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 Dec 1, 2012 16:56:52 GMT -5
Baxter could see Baron and his son working on several weapons and shields together. It would make sneaking into the back easier, especially since there was no one else on the street. An idea popped into Baxter's head though as he watched the quartermaster and his son working. If he had a wife, she would probably be back there. Baxter had to take the chance she was either not there or Baron was a single father. He couldn't simply turn back now.
The wolf carefully snuck into the back of the armory, looking around for his armor and bow. And a quiver with some arrows too of course. Otherwise the bow was useless, after all.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 17:03:45 GMT -5
Baxter did not expect what he saw, however, a bunch of pony foals were hiding between the crates, each on a set of rags as a mattress, with plates of food scattered around near them. Baron was hiding ponies in his workshop, knowing full well no one was going to come in there. This revelation aside, Baxter spotted his bow and his armor waiting near one of the racks for Baron to inspect more closely. To get them, Baxter would have to move through the mass of napping foals, waking one up would likely cause a riot, likely to get both him and Baron killed.
He could also spot a good deal of arrows in a large bucket to the farther side of the armory, near the door through which he could see Baron working. A terrible risk. Fortunately the various crates, racks and piles of equipment could provide some cover, but if he tipped something over, he would be detected and in his clumsy state that was more than a possibility.
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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 Dec 1, 2012 17:23:05 GMT -5
Baxter almost couldn't believe his eyes as he stepped into the back of the armory. "You've got to be kidding me," he thought as he looked down at the sleeping foals. Baron was hiding ponies? So much for feeling bad about stealing from his stuff back. Baxter could see his bow and armor on a rack, as well as some arrows much further away. But to get them he'd have to carefully navigate across the foals sleeping on the floor, and waking up any one of them could reveal both him and Baron's secret. And Baxter didn't trust himself in his current, jittery state.
The wolf decided there was a better way to go about the situation. He stepped back out of the armory, walking around to the front where Baron and his pup were. "Baron," he said as he approached. "Swift, or maybe part of her gang, showed up today and sold you some items: that bow I had a few days ago and some ring armor. I need them both back, as well as a quiver and arrows." The wolf kept his tone plain and business like, sounding neither hostile nor desperate. "I'd get them myself but I didn't want to wake up your friends."
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 17:28:02 GMT -5
Baron tensed up at the mention of the ponies, "I paid good money for those." He argued, "Giving them back to you would mean all of those resources were spent for nothing. Besides, they told me what you were, a deserter." The large dog said, "You're going to take your precious armor and bow and just run back home to your pack like you earned them. That's what Winter Wolves do now?" He asked defiantly, his son looking with apprehension at the exchange.
Baron was holding quite the large smith hammer, definitely large enough to fight with. In Baxter's state, he would be no match for the strong dog. Question was, whether Baron was really capable of killing him, or would he share the same mercy he did for the foals.
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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 Dec 1, 2012 17:53:23 GMT -5
Baxter could feel himself tense at Baron's winter wolf comment. But he wasn't going to leave without his things. He needed to talk to Ice Fang. "I haven't left yet, and I'm not going to until I talk to general Ice Fang. To be honest I don't know what's going on, but I need to talk to the general. It's a life or death matter." The wolf's voice had remained the same, but desperation was beginning to show in his eyes. "I want my things so I can talk go talk to the general," he repeated. "I was headed his way through Everfree before Swift's gang decided to attack me and take them."
"I'm sorry you bought them for nothing. Neither of us has had a very good day, and I'd rather it not continue to get worse for either of us."
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 17:58:12 GMT -5
Baron seemed to consider it for a moment. He certainly had no love for Swift's gang. They were ruffians, they were horrible and gave Diamond Dogs a bad name all around. Real Diamond Dogs were noble knights, not vicious warriors. They had a taste in architecture, the arts and in the rest of their packs. Not in bloodshed, fighting, looting and pillaging. This new generation of Diamond Dogs are the ones left in the wake of the Blood Fang pack and the pony and griffon oppression. But they had no justification hurting innocent ponies, especially foals.
But then on the other hand there's this Diamond Dog, who is disliked by all, was caught running away like a coward and obviously saw eye to eye with Swift as far as the ponies were concerned. Baron could kill him, or maybe overpower him and chain him up in the cellar, but where would that lead? He was hoping the armor and bow he could give to his son. His son was going to be drafted soon, he was almost of age to start archery training. He just wanted him to come back alive. But he didn't want his son to see him just striking down another canine, he didn't want him to get that impression. What to do now? Baron bit his lip.
"Fine, you can have them. But if you get caught, you stole them from me."
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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 Dec 1, 2012 18:05:19 GMT -5
Baxter nodded at what Baron said, showing he would keep the promise. The wolf felt his shoulders relaxing, glad the encounter had gone incident-free. "Thank you," he said gratefully. "And your secret's safe. I've got more important things to worry about."
Baxter took the bow, armor, and arrows, leaving the quartermaster and his son in peace. The wolf continued taking the side streets and round-about ways to get to his destination. He headed back towards Everfree again, taking a different route this time. He didn't want to take any chance of running into Swift again. It wasn't until he was on the outskirts that he finally took the time to put his armor on, continuing once he had finished.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 23:56:57 GMT -5
Baron had let him be once he left the armory. Baxter could tell he was not in the least bit happy about it however. He had a feeling that next time they meet Baron would not be as kind as he was now. Armor and bow in hand, Baxter continued through the city, avoiding the occasional Diamond Dog patrol. Fortunately for him, Swift and her grunts were convinced he was still hanging upside down from a tree and did not look for him. They were probably roughing up some poor pony about now anyway.
He made it again to the outskirts, but by this point his legs were shaking hard, every stepped caused him to buckle and fall at this point. Despite it all, he was still in no shape for prolonged walking. He could try and rest a moment, or try and force his way through his muscle spasms.
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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 Dec 2, 2012 0:41:32 GMT -5
Thankfully Baxter had reached the outskirts without running into Swift or the rest of her gang. But now his legs were starting to give out. He couldn't even take a step without ending up back on the ground. His 'treatment' from the previous day had left him in no condition to do something like this. Maybe he was insane for trying.
The wolf crawled forward to a tree, sitting down with his back to it. He decided to rest for a few minutes, taking the trip in segments if he needed to. He could walk as far as he could, and then when his legs started giving again, he could rest until he was back in walking condition. It was going to be painfully slow, and stupid. But it would get him there eventually.
Baxter pulled out his bow and an arrow, keeping them out and ready. He wasn't expecting anything to happen while he was still in the outskirts, but something could run into him while he was resting in the forest. Might as well make a habit of being prepared now. In spite of how much Baron might hate him, he was glad to have his bow and armor back. Attempting this without them would be suicide.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 2, 2012 1:56:11 GMT -5
Baxter was able to rest without interruption, something must have kept the Diamond Dogs in Fillydelphia busy, for he neither heard nor seen a single patrol the entire time. It played in his favor. Not too long after he felt he was able to walk again. He repeated the steps several times, now far from Fillydelphia, but with no idea if he was close to Hoofington... or if he was even still going in the right direction.
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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 Dec 2, 2012 10:42:56 GMT -5
No dogs had bothered him so far. In fact, he hadn't caught sign of a single patrol. Maybe they were busy with something else.
Baxter was able to repeat his cycle of walking, resting, walking, and resting some distance into the forest. The wolf stopped to rest his legs again, already having lost count of what number he was on. He again kept his bow and an arrow on his lap, looking at the trees around him. Baxter no longer had a good idea how far he was from his destination, or what specific direction he was headed in (the sun would have made a good compass hadn't it been for the thick cover of the trees). But at the very least, he couldn't have doubling-back or going in circles, right? He may not have been travelling in a strictly straight line, but he had to be going somewhere.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 2, 2012 11:00:31 GMT -5
And nothing happened, the eerie silence of Everfree was Baxter's sole companion. Somehow, he could barely even remember which direction he was heading in. All of the trees around him looked the same, and there were no paths in the forest. The same was true every time he got up after resting. It struck him a moment after he noticed a rock that looked very familiar. He has actually stopped to rest on the same tree every single time without noticing 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 Dec 2, 2012 11:19:21 GMT -5
After stopping to rest, again, Baxter looked down at a rock that was sitting, a very familiar-looking one. No, it was the same rock. He was going in circles. He hadn't noticed at first, but his surroundings every time he had stopped to rest weren't just similar, they were the same. All this time he'd made zero progress.
The wolf thought carefully about what to do next. The wolf pulled out another arrow, pointing it in the direction he had planned on walking once he got up. That was one thing he could do, lay down an arrow before stopping to rest. That would keep him from forgetting what direction he was heading. Not getting turned around while walking was another thing. Maybe he could mark the trees, just etch little arrows into him with an arrowhead. Every few trees he could mark an arrow in the direction he was headed. If he ever came back to a marked tree, he could just try a different direction.
Baxter waited until he was ready to walk again before standing up. He used the arrow he had been holding to etch the direction he was headed. Now he just needed to repeat the process every few trees. The archer picked up the arrow he had left on the ground, walking in the direction the arrow head had been pointing.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 2, 2012 11:24:29 GMT -5
Baxter's cunning however, proved to be to no avail, as after a long while of walking he arrived at the exact same spot, with the arrow and all. He could even see the trail of arrows he left as he moved forwards. Which was strange, it was as though he was walking on a tiny globe and ending back where he started. But that was impossible, right?
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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 Dec 2, 2012 11:39:59 GMT -5
Baxter had thought for sure that his plan would work, but no, it didn't. He ended up right back where he started, back at the same tree with the arrow etched into it and the rock sitting close by. He could even see the arrows he had etched into trees further ahead. He stared at them in confusion. Something was up. Retracing his steps was no mistake on his part.
The wolf plopped down next to the same old tree, letting his legs rest some more. He looked over at the nearby rock for several seconds before picking it up and chucking it at another tree, maybe just to vent frustration, maybe just to see what would happen.
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