Re: Ponies are Evil (WoMF's Campaign)

The Warrior of Many Faces Tue Nov 13, 2012 4:32 pm

It takes a good couple of hours to get there, but the flying group reaches the Everfree without incident. From above, there are two obvious places they could set up shop: either the Ancient Castle of the Pony Sisters, or a small hut with a few creepy-looking tribal masks outside of it and smoke coming from the chimney. The castle is further from Ponyville, but is abandoned so far as you can tell; the hut is closer to Ponyville, but is obviously occupied.

The train arrives at the station without incident. Two ponies get off the train at this stop, hurrying past the party members without really looking at them.

Ramsus Tue Nov 13, 2012 4:54 pm

"Oooh, I always wanted my own castle!" Daisy says.

Brony 7 of 9 Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:01 pm

"We cannot possibly set up shop in such a small hut!" exclaimed Herr Freishutz. "The castle is much more suitable!"

I'm too lazy to do the umlaut.

Doc pseudopolis Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:04 pm

"Vamos a subir al tren."
C gets on the train and looks for one of those cabin/compartment type things.

Spoiler:

Sable Tails Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:28 pm

Stasis is breathing heavily now, and more than ready for a rest. Below, he sees a hut, too small and perhaps a bit too close to Ponyville for his tastes, and obviously occupied; he can think of no good way to un-occupy it that doesn't involve at least a little murder. That is not how he intends to inaugurate this particular adventure.
He doesn't even have to look to know the location of the so-called Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. A tedious name, and not what they called it when he was last here. It, and the entire forest for that matter, brings back old memories that are among the best and worst of his life.
Except when he learned his beloved was dead, of course, flesh peeled away like rotted skin from the bone...that was the worst. For the barest moment, his lip peels away from his fangs in a feral snarl.

[Roll History on the ACotRPS: 7+11+1=19 I assume I get some kind of bonus since this ties into his backstory? And if I need a separate roll...roll History on the Everfree Forest: 10+11+1=22]

The Warrior of Many Faces Tue Nov 13, 2012 6:13 pm

Doc pseudopolis wrote:"Vamos a subir al tren."
C gets on the train and looks for one of those cabin/compartment type things.
Spoiler:

C has no difficulty finding an empty compartment: the only other ponies on the train aside from the staff are a brown earth pony and a grey pegasus asleep in each other's forelimbs.

elfowlgirl Tue Nov 13, 2012 6:31 pm

Silver slowly steps on board the train, and decides to find his own compartment as well.

Spoiler:

The Warrior of Many Faces Tue Nov 13, 2012 6:34 pm

elfowlgirl wrote:Silver slowly steps on board the train, and decides to find his own compartment as well.

Spoiler:

[About three hours.]

Sable Tails Tue Nov 13, 2012 7:22 pm

"Then to the castle we go!" he calls out, glad that there will be no fight on this issue. Without waiting to see if the gryphon follows, he flits towards the crumbling stonework, preparing to land.
As he nears, he reaches out with his arcane senses. What wards Celestia had once placed there should have degraded with time...but then, she had apparently chosen this place to secure the Elements not long ago. She may have renewed them.
"Daisy dearest," he calls over his shoulder, "could you, perchance, assist me in searching the castle for any wards? This ruin - indeed, this entire forest - is or once was awash in magical energies and creatures, and it would be unwise to take shelter here without first checking for any dangers, both seen and unseen."
As he searches, he wonders if there will be any lingering traces of the Nightmare. It was here that she had died, or so it was said. He also wonders if, as Harmony scrubbed away her body, she had still thought she was 'merely' being banished again, to waste the second millennium of her life in frozen isolation. He hoped so.

[Roll Arcana check on castle: 20+8+1=29]

Masterweaver Tue Nov 13, 2012 7:32 pm

Doctor Javolt swoops onto the train.

Ramsus Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:33 pm

"Sure!" replies Daisy cheerfully.

Arcana to aid: 15 + 18 = 33.

Sable, was that a nat 20 or is 20 just your bonus to Arcana?

The Warrior of Many Faces Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:51 pm

It's a nat 20.

Sable and Daisy probe the castle thoroughly, finding that the wards are no longer active and that there are no other spells on the castle aside from some slowly-failing preservation spells. However, since there were wards on it recently and for a long time, it would be foal's play for the duo to reactivate the wards to only let party members inside. (The duo would have to have either the party's auras or their physical presence to have the wards recognize them as authorized creatures; they don't have the auras, but the physical presence would be easy enough to get. Also, they could reactivate the preservation spells. Best part is, it all comes with the nat 20 and the 33 Daisy rolled.

Ramsus Tue Nov 13, 2012 10:06 pm

Daisy totally opts for doing both of those things!

Sable Tails Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:34 am

[I rolled a 20 on the arcana check, and I say we reactivate the heck out of those there wards and preservation spells!]

Stasis sets down at the edge of the ruins, lowering himself to the ground so that his passenger can disembark. Meanwhile, he begins to look around, searching for any signs of danger and, perhaps more importantly, a good place to sleep. Dawn is nearly upon them, and he doubts he will be getting much deep rest as long as he is with this group.

[Perception on the castle ruins: 7+13+1=21]

Ramsus Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:10 am

Daisy spends some time "housecleaning" by destroying any of the vines and other refuse that's managed to encroach on the inside, though she leaves the outside alone, figuring it's better to let it seem untouched to a casual glance. When she's done she finds a place to lie down and watch to see if anyone approaches.

RavenscroftRaven Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:19 am

"Our meeting is not for a while. Let us make ourselves comfortable." The griffon lets off his passenger, and looks about the castle for obvious entrances, exits, and most importantly, lines of sight to other landmarks.

Horus, as is the habit of eagles, then picks a mostly intact crenelation to set up his roost.

Brony 7 of 9 Wed Nov 14, 2012 11:32 am

While his glorified ride seemed to prefer the higher points of the castle, Herr Freishutz liked to stay low to the ground. Except when riding a griffon, then he was alright in the air. But the lower one can get, the more effective bomb shelter one can make. The bombs need to be sheltered, after all. He went to the lowest point he could (a dungeon would be most agreeable) and started setting up, dragging whatever looked like a table around and placing various kinds of pottery around, next to coal dust, vials of what looked to be blood, and various other knickknacks that most people had no use for.

The Warrior of Many Faces Wed Nov 14, 2012 4:03 pm

Sable Tails wrote:Stasis... begins to look around, searching for any signs of danger and, perhaps more importantly, a good place to sleep.

[Perception on the castle ruins: 7+13+1=21]

Stasis doesn't find anything really dangerous, except for a couple of small rats here and there. While there are some places where the stonemasonry is in danger of crumbling, the preservation spells are holding those in place just fine. Stasis does notice a curiosity: mushrooms growing out of the stone walls.

As for a good place to sleep, Stasis finds several mildewy beds teeming with bedbugs in some carpeted bedrooms.

Ramsus wrote:Daisy spends some time "housecleaning" by destroying any of the vines and other refuse that's managed to encroach on the inside, though she leaves the outside alone, figuring it's better to let it seem untouched to a casual glance. When she's done she finds a place to lie down and watch to see if anyone approaches.

Daisy does a fairly thorough job of getting rid of the vines, blasting some rats along the way and incinerating some of the mushrooms that somehow line the stone walls. Once she's done, she climbs a tower and watches through a window for her party members or for potential intruders.

RavenscroftRaven wrote:The griffon lets off his passenger, and looks about the castle for obvious entrances, exits, and most importantly, lines of sight to other landmarks.

Horus, as is the habit of eagles, then picks a mostly intact crenelation to set up his roost.

Horus sees one main entrance offhand, aside from several small holes with rats scurrying in and out. Beyond that, he sees no other exits save the sky. He also sees a lot of mushrooms growing out of the stone.

Swooping up to a tower, he begins to set up his roost, noting Daisy climbing another tower as he does.

Brony 7 of 9 wrote:He went to the lowest point he could (a dungeon would be most agreeable) and started setting up, dragging whatever looked like a table around and placing various kinds of pottery around, next to coal dust, vials of what looked to be blood, and various other knickknacks that most people had no use for.

The zebra doesn't find any dungeons, but he does find a wine cellar that should suit his purposes just fine (so long as he doesn't mind the rats scurrying on the floor, or the mushrooms that are somehow feeding off of what few wine bottles remain).

Doc pseudopolis Wed Nov 14, 2012 7:59 pm

C waits for the train to go, checking over his disguises and thievery equipment when he's sure nopony is watching.

Sable Tails Wed Nov 14, 2012 8:42 pm

Stasis happens upon a number of old beds, covered in mildew and seemingly teeming with bedbugs. This gives him pause. He likes to think of bedbugs as a distant cousin of his, in some ways closer to him and his kind than even the ponies...parasitic, they have no civilization, no great works to show, nothing but the need to feed. If there is a difference, it is that he exists at the top of the food chain, and they do not. He considers burning them out later.
But it also raises the question of what creatures they are feeding upon, to support so many. Perhaps animals sometimes sleep in these beds...that is certainly possible, in a place as filled with chaotic, wild magics as this forest. Alternatively, perhaps the castle is not as abandoned as he had thought. It was best to proceed with caution.
Noticing several small rodents scurrying about, he again switches forms to that of a unicorn and uses his telekinesis to try to catch several of them one at a time, intending to break their necks as he does so.

The Warrior of Many Faces Wed Nov 14, 2012 8:46 pm

The train leaves for Ponyville without any fanfare.

Stasis easily catches and kills the rats; if they have any special characteristics, agility and magic resistance are clearly not among them.

Brony 7 of 9 Wed Nov 14, 2012 8:49 pm

Herr Freischütz grins. Wine can be used in bombs, too - you just have to know how to assemble them! The mushrooms, though... those are intriguing. The mad doctor took a break to inspect them.

Perception on Mushrooms: 1d20 (6) + 7 = 13. Yep, those are mushrooms alright.

The Warrior of Many Faces Wed Nov 14, 2012 8:53 pm

Brony 7 of 9 wrote:Herr Freischütz grins. Wine can be used in bombs, too - you just have to know how to assemble them! The mushrooms, though... those are intriguing. The mad doctor took a break to inspect them.
Perception on Mushrooms: 1d20 (6) + 7 = 13. Yep, those are mushrooms alright.

Herr Freischütz is indeed sure that they are mushrooms, which are somehow growing out of and feeding on the bottles of wine and the wine itself, mostly from the top down.

Sable Tails Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:10 pm

Without breaking its neck, Stasis lets his fangs show throw his masque and takes a bite into the abdomen of the last of the rats. Its little heart beats the hot blood into his maw, and he swallows with relish, suckling on his meal until only a fleshy husk remains. He spits it out and bites into the next. Unlike most of his kind, he has never had much use for love...but blood, blood he enjoyed, even when it came from lowly creatures such as these.
With the rats drained and his belly full, he sought out a place to sleep, preferably one that was dry, dark, and secure. He intended to sleep without his masque; no civilized creature should have to rest in such a tight, itchy thing. If one of his companions should stumble upon him as he slumbered, it was their fault for being overly curious.

Doc pseudopolis Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:13 pm

C waits until Canterlot is well in the distance, throws his sombrero out of the window and takes his suitcase in search of a bathroom.

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