open Artifacts of Harmony

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Steel arrived at the meeting point to see Faceless writing away in a kind of personal journal or notebook. Touching down before the fellow pegasus, Steel spoke.

"AHA! A fellow sculptor of prose and narrative." Steel boisterously complimented. "Tell me, my friend, do you prefer the works of Edgar Allen Pony? I myself find them to be quite depressing. Yet he's all the rage in Canterlot. So many young stallions think being dark and having a personal history filled with betrayal and heatbreak makes one interesting. The act gets boring after the third time." Steel remarked dryly. "Personally, I much prefer the works of William Flankspeare!" Steel rambled on. "His tragedies may get all the attention, but he's written some charming comedies . . . "

[N8C8 56]

Swish woke up and got on his equipment. Upon arriving at the meeting sight, he could see Steel babbling on about literature. Faceless looked like he was trying to ignore him, writing in a book.

"Oh good, I'm not the last one here. This morning, I couldn't be more excited to o-pun my eyes and run over here." Swish said.

[Faceless 101]

Faceless jumped out of his seat as Steel spoke next to him. He stared at the pony as he went on about other pony writers. "Personally, I quite like the mare "Angela Hoofter". She's reinventing the Gothic Literature as we know it.

 

I turned as Swish came to join us. "Nice to see you again."

 

(I'm sorry about the awful name. What else could I do?)

[Bari 7,023]

Lapis woke with a start. He'd fallen asleep in a chair while reading. His body hurt a little, but he shook it off. He instantly recalled what it was he was supposed to be doing today. Grabbing his bag, he headed straight for the meeting point. He mentally prepared himself. This might end up to be a difficult and complex adventure.

 

Upon arrival, Lapis noticed three of the ponies from yesterday were there already. He drew close with a hint of nervousness. He felt as though they may need to wait a little for the others to get there, and social interaction was not his strong suit. So he merely said formal greetings and sat down. "Hello, it's nice to see you all again. I hope you all are as ready as I am."

[Addem Up 246]

Faceless jumped out of his seat as Steel spoke next to him. He stared at the pony as he went on about other pony writers. "Personally, I quite like the mare "Angela Hoofter". She's reinventing the Gothic Literature as we know it.

 

I turned as Swish came to join us. "Nice to see you again."

 

(I'm sorry about the awful name. What else could I do?)

Overhearing their conversation, Addem trots over. "That's all well and good, but there's some great scientific writing out there as well. Have you ever read anything by Neil deGrasse Bison?" 

 

Addem looks over, then frowns. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Addem Up."

[Faceless 101]

Faceless smiled and struck out a good, instantly. "I don't think we have met, Addem. I'm Faceless Flyer. Call me Faceless... Or Flyer." I haven't read any scientific books recently. I've always got my head stuck in some old, dusty book!"

 

"Good to see you again, Lapis." Faceless added as Lapis joined the group. "All we need now is Harmonic, I think..."

[Harmonic Revelations 8,836]

 Harmonic stood up, and checked his saddlebags. He started thinking to himself.

"Well, at least one of these ponies is a skilled swordsman, we have that to our advantage." he says under his breath. He rechecks his saddlebag and looks to see he has all the supplies. Most importantly, he had his map, torches, and blade. He also had enough food to last around four days. He then nodded, he was ready to leave.

 

 He realized he was late, and started to trot towards the meeting place. He saw that the others were already there.

 

"I'm terribly sorry for being late, I must have overslept." He says, apolgeticly.

 

"I assume we are all ready to leave for Blackwater then?" He says. He started to wonder if he'd missed anything that happened in his absence.

 

"Since I'll be cutting the foliage infront of us, maybe somepony else should carry the map?" He suggests. He assumed he'd be busy levitating his blade.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Harmonic Revelations

[Bari 7,023]

"Well, this is everyone, right? I'm ready to go when anyone else is." he said neutrally. His mind was already on his destination. What would they find at Blackwater? Will it lead to other places? Such questions as those could only be answered later, unfortunately. Lapis went through his saddlebag to do a double check of his gear.

 

Inside, he located his large kitchen knife. It wasn't much a weapon, but it was something. Not like he'd use it anyway. It was only for an emergency, and even then, only for self defense. He doubted it would do much good though. Other than that, there were supplies to last for a few days, a journal to keep a log, and a few pens and pencils. Basically, it was all the blue stallion needed. He'd rely on the others for anything else.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

"I would gladly volunteer to take the map, but I'm not much of a cartographer." Steel admitted. "If I may humbly suggest, perhaps Lapis should take it. Being an explorer, map reading should be among his skills. I apologize for putting you on the spot." Steel said to the earth pony adventurer.

[Faceless 101]

"Abandoned places don't really call for "maps". I agree for Lapis to take it." Faceless said, as he jangled hi bangles, nervously. He was excited to get going, but nervous to what the adventure might bring. This was hardly like one of his normal adventures... if he could call his adventures normal.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Faceless

[Harmonic Revelations 8,836]

"Well I suppose now would be a good time to leave, if we're going to catch the arsonist." Harmonic said.

 Harmonic nodded, agreeing with himself in hid head,  and started trotting towards the town gate, motioning for the others to follow. He was moving at a steady but not too  quick rate, making sure everypony could keep up with him. After all, if they got seperated in the swamp, things could quickly turn dangerous.

[Addem Up 246]

Addem trots after Harmonic, tightening the straps on the bulging saddlebags around his flanks. Frankly, he probably didn't need half the stuff in there, but he might. He adjusted his glasses, subtly tapping the rim. For a brief second, lines of coding ran across the screen, then vanished. He swore under his breath, then sighed, shaking his head. "Damn things."

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Steel patted his scabbards and followed after, singing a happy tune to himself. Yes he was hunting a dangerous criminal that he may or may not fight to the death, but that was hardly any reason to treat the current situation as grim and dread filled.

 

"Yeah I trot across the square and this is what I see,

 

All them pretty mares start staring at me,

 

Yeah I'm the flyest pegasus and I ain't afraid to show it . . ."

Edited March 22, 2013 by Steel Accord

[Harmonic Revelations 8,836]

Harmonic chuckled to himself as he heard the pony behind him singing. For a skilled swordsmen he sure did have a bit of liveliness about him, that was for sure. They continued to trot for a several hours, until it gets close to midnight.

 

"Hey, maybe we should set up camp here for the night?" Harmonic said. He then looked at a ruin that was nearby.

 

"Or maybe in there, after all, a bit of treasure hunting on the side of travel never hurt anypony, well, you know. Never hurt US at least. Besides, we don't know what beasts live out here" He said. His choice of words was poor and he knew it, treasure hunting killed most ponies who tried it.

[Faceless 101]

Faceless looked up at the ruin, cocking his head slightly. "I'm sure I recognise this place from somewhere..." Flyer walked up to it and immediately turned toward a pillar, squinting at something on it. He smiled and brought out his journal, going near to the beginning and chuckling slightly. "This ruin will do okay for me, as long as everypony else is happy here..."

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

A shadowy figure watched from the shadows of the ruin. "So... these are my newest warriors. He drew out his golden sword, slashed it in a salute, and backflipped towards the top, waiting for the others to arrive. "There are the ones that will help me avenge my loved one..."

[Steel Accord 6,660]

"As long as we can be assured nopony is gonna fall asleep on some pressure plate or something." Steel said. "I don't want to get turned into a pegasus pin-cushion because some ancient ponies were apparently so clingy and paranoid they would not relinquish their valuables to the stillness of the grave and the ravages of time."

[Addem Up 246]

Addem nods in agreement. "I think we'd need to explore the ruins before we decide to bed down here. It might just be a glitch, but I'm getting some pretty weird readings from that place." He taps his glasses, chuckling. "And experience has taught me to trust these."

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Addem nods in agreement. "I think we'd need to explore the ruins before we decide to bed down here. It might just be a glitch, but I'm getting some pretty weird readings from that place." He taps his glasses, chuckling. "And experience has taught me to trust these."

 

"Reason enough for me to rely on the tools I trust." Steel said as he drew his weapons. "Not sure how useful these will be against a giant boulder, but if the scientist says something is up. I'm not taking any chances!" Steel declared. He knew his stories, this was the part where either the entrance sealed behind them, they were brought closer to their goal but in a dangerous fashion, . . . or both.

[N8C8 56]

"Reason enough for me to rely on the tools I trust." Steel said as he drew his weapons. "Not sure how useful these will be against a giant boulder, but if the scientist says something is up. I'm not taking any chances!" Steel declared. He knew his stories, this was the part where either the entrance sealed behind them, they were brought closer to their goal but in a dangerous fashion, . . . or both.

 

Swish too took out his sword along with his shield.

"It's not like we'll run into any poison spitting kittens in there, but might as well be prepared." Swish looked to Steel, then to the rest of the ponies. "We could probably handle things that want us dead, but don't let your guard down."

[Steel Accord 6,660]

into any poison spitting kittens in there, but might as well be prepared.

 

Steel raised an eyebrow at the young colt. "You'll have to tell me of your adventures sometime, brave Swish. Perhaps a bard such as myself will be able to do your heroics justice. All of Equestria would hail you as a great hero!" Steel waved a hoof as he described. "I can see it now. Swish, his shield guards nopony but himself! The colt who stood against the world!" 

[Faceless 101]

"I've visited this place before with a good friend." He tapped a hoof on the stone pillar which showed the number 23. "That means entry 23 in my journal. We never ventured into the ruins but we knew we were safe from here... Who wants to go exploring?" grinned Faceless, excited to delve into the unknown.

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

He shook his head. One of the first things that one needed to do was look up. And yet... yet he was unnoticed.

 

So let's punish them for their unperceptiveness.

 

He pulled a lever. That alone was nothing special, but what it did was remarkable. First off, it did two things. One, it reset the traps. Two... It activated the trap that was triggered to the pressure plates underneath Steel's hooves. A boulder slammed down in front of the entrance, blocking the way out- and, in Lapis' case, in.

 

Then he ran across the top quietly. Time to go to position 2.

[Addem Up 246]

Addem trotted forwards, his eyes scanning the darkness of the ruins. He adjusts his glasses, searching for residual energy trails, then nods. "There's no unicorns in here, at least not in this room." As he speaks, he hears a faint click from behind.

 

 

 A boulder slammed down in front of the entrance, blocking the way out- and, in Lapis' case, in.

 

Addem yelps, skittering away from the boulder and tripping over his own hooves. He lands on the floor with a crash, scattering supplies and tools across the room.

[Faceless 101]

Faceless was more surprised than shocked. He knocked on the boulder loudly to get Lapis' attention, yet there was only silence.

 

"This is weird. This wasn't here before!" Flyer took out a match and struck it. With this, he put it next to a mounted torch on the wall, lighting up the room.

 

"Hmm... for this to happen now means two things. One, that somepony put this trap in after my visit, which seems a bit silly. And two's that somepony knew we were going to be here..."