Zephyr chuckled quietly. "Maybe later you can offer me the pleasure of one of those cupcakes instead, Marsh, but for now it looks like we've gotta get goin'." he said with a confident smile before turning to the rest of the group. He opened his mouth to speak, yet no words came out, instead a look of confusion draped over his face. He looked over at Marshmallow once more. "Wait a second, where'll we even find the crypt anyway? The note didn't say anything about it."
Marshmallow Cream shrugged lightly and rolled her eyes again. "I think it's somewhere in town here. Sometimes Eight Star forgets little details like that, but if he doesn't mention something, it's probably really easy to guess." She sighs gently. "Heck, took a bit for him to get my name right."
"I'm sure we'll be able to finish this task as simply as chucking rocks down a mountainside." Throw said. He threw a bit of a nasty look at Silver and said "I don't see why we need magic for a job like this though, it's just stepping on bugs yes?" He turned and got a good view of the group for the first time. "Actually, never mind, with this group I suppose having a unicorn would work. So is the tavern dangerous at all?" He continued. "I've been in some rough places in my life." He lifted his right foreleg and turned it to expose a scar that was around 5 inches long. "Some ponies just don't give up..." he sighed. "Thank you for the information." Turning towards the nearest pegasus, he asked "So, what are you gonna spend your bits on?"
"Hmmm...." Perfect Melody tapped her chin. "The FULL note which Zephyr read out... How have you met me before?" She began to get frustrated.
Eleven stared on, absorbing the drama with a feigned interest. 'We should really get going' He tried to project, throwing images left right and centre in half-hope somepony would get the message. Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2
Perfect Melody took a deep breath. It did'nt matter. Perhaps they met me at a performance... "Never mind. Shall we get going?"
Silver, taking the comment as an almost personal affront, nevertheless restrained himself; though, he did glare at Throw for a bit. He knew that first of all, it was important to start off on the right foot with the other agents, who didn't always treat him as well as Eight Star did. Otherwise, you would have big problems later in the mission. Second of all, he appreciated the concept of a balanced combat force, as he had great interest in battle tactics, though he had no legitimate experience in that area. He knew that, in theory at least, a balanced force could use all of its strengths to its advantage, while at the same time protecting its weaknesses. Even when it seemed like only earth ponies, for example, were needed, you should always balance your party in case something unexpected came up. In short, it gave the group flexibility, which was one of the best things you can have in mid-battle. As such, as much as he wanted to make a cutting, sarcastic, degrading comment in retaliation, he did not. Instead, he tried to forget about it and move on. "So, does anypony else know anything about these "creatures" we are supposed to be exterminating? Or will we be setting off now? We should be going soon, if we are to be acceptably punctual."
The yellow pony behind them trots around the group and stops next to Silver Shield. His mane was slicked back, black and cut short with a white streak running down the centre. He had a strong, tall pose and looked over the other three with a slight scowl. He looks over to Eight Star as he speaks. "I agree with the boy-scout. We should get something a little more than 'pest-control' to go on when we're meant to be wrecking their little home." He had a compact and flat watch around his fore-leg, that seemed quite tough and rugged. The glass on the top seemed a little scratched but the black strap looked new. You could see the three swirled lines on his flank and his long tail had bands bunching it together in three places. "You got that information in a form we can read while we head to these Heights?" He added.
Eight Star twitched. Whether it was because of the question or not was left to be decided. "You have the information and my confidence in your abilities. You see? There are four of you. Why don't you just take it slow at first? Now go, get on the road." He waves a hoof dismissively. "I have other things that I need to take care of which could, in fact, result in the dismantling of Equestria if I don't get to them soon." With that, an orange burst of energy occurred, erupting from his horn and encircling the group. Next thing they knew, they were standing at the Western edge of the Ever-Free Forest.
Throw leaned over. He felt like he was going to throw up as they arrived at their new location. "Is THAT what teleporting feels like!?" he said as he got his wits back. "Why would anypony want to do that? Ugh." He did a 360 and saw that they were by the Everfree forest. "Right, I don't have a map, so I'll just be following all of you then." he said. "Shall we get this over with?"
Silver watched Throw in amusement. He found it ironic that the draft pony's first name correlated directly with what he seemed likely to do at the moment, but decided that mentioning it would not be helpful. "Firebolt, you were scouting for Eight Star in that general area, right? You can guide us there." He paused, then started into the forest, in the general direction of Andalusian Heights. "So, we should probably get to know each other as soon as possible. We may run into trouble before we even reach our destination, and knowing your teammates is almost as important as knowing your enemy." He fell silent for a few moments, then began commenced speech once more. "My name is Silver Shield. I am, as you can see, a Unicorn. Officially, I specialize in magical shielding, but I dabble in other areas such as machinery as well, sometimes as a hobby and sometimes as a job. "I have lived well, admittedly, as I was born in Canterlot, but I make an effort to repress any snobbery that I may have picked up there. I have also had a wonderful education, but if I start to sound like a Canterlot know-it-all, please; put me in my place." He looked back at the rest of his party, but continued walking. "And you?"
Throw impatiently looked towards the unicorn. "I'm Throw Down, and I specialize in beating stuff. Now can we go now, or do you want a demonstration?"
Making a herculean effort to restrain his tongue -- this pony was really getting on his nerves -- Silver said, "Well, I don't see why we can't get to know each other on the way there. Is everypony else ready to go?"
Great! A simple 'I haven't any idea but would you mind bring back some information on what you fought would be really great' would have sufficed. No need to blow us off like that. Arc pulls himself to his hooves while managing to hold onto his last meal with relatively better success than his new companions. He'd gotten over the spinning and wooziness after a week of trying to do a flip off an old cart. Even still, he had to fight hard not to dash straight for the bushes. He stretches out his back legs and twists his neck left then right. He looks over to Throw grumbling to no-one in particular. "Is THAT what teleporting feels like!? Why would anypony want to do that? Ugh." Arc smirks and replies: "Suck it up. It's not that bad. I've seen fillies do that." Although, he did keep his mouth closed tightly for a minute after that. He looks around the dark, hanging trees. The leaves didn't so much seem to fall here but splat on the sodden ground. The ferns and the bushes went far under the dark blanket canopy. You might hear the occasional creak from a crooked branch or a rustle from in between the leaves and have to wonder whether that was the wind or not. As he followed on behind Shield and Firebolt, Arc wonders if he saw something claw shaped glinting at him. He turns away and catches Shield and Throw's introductions. "All right...I'm Arc Gust. Yeah, I know; the things parents saddle their foals with sometimes. I used to be a Currier before I got kicked off and wound up with you three. Eight Star seemed like a decent way to pay bills. Good thing we get bits up front." He wasn't sure how naive Shield could get. In his experience, no-one ever manges to put a hat on snobbery and keep it under-wraps forever. Especially Canterlot ponies, much less declare their free of it. But he seemed friendly enough. Throw seemed like enough of a blockhead to have a battle of wits with a stuffed parrot and he does not like boy-scout Shield, at all! "So, I'm the run-an'-jump guy. Maybe I could give Throw here a few rounds to work out his aggression when we get out of these woods."
Assuming Automatic Control of Firebolt For Now The orange pegasus holds her stomach for a moment. Teleportation wasn't anything like flying; being pulled from one location to another left your stomach to catch up, and Eight Star wasn't exactly using short range spells. She got over it quickly, being a pegasus prepares you for gut-wrenching things like this. She stretched out her wings and just said; "The name is Firebolt, and I've been to the mountains before, so try to keep up." She took to the air, but only went up about 20' before flying slowly away from the forest, going in the direction of the Andalusian Spire, making sure to keep a pace that the other ponies could keep up with for traveling. Resuming GM Control for Group 2 Spoiler: Travel Luck Roll: 61, Average Result, No Encounter The trip seems a lot longer than Firebolt remembers, as she'd claim at a few points during the trip. The mountain can be seen in the distance, sure, but the ground-work to get there was long and ardorous; through over-growth and rough rocky terrain. The night falls before the group gets there, and without much light to go on, and the group getting tired, they find themselves at a bit of an impass, and a point to make a decision... Keep going and (hopefully) get there tired and sore early in the morning, or rest for now, and head out at sunrise? ------ Meanwhile - Group 1 Marshmallow Cream shrugs gently, then checks her saddlebags and breast-pouch. After nodding she looked to the other four. "Well, I have a delivery to make and some Bits to earn. Good luck, and see ya back at the sanctum!" With that, her wings spread and she bolted out the door, taking off into the air.
Silver Shield, who was not anywhere near peak physical condition, came to a halt, legs wobbling a bit. "Could we...stop now...please?" he gasped, knowing full well what would be coming from Throw Down as soon as he said it.
"I suppose thats our cue to begin the search for this... Crypt. Should be fun. I have'nt had a challenge in a while!" She chuckled. "Whenever your ready!"
Emerald watched the entire scene unfold in front of her while not saying a word. Confrontation was not something she liked engaging in and she mentally thanked Eight Star that she didn't have to spend too much time in the Sanctum. She then nodded when Perfect Melody suggested leaving and finding the crypt. Being inside was making her feel slightly claustophobic. "Yes, let's go please." Sometimes you can find some neat-o moss and lichens in crypts if the air is damp enough. She smiled at the thought of discovering a new possible ingredient.
Perfect Melody nodded. "Ok. Come on. Lets not keep Eight star waiting." She left the building. "Where should we look first?" She giggled.
Zephyr scratched the back of his head and peered over at the door that had just slammed shut. He looked back over at the group. "Well, Marsh said that it should be in plain site or something, so let's just get going and see what catches our eye."
