The P-Files

"So everypony needs to be at the university tomorrow?" Clue Seeker asked with an cocked eyebrow, "How terribly convenient."

He took another bite from his dinner, finishing his plate clean and a final sip from his glass, emptying it. He then took out his pocket watch. "Oh my, is it that late already?" *insert time here*

"How about we wrap things up here and turn in for the night? So we can tackle the university fresh in the morning."

---

Unless the group wants to go out on the time :p

((I'm just gonna imagine Blade thinks your shell phone thing as another illusion spell prank because we're not sure if it's allowed yet and even if it were Blade Blocker still wouldn't own one))

In response to Coffee's statement about shell phones, "I don't know what that is... I ordered the 'Double-Stuffed Baked Posidia'." Continuing to the rest of the group, "Yeah, I'm feeling ready to hit the hay soon enough. I don't exactly have a place to stay, but I can make a cloud bed and a cloud tent if I need to."

((He wasn't around when Whisper offered ponies a place to stay so that might be a nice gesture but isn't necessary. Other than that I'm ready to move on.))

"Sure Mr Mug." Whisper said, finished the last bite of her food, and then turned to Blade Blocker, "Oh. You can join the rest of us at my place if you like. Clue Seeker will keep an eye on you, I'm sure."

Ramsus wrote:"Sure Mr Mug." Whisper said, finished the last bite of her food, and then turned to Blade Blocker, "Oh. You can join the rest of us at my place if you like. Clue Seeker will keep an eye on you, I'm sure."

"I'm pretty sure Blade Blocker is old enough to survive the night without me supervising him, Miss Whisper." Clue Seeker said with a smile as he signaled the waiter.

"Was it good, sir?" The waiter asked.

"Most delicious." Clue Seeker replied as he handed him the dirty plate. "Can we have the bill please?"

"I guess a place to stay would be nice. Its hard to beat a good cloud in terms of comfort, but I'd rather not have to go searching for you all in the morning so I'll take you up on that," he says with a big grin on his face, happy that the time together with his new friends isn't over yet. "And while Clue is right in that I don't need a babysitter, there's still something to be said about safety in numbers. Never know when a pickpocket is gonna sneak your coin pouch out from under ya, and 4 eyes are always better than 2." Blade then places 24 bits on the table from underneath his left wing, for whoever ends up picking up the check.

((Ok, definitely ready now))

((Alrighty then... I think everypony's just about ready.

And I get the feeling Coffee Mug is going to become the Pinkie Pie of this group. Breaking the 4th wall aaaaaaaaaaaaaaall over the place. That's why I'm okay with the shell phone, BTW.))

At the mention of the check, the waiter nods and hurries off - collecting all your dishes before hand, of course. He comes back moments later with the check, and after glancing over the long list of food items you'd ordered, Clue Seeker makes it down to the grand total for the evening - which comes out to be 131 Bits precisely (plus tip!).

After paying the bill,

((You guys can decide on how you split the bill in the OOC thread.))

you all get up from your table and head for the exit. As you do so, you notice that the station's beginning to empty out for the night. Buck, Renji, and all the rest of Big Mike's associates are nowhere to be seen, and they must have finished unloading those crates from the train and packed it in for the evening. Both the two black bricks and the gold-plated poniless carriages that had been parked outside on the curb are now nowhere to be seen.

Outside the streets are still active, but thinning out as well. You must have been talking for quite a while, because you realize it's already past midnight. A lot of ponies have called it quits for the night, and those that haven't are mostly heading home to join the rest.

There are still a couple taxis waiting on the curb for weary passengers just getting off the last train, horse-drawn carriages painted in bright yellow and black and white checkered stripes. The taxi horses watch you all expectantly as you leave the station, waiting to see if they might yet see some more action (and coin).

What will you do from here?

Clue Seeker shrugs and follows Whisper

Whisper doesn't even think about it before walking off, just assuming everyone will follow her, taking her usual shortcuts on the way home (even if she hasn't been there for a while).

((I look forwards to your description of that walk Xand. *grins* ))

Coffee gets into one of the waiting cabs along with his luggage.

"54322 Windigo Way"

OOC:Does Coffee have a key or anything to his apartment?

Blade will follow behind Whisper keeping an eye out for an suspicious looking ponies(or zebras, or griffons, etc.). He'll be staying on his hooves though, as he thinks it would be rude to take in the joy of flight while also trying to spend time with non-pegasus ponies. Maybe he'll be able to stretch his wings tomorrow.

((Perception: 5 + 5 = 10, guess this is what he meant by 4 eyes being better than 2))

Chitin shifted the duffel bag on her back slightly before following after Whisper. She was quiet as she followed, looking around as she did, trying to memorize the way as well as keep an eye out for any hazards in the dark.

---

((14(roll)+11(perception)=25.))

((Everypony following Whisper...))

You cross Equinade in the midnight darkness, tiny specks dancing across the streetlights that guide your way. After a second glance, you realize what the specks are - insects - moths and mosquitoes, likely attracted from the swamp by the city lights.

But as you cross the street, and as Blade Blocker spots another cute filly while Chitin keeps her eyes peeled for danger, you leave the train station - and the imposing image of the Darkhorse Asylum - behind. Whisper cuts through the topiary gardens of an old cathedral that seems to have stood since at least the dawn of Celestia's reign, and you rush to keep up with her. You begin to get further and further from the light of the streets as you pass into a tall maze of bushes cut in the shape of dragons, ponies, chimera, and all manner of beast. The topiary figures seem to gaze down as you pass beneath them, as if demanding to know why you dare invade their ancient and hallowed grounds, and you can't shake the feeling you're being watched, as if the bushes' sightless eyes are following you wherever you go...

-But however creepy the gardens seem, they are well-kept and cared for, standing in stark contrast to the Blackhoof State Penitentiary, which sits across from them on the street. From the topiary gardens you can just make out the tops of the penitentiary's bare, concrete walls and barbed wire fence, flood lights from inside the prison washing across the night sky.

Finally, you're delivered from the cathedral's topiary gardens, passing on into an adjoining residential area - Vieux Mare...

((Ramsus - I mentioned it in OOC, but you need to make a Streetwise check to find your old place in the dark, especially after being away for so long.

Also, now would be a good time for everypony to remind me if you have Nightvision.))

((And as for Coffee Mug...))

As the others press on into Vieux Mare through the creepy topiary gardens, Coffee Mug sits nice and cozy in the back of a taxi carriage built to comfortably accommodate - not one - but four full-grown ponies.

The carriage moves off down Equinade at a nice clop, and you also leave the train station behind, passing into the Treme' residential area. As you look out the window, you catch sight of one or two ponies every now and then, but the streets are mostly empty. You content yourself by studying the old Ponysian architecture of the buildings and apartments you pass, and while doing so, you notice two things...

The first is graffiti. All the buildings are covered in the stuff - colorful characters, cartoons, and phrases lit up like neon in the overhead streetlights.

The second is the posters. You can't make out what they say from this distance in the dark, but there's a lot of them, pasted against walls and posts all up and down the street. They're not as prominent as the graffiti by any means - but still, you're impressed by how many you've passed so far. You've counted at least a couple dozen.

OOC:Perception Check to make out whats on the posters.
Roll(1d20)+5:
20,+5
Total:25
Woot!

EDIT:
Coffee turns to the cab driver?(puller?)

"Excuse me, I'm a bit of hobbyist. Know any good place to find arcane-quality gems and components?"

Oh, I must have missed that. *shrug* Streetwise: 17 + 14 = 31. That'll do it I figure.

Cardbo wrote:OOC:Perception Check to make out whats on the posters.
Roll(1d20)+5:
20,+5
Total:25
Woot!

EDIT:
Coffee turns to the cab driver?(puller?)

"Excuse me, I'm a bit of hobbyest. Know any good place to find arcane-quality gems and components?"

Coffee Mug stares at the passing posters, and can just make out one word written in big-block letters across them all - MISSING. Under that one word, you can make out pictures of ponies - each poster showing a different one. You also can make out the remains of other posters that must have once donned the walls, nothing more than strips of paper now - leftovers from when somepony ripped them off. The strips flutter in a sudden breeze, and a shiver runs down your spine.

The driver doesn't reply to your question as he turns down a road marked Satyr Street.

The road is unlit by streetlamps, and the buildings all lie in darkness.

The only light comes from the taxi carriage driver's unicorn horn.

Then the carriage comes to a complete stop, and you see another light, soft and red, flash on up ahead.

Three figures begin to emerge from the gloom...

((MWAAHAHAHAHAAAHHHAHAHA!!!!))

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

((...Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand back to Whisper & Co.))

As Whisper navigates her way through the streets of Vieux Mare', she's excited to find that she hasn't forgotten her old shortcut, even in the dark!

Sure, she might have circled around that one neighborhood a couple times... and sure, she could have sworn she'd seen that same old oak in not one, but four yards by now... Okay, so it was kind of hard to see where she was going in the dark, but they were still making pretty good time.

Likewise, while Whisper led the party through town, Chitin kept an eye out for trouble. Nothing had caught her attention just yet though, besides a number of these creepy Missing Pony signs that were popping up everywhere. That and the graffiti didn't do much to calm her nerves either - what with all the sayings demanding Who Watches the Watchpony?, Don't Go To Sleep, What's Under the Hood? and Don't Trust Your Eyes.

-Then, as the party rounds a turn, Chitin catches sight of some movement up ahead. As Whisper leads the group towards an old, abandoned apartment building, the Changeling spots a gang of zebra gathered on it's stone steps. As Chitin tries to get a good look at them, the zebras actually turn and stare back at her.

((Heh heh heh...))

Coffee's eyes go wide.

"What in the world could that be?!" He point to slightly behind the cops.

OOC:Coffee is using Mirage to create a bright flash coming from just behind the cops. If he can get it to the level of a flashbang, that could blind the cops that be great. Really all he needs is a distraction. Let me know if this requires an arcane check.

Assuming that works, he going to grabs his bags and head back to the Equinade and head north. Once of eyeshot, he going to going to use Mirage again to turn himself into an elderly grey unicorn as a disguise.

EDIT:Old grey unicorn with a musical note as a CM

EDIT3:He is going to dive into the trash can and create and image of Coffee running down the street to the North.

EDIT2:Arcane check for the Light Flash
Roll(1d20)+17:
18,+17
Total:35

Chitin reaches out and bites onto Whisper's tail, giving a little tug to slow her down. "Remind me, this close to Maredi Gras...is five zebras painted up like skulls and looking angry normal?" Without waiting for a response her horn lit up and her duffel bag lifted off her back and came to rest on the ground. The smaller bag coming undone again and returning to its position on her back. She shook herself slightly to make sure it was properly attached before turning to look at the five zebras in skull paint, looking them over.

---

((I'm trying to see if there's anything on them that might help me figure out what they're doing. Like sacks of loot or weapons if they're criminals or flashy colorful objects if they're just a pack of surly celebrators. 18(roll)+11(perception)=29. If this required a street wise check instead, 18(same roll)+8(street wise)=26))

OOC:
@ Cardbo:

You can't use Mirage to change your own appearence, that's what Art of the Dress is for. Nor can you use it to create flashbangs as Mirage reads:
Mirage – At Will
Preparation Time: 5 Minutes
You create the illusion of a pony-sized or smaller creature of your choice within 50 feet of you. The illusion is silent but moves and acts as though it was the creature it appears to be. Creatures that closely examine the illusion can make a Perception check to discover the illusion for what it really is. The check is opposed by a Persuasion check that you make when you create the illusion. The illusion lasts as long as you continue to concentrate on it and ten seconds after you stop concentrating.

I do suppose you can overlay the mirage over yourself to appear different but that's going to be much more difficult as you'll have to line up all the mirage's movements to your own. But Mirage certainly isn't a catch-all for all magic optical effects. If you want to create a magical orb of light, that's more likely going to be a straight-up Arcana check with a relatively high DC, Xandzero2's choice of course.

@ Xandzero2

And poor old Clue Seeker is forgotten and left out of the loop. No biggie, I'll just assume he's trotting along with the rest. Clue Seeker has no Nightwatch so I'm just going to have him make a Perception check.
[19 + 15 Perception = 34]
But seeing how Perception is Clue Seeker's Cutie Mark skill, Epic Pwny kicks in and turns it into a Cutie Mark Critical. Bazinga
So yeah, try to impress me with what you can come up with for epic perception skills. ^^

OOC: Can Coffee hunker down and turn himself into a trash can then?

((OOC:at that point couldn't you just hide in an actual trashcan? It might be better to use Mirage to make a fake Coffee and have it bolt from the cab first in a direction you don't intend to go. Then once everyone's chasing it, have the real coffee sneak away.))

OOC:

Cardbo wrote:OOC: Can Coffee hunker down and turn himself into a trash can then?

Mirage can only conjure pony-sized creatures or smaller. Even if you're stretching it, I suppose you could conjure up the image of a trash can but no, Coffee Mug can't change himself into one.

Same goes for Art of the Dress as you can change the appearance of up to 6 people into a similar sized creature. If you take that to the extremes, you could change your appearance to that of a trash can (creature) but you'll have to stay perfectly still because a walking trash can is definitely going to attract attention.

Dr. Blight's suggestion is a good example of what you can do with Mirage.

Cardbo wrote:Coffee's eyes go wide.

"What in the world could that be?!" He points to slightly behind the cops.

EDIT2:Arcane check for the Light Flash
Roll(1d20)+17:
18,+17
Total:35

Coffee had assumed it was the cops coming out from the darkness - and he was right.

As he summoned a spark of light behind the three newcomers, he heard one voice, the captain from before, yell, "IT'S A TRICK!"

Coffee Mug didn't falter though, forcing enough magic through his horn to turn his spark into a blinding star - but before the spark could ignite, he felt another magical force pressing down on his, trying to contain it. The spark went off - but not with the blinding flash bang Coffee had hoped. Still, the dark street was lit up momentarily, and he could plainly see the brown unicorn, the black pegasus, and the purple earth pony, their attention momentarily distracted by the flare.

Coffee grabbed his bags and jumped the carriage, running as fast as his hooves could carry him, aiming to duck into the nearest ally.

Behind him he could hear the police ponies yelling, "WHERE'D HE GO? HE'S GETTING AWAY! AFTER HIM!"

((BTW - I just checked the Mirage spell. It has a casting time of 5 minutes. Way too long of a casting time for it to be practical here, unless you can stall for time. You may need to try using Stealth or Endurance to sneak away or outrun them.))

((Streetwise to know what's up with the Zebras: 17+Nat 20! Cutie Mark Critical! = 37. Hah, now you have to do it for BOTH of us. ))

"Seems we've run into a bit of trouble."

Clue Seeker stopped in his tracks and held out a hoof to stop the rest of the group.

"Miss Whisper, is there perhaps a different route to your home?" Clue Seeker whispered in her ear behind his hoof. "Because it seems this group of Zebras is just looking for an excuse to fight."

---

Not that I'm doubting we could take these guys 4 on 5 but the info I got from the Perception check suggests that fighting might not be the best course of action.

OOC: I don't think all Zebras rhyme. Of course, we only know one Zebra so it can't be verified. Just putting it out there because coming up with rhymes all the time without slipping up might be a tad hard.