Token Evil IC

"Heh... heh... hehahAHAAHAHAHAHA----"
The guardian breaks out into mirthful (and somewhat bloodcurdling due to the quality of her voice) laughter at Broken's offer.

Meanwhile, looking at Brightheart, Argent answers, "...Not that I know of. The regular guard make contact every hour, but the last patrol just passed. So unless any of you caused a stir, you still have the greater part of an hour. Gh... this truth spell of yours is really something. We've been hardened against suggestion and influence, but... I suppose Celestia's gifts don't counteract each other."

"--HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH--"

At his second question, Argent hesitates. "...To be honest, I don't care that much anymore. I suspect my underlings have been well and truly slaughtered by you, but our lives are something we have sworn away on our initiation to her majesty's service. They fought hard and fought well, judging by the lightning scorches on your armor, and that's all I could ask of them. You've won, fair and square. I just want the chance to make amends for my failures as a leader."

"--HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH--"

Iota watches the exchange unfolding before him silently. Evidently, the unicorn's attempt had failed. Whatever is guarding the vault's laughter seems proof of that.
Turning towards the paladins, Iota glances briefly at the changeling - represented through the burning orb that comprises of Iota's single eye shifting in Recon's direction - before looking to the unicorn mare bound by magic.

"I... Don't trust you." It says to Recon first, while mustering up its mastery over the arcane. "But you... I don't like you." It says while looking at Broken.

Reaching out with a plated glove, it focuses for a moment, and a dark flame erupts around the glove, which then springs up around the bound mare. The flames race up the chains binding her, and with a squeeze of the glove, the flames burn away all of the magic in the area, dying down just as quickly as they sprang up.

Before the unicorn can do anything, Iota points the Midnight Blade at her warningly. "Your superior... agreed to orders. You... will too."

Dispel Magic+:

"Thank you."

Then, to the newly-freed paladin: "Your captain and I will leave the vault, then start running in separate directions. Your task will be to raise alarm and get the changelings chasing us. Just go from here to the Solar Court; if there's even one changeling in earshot along the way, the rest will hear you."

To Argent: "If you hear strange sounds or voices you know coming from any corridor, don't follow them. The mimics are disguised as corridors, and that's the lure. Avoid them, stay alive, and keep up the chase. Are you ready?"

Rolls:

Broken seemed... surprisingly calm. He honestly thought he would have been a lot more enraged to be laughed off by whatever was guarding the vault while someone used a degree of magical skill that was more then enough to shatter the bindings that he had summoned to hold down the second in command of the paladins as insurance that the Captain did what he was told and didn't get any funny ideas... exspecally after the day that he had been having. Then again, maybe he was just so mad that he had gone so far beyond anger that he had managed to reach a zen like state on the other side.

His horn glowed for a moment, both paladins experiencing a strange flash of light in front of their eyes as his spell on them settled... as well as the Metal Changelings. Not as good or satisfying as killing them to silence them almost certainlly would have been, but sometimes you just had to take what you could get. He didn't say anything else for the moment.

Actions:

Recon blinks as part of her memory suddenly turns hazy. Like she forgot the name and face of one of the ponies present.

She looks around to the pony whose name escaped her...and suddenly, there it was, clear as ever. Then as she looks away, the memory disappears into fog again.

So that's how it feels.

But, no time for petty payback. She and the paladins need to get their diversion plan underway. And thankfully, that nameless pony's party trick hadn't done anything to set them back from it. As she starts to lead the paladins toward the vault corridor entrance, she uses a subtle gesture to tell Iota to watch that other pony whose name seemed lost to time.

Just keep talking to the maybe-dragon-thing, generic pony. With any luck, maybe you'll get her laughing so hard it kills her.

Brightheart feels a surge of respect for the fallen paladin well up in his heart. Truly, this Argent is the definition of a worthy champion of the sun. He didn't have the ridiculous notion that somehow sacrificing himself would fix things - he was taking steps to secure his survival so he could live to fight another day.
Self-preservation is the greater part of valor - it's what Brightheart always believed.

Sighing, he gives the changeling a quick nod. "They cannot lie when within the celestial flames. Your plan will be carried out without subterfuge, at least not from these fellows."

"Are there any more questions to be asked? Because time is ticking away, and we should not keep the fair lady inside the vault waiting. There is destiny to be seized, and gems to be looted."

"Hurry up, hurry up," whines Krix as he paces in and out of the circle, "I wanna see the dragon! I still wanna kill guard ponies too, but I know none of you will let me. You're all too soft. Even guard pony would rather reveal the vault's secrets then let other guard get hurt. I saw him look at her with the blade to her neck. What are you, in love or something? Heheheh."

"Indiscriminate killing is not an objective of what we were sent here to do." This time Hallows speaks before his sister. "Our mission is to steal, not murder. Save it for later." Gallows nods, and the two of them turn from the group and cross the threshold into the vault to take a look at this big door. "Hello, Ms. Guardian? Are you dragon?"

Ooo, puppies! I love puppies. The guardian chuckles heartily, a chilling and rasping noise.

Hmmm... I have been called a dragon, yes. Among other names. I might let you take a look if you ask nicely.

Staring steadily at the group, the paladins meanwhile nod to Recon, apparently ready to begin the mission.

Remembering something that the Paladin captain had mentioned earlier and taking advantage of the fact that the bastard had to tell the truth, Broken decided to ask a minor question while he waited for the more... bloodthristy members of the group to finally get into gear and head off to do a bit more work. "When it was pointed out earlier that there was something off about your mare friend there, you waved it off and said that it was fine. What exactly is so special about her and why do you trust her so much despite it?"

The twins look at each other, and then approach the door and sit looking up at it. "We wanna see!" "Pleeeeeeeease?"

---

Asking Nicely: 12+9=21

I wonder if I used my Magic point already...

Argent looks at Tender, who looks back at Argent questioningly. After a long pause, Argent nods, and Tender closes her eyes. Moments later her form ripples with a pale green flame, and as the fire fades a changeling is standing in her place. "...I didn't think I'd have to return to this form again." She sighs, looking at herself.

Argent looks at Broken. "It's impossible to mimic her. She doesn't have a face."

Tender shifts back, and without another word they start to leave, as it's quite likely that the changelings have begun to encroach on the vault.

Meanwhile, the Guardian chuckles, and says, Since you asked so politely...

With an extremely loud *clunk*, the gearworks of the door seem to come to life again, and and before the two jackal's very eyes, an opening appears on the massive vault doors, and through that, a massive claw (and attached arm) which seems to be composed entirely of gold and gems and other treasures reaches down, placing itself gently onto the ground in front of the jackals. The claw is large enough that the entire group could probably fit on it without much difficulty - it's really more a platform than a hand, to be honest.

Hop on.

Recon regards the other changeling with a raised eyebrow, but makes no comment. The time for talking is over now, but one thing she has deduced so far; this changeling wasn't affiliated with the ones outside. If she were, she wouldn't have dropped her disguise so peacefully; she'd have immediately started on their hive-mind "you can't stop us" villain rhetoric if she were.

Although this did give Recon an idea. Once she and the paladins are out of earshot of the rest of the group, she addresses the paladins, now switching from her villain act to her Little Walker cover act.

She begins with Argent as they approached the door. "You take right, chief, and I'll go left. Keep the chase up going long enough to get as many changelings after us as we can, then head for the courtyard." Then to Tender: "Make as much noise as you can and go straight for the Solar Court, like I said before. See if Her Highness has anything that can help end the chase once we're outside."

Once done, she readies at the door next to Argent. "Ready when you are, chief."

The twins look at the massive extremity with a mix of amazement and apprehension. "You're.... not a dragon, huh?" Gallows asks, hopping onto the hand, and Hallows follows, pausing to ask, "You promise you're not gonna like... eat us or smash us or something, right?"

"Oh, I'm sure the good lady will be civil about this meeting." Brightheart says jovially, trotting up to the big claw and stepping onto it. Turning to look at the others, he waves, "There's plenty space for us all!"

"I wonder if we'll be put into a new group if everyone dies," muses Krix to himself as he gets on the hand, dreaming on being able to work with the dragons, or at the very least, people who appreciate the importance of mass murder...

Blinking a little at the discovery that the Royal Guard actually had changelings in its ranks... like, properly meant to be there, Broken said nothing. It was something to be factored in, but now wasn't the time to do anything about it.

As the vault opened and a claw was offered in order to 'invite' them inside, Broken made the decision to hang back. Whatever was in there wasn't exactly in the best of moods towards him and he would rather not put himself into its claw, thank you very much. However, since that likely would be accepted as an answer, he muttered "Well, someone has to remain on watch to see if the metal bugs ploy is working or not... Might as well be me."

The animated armor says nothing at the series of revelations regarding the changeling guard, and turns towards the giant golden hand, climbing aboard and keeping the midnight blade at the ready.

No, no... I take good care of my toys, The guardian chuckles in response to the jackals as the claw lifts up, retreating into a slot in the vault doors.

Then the door slot grinds shut, leaving Broken alone in the darkness.

"...I think it would have been more interesting to go with the group. Safer, too."
The Nightmare suggests, belatedly. "But... oh well."

---

The group on the claw are assaulted with a burst of harsh, dry, hot wind as they enter the vault proper. Their eyes are assaulted by both heat and eye-wateringly bright light, and even those immune to heat are blinded momentarily by the bright light. As their eyes adjust, they're confronted with a stunning sight.

Gold. Gold as far as the eye can see, piled in within a yawning crystal cavern the size of a castle, filling the cavern to the very brim with gold and other treasures. And then, sitting amidst this hoard of gold enough to purchase a kingdom, is a gargantuan creature.

Four legs tipped with deadly talons. A long, winding tail, ending in crystalline spikes. A maw full of lamp-post sized teeth. A massive pair of ragged wings. All composed of gold and treasure, melded together in this furnace of a vault, kept ever so slightly fluid by the roasting heat to enable movement. This gleaming dragon of gold and silver and gems sits in mounds of treasure the size of houses, stretching out languidly across a space that spans an entire plain.

All of the assembled characters have seen dragons either in passing or up close, or perhaps have studied dragons in books. This dragon dwarfs the size of the biggest dragon they've seen by leagues.

Trickles of molten metal seems to drip from its maw as it regards the party on its claws carefully. Then, the maw seems to split into an unnerving jagged grin, as the familiar voice of the guardian, but much more resonant and grating (probably from all the treasure grinding together, now to think of it) in person, speaks up.

Well? What do you think?

---

Argent nods tiredly, and then sets off down one passage, while Tender goes down another. After determining a decent path, Recon sets off as well, going down a third corridor... (Streetwise, and acrobatics/athletics/endurance check prompt)

"Well of course you would say that. To my knowledge you don't suffer physical pain." Broken retorted as he walked over to take a seat behind the doorway on the inside of the vault hallway, letting out a tired breath as he could relax his aching body for a time. Not for the first time, he felt the bile of loathing at the weakness of his physical form and the limitations that it evoked upon him. The beating he had taken earlier wasn't helping in that regard. He just... needed to rest for a little while to get his strength back was all.

"So... you are a dragon... I think?" "A really huge one made from treasure. Like some kind of... dragon treasure golem." The twins have to crane their necks to take in the enormous creature, once they've cleared the volcanic atmosphere from their senses. "So what are you called, anyway, besides 'vault guardian'?"

Argent goes one way, Tender goes another. Recon picks the direction neither of them took.

Off in the distance, she can hear Tender raising the alarm. Whatever she was saying, it was too far away to be understandable. But it had the desired effect; the cluster of ponies gathered right outside the vault door split, with one portion chasing Argent and another chasing Recon-disguised-as-Argent.

So far, so good.

Recon leads her pursuers through the castle corridors, doing what she can to keep the chase going long enough to give Tender time to say whatever she's going to say to the Princess. When she feels it's been long enough, Recon starts making for the courtyard in front of the palace to meet up with Argent.

"Well-" Brightheart takes a moment to study the guardian in her entirety, ignoring the faint vertigo when he peers over the edge of the hand.

"You're certainly more radiant than I expected, good lady. As befitting one of your profession."

Krix currently dances between being stunned in awe, squealing in awe, and having an arguement with seemingly himself on whether a dragon made up of treasure counts as a real dragon or not...

Iota stares stoically at the dragon, not really betraying any emotions from its demeanor. It does, however, slowly sheathe its sword when it realizes that it probably won't be of much use.