Dealing with Slavers [CLOSED]

Starry had only been back in Stableton for a single day since her return from the factory, but she had spent that entire day hard at work. She had brought back at least two dozen sparkle-cola bottles, and poured the contents into a large empty keg in the corner of her shack. The bottles she had mixed with a large amount of lighter fluid and some sparkle cola, which would cause the flammable mixture to stick to whatever it came in contact with. Starry had fitted the two dozen cocktails around a utility belt, and each bottle was corked with a thick rag doused in the flammable liquid. The weapons may not have been particularly powerful nor as instantly lethal as a pistol, but a well placed bottle to the face would certainly spell a long, painful death for anypony it came in contact with.

Starry had also been working on a new pipe mine she had found a schematic for. That was not a particularly difficult design either, but Starry needed to pick up some large batteries to complete the design.

Starry fastened the belt around her waist, before opening the door to her shed wide. She was grinning proudly as she felt the sun beaming down on her, casting her in what felt light spotlight. She felt like a hero, emerging from their humble abode to go on a brave adventure and kick some ass. "Wastelands, here I come!" Starry shouted assertively.

Slowly, the supposed spotlight faded as Starry's eyes adjusted to the brightness. She sighed, her win-the-day attitude waning as she lifted a hoof to adjust her glasses. 'This is a diplomatic meeting, no ass-kicking to be had here. Still, I don't know why the Mayor would hoof-pick me to negotiate a trade-route with Old Appleoosa, I tend to blow up just about everything I'm tasked with.'

Indeed, the mayor had given this important task to Starry to accomplish. She had told her to gather up a few of the ponies(or griffons, or zebras) around the settlement to bring along for the task. 'The more the merrier', the mayor had said.



THREAD DETAILS
The story is about a few of the ponies around Stableton heading over to Old Appleoosa to work on the town's first trade deal with another settlement. There is a plot twist, I can't let you in on all the details.

This thread is CLOSED, sorry bronies, but we've reached the highest feasible number of ponies for this thread.

I'll try to be the game warden for this thread, and I may try experimenting with a different formula for combat/rolls. I'll be doing most of this from behind the scenes, letting you know if you've succeeded with a particular combat technique or difficult skill roll through the game warden account. For the sake of brevity, please do not expect the game warden to make rolls for mundane tasks where time is not of value or there is no opposition.

Also, this has not been a problem, but please do not try to make speech or combat rolls against other players. It is up to the other player to be a good roleplayer and decide when to take another player's hit, or what argument to fall for. Also know that an NPC may make a speech or barter attempt on you, but will never roll for it. You won't be coerced by the dice into a particular response.

DO NOT use any items or equipment you find in this thread in any other thread until this one has been concluded. The reason for this is that it is not guarenteed you will have those items when this adventure finishes. Items may break, become lost, or be stolen from you throughout the course of the adventure, and you are not guarenteed to get them back.

The day of all days Sky had nothing to do but sit around her shack and sleep, even sleeping was getting her bored. She stood up from her bed, and walked out the door. Where she was going she didn't know, but being cooked up in her shack all day wasn't an idea to think about. she put on her old security barbing and her face mask. Finally she got her baton, the only weapon she had left since they escaped the stable.

"i never get to put this stuff on, might as well make it that day." she muttered to herself, as she walked outside her shack. 'now where to go?' She thought to herself as she looked around. then she saw her outlet, the Tavern.

Lucky awoke with a start, and jumped to his hooves. A bad dream had just cruised through his psyche, and it did nothing for the buck's mood. He stretched his back and looked around the vendor stall he had fallen asleep in, trying to remember what he had been doing before he had passed out. However, he couldn't recall a single memory, so he set about collecting his bags and packs to move out. Lucky checked his PipBuck for any messages in an attempt to remember what had happened yesterday, and saw that he had a note from the mayor of Stableton. He pulled up the passage and read it, a small frown crossing his face as he did so.

"Trade route, eh? Well, guess it wouldn't hurt business much to expand the inventory a bit." His stomach growled loudly as soon as he finished his sentence, and he looked around in his food pack for anything cheap he could eat without costing himself much. Finding nothing, he sighed. He couldn't quite place his hoof on it, but today it seemed like something was wrong. Deciding that it was just his stomach speaking to him, Lucky headed in the direction of the saloon, hoping that they had their selection of assorted junk out for breakfast already.

"Hello, fellow Stable Dwellers, this is your field reporter, editor, journalist, and photographer, Shutter, of 113 News! Special story today, as soon as I find out what it is!"

Shutter said happily, as he spoke into his pipbuck, having taken a break from packing the usual travel essentials to make one of his personal 'news recordings'.
He was currently sitting inside his small shack, the place consisting of little more then a locker, a mattress, and a desk that looked like it could snap in half at any second, from how worn it was.

"For the one of you listening, I have just been chosen...er...wait, maybe selected would be better? oh, who cares! I'm finally getting to do something big! And asked personally by the mayor, no less! Though...it probably would have been nice if they had said more details then 'You're needed to do something, go find Starry and they'll fill you in'. Maybe they were just too busy to tell me themselves...well, anyway, More news on whats happening, once...I find out what actually IS happening..."

With a smile, he shut off the recording, the voice file saving onto his Pip-buck with many others he had made over time, almost like an odd diary of events.

Getting back to work, Shutter pulled open the desk, and retrieved a 9mm Pistol concealed inside with his mouth, affixing the weapon carefully onto the worn-looking utility belt strapped around his middle, a blunt-looking kitchen knife carefully attached on the other side.

"Okay, armaments, check! Now for supplies..."

-------------

Stepping out of his shack, saddlebags donned, and weapons holestered, but still ready for action (Or about as ready for action as a blunt knife and worn-out handgun could be...), Shutter looked around, trying to spot the Blue Unicorn he was supposed to report to, to find out what this 'mission' was.

Athanix walked up to Stableton with only a smile on his face. If any place was going to have a decent pair of spectacles in this unforgiving wasteland than it would be the refugees of the stable-ponies. Making a mental note of his current position, he squinted out into the distance and began to look for ponies. He saw a couple blobs of what appeared to be drunken ponies stumbling out of a near by building. Drunken ponies meant one of two things; either that was the towns local tavern, or those weren't drunken ponies at all but horribly injured pony stumbling out of a strangers home. Athanix figured the former to be true rather than the latter, but the thought of the second one made him chuckle a bit even considering how wrong that would be.

'Perfect! Athanix thought to himself. Where better to gather information than the local tavern? Maybe he could score some information on a new pair of glasses. Or he could perhaps hustle a pony into betting their pair. Either which way, the zebra tightened his small bag of herbs on his side and double checked to make sure he had a knife on him. He then walked towards the tavern ready to play the cards fate would deal him this time. Athanix didn't know what he would recive, but he was feeling particularly lucky today. Whether it be talking a pony out of his caps or his glasses, Athanix was going to actually get something done today. Heck he might be lucky enough to score himself a job!

But what are the odds that someone needs a smooth operator out in the wastes? A zebra no less?

((Gallant isn't really suited for this one, but I'll be keeping an eye on it's progress :3))

Starry trotted her way over the the tavern. She didn't drink alcohol, but she knew several strong ponies who might, who she was hoping she might run into there. Starry stopped to reflect on that for a moment.
"Strong ponies who I can count on," Starry said to herself, before grinning widely. "I've been spending most of the last year out here in the wastes alone. Friends seem rarer in these wastes than any pre-war tech, I should count myself lucky to have made a few."
Starry spotted the water treatment facility as she trotted, and after sniffing the contents of her canteen, decided to take a quick detour. She had filled her canteen with lighter fluid again yesterday, while she had been working on the fire bombs. After all the work she had done, the canteen had been emptied, but the inside still smelled of lighter fluid, which she needed to wash out and refill with drinkable water.
After leaving the factility with a water-filled canteen, Starry continued on her way to the tavern. Starry worried that if any of her new friends hadn't decided to visit town, or had left earlier, then she'd have trouble finding ponies to join her. She remembered coming back to Stableton with Sparkfire, so she was sure she could ask the dragon to help her on her mission.

Techno leaned on the bar in the tavern, head down on the hard surface of the counter, not drunk but dead tired; he hadn't been able to sleep since his escapade a few days earlier. He'd come to the tavern about an hour earlier, when the bar opened for the day, bought breakfast, Radgator stew, and just sat there and recalled the past day, which was mostly walking along the roads leading back to Stableton, encountering only enough action to prevent him from getting more than five minutes of sleep total. He truely hoped that the owner didn't mind him sitting there, which he probably didn't because of the low traffic that the tavern got early in the morning. He picked his head up as he heard another pony enter, as one hadn't walked in for a solid half hour, and instantly perked up when he saw who it was. "Oh hey Starry!" he called over the constant low level of general chatting in the tavern, waving to the other blue unicorn, quite happy to see that she hadn't blown herself up quite yet.

When Spark Fire had entered the town, he could feel eyes being drawn onto him, despite his cowl and cloak. "It must be my tail, I think its sticking out... perhaps I should get a new cloak." He mused to himself.

He slithered into the Tavern he tried to find a spot in the corner, hoping not to draw further attention to himself. He only ordered a soup and some water. When they arrived, he was not sure which was which. Still he drank both of them greedily.

He was tired, tired of the lack of work available, and tired of all the fights he had to be in, only because he was a dragon... He hoped that this town would prove better then the last, and perhaps he would finally see a friendly face without scheming eyes...

Starry had entered the tavern, looking a little dumbfounded. It was her first time in this establishment, and she had no idea where to go or who to talk to. Her eyes focused on Techno the moment he started speaking, and Starry became suddenly cheerier.

"Oh!! Hi there! Uh, doc!"

'I still don't know his name, has he ever told it to me? Maybe he has, and I just forgot, or wasn't listening. I do that often.' Starry had thought to herself. 'That's okay, just call him doc, make it sound like a nickname. Yeah, that makes sense.'

"Hey doc! How'd you like to come with me on a brand new mission from the Mayor herself? We could use a talented doctor... doc."

Starry coughed nervously as she took a seat next to Techno. "So how about it, doc? I could use a talented doctor like you, what with your professional doctor-ing, doc."

Starry grinned smugly. 'Flawless. He doesn't suspect a thing'

Techno gained a grin, himself, out of both being happy that Starry was here and out of an impending response, because anything associated with Starry is the exact opposite of boring, which was exactly what the past few days had been like for Techno. "So, you're going on a mission from the mayor, eh? Details?" he asked, before adding one thing: "Techno, by the way." he said, "told it to you directly when we met on the road, but I'm fine with just being 'Doc'."

Starry quickly jumped to respond the moment Techno said his name. "Techno! I knew that! Why wouldn't I know that? Of course I know that. I just like calling you doc, is all. Techno."

Starry sighed a breath of relief, feeling she had just masterfully maneuvered what for her is the dangerous minefield of casual conversation.

"The mission, right. The mayor would like us to negotiate a trade route with Old Appleoosa! It'll be an exciting opportunity to benefit Stableton. We've been here a little over a year, and now's our first real chance to start building ties with neighboring settlements!"

Techno let out a chuckle. "Well, then thank you for remembering the instant I said it, Starry." he said with the grin still on his face. "So, you're going to negotiate trade wiiiooouhh" he said, yawning in the middle of his sentence, "Sorry, just a bit tired, heh heh... So, you're negotiating trade with Old Appleoosa? Alone?" he asked, blushing a bit after the yawn, but regaining his composure by asking a question.

"Yes! I mean, no! Because you'll be there! Right?" Starry still wasn't sure if Techno would be coming along or not, but she definately was hoping he would.

"It would basically be you and anypony else I could find to come with us. I could probably convince Sparky to join us, I'm pretty sure he's in town."

"Other than him, I figure I can just ask around the tavern here. That's where you go when you're trying to recruit people for an adventure, right? That's how it always is in the comic books."

Lucky walked into the tavern and looked around. At the bar was a pair of blue pegasi, having a conversation. A strange cloaked figure was slinking into a back booth, and a large group of townfolk had just settled in for breakfast. The smell of food set his stomach rumbling, and Lucky headed towards the counter to grab a bite to eat. He settled in a seat three down from the pegasi, and ordered some beer and a radigator steak. He closed his eyes and waited for the food to arrive.

"Okay, don't worry Techno. I know we're both worried about how to convince ponies to join us on this mission, but I happen to know a lot about talking to ponies, from books, and books never lie."

Starry pointed her hoof at Lucky Draw, "See that pony sitting right next to us? Watch as I convince him to join in our mission with my winning charm. I'm gonna recite this from straight out of the book, the poor sucker won't know what hit him." Starry seemed oblivious to the fact that Lucky was within earshot, and could, in fact, hear what she had just said perfectly well.

Starry turned to face Lucky, pointing her hoof at him again to catch his attention(even though she probably already had it). "Hey you! Yeah, that's right, you! The handsome young stallion sitting right over there! I bet you're a risk-taker, aren't ya? Yeah, I think you are! You know, risk takers get all the mares! That's right! And what better way for a stud like you to win over all those beauties than to go on a daring quest! Think of the danger, the action, the excitement! Now that's a quest worthy of a hero like you! Whaddya say?"

Starry turned back to her unicorn friend with a smug look on her face. "Well? Pretty good, huh?"

Athanix spit out his drink as he double over in laughter. He clutched his stomach with a hoof as he got up and tried to regain him composure.

''Oh boy! That was rich! It's been a while since I've heard something as hilarious as that.'' Athanix dusted the imaginary dust off himself as he grabbed what appeared to be an unoccupied stool. He sat up as he ordered another drink.

''Don't knock yourself out zebra, that might be a little strong for you.'' The bar keep said turning around to wipe down a bowl.

Athanix smiled as he pulled out a very small pouch of herbs. This was his last bit but why not? He took the remaining herbs in the pouch and sprinkled the fine powder into the drink, shaking it around a bit until the powder had dissolved into the drink.

''I'll betcha 100 of my own caps that you couldn't even drink this without hurling you breakfast up.''

The bar keep spun around as he set down the bowl, a grin on his face.
''I think I can handle my own mixes zebra, prepare to lose your caps.'' With that the barkeeper took a swig before promptly falling to the ground in a temporary herbally induced coma.


Athanix just smiled as he leaned over the counter and spotted a familiar looking soda bottle. Picking it up and setting it on the counter, Athanix popped the cap off and spoke in the kindest voice he could muster.

''But I'm not trying to offend you. No! I'm just an almost blind zebra looking for a nice pair of spectacles and a job. No hard feeling? I even got you a drink, my treat.'' Athanix then turned to the two blue blobs that sat right next to him.

''How about you two colorful equines? Would you like a drink as well?''

Lucky looked at the mare and blinked. He then opened his mouth and replied, "Lemme guess, you got a letter from the mayor too? Also, nice try, but I've had a copy of 'Lying, Politician Style' in my bags before." He turned back to the bar just in time to see his food arrive. He greedily tore into his steak, and downed half his beer in one gulp. He looked at the counter behind the unconscious barkeep to examine his collection of booze, since he had a couple bottles of something he found in a ruined house and was willing to sell.

Techno just sat there with a small twitch in his eye as his friend probably just convinced a random stranger to go on a dangerous mission to establish trade with a far away town, with the road leading to it full of raiders, bloatsprites, and who knows what else.

Then he watched as the zebra across the bar from him challenge the barkeep to a drinking dare and knocked him out with a rather clever temporary poison, gaining a hundred caps in the process.

He facehoofed.

"I don't even know, by now." he said, letting out a deep sigh. "No thank you, I'd prefer to keep my consciousnesses as it is." he said, addressing the zebra, before turning to Starry. "So, Starry, you're just going to ask around for ponies to join us on a dangerous mission which would probably involve being put in the face of mortal danger, injured, mutated and or killed, along with the possibility of being captured by slavers and being forced to be slaves for the rest of our lives. You'll probably need a medic before you even leave town, so I'm going with you." he said, confirming his accompaniment on the mission.

''You think I spiked this perfectly fine sparkle-cola?'' Athanix said raising an eyebrow. ''I would never do such a thing to such interesting ponies.'' With that he took a sip of the cola and set it back down on the table. Then seeing the bar keep starting to get up off the floor rubbing his head, Athanix tossed him the cap from the cola bottle.

''Here you go, you'll probably make better use of the thing than I can bud.''

Athanix then turned to the blue unicorn that addressed him so cold just a moment ago.
''Do you by any chance know where a zebra such as myself can get a job where I don't have to worry about ponies trying to kill me for a war long passed? I just need some caps to buy me some glasses to wear.''

Techno turned to see that the Zebra was talking to him again. "Sorry, but I really don't know, bud. I haven't really been around many towns, let alone shops. Have you tried escorting a caravan?" he asked, not exactly sure what to tell the Zebra, having no experience with any job hunting whatsoever.

"Glasses, eh?"

Lucky finished his meal and turned to face the zebra at the bar. "Hold on, I might have a pair on me somewhere."

He pulled a bag of of his back and began rummaging through it, reaching his entire foreleg into the burlap container. He pulled his leg back out and produced a stained black box. "Here we are, one pair of glasses." Lucky opened the box and set a bent and cracked, but intact, pair of spectacles on the counter. "How many caps you got?"

Shutter would have wandered Stableton for a short while, looking for his contact.
"Oh come on...where could they be?! You'd think if there was a mission, there would be a caravan being set up, or something..."
He mumbled, annoyed that his search was turning up very little in the way of results.

"Okay, okay...let's think...If I was setting up a potentially dangerous mission, where would I go before i set out? Hopefully not home to pack supplies...don't really know where Starry lives, and I already checked the traders...

...Maybe the tavern? One last drink before hitting the road? Eh, it's worth a shot right now..."

Shutter usually didn't go to the tavern pretty much ever, due to his almost zero alchohol tolerance, but right now, he was running out of options, and he really didn't want to mess up this mission before he'd even left Stableton by not being able to find Starry! He almost never got trusted with anything important, and this was his chance to shine! If he had to brave the Local Tavern to do it, then so be it!

With a stride in his step, Shutter immediatly headed towards his goal, trotting up to the tavern building, and shoving the door open with his head in a surprising show of forced bravado!

This bravado quickly turned to confusion when he saw the barkeep passed out on the floor though...but hey! That looked like Starry over there! He didn't really know the mare aside from her name and a few stories of certain explosive cherry bomb exploits (one of which he'd actually wanted to try and report on, back when he had a steady job, but the story was cut and replaced with something more 'positive'), but he did recognize them from back in the Stable...The name of the pony next to them was eluding him though, were they from the stable too? Well, that wasn't really important right now...

Without wasting a beat, he approached the unicorn mare...he would have ordered a drink of water first, but...well...that might have been a bit difficult with the barkeep's current situation, and he wasn't a thief.

"Hey! Starry! Er, sorry if I'm interrupting something right now, but the mayor wanted me to see you! Something about a mission?"

Spark Fire's ears perked up when he heard someone call him by that nickname. "Could Starry be here? She was always nice to me, and unlike that other Unicorn, she didn't think of me as hired muscle..." He thought to himself.

He rose from his seat, forgetting to go on all fours and he saw her, talking with a whole bunch of ponies. Something about a mayor and a job. A job with her sounded good, as there would be no shortness of action. He quietly walked over to the source of her and saw that she was talking to a light brown earth pony.

He knew he wasn't suppose to interrupt, so he quietly waited, forgetting that he towered over other ponies as he quietly hummed a melody that always put calm'd him down.

Techno looked over and saw a cloaked figure standing bipedal over the rest of the ponies in the tavern, presumably a dragon. "Hey, Starry, if you want some real help, there's a dragon over there. Who knows, he could be really helpful if he's willing to go." he said, gesturing in the general direction of the dragon. "Just don't try that 'the heroes get all the mares' thing. You'll probably just get roasted and I'd have my first job since Trails."