Elements of Nature - 2

[Skullbuster 1,906]

Jack continued to the stronghold, once he got near it he thought to himself

 

*ok, let's try this mind link thing, ok I'm going to assume you can hear me, the stronghold is built into a mountain, so we would have to hike up it, also there are 4 large metal spires around each corner of the mountain, they might be towers there are metal doors covering the front of the entrance, which is a good 50 ft from the ground, lava appears to be pouring out of the sides as well*

Edited December 19, 2011 by Skullbuster

[AbstergoTempest 0]

Silvermane looked at the metal shards then back at his metalic limbs. He noticed a strange simalarity between the two.

 

"Strange. I think I remeber seeing this kind of metal before. It was in the workshop I was in before my dragon encounter. I think it was the same type of metal I crafted some of my parts out of."

 

He shifted some moveable parts to find some of the metal he spoke of.

 

"I think they are the only parts of my body I havn't upgraded. I never had the need to exchange them."

[Evilshy 5,090]

Legacy began to sketch a rough diagram on the floor of the cave, according to what jack told her.

 

what do the defenses look like? Do you think you could get closer without being spotted?

[Skullbuster 1,906]

Jack was startled for a bit after hearing another voice in his head, but composed himself and snuck closer

 

*it appears to be no pathway up the mountain, it looks like a large squair piece of rock was removed where the door is, however, it dose seem possible to climb up the mountain, if my eye isn't tricking me, I think I can see movement on top of the spires, they are most likely guard towers , to prevent others from entering, the towers do have entrances on the bottom, from my angle, it looks like 2 huge walking statues made of metal guard the front door, I'm going closer to see if there are any traps*

[Linguz 140]

(BRINGING IT BACK!)

 

Gesboiath looked at the group and growled.

 

"Are we going to move soon or not?!"

[AbstergoTempest 0]

"I'm ready when you are. we just need to get Sforzando moving. after that you can lead the way."

[Authetius 30]

(I'd flip you off if I had fingers.)

 

Sforzando followed the Worg.

[Skullbuster 1,906]

Jack approached the mountain, once he got to the bottom of it he saw a hole, he put a rock in front of it but fire shot out of the hole, jack quickly plastered himself to the ground, becoming near invisible, once he thought he was safe he stood back up, he attempted to grab one of the rocks to climb up, but as soon as he pulled on the rock, a metal spike shot out above it

 

He used his mind link

*climbing the mountain will be very dangerous, there are holes that shoot fire if some is in front of it, there are also some rocks that act as switche, upon being pulled, a metal spike shoots out, I will attempt to mark these traps so they can be avoided*

[Linguz 140]

Gesboiath jumped off his high rock and began to sniff the ground. After several seconds, he looked up and turned a bit to the left.

 

"It's straight in this direction."

 

He took off.

[Authetius 30]

Sforzando galloped after Gesboiath.

 

"Any idea on what we might encounter at this place?"

[Skullbuster 1,906]

jack slowly climbed the mountain, marking any traps he saw with a purple dye, once he reached the top, he slowly climbed down

and plastered himself against the ground

 

*i have marked the traps on the side of the of the mountian, i am makeing my way back now*

[Linguz 140]

Gesboiath shook his head.

 

"I have no clue. I've never gotten close enough to figure out. I just know where everything is."

[Skullbuster 1,906]

jack figured he might have aroused suspecion after marking all the traps and setting a few off, so he slowly crawled away, making sure he remained as invisible as possible

[AbstergoTempest 0]

"I just hope you know where to hide if we encounter more of those golems again."

[Linguz 140]

"Hide? Fuck that. I'll take them all out!"

[Evilshy 5,090]

(sorry. I know I said after Christmas, but I must confess, I didn't even think about EoN until yesterday. The reason I didn't post yesterday was because I was planning some major back story for Garth and Legacy, as well as the next a lot of stuff that will happen with Garth/Nightshade's little story that's still playing out.)

 

 

 

(The group walked on for a bit.)

 

 

Rigel was walking behind Gesboiath, lost in thought. I sure hope all the enemies aren't made of metal. All I have is glass, and that won't do shit to metal. He looked to the ground and levitated a small chunk of metal. He studied it closely, and then tried to shape it. He concentrated, trying to break through the barrier of trauma and horrible memories that prevented him from shaping anything but glass. c'mon, c'mon..."

 

He concentrated as hard as he could. A small dent appeared in the side of the metal piece before his concentration broke and it fell to the ground. He panted from the effort and stumbled. He lay on the ground for a few seconds, and as he looked up, he saw a strange looking bird. that thing is flying strangely...

 

He got up quickly and looked closer. It seemed to be made of a mix of metal and organic parts. It let out a piercing cry and dive-bombed straight at Rigel. With his injured legs, he wasn't able to dodge in time, and the metal birds talons dug into his side. He yelled as he fell to the ground. The bird took to the air again and began to circle the group, who were now alert to the danger. As Rigels vision faded, he saw more birds join the flock, until there were about 10, just circling the party, shrieking horribly. Rigel fell unconscious. 

 

(in case anyone, particularly linguz, since his character knows about this realm, the birds are called shrikes. They have metal skeletons, but organic muscles and brains. They don't have feathers except for the wings, and those are made of thin, strong metal.)

 

---

 

Far away, Garth woke up to find himself in a dark room. He tried to get up, but he was too weak to stand and fell back down. Heavy manacles were clasped over his legs and neck. He felt a strange sensation on his chest, and rubbed a claw over it. There was a small latch of bare skin there, with a strangely shaped scar on it. It didn't hurt, so he decided to figure it out later.  He crawled forward until he met a smooth, solid stone wall. He slowly got up and leaned against it for support. As his eyes began to clear, he looked around his cell. It was too dark to make out much detail, but he could tell it was a small, windowless room. It had a door which looked like metal, with a small, bared window in it. He heard a noise on the other side. A sort of clicking sound, like plastic tapping on stone. A strange voice came from the other side of the door. It sounded male, but had an odd tone to it. Whatever was on the other side of the door, he doubted it was a normal equestrian species. 

 

"awake, are we? Ooh, the master will be delighted. I know just what he'll say" the voice laughed and adopted a crude, hissing imitation of a drazul. "good job with that rune, Skitter. Make sure you keep him healthy." he laughed again and returned to his normal voice. "He wants you alive and well. He says he wants to talk to you, Garth. And he says he wants you to be healthy enough to think." the voice began to whisper. "between you and me, the master doesn't like talking to idiots." he tapped the door a few times, and the clinking sent waves of pain through garths head. "well, goodbye then."

 

Skitter walked away, or rather, climbed away, as he didn't seem to make a distinction between floor and wall. All 8 of his long, black legs used both horizontal and vertical surfaces interchangeably, and Skitter seemed to derive great joy from switching from wall to floor, and even ceiling, as he walked down the corridor. 

 

Skitter was an Arach, a race rarely seen in Equestria. He had the body of a large spider, except for the head, which was replaced by the torso of a vaguely humanoid creature. His hands were 5 fingered claws made of the same, chitinous material as his legs, but they were much sharper. His bulbous lower abdomen was black with a few dark green markings, and ended in his pointed spinnerets, used for making webs. Over all, he was a bit shorter than the average pony, but his legs could carry him faster than the average pony, and over nearly any type of terrain. His claws were viscous weapons, and his sticky silk could stop all but the strongest creatures in their tracks. Like all Arachs, he was deathly afraid of fire, and disliked bright light. 

 

He entered Anarchy's chamber and bowed as deep as he could, which wasn't much, seeing as his body normally wasn't more than a foot or two of the ground anyway. 

 

Anarchy spoke distractedly. "yes, Skitter?"

 

"the griffon is awake, master. Skitter kept him alive for you, and now he is awake."

 

Anarchy seemed to drop his current thoughts and smiled. "good job, skitter. Keep him healthy. I have... plans... for him."

 

Skitter bowed again and left the room. 

 

 

(I thought I'd try a different way of introducing a new character. how did you like it?)

 

(also, Rigel needs to stay unconscious for a bit, so I can focus on other characters. Things are going to start happening again )

Edited December 29, 2011 by Evilshy

[Linguz 140]

(Alright.)

 

Gesboiath bit Rigel softly but firmly and threw him onto his back.

 

"Careful. Those metal monstrosities are called Shrikes. I dealt with a few of them before I got thrown in the cage. I tore a few apart and found that they have metal skeletons but their muscles and organs are organic. Let them get close enough and I'll just blow them away like I did to the golem's furnace."

 

He sent a few blasts of air at the Shrikes in the sky, altering the wind currents for a short time.

[NeverNeverland 1,940]

(If this RP gets buried and forgotten again... jumping in!)

 

"Fantastic... I hope they can be cut as well!" Agent said, as he eyed a Shrike coming towards him. It screeched as it charged at Agent. He got on his hindlegs and when the bird hit him, he grabbed it by it's head and held it a chokehold. The Shrike let out a cry as it frantically flapped its wings and took to the air, carrying Agent along with it.

 

(yes, I know Linguz isn't here.)

[Authetius 30]

Sforzando jumped to his hind hooves, faster than a more sober Zando could ever hope to, and slung out his lute in one fluid motion. His thoughts were a bit slurred and he wasn't quite sure what was going on, but his body seemed to know how to react anyway. Before he had even identified what was flying around he was already shouting and throwing chords that shook the air, throwing the Shrike's flight off balance and attempting to keep them away.

 

(I'm off to go to a party soon, so I'll be back in the new year XD)

[Linguz 140]

(I'll have you know I still use my phone!)

 

Gesboiath saw Agent be taken up into the air and cursed his luck. He wouldn't be able to attack that one until Agent got off. 

 

He spotted a pair of shrikes coming at him and unleashed a different shout, freezing the two of them solid. With both on the ground, he bit one and smashed it onto the other, destroying both. 

[AbstergoTempest 0]

The flying shrikes left Silvermane at a major disadvantage. With his melee aproach, he couldnt fight the creatures unless the swooped down at him, which left the posablility of being captured. He would have to take the chance if he were to do any damage what so ever.

 

"Keep them off my back. I got to switch my ligaments to a offencive position."

 

He then started to shift plates of metal to reveal fast churning cogs and springs. He was about to show the others what his limbs could really do.

[NeverNeverland 1,940]

*Shit shit shit shit shit...*

 

Agent's hind legs were now dangling in the air as he was carried up higher. He went wide eyed, slowly panicking inside as the Shrike started swerving and turning, desperately trying to shake him off. With his strength, Agent climbed on to the Shrike's back, grasping it's head at it's side so that it only had one direction to look at; straight. He then turned it's head to the left, signaling it to turn left, and flew towards the other group of Shrikes.

 

Agent, to his dismay, has full control of the flying Shrike.

 

"Shit shit shit shit shit!!" He panicked.

[Evilshy 5,090]

The shrikes began to fly faster, circling the one Agent was riding, trying to knock him off. They dove towards him, claws outstretched and screeching loudly. 

 

 

 

Legacy had finished her diagram as jack returned to the cave, and explained the plan to melody and jack. 

 

"the path to the mountain seems easy enough, as long as we keep a low profile. I can't use much magic, or I might alert the enemy to our presence, but a simple spell that could obscure us from sight should be fine. We won't be invisible, but at a glance, we should blend in to the surroundings. 

 

The mountain itself presents a problem; it seems to be covered in traps. Now, jack has kindly marked them for us, but we still need to be careful. I can't probe the whole mountain, traps are sensitive and I might set them off, or even an alarm, if there are any. It'll be a difficult climb, but I'm sure we can do it."

 

She paused and her expression turned a bit grim. 

 

"unfortunately, we have no idea what awaits at the top of the mountain. Sure, the stronghold is there, but what's guarding it will be invisible to us until we reach the top. Hopefully, whatever it is isn't very observant."

 

 

---

 

 

Anarchy had Garth brought into his chamber. Skitter had led the chained griffon through a winding maze of corridors till they reached large room with a vaulted ceiling and lit by a huge fireplace that took up most of the back wall. In front of it was a simple throne, made of granite and metal, with the drazul lounging in it quite lazily. Even with all the fire, the room seemed oddly dark, as if Anarchy was casting a shadow much bigger than his actual body. Nightshade was laying down to the right of the throne, tracing patterns on the stone floor with the tip of a small dagger. When the prisoner and his keeper walked in, Anarchy stood up quite suddenly to greet them. 

 

"ah, Garth. I finally get to introduce myself properly." he bowed elegantly. "I am Anarchy, Emissary of Chaos and leader of the Bards." he nodded towards nightshade. "and this lovely pony, you've already met." Nightshade looked up long enough to glare at Garth before returning her attention to the dagger. Anarchy walked up and took the chain from Skitter. 

 

"and this is Skitter, as I'm sure you know. He's an odd one, an Arach from my side of the world. He's probably the only of his kind in Equestria right now. Such a pity that magnificent creatures like him haven't had a chance to savor the bounty of the Pony Lands."

 

He nodded to skitter, who bowed and walked out of the room, his pointed feet making clicking sounds as he went.

 

"you know a little what that's like, don't you Garth? A griffon, respected and revered for their strength, but secretly feared by nearly all ponies. Never quite seen as equal, loved and hated all at once. I find it sad, really. We drazuls are the same. In fact, we don't even had the luxury of being native to this land."

 

Garth laughed defiantly. "ha! I know what you're doing. Do you really think you can bring up a few old prejudices and have me think that we're alike? And that I should hate ponies because a few have mouthed off to me? You're going to have to try harder than that, Anarchy."

 

Anarchy looked genuinely amused. His laughter echoed throughout the room. Garth noticed that the fire seemed to glow a little brighter as the drazul laughed. Maybe he really is casting a shadow around him. Maybe it's tied to his emotions, or he can control it... or... something. Anarchy stopped laughing, but the smile didn't leave his reptilian face. 

 

"you actually think I was trying to corrupt you like that? Ha ha ha! I know perfectly well a griffon like you doesn't care much for social problems. In fact, I know a lot about you, including which buttons to press." his voice dropped to a whisper, and the room grew darker. "I know there are other reason for you to hate ponies. Or at least, one pony in particular. A reason you try to deny. That you push to the back of your mind, crush it with other, better memories, but it remains there." he got closer and whispered in garth's ear. "we both know what happened that night. We both know who was really responsible."

 

Garth closed his eyes as horrible memories came rushing back to him. no. He's wrong. I saw what happened, I was there. It wasn't what it looked like. She didn't do it. It's not her fault. There was nothing either of us could do. he opened his eyes to find anarchy staring into them. As they stared at each other, Garth felt the shadow of doubt creep into his mind, even as the shadows darkened around him as anarchy sucked even more light out of the room. there's nothing she could've done... was there?

 

 

(I think you all know what is going to happen next. I promise to try to make it not too cliche, but I think I've already burned that bridge )

 

(also, everypony is cool with my infrequent, but long posts, right? I like trying to pack more story into single posts, which I guess is a side effect of controlling multiple main characters who are interacting with each other, but if anypony wants me to stop posting text walls the size of sweet apple acres, say so and I'll try to cut it down.)

Edited January 3, 2012 by Evilshy

[Skullbuster 1,906]

jack responded, "well, no point in wasting time, im ready to leave when you are"

[Authetius 30]

Melody nodded.

 

"I'm ready as well and will silence myself and you two as well if you would like, though you won't be able to speak while under the spell. And how will we know when the others start their assault on the front door? If we can't see what's guarding the top then we can't know exactly when they are out of the way."

Edited January 4, 2012 by Authetius