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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 6:46:51 GMT -5
Phalanx and Hoplite nearly jumped at Fillydelphia's sudden appearance, as well as being a bit unnerved that she had heard the entire exchange. Quick on her hooves, however, Phalanx returned to her normal pace and turned to Fillydelphia, "Fancy seeing you, Fillydelphia, and even better that you're already well-acquainted with our discussion. I'd invite your to join us, but you seem to have done that already," she teased, "In any case, I'd honestly still prefer the dogs. At least then you know what they're capable of, how to deal with them, how to react to their motions, what their arsenal is, etcetera. With the golems...honestly I don't know much about them beyond the fact that my spear and Hoplite's shield are going to be as useful as butterknives no matter what they're made of."
"To be honest, I'm not sure why we're being brought along besides moral support. If things get hairy, Watermark is the only one of the three of us with a plan of action *and* a means of defense," Hoplite piped up, having only recently regained his composure.
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Post by Red Charge on Feb 6, 2014 6:53:10 GMT -5
"I heard the Golem Maker went mad." Fillydelphia said, "I heard he has his golems kill ponies who stray near his lair." Fillydelphia added, Sapphire Bomber landed next to her.
"Wasn't he Equiterian? I heard he made Princess Luna's pet, the Moonbird. There was that story my parents used to tell me when I was a filly." Bomber explained, "Heard he used to make golems as tall as buildings, with the stopping power of a meteor."
"Actually," Watermark said, "According to Red Charge, the Golem Maker was a student of the Pathfinder and he perfected the art of Golem Making, pushing it beyond imagination. According to Red Charge's story, he made golems that could THINK and FEEL. Golems that were completely INDEPENDENT as though they had LIFE."
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 6:59:53 GMT -5
Phalanx looked over as Bomber landed near them, listening somewhat interested to the pegasi's story. Seemed she had a habit of eavesdropping too, a trait Phalanx made a mental note of.
Sure enough, Watermark pitched in, probably having heard the entire discussion up to this point. And this is why Hoplite and I talk things like this over *alone* she mused. "So then, if that's the case, Watermark...why is it we're off to his house to *steal* these thinking, feeling, essentially living creatures from him? We couldn't just, y'know, talk with him or something?" Phalanx prodded, preferring not to find out the answer to this question later in favour of right away.
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Post by Red Charge on Feb 6, 2014 7:02:33 GMT -5
"Oh the story goes that he sealed himself in the middle of the dungeon because everyone frowned on him trying to make golems out of flesh and blood." Watermark said dismissively, "We'll just pop in and grab a the first few we see. Besides, not ALL of them could think and feel, maybe a few of them though, would be funny trying to steal a thinking golem." The unicorn mused.
Sapphire looked at Phalanx as though saying, 'is this guy real?' but Fillydelphia did not seem disturbed at all by what he had just told them.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 7:05:13 GMT -5
Phalanx, once again, blinked in confusion. Oh yeah, sure, the Golem Maker just...sealed himself in essentially a jail cell because of the backlash ponies gave him over attempting a taboo, and just...left out all his golems on the other side of the jail cell for anypony to take. As improbable as it was, she figured she may as well roll with it.
"Well, beyond the obvious...what's the plan?" Phalanx asked lightly.
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Post by Red Charge on Feb 6, 2014 7:11:14 GMT -5
"We go in, take some golems, get out." Watermark said, as they entered into the Everfree. "We've got a bit of a walk ahead of us. Hopefully we don't run into any dogs." Watermark led the group throughout the forest, occasionally they spotted a Core Hound at a distant clearing, or heard the ambient sounds of monsters growling at each other for territory but they did not encounter any real danger for most of the journey, that is, until they reached a massive tree-like entity in the shape of a horse.
"Ah, see? That's the Golem Maker's doorstep." Watermark said as they approached the three story high wooden horse. Behind said horse was a massive entrance, the doors were big enough for a hydra to fit through. How do these giant constructions keep staying hidden inside the Everfree? Two torches were alight on each side of the door, the color of the flame changed occasionally, going through the spectrum of visible colors, but not in order.
"Oh, these torches. None of you have any bad intentions towards the golem maker do you? Because if you do, those will disintegrate you as soon as you move past them."
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 7:19:37 GMT -5
Phalanx and Hoplite were both awestruck and confused as they stepped up to the door of the Golem Maker's home. The entrance alone was absolutely ginormous, to the point where she wondered exactly why. What was going in or out of this place that needed such large doors? Images of the golem maker constructing gigantic war golems capable of ripping citadel walls down by stomping on them, or using an earth pony as a toothpick.
As they stepped in, Watermark said something that quite nearly caused Phalanx's head to spin. Random coloured torches that slay you instantly the moment you think the golems *might* be dangerous? She actually found herself backing out of the doorway. She was going to say 'Watermark, we'll just stand guard out here okay? You get the golems while we keep an eye out for dogs'...then immediately figured out that just wouldn't happen. Watermark would press for them to enter regardless, or they'd stay out in the Everfree and get chased off by a Terragon, get lost in the Everfree, then ambushed by a group of Diamond Dogs. Having thought it over, a potential death by sudden evaporation sounded heavenly.
She quickly made her way back inside, only absently noticing Hoplite was just as unnerved as she was...and a thought struck her. How did Watermark know this? Seriously, how does one find out not only their function, but their trigger and *still* survive? Did he send in cultists or Red Mages into the building trying random things until he discerned the trigger? Did he *ask* the Golem Maker himself? Did he just *know* this enchantment, having used it before? Was he just pranking them for no reason? She shook her head, pushing the unending questions away and moving on without a word.
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Post by Red Charge on Feb 6, 2014 7:32:33 GMT -5
There was only one problem, Watermark noticed, with going inside. "Those are ... big doors." He said, trying to push one door with no success. "Well that doesn't work." He said, "You four care giving me a hand?" He asked, gesturing at the massive metal doors for them to help him push.
"I don't think even the five of us can open that, Watermark." Sapphire Bomber said, but joined the unicorn in pushing anyway. It took them a few minutes of pushing before they noticed Fillydelphia was not pitching in, when Phalanx looked back she could see why. Fillydelphia was looking back towards the giant wooden horse, which was staring right at her, neck twisted to look backwards at them, despite the fact that it was looking forwards just a moment before.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 7:37:26 GMT -5
Phalanx blinked a few times as Watermark struggled with the door. So...he wasn't aware of the doors potentially being locked or otherwise too large to push alone? So he didn't know what awaited on the other side? She rolled her eyes, knowing this could *only* get worse from here. She motioned to Hoplite and the two helped to try and push the door. Yet, despite the four of their efforts, the door did not budge, which made Phalanx wonder why Watermark didn't just open it with his magic.
Something else caught her eye, though, noticing where Fillydelphia was and what she was doing. She seemed to be looking up towards the 'head' of the 'horse'. Phalanx followed her gaze and indeed did notice that the 'head' had turned to face them. Was *this* a golem? Phalanx instinctively backed away, "Watermark...*tell* me you planned for this," she muttered.
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Post by Red Charge on Feb 6, 2014 7:41:52 GMT -5
Watermark looked back when Phalanx addressed him and noticed the giant horse head staring at them. "Oh, hi!" He called out, moving forwards and waving his hooves around, "Hi, hey, can you help us with the doors? We want to come in." The tree horse did not move, or make any motion acknowledging any of them or what Watermark had asked of him. It was only after a few moments, that the massive doors to the dungeon began to open slowly with a very ominous screeching of metal against stone.
"Hah, asking nicely always helps." Watermark said with a grin.
"I bet he's just not afraid of us because he knows those torches will vaporize us as soon as we go in!" Sapphire Bomber said, seeming more than slightly afraid of crossing the threshold.
"Oh don't speak such rot, none of us have any intentions to harm the Golem Maker, so it shouldn't be a problem." Watermark dismissed her, crossing the threshold into the lair, "Se.." He started, before the torches, in the blink of an eye emitted a stream of flames, turning the zebracorn to ashes.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 7:54:23 GMT -5
Phalanx blinked a few times as the doors opened, Watermark grinning widely all the while. She figured it best not to question it, as regardless of how it happened, the doors were now open. Bomber's words did nothing to ease her worry, though, reminding her yet again of a potential death by vaporization.
Watermark, though, didn't seem to care about the threat. He walked inside confidently, and for a moment Phalanx was finding a bit of ease.
And then Watermark was incinerated.
Right away the sight of Watermark being turned almost immediately to ash caused her to yelp, having not expected this to happen. After all, Watermark knew what the torches did and had a plan past them...right? Hoplite scurried back away from the ashes, the full impact of what just transpired hitting the earth pony and instilling more than a bit of fear.
Phalanx was utterly at a loss as to what they should do. If Watermark had a plan, it was gone now. There wouldn't be much point in continuing this attempted theft and potentially losing more ponies to the torches. She needed a moment to think, collect her thoughts, and come up with some sort of plan or idea of what to do.
She needed time to get the image of Watermark being burned alive out of her head.
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Post by Red Charge on Feb 6, 2014 7:58:20 GMT -5
Fillydelphia stood silent as it transpired and Sapphire Bomber let out a screech. "Watermark!" She called out. Not a second after, Phalanx heard the familiar sound of his laughter as she now saw him leaning against one of the doors laughing his heart out.
"Oh my stars you should have seen your face. Oh I haven't laughed like that in a while, whew." Watermark said, wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes. "Okay, alright, I'm fine..." He gave in to another fit of laughter, "Okay, I'm fine now, I promise."
"That was NOT funny!" Sapphire called out angrily, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" The zebracorn shrugged.
"Gotta lighten the mood somehow right?" He asked, standing before the pitch blackness of the Golem Maker's Lair and waiting for the others to join him.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 8:06:03 GMT -5
Phalanx froze in her confusion. Oh, okay, sure, so Watermark had been burned alive and turned to ash...and he got better. Or did he just cast an illusion on them to scare the living daylights out of them, just for fun? Okay, Phalanx had enough. "Okay, no, not cool at all that you would find that having us watch you die is absolutely hilarious. I'm not going in," Phalanx frowned, "You had us believe you died, okay? And yet that, the sight of us in grief and terror having watched you burn...was funny?! And best of all, you don't even seem apologetic in the slightest."
Hoplite, on the other hoof, was still in shock and didn't so much as say a word or move from where he was.
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Post by Red Charge on Feb 6, 2014 8:20:21 GMT -5
"Oh come on, don't be a sour ball! It was just a prank, like the one you do with the flickering flashlight, the trail of ketchup and the pony shaped rag-doll. Come on now, we'll never get anything done if we stand out there."
Fillydelphia, who seemed unimpressed as usual by the entire situation joined Watermark on the other side and very reluctantly, so did Sapphire, first moving her hoof past the torch line, then her wing and then literally jumping through to get to the other side as fast as possible. She seemed very relieved once she was there.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 8:26:25 GMT -5
"*Just& a prank?" Phalanx snarled, "*Just* a prank?! Do you *really* think the sight of you being lit on fire and turned to ash is, in any way, a good or 'fun' thing to do? I ju-..." she stopped, realized that there just wasn't any point anymore. She was talking to a brick wall at this point, she couldn't leave, and staying out here was nigh suicide.
She grumbled, backing up to help Hoplite get to his hooves. "Forget it, I'm done," Phalanx blankly stated, "Just don't you even *think* about doing that again." With that said, she and Hoplite both walked through the torch line, Hoplite still a bit in shock and Phalanx simply ceasing to care.
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