open Expedition into Uncharted Land

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@@Unicorncob,

@,  

 

Nymphaea regarded Tyra with confusion.

 

"I did not live in the lake, nor do I live in any one place. I left the swamp because I needed food; deer and rabbit do not venture here, fish are eaten by water spirits, and adventurers have avoided it since the ever since the Fremmeds left" the kelpie said as she began to follow after Chronos. Suddenly she noticed a small pool of mud that stood out amongst the rest of the mire. An untrained eye wouldn't even have noticed the slight ripply quality of the muck that made it seem almost liquid, Nymphaea however recognized the substance immediately. Hengemyr. The distraught kelpie began to notice small plashes of the dangerous mud scattering the swamp floor, she had led the ponies into the middle of a sea of deadly traps. 

 

"Stop moving!" she shouted urgently. Looking forward she noticed the heavy knight stomping obliviously towards another pool of the hungry sludge.

 

((If you haven't guessed, hengemyr is Nymphaea's word for quicksand.))

Edited February 22, 2015 by HunterTSN

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

@@HunterTSN, @@Unicorncob,

 

Chronos turned and stopped but it was too late, he had already stepped on it. the Hengemyr (Quagmire) gave way under him and he fell in. His armor was pulling him down. He was quickly sinking, the muck was already above his knees. Only his left foreleg was above it, He tried to get out of it but it was all in vain. Struggling only made him sink faster. "Give me a hoof over here!" He yelled

[Unicorncob 5,689]

@

@@HunterTSN

 

Yelping in shock, Tyra recklessly dashed ahead of the kelpie and toward the quagmire to assist Chronos. She leaped and landed right in front of the stallion, grabbing his hoof in both of hers, and began to pull back. The suction of the muck was proving to be quite a compromise to the little mare's super strength, but she kept a constant pull on the stallion's hoof.

 

"Hnng, come on...!" She grunted, baring her teeth, "Don't let, this marsh, best us...!"

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@, 

@@Unicorncob, 

 

"No you fool" Nymphaea hissed as Tyra ran to help the knight out of the muck, "he's only going to pull you down with him!"

 

Looking around, the kelpie quickly spotted a large fallen tree. Grabbing it in her teeth, she hauled it to where the stallion was sinking into the quagmire. Swiftly she threw the log over the mud pit.

 

"Pull your body over this, it will stop your sinking" she said as she began to look for other ways of getting the heavy stallion of of the muck, preferably without her having to go in herself.

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

@@HunterTSN, @@Unicorncob,

Chronos was able to pull his hoof out of Tyra's grasp and got it on the log. He was able to pull his out leg out by using the log as leverage. "another reason why I hate mud and swamps..." He said as he tried to pull himself out, but it was fruitless. He was stuck and it would take allot more then this short mare almost dislocating his leg to get him out.

[Unicorncob 5,689]

@

@@HunterTSN

 

Tyra frantically looked around for a way she could possibly free her companion. She looked at the log, and saw that Chronos had a good grip on it, holding on for dear life. She bounced over to the log and grabbed it between her teeth.

 

"Hold on tight, I will pull you out!" Is what she meant to say, but it came out as muffled gibberish with a mouth full of rotted old wood. Slowly, the mare began pulling and tugging the log away from the mud, with Chronos still holding on.

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@@Unicorncob,

@,  

 

"Stop!" Nymphaea shouted sternly at Tyra, "you are going getting both of you killed." Frowning, the kelpie realized what she had to do. Focusing her attention on Chronos, she spoke softly and urgently.

 

"I am going into the hengemyr to loosen the earth around your legs, as soon as you feel the pressure ease pull yourself all the way on top of the log" Nymphaea instructed the night, turning to the mare she continued; "When he is all the way onto the tree you must then pull him out. Do you both understand?"

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

@@HunterTSN,@@Unicorncob,

 

Chronos looked at the Kelpie and nodded. "understood" Chronos said as he tried to pull himself out, He would pull himself out slightly but he would just sink right back to where he was before tried. This was officially the worst day he has ever had. He have out an angry sigh.

[Unicorncob 5,689]

@

@@HunterTSN

 

Tyra put a hoof to her chest and nodded, understanding her instructions, and leaped onto the log. She knelt down in front of Chronos, ready to grab him as soon as he had been dislodged from the mud.

 

"Who would have thought muck would cause so much trouble?" She frowned at Chronos. She couldn't help but be amused at how upset the knight looked being all dirty. She had no qualms about mud and muck, as was apparent by her splashing about in it and getting herself to be the second-dirtiest pony in the trio.

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@@Unicorncob,

@,

 

Nymphaea took a deep breath and dove into the churning mud. Around her she could feel millions of tiny sand particles pressing into her body, squeezing her and trying to halt her descent. Painfully, she pushed forward towards the struggling stallion and began to work away at the compacted muck immobilizing his legs. Slowly but surely his hooves became free as water filled the vacuum pulling him downwards.

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

@@Unicorncob, @@HunterTSN,

 

Chronos was starting to pull his back legs loose and he was able to almost pull himself out and onto the log. His lower back legs were still stuck in the thick mud and muck. He got onto the log and began pulling off the moss from his legs. He also tried to get some of the mud off of him as he said "Both of you have my gratitude, I would have sunk and suffocated if you hadn't saved me." He held out his hoof to the kelpie to help her out "Lets get off this log and back on stable ground." He said.

[Unicorncob 5,689]

@

@@HunterTSN

 

Tyra grinned widely up at Chronos, appreciating his thanks. "A Shatterhoof never leaves a companion behind!"

 

She stamped a hoof on the log in triumph, smirking down at the bog water. "You will not conquer us today, swamp!" She cackled, before lowering a hoof to help the Kelpie out.

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@@Unicorncob,

@,

 

 Nymphaea merely scowled as she allowed the ponies to lift her from the ravenous muck. Once free she rounded on Chronos.

 

"I told you to stay behind me, your rash temper could have killed us all" she growled at the knight, anger flashing in her eyes. Silently she fantasized about pushing him back into the muck and watching him drown, but something told her she would regret that decision it in the long run. "Just follow me, walk only where I walk" she said shortly and began to walk again, making a winding path between the scattered pools of hengemyr.

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

@@HunterTSN, @@Unicorncob,

 

Chronos looked at her as she walked and followed her. He shook off some mud and said "You act like I meant to fall in... also how the hell was I supposed to know that a 'hengemyr' was a quagmire, I can't understand your language, I thought it was just another creature on this Celestia forsaken Island" He was starting to wish that he had left the kelpie back on at the lake, burned and unconscious.

[Unicorncob 5,689]

@

@@HunterTSN

 

"Aah, so that is what a 'hang-gamer' is!" Tyra nodded, looking down at the quagmire as she passed it, following the Kelpie's swirling path around the variable minefield of them. She began to wonder if she would be strong enough to pull herself out of one? She was indeed strong, perhaps stronger than this knight, so it could be possible.

 

Though, judging by her guide's short temper, she felt she had no time to find out right now.

Instead she followed along, proudly stomping through the swamp muck and splashing this way and that. If it wasn't for the insistance of ponies everywhere she went, she'd have to qualms about not bathing for a long period of time.

 

"You shouldn't worry about dirt if there is a place to bathe," She called back at Chronos with a smile on her face, "besides, it's rather fun!" 

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@@Unicorncob,

@,

 

 "Creatures are easy, you can kill a Draug or a Lindwyrm" the kelpie said as she continued slogging through the thick swamp, "you should worry more about falling into the hengemyr or Drakinn feller". It wasn't necessarily true; Nymphaea could think of a multitude of creatures on the island that she would much rather make her home in the muddy quick sand than go face to face with. Still, she figured it would be best not to bring those up unless she had to, and she hoped she wouldn't. 

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

@@HunterTSN,

@@Unicorncob, 

(don't forget the Aufhockers!)

 

Chronos looked at her and sighed in frustration "Equestrian please" He said, not knowing what a Drakinn or a feller was. To him it was all gibberish, for all he knew it cold be nothing but gibberish. He then looked at Tyra "That is easy for you to say, This is my finest armor, Do you know how much this thing costs. I may be a noble but I can't just buy a new set of armor every time one set gets badly damaged or messed up. And I wasn't planning on having to take off my armor to clean it while on this island... so I don't really have anything to clean it with."

[Unicorncob 5,689]

@

@@HunterTSN

(I just googled those, they look awesome)

 

Tyra tilts her head at Chronos, giving him an incredulous look. "Well, if there's clean water coming up, you can use that to clean your armour."

Her smile returns. "A warrior should not be ashamed by the dirt and scratches of his armour. They are signs of strength and world...knowingness!" She bares her teeth in her grin, taking a pause to find the right word.

 

She begins to look forward to bathing in the upcoming stream; a nice little paddle would do her some good after all this trekking and rescuing from killer sludge.

Edited February 24, 2015 by Unicorncob

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@@Unicorncob,

@,  

 

The group continued on until the ground once again became solid under their hooves and the sound of water splashing over rocks could be heard in the distance. Before long the trio found themselves standing on the bank of a shallow stone-bottomed river. The small creek trickled along slowly and only came up to Tyra's withers at it's deepest part. Without warning Nymphaea dove into the river, disappearing from her companions sight instantly. The kelpie needed time to herself before she could deal with the foreign ponies any more.

Edited February 24, 2015 by HunterTSN

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

@@Unicorncob,

@@HunterTSN,

 

When the kelpie dove in and disappeared, one thing came into his mind 'she tricked us...' Chronos took off his helmet and looked at Tyra and said "Well, I guess here we are..." He set his helmet on a rock and took off his sheath and leaned it against the rock and took the muddy pouches off his belt and set it on the rock. He was happy it was well closed so there was no mud in them. He then went over to the stream and got a drink of the water. 

[Unicorncob 5,689]

@

@@HunterTSN

 

Tyra thought next to nothing of the Kelpie's disappearance; that perhaps she just wished to wash her mane of all that moss. She had a look around herself, noting all the dirt and muck caked into her coat and tunic. Some even got into her mane!

She figured she should follow suit and have a quick bath herself. The water certainly looked clean.

 

She removed her axe with her mouth and slammed the blade hard into the earth, embedding it in the soil so that nopony but herself could remove it. Next, her harness and tunic came off, hanging on the other blade. And with a lighthearted bellow, she leaped into the stream with a splash. The cool water welcomed her nicely.

 

The water indeed came up to her withers, and she was more than happy to dunk herself down into the water and scrub herself of muck, re-emerging to get some air and shake off her mane, as well as swallow a few mouthfuls of clean water.

 

"Aaah, just what we need, yes?" She beamed to Chronos.

[Firehearted 120]

@,

 

"Good riddance" I said as he shot the thing, It wasn't pony. It was a monster. The only thing that connected it to a pony was its general shape. A monster... That's all it was.

 

"Nah, not really... All I found was this" I pulled out the orb. "I don't know if it's worth anything but it might catch a pretty penny with someone. I wish I could appraise stuff here... If you gave me an item from Equestria I could probably give you date it was made, what it will catch for on the market, and your chances of getting gutted for it" I looked at it for a bit... Something was... Off about it. What was I thinking?. It was just an orb.

 

"We'd better run. That musket shot might have attracted something. I'll take lead this time" I began to walk back to the path we'd been clearing being sure to be a bit slow just in case Cosmo wanted to do something before we left.

 

((What's the time or can we go off our own day night cycle?))

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

@@Unicorncob,

 

Chronos began taking off his armor, and set all the  steel plates and chainmail by his weapon. He got into the stream and dunked his head, and when he came up he said "Yes, I'm so happy to finally get a chance to bathe on land." He said as he pushed his eyes. He enjoyed the cool water. He decided to take this time to get to know Tyra "So... how long have you been on this Island?" 

 

@@Firehearted,

(The sun will be setting right about... now)

 

Chronos looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was about to set "There is only about an hour of daylight left..." 

Edited February 24, 2015 by Chronos Dial X

[Unicorncob 5,689]

@

 

Tyra followed Chronos' gaze into the sky, watching the sunset. She nodded. "Aye, we shall have to make shelter soon."

 

As for his question, she furrowed her brow in thought, a hoof emerging from underwater to tap her chin. She'd spent so much time on the island cleaving through beasts and foraging for food that she'd lost track of time.

"I would say...three, maybe four days?" She guessed, then lowered her head and took another hearty swig of water, "and yourself? Are you also here alone?"

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

@@Unicorncob,

 

"I just got on this island today, and there were about 3 others with me when we came onto the island but until I met up with you and the creature, I was traveling alone." He said. He wanted to relax in the water before he cleaned his armor and built a shelter. "It will probably get pretty cold, so once we are out of here, we will need to set up a fire. Hey maybe we can exchange some tales." He said.