GoldieS

@Techno Universal @PuddingPonyPal Firefly finished burning the papers and logs at the fireplace, then turned to find some more things to burn. The changeling wasn't interested in the conversation taking place across the upper deck, leaving the room with a excitement in her step. She was definitely a little firebug. Saturn rubbed his forehead after the comment Techno made out loud. "Yes, that was the plan..." "I don't care if you believe me or not." Saturn replied angrily, turning back to Blood. "Just ask anyone else in the bridge crew. We were, you know, flying through a storm... everyone was on deck. Meteorologist, both helms ponies, the navigator, communication, relations... and the command team. If anything... you are the more likely culprit, the infirmary is centralized, and you were alone during the storm... your assistant was stuck up here in dining." The captain finally stood up, approaching Saturn and Blood. Still everyone was fixed on Blood after she had made her stunning accusations. "Dr. Blood, return to your cabin." Captain Thunder interrupted, face neutral and stalwart as always. "It's been a stressful evening. Take this time to relax." It wasn't a request, it was an order. @PuddingPonyPal Mehndi left the items in the slit under the mattress as she stood up in the center of the room, before taking the torn journal of course. Her scrutinizing eyes revealed some interesting finds. At the foot of the bed by one of the bed posts, was an exceptionally long feather, perhaps longer even than Mehndi's leg. It was a pristine feather, ornamental even. Atop the pile of grass and leaf clothing strewn in the center of the room, was a lock of chocolate brown hair. It looked- no, it in fact WAS her hair, part of her tail. Oddly enough, mixed in with the clothes, was a much shorter more average sized brown feather, neither had the same look as a pegasus. Avoiding the puddle of ink on the floor, she found her way to the closet. There were few things in the closet save for Lighthorn's luggage that had been dumped out. A few empty notepads, some silver and iron rings meant to fit atop his antlers, and a some scrolls with indecipherable woodland deer writings, the text shining green on the tan parchment.

Being at such a close distance, and leaping through the air, there was little the cat could do to dodge the arrow. So, she took it to the chest as she smashed her soward into the dirt path Maple had been standing on before she dodged herself. The impact caused a hefty cut in the surface of the packed earth. Without skipping a beat the sphinx snapped the shaft of the arrow, leaving the arrow head and a quarter of the shaft embedded in her chest. Suddenly, she lifted her sword up and began twirling above her head while she stood on her hind legs, armored arm free while she swirled the sword above her like an airship propeller. Slowly she began to advance towards Maple, armored arm at the ready to attempt to block. She was quick to learn and adapt, that much was clear. There was a sparkle in Grim's eye as he looked back at Woody. "Oh... I know that look... almost exactly like your brother! I loved it when he had that look... brings back memories! Ah, but he's a bit shadier now around me... doesn't let his mind show anymore." Grim nodded. "Indeed, a powerful foe. Certainly not one to tackle alone, even for any of you other gods. But well, you know... four might do the trick..." He chuckled knowingly, picking up right away with Woody's idea. "But... I fear that may be a greater challenge than you might think. What exactly was your plan? Most gods intervene if other gods harass their followers, but mortals troubling mortals? Just another day in Tartarus really. I've been trying to find a god to slay myself for millennia! Ah... but they're not interested in playing with me..."

@Techno Universal There were a few others lounging and drinking some wine on one of the other couches near the fire. Firefly, the mare that had yelled at Techno earlier, was transfixed with the fire as she sat in front of it, poking at the papers and logs within. She seemed utterly distracted by all the embers she was producing as the papers slowly burned away around the edges. The changeling mare had moved them around with the poker for maximum fiery appearance. Just then, Blood tapped at her glass on the other side of the hall. Everyone paused to give her a look of curiosity, listening to her accusations. @BloodDrops @Techno Universal Saturn merely smacked his forhead in dismay, while Captain Thunder merely rubbed his forehead in frustration. "We were all on the bridge you dolt..." He commented with a sigh. "We needed all crew at their stations, and ours are on the bridge. Ten was there too. I asked him to calm everyone down when we found out what happened, so I..." The first mate paused, before noticing everyone else was there listening too. Instead he got up form his booth and stepped over to Blood to speak to her with a hushed tone. Most probably couldn't hear it on a normal day, but everyone was silent trying to listen in. "So I told him to tell everyone it was an overdose. We didn't want the murderer to realize we were onto them... make them think they got away with it... maybe next time before you make some blasted accusation you'll discuss it with us first! Or maybe ask why I told you to say it was a bucking overdose if you didn't understand why! I expected you to just follow orders, since you know, I'm your superior!" It started as a hushed whisper, turning into a growl, then into a stern dressing down. "The- there's a murderer on board!?" One of the noble stallions shouted out in fear.

@BloodDrops @Techno Universal Everyone paused to gripe and shout at techno for a moment as he caused a commotion in the dining hall. No one was pleased by Techno's sudden appearance at the salad bar... or rather, on the salad bar... The dining hall was on the upper most deck towards the rear of the ship, connected to the kitchen. It was a combination of three different sections. Salad bars with trays first right in front of the kitchen, followed by tables and booths, then the bar section stocked with a great deal of alcohols. Just after that, the hall turned into a sort of lounge, complete with large couches oriented around a fireplace. Lining one side of the walls were slanted windows, allowing passengers not just to see outside, but down below into the clouds as well. Most of the diplomats were in the dining hall at the moment, save for the lizard folk and the vampire filly with her undead companion. Grimclaw was sitting with the colt that followed him around at one of the large booths, the big bird brooding about something as he begrudgingly nibbled on some fish. Lady Emberreaver, the only other deer like creature on the ship, was in the bar section sipping some wine with some of her unicorn attendants. They seemed to be laughing and joking about something. Firefly was the only one sitting alone. The golden changeling was in her usual earth pony form, still as enticing as ever, sitting on her flank in front of the fire. She appeared transfixed with it, stoking the flames, wooden logs, and papers within with a poker. The two reporters were the next to arrive, starting their time over at the salad bar. Along with a number of assorted nobles, there was a tense atmosphere inside despite some of the laughter coming from Lady Emberreaver. @PuddingPonyPal Techno and Blood left the room apparently without question. The dog was pleased, watching as they left after snatching the journal from Techno. Mehndi could see the canine flip to the last remaining pages, reading it as he glared at the contents. Kiloton gave off a sigh and grumbled something about cleaning up after others, before tearing out the last page and swallowing it. He turned and tossed what was left of the journal onto the bed, and left the room, shutting the door behind him and locking it with the key. From where she was hiding, Mehndi could see a slice on the underside of the mattress. It wasn't big, but there was something was bulging from within. In addition to whatever object it was, there was a rolled up piece of paper sticking out of the cut. Kiloton's heavy paws could be heard walking down the hall and away from the room. He wasn't exactly a quiet one, nor could he be, he was a heavy fellow to begin with.

The sphinx's eyes were twitching at this point, one of them at least. The other was wide with fury. She holstered her weapon on her back and stepped down the benches to the path towards Maple. Like most of the other sphinxes, this one was using a gladiatorial style of armor. Heavy and thick armor pads all over her left arm, but right completely exposed. The right arm she used to hold her weapon. This one sported an old red leather skirt like ancient pegasi centurions. Once she was a short ways away from maple, she stood back up on her hind legs and flared out her wings for support, grabbing her sword with both front paws and leveling it towards Maple. Suddenly the cat leaped forward, swinging her cleaver claymore in an overhead strike. Grim blinked at his last question, before bursting out laughing. "Bah ha ha ha! Miserable? Why would they be miserable!?" He brushed the question aside, not out of dismissal, but he genuinely didn't believe they were unhappy to be in his service for one reason or another. Perhaps he was merely oblivious to the reality... "Perception is reality little master!" Grim replied boisterously, before sweeping his claws down to scoop Woody up and place him onto the giant bird's back again. "Perhaps you haven't heard the entire stories presented to you? Of course the Wolf only has bad things to say about the Serpent... just as much as the Raven will only have negative things to say about the slug." Grim walked out of the tent and back out into the open air of the campsite. A group of various attendants, warriors, lieutenants, groomers, and various servants swarmed around the giant bird, waiting for his wishes. "Wolf destroys, Serpent creates... Slug nurtures, Raven leads." Grim recited. "What if they just don't have anything to do together? You know, like a family outing or something! I take my lovely warriors out on adventures all the time! They love that sort of thing, keeps everyone happy."

@Techno Universal @PuddingPonyPal @BloodDrops The diamond dog looked confused at Techno sudden realization there might have been something dangerous in the room. Though, it was clear he was skeptical about such a claim. Instead, he merely held out his paw, gesturing towards the book in a warning manner, head tilted down and scowling. "Yes, I agree ma'am." Kiloton replied to Blood. "That's why the captain told me to lock up the room. Mr. Lighthoron may have passed away, but he still deserves some privacy. And please, none of you need to make such baseless accusations." Kiloton snatched the book from Techno and pointed out in the hall, glaring at the three intruders. "Now, please leave. There's a special meal being made up on the dining and viewing deck if you all are interested." He was trying to be diplomatic about their intrusions into the room, but it was putting a strain on his patience. Still, he remained stalwart and steadfast, trying to kick them all out in one go rather than hauling everyone out. And yet... there was still more in the room to be discovered... Kiloton wasn't going to budge, and it was unlikely they could just tell him off.

"Oh that's easy!" Storm replied, brimming with enthusiasm. The griffon dragged Maple over to one of the entrances to the arena. The current fighters were off to the side as another pair entered along with them. More than one could duel in the ring at a time it appeared. For a moment, the bird looked around with a scrutinizing eye, before spotting something and dawning a wide open mouth grin, certain he found what he was looking for. "Hey you!" He shouted, pointing at a purple cat relaxing on the benches with a tankard of milk and a large sandwich. She looked up, raising a brow and clearly angry she had been interrupted. "Yah, you yah milk drinker!" The cat snarled and crushed her metal tankard, spilling the contents. "My friend here says you look like a priss! She told me she can smell your perfume from a mile away! What, you just finish dressing up or something!? Ha!!" The feline stood up from the bench onto her hind legs, grabbing a large clever like broadsword as long as she, propping herself up with it. The sword was made of some kind of stone, scratched severely and with a gaping hole at the end. Grim shook his claws in front of him as a sort of dismissive gesture, trying in vain to help Woody relax. "Oh little master, that's quite alright!" He angrily gestured for one of the attendants to rush in and clean up the shards Woody had eventually dropped back onto the floor. She was quick, trying to keep a low profile as she left, prompting another to enter with a fresh cup of tea. This one had the faint sent of raspberry. "Well... I can't say why they enjoy my presence..." He admitted, looking up with a claw to his beak. "Haven't figured that out quite yet..." Grim shrugged. "But maybe you're just not looking at your... uhm, darker side of you family in the right light? Not sure what you know of the Raven... but he is a quiet creature. You'll never know his true intentions, because that's all he has of his own. He knows the mind better than most, and he knows no one would accept the truth, or listen to him if they knew it. To him, they will never understand even if he did. The Serpent is just delightful! Oh, I can't tell you how much fun we have on our Malicious Mondays! Certainly makes for a good start to the week! More than anything she just wants to have a good time, and see those that love her thrive." Grim sighed in resignation. "Maybe that's not so helpful... Oh!! I have an idea, what if you commanded an audience between the other four princes? Get them all in the same place and see what they have to say?"

The sphinx looked Maple up and down for a moment with a vicious set of eyes. They looked more predatory than anything... "Very well, bat." She replied after being satisfied with what she saw. "But don't mistake this for acceptance." With that the sphinx turned around, smacking Maple in the face lightly with her long feline tail. It was clearly a sign of disrespect... Storm and Quartz cringed at the display, but said nothing. None of the other observers and fighters around the arena payed it much mind. "Eh, don't worry, she's just a hard flank. Sphinxes don't really trust... at all... but they're the best berserkers for sure." Storm reassured her. "We definately need a bunch of them on our team." "Good luck with that..." Quartz snorted, dog nose scrunching in displeasure at being around all the sphinxes. Storm absently rolled his eyes, before wrapping an arm around Maple as if to 'teach her the ways of the streets'. "Listen, they don't listen to anyone but themselves. But, you beat them up in the ring, and they'll follow you around till they can kill you in a one on one." Storm concluded. "So, bash some of their heads, and they're yours. The more you beat up, the more that'll come down to challenge you." Grim gave a hearty, deep laugh at some of Woodland's comments. "Little master!" He bellowed in a hearty tone, clearly still amused. "Service to your father is reward enough! Assisting his children is merely an extension. My services come free of charge!" "Oh, and I'm sure that lout from the Empire learned his lesson alright..." Grim was finally calming down, still chuckling just a little. "Usually us chaos princes take care of handling other mortals. Other gods get a little uppity if their rivals interact with their followers. I'm proud to see you aren't afraid to display your dominance! Err ah- not to say the others are..." He scratched his head nervously and embarrassingly. Perhaps it was an odd topic of conversation. "After all, the Twin Tailed god that that fool follows is a powerful one. The only nation to rival the all five chaos factions. A noteworthy accomplishment! Makes things fun for me at least..." he paused, shaking his head as if remembering something. "My apologies little master, I fall off topic again..." He apologized, bowing his head a little. "What exactly do you know of your kin? Perhaps we should begin there!" He stood up suddenly and excitedly, almost knocking over the serving mare that came by with another bucket of the catnip tea.

@Techno Universal @PuddingPonyPal @BloodDrops Blood's accusations against Techno weren't entirely unfounded. Techno had in fact been involved in a small argument earlier during the wine drinking ceremony, that Blood hadn't attended. Word gets around quickly with a bunch of gossiping nobles for passengers. Well, that was before Techno appeared to harass and then threaten the resident Gold Changeling Ambassador. The Life Sorcerer's journal had most of its pages torn out, with the exception of the last page. Only a portion of it had been torn apart in haste, not to mention partially covered with ink stains from the spilled inkwell. "... so it is, I've concluded. I've personally secured the dangerous artifact, and have composed a missive to be sent... not available at the moment. I can only hope they don't realize it's gone missing, and come looking for it. For... and quarter circle, pristine cut, lightweight but sturdy, feels brittle." That was all that could be discerned from the journal itself. "Excuse me," Someone interrupted the groups little intrusion into the room. "Please, no one needs to be in here right now." It was the head Engineer. A soft spoken diamond dog towering over all others with his black and white patterned coat and long pointed ears. Generally, he was patient and understanding, but tended not to budge. He too was at the wine drinking ceremony, being introduced to everyone by the first mate, and for some reason being pulled off to the side to speak with Kri-ket, the lizard folk, privately.

@Techno Universal @PuddingPonyPal The first mate managed to get everyone but Techno and Mehndi to leave the area. He didn't notice the two of them sticking back, nor Mehndi actually opening the door into Lighthorn's room. Instead, he walked off, too distracted with the others to notice and making sure none of them turned around either. Their voices faded as they rounded the corner to the stairs talking about how it didn't sound like an overdose... while being dismissed by the first mate. Like before, the room was a mess. Grass and leaf clothing strewn about the room in piles, drawers yanked out and tossed haphazardly, and luggage poured out onto the floor in the closet. The mattress of the bed was slightly askew off the frame, as if someone had hastily put it back into place contrary to the disheveled and messy rest of the room. Beside one of the bed posts at the foot of the bed was a noticeable brown feather, shorter than the long white feather atop the clothing. There was a writing desk adjacent to the bed with spilled ink all over the surface, dripping onto the red carpet. Just under the desk, sitting in front of the chair, was a notebook with pages torn from it. Upon first glance, there were no vials or pouches one might contain some sort of illicit substance in. @BloodDrops The lizard folk remained in the clinic, watching in dismay as the physician went to work with her assistant. They clearly didn't want to leave, even after she finished her simple examination. Once stored away, there was nothing more for them there. The smaller one still didn't want to leave, but the cragodile finally understood they were just in the way. He not so gently manhandled the little raptor, who protested vehemently as they left the room. "Sorry for the wait, and for earlier... bit of a hectic situation." The first mate responded over the phone, after a short wait via the 'secretary' on the bridge. "Running around all over the blasted place... trying to keep out of sight while Ten pretends to be me and deals with the fancy ponies while I sort things out. I told him to tell them our guy overdosed on jade dust, there was a rumor going around he was into that sort of thing." There was a long pause. "What do you think?"

@Techno Universal @PuddingPonyPal The others looked to Techno, everyone still trying to take in what had happened. Then, a sudden realization hit the maid as the other unicorn revealed that the other in the room must have been another deer like creature. No one else seemed to put two and two together. "But- but-" The maid stammered. "There's only one other deer on the ship, that Eldeer lady!" Brash, the male reporter nodded, mood turning angry and frustrated. "Of course, it would be her! They're always murdering and killing others. It was a mistake to bring her on board, let alone include her in whatever ridiculous negotiations they're planning!" "Everyone, calm down!" Someone snapped as they approached the scene out in the hallway, it was the first mate... "It looks like Mr. Lighthorn just overdosed on jade dust... everyone please just relax. We're out of the worst of the storm, so why don't you mares and gentlecolts go upstairs and get some grub? The viewing deck bar just opened up too if anyone's interested. But please, try not to spread any rumors or gossip about all this. It's embarrassing enough he passed away from a drug overdose, don't make it any worse." The first mate started ushering everyone either way down the hall, trying to disperse the gathering. @BloodDrops The first mate took a step back, moving around the table to politely and gently move the little raptor away from the stag's bedside. The walking cragodile was a little harder to move out of the way, but eventually the first mate managed to pull both back enough to give Blood plenty of room to work with. Both lizard folk watched over her shoulder from the center of the room. "Hey, keep whatever you find between me and the captain. I don't care who asks, don't even acknowledge he was on this table..." The first mate whispered as he stood beside Blood. "I don't want rumors or anything spilling out, got it? If he's gone, just put him on ice until we get to Canterlot were the Guard can take a look." With that, the first mate rushed out of the clinic in a hurry, presumably to find Blood's assistant. Lighthorn was long gone. No respiration, no pulse, though still warm. He didn't respond to any stimuli at all, not that a corps would. Most of his muscles were still quite relaxed, not at the point of rigormortis yet.

@Techno Universal @PuddingPonyPal The two lizard folk carrying the stag were long gone, a small group gathered in the hall in front of his cabin's open door. Open and Brash, the two reporters, were right behind Mehndi and Techno. Two nobles stood gossiping and whispering to one another on one side, while on the other the maid and the diamond dog assistant chef stood with mouth's agape trying to make sense of it all. The light brown and white diamond dog stepped forward, gently shutting the door to the Stag's messy disheveled room, leaving everyone in the hall. "Did- did anyone see what happend, or... hear anything at all?" Brash, the stallion reporter asked, trying to break the awkward silence as all eyes found their way to Mehndi, the one to find the body. "What happened?" @BloodDrops The giant walking blue cragodile burst into the clinic carrying Lord Lighthorn, one of the diplomats, with a much smaller raptor like lizard clinging on the cragodile's back. The stag wasn't an arcane user, but he was a learned scholar of rituals and alchemy concerning life magics. Additionally, if rumors were true, he was quite the capable fighter. He was a Glade Warden after all, that was a title befitting of only the most hardened law bringers. And yet there he was, lifeless. The cragodile gave a curt nod, tiny eyes sunken in its head clearly concerned and afraid. He gently placed Lighthorn on the bed nearest the door. Kri-Ket, the raptor lizard, jumped off the giant's back and stood on the other side of the bed. Neither one budged an inch at Blood's annoyed command. Instead, the raptor looked up at her with its glowing amber eyes and snapped its snout at her in a menacing manner, before looking back at Lighthorn and holding onto the Stag's arm. The cragodile merely looked between all three with an uncertain expression. A simple visual inspection reveled a purple liquid streaming down the side of one of Lighthorn's cheeks from the corner of his mouth as he lay supine on the table. More accurately, whatever liquid he had ingested had stained the fur on his cheeks, drying up quite some time ago. Beyond that, bruising all across the jawline and under his chin, but not quite his neck. There didn't appear to be any other abnormalities across his body upon initial inspection. Before Blood could actually begin a comprehensive exam, the least of which was actually check vitals, the first mate burst through the door with an angry look on his face. In public, he was a kind and gentle fellow, but behind closed doors he was a tyrant with those under his command. He definitely ran a tight ship. "How is he!? Is he breathing!?" The first mate demanded, further adding to the small crowd around the exam table.

@Techno Universal @PuddingPonyPal Kri's motions and movements became more frantic as he checked for any sign of life at all, but was met with nothing. A fin popped up on the top of the lizard folk's head as he looked up. He began to chirp and screetch, loud and sharp enough to carry down the hall and likely hurt the ears. The raptor did this for a few moments, before the ship began to shake more and more. A giant creature burst out of the Lizard Folk's cabin. How it fit in there in the first place was a mystery, how it could even step through the doorways was another altogether, yet it managed to some degree of success. It could only be described as an upright walking cragodile, with the same blue scales and a darker blue rock back. The creature dropped to all fours and stampeded down the hall, rocking the ship and every little rivet. Luckily, most were able to get out of the charging creature's way. It could easily trample someone and break their bones with the sheer size and weight it seemed to have. It reached the door and quickly shoved his way past Brash, the reporters partner, Mehndi, and Techno. He didn't actually shove with his giant clawed hands, but rather walked through them as if they weren't even there. Brash almost fell to the ground as he pulled Mehndi aside for the creature. Meanwhile, Brash finally released Mehndi and moved and ran a short distance down the hall as if suddenly recalling something important. There was a phone on the wall, one connected to the various services aboard the ship. "There's- there's been a murder! Send someone down here, please!" He demanded frantically through the phone. At that time, the walking cragodile picked up the Stag in both arms and turned to leave the room, Kri hanging off the creatures back as it walked quickly on its two mostly stubby legs down the hall. The infirmary wasn't far, perhaps they thought they could save him... maybe... he wasn't dead? The lizard folk did little to communicate anything to everyone standing around watching everything unfold. @BloodDrops The infirmary was located in almost the exact center of the ship, just a little forward into the front half with access from both exterior passenger hallways on the middle deck. That was a design decision back from the old wars, but it was sill pretty convenient for access sake. It was a decent sized room, though a bit much for what such a high class passenger ship needed. The forward half of the clinic had the patient beds on one side, divided by rows of curtains and counter tops against the walls, six beds in all. Opposite of that were the storage cabinets extending from the floor to the ceiling, bolted firmly to the floor but with safety glass windows on the larger doors to see what exactly was in them. A large sink sat at this end, complete with a number of cleaning supplies and sanitation items. The two long halves of the room were separated by a door on each wall leading to the passenger halls. On the opposite side of the room, was a small office space in one corner, and an old slab for examining corpses. Along the wall were the morgue lockers... again, something more or less left over from more tense times. Now they could be used for just about any projects the doctor and her assistant decided to undertake in their downtime that required refrigeration, along with some new refrigerated medicines as well. The phone on the desk rang. "Doc, this is the captain. There's been an incident, no details, but someone's been seriously injured. They're coming your way." That was all Captain Calico said before hanging up. Gradually, the ship began to shake more and more as one of the... bigger... passengers neared the door to the infirmary. At the moment, Blood's assistant was nowhere to be seen. He was on his 'lunch break'.

@Techno Universal @PuddingPonyPal It was a grim and messy sight as Mendi stood in the hallway, just in front of the stag's open doorway. Her sudden scream certainly roused anyone not interested in inspecting the commotion. The lizard folk priest, Kri-Ket was the first to come bursting out of his cabin in a panic, hearing the terror stricken Mehndi. He wasn't wearing his tribal headdress, but still had on the solid gold bands. Kri bounded down the hallway a few doors down with a determined and scared look on his reptilian face. He might have had a bad experience with Mehndi earlier, but his true nature was that of a protector. He put one of his clawed hands on Mehndi as a show of support as he reached her, looking into the room to see what she was screaming about. Kri's entire form instantly froze when he saw Lighthorn's lifeless body on the floor. It was then he completely ignored consoling Mehndi, and jumped into the room in a mad panic. He quickly re-oriented the stag's head to listen for breath, all while resting his claws on the deer's chest in order to feel anything. "What's going on?" One of the passangers, the reporter's pegasus assistant, was the first to ask. "You alright!?" He rushed over to the door as well, putting a wing on Mehndi to calm her down as he looked into the room, shocked at what he saw. Others began stepping out of their rooms as well, curiously demanding to know what was happening, Techno included.

@PuddingPonyPal The door slowly swung open upon Mehndi's beating, though it hadn't been fully closed to begin with. Whoever had left earlier, had both forgotten to close it all the way, or lock it. But... it wasn't the stag. He lay on the floor in the center of the room, face up but with his lower body slightly twisted to the side. He lay atop some of his grass and leave clothes that had been strewn about the room over tossed dresser drawers. A long belt was wrapped and tightened around his neck and thick main that went around, up, and down his neck. There appeared to be some discoloration around the base of his jawline, along with a stream of dark purple liquid from the corner of his open mouth. Again, clothes were strewn about the room as he lay lifeless atop some of them. The bedding had been torn from the mattress, while the mattress itself was moved slightly off the bed-frame. A writing desk adjacent to the bed had an inkwell spilled on a piece of parchment. On the floor in front of the desk, just atop an article of clothing, was a notebook with most of the pages torn out. Finally, the closet had been completely ransacked, the stag's grey saddle bags torn open and contents poured out in the closet. Well, there was one more thing... as if torn from someone's tail with magic, a clump of chocolate brown hair lay in a small heap beside the stag's antlers. @Techno Universal "Well... alright..." The first mate replied, politely and gently closing Techno's door as he left. At least an hour passed when a commotion started in the hallway. Someone was yelling, banging on one of the doors not far down the hall itself. It sounded frantic even, and it was clearly Mehndi's voice. She was clearly in a state of panic as she ordered someone to open their cabin door. Outside, she was standing in front of the stag's room, the very same that had given the two a harsh dressing down earlier. Likely she had thought over his comments and wanted to give her a piece of her mind again. That could only lead to more trouble... she was apparently someone to hold grudges. At the moment, no one else was in the hall, though a few doors did crack open to see what all the commotion was about. Even Nina, the filly Vampire Countess was peaking out fearfully to get a look of things.

@Techno Universal The changeling didn't give him the time of day, blowing off Techno's outburst as she walked away to the hall containing her room. The others were in the process of doing the same, only allowing cursory glances at the distraught pony. Not enough to really discern much about his current state of affairs. "Sir, please, you need to go to your cabin. All corridors should be cleared in case of emergency, and to make it easier for our engineers and crew to get around. Plus, it's easier to keep track of you guys." The first mate, still in his blue and white uniform ushered Techno along to his room, going so far as to open the door for him. The officer wasn't all that shocked or perturbed by Techno's injury and appearance. Travel across the world enough, and one tends to just accept the strange nature of some things. "Going to be alright in here? Need me to send for the doctor? Might be a while before you'll be able to leave your cabbin." The first mate stated, gesturing to the large windows covering the top half of the far wall. Outside was a foreboding thunderstorm, the ship skirting the edges of the pitch black mass. @PuddingPonyPal Mehndi's room was one located on the exterior as well, with a perfect view of the storm outside should the shudders be open. Rolling thick clouds, rain pelting the window as they cut through the atmosphere, puffs of cloud sliding by. Even though the clouds were almost pitch black, a little bit of light shown through to light her room, without the need for interior lighting. As she continued to kill her time, she could hear a thump next door. A few in fact. Either they were having a grand old time with someone else in the room... or they were tossing things around. It stopped soon enough though. Just her luck, her next door neighbor happened to be the Woodland Stag from the Wine Tasting event. Whoever his 'visitor' was snuck out of the room in only a short time, maybe ten or fifteen minutes after it started. All went quiet, and for a good hour the ship continued and passed around the storm.

"Attention passengers," Came a voice over the intercom (after the following events), "We've run across an unexpected storm system, I'm afraid we'll be postponing the wine tasting event. Please, all passengers return to your cabins. We expect to pass through it quickly, but for the sake of safety we'd like everyone to remain in their rooms for the duration." The guests all had a similar reaction. Mostly that of annoyance. A few snide comments here, some chuckles there, it was clear they might not have cared about some no name captain's suggestion. A good number decided to disregard the request, and instead head to each others rooms to continue conversation. @Techno Universal "Your system!? What's that supposed to mean, you mean like your wing stallion or something!? Is there someone around here helping you try to 'woo' me? Hu, hu!?" She snapped, wide eyed fury bursting from every pore as she stared Techno down viciously. "Or is your 'system' some kind of game!?" She started to turn around when Techno mentioned why she shouldn't have hit him, the simple suggestion that there was no telling who he actually was, or anyone for that matter. It was more common sense than anything. Anyone could lie, hide their true intentions, or their emotions until they came to a boil. Yet, that's now how she seemed to take it. "EXCUSE ME!?" She whipped around once again. "HOW DARE YOU!!" She yelled. "You think we just kill on a whim? That we're just a bunch of mindless monsters hu? Is that it!? Changelings are all just murderous beasts that can't control themselves!?" In a flash she dropped her tantalizingly beautiful persona, into the black husked, golden shelled and eyed changeling she was. The intentional holes in her dress matching the curves and openings in her legs and body. The changeling punched Techno in the shin before turning around in a huff. As the others watched of course. Just then, the voice came over the intercom, suggesting everyone return to their cabins to the dismay of those attending the wine drinking. Gradually, the room started to empty. @PuddingPonyPal Nina's eyes practically sparkled as she imagined the ponies Mehndi was describing. She clearly had an interest in the unusual, something more than just the normal mundane noble lifestyle that was thrust upon her. "That sounds amazing! The one I went to was a- a-" She paused trying to think of the word. "Mageri? Mandolin? Mandarin? Manger? Oh yah! A menagerie! That's what it was, they had a bunch of different creatures from all over the world! There was this giant olyfont, a speckled horse with a really long neck, colorful talking birds, one of them could even tell the future!" The skeleton was not at all pleased with what the young mare was describing. He clearly didn't approve of her extracurricular activities. Before she could add anything to her comments, the voice came over the intercom. Nina looked disappointed they had to part ways. The skeleton oriented himself towards the exit, as if to suggest they not waste time. Nina hesitantly turned to leave without further word to Mehndi, but made it a point to make her authority known to the skeleton by stopping to speak to Mehndi one last time. "Do you... think we could talk more about it later? I mean, if you want to..."

@Techno Universal The mare paused for a moment as Techno provided the golden cloak. She seemed a little confused when he mentioned some kind of... itch... before summoning the article of clothing. For a moment, she considered something. A look of shock, horror, embarrassment, and disgust all washed across her face right before anger. The mare suddenly reached up and smacked techno across the face in anger, eyes furious, before tossing the cloak in the taller pony's face. "Perve!" She shouted, loud enough for everyone in the gallery to hear. Most tried to avoid looking in Techno and the mare's direction, though they did watch from the corner of their eyes and snickered, whispering to one another yet again to spread some gossip right then and there. "How dare you! Is that all you think my kind is good for!?" She snapped, before swinging around and smacking his face with her tail after leaving a mark on his cheek with her hoof. In a huff she walked away. @PuddingPonyPal The two were interrupted by the golden mare shouting at Techno in the center of the gallery. She paused for a moment, before calling her attention back to Mehndi. Nina was a little taken back by the lack of formality about the whole situation. Her skeleton kept a wary eye on Mehndi, staying close to Nina while they spoke. At least he no longer stood between them, but there was something more going on in his mind, if he had one. He certainly appeared to have a mind of his own, though he couldn't possibly... he was a construct after all. Or... was he resurrected? Necromancy was confusing... "Oh, alright Ms. Heart." Nina slowly lowered her head back to a more... natural position as she examined Mehndi. "Are you... are you a ring master? Like... for a circus?" The question came out quickly and bluntly, eyes widening in curiosity. "I went to a circus once, and the pony in charge was dressed like you are, is that what you do?" The skeleton perked up when Nina mentioned visiting a circus before. He looked at her, but with a lack of muscles and skin, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. Though, Nina's ashamed reaction with ears pulling back, and face saying sorry, it was clear what that stare meant.

@PuddingPonyPal The dolled up filly noticed Mehndi approaching her at a rapid pace, the little vampire unicorn looking around frantically and suddenly. She then jumped when Mehndi actually addressed her, eyes filling with fear as she stared up at her. On que, the skeleton pony stepped forward to shield the filly from the colorfully dressed pony trying to speak with her. The skeleton snorted and stamped the ground aggressively, apparently trying to scare Mehndi away. Slowly the filly looked up at Mehndi as she tried to present herself as polite and inviting. The skeleton didn't have any qualms about trying to scare her off, but the filly was starting to relax a little bit with the disarming tone. It was something between what many of the fancy passengers were presenting with and a genuinely polite tone. That was more rare aboard the ship. "Oh, uhm..." She paused, trying to consider and think of how she was 'supposed' to respond, ears folded back in embarrassment as a switch flipped inside her. "Good evening pony, I am the first of my name, Countess Nina Diedrich, Lady of House Necropolis and Third Negotiator of the Consortium." The words sounded completely rehearsed, just as if she were speaking in a play for foals. To that end, they sounded dreadfully insincere, in the most stereotypical 'posh' way possible. It was clear she was still nervous. Despite the long ball gown hiding her shaking legs, there wasn't much that could hide folded down ears and shaky wide eyes. "And who- uhm- what may I address you as?" She asked with a faked snooty appeal, remembering to raise her head high to look down her nose at Mehndi, even though the mare was clearly taller than her. @Techno Universal The golden mare giggled at his comments about his cape and her translucent dress. Her dress wasn't exactly flowing, but she blushed anyway at his attempts to be polite and, even... flirt? That's certainly what she appeared to take from it. She stepped a little closer, moving to gently run her hoof across Techno's cape. The mare was surprised at quality of it, how soft it really was. That meant she had been skeptical at first, but it didn't matter at that point. Perhaps it was the time of day, maybe Techno had been up for far too long already. Everyone had to sleep sometime, but at the moment Techno's energy was slowly starting to drain. It was as if he'd been up for two days straight! There had been no indication of this sudden drain in energy until that point. "Forgive me, Mr. King, may I ask your name?" She asked as politely and respectfully as possible.

@PuddingPonyPal "... but it's not. In all actuality nobility comes with with a great deal of responsibility and- and-" The stag growled at Mehndi, slamming his hoof on the table in front of her. "Are you even listening to me!?" The stag had been prattling away as she examined the new arrivals. Grim wasn't really listening either, just kind of staring at him as he spoke. If nothing else, the bird knew how to handle his temper. Or rather, he knew how to zone out enough for it not to bother him. Not once did he speak with a heated tone or any note of anger in his voice. It was more annoyance and eye rolling than anything else. "yes yes, we've all heard it before." Grim replied to the Stag. "Why don't you go... eat some grass or something." The stag rubbed his forehead as he scowled and looked away. After stomping his hoof on the floor again, he finally decided to leave matters be and just walk away. Maybe he wasn't as in tune with controlling his emotions as he would have liked. Grim gave out a substantial yawn. "Ah well, enjoy the wine. That fool tries to bother you again just come find me and I'll give him a good ringing!" The bird stood up, prompting his little colt to hop down from the seat to follow him. Grim gave Mehndi a pat on the back with his armored claws before leaving her to her own devices. @Techno Universal The mare blushed at Techno's blunt comment, looking away embarrassingly. She rubbed her shoulder, still mostly silent and ears folded down a little as she tried to look just a little smaller to the much larger pony. "B-beautiful? Well... I wouldn't say that... I'm actually pretty ugly." She replied jokingly with a light hearted but nervous laugh. "I just look like this now, but I know ponies think I'm ugly. No one likes to look at my kind." She looked up at him with her sparkling eyes. Despite her claims, just about every stallion in the room gave her a good once over at least once after she had entered. The mare was still getting lookyloos as some of the other passengers just so happen to walk rather closely around her. "So you're ah... wow..." She looked techno over again, wanderlust and intrigue in her eyes. "I've never seen another one before... a pony one I mean. Are you a... king?"

The last two nobles to show up finally entered the gallery. The first was... unexpected, and a surprise for most in the room unprepared, before turning into another novelty. It was a dark grey unicorn foal with slitted eyes, a vampire pony. Not a bat pony with wings, but a youth dressed up like a doll and accompanied by a tall undead skeleton earth pony. The filly though, looked like she could barely walk. The dress was something you would see at a nightmare night ball, blacks and greys with overflowing layers like a ball gown. Atop it were designs like spiderwebs crisscrossing out of the middle layer of the dress. The young mare's tail was hidden under the poofy gown, but her main, perfectly dun up and flowing off to the side, was out for all to see. Add to that she clearly had far too much makeup on. It practically changed the color of her face... a lighter shade of grey than the rest of her... coupled with black and dark purple makeup around her lips and eyes. She looked utterly confused, the little foal clearly did not want to be there. Her much taller undead skelly patiently stood behind her as she stood nervously in the corner. That little filly was a stark contrast to the next one to enter, another earth pony. She was golden with locks of curly green hair. What made her odd was her choice of clothing. It was rather pointless really, translucent even. It covered nothing at all, though perhaps it did keep things warm. Like golden silk sheets draped over her form like a dress they waved and fluttered effortlessly as she walked. Though oddly enough, they had holes in them. Not torn, but intentionally cut. Most of the stallion's in the room instantly registered her presence of course... heads turned in an instant. There was just something about her perfect form that drew the eyes. She was certainly beautiful, and could have easily been a model in Equestria. In fact, it was too perfect. She made a beeline straight towards the center of the room, a clear mission in mind. @Techno Universal "I'll speak with him." The stag replied to Techno, "Perhaps he wasn't a fan of whatever your attire is made with. I'm... still not familiar with some of the ticks associated with with his culture. Once more, he like his superiors, are extraordinarily stubborn. Trying to teach them is more akin to tricking them than sitting them down and explaining something. Well, for Kri that is..." The stag looked back over at Mehndi, noting she was now speaking with Grimclaw. He narrowed his eyes. "Please excuse me. I wish to speak with your friend over there..." He gave a polite bow of the head before turning and making his way across the room, passing the mare in her translucent golden dress. The mare reached Techno before the pony could do anything on his own accord. She looked up at him with glowing green eyes, just like her main and tail. Those eyes practically sparkled in wonder as she just... stood in front of him, staring up at him silently. @PuddingPonyPal Grim scratched his head, clearly with no idea where it was she was talking about... if it was an actual place. Then again, he probably couldn't make the connection that it was more metaphorical than anything. "Oh! Right, yah, I heard it has uhm, excellent climate this time of year." he said with a wide, almost forced smile. "Well we all have some things we don't enjoy about our lives. Take me for example. Why, I can't tell you how many campaigns I've been on." He leaned in close and cupped his beak to whisper, "Get's a bit grating after a while..." He said before pulling back again. "Over and over, can't stand doing the same thing like that too long. Ugh, talk about boring. You can only lob so many heads off before getting sick of it eh?!" Grim gave off a hearty laugh before smacking the little foal's back in a 'friendly' manner, almost sending the little colt headfirst onto the table. He was ready for it though, recovering before something bad happened and replying with a nervous smile to contribute to the conversation. "Ahem..." Came the interjection from the Stag, stepping up to the table to loom over Mehndi. "We're not finished with our conversation." "Ugh, leave the mare alone thorny! Incase you weren't aware, we're having a talk here..." Grim stated, glaring at the stag.

@Techno Universal @PuddingPonyPal "The Raptor has a name." The stag snapped at Techno, but before he could elaborate, Mehndi practically exploded. The room froze in silence, all eyes turning to stare at the commotion caused by the colorfully dressed earth pony dressing down the tall woodland deer. They were perhaps the most conspicuous two creatures in the entire room now. Even the other dignitaries paused to take a look. The raptor, however, whipped around halfway across the room when he heard Mehndi's outburst, staring at her with daggers in his wide amber eyes. It was clear the stag was furious as he watched her step away, patiently standing there in the center. He on watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she found her seat before turning back to Techno with a rageful fire behind his own eyes. Though, it was tempered and controlled, something that took a great deal of practice for most. "Kri-Ket is a Stellar Priest from the kingdom of the Lizard Folk. He's not accustomed to how things work in our societies. He's never even heard of airships before last week, let alone ridden in one." He explained to Techno. "Where he comes from, wearing strange clothing and using scents is to invite one to investigate. They believe it means you are quite literally asking for attention and acknowledgement." "Please, do show more respect and patience. This is the only chance he has to practice his... Equestrian social skills." The stag added, before turning his head to scrunch his nose at Mehndi. @PuddingPonyPal Grimclaw, the giant armored griffon came over to Mehndi's table. He didn't take a seat though, his size alone would break the chair. There was no telling how much those gold and silver plates on his armor would add to it, so he decided to sit on his flank on the ground, which still gave him a taller stance than any pony sitting down in a chair. He pulled back the seat for the little colt in the red and white tabard, same as his, that was following him around. "You must not be a fan of the noble scene, pony." The griffon stated, to break the ice. "Bah ha! If I had a coin for every time I wanted to strangle some scrawny politician sitting in front of me I'd own my own island by now..." He seemed like he was trying to be polite, perhaps to diffuse something before it spiraled out of control. A far cry from the bigoted obnoxious creature griffons from the 'Cordial Colonies' were expected to be. Well, his voice was still loud and abrasive... "Don't let that savage or the stag get to you..." he concluded. "By the way, where are you from, mare?"

@Techno Universal @PuddingPonyPal The raptor froze when Mehndi spoke up so suddenly and sternly, mouth slightly open and eyes widened in shock. Then, came the boiling fury behind those amber pools. There was a primal rage as the creature interpreted her order to whatever end. The tense moment simmered as the creature's body tensed as if preparing to strike or jump at her like a wild animal. "Ah! ah, I think she was speaking to my, friend!" The stag rushed over quickly to put a calming cloven hoof on the raptor's shoulder. "You used to be so perceptive! Didn't even notice I was standing right behind you." The woodland stag smirked jokingly to the raptor, lying of course. "That engineer you wanted to speak with, he's over there with the first mate." He gestured to the black and white diamond dog in the corner. Perking up the raptor slowly started towards the dog, pausing to turn back and narrow his eyes at Mehndi and Techno briefly, before scurrying off. The stag remained, glaring sternly at the two ponies before him, assuming techno was partially to blame for the incident as much as Mehndi. "What are your names?" he snapped. "Be thankful Kri and I are former adventuring companions! I don't care of your nobility, either of you. I'll have you both hanging from vines under the ship if you show such disrespect to a dignitary like that again. Am I understood!?" The stag stomped one of his hooves for emphasis, but kept a low voice so most of the others in the room didn't hear. And yet, others were already starting to whisper and snicker at Mehndi and Techno's minor misfortune. "What do you two have to say for yourselves, hmm?" He sounded like a father scolding children at that point.

@Techno Universal @PuddingPonyPal The reporter's ears folded back in an embarrassed state. She clearly understood when she was being blown off. Still she nodded respectfully, while writing down the little bit that Mehndi was able to provide. "Of course, enjoy your evening!" She replied, trying to remain positive. The mare then looked around as Mehndi walked over to Techno, that thing on her mind before apparently returned, prompting her to pace around the room for a moment before leaving the gallery completely, before interviewing anyone else. Meanwhile, Mehndi arrived just in time to see the lizard creature fondling Techno's cape. When the stallion spoke up, trying to strike a conversation with the dangerous looking creature, it merely hissed and snapped at him angrily. Its shiny amber eyes glared at Techno, letting off a low raptorous screech. Finished with whatever it was examaning on the cape, the little raptor scurried over to the next unusual sight, Mehndi and her colorful clothes. The raptor circled around her in jerking motions, even going so far as to sniff her while grabbing at her clothes with his claws.

@Techno Universal "Ah... right..." Grim replied to Techno hesitantly, before chugging down a few more glasses of wine. He clearly wasn't there to merely 'taste' the alcohol. "Well... I've slayed my fare share of arachnoroc spiders... taken down a queen once! Tough fight certainly!" he tried boasting awkwardly, not quite sure how to one up Techno's claims, provided he actually understood what the alicorn was referring to. "Well ah, do enjoy the... wine." The bird turned around to make his way across the room. Turning revealed something hiding behind his giant form. A colt was following Grim. The tiny out of place earth pony was wearing a cloth quartered tabard with red and white colors just like Grim's. He trailed behind the paladin with tiny quick moving legs, doing his best to keep up. Grim found a group of mares to impress at the other end of the gallery. Meanwhile, something began tugging on Techno's long cape. It was the blue tribal lizard creature, examining the cape intently with his amber eyes, the slits narrowing as he glared at it for some reason. Still the creatures head tilted from side to side curiously and spastically. It didn't say a word to Techno himself, just fondling the cape. @PuddingPonyPal "Excellent!" She replied, beaming with delight, before suddenly pausing, hair standing on edge before she suddenly took a look at her watch. Whatever her thoughts, she put them aside. "Ah, sorry, anyway; so what are your thoughts about Princess Twilight's initiative to negotiate with some of the more shady groups in the new world? The Griffon's Cordial Colonies subjugate entire cultures, while the Eldeer take slaves and assassinate each other... Even the lizard folk sacrifice mammals on a whim. Vampires raising the dead... The gold changelings foal napping sailors... do those sound like groups Equestria should be associating with? Or, perhaps it's the start of influencing their actions, working to stop them through diplomacy rather than force? Thoughts?