### Vault Quest: Of Lockbearers and Mists: Day 1 ###   ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ Table of Contents: # DAY 1 ••  ......................................   19 ••         ...............................  139 ••         ...............................  466 ••         ...............................  683 ••         ...............................  794 ••         ...............................  923 ••         ............................... 1223 ••         ............................... 1584 ••         ..............................  1859 ••         ..............................  2094   ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦   ###       https://listenonrepeat.com/?v=ua2KPEqB4TY   The sun crests over great forests of northern beyong, bringing the light into chilly wilderness. Swirling winds raced happily between vegetaion, poking and blowing the snow off the creaking tree tops... the winter was almost near and the slowly falling white mist of snow was a constant reminder for those who'd wish to venture into these sleeping lands of wander.     Down below from skies, next to the birds eye view, a small quaint town bustled in these... less than comforting conditions with ponies trotting between buildings, carrying supplies or just traveling between venues and job places - an oasis of activity... however out of this mesmerizing picture a more bustling congregation of ponies could've been observed next to the town's hall as groups of ponies, one by one, were beginning to gather up in front of it.     [https://listenonrepeat.com/?v=_jlQpp9G8MU]    * GreenLight brings his saddlebags filled to the brim with the basic necessities, quest faring items, and Clinic equipment for the expedition.  Over the past few months, he simply slept at the Sleeping Halls to not inconvenience anyone with his wonky hours, being much too unwilling to get his own house, and the night he spent at the Inn thanks to Booze's charity left him as ready as his body has felt in past memory.      * Booze_Hound checks his equipment as he waits for the others    * Whitelight just continues trotting after the small group of ponies standing all the way at the back of the group constantly looking back towards the inn as she leaves feeling a bit regretful of having to leave right when Hoss was there and after being so unpolitely blunt. slowing down a little as she approaches the congregation feeling visibly nervous as well as cold.     Colors of different furs and clothes skittered and shifted around as ponies gathered in small group, quietly conversing, laughing and discussing things to come... In front of the town's door another group of seven ponies, armored and covered in white winter cloaks, all bearing the familiar lock-insignia stayed together, some talking between each one like others, some observing the crowd.    * CrystalShine trots in the snow side by side with White. Her wide smile is revealing how enthusiastic she is about this event. Although she also hides some worries. She's not experienced with her new weapon... Or any weapon... and she fears that she could be a burden because of it.    * GreenLight trots with a pep in his step, arriving at the meeting locale with a big smile on his face "Hoo boy, it really has been forever!"  Thanks to the lab coat's stuffiness and the fact he's a horse, GL isn't terribly cold,  He arrives at the group, waving cheerily at Booze, then White, and then.... some other pony. "Howdy everyone! Booze, I can't thank ya enough, that was the best sleep I've got in, well, a looong time!  And nice ta see you again, otherLight, hope you're feeling better!  And, err..."  He tilts his head, scrunching his nose as he looks at Crystalshine "...Nice to meet you!"  He sincerely hopes they haven't met before, that'd be awkward.  "Name's GreenLight, and you are...?"    * Whitelight tries to keep her distance from the uncomfortably large crowd of ponies gathered there near the town hall. walking over to a nearby bench on the other side of the road, rubbing the snow off of it before sitting down and wrapping herself in her cloak, fidgeting and shivering and keeping her head low.    * Booze_Hound looks up from his blade "no problem light, you're more than welcomed to stay as long as you want"    * CrystalShine smiles at everybody as she finally arrived "Good afternoon." surprised by sudden approach of one of unknown ponies, she offers him her hoof "I'm Crystal Shine, nice to meet you"    * Tali walks up to whoever appears to be in charge of the group   "Pardon me, may I have a word in private?"     One of the ponies next to the door glances in Tali's direction, the brown pegasus stallion's features partly concealed by the white cowl, "Hm? What is it, miss?" The group of lock-bearing ponies stops conversing as their attention switch towards Tali, not completely in unison, but..... most of them, however, return back to their conversation as brown coated pegasus pulls the hood slightly upwards, revealing golden eyes as he patiently waited for Tali to answer.     "Um, when are we moving out?"    * Whitelight "hello..." she said with a hushed tone, her right hoof  playing with the hilt of her longsword, which is strapped to her right side inside a brown leather sheath.    * GreenLight shakes it with a soft, relaxed hoof in return "Likewise! Here's to getting to know each other better, too!  Er, sorry if I come off as odd, I'm still getting used to, well, socializing again!"  He looks at Whitelight "Speaking of, are ya feeling any better, White?"    * Whitelight quickly stops messing with her sword as she hears her name being called and lifts her head to look up at GreenLight, looking upset but quickly hiding it behind a warm smile "yeah a little bit. i think" she shrugs    * Aurora is huffing hard, running quickly to catch up to the goings on of this lil' event, her metal armor making a faint reccuring noise as she gallops to catch up with the group "damn that took longer than I thought..." taking a moment to compose herself as she sees that they are still congretating and haven't moved on, brushing her mane to a more professional appearance before trotting casually over towards the others, her sleek silvery sword attached at her hip, and her heavy crossbow fastened to her back... over her metal armor is a brown cloak with the symbol of the pathfinders stitched on its side, and light furs on the inside to keep her sheltered from the elements.... on her sides are her saddlebags, stashed with enough rations to last her for a few days were she on her own, just in case, looking around to see if any of the pathfinders had decided to tag along with her, but instead settling on the green doctor she has been running in to quite a lot lately, trotting over with a smile    * GreenLight smiles at White's words, though three things about last night's conversation pestered his mind "No need to play stoic, though I understand if'n ya don't wanna talk about it-" He zips his head over to Aurora "Howdy!"     "rora, you're joining us?"    * Aurora takes a moment to catch her breath, having had to run all the way here from her stash away from the lodge "h-hey Lights... y-yeh, of course I am Booze!"    * Whitelight looks off at the crowd  "i feel like i should go back for a moment...what do i say to him tho..?" she said, whispering the last bit to herself before glancing back down the road where she came from. "yeah..sorry about that GreenLight, its just i have a bunch of things going on and...yeah." she sighs, returning her glance to GreenLight who seems distracted with someone else.     The brown coated stallion tapped his hoof with a small wait, his golden gaze moving away from Tali as she asked the question as he looked over the crowd... and then slowly up into the cloud-filled, snowing sky, "I'm not responsible for the call, miss, but if everything goes well, we should move out in about an hour."     "Well hey, when things are settled down over there, you've got a friend to talk to!  From my understanding, we're gonna be up at Mist Veil for a good while, specially since we're the Clinic personnel..."     "thanks"     He looked back at Tali, "We're waiting for the head to return back and give a green light."     "good to know     "What?"    * GreenLight looks around, swearing he heard his name     The pegasus nods to Tali and pulls the hood back on, "If that is all..."    * Whitelight nods slowly as she hears that and rubs her face with a hoof, "i know. i just left something undone and it...upsetting." she gives him a worried smirk.    * CrystalShine is nervously looking around, digging up the snow with her hoof, now that everyone whom she knows is busy with something...    * GreenLight makes the :/ face in character for a second before giving a reassured smile "Trust me, the world ain't gonna end because of it, so best thing to do is focus on the task on hand!  Time to think is always good, too, I can almost guarantee it's not as bad as you think it is..."  * GreenLight has no idea what he's saying, but thinks it'd work    * Tali sits off to one side waiting for things to get going and thinking to herself     !roll 1d20   OvermindGM rolled 1d20: 4      * Whitelight wiggles her nose and leans back on the backrest of the bench "eh...i guess. hopefully you're right, i think i kinda...i was a bit impolite he might be a bit miffed at me now but i guess i'll save it for when we come back."    * Aurora shakes her head, having finally caught herself back up with the others "alright... how much longer till we are out of here Lights? sorry I gotta catch up now..."     "I'm talking about Hoss by the way...we..erm, used to be a thing before things happened you see."    * Whitelight sniffs and slowly wraps herself in her cloak, looking over at Aurora a bit sorry that he needs to answer two people now.    * GreenLight waggles a hoof at White, "Hoss... pick?  Bah, he's a grumpy fella from what I remember- before things happened?  Errr, never mind, don't mean to pry."  He gets distracted, jumping at Aurora's question "Waoh!  I dunno!  Just sorta enjoying the anticipation myself, it's been AGES since I've gone out and done somethin' like this!~"    * Aurora nods with a grin "well if you find yourself in a bit of trouble, I'll be here to back ya up lights..." leaving it at that and letting him have his conversation with Whitelight while I get food IRL so to not stop up the RP    * CrystalShine scans other ponies and their equipment with her eyes, her nervosity rising. She doesn't feel as prepared as she felt few moments ago.    * GreenLight grins "Pffttt, the doctor, need saving?  Please!"  He puffs out his small, twinkish chest  * Whitelight genuinely smiles a little as she listens to the two talk "well i can tell you about it, but its a bit...of a long story and its very...not good to listen to."  * GreenLight starts to get a weird feeling inside, like... He *hasn't* done this in a long time, is he really that well equipped?  * GreenLight shakes his head from the beginnings of those pesky jitters, putting that bravado back on as he responds to White, "If you wanna, I'm a great listener!  ...When I'm not in that weird hermit funk..."    * Whitelight blinks and slowly drags a hoof across her face as she's not prepared for something like this at all. "its a very...tiny violin story if you know what i mean...and its completely my fault if anything happened i was a big moron."    * GreenLight blinks at the mention of the vioin.  Where the heck was his violin anyway?  Pretty sure he stashed it at the Clinic a looong time ago, he really should play that again- Snap out of it Light, respond!  Social!  "Hu- oh, no worries, we've all had those moments, I promise!"     "to my defence..." she thinks for a minute, her eyes scanning the crowd. "well i just didn't want to hurt anyone but i ended up making it so much worse ." she said with a malincholic smile.     "Been there!" He laughs, getting more interested into finding out what actually happened, but restraining himself from showing it "So long as your intentions were good, then I'm sure it ain't as bad as you think, or you saved it from getting worse later on."    * GreenLight really, really hopes that vague stuff worked, keeping that infectious smile on his face    * Whitelight puffs her cheeks and lets out a deep sigh. "well it was one of those things where you have two potential parthners, both of them being very good friends to me and...you could only choose one to go with. i made a whole bunch of mistakes to try to make everyone at least slightly happy, ended up leaving the other to go with other then leaving and...ohh boy."    * Booze_Hound remember light and the diamond dog     "and lets not talk about when...i went over to...someone house who's name will not be mentioned and did things.." her voice dies down a little as she said that "yeah..."    * Booze_Hound bundles his scarf tighter around himself    * GreenLight scratches his head, chuckling awkwardly "Well, if it's relationship advice I'm far from the most qualified to give it, but from what I've found more often than not being lewd really isn't the best answer to much."        ###         Not far away from the crowd a group of three ponies appeared out of the snowing veil, approaching the congregation.    * Aurora is back IRL from getting food and snaps back to awareness of the conversation, listening in on Light and Light's talk about relationships, making her feel a little deflated after what happened with the Hoofster, but she shakes her head, not letting it get to her as she spies the newcomers    * Tali snaps out of her stupor and eyes the ponies appearing    * Whitelight clicks her tongue "I'm aware...thus why its my fault..." she sighs, still trying to smile to him. "i don't really know what i was thinking honestly."    * GreenLight winks "Though don't think that I haven't been lewd when I shouldn't have.  Just know you can always learn from those mistakes, if they are in fact mistakes!"     "Err, hello!"  He calls out to those three emerging from the snowing veil of cartoonish scenes    * Whitelight nods, letting out a short chuckle and smiling broadly to him.     A blue dark coated pegasus and a familiar shabby maned grey unicorn in a green cloak were following a tall red eyed albino [http://goo.gl/9DxDWF], making their way between gathered ponies towards the group by doors.    * CrystalShine , seeing ponies approaching begins to panic, her brain trying to come with excuse to run away. Right! I forgot to turn off ligh... Aw snap. Sighing, she looks again at the incoming ponies and hey there white stal..    * Tali remembers the albino from the day she met him at the clinic.     The blue coated mare notices Green's call and looks in group's direction, passing a smile and a small wave as she trotted with Able and the albino... before straying away from them and approaching the group.    * Whitelight slowly turns her attention to the albino stallion as  she pretty much summed up that shitstorm. silently looking around to see where CrystalShine went since she kinda lost sight of her.    * CrystalShine shakes her head, trying to get him out of her head.     "Good morning!", the mare greeted others, her golden eyes switching from Green to Crystal to Aurora to Booze and others, "How's everyone doing?"   Meanwhile two stallions haven't payed attention and made their way to seven ponies by the door.     "doing well, yourself?"    * Aurora gives Time a quick wave "heyo!"     "I'm doing great!!!  Excited, and ready to go!  How're you doing?"  His smile's that of someone who's internally giving a thumbs up, though personally he's just trying not to get really, really nervous...     The same mare from school house, Time, was wearing a light armor while majority of her body was concealed by winter clothes, "A little bit sleepy, but I'm fine, thank you.", she rubs her right eye, "I hope you ponies are feeling well. We had small... complications at the depot --- b-but everything's been fixed!", she adds quickly    * GreenLight gulps internally, shuddering from the unnerving-ness of that last part of the sentence, but somewhat excited for !fun!... Conflicting emotions are such a pain "Complications?"  Is what Light chooses to say, raising a brow in a Colbert-like manner    * Whitelight lifts her head up a little and gives Time a friendly wave as she continues to silently sit on the bench.    * Aurora waves a hoof dismissively "oh its no problem we can't handle, I'm sure.... anyways, as far as the pathfinders go, I'm the only one here to lend our support thusfar, though I think Cobweb wanted to come... not sure where he is... well I'm sure we have enough people to lend a hand"    * GreenLight perks his ears "If anyone has a hand to lend, it'd make my life at the Clinic infinitely simpler..."     "what exactly were these complications"    * CrystalShine smiles at Time "Good afternoon miss Time." she can't help herself to not look at white stallion from time to time... Those eyes...     The mare nodded, "Thank you, um... ponies at the depot had to refit crates after several carts broke down. Provisions should be read-", but the mare's words drowned out as...   "EVERYPONY!", the same albino stallion shouted out from the town hall, now facing the crowd    * Booze_Hound turns to face the albino    * Whitelight slowly lifts her hoof up looking at GreenLight with a small smile."i-i can..?" her attention quickly grabbed by the albino stallion.    * Tali continues to watch the group     "I wish to thank everypony here for considering helping us and town!", he continued after most of crowd's attention was brought up to him    * Aurora continues facing Time "well if its all ready we shouldn't have any problems right? just a slight delay..." turning to listen to the other stallion now who has the attention of the gathering    * GreenLight chuckles at White "That's a hoof, we have plenty of those at the Clinic.  No opposable thumbs, though..."  He sighs, thinking his humor needs some fine=tuning as well before listening to the ponies in charge     "My name is Wizard Bot, Vault's overseer of the Backlog. I will be in charge of our expedition throughout these weeks.", he says as he slowly observes everyone, "If anypony will have any questions, suggestions or concerns throughout our journey, voice them to me and we will see what we'll be able to do."    * GreenLight almost asks 'when do we start', but due to not being sure if it's because he's super excited, super anxious or both leads him to refrain from asking    * Whitelight slowly raises an eyebrow at GreenLight and starts lowering her hoof "a-ah...well i don't think anyone can really help with that." she said with a chuckle, glancing at him a few times as she kept her eye on the albino stallion.     He takes a step closer to the crowd, "Carts with food, tools and everything are awaiting us at the depot, but before we'll venture into the wilderness...", he makes a little pause, "We need a smaller group of volunteers who will go in front of the main caravan."    * Booze_Hound raises his hoof "yo"    * Aurora looks quickly to the others around her, already leaning forward to step in and volunteer for such a smaller group "you guys interested?"    * Whitelight is considering voluntering but something is keeping her. she looks down at her equipment very quickly and narrows her eyes as she considers this.    * CrystalShine almost darts towards him to volunteer, but quickly stops, returning to real world where she can't fight or something like that...     "As you might have already heard, Mist Veil haven't been explored in more than a year and current paths in woods are filled with snow. We need somepony who will lay out the path, arrive to Mist Veil and survey the place before others arrive."    * Whitelight bites her lips and lifts her hoof up.    * Aurora nods, now stepping forward for sure and raising her hoof up "I'll go, consider it a pathfinder job"    * Tali is fast but no where near equiped to be part of the vanguard.  She remains silent and watches various others volenteer    * CrystalShine looks at White with terryfied look. There's no way back. She can't disappoint her sister... Sighing, she walks few steps forward to stand side by side to her and raises her hoof too, giving White a slightly forced smile.     "Er, it'd take some jogging of the memory, but I *was* part of that first expedition team into Mist Veil..."   Was it really that long ago?  His first ever quest, into that weird place with the faceless scorpion-mace-cats?    * Whitelight smile quickly dies down as she looks at CrystalShine with a scared look "sis...i don't think thats safe for you."     Wiz watched the crowd, counting those who were lifting their hooves up, catching Green Light's words and looking in his direction, "Aha...", he gives Green a nod and returns his focus to others, "Everypony who wishes to go, come closer to me. We'll discuss details of your trip. Everyone else, Ms. Time here will show you the way to depot.", he motioned to the meek pegamare    * Tali walks up behind crystal and whispers "Crystal? what are you doing?  We aren't equiped to be part of the vanguard!"    * Whitelight quickly looks her over and gets even more worried "b-..." she opens her mouth to say something else hesitating for a second.    * CrystalShine quickly shakes her head to shake off that false smile and smiles for real. Or at least pretends it well this time. "It will be good, White."    * GreenLight takes a deep breath, mumbling to himself "You can do this, Light!" As he steps up to the Wiz    * Aurora gives Lights a quick booty bump "yea adventure bro, lets get a move on eh?" heading up towards Wizo    * CrystalShine quickly trots to Wizard bot.    * Whitelight takes a few deep breaths "i...fudge...just stay VERY close ok?" she hops off the bench and rushes over to Wizard.    * GreenLight jumps at the booty bump, yelping out of surprise before laughing to himself.  What's he so jumpy about?    * Tali looks at her worried as she goes "fuck."     While the pegasus mare began to gather up other ponies, the albino remained to stay frozen in his place.    * Tali heads up even though she never raised a hoof     The group of white cloaked ponies with insignia, similar to Time, dispersed through the crowd.    * Aurora giggles at the jumpy pegasus, shaking her head "at least we have your cat like reflexes on our side"     "You've said that you've already been there?", the stoic stallion asks Green as others approached him    * Booze_Hound gets up, putting the cloak over his chain and gets ready    * GreenLight scrunches his nose, nudging Aurora back "Pls..."  He clears his throat, looking literally up at RoboAbleCop.  "Erm, yeah, like you said, it's been well over a year, though..."    * Whitelight stands next to CrystalShine as she listents closesly, visibly tensed up and nervous now.    * Tali stand towards the back of the vanguard group and listens.    * CrystalShine tries to fix her mane to make it look better and looks at wizard bot, smiling, but prepared to quickly throw her gaze somewhere else.     "Thank you all for volunteering. We appreciate your help.", Wiz retorts almost in a 'recorded' fashion, or perhaps his thoughts were just too focused on the topic at hand. The pony nodded to Green Light, "I understand. One year is very long in these 'eventful' wilds, but I hope that you won't meet anything new in those abandoned halls."     "If you have experience with that place, will you wish to lead the group forward for the survey?"    * GreenLight gulps, his voice slightly cracking "Bah, I ain't worried!  And sure, I'm fairly sure I can remember the path, though, er, it's all... snowy now."     "Sir, will we be supplied with some basic medical equipment for CLS support?"    * GreenLight nods "Got everything right here!"    * Aurora nods "yea we got Lights here to save us if anyting happens!"     The stallion nods again to Green, "Very well, Mr... Light, was it?", he said and looked at Tali, offering her a small smile, "This sir works in the clinic, so you should have first aid for your survey."    * GreenLight blinks, totally not freaking out internally or anything "Erm, Whitelight is a nurse too, Aurora."  He looks at the Whizzard and Tali, mustering up his thumbs-up smile "Eeyup!"     "I can also offer you maps and ... several pieces of equipment from the Vault if you need anything."     "ohhh what can we pick from the vault?"     "Good, but I was more interested in dispersing basic life saving tools such as turnoquets through out the team"     "RPG7?"   "flame thrower?"    * Whitelight takes a few moments to nod at what GreenLight said.     "We'll take all the maps and equipment we can handle, sir."  He looks at Tali, chuckling "Tourniquets, splints, disinfectant, bandages... We should be in good shape!"    * CrystalShine quickly shakes her thoughts about phone number and takes her time to think about something more practival.    * Aurora quirks her head at the suggestion of 'equipment' from the vault, scrunching at Booze's enthusiam but looking toward Wizzo for more clarification    * Tali doesn't really seem satisfied with what the answers given but goes silent and decides she will just ask for something of that nature later.     "Clinic supplied expedition with medical equipment, yes, miss, but all crates will be traveling with the main group.", the stallion looks back to his cloaked side and brushes the cloth away, revealing several pouches strapped to his armor, smirking a bit at Booze, "Not exactly RPGs, no, but something that might help you. I can offer you residual magic detectors, a prototype of a bladed gauntlet, restoration potions and poisons."     "...Whoa"     "all of those sounds great"    * Whitelight raises an eyebrow at the 'bladed gauntlet' part  "w-woah indeed."    * GreenHoof gallops full sprint towards the townsquare, crossbow and sword clanking at his sides as he wheezes and hauls ass to the group outside, the hood of his brown cloak blowing off his head in the wind. "Hey... *wheeze* y'all, *cough*, did... did I miss anything?"    * CrystalShine looks eagerly at T-Detector "How does this work?"    * Whitelight takes a moment to consider these choices, looking down at her sword, she's pretty satisfied with her weapon so shestarts eyeing the goodberry extract with interest.    * GreenLight beams, now seeing TWO people that he actually knew well!  "Heya Hoof!"    * Aurora quirks her head, looking towards the extract "I think you should take that magic potion Lights, probably best in the hooves of a doctor..." turning to see the object of her irritation and once lover Hoof trotting up to catch up to them, turning her head to phase out any obvious signs of emotion "I'm fine with my gear"     The albino levitates a simple looking gauntlet in Crystal's direction. An enclosed vial filled with something black and grainy, strapped securely to the gauntlet's top. The piece doesn't seem to offer much protection and seems to be constructed strictly to safely carry the vial, ""     "i'll take that poison"     "O-oh!!!  Uh... Yeah, I'll take the magic potions, that makes sense."  He looks at the Whizzard for confirmation    * GreenHoof smiles seeing Greenlight, nodding to his buddy, but his ears fold back slightly seeing Aurora before turning his attention to the familiar albino stallion, quieting down to listen.     "I'll take a detector if you don't mind"    * Whitelight raises a hoof looking over at Green Light with a slightly saddened  expression now, she was about to say it... "I'll take the detector thing..." she puffs her cheeks at tali.    * CrystalShine smiles at that, her attention finally grabbed by something even more interesting than that good looking stallion "Can I take one?"     "The compound inside the vial reacts to magical currents in the environment and lights up with a bright white glow upon approach. Detector is not powerful enough to sense faint magical currents, unless it's close to enchanted or magical object.", he said and passed one detector to Tali and another one to Crystal while levitating a vial with a dirty looking liquid to Booze    * GreenHoof watches as the Vault personnel hands out goodies, quietly evaluating as he absentmindedly pats himself down to double check that he has his equipment.    * GreenLight takes the pot, hoping for a GM to PM him the info regarding the inventory     The stallion glances at White, "Detectors are gone, miss, but I can offer you the last piece.", he motions at a more armored looking gauntlet with a spring and a blade-shaped sheath attached to its top    * Whitelight sits there with her cheeks still puffed as she stays there empty handed, growling internally before returning to look at  Wizard bot.    * Whitelight slowly smiles "a-ah..?.." she slowly walks over to grab said ganutlet and starts looking it over "how does it..." she narrows her eyes.    * CrystalShine takes one gauntlet and locks it around her leg, turning her hoof in front of here eyes, she cannot enjoy her new toy more.    * GreenLight slips the potion into one of the comfy, secure pockets of his lab coat, never ceasing to be impressed with how convenient the pockets were located    * Tali eyes the healing potion, remembering Able Tome's talk about the cancerous effects of rapid healing    * Whitelight takes a few steps back with the armored gauntlet still curiously looking it over "thanks, sir." she said sounding a bit distant as she carefully strapped it to her right hoof.    * GreenLight quirks an eyebrow at Tali before reassuring her "I ain't gonna use it unless it's last-resort."    * Aurora of course, has no issue with her current set up, nodding towards Wizzo "well then, are we ready to go?"    * GreenHoof watches the proceedings and goodies being handed out, instinctively gravitating to his green friend's side, observing Wizard with a neutral expression.     "Strap it carefully to your forehoof using those belts underneath it. A button under your wrist will trigger a releasing mechanism with a several inches long blade triggered out of it. Good for self defense, but watch out... the mechanism can get jammed if damaged. To release the mechanism back...", he poits at the button on the side of the box, "You hold this and push the blade back inside."    * Tali equips the guantlet on her right fore hoof, tilting the more fragile looking parts towards the left side of her hoof so as to limit possible damage from smacking it into something    * GreenLight gawks once more at White's new weapon, both impressed and intimidated by it.     The unicorn nodded and looks at Aurora and others, "Unless there are any more questions - yes."    * GreenHoof raises an eyebrow, looking at the gauntlet, before casting a slight smirk at Wizard. "Finally got the witch 'tech' reverse engineered, eh?"     The stallion also levitates out a map out of his pouch and passes it to Green Light, "Here. Just in case.", he says and nods to Hoof    * GreenLight takes MAP and assigns it to the Select button for rapid reading when in need "Thanks!"    * GreenHoof sits on his haunches, carefully timing his breathing as the wheezing begins to subside.     "is that the only one and do we get a compass?"    * Whitelight nods as she slowly straps the gauntlet to her hoof, making sure its properly done, then, she takes a few steps back and pushes the button to release the hidden blade. "ah..."    * Aurora snickers "its just a wrist mounted switch blade, how hard could it have been to make one? the hard part would be the spring I would assume at least..." turning towards Greenlight, holder of the map     "Uh... I might overhear that... But I assume we can take food needed for our journey from the expedition supply?"     The mechanism clicks at White's touch with a sharp, thin 3-4 inches long blade springing out with a screech.     "ho fact acting is this toxin and what does it do?"    * GreenLight is studying it studiously, assigning the outlines to the memories of his last endeavor there to get a-  * GreenLight jumps at the screech, yelping slightly before calming himself down, chuckling     The unicorn... smiles faintly at Tali's question, "Heh. A compass..."    * Aurora can't help but snicker "woah there greenbean, she is on our side"    * Whitelight blinks and looks at the blade with slight awe, she's always kind of imagined of having a weapon like this, "ohh boy.." she glances over at GreenLight and lets out a short chuckle as she sits down to press the button to reset the mechanism and carefully pushes the blade back in like Wizard said.     "... our maps were hoof made, miss, without the use of compasses."     "Whew, and that's a good thing too, Aurora!"     The blade returns back into its enclosed position, though it takes a bit of an effort to put it back.    * GreenHoof winces at the noise, the hair on his neck standing up and the faint lines of muscle under his short green coat tensing up as a first reaction to his past dealings with such weapons.    * Tali sighs "That's fine, we can use a few methods to act as directional guides in their place..."    * GreenLight , with the GM's permission, shows everyone the map, saying "Well, a compass shouldn't be crucial to exploring, so long as we recognize where we are at all times."     "though I worry about the accuracy of these maps now    * Whitelight has the longest smirk right now as she takes a minute to push the blade back in its sheath. then she stands up and goes back to silently listening to the others    * Aurora nods "most if not all maps are made by the pathfinders, who work hand in hand with cartography, more or less"     http://img.booru.org/fourcannon//images/1/129913384982386cf515e412c18c98657f0f461c.jpg    * GreenHoof raises an eyebrow, narrowing his eyes and studying the map briefly. "Hm... no heading to go off of? That's... a good way to get lost on a flight..."  * GreenHoof shrugs and sighs, rubbing his eyes. "Ah well. Guess pilotage and ded reckoning will have to suffice..."    * Tali takes a good look at the map, realizing that it's just over the cave and won't be useful until they get there    * CrystalShine clears her throat "I'm sorry, but what about proviant for our journey?"     "It's not TOO bad of a journey!  Sure, the cold and snow will be a pain, but it shouldn't take too long to get there."   "I-if memory serves correctly, that is."  * GreenLight is in no position whatsoever to lead and acts accordingly    * GreenHoof yawns and stands up, having had enough of freezing his ass on the cold snow through his cloak. "Ah... it's probably fine. Just hear my ol' flight instructor berating me in the back of my head... I know what it's like to go off course cause you didn't follow a heading..."     The unicorn silently observes others as his smile disappears back, "Use this equipment only if you'll have to and keep it safe. All commissioned pieces will have to be returned back.", the stallion says and nods to Crystal again as slowly he starts to head off down the street, motioning others to follow, "If you need food, we'll pay depot a quick visit before you venture out."    * Aurora starts to follow whizzo, not really having anything to say as she simply lets the others get themselves ready    * GreenLight follows the /tg/ Whizzard, dare he enter the mystical realm of Mist Veil    * Tali follows Wizard    * CrystalShine nods "If I understand it correctly, we won't spend there long before others will arrive, but we should take some just in case."    * Whitelight casts one last glance at her new weapon before quickly nodding to him,  hastily trotting after the group as they start to head down the road.    * GreenHoof follows GreenLight, occasionally casting a pensive glance to Aurora as he walks.    * CrystalShine trots behind him, looking... No, she's not looking there, really not.. Quickly throws her gaze to the ground.    * GreenLight isn't hungry, due to being both excited and scurred.  He looks back and tries to distract himself "So how's life been, Hoof?"     "That's understandable, miss."    * Whitelight just remians completely silent with only a small frown on her face as they head down to depo, filling her left saddlebag with as much food that could fit while putting some bandages just in case inthe other. quietly standing at the back of the group as they finally step out of the gate...    * GreenHoof shrugs and gives a tired smile to GreenLight, keeping his eyes on Wizard. "Same old same old... Figured I'd see what this expedition was all about."      ###       It takes about half an hour for everyone to pick up additional supplies such as food for the journey, though the crowd at the depot didn't made the task overly easy. After all chores were done and last farewells were said, the group of adventuring ponies soon find themselves passing one of the town's gatehouses, slowly treking into snow-filled fields   https://listenonrepeat.com/?v=Uxg5W5wKvLE     "Oh gosh... This is actually happening!"    * GreenHoof chuckles, nudging GreenLight as they trot along. "y'act like you've never left town before, heh."    * Aurora blinks, sticking close to Lights "I didn't know you two were friends..." smiling at Hoof once before turning to face their path "heh, yea you are like an excited kid"    * Tali pulls her poncho hood up and follows, trying to keep within 5-10 meters with as many people as possible    * GreenLight laughs, "Well, it's just that I really don't get out much lately, and-"  He huffs slightly, stamping one hoof down slightly harder on the way "Kid?  I ain't no kid!"    * GreenHoof catches Aurora's smile, briefly smiling timidly back before quickly reverting his gaze to the path in front of them.    * GreenLight regains his composure "But yeah, Hoof was, well, my very first friend here in FC!"     Each step and crunch of frosty snow under their hooves was bringing the group closer and closer to forest's tree line, the cold breeze tickling their clothes and fur as they were passing treeless outskirts, leaving slowly lifting clouds of warm chimney smoke and town's safety.... behind....    * CrystalShine trots through the snow, enjoying cold chill on her hooves, her fear disappearing with the happy mood of fellow travellers.    * Aurora snickers "sure... sure you aren't" looking back to the enthusiastic pegasus before looking back out to the path ahead of them     "Well, first friend I remember, but-"  He gets distracted by a particularly effective breeze, shivering   "Seriously!"    * Whitelight slowly pulls her hood over her head silently scanning the surroundings, happy that she's not shivering as much as she's usually is, the clothes and the cloak are doing their job well for now. covering her muzzle behind her scarf.    * CrystalShine smiles "At least we don't have to care much about water with this snow all around"    * GreenLight is severely tempted to get a snowball fight out of his system, but surely he'll do that later!     Groups of pegasi seemed to fly and direct clouds on the horizon, back next to town's walls with last traces of bustling activity being shrouded by the snow's mist... The forest's perimeter was closing in with tall lifeless trees becoming larger and larger, dwarfing the jolly group.     "heh, you know how much dust and dirt gets in snow?  if it isn't recent, you better have a filter of some sort"    * Aurora tightens her own cloak around her body, letting the warm furs press against her own and keep herself warmer against the ever present freeze of the harsh winter, the woods surrounding them doing nothing to stop her positive adventuring attitude as they press out into the cold    * CrystalShine shakes her head "depends on height of snow layer. And even then, simple cloth filter should be sufficient"     "true, still a pain in the ass"     "Also, we aren't in the city, there aren't much sources of dust here."     "I dunno, back where I came from snow was considered good to eat so long as it didn't look dirty."     "they could just follow our tracks"     "Or yellow"    * GreenLight looks around at the cartoonish wintery scene "...You're not wrong!"     And so the group slowly, but surely enters into the quiet... winter... forest.... welcome~... :3   The trees around ponies grow big and tall, creaking occasionally from the slow chilly winds above. Unlike in the opening, ticklish gusts seemed to be shy, offering only small occasional breeze at the level of traveling party... the forest stayed quiet and dormant, like the winter herself.    * GreenHoof shivers a bit, looking up into the sky at the pegasi flying over, eventually narrowing his eyes to adjust to the dark, snow covered winter forest.    * Aurora lets out a sigh "we didn't get much snow where I was from, not enough to just scoop up and eat anyways"    * Whitelight gulps and stares into the forest for a good few seconds before trotting in after the party trying not to fall too far behind.     "Dang, I'm sorry! I swear, I miss home weather so much... Summers were hot, Springs and Falls cold yet beautiful, and Winters snowing...  Well, basically it was just the summers that differentiated this place from there, but still- Gosh, it's so pretty!"     "you're talking light"   "hot springs and falls"   "hotter summers"     "I do that usually, I swear"    * Aurora nods "oh a hot springs would be nice... or maybe a nice hot tub like we used to go relax in during the winter! too bad Golden left and the spa shut down..."    * GreenLight chuckles "Sounds nice, Arizona?  Colorado?"  * GreenLight sighs "Wait, the spa shut down?? What?"     "even better was the winter, like 60 at the coldest"    * Whitelight sniffs and quickly wipes her nose, walking a bit closer in the group, smiling a little as she listens to GreenLight "it did? ah..."    * GreenLight droops his ears down, visibly deflated "Well, shoot."    * GreenHoof grits his teeth as the faint gusts tease him, the Louisiana-horse not used to the cold winter's snow even after having dealt with it a year before. As if to distract his teeth from chattering, the stallion reaches into his saddlebag and pulls out a cigarette, sticking it into his mouth and soon lighting it up with a certain desert-made lighter, letting a small plume of pleasantly scented poppy escape from his lungs not too long after as he listens to his friends. His ears fold back at Aurora and GreenLight's words, and the green earfie gives Light a sad look. "Golden... he left, along with his kids."     "...That's a really bad habit there, Hoof-"  He hears those words, and gives a look of sadness in return "Dang, well... Hope he's doing okay, I-"  * GreenLight makes a dog-like "?" noise     ... however, the longer group trotted over the white sheet, the louder silence around them was getting... 'louder'. The forest indeed looked lifeless with no birds or wildlife to be seen or heared around them... only constant, quiet droning of cracking branche-   Roll perception     !roll 1d20   GreenHoof rolled 1d20: 6     !roll 1d20+3   Whitelight rolled 1d20: 17     !roll 1d20+4   GreenLight rolled 1d20: 9     !roll 1d20   Booze_Hound rolled 1d20: 1     !roll 1d20-1   Aurora rolled 1d20: 13     !roll 1d20+2   Tali rolled 1d20: 3      * Booze_Hound is blind    * Tali is not really paying attention, thinking back on something     "MOVE TO SECTOR 7! THIS AREA IS CLEAR!" The loud and masculine shout reaches the ears of everypony, but only some realize where it comes from. A second shout, feminine and high pitches, replies. "ROGER THAT! YOu heard him ponies..."    * GreenLight jumps "WAUGH!"    * Whitelight silently follows the three talking ponies, listening to the convo seems to get her mind off the fear and worry. keeping her eyes and ears open for anything sneaking in the shadows as theforest gets unusually silent "what the-" she recoils in fear and turns to face where that came from.     While most ponies hear the shout... Booze Hound seemingly lapsed on attention for a moment to notice fully.    * GreenHoof 's ears stick straight up at the sudden voices, looking around     Green, Aurora and Whitelight detect the source of the intense shouting further North, apparently out of sight for now, but the second shout came from above the treeline. After the voices dies down, the creaking of wood becomes the only sound in the background...    * GreenLight points with one forehoof, like a beagle "Thataway!"    * Whitelight readily lays her hoof over the hilt of her longsword "shit..." she whispers, trying to hide the trembling of her hooves as she draws her sword with her mouth and walks closer to the source..    * Aurora lets out a barely audible squeak of surprise at the sudden shouting "uhh yall hear that?"     "That sounded like some sort of military patrol"    * GreenLight breaks his pointing, putting both his hoof and tail down "Yeah, how could you not?  I think it means we're close?"     "what did? the birds?"     "...I think you've been in one too many explosions Booze"     "Well, if this area is clear of something then that's good for us I'd say"    * Whitelight seems to suddenly walk ahead of the group as she hurriedly make her way north. narrowing her eyes and slowing down as she gets a bit of distance from the group.    * GreenHoof keeps his ears open, scanning the area carefully as he slowly creeps along    * GreenLight nods to Tali "So, er, shall we resume?"    * Aurora raises her eyebrows as Whitelight scurries up ahead of everyone else, wondering where she is going off to so fast "hey uhh... wait up for us silly!"     "I'd say yes."     A branch whines unusually loudly above the party, followed by the sound of something moving lightly.... As the ponies approach the new point of interest, more voices return to the ambience of the woods. "--- how about I slap your shit, private? Next time you praise that pony, do it away from me. Understood?"    * GreenLight tries not to giggle at that outburst    * Whitelight suddenly stops and grabs her sword with her right hoof "there is someone there..." she squints her eyes and looks around.     "Uhhh, who do you think they're talking about?"    * GreenHoof grimaces, frowning slightly at the harsh words and drop of rank. "Private? We don't have those ranks in the guard I thought..." he mutters to himself     "i don't know but he needs to go.."     "Whoa, whoa!  Calm down White, if they're on our side the last thing we want is for them to see us ready to fight..."    * Tali snorts, "heh, sounds like a sargent."     Another voice replies to the deep one that just spoke, a meek and hesitant one. On the distance, partially hidden by bushes covered in snow and tree that are in the way, a couple of pegasus seem to be caught in a discussion. One is tall, sturdy, of intense red color and wears a golden helmet and chest plate, whereas the other is short and fatter, with the same equipment and of a blueish color.     "Equestrian military or do we have forces operating out here I have no knowledge of?"     "if they are on our side we should help them"    * GreenHoof raises an eyebrow at Whitelight, frowning at her hoof on her sword. "Relax. Last thing we want is to get in a fight with our own guys on a reconisance operation." He says in a quiet, raspy voice.    * Aurora quirks her head "Private..." wondering if she recognized any of these voices    * Whitelight glances back to GreenLight and nods slwoly takes a few steps back. and silently puts her sword back "s-sorry.." she frowns a little.    * GreenLight nods "Other greenhorse has a good point, guys.  Let's be cautious here"     "W-well.... I'm.. I'm sorry sargent. Is just that Iron Wing look--" "Don't say her name even, that's an order"    * GreenHoof sighs and shakes his head, voice low and quiet. "That's not our orders or mission perameters. Our only duty is getting where we were instructed to go."     !roll 1d20   OvermindGM rolled 1d20: 11      * GreenLight looks at White with a reassuring smile "No worries, it's always good to be prepared, just try not to show it!"  * GreenLight nods once more "Let's just keep going, guys, no need to, erm, meddle..."  What is he talking about?  He LOVES meddling!  Since when did he get so cautious?     As distant conversations continued to echo in group's direction a short brisk wind clashed out with ponies in the clearing, deafening mentioned words.    * Whitelight lowers her ears and nods slowly to GreenLight  "alright..." she goes back to looking around looking so tense and aggressive.     Again, from above, a noise catches the attention of the party, a muffled girly chuckle... The stallions on the distance nod to each other, still unaware of the Cannonites spying them. "Let's move now, we need to clear the next area of spiders. The captain mentioned..." The wind blows away the rest of the conversation, and the soliders in the distance take off above the treeline shortly after    * GreenLight nopes internally and externally, his fur bristling "...Did I hear... Spiders..."    * GreenHoof gulps, listening closely as his eyes slowly scan the surrounding area. "Alright... see? They're just clearing out spiders. They do their job and we do ours."    * Whitelight "no spiders..." she said her tail slowly ponfing out "thats good they are not...enemies at least we know that..."    * CrystalShine gulps and says quietly "Not another spiders please"     "...Let's just hope they do their job *before* we do ours... I hate spiders like Indiana Jones hates Snakes..."     "anyone get the feeling they are trying to ambush the supplies that will be following us?"    * CrystalShine prepares her spear, just in case    * GreenHoof takes one last puff of his cigarette and puts it in the alloted capsule in his saddlebag, still slowly creeping in the direction they were originally going, ears flickering as he strains to pick up any additional sounds or conversations.    * Aurora shakes her head "we should at least let someone know about all this, just incase"     "they better not..." she looks back towards the party and down the road.     "Well, who want's to volenteer?"     "Erm, sure... You go ahead and do that, Aurora."  He gives a full-toothed smile "You did suggest it!"      ###       "Babies first time outside?" Calls a raspy but feminine voice from above. Reclining against the thick trunk of a dead oak, sitting on a branch, a batpony with yellowish fur and gray mane observes the ponies below with a sneer. Most of her body is hidden beneath a thick back poncho, but her hindlegs wrapped in leather boots for ponies are visible. Leathery wings sticking out her garment reveal her race, and from her side a small crossbow delates her as some sort of hunter. "*Yawn* Did you see the Equestrians over there as well?" She lazily adds while scratching her left ear, which has two circular piercings made of steel or some gray metal.     "..." Is just about all GreenLight can muster    * Aurora rolls her eyes "It will be in the report dingus...." quirking her head at yet another voice, turning up and seeing "you!"     "You?"    * GreenHoof opens his mouth again to object, though he closes it again when he remembers Wizzard giving GreenLight commanding role. His ears stop flickering as he hears the harsh voice of the batpone, he stops and looks up in the direction of the voice.    * Aurora lets out a sigh "yea, we did, what are they doing out here?"     "Erm, who- what?"    * Whitelight tenses up as suddenly a voice she doens't recognize addresses them and quickly turns around to look at the unknown bat. "you can say it is..." she whispers towards her.  looking back at Aurora as she asks the question she was about to ask.    * CrystalShine looks up, confused by sudden appereance of batpony and turns to White, whispering "Who's that?"    * Erinna unfolds her wings completely and leans forward brusquely to get off her spot. "As far as I know, clearing the forests of the ice spiders that have been abounding" Her reply is blunt, spoken in a carelss way. She glides down and stands in front of the group, observing them all with some sort of disdain. "The real question is what are YOU all doing here?"    * Whitelight glances towards CrystalShine keeping her best poker face " i dunno..." she whispers     "Erm, we're all just, ah, w-who are you again?"    * Booze_Hound looks to the one with the gold armor "so that the read deal or some royal guard knock off?"    * Whitelight looks at Erinna for a minute as she recognizes the pony...but forgets the name...again, "we are doing...something that is not your business" she narrows her eyes    * Tali notes the bat pone, eventually turning back to keep an eye out for ambushing parties     "Why are Equestrians clearing forests around here? Isn't it too far away of their towns?"    * Aurora quirks her head "just clearing out a path of our own, making a little excursion, whats it to you?"    * GreenHoof steps forward, clearing his throat of flegm and looking up at the batmare, his voice timid but confident. "We're on an expedition on behalf of entities in town. We won't be in your way, just passing through, ma'am."    * GreenLight nods, hiding slightly behind the larger green    * Whitelight stands upright blushing a little at her lack of trust for this mare. looking around a little ashamed "well or that of course..."    * Erinna folds her wings before replying. "Erinna, not really at your service, green dude." She changes her attention to the rest of the ponies, answering their multitude of statements with a nod and a shrug. "Well, the Poachers are all worried about Equestrians meddling around, so I'm being cautious... you should be it too. Is harsh out there for farmers like you lot~"     !roll 1d20   OvermindGM rolled 1d20: 6       "Erm, good to know, I guess.  Now, would you mind if for now we just continued on our way?"    * Whitelight "oh its you..." she says as she hears the name and sighs. letting the others talk for the time being.     The branches next to tree tops 'nod', accompanying Erinna's words with crackling noises.    * GreenLight has no idea who the heck these Poachers are, but-    * CrystalShine turns to Whitelight again, whispering "So you know her after all?"    * GreenLight bristles once more, all four of his hooves standing straight and wings spread out "W-who that"    * Aurora raises an eyebrow "oh please, we can take care of ourselves miss... you just caught me and Cury at a bad time"     "yes...i remember her now." she glances towards CrystalShine "from a while ago."    * GreenHoof stands up a little straighter, sniffling and rubbing his nose as he listens, observing the mare bat intently.    * Erinna turns around to face the path that follows North, observing the wilderness ahead. "I won't stop you" She says softly, and takes a hoofstep to the side, leaving the road open to the party. Still without looking at them, the batpony adds. "We'll have time to talk sometime else... I guess. Go on your way, I'll be close, after all, you are on MY area."     "so, poachers? they have protected animals around here?    * GreenLight read that wrong OOC, but plays it off IC by being on edge much more than he expected to be, calming down slightly, though his chest still rises and falls a bit quickly     Trees crackle several times, with their branches seemingly following wind's pattern above, but only the air above, there no gusts followed the crackling on group's level... only the same, near constant, but barely noticeable chilly breeze    * Erinna can't help but chuckle while turning to see Tali. "Not from us, that for sure~ Now go, and have your eyes open all the time. I can't guarantee you'll be safe deeper in the forest"     "Well, er, thanks for your time maam, we appreciate your concern but we should be off on our way.  Ready to resume walking, guys?"    * GreenLight coughs "Er, girls.  Mostly girls."    * CrystalShine nods    * Whitelight looks back towards the party again, still keeping an eye on Erinna as she waited for the others to continue walking. "right...c'mon guys we should get moving."    * GreenLight starts walking again, a bit quicker    * Whitelight gives Erinna a look before she walked after GreenLight     "we need to pick it up to make up for lost time"    * GreenHoof shivers again at the steady but weak ice-breeze. He nods wordlessly to Erinna and looks to GreenLight, giving an approving nod to his green friend before continuing along with Light, muttering to the green pegasus beside him. "Keep an eye on that map... We lose track and we're fucked without a heading to reference..."    * Aurora snickers at the mostly girls comment "well then miss Erinna, you should watch your back too, careful the equestrians don't catch you poachin'"    * Tali nods and starts following greenlight again.    * GreenLight pats his smaller, fuzzy chest "Underneath this lab coat is an inside pocket, Hoof, that map ain't going anywhere without my permission!"    * GreenHoof nods and smiles to Light and continues going, casting one last glance back at the batmare     "Sure green dude, careful with the shiny eyes ones, and don't worry Fatty" Says Erinna to Aurora while following the party with her eyes. "Unlike you, I know how to take care of myself" The batpony eventually is lost of sight, but is uncertain if she's around like promised or not, since the whistling of the wind and the creaking of the woods doesn't cease or stop at all during the march...    * Whitelight takes position at GreenLight's side, looking back at Erinna as they walk away from the batmare "see ya Erinna." she said slightly unconvinced before turning around again.    * CrystalShine gives a batmare one last glance and quickly catches her pace with White, getting by her side again, saying quietly "So.. She's one of us?"    * Whitelight tenses up and bites her lips "yes, she's with us."     "Erm, do you guys know what the heck the Poachers are?"     ###       Hours pass with Celestia's sun moving above the thickening clouds as the morning's graceful, peaceful weather begins to pass...   http://youtu.be/u153b2MO5Lg   As the journey through the forest continues, trees and dead, dormant shrubbery starts to grow larger and closer to each one... With snowfall becoming more prevalent it becomes increasingly more difficult to navigate through the forest as cold wind and white misty fog of snow obscures group's visibility... the more they go, the more difficult it becomes to keep their bearing.     "Almost t-there, guys... I hope..." He mutters the last part under his breath.  "How is e-everyone?"     "cold"    * Whitelight turns to GreenLight, waiting for a moment as she thinks before letting out a "noo..." she takes a few steps closer to GreenLight giving a worried look "cold...and mostly alright."    * GreenHoof squints his eyes and tries to keep their surroundings in sight despite the dark night, not saying anything but giving a brief nod to GreenLight as they continue. "Might want to get that map out though... If we lose our way we're fucked without a compass, man."    * CrystalShine smiles "It must be really cold, I begin to feel it."    * GreenLight sees shivering, and doesn't like it "J=just try your best, White, we're all freezing here...  Knew I shoulda bulked up for the winter."  He gives a sad look to Hoof "The map really only gives an outline of the caves, n-not really how to get there per se..."    * Aurora tightens her cloak around her as the snow and wind beat on their bodies "yeah, lets beat feet... hooves... and get there as fast as we can so we can warm up"    * Tali shivers and tries to use her poncho to block the wind a bit    * GreenHoof grits his teeth and mutters under his breath "Should've made that albino bastard give us a compass before we set out. Like goin' bear hunting with an empty rifle..."    * GreenLight smirks, chattering his teeth as he plugs on "Been there~"     Before this, ponies mostly followed their path by making their way towards northern mountains... something that pegasi would definitely be able to check, but...    * Aurora quirks her head "you've been bear huntin with an empty rifle?"    * Whitelight winces a little as it seems to be getting a bit too cold. constantly looking around to make sure there aren't any surprises. "i will, if you want i can give you my scarf if you want it...also d-don't worry doc nothing bad will happen..."     "don't...take my word for it...but stay close..."     "Oh, that's very nice of you!  But I got my black scarf to keep my own neck warm-"  He fumbles around in his saddlebags before looking like a deer caught in the headlights "...Crap, forgot my black scarf."     [theres mah survival roll ]   !roll 1d20+1   Tali rolled 1d20: 11      * GreenHoof shakes his head, casting a sideglance at Aurora. "J-just an expression... When I was still a student pilot my old instructor cussed me out sayin' somethin' to that effect when I didn't plot headings and landmarks to follow..."    * Whitelight  chuckles with amusemnt as she looks at him , should't be laughing tho "I'll give you it if you want..."    * Aurora blinks "yea.... and when you said that, Lights said 'been there'... I .. konw what nevermind"     "Bah!  No, y-you're sufferin' as much as I am.  Asides, we're almost there, I'm sure!"     While some ponies from the group could've complained about the lack of... technological means, Tali was using her wits to keep the bearing more or less steadily goin' in northern direction, though wind and snow were making it increasinly hard to tree bark difference for the purpose.    @@@ To Tali:  ... had sides of their their tree bark covered in thick layers of ice as if someone sprayed many buckets over them and let the temperature freeze that water solid. Many trees had a similar pattern - a wall of frozen ice sheet descending down their treebark like waterfall tears... an odd occurance that other ponies from the group haven't noticed.    * GreenLight brought a knife to a bear fight once.  Once.    * GreenHoof remembers ;3     Oddly enough while she was doing this, the mare could notice that some trees...    * CrystalShine quietly hums some happy song, unknown for others and lets other ponies lead the way. She has a terrible orientation sense.    * GreenLight assumes forward is forward, being righted by Tali's reference every once in a while    * Tali stops and looks hard at the trees "wait up"     [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F__P3ajvbxE]    * Whitelight nods and turns to face the horizon again, slightly worried as she doesn't know if they are going the right way "how far is that place anyways?"     "Something is weird with these trees"    * GreenHoof stops and looks to Tali with a raised eyebrow. "What d'you mean?"     "Hmm?"    * GreenLight looks up and around, trying to make a note of what Tali's talking about    * CrystalShine stops her hum and shrugs to White "If the mist layer isn't that high, someone could fly up and look"     "whats...wrong with the trees now...?" she stops and looks back at Tali.     "Look at the ice on them... it looks like something was poured on them or something and froze into a sheet of ice."    * Aurora scrunchies, turning her head to look at the trees nearby, wondering if the Gm would let her make a survival roll to check for lost status     "Erm... That's.. not great..."     "what are we dealing with doc?"     Similar to the mare, upon closer inspection, ponies could notice that some trees had one side of their entire body covered in thick layers of ice... numerous actually. The pattern seemed to be the same - a wall of frozen ice sheet descending down their treebark like waterfall, ending up in icy tears next to their trunks...     "But, well, we're ponies in a cartoonish setting, I'm sure it's just, uh... Maybe we should just keep on marching!"    * GreenLight doesn't like this one bit     Also Aurora, you can roll for Survival     !roll 1d20+1   Aurora rolled 1d20: 20      * CrystalShine knocks on the ice around one of trees "That's really strange."     "It looks like they were hit with something coming from that direction which froze them!    * GreenHoof looks over the trees and frowns, looking to Light with an unsure expression. "If we're lost, last thing we wanna do is keep marching..."    * Tali points in the general direction that all the ice sheets are facing     "...Fair enough."  He sheepishly smiles, before looking around even more    * Whitelight looks at the trees for a minute "ohawha..? oh?" she turns to face north again, or ruffly where she remembers it being not sure if she should be worried.     "Well... At least we have something that points in one direction. No compass needed."    * GreenLight nods     Crystal chips out a bit of ice.... which seems to be a good half-an-each deep. Most of the trees had the sheet covering them from the 'thicker' side of the part... the one facing Northern direction.    * Tali notes that they were heading right for whatever it was that caused this    * GreenLight gulps "...Welp, our mission is to go that way, right?"     "So... Let's go."     "I think we should circle around."    * GreenLight nods "That won't be a problem"      *Crack*       A loud crack echoed next to ponies as they inspected trees, the loud noise not disturbing miss Pathfinder's attention as she carefully inspected trees and bark..... the group surely was following the right path is slightly a bit off course to the west, but- *the loud cracking continues*, scaring some ponies away. As Aurora inspected the tree, her keen gaze could've noticed a sudden crack growing through a tree icy sheet, deepening on its own with cracks spreading through the bark's entirety.    * Tali hides in a bush "get down!" she hisses   !roll 1d20 Stealth roll   Tali rolled 1d20: 19      * Booze_Hound jumps into a bush     "alright...stay close everyone." she starts walking north again. stopping as soon as she hears Tali "oh god what now?"    * GreenLight flickers an ear towards Tali, lying down next to Hoof and White "That... on the other hand..."    * CrystalShine jumps to the closest possible bush and peeks out    * GreenLight army crawl scooches to nearest bush, trying to be manly whilst doing so but failing severely    * Whitelight stands next to GreenLight and starts looking around, she doesn't even know why the two are hiding.    * GreenHoof gets down with Light, crouching in the bush next to Light and keeping a hoof on his crossbow, looking to Tali for a cue    * GreenLight mutters to Hoof "When we get back, get me a crossbow, will ya?"    * GreenHoof nods quickly to Light and continues scanning the area and looking to Tali for a cue    * Whitelight "I have an crossbow. i don't really use it tho.." she whispers to GreenLight as she goes to find another bush close to theirs and hides behind it. looking around for any trouble.    * GreenLight swore that whimper he let out wasn't audible, he promises    * Aurora scrunchies her nose at the sight of the crack deepening on the tree, rubbing her chin "its getting worse..."     !roll 1d20-6   CrystalShine rolled 1d20: 9       As tree's bark started to chip off, the tree began to crane dangerously to the side from the strong wind... rea-*CRACK*- to FALL!    * GreenLight stifles a yelp by biting into his lab coat    * Whitelight "what is?" she whispers, quickly poking her head around the bush and looking towards Aurora, noticing that the tree is...falling apart?     Everyone roll a d20 except for Tali   !roll 1d20   GreenHoof rolled 1d20: 6     !roll 1d20   Whitelight rolled 1d20: 18     !roll 1d20   GreenLight rolled 1d20: 1     !roll 1d20   CrystalShine rolled 1d20: 19     !roll 1d20   Aurora rolled 1d20: 9     !roll 1d20   Booze_Hound rolled 1d20: 14       The tree snapped and started to fall on Green Light! Roll reflex save!     !roll 1d20   GreenLight rolled 1d20: 5       [green no!]   [ded]   Omai   [/me gets out the gonk music]   [roll save to tackle out of way?]   [pls?]   [White, I don't know if you've ever been on a quest with me, but during clutch moments I always, always roll crit fails or nat 20s]   [my mo is 10]   [oyvey]   [Im fast as fuck]     You can try it Tali, but you sittered away and went into bushes... Roll reflex with -4 modifier.   [got it]   [Go go!]     !roll 1d20-2   Tali rolled 1d20: 17      * CrystalShine still hides in a bush, being as stealthy as elephant in the room and flinches a little when tree falls. Things are happening so fast suddenly...     The tree's icy bark snapped into shards as the fat tree started to fall down on the green pegasus who was too startled to move away.... but the jumpy mare on cocaine quickly reacted, jumping forth and tackling the green stallion out of the way.    * GreenLight freezes, both literally and in fear, before feeling the wind knocked outta him with an audible "Ooomph!"     Both roll 1d2   !roll 1d2   Tali rolled 1d2: 2     !roll 1d2   GreenLight rolled 1d2: 2       ... however in doing so, both ponies got in the way of icy barrage with thick wooden bits covered in sharp ice showering two ponies, bruising and cutting their faces and exposed parts.     *THUMP*    * GreenLight coughs, struggling to get his breath back before saying, in a tone of pure helplessness, "...T-thanks...  Y-you okay?"  * GreenLight groans "Ow..."     "Gah, fuck!"     [obligatory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksR0wDS-L_c ]    * Tali pushes herself up "you alive green?"     The large tree hits the ground with a loud crack, sending a cloud of snow into air, covering everyone in it     "jesus fuck, is everyone alright?"     "Barely... You?"    * Whitelight blinks "oh fff!" she says as she watches the tree fall and almost squash GreenLight! she quickly gets up to check on the two "you alright you two?!"     "I'll be fine, hurt like hell though"     "Can... can we get out, now?"    * GreenLight chuckles weakly, even if it's cold he could still feel that his face was cut "Erm, I still look incredibly handsome, right?"    * GreenHoof gets out of the bush and rushes over to Light and Tali, offering the green pegasus a hoof and looking him over with eyes wide in concern. "Shit shit, any injuries?"    * Whitelight looks the two over very quickly as she held a hoof towards Tali to help her up "good job Tali."    * CrystalShine jumps from the bush "I didn't know you are so fast, Tali..."    * Tali gets up, noting a nasty cut on her left back thigh     The cracked body of a tree settled down in the snow, its wide branches splayed over the snowdrifty ground...    * GreenLight takes the hoof offered, slowly getting up on still shaky knees "Eh, I always wanted to be rugged, m-maybe a cut would help me with that.  A-again, thanks, Tali, you kinda sorta saved my life there..."     "Don't mention it."  * Tali pats him on the shoulder and then winces of to take care of the wound     Half of the mangled body and tree's trunk stayed where it was while the other half of broken tree rested in the snow    * Aurora shakes her head as the tree narly takes off Light's head "gods... everyone needs to be a little more careful.. heh..."    * Whitelight "might need a bandage here tho." she said as she saw the nasty cut.    * GreenLight nods "Still, I owe ya.  We'll take care of your cuts when we get in shelter, I'll be fine."    * GreenHoof looks over GreenLight, hissing at the cut on the green colt. "A-alright man... Where do we go from here? It's your call, boss."     The cuts were mostly situated over pony faces and forelegs... nothing to serious, but there were several scrapes here and there... and perhaps some embedded wooden chips.    * Aurora shakes her head "alright guys, should we check out the area to see if there is some unatural cause to this Ice?"    * Whitelight turns to look at GreenLight and quickly trots to him "ok...might need to take care of this before we move on now."    * GreenLight waves a hoof at nurse light "Seriously, i-it's fine!  Doesn't even hurt."  He knows it's just because of the cold. "Let's just make it to warmth first, make sure the group arrives safely."    * CrystalShine is hit by sudden realisation "That.. that's the tre... I didn't know.."  * CrystalShine looks at them and back at the tree with horryfied look    * Whitelight  sighs and makes aworried smile  "keep your eyes on those trees now...lets hurry up and get out..""    * GreenLight gets his bearings, starting to head further the direction they were going, if a bit slower before "Oh trust me, I ain't gonna be tree fodder twice!"    * Tali makes sure the wound is clean on her upper leg "Hey, can I get a bandage for this?"     Away from the commotion, an icy chunk seemed to stick out of the tree past trunk, sticking out into air.    * Tali stops and reliezes that if one was that weak then they might all be     "we need to get out of here"    * GreenLight nods, stopping for a second and going to Tali "Sure thing, remind me to unwrap it and clean it later, okay?"    * Whitelight "GreenLight wait a second." she trots over to him and reaches a hoof in his saddlebag for some of his bandages "uh..need a bandage for her.     "Oh shi- he's right!"    * GreenLight bandages Tali while restraining from saying 'no shit Sherlock'     "We need to get to Mist a-as soon as possible, alright?"     "Thanks, will do"     Roll First Aid, Light     !roll 1d20+6   GreenLight rolled 1d20: 6      * Aurora rolls her eyes "no hurry, just falling trees now" starting to pitter patter away from the icy trees, making sure to stay on track and not lost "yes Lights, lets go"    * GreenHoof watches the bandagings occur for a few moments before noticing the glint of ice sticking out of the tree. The grizzled stallion walks up to it, eyeing it curiously.     Roll perception, Hoof.     !roll 1d20   GreenHoof rolled 1d20: 13      * CrystalShine lowers her head and tries to keep herself as far from trees as possible. "It.. It was my fault..."    * Whitelight sees that hes already on it and just steps away to not get in the way "ok..." she sighs deeply and starts looking in her saddlebags.     The bandage gets snuggly fit over injured regions without much of a problem, though the cold weather does makes those hooves feel numb.     Upon closer inspection, Hoof realizes...    @@@ To Hoof: .... the 'icy side' of the tree seemed to be a small outershell as the trees inner core seemed to be frozen solid and filled with 'rods' of ice that spreaded from the icy part of the bark.     "...Not the best bandaging I've done, Sorry Tali, I can't r-really feel my hooves... I'll make it better when we get there, promise."     "It's fine doc, make sure to keep your own cut covered, no need for our doc going down due to blood freezing on his face"    * Tali gets up and test the leg, seeming mostly ok     "Seriously, it can wait.  Let's just start heading there..."    * Whitelight nods and stops looking in her saddlebags after reminding herself what she has.  truning around to start walking agan.     Everyone else, besides Hoof, Tali and Green Light, roll perception.     !roll 1d20-1   Aurora rolled 1d20: 6     !roll 1d20+3   Whitelight rolled 1d20: 19     !roll 1d20+4   CrystalShine rolled 1d20: 19     !roll 1d20   Booze_Hound rolled 1d20: 18      * Whitelight quickly  stops again as she's pretty sure she saw something move in the mist "uh...?"     As ponies were assising each one after the mild incident and Hoof was inspecting the tree... the watchful mare notices something moving in the distance, shrouded in white mist...    @@@ To Booze, Crystal and Whitelight: Two faintly glowing points stared at ponies and at White..... the critter wasn't big and resembled a fox, but it was difficult to say from the misty weather The creature stared at the commotion, blinking quietly with golden glows, before the glowing suddenly.. disappeared? The shape simply vanished in the snowy mist... as it... ran away? It was difficult to say.    * GreenHoof hums to himself, observing the tree. "Hm... something's definitely off here, boys and girls..." Hoof says ominously, "Frozen shell on the outside, 'rods' of ice on the inside..."   "Hmm?  What?"    * GreenLight shivers some more     "what the fff!?" she stared into the mist feeling only mildly scared    * GreenLight trudges on next to White "What is it??"    * CrystalShine says quietly "You see that too?"    * Tali moves to follow rora who had wandered further north     "i don't...know..? its gone now..." she squints her eyes     "Nngh... A-any objections to moving before it comes back?"    * Aurora stops in her tracks again, this simple trek taking 5ever with all the distractions in the middle "any idea what it was?"     "Probably frost spiders like back at the town.  could be something worse though"     "there is something in there. looked like a..a fox?..and its eyes were glowing..? was i the only one that saw that?"  * Whitelight shudders     "I just said I saw it too..."    * Tali flicks an ear back "or a fox."    * GreenHoof turns from the tree and rejoins the others, looking around. "What's the matter?"     "I dunno, I was sorta distracted.. Fox?  With glowing eyes?"    * Whitelight looks at CrystalShine "oh sorry not...paying attention."     "Do you know any animals like that?"     "well let's regroup and get to the place we're going before we all catch hypothermia"     "Not really, Tali's sounding pretty right r-right now."  He grits his teeth, moving almost frozen stumps of legs    * Whitelight winces a little as the cold is starting to get her now "i have no ide."    * GreenHoof raises an eyebrow at Light and Tali. "Do you know what direction we need to go?"     "come one, let's move close together, the colder people get in the middle"     "Yeah, it's pretty straightforward from here, if the direction of the ice is any indication"     "I believe so, the trees point the way and I have afair sense of direction amoung other things    * GreenLight keeps on moving, he'll get there eventually!     The small clearing around others continued to be covered in snow which was dangerously closing in on turning into a blizzard...     "yeah thats...what me and CrystalShine saw at l-least." she starts walking to the group again, starting to shiver badly but not saying anything for now. getting close to Crystal .    * Tali hudles a little closer to the group.  "Let's get out of this storm"    * GreenHoof nods and gets on the outside of the group, staying close to GreenLight and instinctively trying to keep him in the inner part of the formation.    * Booze_Hound keeps going    * CrystalShine quickly trots to White, leaning to her as she's used to.    * GreenLight nnehs at being treated like a lil bro, but reluctantly appreciates the shorter, stockier pony's help as he trudges on    * Whitelight nods "let's hurry before it gets worse." she begins to walk north again with the rest of the group. continuing the journey through the spooky woods.    * Tali keeps an eye out on her side for dangerous things      ###       After the incident, the weakening ponies resume their trek, going deep into woods... moving north 'n north away and slowly, but surely closing in on their target - Mist Veil.    * CrystalShine smiles a little and sings quietly "When I was a little filly and the sun was going down"     "Green, how close do you think we are?"   "doc green, sorry hoof"    * GreenHoof smiles weakly to Tali and looks ahead    * Aurora doens't mind being towards the outside, her warm cloak still doing an alright job at keeping her heated up, though she makes sure to not let the wind blow under it and to her distinctly metallic armor "lets just keep moving, it can't be that much further"    * Whitelight does likewise and starts looking into the mist, looking around for that thing again as she gently leans on CrystalShine as she shivering gets progressively worse.    * GreenLight tries not to be snappy, but is really, really cold "Well, the last time I went it wasn't blizzarding all over... It didn't take nearly this long last time, so we h-have to be close!"     "Can't be more 'n a mile..."     "t-t-thats g-good t-to know."    * Aurora shakes her head "are we going the right way? are you sure?" making another survival check for not lost?     "White, get in the center, y-your shaking like a leaf!"     "P-positive!!"    * GreenLight is glad someone else is suffering from this coldness. Curses, wiry frame!    * Whitelight winces and starts slowly making her way closer to the center of the group.    * CrystalShine follows white, but stays at the circle borders, seemingly unaffected by the cold weather much.    * Tali huffs and mutters to herself "Fuck, this-s shit fucking s-sucks!"     The path starts to become more hilly as ground under equines begins to ascend, slowly slowly upwards... a sure sign that they were getting closer to their hill-based destination.    * GreenLight is now nestled between Hoof and White, going till his legs won't go no mo "A-almost there, guys!!"    * Booze_Hound has enough clothing to keep.....ice....warm? ok bad analogy but he is ready     Roll perception... Everyone.   !roll 1d20+4   GreenLight rolled 1d20: 18     !roll 1d20+4   CrystalShine rolled 1d20: 20     !roll 1d20+3   Whitelight rolled 1d20: 6     !roll 1d20+2   Tali rolled 1d20: 16     !roll 1d20   Booze_Hound rolled 1d20: 7     !roll 1d20   GreenHoof rolled 1d20: 16     !roll 1d20-1   Aurora rolled 1d20: 12       *TACK* The sound of wooden being struck pierces thru the noises of the windy ambience. Then the hurried flapping of wings, but all away of sight, from uncertain directions. Mist veiling the scene, is hard for the ponies to determine where does the sound of creatures running and scurrying around.     ... an odd feeling spreads among the group... the trees were cracking as always around them from that pesky cold wind, but... there was something else.. wood cracking behind the group from where they came... far off in the distance?   ... or close.    * Aurora pulls the cloak tight to her body "soudns like we have company..."     "just s-s-s-stay c-calm and k-keep a s-steady pace" she said,her vision mostly blocked the other ponies infront of her, but she quickly looks back as she heard something "w-watch it.."     "W-watch your flanks, a-and try to see if we can make it closer..."     "keep close together, they'll try to hunt for stragglers!"     "Something moves behind us..."     Crystal squints her eyes, so does Light, and sees two.. not four, six... six pairs of yellow spots in the shadows, glistening unnaturally and moving closer to the group from the South. Tali spots a simillar sight to the West, all accompained by growlings and often a howl. Hoof has the same luck when spying to the East. Shrouded by fog and darkness, the creatures enclose the ponies slowly     "...Hey, White, that thing you were talking a-about?"     "yeah?.."    * GreenLight growls, readying his sword "I-I see it now..."     ... the creaking figures were slowly emerging right behind, seemingly following hoof prints...?     "I got three this side!"     "Three on the other side"     "the glowing dots, they're eyes"     "oh? w-where?" she quickly draws her sword with her mouth.    * GreenHoof 's ears perk up at the sudden noises, the stallion crouching towards the ground instinctively as his eyes dart around. Hearing the growlings, a shiver runs down his spine as he draws his crossbow. "Contact. Three pairs of yellow eyes to our east." He whispers in strained attempted calmness, pointing his crossbow in the direction of the eyes.     "alright we might have to stop now and deal with this"     "Keep a steady pace!"     "Let's move... There are too many..."     "The c-close we can get to that cave, the more we have an advantage!  Or, l-less of a disadvantage... Watch your flanks, b-but let's be quick and see how far we can make it!"     The figures were still far away in the distance behind.... while in front, in the distance even through the snowy fog, the group could see... veil-like-mist rising above trees? Somewhere forth in direction of their destination.     A sudden yell from the sky. "MOVE!" The familiar raspy voice of a batpony that passes above them in a hurry, almost invisible against the cloud and dark sky. Then the eyes in the distance, sometimes blinking, sometimes flashing brightly, start to approach faster, moving around. A long howl breaks the suspense, sending a chill down the spine of the ponies     "L...let's gallop"    * Whitelight nods and keeps walking, slowly breacking into a trot  "lets hurry then!"    * Booze_Hound books it     "Go GO GO!"    * GreenLight books it as fast as his little body and Kek allow    * Aurora grunts "go go!" letting the others take the lead in the escape and pulling up the rear herself    * Tali sticks near the group but urges them to run     "Run!" Hoof says, hearing the batmare again, staying alongside GreenLight, trying to hurry him along    * CrystalShine follows White, galloping as fast as she can    * Whitelight gallops as fast as she can following the group and not lookingback.    * Tali keeps glancing back and around to keep track of any stragglers    * GreenLight makes yet another post about running as fast as possible    * GreenHoof makes another post about running alongside GreenLight and staying close to his bro    * Aurora shakes her head "this is awful, this is exactly what we were sent to not let happen!"     And ponies lauch forth into running, sprinting through woods forward as fast as they could!     "We'll fight them at the cave!"     "if they want a fight i can bring it to them"     "G-GO!"    * Whitelight glances back to look Aurora "at least it wont happen to the others!"     The party is being followed by the creatures, their grotesque and dark sillouhettes starting to take shape around them. Taller than most of the equines, in the figure of wolves disfigured and made of hardened and twisted wood, with spikes protruding from their joints and heads. These are timberwolves, but bigger, more ferocious in demeanor, more violent on their chase as they bark and intimidate the ponies.     Roll dexterity!   !roll 1d20   Booze_Hound rolled 1d20: 3     !roll 1d20+2   Tali rolled 1d20: 3     !roll 1d20+1   Whitelight rolled 1d20: 2     !roll 1d20   GreenLight rolled 1d20: 4     !roll 1d20-2   CrystalShine rolled 1d20: 2     !roll 1d20+2   GreenHoof rolled 1d20: 20     !roll 1d20   Aurora rolled 1d20: 6      * GreenHoof 's priority is staying with Light and getting him to safety, though     The group *definitely* sprints forth on the hill!!!1!!..... but those damn branches, boulders and cracks that were concealed under the snow immediately started to place their toll on weary adventurers... or rather majority of them, as the old grit-of-a-green horse *bolts* forward, quickly disappearing between trees in the mist while others try to keep their pace from increasing growling behind.    * GreenHoof would never dart away from GreenLight's side :<     Luckily no one trips as they run.... though some scrape their hooves and stumble a bit several times!    * GreenLight gets knocked down, but he gets up again!  You're never gonna keep him down, and his adrenaline is his last hope!     Some of the wimberwolves jump to the tail of the group, maws open and eyes blazing with yellow light. The unlucky ones face the sight of the nasty and corrupted creatures surrounding them, acting as a group, and soon they realize it's a big pack what was behind them, judging by how at least four of the monsters are chasing them from very close. Darting away of the fiery wooden abominations, the party notices how the rest of the pack has flanked them already and seems ready to make the final leap!    * Whitelight tries to keep gallopping, yelping as she steps over several concealed branches and leaving several rather painful splinters as well as almost tripping. managing to stay up she just stumbles after the group she's not sure she's going to outrun those things now...     Only one way out... the promising safety of Misty Veil.    * Aurora hisses in anger as the wolves nip at their metaphorical heels "c'mon guys, not that mch longer!"    * GreenHoof stops, realizing his greenbro was left behind. The grizzled little stallion turns around and darts right back to GreenLight's side, crossbow slung around his neck. "We gotta get outta here! Can't take them all!"    * GreenLight nope nope nooooopes as he continues to all out book it for that veiled Mist Veil     "dammit hoof stop being right"  * Booze_Hound goes double time to mist veil    * CrystalShine is trying to run as fast as she can [kek], but one branch catches her poncho. By trying to release herself, she rips it and quickly reassumes running     Even with their stumbling and shouting, the woods start to lessen their 'density'. The clearing seemed to be somewhere near in the distance!... as long as adrinaline-filled travelers can manage to keep their pace!    * Tali continues runing along side her companions, tripping and stumbling a bit but staying up    * Whitelight  whines and eeks as she quickly gallops after the others, if after a bit of delay.. "fu-mnn fudgesticks!" she books it away from the scary fox things to Mist Veil, where its, safe?     Roll dex!     !roll 1d20+2   Tali rolled 1d20: 20     !roll 1d20   GreenLight rolled 1d20: 12     !roll 1d20+1   Whitelight rolled 1d20: 17     !roll 1d20-2   CrystalShine rolled 1d20: 8     !roll 1d20   Booze_Hound rolled 1d20: 17     !roll 1d20+2   GreenHoof rolled 1d20: 20     !roll 1d20+1   Aurora rolled 1d20: 13       Roll reflex, Crys   !roll 1d20-1   CrystalShine rolled 1d20: 16       Catching up their second wind the ponies indeed begin to catch up with that Equin power! :3 The woods start to part their way to running ponies as winds were hitting their muzzles and eyes, running for their lives away from the howling pack. Crystal seemed to lag behind the group at first, looking back and fort- A TREE BR-----!!!---- but the mare ducked and jumped away just in time not to be hit by the thing.   The clearing in front was very very close with last trees cracking their farewells to equines, their hooves stepping out into opening... except for Crystal who was still lagging slightly behind, but not to far off!    * Booze_Hound trains back to run next to her    * GreenLight grits his teeth further, practically barking out an "E-everyone still running??" as he continues to book it, knowing if he were to look back he might not have the energy to go forward    * Tali keeps running near group    * Whitelight looks around to quickly count the ponies not seeing CrystalShine in front of her or in her vicinity! she slides to a stop and looks back slightly terrified, only to see her still kinda behind and quickly goes back for her     The monstrous maw of a timberwolf closes near behind Crystal's rear, almost catching her tail and rump. Teased by the proximity to their prey, the monsters accelerate even more, barking and growling wildly. The mad chase continues even when more timberwolves leap from the sides, scaring and scattering the ponies a bit more, taking advantage of the sky blue mare's position that got behind. They are so close that she can smell their hideous breathing, and hear how their joints whine and creak at every frantic jump and movement...     Roll dex, Crys with +4     !roll 1d20+2   CrystalShine rolled 1d20: 16      * GreenHoof is right beside GreenLight, occasionally glancing behind him but mostly concerned with getting the green one to safety. "Right with you, LIght!"    * CrystalShine gasps for air and shouts "K..keep running white! Don't stop!"    * Tali glances back an- OH SHIT WHERE'S CRYSTAL!    * Whitelight "holy!-" is all she says at the massive mob of things that are chasing and quickly makes a u turn to go back! running alongside CrystalShine    * Aurora 's priority is getting everyone to safety right now, like it or not, she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she let someone else get caught, watching backwards to make sure she makes it out alright     A small clearing opens up in front of their eyes with a tall, sharp rock-of-a-hill jabbing its way from earth's crust right towards sky, 20 to 30 meters in height... a treeline could be seen growing along the edge of the stretching hill - perhaps a sign of a plateu? A curious part however were odd clouds of mist that were seemingly pouring up into the sky. Far in the distance, a huge gnawled weeping willow was growing over on the clif, its dead vines spreading down to the ground over the cliff's side partially obscure the.... dark opening - a cave's mouth, no doubt, from which said mist was emanating.    * Booze_Hound pulls up the rear following crystal     "NO! TURN BACK!"    * GreenLight starts slowing down, looking at Hoof worriedly as the commotion behind him increases     Others were already present in the opening with Crystal just running out of the tree line.   .... followed by the sea of blinking yellow dots behind.     The relentless beasts continue chasing the unicorn mares, their shapes a bit more clear to them now. Unlike regular timberwolves, these indeed are corrupted in a sense, with the branches that form their bodies being way more twisted and covered in spikes. Their bark is darker as well, and their maws are disfigured by the number of teeth on them. Crystal and Whitelight don't lose time getting acquainted with this details, however, and finally start to leave the pack behind, slightly, partially, unsure if safety is ahead of them.    * Whitelight starts panting a little she just runs, alongside CrystalShine if they have to get caught they will get caught together.  * GreenHoof starts to slow down hearing the screaming, looking at Light unsuredly. He bites his bottom lip, looking at Light, his cuts, and then himself, before casting another glance back at the others. "GET THE FUCK OVER HERE!"      *Crack*     A loud snapping noise echoes from bellows of the forest the moment both mares ran out of those woods!     * GreenLight looks back instinctively at that crack, unable to resist     A bizarre chorus of howls and cries can be heard, and suddenly the sea of yellow eyes comes to a halt and fades away after the agonizing chant is suddenly put to an end.     Roll perception for those who watch the tree/forest line.     !roll 1d20   CrystalShine rolled 1d20: 10     !roll 1d20+4   GreenLight rolled 1d20: 10     !roll 1d20   GreenHoof rolled 1d20: 9     !roll 1d20+3   Whitelight rolled 1d20: 20     !roll 1d20+2   Tali rolled 1d20: 10     !roll 1d20-1   Aurora rolled 1d20: 13     !roll 1d20   Booze_Hound rolled 1d20: 7      * CrystalShine begins to fight for air, slowing a little.     "THEFUCKYOUTHINKWE'REDOING!?" she screams literally at the top of her lungs towards Hoof, taking a glance back behind them as she continues to run off away from the massive mob of angry wolves behind them along with CrystalShine. they just came out of the woods.    * GreenLight internally hues at White's response, before realizing the voice meant they're back a ways "H-hoof, we gotta help 'em!"  Light begins to turn around    * Tali preps her spear for a fight     ... the chorus of howling was truly loud, echoing in near unison in direction of the clearing by the cliff.... only to be accompanied by series of roaring cracking noises, like from before. Hoof and... essentially everyone could see treetops shivering erratically, besides Booze who's gaze was obscured from running and the falling snow. However....    @@@ To Aurora, Crystal and Tali: Trees seemed to be shaking not simply erratically, but even unnaturally as if something was tossing them by the wind in different, alternating direction or kicking them...    @@@ To Whitelight: Trees seemed to be shaking not simply erratically, but even unnaturally as if something was tossing them by the wind in different, alternating direction or kicking them...... something small and white phased out from the snow's mist... or jumped out from behind the tree? Jumping out into darkness and snow's veil with glowing eye lights and... Glowing dots started to pop off like tinder, ember sparks, one by one, as something windy and dark began to obscure one's vision... but only for a moment as tinder sparks of yellow vanished in the mist.... And so the yellow crowd of eyes was no more.    * GreenHoof grits his teeth, glancing back and forth before nodding with Light in agreement and turning around, heading back for the others.  * GreenLight won't leave no pony behind, booking it with Hoof back  *  Tali ensure's she is just off to the side in front of the entrance so that she can guard it while they can still run inside     "almost.... there"     ... the howling and cracking continued only for several seconds, before it deafened into silence... with only wind remaining behind...    * GreenLight had enough of a bad feeling before noticing the trees, audibly noping as he runs to the group of ponies, helping weakly as they all book it towards the cave    * Booze_Hound looks back to see them god and collapses next to the group "oh god"    * CrystalShine slows to stop, catching her breath."That... that was close..."    * GreenLight pants, shirking his saddlebags off and lying down on his back, his chest rising and falling    * Whitelight glances back to see...something, only to see the eyes of the wolves dissappear she seems to slow down just for a moment before she trots inside, "what the..."     "We, uh, o-out of the woods?"    * GreenLight laughs weakly before groaning     "you ok crystal?"     "they didn't nip you did they?"     http://youtu.be/n47Bw0HTcFM    * Whitelight blinks and just falls to the floor on her side. still confused as to what exatcly she just saw.    * GreenHoof books it with the others, stopping with GreenLight, wheezing and occasionally letting out a hacking cough    * Aurora shakes her head "quickly everyone, lets get inside and set up some sort of defence"    * Tali stares dumbfounded "the fuck?"     "yeah...inside"    * GreenLight gets up once more, getting hisbearings before nodding "Right..."    * Tali maintains defensive position    * Booze_Hound scootaloo scoots inside    * Whitelight just remains on the snowy ground for a moment not caring if she's freezing as she's exausted.     ... quiet, calm and chill, the thick veil of snow shrouded the treeline behind, tickling faces of huffing runners...    * GreenLight looks at his shaky limbs, willing them to move.  Move, darn you!    * Whitelight blinks and slowly lifts herself off the ground and starts crawling the remaining meters left to the cave. panting as her lmbs are so stiff she can barely move them at all.    * GreenHoof gets inside with the rest, crossbow slung around his neck. "Let's Make sure the cave is clear before we set up positions..."    * CrystalShine finally catches her breath "I'm OK."    * GreenLight zombie walks, staggering with each hoof as that final stretch is hopefully finished before boulders kill his character    * Booze_Hound follows      ###       The group is currently located in the same small clearing in front of a averge sized cliff side with the long long weeping willow's branches covering a the dark misty opening of a cavern.     From atop of the cliff, resting at its very edge, the shadowy shape of a pony stands up and glides down. The spectacle that just took place was enough to get the attention off her, and she makes it to the entrance of the cave after the group. Her presence is no mystery to them, as she allows her hoofsteps to be heard. Still, she keeps her figure veiled by the shadows left behind...     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80AQW6zqP9E    * Whitelight crawls as close as she can, laying down next to GreenLight as her eyes seem to close by themselves. shivering like a leaf as she wraps her snow covered cloak around her.    * Tali stares unammused at whitelight 'crawling' in.  "Come on, you were just sprinting a mile a minute, you'll be fine    * GreenLight looks at White, and then back up at the ceiling, hooves sprawled out     "screw you too Tali." she whispers "its not because I'm tired."    * Aurora shakes her head "c'mon, not too much further... lets get somewhere in here and set up a fire"    * CrystalShine lies next to White and hugs her    * GreenHoof stands next to the lying down Whitelight and GreenLight, observing them for a moment before 'shouldering' his crossbow again, walking along the walls of the cavern and scanning the area.     The group approaches the large dark opening, squeezing their way past ice covered huge willow branches. The cavern's entrance seems narrow down immediately, veiling everyone not only in mist, but also thick darkness!    * Tali looks further down the cavern     Tali can't see anything...     "we got torches?"     "We got unicorns?"     "hold on, let me take point, i got a torch"    * CrystalShine doesn't pay attention to new pony in cave, being too exhausted.    * Booze_Hound moves to the front if he can and lights up his torch    * Whitelight slowly and stiffly hugs CrystalShine back "this is a nice adventure, uh sis?" she chuckles to lighten the mood    * Tali looks back and sees random pony "whoa, um ,who are you?"     "I have a lighter if we need it..."    * Booze_Hound just light the torch     Or rather only darkness and pouring mist... which in retrospect was rather warm, warming ponies up in its fold.     "Ahh.... That feels, really good..."    * GreenHoof coughs a bit and looks to Booze holding his torch, giving him a nod. "Let's take a look around, secure the perimeter..."     "will do hoof"     "Anyone interested in starting a campfire?"     The light reveals a narrow tunnel that was leaning somewhere forth... with diferent writings scratched into the cave wall in a barely legible Equestrian. The fog billows around you, making the remainder of the cave almost invisible. Equestrian-like writing was seen on the wall.     "is anyone else warm or is that hypothermia?"     "Not sure yet, gimme a couple minutes,,,"    * CrystalShine nods "It's... fun."    * CrystalShine strokes her mane "You should get up, White. You can't lay on this cold stone too long."    * GreenLight thinks he can't lay on this cold stone too long, he certainly thinks he can't lay on it long enough!    * Whitelight takes a few deep breaths, her shivering slowly but surely dying done as the unusually warm mist warms her up. not really saying anything as she slowly closes her eyes and kinda passes out.     The scratch out writing looks rather... crude and can barely be seen from this perspective... but with a bit of focus, one can attempt to read it.    * Aurora would definitely attempt to read it :3     You are currently located literally in the cavern's entrance with the tunnel leading somewhere into depths. Number of wooden planks can be seen deeper in the tunnel, laying on the floor, but everything else is shrouded in darkness.     "Erm, White?  You, uh, you're not dead right?"    * CrystalShine takes off her damaged poncho in the warm embrace of mist and folds it under White's head    * GreenLight groans, sitting up and feeling his back crack "Oof."     The writing says: "Beware the Alots. They stab alot." [sic]     "She's just resting"     "That's, ah, good... Maybe we should set camp right here, for now?"    * GreenHoof squints his eyes, reading the writing like a kindergardener just learning to read babby's first book. "Bee-were... Be-waaare, the... Al-, uh, Alots...? They... stab a...lot."   "Huh... Alots. They stab a lot. Great."     "Whazzat Hoof...?"    * Booze_Hound noted that    * Tali gets tired of waiting for mystery pony to respond "SO, mist pony thing, can you speak or am I just going crazy here?"    * GreenHoof groans and keeps his crossbow tucked against his chest firmly. "Uuuughhhh... great... more psycopaths with stabbing fixations. Never get enough of those..."     "Erm..." He takes an inquisitive look at Tali "You, uh, didn't hit your head right?"    * Whitelight might look dead at first glance but she's still breathing, she's just going to take a nap on the floor for a bit. not too uncomfortable. [right I have to go now...can i get a pastebin tomorrow?]    * Aurora sighs, walking over and picking Whitelight up and tossing the pony over her back for the time being, letting her rest while they figure out what they are going to do next    * Tali shakes her head     As Whitelight rests her head right there, with her breathing subsiding and becoming more calm, the exhausted mare seemingly passes out.     The shadowy figure produces a light of her own, from a source that can't be spotted from the distance. "Told you to be aware of the shinny eyes." The same raspy voice from before. The pony apporaches slowly, her features lightened weakly by the purpleish light of the glowmoss lamp she carries in a hoof. Erinna takes her time to speak again, but does it softly. "You are all alive"    * GreenLight grumbles, sore all over "You're not wrong..."     "That's good" She adds while nodding a few times, makign a slightly impressed gesture. "Good indeed"    * GreenHoof sighs and turns around, still wheezing, looking to the batmare. "That's right I'm very proud of you~"     "hell yeah we are, takes more than a little jog to kill us"    * GreenLight gives up on sitting up, lying down with his hooves sprawled out once more, using his saddlebags as a headrest     Currently group is located south of #1 [http://img.booru.org/fourcannon//images/1/129913384982386cf515e412c18c98657f0f461c.jpg]     "And nightmarish ice fiends"    * Tali is not sure why everyone else is still panting    * CrystalShine stands up from White "oh.. It's you again" smiles at Erina.    * Aurora starts breathing deeply through her nose, controlling said breathing but really they should have all caught their breath by now... must be the adrenaline and her heart pounding hard in her chest    * Erinna moves close to Crystal, replying to her smile with one of her own. "It's me yeah..." She pays a spiteful glance to Hoof. "I can't say the same about you, farmer. A bit more and you'd be Timberwolf food... Is liek you were all lost"    * Booze_Hound waits for his eyes to focus and his memory restart "FUCK i've been here before"     "Looks like it, yeah. Our 'benefactors' didn't see fit to give us a compass..."     "Cool, so about those torches?"    * Booze_Hound waves his around, "you want one man?"  * Booze_Hound said that like a shady as fuck drug dealer   "first one's free"    * Tali snrks "k buddy, but I'm only trying it this one time!"     "Booze, please..."  He starts to laugh     "that's what they all say"     "But we aren't. It's easy to look down at someone who can't avoid those beasts with few flaps of wings."    * Aurora rolls her eyes and lets out a short laugh "so Erinna, why did you follow us all this way?"     "Booze!! Pfftttha"    * Booze_Hound takes one of his remaining 7 torches and lights it giving it to her    * Erinna opens her mouth to say something, but ends up rolling her eyes and groaning. "If I had known that I would have offered to guide you here, or at least help... well, that doesn't matter" She leaves her lamp on the ground, besides her right hoof, and looks over the cerulean earthy that addressed her. "Because I wanted to see if you were going to die or not." She bluntly says    * Tali takes a torch despite rampant rumors of people constantly using torches in dark places of irrepute "Anyone gotta light?"     "Well, glad we passed your test." GL retorts, from the ground    * GreenHoof sighs and sits on his haunches, coughing a few times before reaching into his saddlebags and pulling out a cigarette and Cury's mouthpiece, lighting up the poppystick with his lighter and taking a puff of the warm smoke.    * Tali uses the torch to look further down the cavern    * Aurora blinks "well... uhh well we did, fantastic"     Well, the group can venture deeper into caverns, or... make camp here.    * Booze_Hound walks around until he is nonchalantly covering the entrance     Those who want to continue to RP, can do so...    * Erinna winks and smiles to GL, and sits on her haunches. "Whatever, I'm in trouble for being out here with you all. I was supposed to follow the Equestrians..." She sighs, but doesn't seem too worried. "... So it'd be better to help you all, at least I'd feel good by doing it."     "We should set up sentry shitft and make camp if you guys are going to be dropping like flies like this"     "Well, thanks for... helping...  Hey, we ain't dropping like flies!  Only, like, one pony's passed out.  That's, like, a record!  ...I think..."     The warm mist pours over Booze as he does so... though some chilly ticklish wind does brushes his sweaty neck and face from outside... uncomfortably so.     "right, well I'm sure some of use wouldn't mind the sleep"     "Yeah, GreenHoof is pretty exhausted..."     "i can take first shift"    * CrystalShine sighs "She also put herself in danger by trying to go back for me..."    * Aurora lets out a huff "you want someone to poke their head around to see if there is anything squatting in here? or should we all stay together and wait for us to get some sleep?"     "and while we're here there is a spinning wheel i want to check out"    * Tali remembers something and checks her T-Detector     "If you're up for a little recon, you and I can-"  He tries to get up before lying down once more "Nooope!  You're more than welcome to do some light recon."    * GreenHoof lets a puff of smoke out, ears flickering at the mention of his name. "Eh? Nah, I'm fine. It's kinda hard to sleep knowing what's waiting just outside... and the fact that we have things that are probably lurking deeper in these caverns that like to stab shit. Probably would be a bad idea to just up and apss out right here..."     The mare brought the device up to her eye level...    @@@ To Tali: ... and right when she did so, a little tiny yellow light... blips out... and device goes dormant. The light prior was tiny, like a little tiny ember before it went out.     "i'll check this place out with you"    * Aurora lets out a sigh "well then Hoof, do you want to poke your head around inside for a bit?"     "I'm not stupid enough to wonder off by myself, as confident in my abilities to get away as I am"     "Errr, no one's dying, right?"     "not right now I believe"     "that is if you want hoof"    * GreenHoof shrugs. "It'd be better than to wake up in the middle of the night with Alots standing over us with knives..." He casts a glance to Erinna. "Do you know what Alots are, and what they like to stab?"     "Because, ah, if there's one thing I realize after the past four, five months of being in this weird routine, it's that..."     "Hey, what's this little yellow light mean?"    * Erinna gets up and trots closer to Aurora. "Fatty an me can take care of guarding the entrance~" The batpony chuckles briefly, and then looks at GL. "You have someone sleeping already" Her hoof points to Whitelight, but her eyes wander over Hoof now. "Alots? Oh, aren't they some brown things"     "Hoo, I'm not in shape."    * GreenLight promptly passes out, mumbling a quick "Nopony die before I wake up pls"     The device stays dormant..     "Hey, my T-Detector just had a little yellow light blip on here for a second. What kind of magic is that"  * Tali sits and watches the entrance tunnel to the rest of the cavern, checking her T-Detector every so often     "maybe it's someone"     Device's vial remains to be dormant and unlit, the grainy matter inside the vial remaining black.  * OvermindGM [squints eyes and drinks sum coffee]   [*remaining to be dark and edgy~~]    * CrystalShine trots to Tali "Where did that happen?"     Outside the cavern, behind the dead wines, huggled ponies can hear howling wind.     "Maybe it's the name of a trap... which reminds me about many other things" The batmare seems occupied with her thoughts for a while, glancing back to the cavern's entrance and even trotting for it slowly. As she begins to march there, her raspy voice echoes on the cave again. "You should get a fireplace or something like that, alots can wait to stab us"     "as I was looking down the tunnle, a little yellow blip flickered off... kinda like an ember to a fire"   "Fuck, I should have asked how it worked before we left."     "But what the hell is an alot? What if they're deeper in this cave? It might not be safe..."     "hoof, tali...want to go check it out?"     "No shit dude, unsafe, here?" Says Eri at the same time she stops and looks back to Hoof. "What makes you think so!?"    * GreenHoof huffs. "Well, if we can secure this cave, we could just hold out here till the morning and get moving towards Mist Veil again. But if what lurks here is worse than what's outside...":    * Aurora blinks "th-this isn't mist veil?"     "According to the map it's deeper in."     "There are beds..."     "Deeper in... what? The woods?"     "I think there isn't more to it. It blips, there is magic around... But why just a short pulse... "     "in the cave"    * GreenHoof goes over to the sleeping GreenLight and pulls the map out of his labcoat, taking a look at it, "Well... fuck."    * Erinna looks at Hoof a bit perplexed before rolling her eyes and chuckling. "Farmers..."      ###      * Tali checks the tunnel again with TD  * Tali takes only a few steps in with torch, still clearly visible for others    * GreenHoof looks up at Erinna and tilts his head, a fuzzy ear flopping over. "How'd you know I'm a farmer, anyway? I've never met you..."    * CrystalShine gives Tali questioning look "Do you really think we should go there now?"     "i do, i'm all bored and awake"    * CrystalShine goes with her     "last time that happened i set myself on fire"    * Booze_Hound follows and goes to brb mode for piss break     "I think maybe me and someone else should scout deeper with the map"     The mare takes several steps further down the tunnel, her torch's light illuminating more planks further down the way... four meters away from the party, actually. 4 to 5 wide planks were resting on the floor, shrouding something underneath them.    * Erinna decides to return to the group, picking up her lamp on the way back. Approaching Tali from behind, she replies to Hoof before tapping the mare on the back. "You should pay more attention then... Hey, you, wanna go check what's inside the cave? You said there are beds, right?"     "We still need people here to guard the entrance"     "I'm good to go deeper into the cave..."     "Ya, they're probably occupied"     "Well, there's only one way to find out. How about we go check and ask nicely?"    * CrystalShine nods "I have to rest my legs for a while. I will take a guard duty for now"     "thanks crystal"     "We need to be sure nothing is going to sneak up on use for the time being.  We're in a pretty risky spot right now    * CrystalShine sighs "Just... Return back soon, OK?"    * GreenHoof nods to batpone, crossbow dangling from his neck. "Sure... Let's go take a look."     "and tali, hoof, and i are going deeper?"    * CrystalShine takes out her spear and walks to the entrance. "Good luck down there"     How good are you guys at moving fast and staying quite?"     "well i've had mixed reviews on the quiet"    * Tali mainly looks at the two stallions    * GreenHoof yawns and looks at Tali with a disinterested expression. "Trying to keep quiet and out of sight is my preferred method, ma'am."     "Hoof? Good to hear. Nooze stick with crystal please. It's best not to leave anyone alone."     "/tali/ ho"    * Tali glares at him     "What? That was a solid joke and you know it."    * Tali smirks "Shuddup"    * Booze_Hound chuckles "Alright"     "cheesy as hell"    * Erinna taps a hoof on her chin a few times. "Hmmm... well, I don't liek the idea of leaving your friend alone with the sleeping beauties" She ends up shrugging off the idea, and takes a step onward. "Cute. Then let's move"     "you should see me with curi"    * Aurora nods "are we going then? lets move..."    * Tali turns to the others "sounds like a plan"     "Fatty can stay on the back, that way she doesn't get in our way~" Erinna doesn't lose the chance to mock Aurora, and snickers at her while nudging her side. "Don't worry, I'm here to carry you again if needed"    * Tali creeps down the tunnel, checking her gaunlet and scaning further down as she goes.    * Aurora raises her eyebrow "uhh... okay?" unholstering her crossbow from her back, in case they need the firepower    * GreenHoof nods to Erinna, his face neutral. "Who takes point? They need to hold the torch. I don't mind..."    * Erinna laughs again and trots in between Rora and Tali, her crossbow hanging from a side as she carries her lamp with a hoof. "She" Erinna motions towards Tali. "Seems very occupied with that thin on her leg, how about she takes the lead and I light the way around for now?"     You can roll stealth or perception. Any of those if you wish.     !roll 1d20+2 Perception   Tali rolled 1d20: 2     !roll 1d20 Stealth   Tali rolled 1d20: 3     !roll 1d20   Booze_Hound rolled 1d20: 6     !roll 1d20-1 Perception   Aurora rolled 1d20: 18     !roll 1d20+2 Perception   Erinna rolled 1d20: 11      * Tali kinda stupidly tries to check the detector while walking, distracting her from actually checking the hall and making her hoof steps wonky and easy to detect     The sneaky sneaky Tali ventures forth into the cavern..... but as she proceeds the side of her weapon clanks loudly against the wall, making quite a noise... the mare continues to go forth, seemingly ignoring planks that were lying on the floor, well, to a degree, while her eyes stared on detector narrow dark walls through thick warm mist--- as she was doing this though, her hoof stepped nonchalantly on tightly placed plan- and they parted as her hoof fell through....!!     Roll reflex!     !roll 1d20+2   Tali rolled 1d20: 3       The mare looses her balace and starts to fall in into the pit!   Others were following the mare behind as she was leading the way, taking notice of the stumbled mare!    * Booze_Hound bites her tail and tries to pull her back     Booze, roll reflex     !roll 1d20+2   Booze_Hound rolled 1d20: 1      * Erinna widens her eyes and hurries to assist Tali, keeping her thoughts about the accident to herself, although bearing a expression that says more about her lack of surprise than any word. "Watch out!" [waiting on Tali to determine action]     The tunnel is rather narrow - 1 meter wide, with only 1, lucklily two ponies being able to stay in one line.    * Booze_Hound grabs a bit of her tail but yanks too much and pulls some hair out falling on his rump  * Erinna thinks Tali is kil     "AAIIEEEE!"     Tali, roll 1d4!   !roll 1d4   Tali rolled 1d4: 1      * GreenHoof tenses up, watching from too far back to do anything in time    * Erinna watches her go down. "Welp... there goes the farmer."     ... not only does Booze yanks out some of her hair, but he also looses his balance and trips down, hitting the ground with his chest for 1 non-lethal damage.... luckily he doesn't falls in, unlike... the mare, who definitely cracks through planks and falls into the pit, hitting the ground below hard, but fortunately... not that much!   The mare finds herself lying splayed in a 2 meters deep pit hole.   Or 6,5 feet deep :3    * Tali staggers back up and checks the width of the hole    * Erinna leaves the lamp on the ground once more, and gets busy producing a rope from the saddlebags she carry beneath her cloak. "Are you guys alive?" She says with an awful lakc of real concern on her voice.     The hole has width similar to its depth.... The hole is deep enough to keep the pony in it, but others can clearly see her and lend her hoof.    * Tali looks around and face hooves.     Some planks still lie on top, crossing the pit above while others lie broken together with mare in the pit.    * Aurora lets out a sigh of relief as Tali only goes down like, 2 meters "oh thank god that wasn't some huge pit! guess its something the engineers who show up later are going to have to patch up... you see anything down there?"    * Erinna stays near the edge of the pit, and tosses in an end of her long rope. "Grab it... oh engineers?" Inquires the batpony out of a sudden     "heh, you're looking at one"     The pit around Tali looks barren with its walls seemingly chisled out with tools to be smooth and clear.    * Tali grabs the rope and climbs     Her torch however is long extinguished... for obvious reasons :3     "Hah" Is all the reply Erinna gives before holding the rope tight with her teeth and pulling the mare out of the pit. [any roll needed?]     Roll acrobatics.     !roll 1d20+1   Tali rolled 1d20: 20      * GreenHoof watches with a somewhat slack jaw at all the acrobatics and such. "I guess stealth is long out the window..."     While bat pony was helping the mare out by pulling, the jumpy pony pulls herself out from the pit, surprisingly quickly for a new arrival!   The pony nearly jumps out of the pit, firmly holding the rope.    * Tali clambers out "He, I knew those climbing lesson would come in handy, little difficult with hooves though"    * Erinna spits the rope and offers Tali a wide smile. "It's good to see you can take care of yourself, grease monkey."     "nice work there tali"    * GreenHoof sniffles and rubs his nose, letting the crossbow dangle around his neck as he watches the mares wriggle about and such. "Good, we're all good then? We should really keep moving..."     "Ya, well you;re right, I do need to fix that hole but..."    * Tali moves to the board "help me get this board up. we'll baracade the entrance and let the hole do the rest of the work"     With boards broken and only several planks remaining intact, the path forward into darkness looks rather.... unsteady.    * Tali attempts to pull a few of the boards and planks that were covering the hole away and use them to block the narrow passage    * Aurora shakes her head "nothing will sneak past that pit, especially with us watching guard, lets just hold out until everyone can move at once"     One would have to use boards or something else to cross the path over the pit to continue to move forth into the cavern.     "we can put these back when we're done"     "Well, I just figured that I better stay with in the comatose ward with our lonely guard. You can go yourselves, suit my lamp and rope if needed." The emphazise this, Erinna leaves both items in the ground, next to each other, as she turns around to trot towards Crystal. Yet she stops and nods at Tali's request, moving to help her accomodate the board in to the desired position. "That's a good option too, Engi"     The pit is 2x2x1 by size.   Boards are 1m+ in lengh    * Tali decideds to leave it be     The boards were put accross the pit in length as to allow others to cross the pit.     "ah fuck it,  We'll just do what you said and watch it for the night"     "if we just move the planks, it would be really hard for something to sneak up on us at least, lets just rest for the night"    * Erinna drops the plank and shrugs. "Whatever you say. Huddle with the others to stay warmth" And that's all Erinna says before going to pick up her stuff, put it close to Whitelight and nestling close to her, almost hugging her. Eyes closed, the batpony seems to be sleeping, but is hard to say due to how steady her breathing is.     "that's what I was thinkin-*yawn* oh wow... I guess I am getting tired."     http://sketchtoy.com/63708873     "We could stay in the entrance area for tonight and alternate guard shifts until the morning."     "yea, thats what I mean"     "Ya, I want to pull the boards real quick so nothing can get through easy"     The mare carefully pulls 3 remaining planks back to group's side, leaving the pit open.    * Tali yanks the boards back and drags them clear of the hole so now it only be accessed via using those boards to lay down the bridge again    * GreenHoof thinks we're autisming a bit much over board and hole    * Tali heads back to cave entrance area "Alright, I'll take next shift after a nap alright?"     Alrighty then! From here on, we can assume that group decided to form a camp at the cavern's entrance for the time being.    * GreenHoof nods. "Alright." :D     Alright, so official pause here?     The entrance area is not big, only 3 meters in its width, but the more and closer ponies are the merrier it is in this steamy steamy warmth!     Aaand we can pause this till tomorrow!      ### Post Scriptum       !roll 1d20+1 Int   GreenHoof rolled 1d20: 13      @@@ To Hoof: As Hoof rested at the campsite, half dreaming... or during the watch, the pony started to remember scenes and what happened with the group with his attention somewhat going back to the group of wolves that were chasing them... glowing yellow eyes, orderly following each one, snarling..... their bodies twisted and gnawled unlike the other ordinary timberwolves... A faint feeling cradles into his mind as the mental image looked somehow... familiar... but where... Does Hoof remembers...?    * GreenHoof is trying to remember...     !roll 1d20+1 Int   GreenHoof rolled 1d20: 4      @@@ To Hoof: As the stallion tried to remember another, more fainter thought cradles to his mind, a thought that sends a chill down his spine once again as the memory of a loud *click* and a *shlick* of Whitelight's blade recurs in his mind. The stallion continues to ponder the thought... The stallion will continue to ponder through the thought, as the recurring memory of a crowd of timberwolves following a group of ponies through woods will repeat itself during his stay... unless he'll remember.    * GreenHoof sits at the campfire while the others are asleep, carefully pondering over the night's events. Something about the timberwolf incident seemed familiar... contorted, gnarled bodies, unusually ordered fashion, the faint *ktchink!* of the hoowitch gauntlet...