Canterlot, the City of the Princesses. It's been a while since you've last been here.
It is here tonight that Soil and Iris have agreed to meet with Amber and Silver and Pico to travel to Neverspring, the northernmost town of Hyperborea on the Icy Shores. But more meetings will happen tonight…
The Prancing Horse is an old inn. The wooden furniture shows history in the cracks and carvings made by customers throughout the years. Some older ponies smoking pipes are playing cards in the corner. The innkeeper with a bushy moustache is cleaning the counter.
Soil is in the drinking hall, Iris is upstairs getting ready in their room. Indy is outside in the animal stable, eating gems.
Amber and Silver haven't arrived yet. Soothing is coincidentally in a room in the inn as well, contemplating what to do next. Pico hasn't arrived yet. Mabel isn't there yet, but a curious pony might notice a phoenix by the window.
>>619026 As you make your way into Canterlot, you follow Inferni who's flying above. Unfortunately when he crossed a roof you lost track of him.
You're quite sure the inn can't be too far anymore. You know it was close to the royal district.
>>619028 You make a slight miscalculation in your landing and land in the animal stable instead….on top of a huge orange dragon. He looks up from his gems towards you with a certain curiosity in his eyes.
>>619029 And it shows! Only once you and Silver get off the train in Canterlot do you realize you don't have a map and no idea where the meeting place is!
>>619027 Any minute now! The waitress comes by for the fifth time if you want a drink…
>>619033 Silver gets the letter you both got from Soil out of his saddlebag. "Hmmmm, it says here we have to go to….the Francing Hoers Inn? Did I read that correctly? This hoofwriting is hard to read…"
>>619032 You walk into an alleyway and see a cloacked griffon waving to you.
>>619030 And for the sixth time, tell her I will take another dark ale. But as soon as Soothing sees me, I will stop her. Better make that two. >>619031 "You are the freaky mage!" Stand up and trot over, slapping you in the back in a friendly pat. "Whatcha doin in Canterlot?"
>>619037 He grabs you and pulls you off his scales. "Yes…who are you? You look like Pico, but smaller…"
>>619036 "Hey, girl." HE OPENS HIS CLOAK. There are all different gems statuettes hanging inside. "Wanna buy a souvenir?"
>>619038 You get the letter from his hands Yes, it's an Investigate. The handwriting is hard but you make out that it's the Prancing Horse Inn, near the Royal District. You can see the Palace from here, so it would be good to go that direction.
>>619035 "Resting between travels. I lived in Canterlot for a short while years ago so I figured I ought to come back here to plan my next move. The dragons were fun to be around, but dodging firebreaths and tailslaps became a little too much for me."
>>619042 You do a gallop to the inn and make it there, right when some griffon crashes into the stables… That was quite a run, a nice drink will do you good inside the inn. Go into the inn?
>>619041 The crystal is nothing more than colored glass.
>>619043 He takes another bite. "Yes….why couldn't Queren come?"
>>619047 "Got a hang of himself, that kid. Got to parade around as a hero, too, so that helps. Still bothered by that whole too-large-for-ceilings thing. I could understand too-large-for-doors, heck, pa' knows if I broke a few down myself, but that dragon? He barely fits in a barn now!"
>>619046 "Hmmmph!" you might wanna start asking around for directions?
>>619048 You don't stop your gallop but storm right into the house, roll a reflex save to manage to perfectly run right up to Soils table, if you fail you'll run right into somepony.
>>619050 The door slams open and you see a yellow crystal pony galloping in at full speed…
>>619049 He looks it over. "Pleasure to meet you, but Pa is inside, you know for safety!" He picks you up and puts you near the window. You see a yellow shiny pony running inside the inn and another silvery pony running a bit slower going after her.
>>619050 "Kind of to be expected for a dragon, no? If their greed doesn't make them grow, their innate magic will. Can't change much about that unless you want to stunt his growth somehow."
>>619063 Time to let go and pick us both from the floor. "I mean you are almost as tall as your hammer now!" >>619065 "Hey champ!" Roll over and smash shoulders with him. >>619064 And then finally turn to the newcomer. "Wait, why isn't Pico here?!"
>>619066 >>619067 "Oh, you didn't know? His time here really pushed him up in Picostead. He's dealing with a lot of things going on up there. But he's training me, so that's why he sent me to guide you there. Oh, and I can't forget to apologize on his behalf for not being here."
>>619069 Put a hoof on his shoulder and get all fatherly. "It's okay son, I'm just gonna have to give him a bloody beak once we get to him!" Grin. "When we leaving?" >>619070 "Just remember to drink your ovaltine."
>>619074 >>619072 "Okay! That's great! I'm sure you'll love it. But let's have a seat first and you can fill me in on why you're all headed there. Queren only told me to bring you into Hyperborea, but kept mum on some of the details, just in case. If you can fill me in, I can get some good routes for you."
>>619077 >>619076 Wave them over to the table me and Mist were sharing. "Guys, this here is Soothing Mist. Freakiest mage I met yet. Helped me a bunch in dragon country."
>>619091 "Yeah, if you see on the map, most of the area is uninhabited for that reason. Even with all of us Gryphons, there'd be too many to deal with. And look, it's mostly snowy and cold. Whatever we don't lose to the monsters, the weather would take. I've heard some are valuable, but it's a big risk…"
>>619094 "Wait, what? That's all you have? Well, um, as long as you didn't see yourself bringing back a house or something, I might be able to squeeze us in on one of those."
>>619089 >>619090 >>619091 >>619094 Sneak up to the table and sit down at one of the chairs silently, doing nothing but smile with droopy ears. Wonder how long it'll take them to jump at me with their hugs.
>>619104 >>619103 >>619105 "It wouldn't have been an option if you weren't going so far north, but we can take a boat. None of you get seasick, do you?"
>>619113 Bump it back! I bet Silver is all blushy about this! "Of course I did! I missed you all!"
>>619114 "I spent some time with Lord Pyrrus before a friendly zebra dug me out of some ashes, then had a bit of an adventure." Snicker. "I can totally do this now." Take a step back since Soil can be dull, and show him how to Flare with the hoof. Let there be light! Take10
>>619123 "You look like one of those teenage mares who go around the woods trying to talk to wolves and end up getting lost… I've had to save like a dozen of those just this month!"
>>619126 "I'll be honest, I only grew up with our families military stories. Rarely any stories like that."
>>619127 "Incredible. And as a Smith, I hope you don't mind me being selfish and ask how that happened? I'd like not to worry about getting burned when working."
"OH, where are my manners? I know who you are from Queren, but I haven't introduced myself. I'm Ferriro Carmesi Pico, I'm being trained by Queren himself and he asked me to help you all in your journey."
>>619130 "I'm afraid you'll have to gain some favors with the Fire Lords before you can do that. Even I'm not immune to all fire and heat yet." Smile. "It's nice to meet you! I'm glad we'll have someone from Hyperborea to guide us."
>>619129 "All magic, I'm not a priestess at all. Natural, arcane, elemental, divine, dark, it doesn't matter. If it's magical, I try and study it. It's a pretty exciting field of study as you can imagine."
>>619138 "It'll be easier to bring up what he doesn't tell us. He's been busy ever since he came back, I'm sure he misses not being here with you. He always looks livelier when he talks about his friends."
>>619144 Finally Iris, in a pretty new dress, strolls down the stairs. "Soil, are they al-" she stops when she sees all of you and runs to Mabel. "Mabel you're back!"
>>619142 "As you can probably guess, I'm a mage. I wasn't really planning on going anywhere an hour ago, but it seems like I'll be joining you up north. For a while at least."
>>619150 "Amber!" She gives you a big hug. "Let me take a look at you." She grabs your cheeks and inspects your face. "Wow, you've grown, and you're twice as pretty as I remember!"
"Okay, judging from what you told me, we can depart though several routes thus:"
"A. Straight run through Wild lands. Some of the merchants have talked about numerous friends of there on that route, but you can see that outside of Valdar's Crossing here, it's going to be cold and lonesome and dangerous with no ammenities. And since you can't all fly, the mountains will be a time waster. But if I recall, Mt. Grifjel was still safe enough to approach. If you want a volcano, that's it there."
"B. We can detour through Picostead, and we can meet Queren there. The Midgard Forest lies right in the middle of that route, though. And there's been some issues nearby that you might want to steer clear of, too. We'll pass the Howling Mountains and still have to stop over in the Wild Lands."
"C. We take a boat. There's a few docks nearby to get a boat, and lots of little places we can stop off before we even worry about making it to King's Reach. Only problem is, and not to be mean or anything, but the Ponies around the area there are always a hassle."
>>619160 "The ship might be safer. Much harder to attacked while you're on a ship. The river we'll have to use also stops pretty close to the volcano. It wouldn't be too much of a trip to trek to the volcano."
>>619161 "Don't worry. There are plenty of safe paths to and around it. It's a sacred place, we've taken care of it."
>>619162 "Kingsreach is under Griffon control. It's where the King lives. But from the news I've heard, there are ponies around causing trouble, some old tribes or something."
>>619164 "It's mostly a matter of time. On a boat, we won't have to worry to much about getting tired. Of course, I'm not going to mention any danger. I'd feel like I'd be a hindrance based on how Queren described your battles."
>>619165 "Sorry, I haven't been around too many ponies growing up, so it's hard to read you all."
"I'll see where the closest docks are, we can head out during the day. Nothing but smugglers at this hour. Though now I'm worried about getting your dragon on the boat."
>>619167 "I don't really have the resources to get one right now. I mean I could doublecheck my bags, but I don't think I have a balloon hidden in there."
>>619173 "I wouldn't describe them as Crystal-ly though. Something like that would have clicked with me. All I know is they'be been causing us trouble for the longest time. Like, generations of trouble, I'm sure. But if you want to meet them, going by boat is our best option."
>>619189 "Whenever you doubt their strenght, just remind yourself that I was in the middle of a volcano flooded with lava when it collapsed a few months back." Smirk.
>>619190 "I'm sure you have some fancy spell that can defeat the wind and air."
>>619191 >>619193 "Queren told me the stories, but it's still hard to accept."
>>619192 >>619195 "It'll be less hoof travel that way, and it's the best option for Amber to meet the ponies there. Plus, if we sign up as passengers, we won't have to worry about bringing to many of our own supplies. If we have to commission one, we can bring more than we need."
>>619199 "Oh, really?" Keep looking at you, but move a hoof over a lit candle, letting the fire lick at my hoof without flinching or anything. "That sounds very interesting."
>>619201 "Let's not start a near-civil war this time, okay?"
>>619204 "If everything goes well, that might be on our route. It's the northernmost areas, but we should be able to make it if we follow the route."
>>619206 "I'm honestly humbled to be around such a strong mage. I just started learning how to read magic inscriptions, but being able to use magic like you describe seems lifetimes away."
>>619211 "To be fair… I was told nothing. An hour ago I had no plans whatsoever. I only knew Soil and Iris after traveling with them for a short while."
>>619212 "That's great to hear. I've never dabbled in scroll casting but it's a very useful skill to have."
Some things that need to be found out: >What kind of boat do you want?
1. Do you want to book passage on a boat to Windgate? (costs 20 bits each) 2. Do you want to commission a boat for a time? (costs 5 reputation for you each) 3. Do you want to steal a boat? (will need to be done on-screen) 4. Something else?
>>619241 He's in the stables outside. When you get in, you see the large dragon rolled up on a neat bed of straw, with a large bowl of gems. There's a phoenix sitting on a plank above him.
>>619243 Of course, you're in Canterlot where there's a Wells Filly Bank. You don't need to do that on-screen, unless you really want to see the bank, just tell me how much you're withdrawing/depositing from your stash.
>>619246 Noted. Keep in mind you'll only be able to take out money from your stash if you're in a city or town during downtime, or wherever you are if it's a very long downtime.
>>619245 He lifts his head and sniffs. "You're Soothing, right?"
"Coincidence, really. I only just got back to Canterlot and already I'm planning to join you all on a trip to an entirely different country. What could possibly go wrong, right?"
>>619267 "That's the problem, you can't really. You need to counteract his own divine powers he got from Discord! No matter how hard you slam him, he'll just use some freaky chaos spell to bend his way around it!"
>>619285 "It's not close-by. And we're a little… xenophobic. I haven't been there in some time though, so maybe things changed. I've lived longer in Equestria than Neighpon by now."