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Pathfinder and the City of the Griffons (Phil the Time Wizard and SteelEagle)


RarityDash

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"Yeah. This definitely looks like a griffon structure's floor plan, not that I've ever been in a house quite this big...these lines separate different floors. Like any other structure in this city, it's built with height first in mind. Makes for a kind of tower like shape. And like the other building, height dictates what goes where. At the very top of any griffon house is the nest, which is basically the family bedrooms. Below that, you got the dining room, general living quarters, assorted functional rooms and such working all the way down until you have the servants and guards' quarters at the bottom."

"The placement of the vault, unfortunately, is the one thing that probably isn't uniform between griffon homes. Some would have it in the heart of the nest, some would have it hidden somewhere in the middle. That's kind of the point, you know, not to have it be found, and this floor plan doesn't make it clear..." Gilly sighed as she continued to maul viciously her fish. "That said, I don't think any proud griffon would put something they consider valuable anywhere in the lower half of their home. That's at least a start, I suppose..."

Pathfinder was subtly impressed with her Griffon buddy. She would never have given voice to these thoughts, but Pathfinder had begun to fear that her buddy was all brawn with little brain. It was a perfectly legitimate method of adventure so she wasn't necessarily thinking her griffon buddy as any less, but she had planned on giving her the Daring-Do thesaurus in case any of the big words in the series confused her. However, the way she spoke told Pathfinder she wasn't some ill-educated bafoon wandering about Aquelia because she was simply too dumb to get work anywhere else. No, she had smarts bouncing around her head, which meant that her, "I dunno, whatever" attitude was just that, an attitude, not her base personality.

That meant she was acting. That meant she was dangerous, and dangerous was exciting was adventurous! Pathfinder gave a quick clop-clop with her hooves and squeaked with excitement, her fellow adventurer being more than a two dimensional anti-hero. No, she was a THREE-dimensional anti-hero! So much more complex.

She realized a little late that she had held her position too long. Coughing to regain her composure, she nodded.

"You're totally right, Gilly. It wouldn't make sense to place it near the bottom, as the servants could steal it," Pathfinder said, grabbing a quill and putting a giant X over the bottom. The quill traced her thoughts.

"But...probably not all the way up, either. I doubt whoever lives here wants to have big powerful griffon wings and talons echoing around where he or she sleeps...

...but not in the middle, because its harder to get to for casual viewing and rich folks are all about casual viewing...

...So, upper-middle. Maybe two floors or three floors below the master bedroom, and it probably has no outside exit. I'd guess that the security station is one floor below. Seem reasonable?" Pathfinder asked, putting the quill away and examining the long lines of faint black ink that covered her map.

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"You're totally right, Gilly. It wouldn't make sense to place it near the bottom, as the servants could steal it."

Gilda nodded to this line. Sure, the reason was more Griffon pride at not wanting to keep anything they consider valuable close to the ground than anything dealing with the servants, but at least Pathfinder recognized it wouldn't be down there.

"But...probably not all the way up, either. I doubt whoever lives here wants to have big powerful griffon wings and talons echoing around where he or she sleeps...but not in the middle, because its harder to get to for casual viewing and rich folks are all about casual viewing...So, upper-middle. Maybe two floors or three floors below the master bedroom, and it probably has no outside exit. I'd guess that the security station is one floor below. Seem reasonable?"

Gilda nodded. She was really getting into this planning thing now. Maybe reading the Daring Do books had put her in an adventurous spirit, maybe it was just because this was a chance to pull something over on some of the bloated upper class griffons she'd been told all her life were better than her. Either way, her usual air of indifference had definitely parted.

"That's sound reasoning, I'd say. We griffons are cunning though. Sometimes we have enough foresight to be unpredictable," Gilda said in a steady voice. "But eh, it should be a start at least."

Gilda smirked as she continued looking at the map. "How we planning to get into this place?" she asked. "Seems like it will be difficult."

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"That's sound reasoning, I'd say. We griffons are cunning though. Sometimes we have enough foresight to be unpredictable. But eh, it should be a start at least."

Pathfinder wasn't going to argue the point, but most of her relations with Griffons before she had come to the capital of their nation had shown this to be the exact opposite of reality. Perhaps the griffons she had met were smart and used their natural advantages over ponyfolk in size and strength to their great excess, but she had always found griffons to be rather direct and base creatures. Nothing wrong with it, but Gilda's proposal added a layer of cunning to the physical brutes that ponies were learned of. She approved of this possibility, since defeating super fast, super strong, AND super smart foes was a much more thrilling proposition than just defeating some brutes.

"How we planning to get into this place? Seems like it will be difficult." Gilda asked, a smirk crossing her face. Good, good, she was into this, getting into the spirit. It was perhaps the greatest weapon an adventurer had, his or her spirit, and a properly stoked one could do marvels.

Pathfinder smirked as well and pointed at the very top near the bedroom.

"I'm thinking we should break into the master bedroom level or one of the ones nearby. It is likely to be guarded, but not as much as other places since I doubt he or she wants to deal with all the noise of patrolling guards. If we're silent, we can get into the nitty gritty of the building fast. Ooooorrrrr....

...We can come in from below. It'll likely be a longer trek, but I doubt we'll run into much opposition at first. The way I see it, they might be prepared for some movement from the top, since griffons can all fly and all the valuables are up top. But wait, we came in from the bottom already...

...So maybe they'll be looking for that...hmm...whatcha think, Gilly?"

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"I'm thinking we should break into the master bedroom level or one of the ones nearby. It is likely to be guarded, but not as much as other places since I doubt he or she wants to deal with all the noise of patrolling guards. If we're silent, we can get into the nitty gritty of the building fast. Ooooorrrrr....We can come in from below. It'll likely be a longer trek, but I doubt we'll run into much opposition at first. The way I see it, they might be prepared for some movement from the top, since griffons can all fly and all the valuables are up top. But wait, we came in from the bottom already...So maybe they'll be looking for that...hmm...whatcha think, Gilly?"

Gilda considered both options for a moment. When she really thought about it, both options sounded like suicide. This was a Silverbeak manor they were talking about. Breaking into the nest of a Silverbeak manor was a total fool's errand. Trekking all the way up through the entire manor starting at the bottom seemed just as moronic. No matter how the griffon thought about it, neither was very particular. She glanced at the nearby copy of Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet. Much like the Daring Do might, they were probably going to have to get just a touch more creative and risky.

"We should do both," Gilda suggested. "I'll go for the nest. I'll have them notice me. Since a breached nest means danger for the master of the house, every guard in the area will be on me. It'll cause a panic. At the same time, you could work your way up all sneaky like from the bottom, do what you need to do and get out of there."

Gilda almost wanted to scream at herself. She didn't know if it was these books, the SIlverbeaks, the sewer air or just that this silly pony's overwheleming crazy was somehow contagious, but here she was volunteering to be a blasted decoy. What was wrong with her?

"Unless you got a better plan in that crazy pony head of yours," Gilda added, shaking her head and giving a small laugh.

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"We should do both, I'll go for the nest. I'll have them notice me. Since a breached nest means danger for the master of the house, every guard in the area will be on me. It'll cause a panic. At the same time, you could work your way up all sneaky like from the bottom, do what you need to do and get out of there."

Pathfinder smiled broadly, her snout flaring with excitement. This idea wasn't just good- it was downright brilliant! That may have been overplaying it a tad, but she was still rightly impressed. She was proving Pathfinder's burgeoining belief in her compatriots intelligence right with every excellent word out of her mouth.

"Unless you got a better plan in that crazy pony head of yours," Gilly said with a laugh, to which Pathfinder's reply was swift and concise.

"YES! PERFECT IDEA GILLY!" She yelled and gave Gilda an extremely snug hug, squeezing with all of her available strength, her wings crushing the air with sheer speed. After a few dozen seconds, she released the griffon.

"It's AWESOME! You're faster, so you can lead them away from the mansion shortly afterwards. I can find what I need to find and make my escape. But if we're gonna do this, you're gonna need the right gear and we're both gonna have to go over the map of the area so we know where to meet up afterwards. Have you ever been to these outskirts?" Pathfinder asked, rather obnoxiously grabbing the map of the area as well as the sewer and tossing them in front of the pair, grabbing a quill to take notes.

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"YES! PERFECT IDEA GILLY!"

If the loudness of this statement wasn't enough to ruffle Gilda's feathers, the accompanying sudden hug definitely was. Under normal circumstances she'd give a pony with the gall to hug her like that an earful, but in her current heightened mood she was inclined to let it pass, merely giving an exasperated groan and then a resigned sigh.

"It's AWESOME! You're faster, so you can lead them away from the mansion shortly afterwards. I can find what I need to find and make my escape. But if we're gonna do this, you're gonna need the right gear and we're both gonna have to go over the map of the area so we know where to meet up afterwards. Have you ever been to these outskirts?"

Gilda nodded. "I probably know the outskirts of this town better than the town itself." She pointed to a spot on the map. "This area is more wooded than most. There's lots of cover. We could hide out without being noticed by anyone flying overhead."

"What do you mean by gear, by the way?" Gilda started. All she could think of was weapons and body armor. Which kind of made sense since she was pretty sure the Silverbeak guards would have lots of both. "Where do we get that kind of stuff?"

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"I probably know the outskirts of this town better than the town itself," Gilly added as she pointed out an area on the map, not far from the target but slightly further than Pathfinder had planned on going. "This area is more wooded than most. There's lots of cover. We could hide out without being noticed by anyone flying overhead."

Pathfinder was pleasantly surprised by this. She didn't mind flying- pegasi tended to, you know, love the act of flying- but griffons values flight so greatly that anything that allowed them to put anything between griffons and themselves was a valuable piece of work.

"What do you mean by gear, by the way? Where do we get that kind of stuff?"

Pathfinder lit up as she hovered in front of Gilly before shooting into the tent. After a few seconds of rummaging, she slowly works her way out, heavily weighed down by around a half-dozen saddlebags. She drops them in front of her personal saddlebag and takes a deep, heavy breath.

"I brought all the gear we could possibly need, Gilly! Now all we gotta see is what we'll need to do this. I have smoke pellets, remember them?!" She said excitedly as she pulled a handful of them out, starting to juggle. They were fun, many times more than one could guess initially. Their uses were legion. Distraction, stealth, confusion, their uses were limited purely by one's imagination. She tossed one towards Gilly and turns to the saddlebag.

"We'll start at one!"

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"I brought all the gear we could possibly need, Gilly! Now all we gotta see is what we'll need to do this. I have smoke pellets, remember them?!" The pony answered Gilda before tossing her a smoke pellet. "We'll start at one!"

This was her idea of "gear" to go against Silverbeak guards with? A single smoke pellet? And Gilda had agreed to be a decoy just now. Yeah, that was starting to kind of sound really dumb to her. Did this pony even know what they were going up against? Sure, smoke pellets were handy. Gilda invariably would need to make at least one quick escape. Still. it wasn't quite what she had in mind.

"I trust that isn't all..." Gilda said, clearly less than impressed. "I mean, I don't know if you know, but Silverbeak guards... they're the real deal. They'll make those museum guards we ran into last night look like the bloated, undertrained, overpaid chumps that they are."

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"I trust that isn't all... I mean, I don't know if you know, but Silverbeak guards... they're the real deal. They'll make those museum guards we ran into last night look like the bloated, undertrained, overpaid chumps that they are."

Pathfinder facehoofed for a full minute before she turned around and sighed. Okay, so maybe Gilly wasn't as incredibly intelligent as Pathfinder's overactive imagination was trying to credit her with- Pathfinder had called it just a start, after all!

"I'm the pro here, Gilly! Those Silverbeak wimps'll be singing our praises after tonight when we walk outta there with the Helm!" Pathfinder said with a laugh and a smirk, before gesturing to the massive saddlebags beside her.

"Use ALL the things! All of them, Gilly. That's how we get by, adventurers you and I, we use all of this gear! I have ropes, bungee cords, smoke pellets, stun arrow bolts, battle saddles, disguises, and that's just the first saddlebag!" Pathfinder said with excitement, tossing the named equipment about without a care as she excitedly dug through it all.

(OOC: Feel free to dig in too and make stuff up.)

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"I'm the pro here, Gilly! Those Silverbeak wimps'll be singing our praises after tonight when we walk outta there with the Helm!"

Gilda wasn't sure anymore. Maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to doubt Pathfinder's selection of "gear", but it was still kind of hard for Gilda to tell how much she should buy when it came to the adventurer. Was Pathfinder a pro, or just some dilusioned Daring Do fanfilly who was in way over her head? Gilda could see a little of both. As much as she wanted to believe in what they were doing, part of her still couldn't help but wonder if this was the stupidest thing she had ever agreed to do.

"Use ALL the things! All of them, Gilly. That's how we get by, adventurers you and I, we use all of this gear! I have ropes, bungee cords, smoke pellets, stun arrow bolts, battle saddles, disguises, and that's just the first saddlebag!"

With this show of items, Gilda was legitimately surprised. Okay, maybe she really had doubted too soon. This pony was well equipped. Sure, it was all non-violent stuff, as would be expected of a pony. Cornered by a Silverbeak guard, they'd still be in a bit of tight spot, but this was actually something of a relief.

"I'm impressed. And here I thought all of these bags would be stuffed full of nothing but Daring Do memorabilia," Gilda said with a laugh. "Some of this stuff might be useful."

"What else you got?" Gilda asked with a cold smirk, looking toward the other bag. "Anything that might cause those idiot guards a little pain?"

(OOC: I would have Gilda find some stuff, but I'm kind of drawing a major blank as to the kind of things she'd find... :sleep: )

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"I'm impressed. And here I thought all of these bags would be stuffed full of nothing but Daring Do memorabilia," Gilly laughed as her worries seemed to fade from her emotionally honest face. "Some of this stuff might be useful."

Pathfinder couldn't necessarily blame Gilly for her initial impression. She wasn't entirely wrong, either- she had plenty of memorabilia in those saddlebags. But she was a professional adventure, and part of being a professional was being stocked with the proper equipment for the job. Why, how else could she have thought to find the helm without all the right equipment? Daring Do used equipment for jobs like this- the fact she had only done something like this only once and some ponies tried to say that it was a bad story that wasn't canon didn't phase her at all.

"What else you got?" Gilly's face had a cold smirk, as if something dark crossed her mind. "Anything that might cause those idiot guards a little pain?"

Pathfinder paused for a moment, ears pinned back as she slowly turned towards her friend as if she had just asked her to cut out the pony's heart to feed it to the griffon. Pathfinder had known to expect some rough edges from her friend, but never would she think she was this ready to hurt another.

"Well...not really. The closest I have would be the Battle Saddle, which has little tiny bolts that are used to stun. I'm sure they can be adapted. But nothing used to hurt; I knew I was coming here and facing griffons, why would I want to hurt another sapient being? It's wrong to hurt others, ya know," She said with all the earnestness of a filly being taught in school.

With that, she turned back to one of her saddlebags and pulled out a single large blue ball.

"This is a cool thing, Gilly. It's a magic ball that recharges itself every few days- we can only use it that often or else it could blow! It's really cool. Tie it on, and it allows you to know what' around you in all directions for about fifty feet. It isn't too detailed, but you'd have some warning if a guard is coming. It lasts for about five minutes. You know how much this cost me? Almost five-hundred bits, geez louise. But anyway, you gotta be careful- since this is stored magical energy, unicorns or things used to transfer any sort of magical energy will have it lit up like a nightlight and can even drain it, or explode!"

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"Well...not really. The closest I have would be the Battle Saddle, which has little tiny bolts that are used to stun. I'm sure they can be adapted. But nothing used to hurt; I knew I was coming here and facing griffons, why would I want to hurt another sapient being? It's wrong to hurt others, ya know?"

Gilda sighed. The perfectly predictable pacifist pony reply. By griffon standards, Gilda was far from blood thirsty; she was, however, practical. That's what it came down to. She wanted to survive this.

"This is a cool thing, Gilly. It's a magic ball that recharges itself every few days- we can only use it that often or else it could blow! It's really cool. Tie it on, and it allows you to know what' around you in all directions for about fifty feet. It isn't too detailed, but you'd have some warning if a guard is coming. It lasts for about five minutes. You know how much this cost me? Almost five-hundred bits, geez louise. But anyway, you gotta be careful- since this is stored magical energy, unicorns or things used to transfer any sort of magical energy will have it lit up like a nightlight and can even drain it, or explode!"

Magic was something Gilda didn't even begin to know the first thing or really even care about, but she supposed some of the things it could be applied to were pretty cool. This thing was one of those. Even with griffon technology, they didn't have a way to do any of the stuff this did. She was impressed. She was also kind of surprised this pony had ever had 500 extra bits laying around.

"Now that's pretty cool," Gilda said, smiling as she stared at the device. "It's sure to come in handy."

"As for hurting them, you gotta realize that if they catch you, they won't even hesitate to hurt you. Heh. Being a pony, it's likely they'd do worse then simply hurt," Gilda said with a shrug. "Not wanting to hurt others is a fine enough philosophy, I guess. I don't personally have a problem with wanting to avoid getting violent and all that, but unless everyone agrees to play nice and fair it kinda puts you at a major disadvantage."

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"Now that's pretty cool," Gilda said, smiling as she stared at the device. "It's sure to come in handy."

Of course it'd come in handy, it's freakin' magic!

Unicorns were handy, just like tech, and unicorns were magical! Hence, magic was handy! It was a simple equation that anypony knew, as the facts of life made it clear. Of course, Gilly was a griffon and griffons weren't renown for their magical prowess nor interaction with the magical amongst creatures. She would chalk it up to a griffon being a griffon.

"As for hurting them, you gotta realize that if they catch you, they won't even hesitate to hurt you. Heh. Being a pony, it's likely they'd do worse then simply hurt. Not wanting to hurt others is a fine enough philosophy, I guess. I don't personally have a problem with wanting to avoid getting violent and all that, but unless everyone agrees to play nice and fair it kinda puts you at a major disadvantage."

Shockingly, she understood that point. It was well known that Griffons, due to their physical makeup, were more prone to violent contact. It wasn't anything against them; that was who they were, and she wasn't trying to belittle them. You don't do that to things with claws. But it was true, as they were equipped, brought up, accustomed to, and in some cases even trained to accept violence as a currency to resolve certain disputes. And maybe if ponies were similarily equipped for it, violence would be a tender of accepted usage in their society. Pathfinder also knew that sometimes, violence was the only option. She'd dealt with enough death traps and giant spider webs to know there were times when it was required.

That was not the case here, however. The difference between a giant spider and a griffon was that one was sapient and the other was a giant spider. You could reason, intimidate, bribe, confuse, disorient, overwhelm a sapient creature. Cunning and deceit ably took the place of bloodletting and harshness of a final sort.

Pathfinder nodded her head comprehensively.

"Yeah, it does put me at a disadvantage. But I'm the one- well, now you too- sneaking into a mansion and other places of high-security where I know I'm not welcome. Not them. They're just doing a job and have all sorts of things- families and responsibilities, to start it all off. So, if it means that the worst any of them gets is a headache from being confused or a bolt of tranquilizers in the flank, then I'll accept that disadvantage. Besides, what's fun about taking the easy route, eh? You only get to sneak into any given location once, maybe twice if you're lucky. Gotta make the most of it!" Pathfinder said, ending with excitement as she dove back into the pile and started tossing random items at Gilly, hoping tha griffon would find something of use at some point.

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"Yeah, it does put me at a disadvantage. But I'm the one- well, now you too- sneaking into a mansion and other places of high-security where I know I'm not welcome. Not them. They're just doing a job and have all sorts of things- families and responsibilities, to start it all off. So, if it means that the worst any of them gets is a headache from being confused or a bolt of tranquilizers in the flank, then I'll accept that disadvantage. Besides, what's fun about taking the easy route, eh? You only get to sneak into any given location once, maybe twice if you're lucky. Gotta make the most of it!"

Pathfinder seemd to have a more nuanced and realistic view on the subject than Gilda would have given her credit for. She could respect that. Still it seemed kind of stupid, but eh, this pony had managed on her own this far. Maybe GIlda was worrying over nothing. Eh, she still had her talons to defend herself at the least, and worrying for a pony's safety wasn't like her. She nodded.

"I got you, and if that's how you want to play it, who am I to stop you? You are the expert here, after all," Gilda said giving a small shrug. "But if you do end up with talons at your throat and no way to defend yourself, I hope you remember what I said."

The griffon laughed to herself and smirked. "So you got any other cool toys in your bags, or is that about it?" She asked, as she started to eye the bag once more. It would be hard to top the magic orb thing, but eh, this pony seemed to be full of surprises.

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"I got you, and if that's how you want to play it, who am I to stop you? You are the expert here, after all," Gilda said giving a small shrug. "But if you do end up with talons at your throat and no way to defend yourself, I hope you remember what I said."

Pathfinder smiled. Gilly flip-flopped between being a stereotypical griffon and being really smart, a sign of which was being able to see it from a different point of view. Still, the second part of her talk was the one responsible for the griffon. She flew upinto her face dramatically.

"I don't know about you, but I have intention of getting caught, Gilly. I'm sure the only talons that will ever be around my neck will be yours when you betray me," She said seriously and accusatory, looking Gilly dead in the eyes and feigning anger. Grr. Then the facade cracked and she playfully rubbed the griffon's head.

"As for what I have- well, it's a lot of stuff. Here's this gem I found in a ruin one time- if you hold it and get injured, it can heal minor stuff pretty quickly. You can hold it, if you want," Pathfinder said, tossing a teal-colored gem at Gilly, followed swiftly by the pendant with an indent with the shape of the gem.

"Oh, and here are some boots with suction cups on the end, but...you can't wear them. And now that I think about, I'm a pegasus and these boots are useless! Bah! I should just sell them already. Where the heck did I even get them? I remember..." She said while digging through the pile some more, trailing off as she got deeper into it.

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"I don't know about you, but I have intention of getting caught, Gilly. I'm sure the only talons that will ever be around my neck will be yours when you betray me,"

Suddenly Gilda felt like she was the one with talons at her throat. The pony's words stabbed her like talons at least. She had almost forgot that this was indeed the plan. She was planning to betray pathfinder and rip her off, take the treasure for herself. That was the sole, solitary reason she was here. Nothing more, nothing less.

And yet in time she had grown to admire this pony, respect her, maybe even kind of like her and worry for her safety. What had once been entirely clear cut in her head was now hopelessly muddled. The idea that she would betray Pathfinder now hurt her, but what hurt even more was when the cool, logical part of her brain reminded her that was indeed the plan. Pathfinder in her face now, she didn't know how to react, what to say or do. How could she possibly respond to that?

Then, suddenly, like it was all just a joke, Pathfinder started to ruffle her feather's playfully with her hoof. She backed up and started to ramble about more of her gear, leaving the griffon stunned and pale. At the very least, her reflexes worked well enough that she was able to grab the magic healing gem thrown toward her. It's aura soothed her and set her mind back at an ease.

Gilda smirked and gave an amused laugh, acting as if nothing had happened. "Yeah. That does seem pretty useless. I mean, unless you were trying to go up and there wasn't enough room to spread your wings. That's probably not too common a situation though."

"This magic healing thing is pretty cool though. I can feel it work, just holding it," Gilda said nodding as she still held the thing in her talon.

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"This magic healing thing is pretty cool though. I can feel it work, just holding it,"

Pathfinder spent a few more minutes digging through her vast array of belongings. She had to sort out what seemed useful to her- such as extra copies of Daring Do novels, used rope, a hat- and what could be useful for a griffon. She started to realize that as far as adventurers went, she seemed to have little that could be useful to serve as a distraction. Times like this made the mare wish she hadn't sold a few gems to fund this expedition and pay for some hospital bills. Le sigh- the past was the past, no use worrying about it now.

She was happy that at least one thing she had on hoof was of some use. She momentarily had the fear that it was wasted money!

"Well Gilly, I'm glad you like it! I was thinking to myself that since you're going to have more of a guard presence attracted to you and you could maybe get injured a little and so could use the help. I'm just about all the sneaking and stuff and if I was caught by a griffon it wouldn't matter what I had n hoof, I'd be done for!" Pathfinder said with a somewhat unnerving amount of excitement at the end of the speech.

She nodded, collecting two saddlebags full of items. She threw one towards Gilly and strapped the other one on tight.

"Alrighty! I think I have some good stuff for both of us. Let's get to the forest and wait for night, Gilly!" Pathfinder belched as she trotted out of the room, opened her wings and awaited Gilly.

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"Well Gilly, I'm glad you like it! I was thinking to myself that since you're going to have more of a guard presence attracted to you and you could maybe get injured a little and so could use the help. I'm just about all the sneaking and stuff and if I was caught by a griffon it wouldn't matter what I had n hoof, I'd be done for!"

Gilda considered protesting and insisting Pathfinder take every safeguard she could with her, but she had to admit that the pony was probably right. She was done it she got caught. This little trinket, as magical as it was, wasn't going to save her from that inevitable demise. It was more practical in Gilda's own talons.

Gilda readily took the bag thrown to her by the pony and strapped it onto her side. Just wearing it she felt more prepared and professional. For a moment she wished she had the cool hat like Pathfinder to go along with the overstuffed saddlebag of adventuring gear, that was until she killed that though for being silly and maybe just a little lame.

"Alrighty! I think I have some good stuff for both of us. Let's get to the forest and wait for night, Gilly!"

Gilda responded with a nod and followed after the pony. "Okay, I'm ready for this! Let's do this." She opened her wings, ready to follow Pathfinder's lead, wherever it might take her.

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"Okay, I'm ready for this! Let's do this."

Gilly's assurance helped get her motor started and after her wing buzzed audibly for a second in place, she shot ahead into the sewer. The layout hadn't changed mysteriously while they slept like some of her favorite dungeons did. She figured it wouldn't make sense for a sewer system to suddenly change shape, the implications of which were entirely horrifying and not at all pleasant. Regardless, her memory of the system proved invaluable and soon she was zipping along the path to the last manhole near the forest.

It wasn't a long trek, but it was uneventful. That could be seen as an obvious advantage but to Pathfinder her worst enemy was boredom and uneventful travel was the leading cause of adventure-related boredom. Normally she would crack open a book, but the sewer was dark and the prospect of dropping the book into the sewage was entirely unpleasant. As the minutes rolled by and her boredom increased exponentially, she decided something needed to fill the gap and that something would be Gilly.

"So, Gil-Gil, tell me more about yourself! I've never met a nice griffon before and you're really, really nice!"

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"So, Gil-Gil, tell me more about yourself! I've never met a nice griffon before and you're really, really nice!"

Pathfinder started as the flew though the sewers to their destination. Gilda considered the words. She had to shake her head and laugh. This pony, she was frustratingly naïve.

"You got me wrong... I'm not nice. I'm just practical," Gilda said with a shrug, a little surprised by how willing she was to start talking to this pony. "Most griffons, at least in this city, just instinctually detest your kind. The idea of even talking to a pony disgusts them."

"But you see, I've always kind of been an outsider. I never really bought into any of it. I don't have any use for some greater griffon society telling me what I should and shouldn't do. More than anything, I value the freedom to do whatever I want to do, regardless of what's expected or accepted or even legal," Gilda spoke in a low voice, wearing a smirk.

"I was unruly when I was young. Being sent to a flight camp in Cloudsdale was supposed to be a punishment of the highest order for me but it turned out to be the only good thing my parents ever did for me. I found my calling high in the skies, above the clouds, where there is no greater sense of freedom, where style, speed and strength could shine to their fullest. At the same time, while up there, I guess I got more used to you ponies than a lot of griffons ever will," Gilda continued to reminisce.

"And that's about it," Gilda shrugged again, as she decided to sidestep any rainbow-colored memories to save face where she could "Not much to really tell. Well, except that I'm totally cool. if given a fair shot I could totally fly circles around your Wonderbolts," she ended with some rather brash boasting, just to save herself from sounding too lame.

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"You got me wrong... I'm not nice. I'm just practical," Gilda said with a shrug, a little surprised by how willing she was to start talking to this pony. "Most griffons, at least in this city, just instinctually detest your kind. The idea of even talking to a pony disgusts them."

Gilly was wrong. She was nice, because most creatures had fled her presence by now to seek out less awesome and incredible mares. Some may try and lay this at the feet of griffons as a whole, but she chalked it up to her obscene levels of incredibleness. It was toxic to some, and by surviving it, Gilly was super awesome and nice.

"But you see, I've always kind of been an outsider. I never really bought into any of it. I don't have any use for some greater griffon society telling me what I should and shouldn't do. More than anything, I value the freedom to do whatever I want to do, regardless of what's expected or accepted or even legal,"

Pathfinder couldn't agree more with what Gilly was saying. She had no special distaste for society; she rather enjoyed it. If it wasn't for society, what boundaries could be broken? None. Two outsiders takin' on the world- there was a certain level of poetry to it.

"I was unruly when I was young. Being sent to a flight camp in Cloudsdale was supposed to be a punishment of the highest order for me but it turned out to be the only good thing my parents ever did for me. I found my calling high in the skies, above the clouds, where there is no greater sense of freedom, where style, speed and strength could shine to their fullest. At the same time, while up there, I guess I got more used to you ponies than a lot of griffons ever will,"

That was pretty fortuitous! Cloudsdale, of all cities. She guessed that made a lot of sense as no other flight camp could possibly handle a griffon population. While a very rare sight indeed, they weren't unknown in Cloudsdale. It made sense. More importantly, she was a true flier- pegasi and griffon were closer than any other combination through that singular reason alone.

"And that's about it. Not much to really tell. Well, except that I'm totally cool. if given a fair shot I could totally fly circles around your Wonderbolts,"

Pathfinder gave a loud, brazen chortle at this. This griffon didn't lack for confidence!

"Well, that sounds like a mighty big boast, my friend. What makes you think you could take on a Wonderbolt and win? How was the flight camp? Learn anything? Make any friends? How long ago did you graduate? Flight camp was the best year of my fillyhood, for sure," Pathfinder said excitedly as she made another quick turn down the sewer.

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"Well, that sounds like a mighty big boast, my friend. What makes you think you could take on a Wonderbolt and win? How was the flight camp? Learn anything? Make any friends? How long ago did you graduate? Flight camp was the best year of my fillyhood, for sure."

Pathfinder asked a whole slew of followup questions all at once. Gilda was a little surprised and a little overwhelmed. She shook her head and sighed. This pony was almost too much.

"What is this, the rapid fire question round?" Gilda said with a groan as she continued to follow after the pony.

"Let's see... Because they're a bunch of bloated celebrities full of hot air; some stuff, I guess, including a few tricks that still serve me well; one, I guess, but it kinda ended badly not long ago; it's been quite a few years now, I was still a young chick back then; and yeah, it was kind of a cool year, I guess." She opted to answer all the questions at once, not giving any one excessive time or thought.

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"What is this, the rapid fire question round?"

Pathfinder felt a mite guilty for a brief, fading second for seemingly annoying the griffon. But did annoyed people answer every question? No, no they did not, and Pathfinder's momentary guilt faded as swiftly as it arrived.

"Let's see... Because they're a bunch of bloated celebrities full of hot air; some stuff, I guess, including a few tricks that still serve me well; one, I guess, but it kinda ended badly not long ago; it's been quite a few years now, I was still a young chick back then; and yeah, it was kind of a cool year, I guess."

Wonderbolts weren't bloated, they were in tip-top shape. Pathfinder could only chalk that up to griffon pride and the stereotype of pudgy pegasi, which made no sense since their wings would have to be even bigger than they were to support them.. And who was this friend? What happened? Questions burning in her mind demanded voice.

"Well, the Wonderbolts are pretty fast, ya know? Not full of hot air cause then they'd float, not fat- heck, I think you're a little bigger 'round the waist, Gilly!" Pathfinder said as she gently patted Gilda's waist for a second before continuing down the sewer.

"And what about that friend? What happened to make it end badly? Why, if i saw that bad friend right now, I'd give her- him- it- a one-two 'cross the snout!" Pathfinder bellowed, her voice losing all sense of stealth as she hovered upright and imitated a boxer for a second and showed Gilly her untrained boxing moves.

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"Well, the Wonderbolts are pretty fast, ya know? Not full of hot air cause then they'd float, not fat- heck, I think you're a little bigger 'round the waist, Gilly!"

Gilda resisted the overpowering urge to cover her face with one of her front talons. If a certain other pegasus flip-flopped between being cool and lame, this pony flip-flopped between being impressively awesome and just kind of an idiot. With this statement, her switch was definitely set all the way to the latter.

"And what about that friend? What happened to make it end badly? Why, if i saw that bad friend right now, I'd give her- him- it- a one-two 'cross the snout!"

Pathfinder expressed curiosity in the rainbow colored matters. Gilda had to sigh. She wasn't surprised. Her mimed fighting with the air in front of her was good for a smile though. She kind of appreciate the silly little gesture.

"First off, I was using figurative language, you know? I wasn't talking about their size or what they might literally be full of, but rather speaking about their egos. They say their the best, and everyone of you ponies seems to take it at face value," Gilda shrugged a little and then sighed. "I won't deny it takes skill to make it to that point, but once you've already made it you start to coast. I still have the hunger you see, I'm still trying to prove myself. That's why I say I could take them."

This was probably still posturing, even if Gilda could convince herself it was true in some of her greater moments. Deep down, she wasn't as sure, but appearing firm in her convictions seemed the way to go for her.

"As for that friend..." Gilda started with a small groan. "It's not something I like to talk about very much." She nodded and then closed her eyes. "She was probably the first and best friend I ever made back in Cloudsdale. I thought we had something deep, but then as time passed she changed, you know? She moved to a new town, met some new friends, we drifted apart. Then, last I saw her, I blew up on one of her friends who really set me off; she argued with me about it and the whole thing just sort of crumbled... and I don't expect things to fix themselves anytime soon."

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"First off, I was using figurative language, you know? I wasn't talking about their size or what they might literally be full of, but rather speaking about their egos. They say their the best, and everyone of you ponies seems to take it at face value. I won't deny it takes skill to make it to that point, but once you've already made it you start to coast. I still have the hunger you see, I'm still trying to prove myself. That's why I say I could take them."

That made more sense, of course. the thought of Gilda trying to outfly a Wonderbolt was just plain silly, as not only were pegasi by a fair margin generally faster than Griffons, but Wonderbolts were considered the very tip top of the pegasi! She had seen them a few times and doubted they coasted, but she would allow her Gilly to harbor those thoughts.

"As for that friend. It's not something I like to talk about very much. She was probably the first and best friend I ever made back in Cloudsdale. I thought we had something deep, but then as time passed she changed, you know? She moved to a new town, met some new friends, we drifted apart. Then, last I saw her, I blew up on one of her friends who really set me off; she argued with me about it and the whole thing just sort of crumbled... and I don't expect things to fix themselves anytime soon."

Awwww, that was so sad and so deep! Pathfinder stopped dead in her tracks and gave Gilly a deep, passionate hug.

"Awww! I'm so sorry to hear that, Gilly! Why, what was this stupid Pegasi's name? I'll beat her up for you. I travel all over and I'll beat her up, making my friend feel sad like this! That just ain't nice of her at all! Yeah, maybe you were mean and all but a friend doesn't just abandon you because of one incident. I mean, I won't abandon you, so you don't have to worry about that at all with me! I'm the loyalest pony you ever did see!" Pathfinder blabbered on and on as the two made their way down the sewer system.

It was getting danker and older, the walls seeping with sewage from broken pipes. This was, despite appearances, an excellent sign. It meant they were getting into the outskirts of the city, where increasingly fewer ponies- in this case, Griffons- lived and often times closer to the forests. It also signaled that above them were old parts of cities, wherein the wealthy and prominent presided. It would interrupt their privileged lives if construction had to interfere with their perfectly functioning sewers, you see- until they were no longer working and some sort of disaster happened. Then, of course, it was the city's fault.

"I think we're almost to the forest near the forest, Gilly!"

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