Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 5, 2012 14:10:22 GMT -5
Baxter quickly found several of the dogs in the room looking at him as he entered, though soon enough they had gone back to their business. He quickly realized that most of the dogs here were far from new recruits and wondered whether he was qualified to be here. Wait... qualified to be here? What the heck was he thinking? He wasn't some lowly dog fresh from the packs. He had been called down from the barrens specifically to be part of this invasion. Being afraid of this place was letting the collar do the thinking, something he couldn't afford to let happen.
Baxter was soon approached by a selector, asking him where he wanted to be. "Uh, set me up with one of the boards," he said, motioning towards one of the board game tables.
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Post by Red Charge on Nov 5, 2012 14:15:16 GMT -5
"You can head on over to that corner, Silverbackgammon. Swift's looking for some new blood to play against." The selector said, "Or you could head on over to that table over there, they're playing Gem Hop. Room for one last player." The selector nodded towards another table where three diamond dogs were huddled around a board, talking among themselves.
"Nice beating you took." He commented, "Must've gave those ponies some real trouble." the selector nodded approvingly as he gave Baxter a nudge towards the tables. "Keep in mind, you get caught cheating, you lose your good claw. If you get CAUGHT that is."
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 5, 2012 14:27:49 GMT -5
Baxter nodded absent-mindedly, walking over to the Silverbackgammon table in the corner. The selector's comment had confused him, and it wasn't until Baxter was halfway there that he figured out what the dog had meant. He had thought Baxter had gotten his beating from a battle. Well, if the selector wanted to jump to conclusions, that was his own business. Baxter just needed to keep from revealing too much about what had happened the previous evening.
Baxter took the seat opposite the other dog, Swift. "Selector said you were looking for someone to play against," the wolf said plainly. It'd been a while since Baxter had played, but he at least remembered the rules.
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Post by Red Charge on Nov 5, 2012 14:32:41 GMT -5
"About time someone new came around here. Those new dogs never last much." The dog commented, quickly arranging the pieces on his side and letting Baxter do the same on his before picking up the dice. It took Baxter a moment to notice that "Swift" was actually a female.
"Challenger throws first." He indicated, giving Baxter the dice. "Gotta say I do love that smell of pony vita on ya, if you had any on I could just lick it right off. Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like bleeding one of those horses." She said, waiting for Baxter to cast his die. "So what're we betting on here?"
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 5, 2012 14:52:34 GMT -5
Baxter nodded at Swift's comment about pony vita, rearranging the pieces on his side of the board. "So what're we betting on here?" Baxter froze upon hearing those words. How could he have been so stupid? He had walked into a gambling parlor with nothing to gamble with. His mind raced to come up with something, anything, that he could offer up. What did he have on him? Armor, bow, polish.
Could he bet the polish? Baxter thought carefully as he finished arranging the pieces on his side of the board. It was very high quality, given to him specifically to use for polishing a general's weaponry. Baxter procured the unlabeled jar after he had finished arranging his pieces. "Whale-oil wax," he said, setting it on the table beside them. "Highest quality polish you'll ever find. I should know." The wolf also pulled out the bow, displaying the effect the polish had had on the weapon. "And you?" he asked, putting the bow back away.
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Post by Red Charge on Nov 5, 2012 15:27:50 GMT -5
"Well I'm not betting my weapons or armor, so you'll have to settle for me as your main prize, if you win that is." Swift said with a malevolent smile, "What can I say, no one said being a warrior pays well." The female grinned at her compatriots who laughed, most of which probably already knowing her little game. Naturally this trick was also used to generate peer pressure against Baxter to accept her bet.
"Let's play Snowball." She said, not waiting for his reply and gestured for him to cast the die, leaning back on her chair with a look of keen interest. Guess it was obvious now why she was looking for new blood to play against.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 5, 2012 15:32:27 GMT -5
Baxter raised his eyebrows at the dog's offer. He didn't really know what to think of it, but at least he could relax a little now. "You bet yourself for all your games?" Baxter asked as he made his first roll. "I'm sure that keeps you from not having a chance to play."
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Post by Red Charge on Nov 5, 2012 15:39:47 GMT -5
"Don't get cocky, she bets herself because she never loses." Said a Diamond Dog from nearby, "She's lucky enough with a pair of dice that she managed to strip half of the army down to their shorts without a single loss."
The game proceeded rather smoothly. Baxter was able to get his pieces out right, but when it came to the final stretch, it seemed Swift was leading on him with about four ticks, they still had almost all of their pieces still in their bases, so it wasn't lost yet.
"I sure do like that whale polish thing. Keep my armor all shiny and clean while these scrubs will have to spit shine theirs after a long day's battle." Swift said cockily, leaning back and placing her legs on the table.
"C'mon kid, you gotta beat her, you gonna let her humiliate you on your first visit?" The selector from earlier said, despite the fact that he had probably known from the start Baxter would lose.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 5, 2012 15:48:33 GMT -5
Baxter looked back at Swift after hearing the other diamond dog's comment about her never losing. Somehow he didn't have trouble believing it.
Eventually they had gotten to the point where Swift was four ticks ahead of Baxter. "Don't get your hopes too high, Baxter responded plainly, picking up the dice. "Game isn't over yet." Baxter mostly ignored what the Selector had said. Regardless of what the wolf or anyone else was saying, he was here mostly just to burn time. He could care less about losing the polish. The archer rolled the dice as the Selector finished speaking, just wanting to get on with the game.
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Post by Red Charge on Nov 5, 2012 15:56:01 GMT -5
In a completely unexpected row of lucky dies, Baxter not only caught up, but managed to beat the stunned Swift, with all the Diamond Dogs in the room now gathered around them with wide eyes. Swift blinked a few times, not really sure what just happened, as a Diamond Dog behind her started laughing.
Of course the female was not confused and immediately repaid his laughter by smashing a chair over his face. In moments the whole room erupted into cheers. Apparently Swift's luck had run out, despite her savvy.
"Alright, alright, you won." She said grabbing Baxter by the scruff of his armor, "Now come on, let's make it quick." She said, pulling him over to a flight of stairs leading to the second floor. The two followed by wolf whistles.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 5, 2012 16:13:42 GMT -5
Baxter was as surprised as everyone else in the room by his incredible luck, though he did his best not to show it. A dog laughing at the female dog's defeat quickly got a chair to the face, but regardless the entire room had started cheering. Apparently everyone was rooting against the reigning champ. Probably had something to do with her arrogance.
Baxter had stood up to put the jar of polish back away, but without warning, Swift had grabbed Baxter by the armor and started pulling him up the stairs. Catcalls followed them upwards. "Hang on a second," Baxter said once they had finally gotten out of sight from the crowd. "I'm not gonna hold you accountable if you don't want to be. You learned some humility, that's good enough for me." It was clear from the chair smashing that she wasn't in a very good mood after her loss, and Baxter wasn't sure what that would mean on his end.
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Post by Red Charge on Nov 5, 2012 16:23:19 GMT -5
"Oh, so now I'm not good enough for ya? Now my word's not worth it? Think I'm gonna go back on it?" Swift asked, nudging him hard on his chest. "Well if that's the way you feel, Mr. Bigshot, I can arrange a quick and discreet ticket right out of here!" She said, shoving the hapless Diamond Dog out of an open window, causing him to crash painfully into the street below. After a few moments throwing his whale oil wax and his bow at him.
"Too bad, we could have used this whale oil in a very... good way." She teased from above before shutting the window and disappearing to her business. Leaving Baxter out in the street.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 5, 2012 17:04:06 GMT -5
Swift hadn't taken what Baxter said the way he expected, at all. How was he rewarded for not forcing her to uphold her end of the bargain? Getting thrown through the window. Making a two-story fall onto hard pavement was not something he wanted to do today. The wolf let out a groan as he peeled himself up off the street, the jar of polish promptly hitting him in the head as he was standing up. He let out a curse, picking up the jar and bow before turning around to face his assailant.
Too late. She had already closed the window. Half of Baxter wanted to go back inside and give her a piece of his mind, but the other half didn't want to get thrown out the window a second time. Whatever. As long as Ice Fang didn't learn about this, otherwise Baxter would never hear the end of it.
The wolf brushed himself off before walking down the street, looking towards a clock tower in sight. He still had some time before the General assembly. If he went now he'd be standing around for way too long. In the distance, Baxter spotted something that could occupy some of his time. It looked like a museum, or what used to be a museum. The building was obviously not as popular as the others, and it seemed there were very few diamond dogs inside, if any. But, Baxter could just walk around inside, look at what used to be the exhibits. He would be able to explore the building at his own leisure, able to leave for the assembly at any moment's notice. The archer began walking in the museum's direction, entering it's double doors once he got there.
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Post by Red Charge on Nov 6, 2012 0:35:00 GMT -5
The museum, he found, was turned into an archery range, the lines usually protecting the museum pieces were now used as distance lines as portraits and busts were all shot at by various Diamond Dog recruits. He noticed that most of the archers were very young, in their teens even. Some were casting spears, the others were launching non-explosive gems. All in all it seemed the museum had become quite the practice range.
"Hail." Said one of the instructors, "Here for some archery training? Supplies? Maybe you could show these rookies a thing or two?" He asked, disregarding Baxter's different age, rather than commenting on it.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 6, 2012 14:17:04 GMT -5
What Baxter found inside the museum was far from what he had been expecting. The building had been turned into... an archery range? An impressive one at that, given the circumstances. Dogs were lined up using portraits and busts as target practice, wielding a good variety of ranged equipment including spears and gems. Most of them looked to be quite young, many not past adolescence.
Baxter stood watching several of the archers, chuckling to himself at his good fortune. This beat walking around some crummy Pony museum any day. A nearby instructor diverted his attention away from the archers. "A quiver, some arrows, and something to shoot at would be nice. I've got a new bow I need to break in," he answered.
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