as well? "I'm... not used to the surface, but should the sun be out right now?" Othelo determines no more than Banjo did.  The tracks appear without a trace thirty meters from the cave, enter the cave, and disappear almost immediately upon exiting. The spritebot spits out a dutiful reply that the current time is 09:26 Equestrian Mountain Time. "Othelo... hurgh, still not quite right in the stomach... might we try that memory checky thing again... ?" "Doesn't mean he didn't see anything... but maybe... it's not his memories that we should be worrying about..." "Guh, alright... around... I don't know, midnight? It was still dark..." "Does anypony know when... the sun came out?" with a spark, but *without* protest from the little spritebot, Barometer retrieves a little tiny gem, about the size of a pony's tooth: the memory module.  They didn't really have the equipment to take a look at what was inside.... before Serotin came along.  Now they can check with the PipBuck. 10 ErrantIndy left the server. Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client (Although you still have to say that.  I won't take your actions for you) "Huh-hey! Rude!" There's a small receptacle for such modules on the side of the 'buck. A small recording begins to play on the surface of the Pipbuck.  A helpful timestamp on the picture labels it as 0212 EMT.  The spritebot's camera viewpoint hovers lazily in the air, oriented toward the cave entrance.  Barometer can be seen walking past slowly, patrolling almost.  From the bot's vantage point, a small flash, almost imperceptible, is visible outside the cave. (not done yet) Ember is visible in the recording, and makes apparent eye-contact with.... something.  She ducks behind the boulder and huddles her hooves in front of her face, shielding herself from the flashbang that will disable their intruder.  THen the video feed cuts out, no warning, and doesn't resume until 0922 EMT, when the group awoke. (done now) (I need someone to log this.  Well, okay, not need, but reaaaally reaaaaally want) "Did... didn't we already know that, Othelo?" "What... what if it's both?" "I mean... if it were a unicorn, it's tracks wouldn't... they would look like it had to take off..." Serotin: is momentarily struck dumb in front of the grup.  It's as if Banjo saying the word 'memory' broke a previously unknown dam in his thoughts. "Wha-woah..." "I... I saw Ember... and she saw something... but..." 14Othelo> "Saw... what "I don't know..." "But... uh... what's wrong with alicorns? Are-aren't the princesses... alicorns?" (Group 2 session 5, resuming in this channel) 23:09:30: Othelo "Anyone remember where it took Ember?" 23:10:01: Banjo "barometer, could you fly out and see if you can spot anything that glows?" 23:10:03: Barometer "No, it made me stair at a point on the wall the whole time 23:10:28: Barometer "sure" Goes and does an scout fly as she is now faster than Corrigan 23:10:39: "I... I saw Ember... but only just before... whatever it was... happened..." 23:10:50: The combination of so many external factors brings the floodgates of both Banjo's and Serotin's memories crashing down. Barometer is less fortunate, and still only remembers the crushing, smoothering feeling of helplessness. 23:12:04: Othelo had a peaceful sleep, and dreamed she was fighting killer whales on a ship that was also a super market 23:13:03: "I... zombie... pony... glowing... hurgh." 23:13:06: Serotin retches again. 23:14:19: Othelo would give Serotin another rad-away but is out, "Are you okay... how can you keep puking, isn't your tummy empty yet?" 23:14:44: Serotin turns to Othelo with a terrified expression. 23:15:12: Othelo shys away a little bit, "Are you okay... 23:15:16: "Are there zombies in the wasteland... please tell me there aren't zombie ponies in the wasteland..." 23:15:56: Othelo chews her lip a little and nods, "Ghouls... what happen's when a pony get's too much radiation momma used ta say 23:16:31: "Do they... do their eyes glow?" 23:16:33: Banjo "Don't worry Serotin, only /most/ of them want to devour you." 23:16:46: Barometer "Some of the stronger ones do, yes." 23:17:42: Othelo eyes go wide, "Their eyes glow?" 23:17:47: Serotin gulps, closing his eyes, and finally resolving to stay low to the ground shaking in fear... 23:18:38: Barometer "yess, a glowing ghoul killed over a thousand Enclave pegasi over New Aplusa durring the war." 23:19:00: Serotin starts shaking faster. 23:19:09: Corrigan sighs, "Are we gonna sit here discussing who killed who or are we gonna go looking for Ember?" 23:20:00: Serotin's eyelids burst open as he shoots from the ground to a standing position. 23:20:16: Othelo shudders at the idea of glowing ghouls, "Um. So. How are we gunna find her?" 23:20:39: "Whatever it is... ghoul... zombie pony... we /have/ to find her..." 23:21:01: Barometer "right" takes off and does an arial survay 23:21:33: Corrigan follows 23:22:08: The immediate surroundings are completeyl devoid of evidence. It's truly as if the ghould disappeared into thin air along with their companion. Unicorn magic, powerful, mysterious. 23:22:35: Serotin gallops to Banjo, before pushing on ahead in the direction the hooves seem to lead. 23:23:17: Serotin's quest quickly turns out completely fruitless, as the tracks end less then thirty meters from the cave entrance no matter where he starts from or ends. 23:23:43: Corrigan floats up next to Barometer, "This might not be the best time but, uh, since we're up here...think we could talk?" 23:23:55: Othelo follows after everyone to the outside of the cave, "Grrr!," She growls and kicks a nearby rock with her filly might 23:23:56: Barometer "Talk and fly." 23:23:56: With the absense of any kind of trail, the path is impossible to follow without knowing where he's going first. 23:24:01: Serotin stomps the ground, gritting his teeth. 23:24:40: Corrigan scratches his head. "I, uh...know what? nevermind..." 23:26:10: "EMBER!!!!!" 23:26:14: Othelo has an idea and takes out... dun dun dun, HER MAP!, "Guys, guuuuys. Come help me with this. The ghoul took her /somewhere/, right? Well it ahs to be nearby, so whynot check my map and see if there's any spots that seem likely 23:26:36: Serotin sits down, staring into the sky. 23:26:43: Banjo "Could the ghoul be levitating itself?" 23:26:51: Serotin whispers "Ember..." 23:27:31: "Or... you could all ignore me 23:29:22: Serotin turns to Othelo. 23:29:39: Serotin crawls over to Othelo and gives her a teensy weensy hug. 23:33:49: Othelo shifty eyes at the hug, worried that Serotin is going to puke on her. Slowly she hugs him back, ready to dart incase of sudden vomit 23:35:03: Corrigan lets out a frustrated sigh, "Fuck it. Barometer, I'm sorry for being an ass, its a defensive reflex. I'm going to go against my better nature and try being nice so, uh, here." he hands out his 3 sticks of dynamite, "I swiped these for you before I got pinched." 23:37:57: Banjo "Could the ghoul have levitated itself and Ember back to its lair?" 23:38:09: Serotin slowly releases Othelo, wiping a tear he didn't realize he had. 23:38:30: "I... I think I know where it went..." 23:38:41: Othelo gasps and does a little hop, "Where?" 23:39:05: Serotin points back to the cave. 23:39:31: Othelo blinks, "We just came from there." 23:40:10: "No... it's... it's further in... it lives in the cave..." 23:40:29: Barometer “Um, thanks.” she takes the explosives. “Don’t think this makes everything okay. I don’t take bribes like some camp mares do... But I appreciate the gesture.” 23:40:32: Othelo shakes her head, "But... how... how do you know..." 23:41:21: Serotin turns back to Othelo, scratchings his chin with a hoof. 23:42:08: "Because... from what I saw... it knew this place... it knew how it would be defended and reacted appropriately when entering with the knowledge that it was occupied..." 23:42:23: Othelo sighs and turns to tim, "Go get the 'tupid flyers" 23:42:50: Corrigan "I don't expect this to make everything okay. and its not a bribe." 23:45:12: Barometer “Then I will accept it as a gift and a flap in the right direction. Thank you.” 23:45:29: Serotin scours the cave, realizing quickly he was completely wrong despite sounding very right. 23:46:19: Othelo figured it was wrong and studies her map... "Wait... two stables... maybe..." 23:46:30: Serotin shouts into the sky, for what is likely not the last time it will be shouted this day, "EMBER!" 23:49:37: It strikes all of them (except Corrigan, which is acceptable because he's not a pony) at almost exactly the same time, and blindsides the in its simplicity. "Magic!" they exclaim. As the thought crosses his mind, Banjo can feel the faint residue of magic all around him. 23:50:41: Corrigan face-talons, "Fucking magic..." 23:50:58: "Tim, can you track magic?" 23:54:30: Banjo "Wait, maybe I could scry and try to track the path of the magic!" 23:54:43: "Scry?" 23:55:00: Othelo facehoofs, "Do that! We like... follow... BAROMETERE CORRIGAN WE HAS IDEA 23:55:23: Banjo "It allows me to see magic within my field of vision if I cast a certain spell, but I'm only decent at this spell." 23:55:36: Serotin grabs Banjo with his forehooves. 23:55:43: "DO IT, NOW!" 23:56:17: Banjo casts scry 23:56:42: Serotin lets go of Banjo. "Where? WHERE DID IT TAKE EMBER!?" 23:56:55: Banjo feels a faint... tugging, almost, far off. It's incredibly indistinct, and he wouldn't even have noticed were he not actively using trying to find it. Turning his horn to locate the greatest pull, he determines the source to be *somewhere* to the south west of them. He can see nothing but large mountains and snow shrouded forest in that direction, 23:57:07: indicating that it's a *very* powerful spell that he can even detect it. 23:57:27: Corrigan lands, slips in the snow, and faceplants 23:57:46: Banjo Begins to walk in the direction of the pull "We go this way." 23:59:06: Serotin trots at an elevated pace, bump Banjo's flanks on occasions to indicate the haste this situation warrants. 23:59:07: Othelo waves her hooves trying to get Barometer's attention 23:59:41: Corrigan picks himself up and dusts himself off, a little pissed at losing his cigar. 23:59:57: Serotin realizes that Othelo is without a ride, and turns back to give her a mount. 00:00:15: Barometer lands next to Othelo 00:00:32: Barometer "Yes?" 00:00:59: Othelo points excitedly sy Banjo, "H-he can track the magic, c'mon we gotta follow her, I mean him," She says jumping on Barometer's back. Serotin should feel bad because he was shuuunnned 00:00:59: Serotin quickly turns around and gallops back to match pace with Banjo. 00:01:35: Serotin hangs his head a little, feeling a little sad that Othelo wouldn't accept him. 00:01:56: Barometer flys after Banjo "I was under the impression unicorns could only track active magic." 00:02:36: Othelo shrugs and says in Barometer's ear, "Dunno, but he sayin' he can," Serotin shouldn't feel so bad, he can't fly and flying is more fun 00:03:03: Serotin still feels a little dejected. 00:03:10: Banjo "you're right, we can only track active magic, and that's what's worrying me right now." 00:03:27: Banjo "The source of the magic is so great I can sense it from here." 00:04:14: Corrigan floats through the air after them, back to the ground 00:04:21: Barometer 's eyes go wide and she starts setting up a five dynamite bundle as she flys 00:05:18: Slowly, the group makes progress toward the place Banjo feels the pull. From the air, all Barometer can see are mountains, mountains with forests, and mountains with snow. No sign of *anything* that would give off that much magical energy. 00:07:32: The mountains grow eerily silent around them. Everything quiets except for the sound of trudging hoofs or flapping wings. Even the wind halts, as if it's intimidated by the very area. All of the group can feel it, a vague feeling of dismay and dread, growing stronger as they approach the source of the massive magic. 00:08:51: Othelo is not scared at all. The fact she was clutching onto Barometer's mane and shuddering is completely coincidental 00:08:54: Corrigan narrows his eyes and pulls out a revolver 00:09:59: Serotin gallops into what he feels to be the center of the madness, where stops and props himself on his back hooves. 00:10:09: Barometer swoops up and grabs a substantial cloud (largest possible cloud) for concealment 00:10:31: "Where are you!? Where are you hiding!? Bring my master back!" 00:12:00: Banjo backhoofs serotin "Are you a moron? We can't just go around yelling at whatever kidnapped Ember, it might get angry and we can't afford that right now!" 00:12:48: Serotin turns around and gives Banjo a deathglare. His amber eyes look as if they are alight with rage. 00:12:52: "Don't let it get to you, ponies. stay calm and we'll be fine." 00:13:03: Othelo is totally not hiding her face in Barometer's mane at all. 00:13:19: The magic field gets closer and closer. By now everypony feels a creeping dread, as if this very endeavor was just a *bad idea*. Banjo's face etches with strain; the source of the magic is getting so close and so powerful that it feels as though his horn is gripped in a vice. 00:13:38: Barometer engages 'I'm just an innocent cloud' stealth scout mode 00:13:52: Corrigan looks at Banjo, not knowing a thing about magic, "You constipated, boy?" 00:14:06: Othelo mumbles into Barometer's mane, "Nevershouldhavecomehere" 00:16:06: "EMBER!?" 00:16:57: Corrigan nudges Serotin, "Yer not gonna get anywhere just yellin like that." 00:17:11: Serotin harumphs. 00:17:31: Barometer flies even hight "Othelo, stay quiet and close your eyes, I won't let anything hurt you." 00:18:04: "Well, what are you going to do to get her back? Come up with another... trap... or something!?" 00:18:18: Barometer flys down and neerly tackles Serotin "Shut up you moron." 00:18:22: "nope." 00:18:29: "I 00:18:35: As the rest of the group rounds the pass in the mountains that Barometer could clearly see over, they realize the immediate source of her protective feeling. below them is a cave. A cave ringed with the corpses of dozens of ponies. 00:18:59: Everyone except Bar (already failed) and Othelo (head buried in pegasus mane) roll PER checks. 00:19:06: "I'm sorry, Barometer... I'm just... angroh shoot who are those ponies..." 00:19:24: "Are they... dead!?" 00:19:30: Othelo wraps her hoovies around Barometer's neck and holds on tight. She's not scared. not at all... 00:19:31: Corrigan looks down at the corpses, "don't wake em." 00:19:55: Corrigan continues walking, stepping over the corpses 00:20:58: Barometer "Yes, and if anypony else joins them because of your yelling I will see to it that they are cleaning up bits of stable pony as far as Manehattin." 00:21:38: Banjo "Fuck fuck fuck fuck, this is not good, they are all unicorns, every last one." 00:21:51: Othelo peeks her head out of Barometer's mane to see the mutlialted corpses. With a squeak she goes back to hiding... so she can ambush the monster later... obviously 00:22:27: Serotin whispers... "No... please no..." 00:23:06: All of the bodies are clearly dead, no ghouls among this bunch. Some are older, much older, than others. A few are skeletal, a few even older than that, bones wearing away in the harsh winter winds. Some are as recent as a few weeks, judging by the smell. None appear newer than that, however. Ember is still alive. 00:23:12: As far as they know. 00:23:15: Barometer "Tim, follow me and protect the filly." gets her bundle of three sticks in one hoof and the five bundle in the other before zipping back up into her cloud 00:23:35: "She... Ember has to be okay...." 00:24:09: Banjo "Don't worry serotin, as long as nobody fucks this up she'll be fine." 00:24:11: "Alive till we see a corpse." 00:24:31: 'Bounty hunting rule #34" 00:24:37: Othelo shudders, "What killed them?" 00:24:43: Serotin pulls up the cloth lining his forehooves on his security barding, readying himself for an encounter with the 'ghoul' he'd fail to protect his master from the night before. 00:24:46: (.... rule 34, Corrigan? really?) 00:25:01: (shit, just saw that.) 00:25:18: (there is corpse of it, no exceptions) 00:25:33: Banjo walks toward the cave cautiously. 00:25:44: (If there is not corpse, you must make one? XD) 00:26:02: Othelo is suggesting to check the cause of death of the corpses so they know what they're up against 00:26:08: Barometer swaps out ther three bundle for a flash bang 00:26:57: Medical examination of the oldest corpses is impossible, being unable to tell where combat damage stops and falling rock and weather begins. The newest corpses, bloated as they are, might yield some results. 00:27:12: Barometer is now floating in a cloud a few hundred feet over the cave entrance and ready to drop things 00:28:43: Othelo takes a deep breath, "Bar... I think we gotta go inside... should see what killed the ponies first... i think... 00:31:42: Banjo "We need to move quickly, we have no clue how much radiation Ember has been exposed to, I saw we check the cave post haste." 00:33:20: "I... but what if... Barometer, please, we need to know what we're up against..." 00:34:08: Barometer grumbles and floats down slowly, bringing the cloud with her 00:34:19: "I vote we send a scout." 00:34:41: "I volunteer Banjo." 00:35:09: Othelo rolls her eyes, "We can't send somepony in there alone... 00:35:19: Unfortunately, none of the group can tell what killed the poor bastards ringing the cave entrance. Their frozen corpses do, however, point to a sticky end for large mistakes. 00:35:38: "in that case, we can send Tim." 00:35:56: Barometer "As rude as it sounds I think Banjo should go as well, he can detect the magic. I'll go with him and anypony else who is trained in steath should come with me." 00:36:18: Corrigan raises his talons, "All in favour?" 00:36:25: Tim beeps in protest for being so casually volunteered. 00:36:25: "I'll... go with him... I don't think Banjo can take care of himself alone..." 00:36:38: Othelo grahs and facehoofs, "Ain't non'a ya read horror stories? Split up and we /die/." 00:36:56: Banjo "Because I'm a unicorn I thinnk I should go uin front, if worse comes to worst I can distract it while you guyys get away." 00:37:08: Corrigan sniggers at Othelo, "psst, that's the plan!" 00:37:22: The filly has a point. The moment Barometer rejoined the group on the surface, the abominable pressure of dread in her chest has lessened. Not enough to go away, but enough to be recognizable. 00:37:23: Barometer engages stealth pony mode and creeps into the cave 00:37:51: Othelo is still ontop of Barometer and bites on her mane pulling back, "Hoooldup." 00:37:58: Serotin slides in alongside Barometer. 00:38:01: Barometer stops 00:38:09: "Wait till everyone is ready" 00:38:19: Corrigan scratches his head nervously, "Uh...I'll stay here and...keep watch, yeah, that." 00:38:57: Othelo points up at Tim, "He can use his sensors so we'll know if anypony is near... and Corrigan you comin in or I'mma shoot you!" Has decided she's the leader 00:38:58: Banjo "So the hellhound is actually a chicken? Who would have guessed that?" 00:39:00: (But there's nothing to fuck out here but dead unicorns....) 00:39:09: Barometer "fine, but you should give me a little space. I can't hide with a croud." 00:40:03: "I ain't going in no caves." 00:40:32: Othelo pulls out her pistol and points it at Corrigan, "You are..." 00:40:50: Serotin stares down at his hooves. 00:40:50: Barometer "Stable pony (has never been told his name) are you trained in subterfuge?" 00:40:54: Corrigan flies up, "eeeenope." he calls down 00:41:24: "No... not really... but I'm ready..." 00:41:55: Othelo calls out, "Fine! But we get ALL the loot, and we'll spread sotries about how you wet yourself and ran away and you'll never get another job ever again 00:42:14: Banjo "We're wasting too much time, I'm going in." walks into the cave. 00:42:18: Barometer "Then can you remove that PipBuck of yours?" 00:42:22: As soon as Corrigan leaves the general area of the group, he feels the immense pressure of dread grip him in its colds talons. Even possessing some of the same rudimentary ability himself, he's no match for this level of magnitude. 00:42:41: Corrigan contemplates this. Rolls his eyes. "FINE!" he flies back down. 00:42:59: "Uh... no." 00:43:12: "It's kind of..." Serotin sees Banjo entering the cave. 00:43:17: "No time." 00:43:25: Serotin canters in behind Banjo. 00:43:59: "Okay C'mon guys... we all gotta go together 00:44:23: Banjo "Serotin, the moment we find Ember and this...thing, I want you to get Ember out of here as fast as possible while I distract it." 00:44:57: Serotin nods... and then realizes Banjo couldn't see his face in the darkness. "It's a plan..." 00:45:17: Barometer stalks out about 20 feet/one chaimber ahead of the group, keeping airborn to avoid hoof falls 00:45:38: Othelo is still lounging on Barometer's back... 00:46:11: and tim is following, as per his orders 00:46:26: The group as a whole makes it through the entrance cave, and encounters a Stable door. Surprise surprise. 00:46:49: Corrigan twitches a bit, "stables...fucking stables, man....." 00:46:58: Corrigan scratches his chest nervously 00:47:04: The door is melted and warped, peeling away from its intended gap. Whatever the door used to say, it's been reduced to only the last number, a "4". 00:47:36: /me ooohs and jumps off Barometer's back runing to the door, "I finally found it!' 00:47:37: Serotin steps forward, not quite through the hole but enough to peer inside. 00:47:44: "Ember's in here, come on..." 00:47:47: The door panel is a melting, long since unworkable ruin. It doesn't even spark anymore. FOrtunately, however, the melted portion of the door permits access to that within. 00:48:06: Barometer zips foranrd and pins the filly to the ground 00:48:20: Whatever it is that wanted inside this vault, it succeeded. Violently. 00:48:44: Othelo sqeaks and squirms, "Lemme go, I found it first" 00:48:45: Barometer puts her hoof over Othelo's mouth "shhhh" 00:49:33: Rivulets of formerly liquid metal glimmer softly in the light from the cave. The door is literally half door, and half solid puddle on the ground. 00:50:14: Othelo kicks and squirms, murmring, "mmh stble" 00:50:14: Barometer getting a bit cross "look, it woun't matter who found it first if you or the suisidal Stable pony over there gets all of us kill so stay quiet and let me do my job." 00:50:19: Beyond the door is clearly visible, and no immediate threats present themselves. No glowing lights of active mines, no tripwires, no pressure plates. For all appearances, it's a deserted stable. 00:50:52: "Hey, Barometer!" 00:50:58: Banjo "Maybe we should find the armory before we face this thing." 00:51:04: Corrigan readies his revolvers, "I got a bad feeling about this..." 00:51:19: "Does this thing have a light?" Serotin says, tapping his Pip-Buck. 00:51:25: Barometer mutters under her breath "I'm gona bucking kill him" 00:51:26: Beyond the door, through the melted opening, the group sees.... light? It streams from where the ceiling should be. 00:51:50: goes over to Serotin "Keep her quiet Corrigan." 00:52:38: Barometer "tes" clicks the light on "now shut up" 00:52:44: Corrigan picks Othelo up, making sure she /can't/ bite him. 00:53:01: Othelo tries to zip into the stable only to be stopped by Corrigan, "lemmego 00:53:10: "eeenope." 00:53:14: Banjo investigates the light. 00:53:34: Serotin trots out just under the offending emanation. 00:53:38: Barometer follows, stealthily hovering 00:53:50: The light isn't immediately investigatable. It filters down from beyond the initial chamber, far into the next hallway and room. The group has to get through the door to find out what's going on. 00:54:10: Othelo tries to bite Corrigan, and kick him, and then goes for a headbutt 00:54:24: Barometer poaks her head inside the Stable 00:54:25: Corrigan avoids impaling Othelo with his beak 00:54:56: "Calm down, little miss fussy pants. 00:55:27: Othelo continues her assult, "It's. Mine. I called it." 00:55:29: Banjo "We don't have time for this!" Enters the stable 00:56:20: Neither Banjo nor Barometer see anything outside of the ordinary, aside from the gigantic melted hole. The entry way is clean, clear, and if not for the layer of dust, absoultely pristine. Beyond the next hallway, light filters into the rooms from an unknown source. 00:56:32: Corrigan holds Othelo a little further, "Then let them do the work and claim whatever you like after!" 00:57:07: Barometer continues in and investigates the light 00:57:14: Othelo crosses her forelegs, "Fine... just let me go..." 00:57:20: Serotin slowly makes moves towards the direction the light seems to be coming from. 00:57:58: Corrigan "eenope. What do you take me for, an idiot?" 00:58:24: Othelo nods an affirmative and points to the fact everyone else has left, "Just follow them then..." 00:58:55: Corrigan mock crys, rubbing his eye, "I'm soo offended." chuckles before walking after the others 00:59:13: Corrigan starts twitching again 00:59:40: Othelo continues to keep her forelegs crossed and pouts as she is carried. Carefulyl she tries to think of an escape plan 01:00:59: Barometer crests the threshold into the light first.... and stops dead in her tracks, wings only flapping on reflex to keep her afloat. Above her is *absolutely nothing*. It's as if the mountain does not exist once in this par tof the stable. She can see the entire length of the stable and beyond, a gargantuan crater blasted into the side of the range. 01:01:08: Looks like Corrigan won't have to worry about his claustrophobia anymore. 01:01:37: Othelo looks up and gasps. "THat... can't be real..." 01:01:48: Corrigan breathes a sigh of relief. "Better than a stable..." 01:02:00: Barometer pulls out her cloud and resumes her arial survalance 01:02:02: "I... but... stables..." 01:02:27: Serotin has doubletake, before snapping out of his stupor and remember why he's here. 01:02:47: Banjo "My god, the whole side of the mountain is an illusion." 01:03:43: Othelo blinks, "Ah... what? How does that work? 01:04:02: Corrigan lifts up Othelo to eye level, "Not quite what you expected, hmm?" 01:04:12: Serotin trots into the voided mountain, looking back to the rest of the party to say. "Come on, we're wasting time." 01:04:17: Barometer "Where is the celing, I saw the mountain from the outside. Where is the celing?" 01:04:33: Othelo sticks her tongue out at Corrigan, "The illusion generator is still mine," 01:04:37: Barometer flies up in serch of a cealing 01:04:50: Corrigan shrugs, "Sure." 01:04:50: Banjo has the right of it. This entire side of the mountain is a projected illusion, the likes of which none of them could even have imagined not five minutes prior. 01:06:17: Othelo grumbles, "Can I be let down now?" 01:06:39: Corrigan taps her nose, "nope." 01:06:54: Othelo bites his talon 01:07:18: Corrigan "youch!" 01:07:52: Corrigan grumbles and looks around, deadpans. "Megaspell crater..." 01:08:07: Banjo "Son of a... Somebody detonated a megaspell after the door was closed." 01:08:07: Corrigan "...no way, not possible, not in here..." 01:08:09: Othelo eyes go wide as she looks around realizing what must have happened. "Yea... megaspell... seena crator like this once near the farm... 01:08:28: Corrigan groans, "Fucking Stables!" 01:08:30: Othelo taps her chin, "But... how did the illusion generator thing not get broke 01:08:45: "Illusionary fallout... just what we needed..." 01:09:17: Banjo "It's not a generator, somepony is casting that." 01:10:08: Othelo shrugs, "I still claim'em 01:13:24: Up ahead is the 'lip' of the crater. A ludicrous distance below, easily exceeding 100 meters straight down and twice that laterally, the very bottom of the spherical crater lies. 01:13:49: It still burns with the flames of balefire, a sickly green illuminating the chamber in addition to the natural sunlight. 01:13:55: Othelo squirms in Corrigan's hand, "We need'a keep looking... prolly down that crater..." 01:14:14: Barometer failing to find a cealing, grabs her big cloud and does a survay of the pit 01:14:16: Serotin's pipbuck begins to click a little bit. Nothing major, just a single rad per second 01:14:37: Corrigan kicks a bit of rubble down into the crater. 01:14:45: "..." 01:14:57: Corrigan "this does not bode well..." 01:15:38: Othelo nods at Timothy, "Tim! Shoot Corrigan in the arm enough so he'll let me go!" 01:15:39: Serotin dashes to lip of the crater, staying just outside of the flame's reach. 01:15:43: Barometer sees a myriad of things. Standing, actually *standing* in the pit at the bottom of the crater, almost engulfed in the fire, are a trio of figures. Their flesh shines more radiantly than the fire burning beside them. The one in the middle sports multiple overglows around his horn. Clearly he's the one maintiaining the illusion. 01:16:22: Corrigan glares at Tim. "Don't do it, or I'll drop her into the crater. You wouldn't want that, right?" 01:17:05: The other two simply bask in the powerful radioactive glow, absorbing enormous amounts of power from the flickering green flames. 01:17:07: Barometer zips back to report, no sign of Ember?" 01:17:15: Banjo "We have to stop whatever is going on and save Ember." 01:17:49: Corrigan scratches his chin, "Am I the only one worried about the radiation?" 01:17:53: Also dotting the crater are the half-melted entrances to corridors that used to exist within the stable complex. Any one of them could house the captive unicorn. It's just a matter of finding her right now. 01:18:15: Othelo yells, "TIM! Doo it" 01:18:49: Barometer "hold on. Stable pony, what does your EFS say about them?" points to the ghouls 01:18:51: Tim, caught between the chioce of obeying the little pipsqueak that fancied itself the bot's master, and ignoring it completely, chooses the latter option. 01:19:09: Corrigan looks at Othelo, "Look down kid, if I let go, you get flying lessons that will end with a splat." 01:19:37: Othelo facehoofs, "Then stop holding me about a crater stupid" 01:19:58: Corrigan "and risk your bot shooting me? fat chance..." 01:20:14: Barometer "If they are red I can blow them to pony hell and we can search for Ember, otherwise we may be able to negociate." 01:21:58: "It... it says they're red..." 01:22:19: Corrigan rolls his eyes and sighs, retrieving his revolver, "Oh goody..." 01:22:25: Banjo draws his hunting rifle "Then they die." 01:22:48: Barometer "Fine, stay here and set up a defensable position. Corrigan, come with me, unicorns can do many things, but fly on a whim isn't one of them." 01:23:13: Corrigan points at Othelo, "What about her?" 01:23:23: "What... what do I do?" 01:23:31: Othelo rolls her eyes, "Just a thought guys" 01:23:39: "If they can create a mountain illusions 01:23:40: Barometer "Othello, can you work with us for an Alph strike?" 01:23:47: "Maybe they're really powerful and we're all gunna die" 01:24:26: Corrigan "As much as I want to save Ember, this seems like a relly bad idea..." 01:24:37: Barometer "The alternative is we let them drag us away one by one, we have a chance to catch them unawars and I say we should take it." 01:24:43: "GUYS!" 01:24:53: Serotin is crying. 01:25:09: Othelo grahs and shakes her head at Barometer, "Ember is not down there, she much be somewhere in the stable." 01:25:10: Corrigan "What's stableboy blubbering about?" 01:25:27: "Wh-what can I do?" 01:25:36: Banjo "ok, attacking is a bad idea, lets find ember and get the fuck out of here." 01:25:47: Barometer slamms her hoof into Serotin's mouth "Stop bucking yelling you suisidle twit." 01:26:50: Barometer If we don't stop them now that pile outside will just keep getting bigger. Banjo and Ember may verywhell be its next components." 01:27:59: Othelo growls, "We aren't heroes... can't we just rescue Ember and not die... I don't wanna die 01:29:50: Barometer "Even if we aren't heroes thise things are following us. If we get Ember out I don't thnk they will just leave us with a hole in our momories next time the ambush us." 01:31:12: Othelo starts to tear up, "If we fight'em we'll die!" 01:31:32: "If we don't..." 01:31:45: Serotin leaps into the crater. 01:32:01: Banjo "Maybe- WHAT THE FUCK SEROTIN!" 01:32:04: "Don't follow me, just look for Ember!" 01:32:27: Corrigan shrugs, "Good 'nuff for me." 01:32:35: Banjo follows serotin over the edge 01:32:44: Othelo blinks, "Seriously... we're all gunna die 01:32:46: Corrigan "Double good enough." 01:33:21: Banjo "SEROTIN GET OUT OF HERE! GET EMBER TO SAFETY I GOT THIS!" 01:33:34: Barometer grabs Othelo and goes shyward 01:33:45: Serotin stops. 01:33:54: "Banjo..." 01:34:01: Corrigan looks at his now empty talons, "where..." 01:34:42: "NOT ME THEM! STOP THEM BEFORE THEY DIE!" 01:34:42: Serotin turns to one of the exposed halls of the stable, dashing in. 01:35:04: Corrigan isn't quite sure what is going on anymore... 01:35:44: Barometer plants Othelo on a floating aTim and goes to grab Banjo 01:35:57: Banjo shouts at the three enemies "HEY DUMBASSES! BET YOU CAN'T CATCH ME!" runs away. 01:36:26: Othelo is really high and floating looking down at banjo trying his best to die. "Never liked him anyway..." 01:36:45: Corrigan facetalons, "Banjo is a dumbass and is gonna get himself killed..." shrugs, "Ah well." 01:38:41: One of the glowing ghouls at the foot of the crater, positively radiating, directs his gaze at Banjo. The unicorn ghoul has no jaw, and his burning eyes bore into Banjo's. This is clearly the same unicorn from last night. WIth naught but a gesture, the charging Banjo freezes up, tumbling head over heels to end in a crumpled (but still living) heap about 01:38:46: two thirds of the way to the gruop 01:39:48: Corrigan holsters his revolver and wings round his rifle, working the lever with a satisfying snap. "This will not end well..." 01:40:16: Serotin, after ducking into a side passage, realizes very quickly that it's *not* the right one when it ends in a cave in not five meters from the entrance 01:41:56: Serotin gallops out of the passage and makes his way into another. 01:42:08: Othelo looks down at tim that she's floating on, "Tim. Please find me the location of all freindlys in the area." 01:43:04: Barometer lobs a Flash bang at the ghouls and trys to scoop up Banjo 01:43:39: The spritebot is happy to comply with that request, at least. It chirps a little bit, and then swivels to face first the crumpled Banjo, next the sprinting Serotin, back to face Corrigan, around to face Barometer, and then, finally (presumably) swivels in a direction about 45 degrees round the spherical crater in a clockwise direction from where Serotin is 01:43:41: currently headed. 01:44:40: Corrigan flies up out of range of the ghouls and watches, not quite sure what the best course of action is... 01:44:55: Othelo smiles and pets the top of Tim, "Thanks, are there no others?" 01:45:07: The second unicorn basking in the glowing radiation at the bottom of the crater very simply catches the flashbang and returns it to sender, much much faster than Barometer expected. 01:45:47: Barometer trys to dodge and put her cloud in the path of the blast 01:46:31: The flashbang finds itself lodged in the cloud, where it explodes. The force of the blast is still enough to rattle the pegasus on the other side for a few seconds. 01:46:40: 4Barometer is stunned for 2 turns! 01:47:43: Serotin makes his way out of the previous section, once again having left Ember unfound. He enters yet another to find... 01:47:43: Corrigan feels his primal instincts kick in and swoops down in front of Barometer, rifle ready 01:49:16: Serotin finds an unoccupied tunnel stretching long into the mountainside. There are doors opening to either side, and the hall bends out of sight far down the hall. Still, it doesn't look lit it's been used lately. 01:49:41: Othelo sighs at the crazy group she found herself in, "Tim. Please float lower and look for another friendly symbol. Ember has to be around here somewhere, and if I can find her we can leave..." 01:51:11: Tim chirps in annoyance. He's already cycled through all the friendly symbols in the crater area. 01:51:37: Corrigan shakes Barometer, "Snap out of it!" 01:52:16: Othelo rolls her eyes at the chirping, "Well if Ember is not here, why are we?" 01:57:52: Othelo prods at tim, "would you be a nice robot and take me to the last freindly you found? I'll give you... whatever... robots like..." 01:58:19: The pegasus is still dazed by the close range exploding flashbang, muffled as it was. There's not going to be any real functioning on her part for at least a few more seconds. 01:58:57: Serotin stumbles out of the previous tunnel, panting a bit. He makes one final dash into an unexplored piece of stable exposed stable, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to make it to the next without getting a second wind... 02:00:17: Corrigan curses at Serotin for running around like a headless chicken, and Banjo for running in like an idiot 02:00:58: Serotin gets lucky for once, and when he heads down the next corridor, he can *feel* that this one is the right one. 02:01:20: "Ember!?" 02:01:30: Serotin trots down the hallway, slowly... 02:01:43: Unfortunately for him, that feeling is probably actually the pair of glowing ones standing outside the secured door, above which read "security". Ember was clearly being held in there. 02:02:57: The jawless ghoul from the camp the night before grasps the two unconscious or dazed ponies in a vice-like telekinetic grip and groups them off to the side, pressed hard enough against the dirt and stone of the crater that they can't move, but not hard enough to actually injure. 02:03:26: "Oh... uh... hello there... my... uh... have you seen a red-maned unicorn anywhere?" he said, caught up in the moment. 02:05:29: Othelo takes out her detonator, and wonders if anypony happened to leave C4 lying around, so she presses the button 02:09:58: The ghouls glare at Serotin, unmoving, unbreathing. Unliving for all intents and purposes except one: they're still very dangerous. One of their horns glows brightly, and the floor in front of Serotin opens up, dropping him into a bottomless chasm. Or so he thinks. The hallucination is enough to render him immaterial to the fight "raging" outside, and 02:10:05: completely unable to help Ember inside. 02:10:44: Serotin seizes on the ground, feelings of vertigo filling his head. 02:17:58: Barometer is going to book it with the fill and griffin as soon as she is recovered 02:51:57: 4[Rewinding session to 17:13 CST (one and a half hours ago, approximately)] 02:52:10: 4err, 19:13 02:53:26: Othelo is suddenly back infront of the lip, was that a vision of the future she saw, she wasn't sure. Looking down at the ghouls she wisely decides to not disturb them. "Ember isn't down there... best not... maybe if we can find a way into the lower levels of the stable we can find'em" 02:54:14: Corrigan is still holding onto Othelo, amused at her squirms 02:54:19: 4Important change: There are now only two Glowing Ones in the facility. One is powering the illusory shield, and is completely devoted to keeping it up. The other is currently recharging in the balefires below. 02:54:49: Serotin looks upon the occupants of the crate. 02:54:53: *crater 02:55:01: "I... I think I have an idea..." 02:55:02: 4Both Tim's and Serotin's EFSs agree that those two Glowing Ones are the only two hostiles in the Stable. 02:55:58: Othelo squirms around to Serotin, "Idea?" 02:56:48: "We're going to turn the tables on them..." 02:57:25: Corrigan is skepticle, "Um..how?" 02:57:34: Othelo watches as barometer flies down to listen to whatever Serotin has to say 02:58:02: "It takes two of them to keep the illusion going, right?" 02:58:18: "...mmhmmmm...?" 02:58:22: Othelo shakes her head, "Look again, only one has a glowing horn" 02:58:26: Banjo "But there's only one holding the illusion." 02:58:39: Serotin scratches his chin... 02:59:09: Othelo sighs and squirms, "We just needa sneak into a lower corridor, use the EFS to find Ember, rescure her, be heroes, and run away" 02:59:34: "all without fighting, dying, or wetting ourselfs. I'm looking at you Corrigan, tunnels ain't that scary" 02:59:41: Banjo "I agree with Othelo." 03:00:20: Serotin nods, conceding to the filly's suggestion. 03:00:22: "are you implying I wet myself?" 03:02:01: Othelo shakes her head, "Noooo, I'd never. Ever... can you put me down now?" 03:02:10: "...nope." 03:02:21: "lets go, then." 03:03:20: Othelo grumbles and doesn't appreciate being carried around like this, so undignified, "Fine... less find... stairs" 03:04:00: "Can you see any?" 03:05:00: Othelo sighs, "Not here, but there are a bunch of corridors nearby... 03:05:26: "Well, our illustrious leader, where do you propose we go?" 03:05:27: "Lead the way." 03:07:07: Othelo is being carried quite forcefully and can't... 03:08:01: "well, I'm not letting you go till Baro says so." 03:08:55: Almost directly ahead of the group relative to the entrance is the beginning of a long series of winding corridors, stairs, and even the occassional inoperative elevator. It's definitely a ways to wherever they're going; there isn't even a friendly pip on either EFS to go by. 03:09:35: "eeny meeny miney mo...which way do we go?" 03:09:45: Othelo watches as baromete says, "Just let her go, keep an eye on ehr though." Othelo smiles, and points at the stairs, "Down?" 03:09:45: Banjo "We'd better get moving, Sero, tim, keep a lookout for hostiles." 03:10:13: Corrigan plops Othelo back down. "After you, little miss leader." 03:10:41: Othelo takes the lead and picks the rightmost staircase 03:12:15: Corrigan follows closely 03:12:44: Banjo follows othelo 03:14:36: The rightmost staircase seems like a fine option... until they actually get to it and realize that after the first three stairs is a shaft of darkness that leads who knows where. 03:15:45: Othelo gulps and peers over the edge into the darkness. "Hum... I guess corrigan and Bar could fly's down... 03:16:22: Corrigan looks over at Baro, "Ladies first?" he says, nervously 03:16:24: Banjo "Or we could go the other way." 03:16:35: "I think mister Banjo has the right idea..." 03:17:24: Othelo harumphs and nods at Banjo, "Fiiiiiiiine." 03:17:42: "Well, Banjo, where do you suppose we go?" 03:17:44: Othelo lets Banjo lead the way since it was his idea 03:19:14: Banjo "WE should take the third door on the right, I just feel like that's the door to choose." 03:19:52: Corrigan grabs his revolvers, "Who's taking point?" 03:20:19: Banjo "Me." 03:20:24: Serotin steps forward. 03:20:28: Sure enough, when Banjo opens the door, he sees a sign mounted on the wall that reads "Security" in big block letters, and an arrow pointing down a *very* long hallway that fades into the darkness. 03:20:29: "Banjo, please..." 03:20:34: Banjo "It's my idea, I should take point." 03:20:40: "Alright..." 03:20:57: Corrigan lights a match, "mmm, dark halls. fun..." 03:21:09: Banjo "Sero, check your pipbuck, any red?" 03:21:38: Othelo takes point behind Corrigan because he makes a great sheild 03:21:51: Corrigan is a meat shield 03:21:52: Banjo casts keen sight 03:22:25: "Nothing..." 03:23:36: Banjo's newly augmented sight allows him to see clear to the end of the hall. There's nothing in the way of a clear shot between here and the T intersection at the end of the hall. 03:23:58: "Into the abyss, tally ho!" 03:24:14: Banjo trots to the end of the hall and looks both ways. 03:25:05: "Go right 03:25:28: To one direction (the left) the directions read "Security", to the right, they read "Armory" 03:25:34: Corrigan twitches. "Fucking stables..." he grumbles 03:25:48: Banjo "I say we check the armory first." 03:26:02: "I say we go left, the faster we get ember, the better 03:26:07: Banjo "We could always use more weapons and ammo." 03:26:44: "But...Stables..." 03:26:52: "I... Ember... but..." 03:27:10: Banjo "We'll have a better chance of saving ember if we have better supplies." 03:27:15: Serotin lowers his head and begins heading to the right... 03:29:02: Othelo follows along whistling 03:29:39: THe right hand corridor is very long as well, taking a few minutes to trek to the armory. Inside, the group finds not much that they don't already have. 10 mm pistols and ammunition, .32 caliber pistols, 9 mm pistols, etc. etc. There is, however, a pair of 9 mm SMGs lying on top of a crate. Both appear damaged. The group could definitely get one working 03:29:50: if they cannibalized the other, but they could also try to fix both and get two. Or none. 03:30:14: "dibs on the smg." 03:30:42: Banjo "Dibs on the other smg." 03:31:24: Banjo takes one of the smgs and some 9mm ammo. 03:31:29: "Dibs in th... dammit 03:31:44: Corrigan picks up the smg, it basically falls apart in his hand. hands it to Othelo. "Here." 03:32:14: Othelo inshea away from it, "It looks like it's gunna explode... 03:32:48: "well, we could fix it with Banjo's smg..." 03:32:49: Banjo attempts to repair his smg 03:33:16: Othelo hands the second SMG to banjp 03:33:19: banjo 03:33:41: Banjo attempts to fix the second smg 03:34:53: Banjo fixes one, but the second just falls apart in his hands when he opens it up. This one is beyond repair. 03:35:06: "Well done." 03:35:16: Banjo "Herp derp, how do I smg? Sorry othelo." 03:35:19: "You can keep it ah guess 03:35:36: Aside from all the extra ammunition available, that looks to be the only real thing of value in the armory. 03:35:48: (You guys can take up to 100 rounds of any pistol caliber ammunition you want) 03:35:50: Banjo sighs "Here." gives his smg and ammo to othelo. 03:36:58: Othelo hands it back, "Ah said you can have it." 03:37:08: Corrigan looks around the armoury, not finding any ammo for his revolvers or rifle, he takes 100 10mm rounds 03:37:26: Othelo takes 100 .45 rounds 03:38:15: Banjo takes 37 .45 rounds, and 63 5.56 rounds. 03:39:02: Corrigan swaps 50 10mm ammo for 25 .45 and 25 5.56ammo 03:39:14: Corrigan, what did I *just* say 03:39:17: no 5.56 03:39:21: Banjo takes 63 9mm ammo. 03:39:41: Corrigan 50 .45 sorry 03:40:07: Once the party has finished picking their choice of ammunition, the armory is effecitvely barren. That only leaves one other major direction to go. 03:40:42: Banjo "To Security!" 03:41:00: Banjo trots off down the other hallway. 03:41:00: Othelo nods and takes the lead, "Ah got this" 03:41:20: Serotin takes 25 .45, 25 .32, 25 9MM, and 25 10MM rounds before galloping out of the room to 'Security'... 03:41:44: Corrigan covers the rear of the group with both revolvers 03:42:55: Security is almost exactly an equal distance from the T-intersection in the other direction. This part of the stable, for whatever reason, is populated by corpses. Several of them. More than several. 03:43:23: The closer they get to the door, the thicker the bodies become. Most are in Stable jumpsuits or security barding, and the flesh has long since rotted to dust. 03:43:26: "That ain't normal." 03:43:31: Othelo gulps at the corpses and tries not to puke, "URgh... 03:44:02: Corrigan picks up Othelo and puts her on his back as he steps over the corpses 03:44:10: Banjo shudders "That just isn't right." 03:44:44: Surprising everypony, Serotin manages to keep himself from retching at the sight of the corpses. 03:45:02: The majority of the corpses are piled around the main door to security. Apparently, whatever had been in there had been a hot item way back in the day. Fortunately, the fierce competition has faded with age. 03:45:06: Othelo loses the battle with her tummy and pukes off the side of Corrigan, thankfully not getting any on him 03:45:44: "you alright, kiddo?" 03:46:07: Banjo Opens the door to Security. 03:46:31: Othelo shakes her head, "N-not really.... I mean i'm fine." 03:47:04: "Atta girl" 03:47:31: Corrigan steps into the security room and lights a match to illuminate it. "Yoohooo...." 03:48:05: Serotin scrambles past his cohorts to see what's ahead. 03:48:21: Inside Security is.... nothing of real import. 03:48:49: Serotin whispers, "Ember... please... be safe..." 03:49:08: Othelo makes a gagging noise, 03:49:20: The walls are bare, the floor clean and almost shiny. This place has obviously been used before, and recently. Fortunately, that means that any hoofprints they would have left aren't a problem. 03:50:18: Banjo searches the room 03:51:01: There's really nothing to find. If there was any loot in this room, it was stripped clean long ago, or at least very thoroughly. The only thing in the entire area that would interest the group now is the cluster of jail cells through a door in the back corner of the main room 03:51:04: Othelo makes a face, the smell of death still getting to her, "Dust for prints? 03:52:10: Serotin peeks into a few of the jail cells. 03:52:30: Banjo tries to open the door to the room with the jail cells. 03:52:30: "Ember?" he whispers. 03:53:40: Serotin pushes at the bars. 03:53:56: The door is unlocked. No doubt whoever it was that actually ran this place didn't think that it'd be broken into anytime soon. Within are a set of cells. One is empty. Two are filled with dessicated corpses, and the last houses a fully healthy (and perhaps a little bit irradiated) but unconscious Ember. 03:54:20: Banjo "SERO! GET OVER HERE I FOUND HER!" 03:54:33: Othelo gasps, "Ember! Someone... get her a rad-away, ana health potion, ana med-x 03:55:29: The cell door, at least, is locked. Security isn't a total non-priority here. 03:55:44: Serotin gallops to the cell containing unconscious form of Ember, immediately springing a well of tears. 03:56:33: Serotin presses himself against the bars... "Ember... oh... Ember... please... don't be hurt..." 03:56:41: Othelo waves at everyone to stand back, "Need space ta work," She says getting her bobby pins out 03:57:32: "Othelo, be careful... we can't risk breaking the lock..." 03:57:35: Othelo grahs as her first lockpick breaks and goes to try again 03:58:03: Serotin starts biting his hooves. 03:58:38: With a click, the tumblers shift open, allowing the cell doors to swing out. 03:58:46: Othelo raises her hoovsies in victory as the luck clicks open, "I am awesome!" 03:59:04: Ember is magically unconscious, and likely will be for sometime. You'll have to move her manually. 03:59:20: Corrigan tussles Othelo's mane, "Ya sure are, kid." 03:59:23: Serotin rushes past Othelo, knocking her over. 03:59:45: Corrigan picks Othelo up. "rude..." 03:59:55: Othelo beams up at Corrigan.. before getting thrown to the ground and summarily helped up, "Tupid 03:59:59: Barometer helps Othelo back to her hooves, glarreing at the Stable pony 04:00:04: "We needa give her medicine 04:00:08: Serotin's PipBuck begins to click. 04:00:16: Serotin hugs the unconscious form of Ember and whispers varying terms of endearment into her ear. 04:00:26: "Radiation, ponies. lets make this quick." 04:00:34: Serotin stops as he hears the clicks. 04:00:38: "Anyone got meds?" 04:00:39: Banjo "Somepony get her a radaway, here take one of mine." 04:00:55: The clicking intensifies, along with a rythmic clop-clop from the halls outside, gradually increasing in volume. 04:01:06: Serotin bites the radaway out of Banjo's telekinetic grasp. 04:01:25: Banjo mumbles "...rude." 04:01:30: Othelo hears the sounds, "Uh... guys..." 04:01:42: Corrigan raises his revolvers at the door, "...this does not bode well..." 04:01:53: Working quickly, he stuffs its tube in Ember's mouth and starts pumping the liquid into her mouth. 04:02:03: Barometer pulls out her .45 in her mouth and gets to a good hiding spot 04:02:05: [giggity] 04:02:34: Banjo draws his new 9mm smg 04:03:00: Othelo gulps and looks around, "Maybe we should run..." 04:03:43: Barometer "Good idea, take Ember and get going, I'll bring up the rear." 04:04:48: "I'll take her..." 04:04:48: Whatever talk of running there may have been, it's too late when the ghoul rounds the corner. The click in Serotin's PipBuck climbs to a steady 2 rads/second. "Well then, what have we hear?" calls out a leather, raspy voice. It's not a malicious voice, however. In the main security room, one of the ghoul unicorns stands, watching the party with interest. 04:05:17: Serotin gulps. 04:05:26: Othelo blinks and gulps, "We're juuuust and iluuusion, noooopony here... OoooooooOOooo 04:05:27: "aaaah shit." 04:05:42: "THIS IS WHY I DON'T LIKE STABLES!" -_-* 04:05:48: Barometer mover between the party and the ghoul. "Whay did you take her?" 04:06:02: Barometer waves for the others to go with her wing 04:06:13: Banjo "We apologize for invading your home, we just came to get our friend." 04:06:18: Corrigan stays, revolvers ready 04:06:26: "Your tenacity is commendable. Not many make it here at all, let alone infiltrate our defenses without our knowing." The unicorn shrugs. "I never ask Recall why he abducts random unicorns, and I don't intend to. Hobbies are hobbies, after all." 04:06:40: Serotin steps in front of Barometer and hte rest of the party. 04:07:06: Corrigan bristles a little, "don't be a stupid pony..." he whispers 04:07:07: Banjo "Perhaps we can work this out in a civilized manner." 04:07:13: "Regardless, I don't think I can allow you to stay here. If one of my companions were to catch you, it would be quite a bad mark on my record. I just can't have that, now, can i?" 04:07:33: Banjo "So you will allow us to leave?" 04:07:34: "What're you gunna do? 04:07:44: "Well what are we waiting for? lets scedaddle" 04:07:44: Barometer "we were just leaving." 04:08:02: "Thank you for your hospitality, sir" tips hat 04:08:08: "I'm afraid it's not *quite* that easy. You'll leave here, alright, but I'm going to have to make sure you can 04:08:14: t come back again, even if you want to." 04:08:30: "Are you gunna attack us or not?" 04:08:46: Banjo "You're going to remove our memories of where this place is right?" 04:08:56: Serotin trots back to the slumbering mare and places her on his back. 04:09:04: Corrigan face-talons. "always a catch..." 04:09:08: Othelo's question falls on the ears of.... absolutely no-one. And nothing. Banjo manages to guess correctly, several hours and almost a dozen miles after the fact. 04:09:16: Banjo "If so, please only remove the memories of its location and not what went on in here." 04:09:30: Othelo blinks and looks around, "Where are we?" 04:09:56: "What... where's Ember!?" 04:10:21: The caravan road isn't exactly a familiar sight to any of them, but they've been on it before. The large, rather messily demolished wooden barricade a few dozen meters behind them is ample proof they've been here before. 04:10:53: Othelo looks around and stomps her hoovsies, "MY STABLE!" 04:11:25: "What stable? fuck stables." 04:11:30: Banjo "Where the fuck are we, and is ember ok?" 04:11:47: Banjo "I remember us trying to find her, did we?" 04:12:00: Corrigan stetches out his wings, inhaling deeply. "I prefer me some open air!" 04:12:15: Ember doesn't appreciate being spoken of as if she isn't there. "Hey, what are you ponies even talking about?" 04:12:15: Corrigan takes off and does a flip 04:12:35: Serotin turns around to see Ember. 04:12:38: Banjo hugs ember "YOU'RE OKAY!" 04:12:46: 4For dealing with my colossal fuck-ups, all characters are awarded 500 exp 04:12:46: Serotin tackles Ember... and Banjo 04:12:55: Othelo takes out her stable notes and reads it, "Hum... there might be another stable..." 04:13:16: Barometer "no" puts her hoof on Othelo's head 04:13:17: Corrigan takes the notes from Othelo, "No Stables." 04:13:19: Banjo "HEY! where the hell did my radaway go? 04:13:39: Othelo holds her note close, "There is another stable though..." 04:13:47: "Maybe you drank it, ya ghoulified moron." 04:13:54: "Oh wait, that's just your face..." 04:14:29: Banjo "No. wait, now I remember, we were in a stable, and we found ember." 04:14:45: Barometer "This is a problem. Thouse ghouls are a serious threat. We need to tell somepony with magical countermeasures." 04:15:11: "Ember... I'm... we... we very nearly lost you..." 04:15:11: Othelo grumbles, "A third stable! think of all the loot! Guys... 'cmon guys." 04:15:29: Serotin glares at Othelo, before turning back to Ember. 04:16:00: Serotin: I'm not playing her charater. Do that later. 04:16:00: Banjo telekinetically takes the map out of othelo's hooves and shreds it "NO!" 04:16:23: Corrigan picks up Othelo and holds her eye level. "No. More. Stables." with each word he pokes her nose 04:16:37: Othelo gasps as her stable note is shredded. Then starts crying. You're all horrible for breaking a little fillies heart 04:17:04: Corrigan feels a little bad...so he passes her to Barometer. 04:17:15: Barometer "NO, Banjo, you morron. Do you know how hard maps are to come by? that might have held a clue as to the ghouls' locations, some what to stop them." 04:17:54: Corrigan smacks the back of Banjo's head. 04:18:05: Serotin strokes Ember's mane while the rest of the party squabbels over... something... 04:18:07: Banjo "There is no fucking way that i'm purposely going back to that stable." 04:18:21: Othelo is still sobbing because you all dashed her dreams to tiny bits 04:18:55: Barometer "we aren't, no, but somepony with a lot of C4 should" she says, picking up Othelo 04:19:06: Corrigan feels a little bad again, not entirely sure what to do. "do...do you want to play on my guitar?" 04:19:32: Banjo "NO GUITAR!!" 04:19:48: Corrigan smacks Banjo again. 04:20:01: Othelo crys for a few more minutes into Barometer's mane until she eventually cries herself to sleep. Which is good for all of you because she was planning on running off again 04:20:23: Corrigan "Banjo, you're an ass..." 04:20:38: Corrigan "And that's coming from me." 04:21:12: Banjo "It was either that or end up getting killed in some princess-fosaken vault!" 04:21:31: "We could have just taken the map, dipstick, not rip it up." 04:21:51: And so we leave our party for this session. Missing a good chunk of their memories, but armed with at least some knowledge of the threat, they have a new enemy in the wastes. A collection of glowing ghouls, working their influence in the far west of Equestria. Whatever their intentions, clearly not good. 04:22:13: Banjo "By keeping that map we'd only end up getting ponies killed unnecessarily." 04:22:38: Corrigan knocks Banjo out with a swing from his guitar 04:22:45: "Go to sleep." 04:23:26: Barometer "And by destrying it you may have made us lose our chance to end the threat for good. I hope they left Tim or the PipBuck intact." 04:23:41: A caravan trundles up the road toward them as they argue. "Heeeey, you ponies looking for some travellin' companions? Aubarn t'ain't far from here, ya know, and we could use the company" 04:24:25: Corrigan checks his equipment and looks to the others 04:24:31: Othelo is sleeping and has no opinion 04:25:29: [End Session 5]