A Broiling Desert Adventure {Quest - Klepto}

[Stygg Whitefeather]

It only took the time between Klepto's last gulp of the unusually tasting potion - was that lilac? And for it to reach his stomach that he immediately begun to feel it's effects. He would feel better, not considerably so, but the injury would feel as if it stopped bleeding internally and breathing grew a modicum better. That was the fortunate news, the bad news was, he now had hiccups and with his injury, every jarring spasm ached and stabbed - least it wouldn't, probably not kill him.

"Just not your week, is it, chap." Feathermain said with a tinge of pity in his voice, "And you mean this?" Feather held up the battle harness, surprisingly no worse for wear. "It was on a hook behind the door. Say what you will about your capture, least he had the manners to hang it up." Feathermain went for the door then, motioning for Klepto to follow when he was situated with his battle saddle.

Outside and through a short hallway, barren except for some tattered rags hung along it, likely the remains of tapestries or banners, till the hallway suddenly dropped. From here, the whole of the complex could be seen. A vast open city, long since fallen into deplorable ruin. A system of walkways once criss-crossed between the sides of the great expanse, from which stone minarets and towers stretched up like stalagmites of cut stone. The walkway had long since collapsed, it was clear that Feathermain had to fly up here - which made how the deranged tormenting king of this one-bird empire how managed to flee with one wing all that more puzzling.

Center and just a short jaunt across forgotten city was a ziggurat, flanked by what must have been great stone serpents. The whole of the city appeared to prostrate itself towards this structure, like a congregation, the dead buildings were forever frozen in worship to this once remarkable structure. Perhaps in its time, it would have been as marvelous as Canterlot, but now it appeared a ghostly, dead figure in a dry sea with a gaping maw desperate to be quenched by adoring worshipers.

"That, my unlucky friend, is our destination." Feathermain pointed towards the ominous structure. "I'd suggest we'd wade through the city, braving the unnecessary dangers it would surely throw at us with our foolish bravado! But with that injury, how about I just fly us over there and avoid all that nonsense, we can just claim we did it. Ready to fly?"

[Klepto Moonlit]

The potion Klepto consumed seemed to have an immediate effect. He could feel his breathing get a little better. The potion certainly hadn't repaired his rib, but at least- "*hic*"

Klepto winced at the sudden stabbing he felt inside of him. Of all the times...

"It hasn't been my week in a long while," Klepto responded. He then took his harness from Feathermain, slipping it on his back. "Yeah, nice of him *hic* ...to hang my stuff up before eating me." Klepto half expected the story-obsessed bird to be waiting for them outside the room, but that turned out not to be the case.

After a short bit of navigation, Klepto was surprised to find himself above the remains of an ancient city. Here he was thinking they had still been a good ways away from their destination. Maybe the crowned bird had moved him? Through a tunnel? Or maybe it was one of those dumb tricks where the sand moved around a lot and the city was underneath your hooves the whole time.

"These guys really had a thing for sn-*hic* ...snakes, didn't they?" The broken walkways and towers all seemed to be position in such a way that they were pointing to the temple thing in the center guarded by the giant stone snakes. It was like a giant neon flashing sign reading 'Go This Way'.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Klepto answered, not seeing the point in trekking all the way there. Only thing they would likely encounter along the way were sand and scorpions. Maybe more insane crown birds. "Just be *hic* mindful of the rib cage."

[Stygg Whitefeather]

"Yes," Feathermain replied, taking in the sight of the various snake statues and carvings that lined nearly every inch of the ancient city. “I’m sure there’s something that could be said about it, but let’s focus on the goal – unimaginable treasure and how we’re going to take it.” With that reassurance, the griffon reached over to Klepto, his sharp talon snatching up the equine by the straps of his battle-harness then leapt off the ledge.

They dropped, the ground quickly coming to meet them when Feathermain’s wings finally catch and he shoots off toward the large temple structure with Klepto in tow below him. Even with the drag, the griffon was able to maneuver between the collapsed pillars and around the towers. He would occasionally grace one of these with just the lightest brush of his feathers, hugging dangerously close to the stone edifices for the pony in his grasp. The impromptu flight was over after a few moments as they came to a landing atop the stairs leading to the large stone temple doors. Feathermain shifted his wings, folding them back and adjusted his gear as the approached the door.

“Klepto, happen to read glyphs?” He asked as he ran his talon over a few carvings. They were logographics with alphabetic elements; similar to the ones the griffon had spent studying in the village. However, these were different, more diverse and sophisticated even to the laypony’s eyes. “Quite interesting, this.” Feathermain appeared engrossed by the new etchings, practically entranced. “ha HA!” Then with a strong shove by Feathermain, the tall stone door slowly creaked open. “It was unsealed the all this time. I would say this is an ominous sign but I rather just tell myself that our luck has finally turned around.”

The light from the outside poured through the break in the doors as they slid open, revealing a grand hall. Tall pillars were in two rows adorned with more carved snakes lead deeper inside. In the distance there appeared to be some sort of alter atop a set of stairs and the most prominent thing in the room. Rays of light, their source unknown, were scattered throughout the hall, checker boarding the path towards the central alter. “Ok lad, now is your time to do that voodoo you do – is that what the kids say nowadays? I can never keep up with the lingo. Lead on, this place is likely just brimming with all sorts of deadly traps that will end us quicker than a poisoned dart from an aboriginal zebra.”

[Klepto Moonlit]

Klepto had to spend a good several seconds catching his breath. Feathermain had to be about the worst flier there was. Not that he had expected first class, but- "*hic*" still. Of all the ways to get killed off during an expedition, pilot error would have been the most embarassing.

"No I... I don't read glyphs... *hic*" The thief trotted over to the griffon, just in time to see him open the big stone door into the temple. "Let's just hope they left the security system off."

Inside was a big of line of pillars leading to the altar, as well as a bunch of light pouring in from who knew where. But other than that, the place seemed pretty uneventful. The thief frowned, doubting whether getting to the altar was supposed to be so easy. "Yeah, hang *hic* ...hang on a sec." After a short bit of looking around, he had found himself a nice, boring, medium-size rock. Or at least a rock-shaped building chunk. He took it to the entrance of the temple with him, chucking it inside to see what would happen.

[Stygg Whitefeather]

As the rock that Klepto let fly through the long, dimly lit temple hall toward the alter at its center, it passed through a beam of light that streaked from somewhere above. The moment it passed, a barrage of arrows shot out from high above, striking the ground around the the light ray. Suddenly, the different beams that illuminated the hall shifted; the rock then passed through another that had shifted in its path and again, a new barrage of arrows struck the place around the beam and once more the lights shifted.

"Well, look at that, the old light trap and you just activated it." Feathermain said, before counting off the number of beams silently to himself. The lights shifted again, suggesting that they don't need to be broken to rearrange themselves. "Ten beams, I believe. Well fortune favors the pincushions. Charge!" Feathermain charged into the room, and thankfully was able to fault himself the moment a beam of the light shifted right into his path, his talons and backclaws scratching into the stone surface in his sudden stop. "New plan, let's take this carefully."

[Klepto Moonlit]

Sure enough, getting to the altar wasn't supposed to be so easy. The rock he had chucked made it clear enough that interrupting a beam of light would trigger a stream of arrows flying at the guilty party. So all they had to do was avoid the constantly shifting light beams. And hope this was the only security mechanism they had to worry about.

Klepto only got the chance to hiccup before Feathermain had run beak-first into the temple, only narrowly avoiding a light beam. "Yeah, I like the new *hic* plan a lot better." The thief carefully stepped into the temple, trying to walk through where he thought they wouldn't end up, and keeping his eyes on them just in case they did decide to come his way. "See? Cruddy traps are no match for a little patience and inge-*hic* ingenuity."

[Stygg Whitefeather]

A few quick zips, zags and dodges, and the two adventurers find themselves on the other side of the trapped hallway, before a mighty alter of black stone. Feathermain, with his eyes fixated like a hungry beast before a mighty meal, takes the first steps up the stairs leading to the raised alter. It appeared to be made of black marble, with a recess in the center, like a bastion, with a single drain at the bottom. Feathermain ran his talon over the smooth, cool surface, awestruck. He peered above and below the stone alter, growing seemingly frustrated and confused.

"Where is it? Oh bloody Tartarus, this isn't right at all!" He squawked in protest, "There's suppose to be treasure here - must be some sort of hidden switch. It has to be under the alter, no? Bah!" He throws his hat onto the floor, "Klepto, you're the thieving type, find the mecho-gizmo-thingy." The cat-bird's eye then caught sight of something peculiar. He leaned over the top of the alter, inspecting the bastion in the alter's center, scratching at the surface with his talon, sparking a irritating scrape like nails across a chalkboard. Scratched from the marble's surface was some sort of dark brown grime caked to the griffon's talon. He brought it to his beak and licked it, cringing and gagging the moment after tasting it. "Blood, well that was completely gross of me."

[Klepto Moonlit]

After making their way past the deathly beams of light, thankfully without any arrows jutting out of them, Klepto and his intrepid co-adventurer had made their way to the stairs, at the top of which the altar was waiting. The thief followed Feathermain up to the altar, watching as he felt around the dark stone object, looking about for something that was clearly not there. "Yeah, that might make a nice kitchen counter. *hic* But is there anything else we can loot?"

The pony watched Feathermain's hat go falling to the floor, looking back up when his name was said. "What? Oh, right. The hidden- *hic* The hidden switch thingy." Klepto walked closer to the altar, ducking his head underneath it to get a quick look at the underside. His search was interrupted by the painful sound of Feathermain scratching his talon against the basin. He looked up to find some brown substance on the griffon's claw, which didn't taste very good based off his reaction.

""Blood, huh? Someone must've cut themselves chopping *hic* vegetables or something." The thief put his hooves up on the altar, leaning on it as he looked down into the basin. He stood looking down at the drain and the brown gunk caked around it, thinking to himself for a few seconds. "Maybe there's a blood toll. Take one for the team and slit your wrist or something so we can *hic* fill this sucker up."

"I'd do it myself, but I've donated enough blood to the cause for today."

[Stygg Whitefeather]

"Bah, little blood letting is good for you. Builds character and hypocalcaemia." Feathermain boldly retorted, waving Klepto off as if disappointed with the pony's lack of commitment to assisting in this matter. "I already have enough character for the both of us! But, we wouldn't want you to pass out now as herbavores are wont to do... if you'd only eat a steak once and a while." Feathermain drew a small knife from his waist, extended it and a talon over the bastion, then slipped the blade over the palm. As it drew away, a steady stream of blood followed, trickling into the bastion.

The blood drained into the center, only the reemerge from tiny holes at the base of the alter, where it connects to the floor, bleeding into a faint indentation that let the blood flow in a path down the steps. Feathermain turned to watch, letting his blood continue to drain into the bastion. It was at this moment his eagle eyes spotted something peculiar. A recessed seal, to which the blood was quickly streaming towards. At the seal's center was a symbol of some-sort - Feathermain had seen this before.

"Oh bugger..." Feathermain said disdainfully just as the blood reached the symbol in the crest. There was a loud click, then the portion of the alter they stood on collapsed under the two adventurers and they fell. After a moment of freefall, they hit a smooth, gradual incline, a slide that weaved it's wave deep into the heart of the temple. Feathermain kept trying to slow himself, claws scratching at the walls, pawpads squeaking against the polished stone, unable to slow his decent, he begun to tumble over like a barrel down a chute. Over and over again till finally expelled out onto a large platform, where he rolled to a stop. A trail of feathers leading from the exit of the slide to his bruised body.

As he stirred, groaning from the painful aches all throughout his body, he peered about the place the pony and himself now found themselves in. It was dimly lit, except for a single torch that somehow was still burning after what must have been centuries. Perhaps it was only lit when the alter was activated or perhaps it was some sort of magic. Near the torch was a pool of some viscous liquid that smelled faintly of kerosene. Feathermain collapsed back down, his talon pointing towards the torch. "Be a chap, Klepto and lit that pool. I need a personal minute here."

[Klepto Moonlit]

Klepto watched Feathermain's blood drain into the altar, then noticed it pouring out of several holes in the bottom, following a path to a seal at the bottom of the steps. "Aha, knew it was supposed to do something," the thief thought to himself. The pony turned to say something to Feathermain, but was cut off by a loud clicking sound, followed by the floor beneath them collapsing, sending the two down a slide into who-knew-where.

Klepto tried to do his best to avoid fighting his momentum, more concerned about his landing than how fast he was going. Once the slide had finally come to an end, the thief found himself sliding much further along the floor than Feathermain had, though the old bird ended up looking a lot worse for the wear. A torch and a pool of some unidentifiable liquid was all else Klepto could see.

The pony picked himself up, listening to Feathermain's request and taking a look at the trail of feathers he had left behind. "Are you *hic* serious? You've got wings! You could've taken your sweet time getting down here." The thief looked at Feathermain for another few seconds before heading over to the torch. "Speaking of which, I hope you're still flight-worthy. *hic*" he continued, picking up the torch. "We meh need your wings t' geh out uf here."

Klepto did as Feathermain asked, lighting the pool of liquid using the torch. He then took a few steps back. You know, just in case the thing exploded.

[Stygg Whitefeather]

"I'm not as agile as I once was..." The griffon groaned in response, just now sitting up and checking his wings for breaks. His fur and feathers were a mess and would require a very rigorous pruning later but no worse for wear than that - aside from the aches and bruises.

When the fire touched the viscous, black liquid, it ignited. The flames rushed along a path into the darkness, coursing around what proved to be a very large and cavernous chamber. Feathermain let out a gasp - a shadowy figure, a monster of epic proportions loomed across the expanse, with giant fangs and deep, hollow eyes. As the fire ran its course, the monster that was alive and moving in shadows proved to be anything but alive. The fires gave light to a monstrous skeleton of a creature long dead. Feathermain let out a disappointed sigh. The beast he had come here to fight and subsequently mount its head upon some mantle was nothing more than a pile of bones. The once great snake-beast, clearly terrifying in its day, was no more a threat to anyone or thing. It's bones, still guarding the treasure of the ancient civilization, rested upon a great sum of its most valuable commodity - iron snakes. Simple, now rusty, iron rods crafted in the likeness of snakes - entirely worthless. There was little about this civilization that didn't relate to snakes and their great treasure was just that. Littering around the mound of rusty iron effigies, were simple bobbles, colorful glass beads, bit-a-dozen gems, religious artifacts (which has an unsurprisingly snake-motif), and varies vases and containers, many of which were rotted away and spilling their contents.

"Aw, well this just caps this stupid adventure, doesn't it!? Oh, go to the desert, find the great treasure, and kill the giant snake-god thingy. Bah, should have assumed the thing would be dead after this long, I mean it's obvious we landed on its dinner plate. Without a steady diet of sacrifices, what would it eat? Stupid metal snakes!? Bugger it all." The griffon ranted. "Well, make the best of it. Let's see if there's anything of value here. Maybe there's a gold one in there somewhere."

Feathermain kicked off the ground and slowly flew his way ontop the mound of iron-snakes, landing amongst the ancient monster's bones and begun digging through the iron mountain, tossing snake-effigies down as he dug his way to a hopeful fortune.

This left Klepto we a few points of interest. A series of broken vases in the corner that had something shiny glistening in the fire-light. A stack of ancient scrolls rotting on a few shelves opposite the vases. A mound of gems, not unlike the ones found in Equestria. And finally a stack of the ancient civilization's religious artifacts near the mountain of snakes. There was a lot of items in each pile of interest, would take a while to search each one.

[Klepto Moonlit]

Klepto watched the fire follow the trail of black gunk, quickly making its way down the chamber as it lit up a massive collection of large, curved ribs headed by a ferocious looking skull. "*hic*"

It took Klepto a moment to realize what exactly the thing was: a snake. The big, empty husk of a snake. "Thin' looks like ih shud be in a museum." The thief made his way down to the skeletal mass, noting the pile of metal-snake-things it was sitting on. "So uh... *hic* ...where's th' treser?" The pony didn't care too much that a lack of food had offed the creature before Feathermain had the chance, but it was what the griffon said afterwards that unsettled him.

"Wha...? I thaw' this place was supposed t' have, like, gol'en effigies an' stuff. Not snake *hic* snake-shape' ten' poles." The thief watched hopelessly as Feathermain dug through the pile of metal stakes, letting out a huff and making his way to another part of the chamber. "Some advehntur."

Klepto decided to start with bothering to see what was so shiny over in those broken vases. This cruddy ancient civilization still had a chance to redeem itself, but he didn't know of civilization that kept its goodies in vases. But at least their contents had him more curious than a bunch of stationary, 2-bit gems, and snake-shaped junk that could very well have some sort of snake-related curse. The thief made his way over to one of the broken vases to investigate, bringing the still-lit torch with him.

[Stygg Whitefeather]

There, among the broken vases and ancient sand, Klepto would find something shiney and oddly peculiar. Though the thief wouldn't have the knowledge or where-with-all to understand what he had just unearthed, it's shiny and strange nature would still draw him in like a moth to the flame. There, inside, he would uncover some sort of charm. Ancient, with engravings that were both fascinating as they were unsettling - as if it spoke to the very primal of pony instinct. The object, with its golden surface and fine craftsmanship both begged to be let go while to be drawn close, kept safe and hidden. For the thief, it was too intriguing to let go. There was power within it, power only ponies could feel, and it was craving attention.

Elsewhere, Feathermain found nothing except more iron snakes. Futilely he scoured the pile till he finally gave up and sat on his haunches. "Well I'm beat, find anything worth this trip my thieving pony fellow?" Just as he finished that sentence, something dark fell from above, striking Feathermain on the crest of his head feather. He wobbled for a second then collapsed, unconscious, tumbling down the mound of snake fetishes till coming to a stop at the floor.

There, on a ledge that had been hidden by shadow, a familiar creature peered down. "Finish the story..." The mad griffon hissed as it plopped down onto the mound of iron fetishes. "Tell Loci the pony story, then Loci will rend the flesh, salt the wound, consume the meat and embrace the bones."He grunted, barely audible. The melted golden crown upon his head bore the mark of Feathermain's bullet, embedded in its soft metal. Blood streamed down, encircling the secretary griffon's silver beak. He twitched unnaturally, his brain cooked and damaged. His body barely able to understand the command issued from above. He was dangerous, more so as he snatched up one of the iron snakes from the mound in his talon. He raised, threatening, then dived towards Klepto - screeching mad and thirsty for meat.

[Klepto Moonlit]

Klepto was able to get a closer look at whatever this shiny thing was, but he had no idea what exactly it was supposed to be. A bauble of some sort? Whatever it was, he was fascinated by it. It felt like one of those things that if you were a thief, you just had to take it. The pony leaned in closer, squinting at it to get a better look at its engravings.

He heard Feathermain behind him, mostly ignoring him as he continued to look at the object. But the sound of his compatriot tumbling down the pile of iron snakes cause him to lift his head up, and it was the sound of a hissing, sinister command that startled the thief into turning around.

One look at its owner confirmed who the voice belonged to. It was that mad griffon, and now that the light of Klepto's torch was illuminating him, the thief now had a really good look at all his details. Boy was he ugly.

The thief blinked as the crowned crazy- "*hic*" -continued to speak. The bird had gotten him from behind before, but now Klepto wasn't so... unsuspecting. As soon as it moved, Klepto threw his torch at it, trying not so much to hit it as distract it. He then grabbed the metal bit of his battle harness, tugging it so as to fire the device directly at the twitching, crowned griffon that was diving towards him.

[Stygg Whitefeather]

Like a bottle rocket, the ghoulish griffon charged forth, yet at the moment it would be set upon Klepto, the fire from the torch struck him along the back and knocking him off his path. The griffon struck the ground, sliding along the smooth stone floor till coming to a sudden stop before the tattered vases and jars. He staggered back to his paws and claws, flesh still smoldering, and turned in time to catch several bolts in his body and one wing. Two bolts struck him in his shoulder and side, while the third bolt shredded the feathers from his wing - yet, the crowned griffon was unperturbed. He appeared immune to pain, shrugging the piercing wounds off as if they were bruises.

The crowned griffon shuffled closer to Klepto, his hunched form taunting and twitchy, sliver beak snapping in hunger. "Story..."He groaned out, a talon scarping against the stone releasing sparks and making a ear piercing shriek. In his other talon - a iron snake effigy. "Finish!" His voice rattled again, like a snake with his partial tongue flicking from his beak. "Then... I eat." He struck the ground hard with the iron snake, sounding like thunder. "NOW!"