Era Victoria IC

Paper Shadow wrote:Dahlia peers at the seed. "Is that what I think it is?" He bends his head down to get a better look. "It is. Hello there little one, what are you doing here? Trying to give a Death Breath an interesting experience?"

The seed doesn't respond...

"Don't worry little one, I'll keep you nice and safe and get you all grown up." With a quick swoop, Dahlia snatches the seed away from the floor and hides it... somewhere...

(You Don't Know Where It's Been Stealth Check: 13 (Roll) + 11 (Skill) + 15 (You Don't Know) = 39)

Chirurgeon sighs in relief; the last thing he needs is a veteran drake high on opiates. Dahlia may be eccentric in some respects, but he does know his herbs. "Alright... that's done with. This letter; I recognize the seal. It's before even my time, but I think this seal was used by the Lord Regent... almost three hundred years ago."

"So what does that tell us?" Battery asked. "Because I sincerely doubt the letter is actually from some Lord Regent from three hundred years ago."

AleneShazam wrote:Chirurgeon sighs in relief; the last thing he needs is a veteran drake high on opiates. Dahlia may be eccentric in some respects, but he does know his herbs. "Alright... that's done with. This letter; I recognize the seal. It's before even my time, but I think this seal was used by the Lord Regent... almost three hundred years ago."

'That would explain why I didn't recognise it.' Smooth Talker remarked. 'It still begs the question: who would use the crest of the Lord Regent from 3 centuries ago and why?'

Smooth Talker stroke his chin in a thoughtful manner. One day, a glorious beard would adorn his face but alas, it was not yet that day. That still didn't mean he couldn't practice the gesture.

'In any case, we need more information.' Smooth Talker put two fingers to his mouth and whistled. A goat appeared, seemingly popping up out of nowhere, and gave a slight bow. 'Do me a solid, Jeeves and could you please hussle over to the library and get me a book or two about the Lord Regent from 300 years ago?' Smooth Talker instructed the goat. 'And do make sure that it contains information on his or her crest with the accompanying motto.'

The goat saluted and walked off and Smooth Talker rejoined his guests to partake in their ongoing conversation.
-------------------
Second use of Mook: Jeeves the goat.
Skill check for Jeeves to find a library: 14 + 3 = 17 (Streetwise or History)

Freaking hell, the rumours were true - thought Chrome as Stargazer went on. He was literally surrounded by what looked like artistocracy on a serious meeting, which consisted of listening to a live horoscope. An expensive one to that, thought the earth pony briefly, as he couldn't make heads or tails out of it. A wave of pity for "Chanteuse" and J.J. washed over him alongside with a sense of dread, as he rememberd that it may yet go through the entire night. It looked like the worst waste of time he's experienced in a long time. As the unicorn went on, the meachanic  could feel the brain bleach being poured over him... he held no ill will though, hence his expression betrayed both surprise and concern when the incident happened. He wondered whether that wasn't a heart attack.

What he didn't expect either was that J.J. asked him to follow her out of the place. He didn't understand the reason behind it. Was it the payment? Was he suspected about doing something wrong to the unicorn? His uncertainty cleared away a little as he recalled the zebra, wishing to go on a date. Perhaps she saw in that scene an opportunity to sneak out? It remained to be seen... as the earth pony obliged and followed her, as requested.

"Okay, so we've got an unconscious mindcontrolled messenger turned assassin, an unreadable letter, a 300 year old seal, and an opium poppy seed." Dahlia looks at the group. "What do we do now?"

"We wait for... Jeeves, to retrieve the book." Chirurgeon scratches his beak ponderously.

"We have several loose clues to contend with here. The poppies - it could be a lead to a drug supplier. I might have to check my records to see if I can trace down any contacts. The seal, now that is interesting. It's definitely not something your average dealer could get their claws on. Now, I'll need some time to think - history was never my strong suit, even medical history - but I might be able to tell you something about the lord regent circa three centuries prior. Since the assassin is, arguably, linked to the message, we may be dealing with some kind of... history fanatic also capable of fairly strong curses. I'm not confident on that, though."

Chirurgeon glances at the messenger, checking him over to see if he had any way of rapidly resuscitating the colt if need be. "Then there's this one."

History (for them lords): 13 + 14 = 27
Heal (for the messenger): 6 + 20 = 26 (additional +5 from freaky knowledge physiology?)

Terrestial wrote:Freaking hell, the rumours were true - thought Chrome as Stargazer went on. He was literally surrounded by what looked like aristocracy on a serious meeting, which consisted of listening to a live horoscope. An expensive one to that, thought the earth pony briefly, as he couldn't make heads or tails out of it. A wave of pity for "Chanteuse" and J.J. washed over him alongside with a sense of dread, as he remembered that it may yet go through the entire night. It looked like the worst waste of time he's experienced in a long time. As the unicorn went on, the mechanic could feel the brain bleach being poured over him... he held no ill will though, hence his expression betrayed both surprise and concern when the incident happened. He wondered whether that wasn't a heart attack.

What he didn't expect either was that J.J. asked him to follow her out of the place. He didn't understand the reason behind it. Was it the payment? Was he suspected about doing something wrong to the unicorn? His uncertainty cleared away a little as he recalled the zebra, wishing to go on a date. Perhaps she saw in that scene an opportunity to sneak out? It remained to be seen... as the earth pony obliged and followed her, as requested.

J.J leads Chrome out of the room and as soon as the door shuts behind him, she whips around to face Chrome looking deep into his eyes with a fierce intensity. “Now, I’m going to ask you two questions if I’m satisfied you can go if not well…” She pauses for a moment before continuing “First, are you the mechanic Chrome Drive and no one else? And, Second do you have any idea what just knocked out “Stargazer”?
Chrome can feel that the zebra would instantly know if he were lying.

Demonu wrote:
'That would explain why I didn't recognise it.' Smooth Talker remarked. 'It still begs the question: who would use the crest of the Lord Regent from 3 centuries ago and why?'

Smooth Talker stroke his chin in a thoughtful manner. One day, a glorious beard would adorn his face but alas, it was not yet that day. That still didn't mean he couldn't practice the gesture.

'In any case, we need more information.' Smooth Talker put two fingers to his mouth and whistled. A goat appeared, seemingly popping up out of nowhere, and gave a slight bow. 'Do me a solid, Jeeves and could you please hussle over to the library and get me a book or two about the Lord Regent from 300 years ago?' Smooth Talker instructed the goat. 'And do make sure that it contains information on his or her crest with the accompanying motto.'

The goat saluted and walked off and Smooth Talker rejoined his guests to partake in their ongoing conversation.
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Second use of Mook: Jeeves the goat.
Skill check for Jeeves to find a library: 14 + 3 = 17 (Streetwise or History)

The goat leaves for the Leadon Library… it will be at least an hour before he returns.

AleneShazam wrote:"We wait for... Jeeves, to retrieve the book." Chirurgeon scratches his beak ponderously.

"We have several loose clues to contend with here. The poppies - it could be a lead to a drug supplier. I might have to check my records to see if I can trace down any contacts. The seal, now that is interesting. It's definitely not something your average dealer could get their claws on. Now, I'll need some time to think - history was never my strong suit, even medical history - but I might be able to tell you something about the lord regent circa three centuries prior. Since the assassin is, arguably, linked to the message, we may be dealing with some kind of... history fanatic also capable of fairly strong curses. I'm not confident on that, though."

Chirurgeon glances at the messenger, checking him over to see if he had any way of rapidly resuscitating the colt if need be. "Then there's this one."

History (for them lords): 13 + 14 = 27
Heal (for the messenger): 6 + 20 = 26 (additional +5 from freaky knowledge physiology?)

Chirurgeon remembers that the lord regent that the seal belonged to attempted to usurp the throne...
Some smelling salts should be more than adequate to quickly wake up the pony, though he is already starting to stir.

Well, one didn't need the omnicalculator to see this coming. Still, despite the mental preparation for this turn of events, Chrome couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved. No matter his efforts, a bit of that could be actually found in his eyes. It was not just the matter of being a primary suspect of a possible criminalistic attempt while amidst the shady, secretive bunch of individuals. Chrome had to deal with quite a number of zebras. Not all the rumours about them being savages were true, but they were still far from regular ponies. There was no telling what a striped one would do in a pinch. One could easily tell this mare would be satisfied to find the one guilty as easily as that. However, he couldn't give her that satisfaction, willingly or not. Taking a deep breath as to steady his voice before replying, he answered in the compact way he was used to. There was little need to try anything more fancy right now.

"Yes and no."

Dahlia wanders back to where he was sitting on the couch and slumps on the arm again, watching what is happening...

'If I remember correctly,' Smooth Talker mused, 'Leadon Library takes about an hour to get to and back. But I for one wouldn't mind having a chat with Professor Sharp Talker in the meantime. Jeeves can always drop off the book here while we're out.'

He looked across the room to the others. 'Unless you have another idea? After all, this seems to be a bit more your...' He paused for a bit as he looked from Dahlia to the Battery, 'Area of expertise.'

"I propose we talk to our 'guest' here before he tries to leave," Battery said, standing up in front of the awakening pony. His brass fingers gently grasped his neck, while the opposite claw started gently prodding his face.

"Hey," he said, gently patting at his cheek. "Wake up."

Checks:

Terrestial wrote:
"Yes and no."

J.J breaks eye contact and nods, "Right, I'll show you out. Somepony will come to your shop tomorrow to deliver your payment." She leads Chrome into the elevator which takes them back up to the lobby, now staffed by a few ponies in white vests, before showing Chrome out of the asylum.

Despite only half an hour passing, outside the sun has set and darkness has fully fallen with only the gas street lights providing illumination.

J.J walks with Chrome up to the gates before turning down the road away from Witherschappel street.

Crystalite wrote:"I propose we talk to our 'guest' here before he tries to leave," Battery said, standing up in front of the awakening pony. His brass fingers gently grasped his neck, while the opposite claw started gently prodding his face.

"Hey," he said, gently patting at his cheek. "Wake up."

Checks:

The messenger groggily wakes up and immediately begins to struggle, while The Battery does manage to maintain his hold the pony gets in a few solid kicks.

Battery barely flinched at the blows - he could take a few kicks. "Knock it off," he said, tightening his grip on the pony's neck just a little. "You've already lost. Do you want to lose more?" he growled.

Checks:

Crystalite wrote:Battery barely flinched at the blows - he could take a few kicks. "Knock it off," he said, tightening his grip on the pony's neck just a little. "You've already lost. Do you want to lose more?" he growled.

Checks:

The pony doesn't even appear to have registered The Battery's words...

The kicks are weak enough for The Battery to just take them without any real damage.

"So it's not the smart kind of cursed pony." Chirurgeon frowns, inspecting the pony more thoroughly. "I don't think traditional methods of questioning would work quite as well on the inflexible kind of cursed puppet. Here, let me..."

He walks over to the pony and places a claw on the messenger's head. Despite being a griffon, having a spellplague consume his mind and body does pay off in some ways - for example, he can perform magic. That and the functional immortality, but that's irrelevant. Focusing his efforts into fighting the curse, Chirurgeon narrows his eyes and gets to work.

"I don't know how effective this will be, but I'll try and interrupt this curse."

Most incredible twist of fate ever:

AleneShazam wrote:"So it's not the smart kind of cursed pony." Chirurgeon frowns, inspecting the pony more thoroughly. "I don't think traditional methods of questioning would work quite as well on the inflexible kind of cursed puppet. Here, let me..."

He walks over to the pony and places a claw on the messenger's head. Despite being a griffon, having a spellplague consume his mind and body does pay off in some ways - for example, he can perform magic. That and the functional immortality, but that's irrelevant. Focusing his efforts into fighting the curse, Chirurgeon narrows his eyes and gets to work.

"I don't know how effective this will be, but I'll try and interrupt this curse."

Most incredible twist of fate ever:

Normally removing a curse such as this one would be a risky and time consuming procedure, but today Chirurgeon is extraordinary today. He manages to perfectly attune himself to the magical wavelengths of of both the messenger pony and the unicorn who cast the curse. In doing so he is able to directly interrupt the connection though blocking off the reception on the end of the messenger while redirecting the backlash down the failing connection so that it affects the unicorn. The curse is effectively disabled, the only way that it could be triggered again would be for the unicorn to reestablish the connection directly, which is rather unlikely as the unicorn just took a magical discharge that would at least severely impair his ability to use magic for quite some time.

The pony falls slack as the curse is removed.

Battery watched, a little nervous and uncertain of what Chirurgeon was doing, exactly. After a moment, when he seemed to be done, he dared to ask. "...Sooooo, do I need to keep holding him?"

Chirurgeon takes a deep breath. "I should have cut the connection between the messenger and the unicorn who cast the curse. He shouldn't be hostile, not anymore... I don't think holding him is necessary, just... prop him up on the couch."

He leans over and gently shakes the messenger. "Hey, can you hear me? We're trying to help you."

(If necessary, heal check for safe resuscitation: 1d20 (5) + 20 = 25)

Battery stepped back, still nearby in case something went wrong...

The pony slowly lifts his head and blinks his eyes open, "Am I free? I can't hear the voices in my head anymore..."

Internally, Chrome breathed a sigh of relief. That is, before he got the zebra off his sight. That's when he afforded an external one too. Boy, was he tired... it was only now getting to him, as the state of the skylight turned out to be a painful reminder. Not only had he a busy night shift, he worked overtime pretty much all the day. He was in a desperate need of sleep. Although unfortunate for Stargazer, this incident was a very convenient one for the mechanic. Dozing off during the lecture meant for aristocracy could probably have some unpleasant consequences. Thinking about what an eventful day that was and with the image of the intimidating zebra, looking into his eyes, still vivid in his mind, he limped the way back to his home. He had but a few hours of sleep until his next night shift, hence he was going to savour whatever he could, he thought. Hopefully, whoever it was going to be ultimately to bring his payment, wouldn't arrive in the morning..

"You're free. It wasn't easy, but you're safe now." Chirurgeon holds out a claw for the pony to shake. "I'm the Chirurgeon. What's your name? Can you tell us what happened to you?"