Silly Druid

It's pretty hard work as there's a lot of stuff to learn, but it also very satisfying, I can see my abilities improve almost every day. Also it gets quite lonely sometimes, we can travel for many days without meeting anypony. So when we visit a settlement, I tend to mingle with the locals a lot to compensate this. I grew up in a little village at the edge of the forest. I liked that place a lot, because of my love of nature. But my parents had to move to Manehattan to find a job, and I was too young to live on my own so I had to move with them. I didn't like living in the big city, so right after finishing the school I moved back to the village. But I wasn't really sure what to do, so I had a similar situation as my teacher: I wandered through the forest, searching for a purpose in life, until I met him. History repeats itself, I guess.

As I said before, it's mostly about gathering information. We take note of anything that we find out and could be useful in the future. Most of the time it's about animals and plants, since we travel through the forests, but we also visit the cities sometimes, so we do have some knowledge how the civilization works. Also we will help anypony in need. From the herbs we find we make potions that can cure various illnesses, and we sell most of these potions, but we also carry some of them with us to be used in case of emergency. We do not demand payment for helping the poor ones.

After a few hours of lifting heavy chunks of building materials with his magic, Dusty was pretty exhausted. "A lunch break? I'd love that!" He said and started preparing to go and eat the meal with the others, but then he saw the map Plum found, which really intrigued him. "Opaline... Opaline... I think I've seen that name somewhere..." He wondered what he could make of it, but unfortunately he couldn't remember any details regarding that name. He looked at the map curiously, checking if there were any other interesting locations on it.

Well, my youth was pretty "stormy", I'd say. I wasn't as calm as collected as now, I was pretty impulsive and adventurous, to put it lightly. At some point I joined a group of bandits who were robbing ponies traveling through the forest, and I helped them by using my lightning summoning ability. One time, we attacked a carriage that we thought contained a treasure, but instead it turned out to be some innocent foals, and I almost killed them with my lightning... At that point, I understood what I was doing was wrong. I left the bandits, and started to walk aimlessly through the forests, unsure what to do with my life. That's when I met my teacher, who made me who I am now. The Druid Brotherhood was founded in the pre-Celestial era by ponies studying the forces of nature and the means to control them. After that, the new druids were always trained by existing ones, like I do now with Tree Song. Our role is mostly to gather information. For countless years we traveled the forests of Equestria in search for any sings that something was out of the ordinary. Which usually means someone is using magic to do something bad, and we should prevent it. Using magic always leaves traces. Most ponies wouldn't notice them, but a trained druid can detect them. There were many instances during Princess Celestia's reign when my predecessors and I warned her about a villain who was going to attack, which helped her maintain the peace during that thousand years period. For me it's the old, big and strong trees. I admire them. Despite my name, I like flowers the most. Even the most common ones like daisies and sow thistles are very beautiful in my eyes. Druid magic is different from unicorn magic, and earth ponies, due to their connection to the nature, are the most likely to have this kind of skills. There were some pegasus and unicorn druids, but most were earth ponies like us. The druid abilities depend on their individual talents. Neither I nor Tree Song can shapeshift into animals, but some of the druids in the past were able to do it.

Greetings, I'm Forest Storm, the last surviving member of the ancient Druid Brotherhood of Equestria. Until recently, due to some circumstances, I was very secretive about myself and didn't even want to reveal my name. But the situation has changed, so now I can give you any information you need. (picture by @Windy Breeze) Hey, I'm Tree Song, the druid's apprentice! I have a lot to say about us, but I think it's better if we do it in the form of answering your questions, so ask away! (OOC: No rules this time, I'm pretty confident the people here are well behaved and will not do anything bad...)

Puns

I might be interested, if it doesn't happen too late my time (I'm in Europe).

"Nice to meet you too, Twinkle Theory!" This time Cozy Glow made sure to get Flurry's friend's name right. She didn't want to bring too much attention to her cutie mark, so she decided to bring up another subject. "Well, I'm a pegasus, but I'm really interested in magic! Do you have anything here that can be used by non-unicorns? Like, you know, potions and stuff?" Cozy asked, looking around the lab curiously.

@Oni Musha I have made some edits to my posts as well, I think everything is in order now, and we can continue the RP.

@Oni Musha Some clarification: The symbol is in a remote part of the town, the party was going in that direction and the meeting with Rosy Thorn happened when you were near that point. Then Kuya went back to the castle, and I assumed Samurai went after him. The main square is near the castle so you can travel between these two locations quickly. Let me know if I should change anything in my post in regards to where Samurai is going.

@Oni Musha I was under impression you were going to the castle with Kuya: And then you mentioned going "elsewhere", which I interpreted as wanting to go with Kuya to the main square. I'm sorry if I misunderstood your intentions, I can edit my post if needed.

@Skylight Scintillate @abrony-mouse @Oni Musha Dr. Clue investigates the symbol, but can't find anything special about it. It looks the same as what Commander Steel Hooves showed you earlier, and a closer look confirms it was indeed made with chalk. "I think they used that symbol to indicate the place of their meeting. As Raven said, they tend to meet in secluded places like this," Shadow Dagger explains. @Kujamih You leave the commander's office, and go to the main square of Canterlot, where the exhibition is going to take place tomorrow. There are about a dozen ponies here, busy with building the stage in the center of the square, and the stalls at its edges. The preparations seem to be going smoothly.

You part ways with Rosy Thorn, who looks relieved that you finally let her go. @Skylight Scintillate @abrony-mouse @Oni Musha You arrive at the place where the symbol is supposed to be. And indeed, after some searching you find it on a wall of what appears to be an abandoned barn. It's barely visible, and you wouldn't pay any attention to it if you weren't looking for it. It seems to be made with chalk. Near the barn you see a beggar. "Greetings good ponies, have a bit or three for the poor?" The old stallion asks. To your surprise, Shadow Dagger tosses him a coin. You didn't take her as a type who would do something like that. @Kujamih You arrive at the castle to speak with Commander Steel Hooves, who receives you immediately. "What is it, recruit?" He asks you with some concern in his voice, because you arrived alone, and seem to be in a hurry.

@Skylight Scintillate I need your decision. Kuya and Samurai go to the castle, and Mango goes to the symbol. So I only need to know what Dr. Clue does before continuing. On an unrelated note, it would be nice if we can continue our 1x1 RP...

"I told you all I know," Rosy Thorn says to Dr. Clue, "I don't even know his name, he seems to be particularly secretive about it. As for the plans, I can't help you here, as I didn't know about the attack on the Princess that you told me about. I only know he is a fanatic, which is the most dangerous kind of pony in my opinion." "So, since the one who was offering me bits ran away, I guess I don't get any?" She asks no one in particular. "I don't know, Rosie, this group is pretty generous, so perhaps you'll get some from the others," Shadow Dagger says. "So, do we finally go to the place where the symbol is?" She asks the group (except Kuya, who ran away).