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Post by Lucent Leer on May 30, 2013 13:39:55 GMT -5
Lucent reasoned that he should rely on his strengths if he wanted to have any chance of conquering the stranger's challenge. If it was going to be a maze, honing his already keen sense of direction might give him the edge he needs. How would he do that though? He unfurled the map and looked over the Griffon Kingdom. An eager smile stretched across the unicorn's face as an idea struck him. He's never been to the Rocy Mountains... ---------------------- Traveling by boat was probably nothing compared to an airship, but it at least got him where he needed to go and was within his budget. The vast mountain range was now before him. All he had to do was pick a direction and start walking.
While he still had all the gear that he had brought for his stay in Stone Valley, Lucent had also spent some bits in Trottingham on a few other pieces of equipment: a few more sheets of parchment, some ink, a set of basic mountain climbing gear and a machete. Lucent had been hesitant about the last purchase, now holding the sharp blade in front of him. Sure, it was handy for clearing a path or gathering wood, but it could also serve as a weapon. He had been fortunate in his encounter with Baxter; a different wolf might have ripped him to shreds! The unicorn gave the tool a few clumsy swings, already feeling a bit more confident.
Lucent etched a large X into the ground below him and stowed the blade. If he was going to rely on his navigational strengths, he should be able to return to this spot again after traveling a day outwards. “Hopefully getting lost will be my only concern,” he nervously chuckled to himself. Gathering his things, Lucent began his trek across the mountains.
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Post by Bowie on May 30, 2013 14:47:14 GMT -5
The Rocy Mountains were surprsingly peaceful that day. A few drifting clouds would hide the sun, darkening the environment every once in a while, and a cool breeze drifted thorough the otherwise warm air.
Perhaps if Lucent listened carefully enough he could hear a few small critters or birds scuttering about, but otherwise he was quite alone. After all, the griffons often stuck to the air and their cities. Who knew, perhaps Lucent was the first to visit this spot in several months!
There were still a few sparse trees here and there at Lucent's altitude, but they began to disappear the further he looked up the mountain, their prescence replaced by that of boulders and rocky cliff-sides. Trekking through the mountains at this height would only take a moderate effort. If Lucent wanted to ascend further, that was another thing.
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Post by Lucent Leer on Jun 8, 2013 20:42:55 GMT -5
He made small notes on a sheet of parchment as he strode across the cliffs, taking in the distinguishing traits of the area around him. The unicorn looked up to the sun hanging in the afternoon sky to denote his heading. East, splendid! He had to keep his bearings if he wanted to have any sense of the path back to the X. Lucent took in a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. This wasn't so bad! The weather was fantastic and it was plenty quiet! It was just like his childhood adventures around the outskirts of Trottingham. Mapping out the unknown, letting every new detail reveal itself. It had seemed so long ago now. Just where had all the time gone?
Lucent scanned the rocky ridge now at his side. The surveyor had had some field experience in the past with rocky terrain, but had never grown too comfortable with it. He had to start scaling upwards before it got too dark, though. Lucent took in another slow breath, this time to calm himself. He checked his bag; a set of spiked treads, a sturdy rope and several pitons was all he had between himself and a nasty fall. Slipping the boots on, he tried to get a decent grip and keep all his hoofs steady as he begun to ascend the stony slope.
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Post by Bowie on Jun 9, 2013 13:40:25 GMT -5
At first, it seemed Lucent's climb was going to go without incident. Though it was by no means a cake-walk, the unicorn was making steady progress as he ascended the mountain. After a good amount of climbing, however, he was thrown off guard when the rock from underneath one of his back hooves slid out from under him. It didn't send him careening down the mountain, but a wrong move while he was recovering slammed his rear haunches into the mountain. They were bruised, but far from broken.
The surveyor finally reached a small, flatter ridge where he could take a moment to rest. The trees were now far below him, with rock and cliff-side his only immediate neighbors. Stone Valley was sprawled out before him, with what looked like a puddle likely being Lake Placid. He had a good view of the clusters of forests and meadows, perhaps useful if he wanted to get a good layout of the land below.
Still, no other sentient life seemed around to bother the unicorn. No ponies, no griffons, and no malicious wildlife. He was quite alone.
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Post by Lucent Leer on Jun 30, 2013 13:17:57 GMT -5
Finally satisfied with his grip onto the rocky slope, the unicorn began to ascend. Just one hoof forward...there...then another. Nothing to it! It wasn't nearly as hard as he remember, and Lucent slowly gained confidence the higher he climbed. It seemed like it was all going to go without any trouble. He started to increase his pace, clamoring up the mountainside at a decent rate. Lucent looked up and spotted a large ridge just a short distance away! As his eyes were fixed upwards, however, he failed to noticed the loose stone he placed his back hoof on.
His back leg gave and, for a brief moment, he lost control. A hundred thoughts raced through Lucent's mind, but they were all lost in his panic. His grip faltered on one of his front hooves and he began to slide downward. The unicorn became frantic and wildly dug at the rocky ledge with his free hoof, desperately trying to find a hold. The spikes caught onto something after a few seconds, but the sudden stop in the momentum of the descent whipped his body into the mountain.
Lucent cried out as his haunches took the brunt of the impact. He could feel tears welling up from the pain. Dangit, that was close! He was battered, but still alive. The ledge was still only a little bit away too. He pushed himself to clear the distance and pulled himself onto the ridge.
The surveyor rolled over and rubbed his aching rear legs. Maybe that was enough scaling for awhile. At least he could take this time to rest. He looked out over the ridge, seeing the entirety of Stone Valley stretched below him. Lucent had been to the valley so many times, but he had never seen it from so high up. It was...amazing.
There had been so many places that he had visited and studied, recording and measuring all sorts of terrain and landmarks, yet he rarely had the time to really appreciate these landscapes. They had mostly all just been markings on a map to him. Here he was know though, taking it all in. A small clutch of trees was revealing its beautiful autumn colors; the meadow grasses carpeted the unforested areas with lush shades of green. He focused his eyes and saw that the calm lake was actually teeming with fish life.
Lucent spent a good hour watching the valley below. He wish he could have stayed on that ridge all day, but he knew that he needed to move on. Time was not a factor that was on his side. The unicorn took a few notes on the same strip of parchment before tightening his treads and getting up. He would make a descent to the base of the mountain on the other side. There was a large stretch of woods there, so he planned to spend a large portion of the day wandering them before making camp. At least, that's what he hoped. He tested his grip on the ledge once again. Satisfied, he began to make his way downward.
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Post by Stygg Whitefeather on Jul 6, 2013 9:58:40 GMT -5
The trek down was, as the ascent, mostly uneventful except for some precarious hoof-steps and loose rocks. Lucent also found himself the unfortunate victim of a patch of thorny nettles, albeit, a rather annoying predicament, hardly worth something to write home about. When he arrived at the base, however, things begun to change from the tranquil nature of the hike to something more unsettling.
Leading into the forest from the mountain's base was the signs of recent activity from some sort of intelligent life - and a fair number of them. Disturbed soil and rocks from being treaded upon, the occasional littering of artifacts possibly indicative of a warband. Who they were was not clear, nor when they had likely passed through. Lucent would be certain he didn't see anything from his vantage point upon the ridge, yet, the evidence was clear that something - at one point, passed through. It could easily be ignored, there had been plenty of skirmishes in the region over the years between the Griffons and numerous tribes and monsters that tried to encroach upon their cities. It was probably best to look around first before venturing further, it was in all likelihood this was just some old trek by a long since disbanded or destroyed party.
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Post by Lucent Leer on Jul 31, 2013 23:42:06 GMT -5
Although he was a bit more confident with climbing now, Lucent took the descent slow, his haunches still aching a bit. He stumbled a bit towards the end, almost tumbling into a patch of nettles before catching himself. Otherwise, with a bit of nervous laughter, the unicorn made it down with little incident. He thought things would only get easier now. It was only level ground from here! However, after only venturing a bit into the forest, he was met with a peculiar sight: clear signs that someone had come through this area. While that normally didn't seem like much cause for concern, it had been so quiet so far that the idea put him on alert. Not to mention that his last encounter with a stranger around these parts had been a wolf!
What really caught his attention, though, was all the knickknacks scattered here and there across the forest floor. A few scraps of leather, an empty knapsack, a waterskin; all the items he found certainly looked worn. At least he had found the trail of some sort of civilized people and not some monster! Upon searching further, Lucent yelped in surprised as he felt something pointy prod his hoof. Looking down, he saw the offending object to be a fallen arrow.
“On second thought, I'd rather not meet with this group either,” the unicorn muttered to himself.
He continued to collect the assortment of abandoned goods, curiously looking over each one in great detail to try and get some inkling of who they belonged to or where they had come from. Lucent, however, didn't forget to take in his surrounding either, occasionally scrawling a few notes on the same sheet of parchment.
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Post by Stygg Whitefeather on Aug 13, 2013 17:19:01 GMT -5
Lucent found the discarded refuse to be clearly indicative of diamond dogs, with the recent battles waged in Equestria, every pony would have become at least rudimentary familiar with their distinct and crude design. Certainly not the craftsmanship of the griffons and ponies would have no use for these designs. Thankfully, they appeared rusty and weather worn. Whoever they had belonged to were likely long gone. Lucent was in the clear.
The surroundings were typical of the region, with the old grow forest sprawling out before him on an endless expanse. Nearby to his right, he would be able to detect the sound of water running swiftly over rocks in what must amount to a tiny brook which likely drained into the nearby Lake Placid. There was little else here, say for the caw of a bird and the rustling of leaves in the tree-tops. As before, he was still very much isolated and alone.
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