private The Mysterious Temple (1x1 between Scribblegroove & PathfinderCS)

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

OOC: http://mlpforums.com/topic/111734-the-mysterious-temple-ooc/

@@Scribblegroove

 

As Celestia's bright sun shined down on the small town of Derbyshire, the citizens were bustling with activity. The townsfolk were either enjoying the nice, sunny day or working in the many shops that dotted the area; serving their various customers with products or services. Of course, being a small town, they didn't have much in the way of resources; especially lacking a nearby farm & whatnot. Not being far from Baltimare allowed for quick & easy restocking if necessary thanks to the train.

 

Nearby the residential area was the historical academy where budding young ponies could learn whatever trade they wanted to study in as long as it related to history. For any pony wanting to be an archeologist, history teacher, map-maker, geographer, or any other related career, they could learn the necessary skills at the academy here. Sure, the academies in Baltimare and other cities were bigger, but the academy in Derbyshire added a nice, personal touch to education.

 

Aways from the academy on a small hill was the Debyshire Museum of Pony History; detailing the development of pony-kind through the ages. Granted the museum was small when compared to the big ones found in Manehatten, but the collection of antiquities inside was fairly impressive.

 

Like any other day, the main curator of the museum, an earth pony named Sojourner, was wondering the main lobby and eyeing the various display items, as well as the wondering ponies looking to get a look at the past. Helping the visitors along were various student helpers from the academy; many of whom were looking to learn the tricks of the museum trade. With a content smile she continued on; taking a small break from her regular research to make sure things were in working order and that the visitors were properly serviced.

 

In the upper floors of the museum, a golden unicorn named Pathfinder was busy at a work desk. His magical aura working a quill and holding a couple of old books, he was busy working on transcribing a map from old sources. Being a learned cartographer, he was essentially head of mapping, as well as the navigator on any missions he and Sojourner partook in. With his reading glasses on, he frowned in concentration as he worked at his art.

 

So, like any other day, Sojourner and Pathfinder tended to their duties in the museum as they normally would.

[Scribblegroove 565]

@@PathfinderCS, 

 

High above the clouds, underneath the clear blue sky and the unobstructed rays of the sun flew Zephyr. Even though the sun's heat was beaming down right on his back, it was still very cold up in the skies. Luckily for Zephyr, this was all routine for him. Hundreds of times he had flown across the the continent, to the farthest reaches of the land and back. He had had this job for about five years now, and he was stil far from getting sick of it. Wearing his woolen lined high-attitude flight suit, covering his forelegs, most of his torso and his neck, the cold didn't bother him that much. He was sturdy and big for a pegasus anyways, so his internal heat wasn't hard to keep up even in these conditions.

 

With the enormous speeds he could reach at these attitudes, with the currents of the world at his disposal, it was important he also wore a flying cap with additional goggles. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to see a thing... Not that there was much to see, certainly if it was cloudy. From here the squares of farmland looked like parts of a patched rug. The ponies on it tinier than ants. He felt calm up here. As if the world laid peacefully at his hooves.

 

Then he remembered he was supposed to be going somewhere. Specifically the little town he had just flew over. Looking down he saw his destination. The town of Derbyshire. A peaceful place, to what he had heard. He had been there only once, to deliver a small package. There were few towns, no matter how small, that Zephyr hadn't been to, but this town seemed unfamiliar to him still. When he lowered attitude, very slowly losing speed, which was a difficult thing to do for him, he recognised one building. The post office. A tiny place, and though often used not a very busy establishment. Knowing that through courier protocol he had to report his arrival there before going anywhere else. 

 

After a few minutes he had slowed down enough that he could land. Doing so about fifty feet away from the actual town, he 'landed', or more so flew closely over the ground and continued in a stumbling sprint, slowing down his pace from there. From a full speed sprint he went to an easy jog, and eventually he had his wings folded against his sides and was walking casually towards the post office. Taking off his goggles and hanging them around his neck, he moved towards the door. He grabbed a small envelope from a compact backpack between his wings and looked for the correct mailbox. When he found it, he inserted his certificate of arrival and then walked off again.

 

"The Derbyshire museum..." He mumbled softly, looking around to see if he saw signs anywhere. Remembering the directions his chief gave him, he looked for the academy, which had to be quite a prominent building, and thus easy to find. From there, finding the museum was easy. While he was walking through town he got a few strange looks. His clothing wasn't exactly 'fashionable' and it's brown tint didn't blend very well with his own bright red coat, thus he looked a bit strange. Even though he was used to the glances, and sometimes shameless staring, he felt uncomfortable. He didn't like not fitting in. It made him feel out of place and even a little insecure. Luckily he had reached the museum, and once he entered the building, he wouldn't have to endure the strange looks anymore.

 

A bit cautiously and hesitantly, he entered the main lobby. There were a few ponies here. Both visitors and staff, though he couldn't really tell which was which. Taking a note from his pocket, he memorised the names of the ponies he was looking for one more time and then started walking around, and though he was a little too shy to just step out to somepony, he did actively search for somepony with a brown coat and green eyes. Sojourner, the curator of the museum was the one he had been referred to.

 

After a while he found her, or at least somepony looking like her, wondering about in the main lobby like he was. Slowly he walked up to her and coughed. "Excuse me... Are you Sojourner?" He said softly, hoping not to disturb anypony around him.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Scribblegroove

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

 

Amongst the hustle & bustle of visitor activity, Sojourner was about ready to go back to her office upstairs. It was in this private alcove where the archeologist would often take in the peace and quiet that allowed her to think, study, and do her general research. As there were no major archeological digs or expeditions to deal with at the time and no adventures for her partner and her to indulge in, she was going to take the time to relax a little and maybe plan another personal excavation to partake in. The museum was needing a new attraction to keep interest up to keep business going.

 

Really, as much as she loved history, the museum needed the business to stay alive.

 

Before turning towards the stairs she had given instructions to some of the student staff to make sure that the display cases were nice and clear; especially considering some of the hoofmarks on the glass cases here and there. As she was heading for the stairs a voice from behind caught her attention. Someone was addressing her.

 

"Yes, I'm Sojourner," she answered as she turned around to meet this stallion. Getting a good look at him for a quick second she had figured him a member of the Wonderbolts; or a least a junior segment of the organization. It wasn't often that she saw pegasi in flight suits in Derbyshire. Not even her mercenary friends wore such things.

 

"What is that I can help you with," she asked with her trademark grin.

[Scribblegroove 565]

@@PathfinderCS,

“Well… It’s quite complicated actually.” He began, not really sure how to explain the situation to the grinning mare in front of him. He took off his flying cap and hung it around his neck. Underneath it his messy, and quite greasy blonde mane was revealed. Pausing to pull his hoof through it, he wondered if his message would be business as usual to the archaeologist.

“My name is Zephyr Stormwing. I’m a long distance courier for the exchange agency in Equestria.” He took a moment to find the right words and then continued. “I found this… place. A temple of some sort, when I flew over the mountains between Baltimare and Canterlot. When I reported it to my chief referred me to the cartography main office in Canterlot, who then told me it was a new discovery.”

Thought a slight hint of excitement could be heard in his voice, it seemed like he was trying to very cautiously follow some kind of formality protocol. He smiled lightly sometimes, but clearly tried to keep a neutral face with almost military discipline. “They sent me here to inform you of this, and to help you find, explore and research the temple.” Standing there a bit awkwardly, he wondered how Sojourner would react to this presumably good news. After all, he was offering her a grand new adventure on a silver platter. How would they proceed? If she and her partner would go and explore the place, would he get to come with them? It seemed like his chief had expected that to happen, and so had the authorities at the mapping office. It was quite a desolate place where he had found the temple. Edited October 7, 2014 by Scribblegroove

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

Sojourner studied the stallion; listening to what he what he said with great intent. A new temple? Undiscovered even!? This was right up her ally! Of course, she had questions of the legitimacy of all this. With a thoughtful and measured smile, looked back at him in a fairly formal way. "Well, if what you say is true then you've come to the right place," she said with some glee hidden in those words. "Of course, I hope you don't mind me being a tad skeptical. We've had ponies come in with similar claims that turns out to be false."

Of course he did say he works with the courier service. The OFFICIAL courier service based in Canterlot, and the uniform looked to bad some resemblance of pegasi who fly the service. She was betting that this was legitimate. ​"Tell you what, you follow me to my partner's office, and share this info with the both of us. I'm interested, and I think he would be too. Considering he is the head cartographer in the museum, I think he'd like for you to pinpoint just where you found this temple."

"Come, follow me," she said, give a wry smile as she turned towards the stairs, heading towards the offices on the upper level.

[Scribblegroove 565]

r@@PathfinderCS, 

 

Zephyr sighed thankfully. Sojourner seemed to have a friendly personality. Many of his previous clients had proven otherwise, showing him no manners or sympathy whatsoever. This mare seemed to be different however, and he couldn't be happier about it. Following her up the stairs he couldn't help but to think that this might be the start of a grand adventure! From what he had seen up in the sky, the temple had been quite large, and also very hard to reach. He wondered how Sojourner and her partner would be planning to get over the mountain's pass. It could be very, very cold up there. 

 

"I have official documents if you want to see them!" He exclaimed with a little more excitement in his voice than with the rehearsed and pre-manufactured sentences he had just recited. Since his suit was made for temperatures high up in the sky, he started to sweat a little. It wouldn't be very well-mannered of him to just take it off, but he was getting smothered slowly. Deciding he would wait until they were in the office before removing it, so he could probably leave it on a coat-rack somewhere.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

 

Sojourner led the red stallion up the stairs. Passing by a few more exhibits, some leading down to darker halls where plenty of glass cases were filled with antiquities, she went down a hallway which led him to what looked like a row of offices. "This is pretty much where both my partner and I live and work. Of course we have separate rooms. He and I aren't THAT close," she said with a sly wink & chuckle. Leading him on down further she passed by a few of the door with various titles on them. They kept on going down the hall till they reached a door labeled "PATHFINDER: Cartography & Navigation."

 

As she reached for the doorknob, she look back at Zephyr. "Oh, I'm sorry," she stated, ​"If you wish you can remove your flight suit once we're in his office. He won't mind, and I'm sure you don't want to melt." With a slight chuckle, she walked it, opening the door carefully before shouting, Pathy boy! Got something you might be interested in!"

 

"Gah," screamed Pathfinder as what looked like a few quills flew from the drawing desk he was working at. Catching his breath, he turned and looked at Sojourner & the newcomer. "Yes? Anything I can help you with partner," asked the somewhat shaken golden unicorn. Upon noticing the red pegasus, he quickly righted himself, fixing his mane and posture as Sojourner was laughing. "Ah, okay, sorry about that. My friend knows I'm easily startled and she loves to take advantage of it. So yes, what is it that you have?"

 

"Oh, I think you'll like this. Go ahead Zephyr, make yourself comfortable and tell us what you told me, and also present the papers you have so we can be sure you are who your say you are," she said as she closed the door.

[Scribblegroove 565]

@@PathfinderCS, 

 

Walking up the stairs Zephyr wondered how much work was included in a job like this. Archeology, keeping a museum. Surely a lot of administration would still be a whole lot of the process besides all the fun stuff. Sojourner didn't look like a pony who'd do administration at all. Either Pathfinder would do that part of the work, or they had hired another pony to take care of that. There were a whole lot offices here, so there was a lot of room for housing more employees.

 

Suddenly Sojourner winked at him. He hadn't really paid attention to what she had been saying, but his awkwardness with mares made him think about all the things he could do wrong in this situation. Say something wrong, do something wrong, even the slightest hint of body language could make him look like a fool. If his coat weren't already bright red, his head would glow with how much he was blushing right now. Hoping sojourner didn't notice, he pretended he hadn't heard anything and just kept following her.

 

Then Sojourner opened the door, and scared not only Pathfinder, but also him, since he hadn't seen the sudden shouting coming. He chuckled a bit awkwardly and stepped into the office, Sojourner closing the door behind him. "So yeah... Uh." He said. In his confusion he had to think for a moment where he had left his papers. His face brightened as he remembered that they were of course in his backpack. Instead of reaching behind him, this time he zipped down his suit from his neck to his chest, stepped out of it with his forelegs and hung it on a coatrack nearby the door. "One moment. Sorry..." He said, feeling like he took a bit too long to take off his clothing and simply get a few papers.

 

Finally managing to retrieve his documents from his suit, he brought them over to Pathfinder's desk. One of them was his license as a courier, classified as long range and high speed delivery. An official seal from the canterlot courier service could be seen in the bottom right corner. A picture of him, to his embarassment not a good one, his name and a few pieces of personal information were there as well. Along with that license was a signed order from the chief of the courier's office describing his reason for coming here, which was the discovery of a new historical location.

 

"As you can see everything's on there." He said. "I hope..." He softly added, because he was never really that certain of himself. Checking off an imaginary list in his head, he went to the next item on the list. "I was sent here because I discovered this... Temple. Up in the mountains between Baltimare and Canterlot. The courier service checked the archives and maps and they told me it had never been seen before, and that I should go here and notify you of this." He paused for a moment. With a hint of what could be question in his voice, he continued. "And perhaps help you find and explore the place..." Chuckling a little he said something a bit more loosened up, thinking back of flying over the high mountains. "It's quite hard to get to I'll tell you that..." A slight sense of pride could be heard from this notion.

 

Taking a moment to make sure he had sad everything he wanted to say, silence filled the room for a moment. "Of course if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I mean this is a little... the situation seems a to be..." He sighed. "I'm coming kind of out of the blue here aren't I?" The sense of formality and strict regulation had finally been broken. Smiling a little, he looked at all the maps Pathfinder had on his desk. Surely he'd be able to pinpoint the location of the temple on one of those.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

 

With Sojourner behind him, Pathfinder studied the documents thoroughly and made sure they all was as Zephyr had said. "Well, I have to say...everything you said seems to check out," he said with slight hint of surprise. "All the documents are indeed official, your photo ID matches, and...well, it looks like we have a new temple in the mountains."

 

"So, can you pinpoint it for us buddy," she asked with a large grin on her face now. She was aching for a good adventure, and this looked like a good opportunity to get away.

 

"I should be able to. There are plenty of maps here that have detailed topographic illustrations of these certain mountains, so I should be able to find it." He got off of his chair and went to one of many shelves that was lined with rolled up parchments.

 

While he was away, Sojourner turned to the red pegasus. ​"I noticed a hint of excitement in your voice," she said with a slight chuckle. "Right when you mentioned something about helping us. Considering the mountains are fairly steep and ragged, and our main source of air transport is away on other business, I think we could use your help. Now, Path and I are unaware of any sort of temple on these mountains, and considering our previous adventures with some temples & ruins, it could range from very boring to very dangerous. Are you willing to take some risk to explore this temple with us?" This time she sounded serious. She needed to be sure that he was ready for this.

[Scribblegroove 565]

@@PathfinderCS, 

 

Again Zephyr felt a little caught when Sojourner told him she had noticed his excitement for the potential adventure. "Uh... well." He stammered, scracthing his head and looking up to the ceiling. Quickly he thought. He couldn't give up a chance like this, and he might even make a few new friends along the way. He didn't have a lot of friends. Looking down to Sojourner again his face went from awkward and uncertain to serious in a second. "Yes. I am aware of the risks." He said confidently, making sure Sojourner knew he was sure about himself as well. "I'm not sure what you expect from me however. I can imagine a few things, but I'd still like to hear your plan... You know, your standard procedures. I'm not exactly an archeologist."

 

Looking to the side he saw Pathfinder Searching through his maps. "I think I have the approximate coördinates, so I might be able to point it out for you, though I'm not sure." He said to him, hoping to be of some use to him. He was quite impressed with the collection of maps and documents Pathfinder has assembled here. He imagined Pathfinder being very intelligent and academical, since he had never seen this much research in one place, except for maybe the navigator's office in cloudsdale. But that was an entire team of ponies, and this was just one! "But I guess you don't need my help with that anyway." He chuckled, and then whistled. "That's one big collection you have here!"

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

 

With an eyebrow raised, Sojourner listened to the red pegasus as he stated his case. She pretty much knew that if there indeed was a temple to explore, they wouldn't be able to find it, let alone get there, without help from a pegasus. Of course, she and Pathfinder have walked up mountains in the past, but most they had to climb had fairly easy paths to traverse. This mountain either doesn't have that, or if it does, it's extremely risky. Sojourner was a risk-taker sometimes, but even she knew she had to be careful at times. "Well, it's not exactly complicated," she stated. "Of course, preparation for such a journey entails being prepared for the harsh climate, as well as any dangers we may face. There could very well be traps waiting for us, natives might still be guarding it somehow, and don't ever count out the paranormal or the mystical. You never know what sort of magic may have been enchanted there. Of course, the rules are simple: tread carefully, use common sense, and work as a team. If there are three of us going to the temple, we need to be there for each other."

 

After saying that, she lightened up a little. "Now, we usually rely on a pegasus by the name of Corsair to get us from place-to-place, but he and his team are away on business, so I won't mind some help from you. I believe we can trust you, so welcome to the team," she said with a smile.

 

As Sojourner was speaking with the pegasus, Pathfinder had been looking for a few different maps. Finding what he was looking for, he levitated three rolled up maps and walked back to his desk. Unfurling all three, he began to look at them carefully while responding to Zephyr. "Thanks for the compliment," he said with a smile. "A lot of it was donated from the nearby academy, while the rest were either drawn by me or came from academies & museums from across Equestria. You could say it's a passion of mine. Anywho, where exactly, or at least close to exactly, did you find this temple? These maps are of the mountains you speak of, with the other two being more detailed versions. If you can point it out for me I should be able to pinpoint the general location. If there is a temple there, I'm excited to learn who built it."

[Scribblegroove 565]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

Attentively Zephyr listened to Sojourner's briefing. Although he had expected the team aspect, hearing it from the ponies mouth still made it seem a lot more of a thing to him than he had initially thought. They would be relying on him, and he woud have to rely on them. To his fear, but also excitement, his suspscions about traps and the supernatural were confirmed. Would it be just like in the Daring Do books? Somehow he couldn't wait to find out, even though he knew it was potentially life threatening. When she stated her trust in him, he felt honored that he had been accepted by her this quickly.

 

Pathfinder called him to pinpoint the location of the temple. Walking over to the desk, he tried to remember what exactly it had looked like when he flew over it, and he looked over the maps that were layed out in front of him. "Well according to the approximate coördinates it should be in this area..." He said, thinking out loud and gesturing with his hooves that me meant the square of F8 to G9 on the general map. Moving on to the more detailed map he found the area he had just mentioned. "And it was in a small valley, beside another small valley, with a mountain pass in between them..." He explained, a little bit absentmindedly, trying to remember what exactly he had seen.

 

He pointed at the map where it looked like there were two small valleys in the mountain range. "It in either of these two, though I don't know which one..." He confirmed, completely certain of himself. The problem immediately became apparent to him. The two valleys almost in the middle of the entire range, and to get to either of the two would be one hell of a task. And if they would want to get from one to the other, they'd have to either get over the pass, which was terribly risky, or move around almost the entire range. There weren't many passages to the valleys as far as he could see. Of course, he would be able to fly over all of it, but getting Pathfinder and Sojourner there would prove to be difficult. Hopefully Pathfinder would be able to plan a route for them that could get them there without much risk, because to him it was a puzzle he knew he couldn't solve.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Scribblegroove

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

 

Pathfinder watched the red pegasus point out the area, eliciting a look of surprise on his face. "You mean to tell me that...this temple you spotted is located in one of these two valley," he asked with a hint of disbelief on his face. He had seen these two valleys from somewhere before, but for the life of him he couldn't place where. Or why, for that matter. "Well...the obvious cold & wintry climate aside, it's really hard to believe anything would be up there. Of course, I'm not doubting you or the paperwork you've shown us, but...wow. Excuse me for a second, I need to find a book. There's something about these valley's that rings a bell." Quickly, Pathfinder got off from his seat and left his office for the museum's library.

 

With an eyebrow raised, Sojourner turned her attention to the maps. Like her partner, she was familiar with these valleys as well. "Hmmm...well, I'm sure we can find a path up there if we can't fly up. As I said, we can't rely on Corsair's balloon fleet right now, and unless you know of any such craft we can use, we'll likely be walking, and fairly light as well. Those mountain are a bit dangerous to be carrying heavy excavation tools...for now, anyway." Sojourner was in deep thought at the revelations of this. If there was indeed an ancient temple here...how was it built? Who built it? Could it be alicorns? Or was it another race entirely? These questions rang through her mind, eliciting an aura of excitement from her. "This could be big Zephyr, if you're right...and I'm willing to bet you are."

 

As Sojourner finished, Pathfinder returned, carrying a book with his magic. "I was surprised I found this as quickly as I did, but it seems that these valleys haven't been traversed in a LONG time," he said, with a hint of excitement of his own. "Apparently, many ponies, including pegasi, did try to explore here a LONG time ago, but none returned. These valleys are called...the Doors to Tartarus, in griffin lore." He quickly skimmed the book as he returned to his desk. "I should be able to find a path thanks to the old descriptions here...and the drawn maps in the book as well. There was no mention of a temple though, but it did say there was something there...just didn't say what."

 

​"As a I said, something big," the archeologist said with a gleam in her eye.

[Scribblegroove 565]

@@PathfinderCS, 

 

"Well... That sounds ominous." Zephyr muttered as he looked at the map. Suddendly everything got a whole lot more dangerous and creepy, but he had given his word, so he'd stay strong. He wasn't afraid at all... Maybe just a little, but he was still very confident with his own ability to help these two get to their destination. "I don't have a fleet of balloons, but I think I'm a strong enough flyer to carry one of you up the mountain entirely." Behind himself he unfolded his wings and showed their enormous size. A little proud of himself and he explained his abilities. "I do long distance deliveries because I have a lot more lift, and thus I can fly a lot higher than most pegasi. Floating on the currents of the wind becomes easier with wings my size, so I can travel long distances very fast, without much effort."

 

Realizing that he'd gotten a bit off topic, and feeling terribly embarassed about it, he quickly got back on track, folding his wings back behind him. "I uhh... What I'm trying to say is that I think I'm more than strong enough to get you up there, and if I carry you one by one you might not have to walk over the entire mountain." He continued. Looking at the map again, he tried to do some quick calculations on how high he'd be able to fly with their added weight. Maybe, just maybe he'd be able to get them over the pass... But if he really was strong enough wasn't as certain as he made it look like it was...

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

 

"Well, as convenient as that does sounds, we have to be careful how we approach that," she stated, pondering. "I have no reason to really doubt your words, but it isn't just Pathfinder and myself you'd be flying to the destination, of which we don't know that even. You have to consider our general survival and archeological equipment. Of course, with this being our first venture there we won't bring too much as we don't even know what we're getting into. However, when you consider that along with the climate and your strength; would you be able to handle it? Especially that we don't know what we're gonna deal with?"

 

"Don't get me wrong though," realizing she was probably sounding a bit too harsh on his enthusiasm. "If you can get us up there with no problem them I'm all for it. I'm just looking out for your well-being as well."

 

As that was going on, Pathfinder was in his own world while looking at these map, though he still kept an ear open. ​"Well, regardless of whatever route we take there will be risks," he said. "If Zephyr can get us up there with little trouble then I'm likewise for it." He smiled as he said that, though a certain grim feeling nagged at him. "I think I can piece together some information from these sources to at least get a starter feeling on hot to approach the temples themselves. After that, we're on our own then."

[Scribblegroove 565]

"At the very least I'll be able to get you partway up the mountain range. If it turns out to be too heavy you can climb the final stretch to the top." he thought out loud, taking a whole to ponder at the charts for at least a bit longer. "Once we're through the first pass I can fly you down to the western valley with ease. The two of you at the same time even. Gliding down shouldn't be a problem." saying that, the image of these two ponies dangling beneath him as they flew down was rather amusing. He made a mental note to retrieve some equipment from the couriers' office that would allow him to fasten 'passengers' safely to him.

 

"The second pass is definitely too dangerous though. It's far too high and steep, and I'd bet the wind currents would be far too strong for me to handle with a passenger. I will run out of breath before getting you up there." he explained, pointing at the tall row of mountains separating the two valleys. If they were lucky, they'd find the temple in the first valley. In that case the nightmarish pass in the middle wouldn't have to be traversed. Of course he could go up there and check in which valley the temple was, but they'd have to go there anyway. The second valley could only be reached by passing through the first.

 

Sojourners mentioning of carrying their equipment didn't worry him much. If he had to, he'd fly those up separately as well. "As for equipment, I'll have to get some from the office. A pair of harnesses and some fastening rope to attach you guys to me, a full body flight suit and I suppose I'll bring my own food rations as well."

 

Finally, he asked the question that had been lingering on his mind from the start. "When will we be leaving for the Doors of Tartarus?" he said with a sight grin.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

 

Sojourner listened with intent to Zephyr; fairly impressed with what he was saying. "I must say that you have some impressive abilities for a single pegasus. There aren't many who can say they can carry more than one passenger at those altitudes for that duration," she said, remembering his wing-span and the general size of those wings. "That said, going by what you stated, we had better hope that this temple is in the first pass. Even if we find the temple in the second pass doing additional trips for extra study might prove perilous."

 

"Well, there's only one way to find out at this point. By all likelihood and practicality the temple should be in the first pass; unless whoever built it was paranoid about it being found by robbers or whoever," Pathfinder said, studying the general geology of the area on the map. "Of course, the name given to this place gives me some concern."

 

Chuckling, Sojourner trotted to the window. "Well, we aren't going to find out much by talking about it. We have a general idea of what we need to do, so let's get to it." She then turned to Zephyr with a grin on her face. "We'll leave first thing in the morning! Gather the equipment you need. Path and I will be ready when you arrive."

[Scribblegroove 565]

Zephyr smiled at Sojourners compliment. "I just happen to be very fit for the job." He said. That made him think for a moment "I guess that's why the agency sent me here. They know of my strange abilities." He shook his head. It wasn't very important. "As for more than one passenger, I'll be functioning pretty much as a hang glider, so there's nothing special about that." Though Zephyr took Sojourners compliment to heart, he knew that he had his various limitations and difficulties. He hoped they didn't have to deal with his clumsiness or his incompatibility with short distance fight. Otherwise he might lose their respect.

 

"Right. First thing in the morning!" He said as he grabbed his flight suit. "I guess I'll be going then!" After that he gave then both a nod, retrieved his documents and left the building. Uttering one last "See you tomorrow!" As he went downstairs he was immediately hushed by a museum assistant, berating him for talking too loudly. When he finally did come outside, he took a deep breath. Adventure awaits! He'd gone around the world to explore in the spirit of his father, but never before had he gone on such a promising endeavour. He was excited and a bit nervous, but he was sure that this would post off

 

Heading down to the little couriers office again, he took what he needed from the lockers there and wrote a letter to the main office that he'd be joining Sojourner and Pathfinder on their escapade to the temple. Then he stored his items into one of the private lockers and kept the key on a chain around his neck. Using his spare time he decided to go around Derbyshire to see if there was anything interesting to do. He ate at a local restaurant, treating himself to something nice. Finally, he spent his night on a comfortable cloud high in the sky. He slept out in the open often and knew exactly which cloud to pick to not wake up soaking wet in dew next morning.

 

When the sun rose again, he was well rested and ready, though his nervousness started to get a little worse. He thought of all the things that could go wrong. Al the mistakes that he could make. It made him feel anxious, but his excitement won over his fears. Going back to the couriers office one final time, he retrieved his equipment. Deciding not to put on his flight suit yet, he walked back to the museum with it wrapped around his shoulders. He purposefully didn't pack many other things to remain as mobile as possible. With the sun on the horizon he waited for his partners to come outside the museum. They still had a long distance to go before they got to the mountains themselves, and Zephyr hadn't really thought about how they would do that. Hopefully Sojourner and Pathfinder had...

Edited July 28, 2015 by Scribblegroove

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

 

"See you then," Sojourner responded. ​"Be sure you rest up and make sure you've ate." She watched him as he left; turning her attention to Pathfinder who she figured was slightly annoyed at her. "I guess you have a bone to pick with me?"

 

Pathfinder sighed slightly; admittedly slightly irritated at the time span given. "You could say that; considering that the time given until morning doesn't leave me a whole lot of room to piece together a decent map of that area," he said, looking over what he had. "We need to be careful Sojourner and a well detailed map is going to help us a ton here."

 

"You forget my friend that the info we have on the Doors or Tartarus is very limited and we're not conducting a full-scale expedition here," she reminded him. "Don't overthink it! Don't overdo it! You do not have a lot to work with, and I trust your expertise here. Don't worry about details." She smiled at her friend; knowing full well his tendency to overthink situations.

 

Mulling over what Sojourner said, he nodded in response. ​"Fair point; I tend to forget that. I'll have a general overlay of the area done shortly then; shouldn't be too much," he said, winking at her.

 

"That's the spirit," she exclaimed. "While you do that I'll gather the bare minimum of what we'll likely need, and do some research and see what else the griffons have to say about this." With that she nodded her head and trotted out of Pathfinder's office.

 

As the hours rolled on Sojourner packed two saddle bags worth of equipment that would be useful, and did some research on what little they had on the myth. Pathfinder, meanwhile, was at work on a general map of the geographic area; figuring spaces, geologic landmarks, and topographic features he figured would be important. By the end of the day they took and early off and slept in their respective apartments in the museum.

 

Morning eventually came, and Sojourner and Pathfinder were up, and straight to getting things together. After time passed they had their saddle bags packed lightly; Sojourner with some tools and Pathfinder with some maps and a journal. Exiting the museum they saw that Zephyr was already there waiting.

 

"Well well, it looks like somebody is ready for an adventure," Sojourner exclaimed with a grin.

[Scribblegroove 565]

@

 

"That depends..." Zephyr said thoughtfully. He walked over to the pair and smiled. "I've gathered everything nescesary, but we might've overlooked on one tiny thing. I hope you guys thought of it..."

 

Zephyr looked towars the horizon, in the general direction of the mountain range they were headed towards. "How are we going to get to the mountains in the first place. It's quite a walk away. I think there's a train that goes right by it, but it certainly doesn't stop there." Zephyr scratched his head and tried to visualise the maps of equestria he had seen. Indeed, there was a train track close, but if they had other means of transportation it might be a better idea.

 

"Of course we can just walk there, but that would take us at least a full day, probably two." he suggested, hoping that his estimations of how fast they could walk weren't too far-fetched. He'd always flown everywhere, so he wasn't sure how long he'd take to cross a distance while walking.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

 

"One tiny thing," Pathfinder repeated thoughtfully. "I don't know. We've got a light packing of maps, notes, and equipment; as well as some extra food in case the geography of the land isn't suitable for eating. Are you referring to anything specific or...?" Being the over thinker he could be at times Pathifnder was thinking of various possibilities.

 

More concerned with Zephyr's next question, Sojourner also looked towards the horizon. "Normally Path and I would just walk the distance if it wasn't too far out. We're fairly used to such hoof travel and we usually use the time to just take in nature and relax before we get to business. Besides, as you said, the train doesn't stop there." Sojourner stopped to ponder on that for a moment; an idea coming to mind.

 

"If you're in a hurry I can call in a favor and have a friend of mine head for Corsair's base of operations and maybe grab a balloon flight to the base of the mountains," she said, still thinking. "Granted I did say Corsair was unavailable for the long term, but a short balloon trip is possible, but as I said, I would be fine with walking."

 

"Going by the maps Zephyr is correct in that it would take a day or at least to reach the mountains," he said, looking at the horizon. "It really doesn't matter too much."

[Scribblegroove 565]

@ 

Following Pathfinders eye's, Zephyr looked towards the horizon as well. "I guess we're not in a hurry no. We could take the time to make plans or something..." He wasn't looking forward to travelling at the pace of two walking ponies, but there wasn't a real problem to it besides his discomfort. He'd have to get over that anyway, since this expedition could require a lot of patience. Like Sojourner had said, it could range from incredibly dangerous to incredibly boring, and he'd agreed to both situations. He just wasn't sure which one he thought was worse. "Should we just get going then?" he proposed.

 

Zephyr couldn't help but wonder about the balloons Sojourner had mentioned. "But... What's this balloon flight base of operations you were talking about? What kind of balloons are they? And how high can they go?" He asked. He then realised how shamelessly he'd been questioning her. "Eh... I mean... I'd be rather interested to learn more about it." Zephyr had a rather strange plan in mind for a future 'experiment', and a balloon would help him grealy with that. He just wasn't sure if the balloons they spoke of could be of use to him. And besides, it wasn't very important. It had been a little fantasy of his to try and get higher than ever, and he hoped a balloon would be able to take him much higher than his wings ever could.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

 

"Aye, let's head out before it gets much later. I would rather be as close as possible to the base of the mountain before night inevitably hits us," he remarked looking at the morning sky. ​"Thankfully it looks like the day should be suitable for a good walk." Smiling he looked at the enthusiastic pegasus, though he also noticed a hint of agitation in his form. Granted Pathfinder never considered himself good in regards to reading between the lines, but being a pegasus he figured that Zephyr probably would prefer to fly there as opposed to walking for a longer amount of time. "In our situation it would be best to talk so as to get a better feel for each other and discuss any concerns we may have for this venture."

 

Sojourner nodded. "Path is right; let's get going then." With that they all set off in the direction of the mountains.

 

Cocking an eyebrow at Zephyr's question, she laughed when he backtracked on his questions. "Don't you worry about asking questions. In the scholarly circles you don't learn anything unless you ask questions. Even if you this you know something; you must ask questions to expand upon that knowledge," she said with a smile. "In any case this base of operations of Corsair's lies at the base of the Foal Mountains between Canterlot and Baltimare. As for the balloons they're high-capacity balloons made for cargo or passenger travel. While not necessarily large airships, they can still do plenty."

[Scribblegroove 565]

@

 

Zephyr followed alongside Sojourner as she answered his questions. He seemed a bit dissapointed, but wasn't discouraged, and know that she'd told him not to worry about asking questions, he did exactly that. "But does he have any special kind of balloons? You know... Just things he's tinkering with?" He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "A high altitude balloon perhaps?" A slight grin appeared on his face. He couldn't really contain his excitement about the idea of going even higher than was possible for him. 

 

He then turned to pathfinder. "I was also wondering, have you guys explored a temple before? I mean we can't be sure that it's going to be anything like it but I suppose if you have had a previous experience we can learn from that." He looked towards the horizon, where the mountains were already slightly in view, but sitll far far away. "Because I don't have any experience with it, and I can tell you that as excited as I am, I'm also a bit nervous..."

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove

 

Sojourner raised an eyebrow at the question he was asking. ​"I am not exactly sure what all constitutes Corsair's fleet, but he does have variety of balloons. I believe he does have a couple that are capable of high-altitude flight," she said, thinking. ​"I do believe he has a few he is trying new things with, though keep in mind his operation is limited. Thanks to his background in Canterlot he is largely supporting the operation with his own bits, so he can only do so much on his own." After thinking for a little bit she grinned. ​"Knowing him though; that wouldn't stop him from trying new things. Maybe you should look him up and see what he has to offer; if you're interested."

 

Pathfinder looked from his map towards the mountains ahead; nodding a little. "Yeah; we've explored temples before, but the vast majority were either already explored by others or the ones that we did find first were barely much to write home about in terms of danger or anything," he said. "There were a few exceptions to that though, and we have to tread very carefully as the ones who built them made sure to plant traps or other things here and there. Considering the location of the temple we're looking for I have my suspicions that it will hold something interesting."

 

​"It is good that you are nervous though; you need a little fear to keep your excitement in check," she said, nodding. "It is never wise to rush headfirst into ancient sites like then. Even if there are no traps, you have no idea how stable the site is."