Dragon Age: Pony Origins (Private)

[SunlightHeart]

"A few reasons," she answered. "Everyone here isn't as sturdy as you or I. At least three of use came straight here from Ostagar and haven't had any real food or rest in days. I need to keep Sky alive and stable. With only two wardens left, the Darkspawn have all but won Fereldan. I have to keep her near and in top condition." Grym pulled out her swords with her magic and held them up to Gossan for inspection. The blades were nicked and dull, while the the stabbing points were severely blunted. She also patted her chest. "Ostagar was a long, arduous fight; combined with the ambush both my weapons and armor have been compromised by the constant combat." She replaced her blades, continuing her explanation. "I've never dealt with the undead and would like to use this as a chance for recon and intelligence mining; It'll be less risky with the ponies of Redcliffe as decoys."

"Finally, if Teagan keeps his word we will have a way into the castle that bypasses many of the enemies, allowing us to conserve our energy. If we keep our mages rested and ready, they will be of much more use. We could run this gauntlet, but I don't trust Sky and Cold not to drop from exhaustion. The shapeshifter seem very green to me, so i don't trust her with my life and I don't buy Lucky Tune's story about the ambush at all. In addition to watching my enemies, I'll get to watch my allies as well." She turned her attention to the diamond dog's gaze.

"I've survived this long by being equal parts caution and vicious. We have a chance to restock and observe our enemies. We can always abandon the effort if it goes south tonight. Now, I need to speak to the mayor about the blacksmith, then I'll take care of all my needs and see if I can teach any of these villagers how to swing a weapon well enough to at least hold back the walking corpses," Grym said, trotting towards the pony in the leather armor. "Take advantage of this moment of calm."

[Shadowbolt0]

Midnight shook her head, no yet, there was still one thing that she needed to do.

"The militia, it's moral is almost gone and if you are planning to stay, they'll need your help. I've been trying to get the barkeep here to help out, either holding a blade, or at least giving the militia free drinks to keep their spirits up, but he doesn't listen to me...You do this, it helps Redcliff..."

She opted not to mention how much it would mean to her, normally she wouldn't talk to them, but it was personal. Her home was under attack, she'd need all the help she could get.

[Travelaway]

He nodded to her, and stood up, he stumbled a bit, he'd been running off adrenaline earlier, but the truth was he was tired. He hadn't slept for almost three days, but you couldn't just give in when there was so much riding on the shoulders of such a small group. Cold made his way to the barkeeper and sat at the bar, putting his front hooves on the bar top. "Hello my friend, couldn't help but notice those militiamen over there looking thirsty, why is that?"

The barkeep looked up from cleaning a glass, "Because they can't pay, and this isn't a charity, no bits, no drink." Cold gave a little waggle of his eyebrows and a grin before he spoke, "True, but there's not a whole lot to give, and these are the fellows who will be ensuring that a hoard of undead don't come barging in to feast on you tonight." The barkeep immediately stopped what he was doing and focused on the other stallion, "I got a cellar that I'll be hold up in, safe and sound." He gave Cold a snide look and moved over to the other side of the bar.

Cold smiled, "Well they could always ransack the tavern and hunker down in here while the dead flood the place, maybe you'll get lucky and the dead won't smell you down there, but even if they don't, your bar will be done for, as will all of your patrons, or..." He pulled out three gold bits and put it on the bar, truth be told it was nearly all he had on him, but this was a difficult situation and sacrifices had to be made. "...You could take this meager pay and give these soldiers a reason to protect your life." The barkeep sat there wide eyes for a bit, then gritted his teeth and took the money. He slowly turned towards the collective militiaponies, "Good news boys...drinks are....on the house."

The collected ponies gave a cheer and practically assaulted the bar for drinks, Cold stood up from his chair and pushed through the small crowd back towards Midnight, "Good enough?"

[Walker]

Tune had stayed quiet for the duration of the bickering and arguments amongst the party of travelers for several reasons. One, because he’d already pushed his luck with running off the last time they were in a pickle, and voicing his opinion wouldn’t be a good idea if he found it on the losing side of the argument. The other reason, of course, being because he was trying to hard not to laugh at their antics, remembering watching nobles squabble over nothing more than a few acres of land made him role his eyes back when he would sit in on meetings between the houses, but this? These ponies were the ones planning on stopping the blight? Two mares, one who bullies her potential allies into working for her, and the other who has the presence of a single feather caught in a gale. The others in the group all seemed to be content with feeding the flame of the situation with their own two cents, and the more the stallion watched, the more intrigued he got. This group… was highly, highly dysfunctional. It was obvious that they had either just met, like himself and Gossan did, or that they really, really hated each other’s guts. Blowing a stray puff of air through his fringe, he shrugged. It would be quite an epic tale, worthy of song if he followed them, but he had other plans. If his contacts wouldn’t meet him here, then he might have a problem, but the stallion wasn’t worried, they always showed up. Making his way away from the group, and allowed himself to explore where the barricades were being erected. The stallion watched the ponies moving about for a few moments, before he approached on of the larger stallions who seemed to be giving instructions to a group of ponies dueling with wooden swords, before he turned to pick up a large plank of wood, beginning to drag it over to where several others were hammering slats of wood together.

“Uh, excuse me, sir? You wouldn’t have happened to notice-”

Tune was interrupted by the earthpony’s grunt before he looked back over his shoulder at the pegasus. “Come on, stranger, you can help me lift and ask your question at the same time.” He muttered, stopping his movements for a second. Tune raised a single eyebrow, but clicked his tongue, and moved forward, using his hooves to lift the board onto his own shoulder as well, walking in lockstep with the earthpony.

“Er… quite, well, my name’s Lucky Tune, and-”

“Nice to meet you Lucky Tune, name’s Hemlock. If you didn’t know, I’m the Mayor of Redcliffe. Welcome to our fine… well… I guess that the attacks have marred its beauty somewhat.” He chuckled, in a slightly grim manner

Tune nodded his head slowly. Granted, he had guessed that from a number of things; the respect the ponies around him seemed to have for his instructions, for example, or even that the bags under his eyes were the most pronounced out of anypony he could see. “It’s not any trouble sir, I’m sure once this whole mess gets cleaned up, your town will be back to the way it was in no time.” He smiled warmly, as the two set down the plank near the builders, stopping for a moment so Tune could flex his wings. “Now, I was supposed to meet a few of my associates here? They would have come to talk to you and told you where you could find them, when I turned up. Could you point me in their-“

The giant earth pony shook his head slightly, making Tune’s heart sink for a moment. “Sorry kid, but no one stayed here after the attacks started… well, except for those whose lives were engrained in Redcliffe, and any visitors we’ve had were quick enough on their exit. If you’re looking for someone, they’re long gone.”

Tune bit his lip for a few seconds, before letting out a long sigh, flipping his fringe out of his eye he gave the stallion a weak smile. “I… see. Well, thank you for your help anyways.” He sighed, before taking a few steps away from the group. Alright… so new plans were in order. The pegasus glanced back down where the group he was traveling with had been moments ago. They insisted on staying, huh? Well… he supposed that it would make a nice verse to his bardic song, and after seeing them fight he had little doubt that they would be able to at least combat whatever was coming out of the castle, of not defeat it outright…

Tune turned back around and cleared his throat, catching Hemlock to turn around and give him a tired look.

“So… where could you use more hooves? Have you set any traps yet?”

[NeoExlucky]

Aselia went out on her own for a bit. Looking through sets of house to try and find anything that could be used for tonight. She looked around many of the houses, but only seemed to come up on several empty barrels and some mice. She also found a couple copper pieces and a rug, but those wouldn't be useful. Looking around gave her a feeling of depression. It seemed so sad that these people had lost their homes, and some of them might not ever be able to return to their original lives. Who knows how many have passed so far...

It wasn't until Aselia was inspecting a market that she found anything useful. A group of suspicious barrels were crowded around a corner, all of them looked old and dusty. Upon opening them, Aselia was greeted to an unpleasant aroma that made her gag a little. She knew what it was just by the smell, which she despised. "Oil..." She mumbled to herself and smirked after she got her bearings. "We could get a campfire goin, tonight with these."

[Hundashter]

Clover really didnt know what to do nor where to go as the group slowly went their separate directions in the town. Eventually she found herself wandering alone, trying to to get in anypony's way.

She saw a few of the others as she went, but didn't go and speak to them. That was until she spotted the young apostate mage in the market. Clover hadn't really tried talking to her yet, and she wanted to know more about how an apostate lived, but didn't want to risk speaking to Grym for a plethora of reasons.

When she was only a few feet away she realized didn't know how to go about asking the question really. She watched as the mare began to examine a group of barrels and finally decided to approach her. " Uh, Hi...i'm Clover, Clover Mist. We haven't been formerly introduced and I was wondering...what's it like, being an apostate? Also umm, I think you're pretty. " There, that sounded about right for a first introduction. Name, question and compliment. Maybe not quite as smooth as the heroes in her books, but close enough. She'd made sure not to speak too loudly so unless somepony intentionally was eavesdropping, they wouldn't hear the question.

[Cainiam]

Gossan could tell Grymrose was right as she went through her reasoning. Her blades weren't in good nick. He hadn't considered they might have taken so much damage at Ostagar. Grymrose definitely looked like she could storm the castle right now, but the Healer had to stay under her protection where she was safest. The Healer couldn't exactly protect herself. Such physical weakness was a major flaw in Gossan's eyes, but he knew the Wardens wouldn't have taken her without a reason. She seemed like a decent healer after all. Gossan would have been bedridden for a few months if he'd taken a sword to the gut in Orzammar. Her last reason was the only one he wasn't sold on. They could take have taken whatever was inside the castle. As long as the wardens survived, casualties were acceptable.

Her final point was the one that stuck with him. She was right to doubt her allies. They'd seen a taste in Ponyville, but their full capabilities were as yet unknown. Gossan nodded slowly as she finished. "Fair enough," he said tersely. He followed her as she started to walk towards the Mayor before breaking off. "I'll check the knights," he said with a final nod to her before veering off. There was no telling how up skilled a warrior these knights were supposed to be, and Gossan would be sure to find out. They would be on the front line with them when the night fell after all. He scaled the hill slowly, passing an overly enthusiastic stallion who called him a 'good sir' as he passed.

Gossan arrived at the top of the hill without breaking a sweat. From here the air was sickeningly clear for a tunnel dweller. He narrowed his eyes as he looked around for the knights, before spotting the Healer staring absent mindedly into the distance. He walked over silently to her to see what she was looking at, before spotting the Circle Tower in the distance. She seemed to be deep in thought as she stared, and for a moment Gossan wondered what she was thinking about. That was her home once. Gossan would do anything for his home, for Orzammar, but from what he'd heard about the tower, he didn't think it'd be the same for her. He climbed up onto the platform to join her. "Warden," he said in greeting. "You miss it?" he asked genuinely, as he gestured towards the tower with a paw.

[Dabom444]

Broken was in a sort of trance as she sat on the platform by the windmill. She took a deep breath and exhaled as the cool air tugged at her. She blinked her fire opal eyes and watched as the mist shrouded the tower in the distance.

Her ears swiveled naturally at the newfound voice next to her. She looked over to find it was the Diamond dog. She blinked and looked out at the tower again as he asked if she missed the tower. "Sadly no....i dont miss it at all." She said sighing and brushing her mane back to reveil both of her eyes to see the tower in full. "I suppose i should as thats where Everypony thinks thats where i belong. Locked up and hidden from the world. Not that its a terrible place but....i dont like the templars." she admitted. "All that you can do there is study. Your lucky if you get out to even collect alchemy ingrediants and even then your hounded by Templar guards." She said blinking.

It was quiet for a while and she watched over the lake with the Dog. "The name is Broken Sky by the way." She said in a friendly tone and smiled to him. Her horn began to glow and she began to mend the small cuts and bruises that she had missed before. (Cast: Heal) His meager wounds sealed as her magical aura cloaked him. "I never got to truely thank you for letting Delilah go....even though you didnt seem to want to, you made an exception." She said with a soft smile.

She adjusted her hooves with the friendly smile still on her features. "Whats your name?" She asked politely.

[SunlightHeart]

Now that there course of action was settled, everyone split up and went their own way. Broken and Gossan went to help the knights, while Aselia and Cold disappeared to parts unknown. With as much of a fuse as the stallion put up, Grym didn't even have to guess that whatever he was doing was in the name of this town.

Lucky Tune was with the mayor, which was right were Grym was headed. She casually approached both stallion's. The mare shot a glance towards where Gossan and Clover had went before addressing Tune and Hemlock.

"If what I've heard of the undead is true, they are mindless. Traps will be quite effective and don't even need to be well hidden to work," she said, as her gaze slowly shifted away from Tune. "I'd let him work on that if you don't have something set up already, mayor."

"As for my business, I want to ask about the status of a blacksmith. Can the one here better equip your fighters and service my gear before nightfall? And what of the fighting forces? I see the knights, but do I have time to instruct the volunteers on how to properly handle a blade?" Hopefully she wouldn't be working with nothing. She'd at least help them setup.

[Shadowbolt0]

Midnight nodded her head, at least the troops wouldn't feel completely demoralized tonight. She sat there in thought for what felt like a hour, when in reality it was merely a minute until Cold returned. She didn't like her decision, but it was duty against her home. And despite everything, she only had one choice in reality.

Standing up, avoiding putting pressure on her right hoof, she headed for the backroom of the Tavern, looking back at Cold as she opened the door.

"You coming? I have a few things that might help you and your Wardens..." She smiled at him, entering and leaving the door slightly ajar for him to follow inside the dark room.

As for her, she leap into action, using her wings to sneak onto the ledge above the door, in what is now a very dark room par the candle slowly burning in the middle. She started breathing slower, loading her crossbow and getting her daggers ready to pounce. She closed her eyes, waiting. What she was about to do, she would take very little pleasure from doing this to Cold, but what choice did she have? He was a criminal, saved her life sure, but supported the Wardens, traitors to the land she called home...What choice did she have?

[Travelaway]

Cold got up and began to follow through the door when he stopped, something wasn't right. Trust was something earned, and Midnight most certainly didn't have his yet, so he decided to handle this situation a bit differently. As he approached the doorframe he did a tuck and roll into the room, unsheathing his sword as he uncoiled from the roll. "It's very hard to trust someone who tries to kill you every few minutes, friends don't do that." He was at a disadvantage in the darkness, he knew that much, but she was still under the impression that he was slow with his blade, that was an oversight that could lead to her downfall should she choose to continue this course of action, "We are friends correct?"

[Cainiam]

NPC Post: Hemlock (The Mayor)

Hemlock sat back for a second on his haunches while he wiped the sweat off of his forehead with a hoof. His eyes locked on the smaller pegasus before him. When he asked if there was anywhere he could help, Hemlock snorted loudly. "Look around. Everywhere needs help," he said gruffly. When Tune suggested trapping the place, Hemlock's eyes narrowed a little. There was something about the way he said associates that made him seem a little off, and now there was mention of traps. Hemlock exhaled loudly as he figured that if the Bann accepted them then they were good. "Traps? We haven't set any. I don't think we have any," he said with a shrug.

A large unicorn with a couple of big swords then walked over. Hemlock wasn't sure what to make of her either, but the Bann's word was still assurance enough that he could trust her. She brought up that undead were typically mindless, and Hemlock shrugged again. "Maybe. Wouldn't know. We just kill them." She carried on to say that traps were a good idea. Hemlock just made sure the defences held. Anything else was up to the Bann and the Knights. He turned back to Lucky Tune. "If you want, then you might as well. We might have some stuff in the general store. Most of the useful bits were taken, but none of us know the first things about traps, so who knows?"

With that decided the unicorn moved onto other business, and Hemlock stood back up again and gestured for her to follow him. "You want the blacksmith's help, you're going to have to get it. Anvil doesn't listen to any of us any more. Guy stopped helping us a few days back and locked himself in his smithy with a load of booze. Selfish sod refuses to help us unless we storm the Maker forsaken castle. If you can get his help, then we can have him fix our broken equipment too. Most of the villagers know the basics, you're welcome to show them some fancy swordplay later, but getting Anvil's help is more important." He finished talking as they arrived at the door to the smithy. "He's in there, but he's locked the door. Do what you have to, Warden, but don't kill him. Even drunk, Anvil's the best smith this side of Lake Calenhad."

[Walker]

Tune slowly nodded his head, glancing over his shoulder quickly to find the building with the sign on it that labeled it as the general store. Giving the Mayor a small bow, and Grym a slightly respectful nod, as a thanks for taking his side on the matter, the stallion unfurled his wings and at a leisurely pace, flew down to said building. Tapping on the door with his hoof yielded no answer, so Tune pushed the hastily reinforced frame inwards and glanced around the place. It was dark, and looked like no pony had been inside for a long time yet, thanks to the very thin layer of dust that seemed to be present on nearly every surface. Tune wrinkled his nose as he trotted among the debris in the building, several scraps of wood littered on the floor, but it seemed that true to the Mayor’s words that nearly everything that could have been useful in the process of making traps.

Tune spent nearly twenty minutes searching for a length of rope, or some string, but both seemed to be near impossible to come by. With a small sigh he leaned back against a barrel, and paused when he felt the weight of the barrel. He glanced back, before popping open the top and glancing down into the darkness. He made a face at the smell that was wafting up from inside, and glanced around before picking up an old tin mug from the nearby shelf and dipping it inside the barrel, pulling the cup back up when it was full of whatever was inside. Taking it outside so he could examine it in the light, he raised an eyebrow, finding the cup filled to the brim with a viscous black substance.

“Tar huh?” He muttered, the wheels in his head turning for several seconds before he glanced back into the store, his eyes slowly drifting up to the ceiling of the place, running over the various fishing nets that were hanging up there, before a small smile made its way onto his face, and he placed the mug on the ground, flying up to untangle the nets.

[NeoExlucky]

"Slow down their honey." Aselia smirked at the girl. "I see where this is going, get a girl all alone, compliment her, and then go to town, but you're gonna have to at least take me out to dinner first." She joked with Clover. "Anyways, my name is Aselia Vesper." She looked down at the barrels she was collecting and decided to take a break.

"Well...being an Apostate feels...well feels the way I think anyone feels like. Not being locked up is a good thing, I have a slight phobia of templars, but eh, I'm pretty good so far...well maybe...there is a bit of a pull to the...dark side..." Aselia took a minute to try and explain what she meant by that. "Blood magic...is an interesting topic. It's evil, and dark, and sinister. Every mage feels it's pull, and lately...I've started to feel it's pull greatly, even more so than before, like it's calling to me. It...didn't help that not long ago I had an encounter with a demon. Some people say that blood magic can help keep demons away, it forces demons listen you, or something. I know that it's evil...but what if it doesn't have to be? Like a sword isn't evil if it's used to kill someone, the person is evil. Blood magic is only a tool, what if it could be used for good?"

[Hundashter]

Clover blinked in confusion at Aselia's comeback to her compliment, having had no intention of bedding the mare prior to this conversation....well, no conscious intention, but she would admit to herself that she might have had a daydream or two, but hadn't given it any serious thought other than that.

However, she couldn't respond to the comment as the mare continued on to tell her how it felt to be an apostate. She listened intently and nodded in agreement at what the mare had to say, especially about blood magic, feeling the same way herself.

When Aselia was finished she took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking. " Well, Aselia, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. And I'll have you know, my intentions upon coming to speak with you were purely academical, though since you brought it up I would not be opposed to 'going to town', as you said, however I'm not entirely sure what all that would entail, so dinner would be an agreeable alternative. But, given our current situation, I feel that it is most uncouth to offer such a thing when others are suffering around us, so in light of that I suggest we withhold any dinner arrangements until such a time as we are safe and it is appropriate, do you agree? "

It occurred to her that she might have just asked Aselia out in a roundabout way and she felt beads of sweat form on her brow. It also occurred to her that there was no way any mare or stallion would want her given her extra attachments, but she had to admit that Aselia was quite cute and so she shushed that inner voice and braced herself for the fallout of her actions.

[SunlightHeart]

NPC Post: Ser Perth

Ser Perth had been guarding the castle's bridge approach. As long as he and a few of his men stood there and their weapons and armor held, they would hold Redcliffe village from the undead scourge that descended from the castle. The Bannorn had predicted tonight's attack to be the worst yet, but that didn't matter to the knight. A part of him felt as if he'd failed a his job, but another part knew that as long as the village survived that his doubts were unfounded. Still, he felt that his selfishness had a part t play in the current state of the castle and now here they were, in need of help, in a dire hour. The stallion stepped out of the Windmill to check on the status of the warriors watching the area.

Many ponies were injured and tired from the constant nighttime combat, but a young knight who had been limping before earlier this day walked past him, looking fit enough to "You there, Flamberge, what happened to your injuries?" He asked.

The knight stopped and bowed to his superior. "Ser, a kind mage used her magic to restore my leg and heal my injuries," he said, pointing at the the mare, who was now Joined by a diamond dog.

"I see. Continue on, I'll go thank the mare personally." Perth readjusted his platemail and trotted over to the platform over looking Lake Calenhad where she and her companion were talking. Approaching from behind, the knight made sure to make as much noise as possible as to not startle them.

"Hail, I'd just like to thank you, mage, for aiding one of the arl's knights. It is much appreciated." Ser Perth bowed respectfully to both of them.

[Cainiam]

Gossan stared out over the lake. He had to admit, this was a peaceful sight. Logic may govern his decisions most of the time, but sometimes it was nice to just sit back and take stock. Gossan never imagined he'd be working with the Grey Wardens, heroes even to the dogs. The Healer replied after some thought. It was what he had expected. The Templars. He'd seen them around, but they never bothered him. Every mage however seemed to rightfully fear and hate them. It reminded him a little of the Casteless in dust town, and how the nobles treated them. There was an injustice there, but what could one warrior do? The nobles told him to ignore it, so he did. Was he like a Templar? No, no, he wasn't the one supressing them, he was just one of the people who did nothing.

Broken then gave her name, and Gossan looked at her for a moment, feeling a sudden need to lighten the mood a little. "Gossan. Once of House Blackstone," Gossan said with a mock bow. He felt the tinge of magic again as she healed over some of the minor wounds she had missed before. Then she mentioned the pony he had let go. He wasn't sure what to say. Every bone in his body had wanted to see that pony dead, after all, what was one more tragedy in a land of bloodshed? Yet his brain had made the diplomatic move of carrying out the warden's request. "Loyalty. It's a big thing to diamond dogs. I am loyal to you, Broken, and to the other Warden. As long as you fight against the Blight," he said softly in response. His melancholy feeling loosened his tongue a little. "I am a warrior, Broken. A tool. I pledge you my service. Point me at your enemies. Pull the leash for your friends. Sometimes I lose control and I can't tell myself," Gossan added, sounding almost sad.

Before Broken could comment on it however, Gossan heard the sound of armour clanking behind him, and spun around to see a Knight. Here was one of the Knights of Redcliffe. His mind quickly rearranged, trying to stow away all his feelings and once again revert to the cold logic that governed him. He thanked Broken for her help, then bowed to Gossan as well. He hadn't really done anything yet. "We're here to fight," he said in his signature gruff tone once again.

[Dabom444]

Broken kept a warm smile to Gossan, She hadnt heard of house Blackstone but she still tried to give a polite nod to the dog. She listened to him as he spoke of how he was loyal to her and Grym as long as they fought the blight. She sighed at that. Everything involved the blight nowadays. She couldnt even remember a time where there was no such thing and everyone was happy. Shaking it off she peered at him once more as he referred to himself as a tool, she didnt believe that. She believed that everyone was thier own in their own way. That nopony should dictate over others.

She opened her mouth to speak but held her tounge as a sound came from behind her. She turned her gaze to her right , her mane fell into her left eye once more as she peered at the knight who approached. He introduced himself as one of the Arl's Knights. She gave a warm blink and scanned him with her seen fire opal eye. Gossan had spoke before her and she soon after opened her mouth. "It was nothing sir Knight....just trying my best to enlighten everyone's Mood and boost Morale....Being how the Maker isnt helping in any of this i figured i should try to pick up some slack." She said softly as she lowered her gaze.

Her eye looked up to him and blinked again. "Im Broken Sky....you are?" She asked inquizingly.

[SunlightHeart]

Knocking on the door to the stallion's smithy, Grym growled. Going door to do forcing ponies to pay their due in defense of Redcliffe wasn't her idea of a way to spend time. "Anvil, I, and Redcliffe, need your service and skills to repair our weaponry and provide arms for the upcoming defense effort," she called.

Grym's words rung hollow, receiving no answer from behind the door. Within she could see hear hooves scuffing against the wooden floors and sand in the smithy. Anvil's four beat trot came to a stop directly across from where she was standing. The door rattled as he pressed his body against it the door, but nothing more. "I already told Hemlock and the knights to shove off; now they've sent a little mare to do their dirty work? How about you run along and tell them that until they get off their flanks they'll get no help from me!"

A low growl escaped the reaver's mouth. 'Little mare'? Who did he think he was. She dealed with the Bannorn on the terms that her weapons would be serviced, the upstart ******* behind the wooden door wouldn't stand in the way of that. Honestly, she didn't need him alive, she could work the forge and repair her own gear as well as the gear of the knights and militia around town. Her magic wrapped around her weaponry... but she promised to keep him alive. The mark scoffed, sheathing her swords.

"I'm a Grey Warden"-- The stallion's breathing stopped for a moment. --"sent to get you to do your job! Now open up!" Grym slammed her hooves against the door.

"I don't care who you are! If you don't--" Anvil's denial was cut sword by the sudden introduction of the twin blades jutting through the door, dangerously close to each side of his his neck. He gulped and tried to back up, but Grym angled her blades trapping him. She pulled back, forcing his face against the door. For a moment all she heard was the stallion's breathing.

Grym growled against the door. "Listen here, you're going to open this door and in exchange, you get to keep breathing."

"You wouldn't..." The blades pressed closer against his neck, drawing a blood from both sides. "Okay! OKAY!" The swords released their grip on him and slid out of the door, allowing Anvil to take a breath and calm down. Slowly, he unlatched the door and cracked it open.

Grym pushed her ways in with a snort. The first thing she noticed was how much in a disarray the shop was. It looked as if a typhoon of rage had come through upturning tables and tossing random items around for fun. The floor looked as if Anvil had been pacing and the forge obviously hadn't been used in a while. The next thing Grym noticed was the stallion's face. He seemed tired, and ragged. More so than any purely physical scrap could cause. "Why are you so adamant on not giving your services to the effort of defending Redcliffe?"

"All those ponies out there in armor are just pretend soldiers, waving around swords for fun. My wares are meant to be used to fight for something... not piddle about," he answered.

She gave him a curious look as she ran her hoof along a blade resting on a weapon rack. "Are they not fighting for something by defending the town?"

"Yeah, but this won't end until they take the castle back," the stallion stated matter- of- factly.

"How do you know that?"

"That's where the zombies come from so of course we'll have defeated the beasts if the knights and militia get to Castle Redcliffe and find out what's allowing endless ranks of undead to come down on us."

"And if you're wrong? You'd have those ponies risk their lives on a whim, just to get your help?" Said low, stalking around Anvil.

"I'm not wrong."

"Hmm...?"

"I'm not wrong, ****it!"

"Why? Why are you so adamant on going to the castle?" Grym raised an eyebrow are his determination. After planting her haunches on the ground in front of him, Grym focused solely on Anvil.

He grumbled. "My daughter... Valena. She's one of the Arlessa's maids in the castle. I- I haven't heard from her since this entire thing started." He sighed and looked at the floor. "I just want closure... I need to know if she's alright, but these ****ed cowards won't even try to get into the castle. Hell, Perth wasn't even here when the undead attacked. I'd go myself, but im not fighter and Perth would never allow it!"

Grym's face softened at the stallion's plea's. From the sound of things, Anvil would do whatever he could for his daughter, even risk life and limb if it meant her safety. For a moment, Anvil was replaced by a slate grey pegasus stallion with a red mane. He stood over a young off white unicorn filly as she held her sword up in her magic. The stallion rustled her mane and chuckled. "My girl's a natural, just like her old man..." he praised.

In that moment, Grym couldn't help but hold a small smile across her face. "The wardens came here to speak with the Arl. After tonight we're entering the castle to find out what happened. I could look for your daughter while we're are fighting though the undead." Though her face was almost unchanged, a small amount of of genuine concern laced her voice. "With my word to search for her, will you be willing to repair my weaponry and armor as well as those of the warriors in town?"

"If you'll truly search and bring back word of my daughter, than I will resume my duties as blacksmith."

Using her magic, Grym unlatched her harness and armor, removing both she levitated them over to the blacksmith. Grym shook, allowing her body to adjust to being bare after staying in her brigandine for so long. She'd almost forgotten what her own coat looked like. "Then rest assured, you will have your closure, Anvil." She gave the stallion a respectful nod and made her way out of Anvil's shop.

"Th-Thanks..." she heard him say, closing the door behind her.

With nothing but her crimson scarf around her neck, Grym returned to the mayor with the news. "It's done. The town will be supplied with weapon, and your equipment will be serviced," She reported to Hemlock. Hopefully, she'd be able to get somewhere with her personal preparations now. Maybe she'd grab something to eat before returning to see if they needed anything.

[Shadowbolt0]

Midnight saw Cold enter, sword raised. So he knew, he knew she was going to kill him. He may know, but that knowledge simply meant she needed to be slightly more careful in her attack. But that was all.

That's when he said the word, friends.Laughing, she leap out of her hiding spot. Instead of trying to kill Cold without a hesitation, giving him some words before he died.

"Us, friends? Ha! Friends..How could we be friends? We barely know the other, sure. You saved my life, but you don't know anything about me, Cold Iron.I'll spare you the story, but before you die, i'll tell you part of it. 3 Years, i've hunted and killed criminals of all forms, i think they called it 'Arbitrary Justice', i extract my own justice. And for obvious reasons, death is final verdict. My own feelings...s-shouldn't matter. My crime is worse, so i'll do this justice until i get killed"

She raised her crossbow, trying to hide the pained look that she felt. If Cold saw the look on her face, or the wrapping on her shoulder, he'd see her weakness and act on them. She kept her breathing centered, after all, her mission came first at all times.

"I..i just...Just wish...i didn't have to die like this..." She looked straight into his eyes. She knew he would refuse to die, she'd seen it in his fight with Pike. His mission, his will, was much greater then her own. She kept her crossbow trained on his chest, waiting for Cold to charge her before firing. It played out in her head. He'd charge, she'd fire. The cold hitting him, but he'd charge through it. After several minutes of fighting, her weak shoulder would make an opening and he'd ramn his blade into her heart...

[Travelaway]

He kept his eyes locked on her the entire time she spoke, his focus never straying from her as she spoke, then there was a long pause, and he put away his sword. Cold then began to walk towards the exit, "No, I'm afraid not, goodbye Midnight." He was too tired, too preoccupied, and too upset to deal with this right now, so he chose not to. It dawned on him that walking away from your own assassination attempt was a bit of an odd occurance, it also made sense that Midnight would likely try to kill him while he was walking away, but he was hoping she would be too shocked to respond until he was out the door.

He was surprised that he made it out of the door honestly, he headed towards the gathered militia. He'd wasted enough time on Midnight, he realized now she was a lost cause.

[Cainiam]

NPC Post: Hemlock (The Mayor)

Hemlock saw the determination on the unicorn's face, and left her to it. He trotted away as she began to shout through the door, heading back to the open town square where most of the militia were drilling. He saw Lucky Tune enter the general store in the distance as he walked past a group of ponies practice fighting with dulled swords. "Come on, lads, put your backs into it," he shouted at them, seeing them flinch for a second as they realised he was watching, before going at it again harder than before. hemlock carried on walking past, back to the barricade he was seeing bulked up. Last night they had almost made it through. A bunch of ponies had to go out there to lure them away, and most of them didn't return. He watched a group of earth ponies dragging some stones from one of the houses to act as buttresses. It would be tougher than ever.

He turned around again to find himself face-to-face with the unicorn. She looked less intimidating without her weapons and armour. He was surprised at her speed as she reported her success. None of them could even got the clot to open the door for the past few days. "Well. I'd be lying if I said that didn't impress me. Stubborn oaf seemed perfectly willing to let us all die," Hemlock said with a shake of his head. He then leaned around her and bellowed, "Hey! Bakers! Collect the busted equipment! Out friend here got Anvil to open up shop again!" A pony in the distance waved back, then galloped off.

Hemlock then turned back to Grymrose. "Right. Many thanks for the assist," he added with a nod. "I take it that you'll want your swords back before trying to drill something into the lads. Plus they'll need their swords sorted too. Not much for you to do in the mean time, unless you fancy chopping some wood," he said with a shrug. "Unless you just want some rest. Food's locked in the bakery. Just say Hemlock says you're allowed in. If you're tired, just pick a house. Whole bunch of empty beds," Hemlock finished.

[Walker]

Tune hummed softly under his breath as he dunked the last of the nets in the cauldron of bubbling tar, glancing back at the unicorn he’d enlisted to help him with his little setup here. Using the pot the village used to boil the tar for ship repairs, the pegasus watched as the old unicorn’s horn lifted the now black coated net out of the pot, and lay it on the grass to dry, next to the other nets splayed out in the sun. Tune nodded his head, before moving over to one of the nets that had already dried, opening up a small bag he had acquired from the shop, and pulling out several sharp fishing hooks, tightly embedding them in the hardened material of the rope, giving the net a fearsome looking appearance. He glanced over at the few other nets he managed to scrounge up, some had the hooks imbedded in them, and others had their edges weighed down with rocks. He breathed a small sigh of relief, wiping a hoof across his brow as he nodded back to the old shipwright unicorn.

“Thank you, sir. You can get back to whatever you were doing now, I can take it from here.” He muttered, before shooting the stallion a small smile, watching him as he made his way back to the center hub of the town, where most of the other ponies were still working to make sure the defenses would hold. Tune glanced back at the selection of nets he had laid out before him, before pulling his mirror out of his saddlebags again, tsking softly at the smudge of tar on his cheek. He’d have to wash up later, there was no way he was walking around in public looking so… unprofessional. He put the mirror away and stretched himself out on the ground, watching the nets, waiting for the last few to dry.

[NeoExlucky]

"That sounds delightful." Aselia said with a smirk. "I suppose do recreational things when we should be preparing for tonight wouldn't exactly help with our image in this town. Considering, I'm pretty sure that Bann Teagan doesn't like us at the moment, and who knows who else we've managed to make angry at this time." She put the final barrel out of the building and started counting them. "Alright, I think that's 12. We should probably report these when we get the chance. For now let's keep looking through the market place."

[Hundashter]

She agreed? She agreed! Oh...she agreed. " I...um...o-ok. " She nodded dumbly at Aselia and gestured for her to lead the way, her own thoughts currently running rampant upon her mind as she tried to get a hold upon them before she unknowingly said or did something to embarrass herself.

She also realized that she was unconsciously starring at Aselias rump and she blushed brightly and looked away quickly, certain that being caught doing such a thing wouldn't go over well.