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Post by Stygg Whitefeather on May 24, 2013 11:37:51 GMT -5
A vast sea of sand spread out to the horizon, with dunes that rolled like water as it graced the edge of the world, seemingly if you would fall straight off the planet if you traveled far enough. Little lived in this harsh spot, what like that managed to etch out was as harsh and unforgiving the their environment. Snakes, scorpions, carrion birds, scavengers and monstrous creatures of venom and sand. The unforgiving waste was home to little else but dry brush and spotted rocks.
This terrible place was where Feathermain and Klepto were dropped off, plopped somewhere near their destination. Though offered to be dropped off close, Feathermain insisted they walk the rest of the way - something about relishing the danger and making a stallion out of the thief through heatstroke and flesh bubbling burns. Their equipment was tossed down to them from the ships deck and with a goodbye wave from Miguel, the airship departed, leaving the duo alone in the deadly wasteland.
Feathermain took a minute to get his bearings, checking the map and comparing it both his compass and the landscape. He pointed towards a bluff a ways off - it's exact distance obscured by the heat mirage. He readied himself with his equipment and rifle, and waited for Klepto to finish preparing. It would be several hours till they arrived - he assumed, their map wasn't to scale.
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Post by Klepto Moonlit on May 24, 2013 16:44:11 GMT -5
"You know, I don't see what the big deal is about getting dropped off closer to this lost civilization," Klepto stated, tightening a strap as he equipped his battle harness. "Trekking through ten miles of sand isn't exactly my idea of a good time."
The thief looked out at the rocky structure Feathermain was pointing to, unable to tell how far away it really was. "What I'd do for a pair of wings," Klepto muttered. "Speaking of which, I hope you have a plan for when we're done exploring these ruins. Gold and jewels ain't worth all that much when you're stuck with them in the middle of the desert."
Klepto gave one final look back at the departing airship, hoping he wouldn't regret deciding to go on this expedition. "Guess I'm ready."
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Post by Stygg Whitefeather on May 24, 2013 23:15:28 GMT -5
"Adventure!" Feathermain exclaimed, waving his arms about like a mad-griffon. What sort of daft person doesn't want adventure. "Half the excitement of the journey is the chance of death or maiming along the way. You poor, poor herbivore, there is much for you to learn in the ways of reckless expedition."
Feathermain hoisted a pack onto his back, nestling it between his wings as he lowered his hat against the unrelenting sun. "Yes, wings are amazing. Why I don't even have to touch the scalding sands if I didn't feel like it." He then checked is rifle, making sure it was loaded and incredibly dangerous. "Truth be told - I'm playing this by ear." He let a moment pass in stunned silence, "But fear not, the captain will return late tomorrow to pick us up in exchange for you wearing some sort of frilly dress they have laying about. They're an odd bunch, that crew."
Feathermain was too ready and eager to find what lay in the distance - past the dunes, the oppressive heat, the deadly wildlife and whatever manner of horrible other things awaited them. He was quite excited for the possibility of a giant sand worm or perhaps a great horned jackalope, what a trophy those would make. For now though, they'd just have to deal with the flock of vultures circling above them. "Onward-ho!" He called, striking a dynamic pose, then casually walking forth, towards the bluff in the distance.
After a short while, Feathermain ushers Klepto to stop, then motions to something in the distance. There, washed by the effect of mirage was a line of four-legged creatures walking parallel to them, going the opposite direction.
"A Bedouin camel tribe," He explained. "Nomadic desert people. They shouldn't bother us, not normally violent. But should we get too close, they do tend to spit a lot. Different cultures, you know."
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Post by Klepto Moonlit on May 26, 2013 0:02:15 GMT -5
"Truth be told - I'm playing this by ear."
Klepto let out a groan as Feathermain spoke those words. Normally he might be all for improvisation, but with Feathermain... Hopefully the old bird's experience would pay off. The thief merely shot Feathermain an annoyed look when he mentioned the crew of The Nessie being so insistent about seeing Klepto in a dress. Saying they were an odd bunch was an understatement.
Klepto followed alongside the mustachioed griffon, maybe a pace or two behind his lead. Eventually something other than sand and rock was spotted in the distance. Camels. "They can spit all they want as long as they do it on each other. I'll stick to the more sane customs."
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Post by Stygg Whitefeather on May 26, 2013 1:14:35 GMT -5
Feathermain shock his head disapprovingly, he was deeply saddened to hear the pony say that about another culture. So uncouth, so ignorant. He felt, then and there, he should educate Klepto on the importance of cultural understanding and acceptance. As they carried forward through the desert, he begun his enlightenment crusade.
"My poor fellow, you need to learn that just because another race or culture is different, doesn't mean that its wrong or insane. The camel tribes spit as a sign of respect to one another, to be spat upon by them is to be accepted into their clan. It's an honor and to wipe it away in disgust is extremely offensive." This was going to take awhile, luckily, they had a while to go. "If you can learn and respect other, more savage races nuances and strange customs, you will learn how to better exploit them!" There was the kicker, of course he wasn't being understanding, he was speaking exploitative. "Let me tell you about the time I spent with the pygmy giraffes of Pongo jungle. Adorable little savages, small as dogs and as vicious as badgers..."
Feathermain breathed in the sandy arid air, this was going to be a long one. As they trekked, he went into great detail about his time with them, speaking of their customs, their history, their unusual mannerism and how he learned them in order to pry their secrets from them and use them to his own end. His lesson must have went on for an hour, for they were finally making some headway towards the bluff.
"...so I was beating back the entire tribe, using two of their own like fleshy flails, till the last of them lay dead around me in a hill of cute little corpses. So you see, my friend, had I known that their god I so handsomely resembled was meant to be sacrificed, I wouldn't have gotten myself into the situation in the first place. Or at least been better prepared for it. That is why you must learn and embrace other cultures. To understand is to exploit. You understand, pony?"
Suddenly he stopped, taking out a spyglass from his pack. "What-ho!" He exclaimed, motioning towards something in the distance, like an obelisk. "Our first sign of ancient civilization, here have a look." He lowered the spyglass for Klepto to take. "Come, let's check it out. Might give us a clue how to enter the forgotten city."
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Post by Klepto Moonlit on May 26, 2013 13:28:34 GMT -5
"Great, a lecture," Klepto thought to himself, preparing to tune out Feathermain's long winded explanation of cultural diversity or whatever. That is, until Feathermain mentioned using others' cultures to take advantage of them. That caught the pony's attention.
Klepto listened to the griffon's tale of a savage giraffe tribe he had found in the jungle, finding it mildly interesting. "Yeah, I guess I understand. Gotta understand other people's cultures otherwise you end up getting eaten by miniature giraffes." The thief then squinted at the object Feathermain had spotted, using the bird's spyglass to get a better look at it. "Aha! A rock! One of those big standy-rocks. Maybe we can interrogate it into giving us the location of that long lost civilization," he joked.
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Post by Stygg Whitefeather on May 29, 2013 21:01:31 GMT -5
"Exactly!" Feathermain exclaimed, swiping the spyglass away from Klepto. "So here is the plan. I need you to play good cop, while I play shooty cop. The rocks will buckle like... rocks under such harsh interrogation tactics!" He exclaimed with such profound exuberation that the slap up the side of the pony's head was completely unexpected. "You really are a cheeky one. Get your head in the game, we can use whatever glyphs may be carved into the stone to find the exact entrance - you honestly think this map had such crucial information? Hah, Apophis might be dead but he was hardly an idiot. Of course he'd not reveal such a crucial nut of information on a map so easily stolen by me."
After a few more minute of trudging along, they came to the outer ruins. To the laypony's eye it would appear to be the remains of a village long since abandoned. Ghostly walls jutted up from the sea of sand that chocked them, ancient cutlery and pots still remained on old sand stone shelves and collapsed walls, nearly drowned in sand. The obelisk in the center was, for the most part, untouched and in remarkable condition. Feathermain approached, his talon gracing its edifice and slow tracing the ancient figures carved into its surface. "Give me a minute, pony. See if you can find anything of note... or something. Just don't bother me and watch for scorpions." Feathermain commanded as he rummaged for a journal in his satchel. Flipping it open, he begun to cross-reference the markings.
Klepto would find the village rather unremarkable, though extremely well preserved. Several small structures still had old wooden doors attached to them and showed the sings of being pristine while other buildings had long ago been ransacked and gutted. There was little else to explore except the three structures. The first one was unremarkable in that it was incredibly plain; the second building had a ancient sign marked above its door - one unreadable to Klepto; while the third had unique carving and design as compared to the other buildings around it. All three looked tightly locked - probably why they hadn't been raided for their valuables. Considering how fast Feathermain appeared to be deciphering the markings of the obelisk, Klepto likely only had time to inspect one building if he felt so desired too.
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Post by Klepto Moonlit on May 29, 2013 23:34:30 GMT -5
Klepto hadn't been sure whether Feathermain was joking or serious about the rock-interrogation thing, but the pony certainly wasn't expecting a slap to the back of the head. "Glyphes, right," he muttered, rubbing where Feathermain had slapped him. "So it's pretty much just a fancy sign-post."
In a few minutes they had reached the fancy sign-post, which seemed to be sitting smack dab in the middle of a not-so-fancy neighborhood. Seriously, what kind of ancient civilzation left their pottery and eating utensils lying around in the sand? Or maybe that had been whoever had ransacked several of the structures. There only seemed to be three that hadn't been rummaged through, and now Klepto just had to decide which one he wanted to explore while Feathermain was busy translating.
The first one certainly looked the most boring, and probably had the most boring stuff in it. The second one had some sign about it, while the third's carvings made it stand out the most. The thief opted for the uniquely carved structure, trotting up to the building and beginning to go about unlocking it. Worst-case-scenario there would be a scorpion nest inside. But in the best-case scenario, there would be scorpion-shaped diamonds inside. And there was no way Klepto was going to pass up the chance to nab some of those.
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Post by Stygg Whitefeather on May 31, 2013 20:20:13 GMT -5
The door opened to reveal... a mound of sand. Of all three he had to choose, he chose the one filled with a pile of sand. The roof had caved in some time ago, likely from dry-rot and weather, letting the elements in. What could have been was instead buried beneath Celestia knows how much burning hot dirt. In this place, the sand ran like water and much like the ocean there was not a drop of water to drink. He may as well give up, except, only moments after revealing what lay beyond in the house, the sand began to stir strangely. It sloughed away to reveal a giant scorpion, a creature attuned to the harsh environment and as deadly as the noon sun.
It shook the sand free from its carapace as it emerged, two pincer claws that could easily snap off a pony or griffons neck in an instant. It's tail snapped up, poised and dripping with venom like a disturbed snake, its single stinger begging to penetrate flesh. It shuffled forward, moving as quickly through the sand as a shark through water, its beady eyes filled with hunger and hatred.
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Post by Klepto Moonlit on Jun 1, 2013 11:17:31 GMT -5
As it turned out, the most unique of the three structures contained the most common of all things. Sand. "This is the last expedition all over again," Klepto groaned to himself. The thief looked around the collapsed structure for a few more seconds, just to make sure there was something other than sand and decayed building he had missed.
As it turned out, he had missed something. Revealing itself from underneath the pile of sand was a scorpion. A big scorpion. A very big scorpion.
Klepto immediately began stepping backward, preparing himself to jump out of the way at a moment's notice. "Feathermain, we've got a problem. A big, snappy, poison-tailed problem." Regardless of what Klepto decided to do, he felt a lot safer with Feathermain pointing his death-stick at the thing.
As soon as he had finished, Klepto grabbed the metal bit of his battle harness, trying to fire directly at the scorpion. Maybe the scorpion just wanted Klepto to back off, and firing a rain of bolts at it was about the worst thing Klepto could do in this situation. But it already looked pretty ticked off, and the thief wasn't going to risk getting stung while he debated what a survivalist expert would do.
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Post by Stygg Whitefeather on Jun 4, 2013 17:29:46 GMT -5
((I totally thought you hadn't replied yet, fail on my part))
Feathermain never bothered to even look up from his intense analysis of the ruins. He merely gave Klepto a dismissive wave - I mean, surely, the thief could handle his ponyself against a simple overgrown and deadly insect from the harshest desert the world has ever known. Feathermain could regale the pony about his early exploits, wrestling bears and hunting Ursas all the while blindfolded and with one wing tied behind his back. It's of course all made up but that's not important, the lesson is what's important.
"Oh just shoot it in the eyes - I'm busy." The griffon said and went back to his reading.
*Twang twang*
Surprisingly, the battle harness actually works, as it launched several bolts at scorpion. Luckily for Klepto, one bolt struck true and hit a critical spot in the scorpions face; the second missed, just grazing the carapace and hitting the wall behind it.
The scorpion responded, flaying wildly by striking at Klepto but failing to hit him instead striking the sand in front of him.
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Post by Klepto Moonlit on Jun 4, 2013 21:44:38 GMT -5
So much for getting help from Feathermain. The old bird was too wrapped up in that dumb rock to help Klepto deal with the vicious-looking scorpion that was coming after him. At least the battle harness proved more reliable. Klepto was surprised to see it send a bolt right into the scorpion's face, let alone not fall apart like the piece of eccentric junk he had suspected it might be.
"Shoot it in the eyes, shoot it in the eyes," the thief repeated mockingly in his head, continuing to step backwards. "I'll just be over here looking up ancient dinner recipes. You can handle yourself, can't you old boy? Bah." Klepto watched the scorpion swing around angrily, failing to make contact with anything but the sand in front of it. Maybe he had blinded it or something.
The pony gave the metal bit in his mouth a tug, firing another round of bolts at the scorpion. Hopefully that would do it, and put the thing out of its blind, flailing, venomous misery.
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Post by Stygg Whitefeather on Jun 4, 2013 23:34:28 GMT -5
As luck would have it, a repeat of last time occurred as one bolt struck the scorpion right in the eye while the other bolt flew wildly past the creature. Having thoroughly been beaten, the creature turned tail and fled into the sand from whence it came. Sinking somewhere deep, likely a burrow that it had made or some tunnel system that ran under the house.
"Ah there you are," Exclaimed Feathermain. "See you dealt with that little bug problem - exemplary work chap. I too have made great progress on the translation. Good news is I know where the entrance is located and the pass phrase we'll need and best of all, we're close. The bad news is that a giant sandstorm is barreling down upon us at this very moment."
Somewhere, far off in the distance, came the sound of a harsh rustling roar. There, to their north there was a sight the likes of which would likely strike Klepto with awe. A huge wall of of reddish-orange dust barreling towards them from the horizon. It moved quickly and with every dry-tear blink, it came closer and was at such a height that it could seem to be able to swallow three Canterlot, standing end on end, whole and still be ravenous for me.
"Yes, quite spectacular, isn't it?" Feathermain stated, watching their doom come barreling towards them. "Well, I'd say its about time for you to find some cover, I've seen those things strip creatures right down to their polished white bones. I believe I'll wait it out from above, best of luck - toodle-oo!" Without another word, Feathermain was in the air with a great flush of his wings, kicking up a choking cloud of sand around Klepto - though one that hardly compared to the monster that was about to swallow him. Already it was growing increasingly dark as the wall blocked out the sun.
Klepto would find his options limited, to say the least. Of the three structures still standing that could provide some semblance of shelter, one had a rather disgruntled scorpion hiding somewhere inside it. The remaining two were a mystery, but the pony's options were fading quickly and he would have to make a choice. One of the two remaining buildings or to foalishly try and outrun the wall of flesh rending sand.
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Post by Klepto Moonlit on Jun 5, 2013 23:30:45 GMT -5
Well, that last shot hadn't put the scorpion out of its misery. If anything, it was now more blind and miserable. But at least that had gotten it to run off, back into the sand pile from whence it came. Klepto shut the door firmly behind it.
"Yeah, with no help from you," Klepto added, giving Feathermain an annoyed look. At least the bird had managed to find the location of the ruins. Wait... sandstorm?
A roar in the distance caused Klepto to turn away from Feathermain. He had never seen anything like it, and stood in dumb shock for several seconds, staring at the approaching armada of flying sand. The thing looked like it could swallow a city whole. Heck, probably even a triple-decker city sandwich. And a lone pony and griffon standing in a long-abandoned village? They'd hardly be a snack!
Klepto snapped away from his fixated gaze not a moment before Feathermain had taken off. "Hey!" he shouted, trying to be heard over the growing roars of the storm. "You can't just leave me here! I'm you're ticket home, remember? Who else are they gonna put in a dress?"
No good. There was no way Feathermain could hear Klepto's words. Not while he was ascending further and further away, with the sandstorm drowning out the thief's shouts. If he had wanted wings before, now he really wished he had them.
Klepto wasn't even going to think about out-running the sandstorm, and hiding himself in a room with a ticked-off scorpion didn't sound ideal either. That only left the two other buildings, and the thief didn't have much time. The earth pony quickly ran over to the unmarked structure, trying to unlock its door before the sandstorm turned him into a pile of bones.
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Post by Stygg Whitefeather on Jun 6, 2013 19:18:47 GMT -5
What luck, the door's lock was rotted out of the door and all it took to enter was a simple push upon the dry-rotted wood. The door swung open, revealing a front room of what looked to have once been the house of a merchant or someone equally wealthy in the long dead society. However, with the sandstorm quickly coming upon him, Klepto would not have time to admire his find.
Inside the front room, which was surprisingly untouched and in fare condition despite centuries of being unused, there was an assortment of wooden shelves, decaying carpets, and a stone table that held a small marble statue of a snake. Just then, the door swung violently open as a gust of powerful wind burst into the home. It carried with it stinging sand that was pelting both Klepto and everything the wind could touch with terrible malcontent - as if it was an entity bent on ripping everything inside up with rage fueled hate. Klepto only had a few moments to find something block the door before the sand locked it open as it piled into the room.
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