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Post by King Tidal Wave on Nov 12, 2013 23:26:14 GMT -5
The barrel wouldn't give. Try as Lucky might, he wasn't quick enough to break free from his confinement. The ground was rapidly approaching, and soon the barrel would be smashed into the earth with Lucky inside. There was no escaping it now.
With a loud crack quickly engulfed in a void, and the barrel suddenly began to rapidly decrease in speed as if caught by some benign, tightly woven net. The sounds of the world around Lucky had gone dull and muffled, but it was only for a moment. The barrel was soon launched back up several feet in the air, landing again before eventually coming to a steady state of uneasy rocking back and forth.
By some miracle Lucky had landed in small lake at the base of the mountain. The barrel, and Lucky, had survived the impact. He was shaken, but still alive. In spite of everything that had happened since he left the library, for once he was living up to his name. Lucky indeed.
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Post by Lucky Charm on Nov 13, 2013 1:15:32 GMT -5
Lucky Charm could not believe his luck. Either the barrel had tossed and turned enough to change course in the air or the Griffon just hadn't looked down, but why it was he didn't honestly care just then. Water! He'd landed in water, a lake or river or something or who cared he was alive! And... suddenly very aware of how tired he was. He may have had a long nap recently, but his legs felt like lead. Now he wasn't in immediate danger the rocking motions of the barrel were making him feel kinda drowsy...
No! Nonononono! Lucky shook his head. When that failed to make him feel more alert, he banged it against the front of the barrel. He was still injured. He felt his side - the wound had stopped bleeding, and his recent strenuous activity didn't seem to have reopened it, but that might not be a good thing. He couldn't feel his left rear leg. Either way, in this filth-ridden barrel, it could easily have gotten infected by now. He had some basic first aid gear in his saddlebags - which for some reason the Griffons had left him, probably too mad to care - but he couldn't see for the life of him. He'd need a bit of light. Plus, there was the possibility he was in a river or something about to go over a waterfall, though from what he remembered it was mostly flatlands around the base of Royal Rocks.
To that end, Lucky forced himself to get up - slowly, because sudden movement made the barrel rock and he couldn't keep his balance - and began testing both ends of the barrel to see if either was even a little bit loose after all his kicking. Hopefully they hadn't actually nailed it shut, or getting out of here could take a long time.
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Post by King Tidal Wave on Nov 15, 2013 16:31:50 GMT -5
One end of the barrel seemed a bit looser than the other, probably the side Lucky had been bucking on the way down. How the griffons had fastened the lid, or even what side the lid was, was still hard to tell at this point.
At least the barrel didn't seem to be going anywhere, at least not at the pace one would expect from a river or other flowing source of water. It mostly stayed in place with the waves around it rocking the container and Lucky back and forth.
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Post by Lucky Charm on Nov 15, 2013 19:11:11 GMT -5
The rocking motion was amazingly soothing. One of these days, Lucky decided, I'm gonna find a way to do this that isn't life-threatening. Maybe bring a pillow. That was a consideration for later, though. Ideally when he wasn't in danger of dying from infection. With that rousing thought in mind, he began pushing against the loose end. With a bit more time to think now, he focused on one of the edges instead of just kicking the center repeatedly. If he could work that free, the rest would follow. Simple. Plus, he had plenty of time - not like there was anything else he needed to be doing in that barrel. As his Ogres and Oubliettes buddies would have said, he was taking twenty.
While his hooves worked, Lucky's mind wandered to what he would do next. He certainly wasn't going near that cote again. He could tell the guards, but he didn't have any proof - he had a vague idea that might have been what he wanted to find when he broke in. It had seemed like a good idea at the time anyway. He winced. It always seemed like a good idea at the time. He'd have to get a handle on his impulses before they got him killed - this wasn't even the first time he'd been injured doing something reckless. It might just be his closest escape yet, though.
His work slowed for a moment and he sighed. "The world's changing," he said to nopony. "All these years I've been walking it, I've never seen so much war. So much hate. So much... death..." It was starting to feel very claustrophobic in the barrel. Suddenly the dark didn't feel comforting at all, it was cloying. Suffocating. Full of memories he couldn't think about. Lucky threw himself into his work, finding the loosest edge and kicking at it furiously, as if it was the cause of his problems. As if the lid had destroyed... No. He couldn't think about that. He had to get out. Right now.
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Post by King Tidal Wave on Nov 20, 2013 20:53:10 GMT -5
After a few solid bucks the edges of the end of the barrel finally began to give way. Eventually, one end broke free from the edges of the container, the whole thing coming off after another kick or two.
The barrel had begun taking on water, but Lucky had plenty of time to get himself out. Star and moonlight improved the darkness situation somewhat. At least Lucky could see his surroundings. He was indeed in a small lake at the foot of the mountain, but there were no settlements, houses, or buildings anywhere within sight. Griffons probably knew better than to build anything right below a city, lest they end up with assorted objects or pegasi crashing through their roofs.
What that also meant was that Lucky was at least a good distance from the nearest airship station. Even for a griffon in full health, a flight from the ground to Royal Rocks was strenuous and exhausting. If Lucky planned on returning to the city, airship was his only option. And all he knew was that the nearest airship station was somewhere in the valley.
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Post by Lucky Charm on Nov 21, 2013 2:34:43 GMT -5
In truth it wasn't so much a matter of getting out - once the lid gave way the barrel immediately dipped as the water rushed in, sending Lucky tumbling into the lake. If he ever told this story he'd have to seriously consider editing this scene. Regardless, he quickly took wing and made his way to the edge of the lake to wring out his mane and tail. At least water just slid off of pegasus wings.
Once he was finally- well, not dry, but able to work, he flipped open his waterproof saddlebag (still the best fifteen bits he ever spent) and pulled out what he needed: A roll of bandages, a small rag and a bottle of rubbing alchohol. He took a serious look at his injuries; the light of the moon wasn't strong, but after the pitch darkness of the barrel he found it more than adequate. Happily they weren't so deep as he'd first thought. He probably couldn't bleed to death from these, but an infection could turn even a little wound into a big problem.
Gritting his teeth, he wet the cloth with the rubbing alchohol and wiped it across the first stab wound. A hiss of pain escaped him - this stuff burned! But this wasn't the first time he'd had to disinfect a wound, though he'd never left it this long before. After a while he released that one and did the same with the other, his face scrunching up with the pain.
Finally, once he was satisfied both were as clean as he could make them after the long time they'd been unattended, he took the bandages and began to wrap up that area of his torso. The wounds would probably need stitching, but sewing classes had not prepared him for that kind of work, even if he had the tools. He'd have to find a hospital.
With the immediate first aid tended to, he finally had a chance to look around. He'd explored the valley around Royal Rocks a bit on his previous visits, but he'd never been here before, which essentially meant he had no idea where 'here' was. But years and years of exploring civilized lands and wild ones alike had left him with a pretty good sense of what to do next. He might not be a very good fighter, but here he was in his element.
The first thing he did was to find a safe place to camp; there was a ledge not far above him with a nice overhang that should be ideal. It was out of reach of anything that couldn't fly or climb really well. Fighting his mounting exhaustion, Lucky flew up to the ledge and set down his bags. The night looked to be a warm one - Royal Rocks was probably shielding him from the wind - so he just rolled out his sleeping bag rather than bother with the tent. After a light meal consisting mostly of trail rations and a few drops of tomato juice left in the bottles, he was ready to turn in for the night. Except for one last thing.
Lucky Charm looked up at the moon, hanging in the clear sky surrounded by stars. It was a breathtaking view; if the stories were true, ponies had just ignored and slept through this a thousand years ago. For the hundredth time he wondered how.
After a few minutes of quiet reverence he spoke up, though nopony was around. "I don't know if you had anything to do with that," he said to the moon. "Hay, I don't even know if you can hear me, I'm so far from Equestria. But I remember the promise I made while I was falling. I intend to keep it. But... I also made a promise to go on that expedition. To help explore the temple. I already took the bits for it. I have to follow up.
"But I swear to you, once this is over, I'll go back to Equestria. I'll help out my fellow ponies. I don't know what I'll do, if I'll patch up injuries or fix houses or what, but I will go back and I will help in any way I possibly can. If you can hear me now, you have my word. And if you can't, well, you have it anyway." Finished with what was, in essence, the closest he ever came to a prayer, Lucky lay down in his sleeping bag and finally let the warm blanket of sleep overtake him.
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