The Sun Sets

Bronymous wrote:Storm:
Your magnetic ability easily shifts the source within the rock, causing a fissure to crack along it. Once moved from its spot, it responds easily to your manipulation- however, as of yet the magical barrier is still active.

"This going to be rather crude, but, it can't be helped." Storm bashes the arch with the lump of metal he's currently controlling, repeatedly hitting it until it falls into pieces.

"So you were what was in my head?" asked Dodger, trying to maintain his gentleponily manner even in front of this... thing. "Well, if you were thinking this was our lost friend, you're mistaken. We were looking for a pegasus. But... I take it that you didn't call me here to talk about lost friends."

"Oh... no, sorry. I knew that wasn't your friend, but I used what I had at my disposal. That pony is here for the same reason you are." She cocks her head, giving less the impression of a predatory beast and more of a curious young woman. "My name is Koli-Suraan-tel-apri-Auters-am-Nashtii. It's nice to meet you all." She continues to watch you, her owlish head swiveling as she walks around you towards the mouth of the cave.

"The pleasure is mine, Koli-Suraan-tel-a..." Dodger stumbled. "May I simply call you Koli? I'm sorry to say it's rather difficult for me to pronounce your full name. Mine, incidentally, is Rough Boulder."

As he patiently waited for the creature's response, Dodger kept a close eye on her. Though she didn't seem like she wanted to eat him and his friends, he couldn't afford to assume something six times bigger than him was entirely friendly without getting to know it first.

"You can call me that. Most of those I do meet do, during the short time we know each other. I will probably call you "listener", because that's what I'm used to. And false names give me a headache."

Luckily for everypony and maybe even Kanen himself, his recent encounters with things...different from his home desensitized him enough to not completely lose his shit when he saw the Oliscomaur. He was however enough amazed enough to be stuck staring at the creature in a almost catatonic state.
"K-k-kan-n-nen....ssshhhhmmmm........big"

False na-

Bugger. She WOULD know that Rough Boulder was something he made up for the volunteer form. She was in his head. Just let it go, hope the others didn't notice. Can't lose their trust now.

"But of course," said Dodger. "I hold no objection to being called "listener". As you might have guessed, my friend the deer is called "Kanen", but you may call him what you wish. Now, am I correct in assuming that I am one of a very small number of equines that has been able to hear your voice, and that the unicorn was another in that number?"

Emerald mentally sighs. She keeps the connection active to ensure no relapse of power, but if it came to a fight, she'd need to relinquish control to keep her own hide in place. It was, after all, a mythical creature. Fact situation: It's powers were mostly unknown. Nesting surprisingly close to town, with a surprisingly high number of bones.

..."I thought owls left pellets, not bones. Whose lair did this thing steal?" She mumbles to herself, her attention being split on so many fronts she somewhat says the first thing that passes her mind, mostly to herself. "Must have been summoned for that assault, but was smart enough not to go in and be skewered on guard swords."

She shrugs, walking over casually to stand in front of the unconscious unicorn, before answering Listener's question. "Nah, it's been trying for a while in a general net if I'm deconstructing the spell correctly. It passed over me twice, but couldn't get a catch, just gave me a mild headache. I'll fix that before retooling it for my own use. And please don't say my name as well, weaker mentalists can often use those to get the little help they need to be competent. Ask it if it has seen Shooting Star, if you could." Said so despite her proximity. The less interaction the better, even if it can hear it clearly.

Mentally on her own throughout the affair, Emerald was thinking 'If you're reading my mind have you seen a pegasus and a griffon flying by here together? Turquoise bicycle shoe fins actualize radishes greenly!' over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over, every so often spiced with an image of her riding the owl into combat against a hydra. She wouldn't be giving away surface thoughts, it would need to be a bit better than that. Its reaction should give her an estimate of its power, regardless of the response. Taunt, and see. And see if they reply to the concept of the taunt's plan. And see if that itself too would be assessed. Really, reading a mythical creature couldn't be worse than reading pixie-dust-crazed hallucinating mudponies.

"Your tricks are amusing, magician, but they will hardly have any effect on me. I already know everything I care to about the three of you, and your thoughts will not faze me. I haven't seen your friend or her captor, they did not come close to my mountain. The listener here heard my calling because he was lucky, and for no other reason." She leans in, face to face with the petrified Kanen. "And I did not steal this place from any other beast. I've been here for millenia, and for most of that time I have been unchallenged by any monsters- especially Hydras. Now, are you all ready, or do you have more questions?"

"I'm sure I can make my thoughts faze you, featherbrain. A creature such as yourself cannot exist in this time and place, by sheer size alone there could be not even secondary predators for several dozens of miles. I will for now still file your kindred under the fantastical category."

Emerald Trance frowns. They had no time to deal with this. "You act according to your nature, though. Unlike Equus Nobilis, you seem right now bound to routine and base instinct, maybe you should change it up a bit if you feel as old as you believe. If not here then my own prey did indeed cross the Neighagra, I'd like to save this unicorn though, as well. I could easily be on my way, but you can see the issue there. I also need to make haste and find somepony, while you've got a knack for mental nets and flying, that seems like a good fit of skills to needs."

She shrugs. Her mind is simply speaking her words as she says them, a slight echo from thinking them a half-second beforehoof. "So what can I offer you to enlist your services?"

If bricks could be shat then Kanen could drop a whole house with furnishings. When the creature closed in on Kanen, not even a rock could be more still than he. A pure visage of terror was planted on his face his eyes staring straight into the distance. Any onlooker upon seeing Kanen in this state would probably think he was a statue except for the quick, light breaths he took every few seconds.

Spoiler:

"Ready for what, if I may ask?"

Dodger tried not to say anything more. In all likelihood Emerald's mumbling was ruining his chances at keeping the conversation civil, and he didn't want to ask too much of a gigantic creature when it was feeling distinctly uncivil.

Emerald splits her focus yet again, to make a link to Kanen. Technically, this telepathy was pure surface thought, the gigantic monster would easily be able to read it, but for some reason it just seemed more polite to do so instead of talking to him aloud. '"Calm down, don't worry. It is a large predator in its home environment, and can likely scale up or down the mountain faster than we can. Falling to base instincts doesn't help us here, just take some deep breaths. And it is certainly magical, learning to deal with mages includes those who are unrealistically large, right? That is what you wanted to learn. So don't bolt. I can save you if need be.'"

Of course, if she saves him, saving herself would become much more difficult, but she didn't voice that particular part in her message. A brave face was fine and all, but if it came down to it, she could at least for a few moments stall it out in an arcane melee while the others escaped, as any greater would for their lessers and (albeit only recently) students.

Koli ignores Emerald, now in favor of answering Dodger's question. "Ready to be eaten, of course. That is why I brought you up here, a girl needs to eat. But," the big bird fidgets slightly, its head making a quick rotation, "forcing others to give themselves to me as food is not something I like to do. In the old, old days, creatures would knowingly come to me in sacrifice, for some odd reason or another, so I never got into hunting and killing. Like all of my kind, I use my power to lure and to trap, but I don't outright kill. So I allow my prey to make up their minds as to when they are ready, and then they give themselves to me. I find it's much more agreeable to both parties that way." She walks around, looking at Kanen again. "...he does not look ready."

Down the slope, Storm's hammering with the rock is causing more damage to it than to the arch, cracking it more and more. With one particularly impressive slam, the rock shatters entirely, falling away from the magnetic source like a shell, allowing him to actually see it. It's big, about the size of a Pony's head, and perfectly spherical. It seems to be metallic, but it shimmers with some kind of magic light, the glow lines squirming about on its surface. It looks to be entirely undamaged from the beating.

Bronymous wrote:
Down the slope, Storm's hammering with the rock is causing more damage to it than to the arch, cracking it more and more. With one particularly impressive slam, the rock shatters entirely, falling away from the magnetic source like a shell, allowing him to actually see it. It's big, about the size of a Pony's head, and perfectly spherical. It seems to be metallic, but it shimmers with some kind of magic light, the glow lines squirming about on its surface. It looks to be entirely undamaged from the beating.

"Well, thats interesting, though I don't think this is getting me anywhere." Storm tucks the sphere into his saddlebags and flies up the mountain, looking around for a less direct means of entrance.

OOC:Perception
Roll(1d20)+7:
13,+7
Total:20

NOT SO FAST! YOU'VE ACTIVATED MY TRAP CAAAAAAAAAAAARD!!

---

Whatever force that was keeping Storm out was also keeping the sphere in. Pulling it outwards, it makes contact with the "wall" of the barrier. One more solid pull through, and the shockwave can be heard around for miles. A bolt of lightning arcs between the barrier, the sphere, and towards Storm- striking the boulder he's hiding behind, causing it to shatter. (Ok, roll a single Endurance check.)

Up the mountain, the thunderous noise shakes the ground. Once it subsides, Koli simply says "Hmmm..."

"I would go so far as to say none of us are ready," said Dodger.

"Well, that's ok. He wasn't ready either." She gestures to the unconscious Unicorn. "I can wait." Koli lays down and continues watching.

Kanen feel voice in head not Kanen voice. Creature want eat Kanen. Kanen no want dead. Kanen want life.Kanen will live. Kanen not be food for creature or any beast I refuse to be eaten and consumed by another being before I am damn well ready to be eaten and so I say unto you foul demon....
At which point Kanen decided to try to deploy the oldest and most noblest of deer traditions: getting the buck out of dodge.

Storm is blown away by the explosion as the lightning bolt hits the boulder. Luckily, he is only struck by the concussive force, the shrapnel and lightning missing him entirely. He lands a few feet away, now nearer the river, but he can see that the arch and pillar have ceased glowing. The mysterious metallic sphere lays nearby, seemingly undamaged and still shimmering.

As Kanen turns to make a break for the slope, he is cut off by Koli's head- her neck having extended and snaked its way around him in the blink of an eye. "Sorry, you can't leave, now that you're here. You may as well take a seat until you're ready." Her head remains stationary as her body follows her neck around until she is blocking teh way out entirely. Again, she lays down, watching and waiting patiently.

Bronymous wrote:Storm is blown away by the explosion as the lightning bolt hits the boulder. Luckily, he is only struck by the concussive force, the shrapnel and lightning missing him entirely. He lands a few feet away, now nearer the river, but he can see that the arch and pillar have ceased glowing. The mysterious metallic sphere lays nearby, seemingly undamaged and still shimmering.

Storm shakes himself off and grabs the sphere and snakes it into his saddlebags. He cautiously heads up the mountain.

OOC:Stealth
Roll(1d20)+7:
6,+7
Total:13
Well, Storm thinks he's being stealthy.

"Now see here," said Dodger. "While I admit that I was never told why I should come up here, I was lured under false pretenses because you said you may have seen our friend. You clearly have not, and intend only to eat us - a rather important detail, which, if it had been shared with us from the beginning, would certainly have meant that none of us would have come up here. We are not nor will we ever be ready to become your food, especially since you have only told us that you lured us here to be nourishment after we came and you were in a position to trap us. In short, madam, you are a Koli, a scoundrel, and a most terrible host."

I assume Storm is flying up the slope?

---

Koli blinks at you, and her head sags a bit. "I know that.... but I have to eat. And this is the only way to get my food. I hate trying to hunt and kill others, especially on this barren mountain where the best I can get is a small lizard, or a passing bird or two. So if my meal comes to me, and then eventually comes to terms with its mortality and allows itself to be eaten, it all works out better. But if I just let them walk away, then why bother bringing them in the first place?"

Her visible melancholy seems to distract her, enough that she doesn't see Storm coming up the slope behind her.

"I'm competent enough to teleport enough food for four ponies up here each day. You can't starve us out. Feel free to check my thoughts, that's the truth: Unlike you, I am competent. I am not worthless." Emerald scowls at her own words. "Not worthless. Boring people until death seems like a release isn't all that lawful or honourable, let alone condusive to long-term mental well-being. Your time has passed, you acknowledge this. If you won't help us in our own objectives, why not go to the griffon lands, fly with those mighty feathers. They consume corpses more than a unicorn or pegasus, and you look enough like them that they may take up some form of respect or worship for you once more."