"I'm all right with a little side-job. I can't imagine it being to hard. As long as we don't mean any more blobs." Arc said, looking over the gems. "Maybe he just wants a little present?"
Group One Pickpear hung her head as she watched Emerald. "Uhm... maybe it's my fault for... not warning you about the loud bang? Uhm... yes, that might be it. You should sit and rest a bit... and uhm... Zephyr, just let me know when you're ready and I'll open it." Group Two The merchant chuckled deeply, and ever-so-handsomely. Good thing the mare was left at the inn. "How very thoughtful of you! Well, there is something I want. I used to travel to the top of Andalusian Spire to gather some Winterblooms, and right now they're in full swing! However, the mountain path has become very dangerous lately. Since you look like capable people, perhaps you wouldn't mind heading up there and gathering some for me? I'll pay out fifty bits per bloom, which is very generous. If you get enough, then your sapphire is free! How does that sound?" The mare, his customer, giggles lightly. "Andalusian Winterblooms! Such lovely things, but do not survive well in warmer weather." The merchant smirks. "I'm sure this... Eight Star you speak of would approve."
Zephyr stared at his destination for a moment and scratched the back of his head. He stood in his designated spot and got into a more stable stance, his legs were further spread apart with his right foreleg in front of all the others, and his wings were stretched up to their zenith for a quick ascension. "I've done harder things than this, after all, how hard could it be?" He lowered his head and prepared to take off. "I'm ready."
Silver raised an eyebrow. He was still quite suspicious of this merchant; he didn't seem trustworthy at all to him. But he would do what he needed to to get the gem. "Is there anything I should know about how to take care of these flowers? We wouldn't want them getting damaged before we can bring them to you, after all."
Group One Pickpear nods, and turns back to the lock. Her horn glows a gentle white for a few seconds before the soft click is heard, and quickly over-shadowed by the thundrous booming of the walls moving out of position. Spoiler: Zephyr Dash! Roll 92 + Speed 10 = Total 102 Zephyr launches like a bolt of lightning and speeds down the hallway. He hears the thumping sounds in the walls as the time almost ends. Just as he reaches the end of the hallway, he hears the last thump. ZIP! He twists and scrunches, pulling his wings back as the last wall closes right behind him! He made it to the end of the hallway! (+15 XP) In the small room he finds himself is not much. A few old symbols, predictably old language, and a pedastal that has a turning mechanism. Some arrows are carved around the device, signaling which way to turn it. Hanging from the ceiling of this small room is another glowing crystal at the end of an old chain. This one seems to be for little more than illumination, which it provides enough of. Group Two The merchant grins at Silver and blinks slowly. "Why, just cradle them like a baby. Don't crush them, but holding them as a bouquet is fine. If you're concerned, then take a vase with you."
Silver nods. "All right. That's twenty-four flowers." He turned to his groupmates and smiled. "You think you can handle that?"
Throw snorted. "Do I look like a botanist to you?" He asked. "Even if I can identify these flowers, I'm more likely to smash them than pick them. I hope you know what you're doing."
Arc scoffs. "We're talkin' about flowers. Not sharks or lions or anything like that, flowers. We can handle it."
Zephyr suddenly came to a halt at the end of the hallway. Look back behind him he observes the door that had just recently slammed shut and a thought immediately crossed his mind. Wouldn't it be so badass if he slid under the door at the last second, but had to reach under immediately to retrieve his lost hat? Yes, of course it would. Heck, he may even gain some well deserved renown over the act. He'd obtain all of the titles of a cunning individual such as him self. Pirate- no, Tomb raider- no, Adventurer- nah. Wait, you got it! Treasure Hunter. It's exactly what he is after all; a seasoned treasure hunter. Where people got off calling him a 'thief' only made his blood boil. Walking over to the large door, he examined it for a moment. Perhaps he could recreate the scene and gain the fame he desired so badly? He placed a cobalt hoof at the base of it and attempted to swing it wide open, yet this only proved completely futile as there was nothing he could adequately get a grip on, assuming he had the strength to do so anyway. He let out a heavy sigh, opening this door with brute force wasn't going to work, there had to be a way to open it through some sort of mechanism. His treasure hunter's instinct was telling him so. Looking towards the center of the room, he spied a pedestal standing ominously in the center of the room with arrows carved into the side. The arrows all pointed in the same direction, implying that it obviously had to be spun, only an idiot wouldn't have been able to deduce this from a single glance. Again, treasure hunter instinct. Giddy with anticipation and an eager smile, he flew over quickly and began spinning the device frantically.
Group One After Zephyr spun the device, the gem above turned to a blue color, and the walls swiftly receeded back into the wall. This time, no thumping occurred in a count-down fashion. Pickpear looked startled, but smiled. Along the other wall, a groove lit up with the blue light, which lead back towards the intersection. "Yay~ you did it!" Group Two "Excellent," the merchant said as he tugs on his hood a little and shivered, "I look forward to your return. For now, I think I'll be packing up and getting back into the varda. Terribly sorry ladies!" He said amidst the sounds of disappointments from the older mares.
Zephyr flew over to the door and prepared himself for outrageous amounts of glory. He got into position, was about to make a running start, but a thought crossed his mind. He doesn't even have a hat. Dammit, there goes a chance for fame. He strolls into the room once more with a look of disappointment when his ears perk up. Maybe he could still salvage this disappointment with a little bit of... treasure. He looked up at the glowing blue crystal with a look of anticipation in his eyes as he began running across the room. With a strong leap, he flew up and grabbed the crystal out of the air and dangled along with it as they both swung to and fro from the old chain.
"Well, that concludes that," said Silver. "But we still need some equipment. Where do you guys think we should go?" He looked around at the surrounding stores for anything that looked like they should go there.
Group One Pickpear wandered over and looked up at Zephyr in curiosity. "Uhm... we go back the way we came now. The path to the third room is open. Good work!" She looked around timidly after speaking, and turned around to head back. Suddenly she stopped as both ponies heard a sudden *SNAP* from above Zephyr. Spoiler: Rolls Luck = 37, Reaction Speed = 15 Out of 100 and 108 each. Yeesh. Impact Damage = 1 Out of 12, so that's not too bad. Zephyr gets caught off guard and ends up on the floor, hitting with a loud thud. The good news was that he now had a 4 inch glowing crystal on the end of a 2 foot chain.
Zephyr hits the ground hard and coughs for a moment as the wind is knocked out of his lungs. His eyes were squeezed shut for a moment as collected his bearings, and it took him a bit before they finally opened to which he spied a glowing blue light right next to him. His curiosity had been fulfilled and the treasure was now his! Getting it up off the ground, he picked it up in one of his hooves and examined it carefully. What could this thing be worth? He knocked on the crystal with his hoof. Could it be used a weapon? Pfffft, who cares if it can be used as a weapon, he had treasure. He reaches over and places it inside of his bag gingerly with a beaming smile on his face.
Perfect Melody facehoofed. "Come on. We have a mission to finish, and I'd like to find the time after to get an instrument or something of the such." She began walking out of the room.
"All right." Arc says, looking around. "We got armour and we got our deadly flower picking. Now, how about we find ourselves something to fight with. Something that either shoots straight or is nice and sharp, I think."
Silver had been hoping to find some kind of spellbook, but he supposed that the others needed their own weapons. After all, he wouldn't like to fight with bare hooves... "All righty, so where should we go?" he asked. It wasn't like he knew his way around or anything...but wait. Neither did Arc... Hmh.
"Look for a big sign that says 'Swords'. Try looking around." He said, trotting forwards down the street, keeping a good eye on the passing signs.
