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Post by treasuremare on May 19, 2011 4:20:36 GMT -5
Along the border of the Everfree Forest, a small camp was set up just beyond the treeline. It consisted of a single tent, just large enough for a lone pony, a small fire and a little table, and a cart full of bags, some of which were full while others lay flat and empty.
Sitting at the table, with a rough map of the area, was a caramel-coloured earth pony. The mare placed a front hoof on either side of the paper to hold it open as she studied the inky picture, her short silver tail flicking every so often. After a few moments she nodded and rolled the map up.
"Well," she said aloud to the empty camp, "Ah'm in the right place." she smiled and looked towards the towering forest that laid out before her. "This ought to be fun." she chuckled lightly. She trotted over to the cart and stood up on her hind legs, her top half disappearing into the mess of bags. After a moment or two of digging, she withdrew with one of the bags. Dropping it on the ground, she set to work checking through its contents.
Trace Silver stood ready. She geared up. A pack of supplies on her back, consisting of a rope, a towel, medical supplies, food, a water canteen, a map, and a few other random things, just in case. Now she stood between her camp and the treeline of the looming forest. She gave her mane a shake and took a breath to finish her preparations, and took her first step towards this new adventure.
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Ranger
Acolyte Pony
I'm a wood-pony and I'm okay...
Posts: 136
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Post by Ranger on May 19, 2011 4:30:01 GMT -5
It was oddly enough that just then the masked figure of a pony popped up out of a nearby bush. Popped up is the most accurate word to describe his appearance, for he just, for lack of better term 'popped' into existance out of that bush.
In the flickering light of the campfire she could see a green cloaked covered the pony, and the mask he was wearing was made of wood.
"Hey," He said, "You're not going to leave that fire lit, are you?" He asked, pointing a hoof at the campfire. "That can spread, you'd burn down the wood." Though he offered no explanation to who he was, it was obvious by body language that he wasn't at all aggressive, only concerned. And though his sudden appearance was rather alarming, he didn't seem dangerous.
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Post by treasuremare on May 19, 2011 4:47:20 GMT -5
Trace hopped back as a creature suddenly apeared and spoke to her. She raised a hoof to her chest in surprise, "Ah, ya' startled me, Hon." She gave a light chuckle. Beyond that, she didn't seem too freaked out about the strange pony's sudden appearance.
She glanced back at the fire she had left in her camp as the masked pony pointed at it. "Yeah." she said, looking back to him. She guessed it was a him by the voice. "Ah won't be gone long, Suga', and it's low enough so ah don't have to worry about it spreadin'." She sat back on the grass and looked the mysterious pony over, "Besides, if the fire spreads, my stuff would go up too, now wouldn't it." She smiled at him and tilted her head slightly, "Anythin' else?"
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Ranger
Acolyte Pony
I'm a wood-pony and I'm okay...
Posts: 136
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Post by Ranger on May 19, 2011 4:55:13 GMT -5
"You shouldn't go into Everfree at night." He warned, "Place was already crawling with unpleasant creatures, but as of late it's been ten times worse." He looked back towards the forest, before turning back to the mare. "Even I don't like going in there by myself anymore, and I used to go in there every day."
"I'm Ranger by the way, local woodland guardian," He presented his hoof for a shake, "I patrol the woods and forests around here and make sure no pony gets lost in any of them. Strictly voluntary."
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Post by treasuremare on May 19, 2011 5:07:19 GMT -5
She chuckled lightly as she stood up and moved closer to the Woodspony, shaking his hoof once she was close enough, "It's a pleasure to meet ya', Ranger. I'm Trace Silver. An... adventure of sorts." she smiled, lowing her hoof back to the ground.
"And thank ya' for the warnin'. Ah'm not from around these parts, so ah've only had rumors to go off of, but ah'm not about to back down just because some critters are a tad worked up." she continued to smile confidently at Ranger, crossing her front leg over the other. "And ah'm not plannin' on goin' too deep just yet. Just lookin' to do some scountin'. Ah can take care of myself."
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Ranger
Acolyte Pony
I'm a wood-pony and I'm okay...
Posts: 136
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Post by Ranger on May 19, 2011 7:57:09 GMT -5
"That doesn't change anything, you're not going in there by yourself." Ranger stated simply, "Besides Cockatrices, Dragons and who knows what else, there's also rumors of a cult going around all over the place." The masked pony, noting that she'd probably be hard to convince to just turn back, sighed in resignation.
He looked back into Everfree, and hoped he won't regret the next thing he said, "Alright, you can go in, I'm not really one to stop you anyway. But I'm coming with you, like it or not. I've got some traps set up along the border here so nothing will creep out, I don't want you falling into one." He said, it was true, he had been setting up traps before he noticed her, but he also didn't want a pony to be caught by one of the monsters living in the forest, especially considering how restless they were as of late.
"What are you looking for in there anyway?"
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Post by treasuremare on May 19, 2011 13:33:09 GMT -5
Trace sighed, it didn't seem like this Ranger was going to leave her alone. She raised an eyebrow and looked the masked pony over again at the mention of cultists. She gave her head a shake as she smirked, "Alright then, Suga'. If ya' insist." she gestured for him to lead, "Ya' can protect me from dragons and cults." she chuckled. "But ah'll be keepin' my eye on you." Her mood suddenly switched to that of a serious nature, her smirk fading away. He seemed nice enough, sure, but he made her uneasy. The mask and robe, talk of cults and traps. Not to mention that she just plain did not like taking on partners, it rarely ended well.
Her smile quickly returned, however, with Ranger's last question. What was she looking for? Trace smirked at him, "Forgotten treasure, Sug'. Forgotten treasure."
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Ranger
Acolyte Pony
I'm a wood-pony and I'm okay...
Posts: 136
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Post by Ranger on May 20, 2011 3:42:18 GMT -5
"Forgotten treasure?" Ranger smiled behind his mask, "There's plenty of treasure in Everfree, but sadly it's neither forgotten, nor is it unguarded. I've heard of vast hoards of gems guarded by a dragon in this wood. A huge cave with supposedly ancient artifacts that happens to be the resting place of an Ursa Minor." He shook his hooves as he spoke, stretching out his limbs and revitalizing them in preparation.
"If you think you're up for it, I can show you where they are." He promised, an adventurous spark in his eyes. "They don't call me Ranger for nothing, after all."
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Post by treasuremare on May 20, 2011 19:48:45 GMT -5
The silver haired mare couldn't help but laugh at Ranger. Here he had gone from trying to stop her from entering the forest right to offering to lead her into a dragon's den. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the giggles.
"You're alright, Suga'." Trace said with a sigh, getting control of her breathing again. "But if ya' don't mind my asking, why do you seem so excited about marching into an Ursa's home in the middle of the night?" she tilted her head at the odd forest pony, trying to get something out of the mask he wore, "Ah got my reasons, but what about you?"
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Ranger
Acolyte Pony
I'm a wood-pony and I'm okay...
Posts: 136
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Post by Ranger on May 21, 2011 1:19:31 GMT -5
"Oh, well, if we're already going to get eaten, I'd rather that they tell tales about my epic battle with a dragon or ursa, rather than how I was turned into a statue by a cockatrice." Ranger reasoned.
Turning towards the forest, he surveyed the trees, counting them from left to right. "Right," He said, turning back, then looking at her, he sighed, "Look, if you're gonna go in there, I might as well take you where you want instead of letting you wander there by yourself." He explained at last.
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Post by treasuremare on May 21, 2011 1:40:28 GMT -5
Trace chuckled again, This Ranger fellow really is an odd one she thought to herself. "One of us is gonna to need to live for there to be an epic story." she pointed out as he counted the trees.
"Well, ya' seem set on goin' with me. Ah ain't gonna try to talk you out of it, so lead the way, Stranger." she gave a low sweep with her hoof, gesturing for him to lead, "We don't want to keep the critters waitin'." she smirked.
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Ranger
Acolyte Pony
I'm a wood-pony and I'm okay...
Posts: 136
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Post by Ranger on May 21, 2011 1:52:45 GMT -5
"Right, oh, and just so we're clear about this. If for some reason I start running and screaming like a little filly, you should probably join me." The masked pony advised, "It's unlikely that it will happen... but you know if there's something that bad in there..."
Leading her into the forest, the woodland cloaked pony seemed to know his way around pretty much without looking, at some point he pushed one of her hooves away before she placed it on the ground. Pointing at a pressure-plate he had set up there early. "Have to be careful, only a bit more and we're out of the trap zone."
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Post by treasuremare on May 21, 2011 2:29:48 GMT -5
"Uh, alright." She gave Ranger an odd look. They were hunting down dragons and ursas so they don't have a lame death to a cockatrice, what else could possibly be in there to make them run and scream like a little filly? Trace decided it better to not think about it and fell in step behind her guide. She glanced around as they walked, not that it did her a lot of good. The trees blocked off most of the starlight, leaving behind shadows on top of shadows. She had to admit, she was impressed at how well Ranger knew his way around.
At one point, he seemed to randomly push her hoof away while she was walking, causing her to overstep and almost lose her balance. She was about to get mad at him and demand why he did it when he pointed at the spot she almost stepped. As squinted in the dark, and gasped. There was something there, one of his traps most likely. She nodded in response to his explanation and gave her thanks before falling behind him again. She walked in silence, paying extra attention to her footfalls. She still couldn't believe she almost stepped on a trap. She knew better then that, and berated herself in her thoughts for her carelessness.
"So, how much further, Suga'? And which nasty are we gonna tempt tonight?" she asked, breaking the silence.
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Ranger
Acolyte Pony
I'm a wood-pony and I'm okay...
Posts: 136
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Post by Ranger on May 21, 2011 3:00:35 GMT -5
"Figured you to be more of a Dragon's hoard person. And I don't wanna mess with no Ursa either. So we're going to the dragon's cave. Spike, our resident dragonling told me about this place, took me a while to find it too." He explained, "But that baby has a mountain of gemstones in there. More than you could count."
Leading her further into the darkening forest, soon the light was almost completely extinguished, Ranger seemed to swerve and steer off course many times, probably to avoid any wildlife in the area. Soon they came into a small clearing of starlight, where he stopped, beginning his stretching routine all over from the start.
"Alright, take five, we're near the last stretch of forest before we get to that cave, best double check that you have what you need." He advised sagely. Once he was done with stretching, the pony buried his head in his cloak, probably in the saddle beneath it, checking his own equipment.
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Post by treasuremare on May 21, 2011 3:29:06 GMT -5
Trace loosened her bags, letting them fall to the ground with a dull 'thud', and stretched out her back and gave her mane a good shake. She wasn't planning on coming this far into the forest tonight, if she had she would have packed a little lighter. She turned to sort through her bags, even though she knew their contents inside and out. Her original plan was to scout out the forest, bit by bit, to get to know it slowly, to make sure she checked under every tree and rock. Ranger had not been part of the plan, nor the guided tour to the middle of no where. She had a lot of extra stuff packed, not knowing what to expect on her first trip in. She sighed softly, moving a few items from one bag to the other to make more room in the first, and replaced the bags on her back, making sure the straps were tight, and looked to Ranger.
"Dragon den with gems?" She asked aloud, partly to herself, "That's... green, if ah remember right. Reds preferred gold, and..." she tapped her chin, "Ah can't quite recall what the blues preferred..." she didn't know if Ranger was listening or not, but it didn't matter. It was mostly for her own sake. She found thinking about treasure and the guardians normally linked to them kept her focused and calm. She gave her head a shake, "Ready when you are, Sug'."
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