[Canterlot] A Royal Pain - Act 1: Put up your Dukes

[Stainless Steel Fox]

Prince Blueblood was in his study leafing through his personal corespondance. His appointments secretary handled the invitations and social engagements, but there were still a few letters that couldn't be handled under existing orders, and they got passed up to the Prince. A lot got immediately filed in the nearest waste paper basket, but some were at least amusing.

The one he now held in the grip of his horn was more mysterious. The return address was the Royal Exploration Society here in Canterlot, which was probably why it had gotten through to him, and a small golden stamp in one corner showed it had been passed by palace security for prank spells and effects. While he was the royal patron of the Society, he preferred to keep his involvemenrt, at least officially, at the tip of his horn.

A letter opener was enfolded in his horn's glow and rose up to slit open the letter. Pulling out the standard sheet of Society headed notepaper, he perused the contents.

[tacobob]

My Lord Duke,

I have written this letter in great haste to give you word of a recent discovery a few colleges and I had come across. During our stays in the wild-lands, we came across a fine notebook nestled in leatherbark which was marked with the most grand insignia of the Duchy of Canter. When we returned to Canterlot and to the Explorers Society headquarters, I was advised by my betters than you might find this notebook of interest. By the luck of the draw, the Society will be holding a formal dinner and event on ***day. Along with guest lectures, there will be a themed dining experience that you may find of great interest. Chefs from all over Equestria from the noted Gustave LeGrand to Mulia Mild will serving some of the better known meals during the course of the event. I also heard the wine list will be exquisite. If this is of interest to you, please meet us at the start of the event. Also please be advised that the notebook has not been opened, as we knew that its contents were not meant for our eyes, and also that we feared that opening it under improper conditions may lead to damage or even the destruction of the notebook's contents. We hope to see you at the event.

Your majesty's

Most bounden and devoted,

Fire Walker-Lieutenant/R.E.A/Canterlot Commons

A ticket is attached to the bottom of the letter. It reads "ADMIT ONE: The 56TH Explorers Society Eat & Drink Around Equestria."

The name 'Fire Walker' sounded somewhat familiar to him. She might be a member of one of Canterlot's elder families. Unlike most of the older bloodlines in Canterlot, her family was not famous due to their wealth or power, but that for generations, nearly every member of the family were loyal members of the R.E.A. She, like the rest of her family were Pegasus ponies. He might have seen her before. Patrolling near Canterlot's gaming halls. She wasn't that hard on the royal eyes.

*The day after Blueblood reads this letter*

[Stainless Steel Fox]

As soon as his eyes hit the words 'insignia of the Duchy of Canter', it took all his considerable aplomb not to drop the letter as his magic faltered for a moment. He concentrated for a moment, and from an inside pocket on his morning coat came a similar notebook, bound in leather bark and inscribed with the Ducal coat of arms. He had all of them, except for one, the one his father had on him during his last expedition.

Could it be? Could some random pony have discovered his father's missing journal, and some trace of his fathers last expedition? His mother had done her best to destroy most of the momentoes of his father's exploring career, on the basis that a proper noble had no business galivanting off to the far corners of the world. He still remembered the icy cold denunciation of his cutie mark as being unworthy of a noble, being wrong...

He shook off the unpleasant memories. The few things he'd saved, like his father's journals, or collected, like the Daring Doo novels, were his dirty little secret. So it was unlikely in the extreme that it was some kind of hoax. No-one knew about this, and publically he was far too cultured and dignified to step onto grass that hadn't been hooficured into a surface that would shame a billiards table.

He read eagerly through the rest of the letter. An ex-REA officer? Wait, wasn't there a Fire Walker in that cadet line... a mare if he remembered correctly. And he usually did, the minutiae of Canterlot society and it's denizens was as key to his job as the knowledge of Canterlot's winding streets was to a hackney pony. The tone of the letter was suitably respectful, but she clearly hadn't done her homework.

As Royal Patron of the Society, he had a standing invitation to such things, though admittedly, the necessity of maintaining a distance from anything that could be considered work, especially to do with exploration, meant that he couldn't usually attend such things, unless there was some social or staus connection. However, for this bit of news he would make an exception.

He tucked away his father's notebook, laid down the note, and picked up parchement and pen to compose a reply.

Lieutenant Firewalker,

I shall be pleased to meet you in the Uyanazi room at the start of the event. If the book is what I believe it to be, it may well be of interest to myself.

Prince Blueblood, 53rd Duke of Canter, Guardian of the Princesses, Defender of the Weak.

[tacobob]

"This is both exciting and terrifying at the same time.", Fire Walker whispered to her two stallion companions as they waited in the 'Uyanazi Room'. The young red coated Pegasus wore a flattering white dress with a bronze colored necklace. A light brown colored Pegasus stood on one side, while an older, earth pony stood on her other side.

"I used to hang around the 'old hall' when I was just a filly.", she grinned as she glanced around the room, "Place brings back so many good memories! We'd stop over here and father would mingle with his old drinking buddies, while I checked out the new relics that were just discovered. Sometimes merry old 'Colonel Critchlow' would sit and spin one of his always fascinating adventure stories.", she let out a sigh, "I do miss the old rascal. I would come here and dream that one day I would be the one finding the super rare artifacts and would have them on display for all to see, and wala! I er...we.", she grinned sheepishly at the two stallions, "Found the fabled right eye of 'King Kungaloosh!", she let out a 'squee' while bouncing a little in place, "And to think, the good Colonel found the left eye all those years ago. I just wish he was here to see this! He'd be so proud.", she quickly wiped away a tear before turning her attention to the entrance.

"Have you two ever met 'Prince Blueblood'? From time to time I used to stand guard at the great Canterlot dance hall he would frequent. Never actually spoke to him,but I've heard stories. But we must be positive! I was correct when I said an successful adventure would lead straight to another equally, if not more adventurous adventure, and here we are, waiting for a prince!". The Pegasus was feeling extra spirited tonight. The flood of pleasant memories, dreams of adventures to come, and an open bar made for a very happy pony.

[Snowshoe]

Muggo' nodded. "Less o' the terrifyin' for me." he said. He'd heard that Blueblood was a bit of a windbag, and not very...princely. But he would reserve judgement until he saw for himself. He was dressed nicely, though not overly so. His typical grey bakersboy cap was on its usual place on his head, and he wore a white shirt and brown tweed vest. It made him look presentable, in a bit of a dignified, weathered way. Nothing like the haughtiness of a suit-clad Canterlot unicorn, that's for sure.

He let her have her fun, talking about the artifact and names that meant a bit less to him than it did to her. He'd like to hear the stories of course, but for now, he didn't know too much about this 'King Kungaloosh'.

"Never met the b'y, but I heard the stories meself. I'll keep me snout shut on 'em, though, an' let him present himself before I make me judgement." Muggo' said simply, chuckling. "What about ya, Dunder?" he asked, looking around Fire Walker to look at his old friend.

"Y'ever bump into the upper class o' Canterlot?"

Muggo' had never quite imagined he'd be here, and felt a little out of place. Everything felt so formal, for a pony who was the very definition of informal. He preferred the more casual atmosphere of his bar to this kind of place. Not to mention he figured the elites of all sorts would be here...he wanted to come across as rather dignified, worthy of Canterlot. Maybe in the end he'd attract some more customers for his bar. In the meantime, he'd work on not embarrassing his travelling companions.

[Dunder]

Dunder was a little nervous being this far inside of the more important buildings of Canterlot. Also the thought of meeting a pompous Prince wasn't helping. He was pretty silent as the other two ponies talked. He listened to both of them, Fire seemed like she was ready to go do flips, she was so happy. He couldn't help but smile at her stories. She was definitely glad to be back here. Muggo' was more mellow, but Dunder could tell he was excited.

Dunder was only wearing a light pink dress shirt after Fire got all dressed up. He would have preferred wearing nothing, but this was to be an important meeting. Maybe it was better that he didn't look like he didn't care, especially since this was such a big thing for fire. He'd hate to ruin it for her. Anyway, she knew what she was doing better than him when it came to Canterlot nobles. His history with them wasn't the best.

"Yep, have many times. Most of the time, it doesn't end well. I usually end up offending them somehow. I don't even know what I do." He said, "But forget them, I don't give a flying feather. I'm also going to try to think about everything I say, so I don't mess this up." He said. "And maybe to see if he's really as they say he is." He said, looking to Muggo.

[tacobob]

"Just relax guys. Members of the Royalty are just like us. They put their....er..no.", she bit her bottom lip, "That would be a lie. They are not like you or me. They're rich and powerful, but we must be respectful, even if we do not like them. Still, most of the ponies, and even gryphons attending this event are really good folk. The profits from ticket sales and auctions are all going to really good causes. Oh and speaking of ticket sales, I got you two something!", she giggled gleefully as she pulled out two rather stately looking cards from a hidden pocket. "I got you two membership cards for the hall! You're really going to love this place. ", she hoofed over the cards, "Normally this place isn't so stuffy, and most come in wearing what they would normally wear, so don't worry about being all 'Fancy Pants' and all. My father gave me one of these when I was getting into the 'Daring Do' series of books. I did a lot of reading when I was little, which he did not mind, he just didn't care for all the 'girly-foo-foo' stuff I was burning through at the time. He believed the adventure books and the ability to meet and greet some of Canterlot's more famous explorers would encourage me to become stronger over the years, and he was right."

(OOC: The 'Eye Of 'King Kungaloosh' was just a really big red gem. Not an actual eyeball!)

[Snowshoe]

[Ha, figured it wasn't a huge eyeball Also are we doing post orders?]

[tacobob]

[Ha, figured it wasn't a huge eyeball Also are we doing post orders?]

[Not really. I usually don't want to overwhelm a poster who may be away, or throw off the conversation, but considering the three are waiting for Blueblood, they can probably banter back and forth until then.]

[Snowshoe]

"Eesh, girl, ya sound like me father. I know I gotta respect the rich ones." Muggo' said with a chuckle. He laughed at what Dunder said. "It's the shirt, b'y." he teased with a laugh. "Just kiddin'. Looks alright on ya." he said sincerely.

"Auctions, aye?" he asked. Good thing he'd brought bits along. He could always look for something to bring bar to the bar for all of this. He tilted his head and took the card from her with a word of thanks, looking it over.

"Well, thank ya kindly, Fire!" he said sincerely, smiling. "If I get the chance to get up here from Fillydelphia, I'll be sure to stop by." he said. The place seemed rather interesting, and hopefully, like she said, a little less stuff.

"So I'm takin' bets." he said after a moment, a pause to put the card in his vest pocket. "For how long it'll take Blueblood to get here. Somethin' tells me he's gunna be pure Canterlot an' be fashionably late." he joked.

[Stainless Steel Fox]

Prince Blueblood dismissed his chariot. The guards would return in a few hours, as he wanted the opportunity to explore after he finsihed his business. The ticket he'd been sent came in usefula fter all, as it gave him the chance to visit unofficially. To use his priivilege as Royal Patron would require informing the Society Chairman and a whole lot of fussing about as they arranged to greet him. Normally that would have been hay and oats to him, but in this case he wanted to get to the main matter.

However, the attandant's stammered, "P... Prince Blueblood! It's an honour... I'll inform the Chairman at once..." Did give him a pleasant little glow inside.

He waved it off with a hoof. "I'm here as a private citizen, not in my official capacity. I'd prefer it if you kept quiet. I am likely to be extremely busy. If I need the Chairman, I shall call for him later."

He wended his way through the crowds. Quite a few of Canterlot's elite were here, along with the more common ponies. There were a few raised eyebrows, but it wasn't like this was a working conference. The VIP lounge would provide some excellent refreshments, and a few of the nobility and great maganates sponsored expeditions, so they had reason to be there. He graciously recieved the few acknowledgements he recieved, but refused to be drawn into a conversation.

He knew his way around, having been here before, and navigation had always been a talent of his. Besides the Uyanazi room was close to the main entrance, easy to find even if you were coming here for the first time. He made his way inside, appreciating the tribal masks that lined the walls, and the zebra carvings and artwork. The place was quiter than the main hall, and had alcoves with padded cushions and low tables, carved from dark Uyanazi hardwoods, to sit at. A buffet was set up at one end of the room, but it was common fare, he would wait and go get horse'dervres at the VIP lounge if he wanted anything.

He looked around, wondering which of the mares was Firewalker. Though he knew her name and affilaitions, he didn't know her on sight.

[tacobob]

"Your Grace.", a rather elegant red coated Pegasus clad in an flattering dress addressed the prince while bowing slightly. She was an attractive mare to say the least and her dress complimented the natural curviness of her body, however by the looks of her strong legs and pose, she was probably more into physical work, as opposed to the leisurely life of a proper Canterlot lady. She stood by two older stallions, one was a brown pegasus clad in a pink shirt, and another, the far larger of the three, was a gruff looking earth pony. They were either her bodyguards, or the colleges she had mentioned in her letter.

The mare balanced a wine glass in her hoof, while the larger earth pony held what appeared to be a small leather journal. This was obviously a very good idea, as it would probably take an entire platoon of the princess' finest to wrestle the book from such an opposing stallion.

She stood, with a very polite smile on her face and waited patiently for the good prince to respond.

[Dunder]

"Hey! It takes skill to wear pink and still look like an amazing stallion." Dunder said to Muggo', "You don't understand such things with your dumb brain." Dunder teased.

When he was hoofed the card from Fire, he examined it all over. "Wow! Thanks Fire! And I'm probably just not wear any clothes when I come here. Only if you come I'll be forced to not let you show me up too hard with your dress." He said and stuck his tongue out at her. "Or Muggo' with his fancy stuff."

"I'll bet you one bit that this pony will be a few minutes late." Dunder said, he said in response to Muggo's 'taking bets.' "Fashionably late sounds like something he'd do. If the rumors are true, but I don't like to pay much attention to rumors." He said.

When Blublood came in, Dunder watched Fire. she seemed to handle things well with royalty. Well, she grew up around them, so it would only make sense. He sat back in his seat and looked away. He flashed Muggo a 'What do you think?' look.

[Stainless Steel Fox]

The Duke had dressed in a fairly casual manner (by his standards) in a white shirt and grey tweed jacket with gold buttons. A sporty red cravat.tie set off the outfit, and a red rose adorned the buttonhole of the hornstitched jacket breast pocket. Hie mane and tail wereas usually immaculate, and his manner dignified and aloof.

"Lieutenant Firewalker?" He could see the journal, and it looked like the real thing, but while he was desperate to check it, it would never do to seem too eager or excited. "I see you have the notebook you mentioned. Shall we dispense with the customary effusions of excitment at meeting me in person and adjourn to one of the tables? I wish to examine the artifact more closely."

[tacobob]

"Yes, your grace.", she managed to keep herself from rolling her eyes at his comments. The Pegasus nodded at the two stallions and slowly followed Bluebood close behind. Once they got to the table, she waited for him to sit down, before she found herself a seat,unless he offered her a chair. Once they were comfortable, she glanced over at Muggo', "Could you please hoof over the notebook?", she smiled warmly at the large stallion before turning her attention back to the duke, and she waited to gauge his reaction from seeing and even reading the book and kept ever so quiet as he did.

[Snowshoe]

Muggo' Ale walked over when he saw the prince walk in, and of course, only after Fire Walker walked over. He figured that if Fire Walker organized this, it was up to her to lead the way. With a respectful little bow, Muggo' swept his grey tweed bakersboy off his head. He was unsure of the proper title or greeting for somepony of Blueblood's stature, so to avoid any offence, he kept it at that. He straightened up and set the hat back on his head, keeping it tilted back a little out of respect.

He caught Dunder's look and gave an almost-imperceptible shrug with a shoulder. He didn't quite know what to think just yet. Blueblood definitely was highly formal, but then again, this WAS Canterlot, after all. However, he seemed rather...arrogant. 'Effusions of excitement at meeting me in person'? Muggo' had to fight from letting out a laugh.

Hoof over the notebook? Oh right! She'd asked him to carry it. "Aye, s'here somewhere..." he mumbled, reaching a hoof into the vest and searching through one of the large inner pockets. He gingerly pulled out the notebook, knowing it was valuable and thus being rather gentle with it. "So, what's it worth to ya?" he teased with a joking smile toward Blueblood, gently placing the notebook on the table well within hoof's reach of the stallion.

[tacobob]

Fire Walker smiled gently as Muggo' pulled out the notebook with care, but that quickly vanished the moment he opened his mouth, she glanced away from the prince and silently mouthed the words 'shoosh' to the earth pony, before turning back to Blueblood, "I do apologize for my comrade's behavior, he's just really excited to see you. He's a really big fan. Please go ahead and take a good look at the notebook.", she nervously chuckled and took a rather long sip from her wine glass.

The moment he looked down at his book, Fire glanced back at the two non-royal ponies with little daggers in her eyes. She wasn't that upset with Muggo', as how could any pony stay upset with the big dumb puppy dog, but she made it very clear without saying a word, that it would be very unwise to speak to the Prince at the moment. Once that was finished, she turned her attention back to the prince, once again.

[Dunder]

Dunder watched them. He had to hold back a scoff as Blueblood was acting the way the rumors said he would. He hated thinking the rumors were facts instead of just mares and stallions running their mouths off and blowing things out of proportion. He wanted to ask some questions about the book, after what they went through to get it, he thought it was only fair. "So how much are you going to pay us?" He asked. He grabbed Fire's wine glass and took a sip, right where her lips had been.

He coughed from the foreign taste of the red liquid and cleared his throat before speaking. "Muggo' is right. We want to know what you're gonna pay." He said as he leaned back in his chair and looked at Muggo' then at Blueblood.

[Snowshoe]

Muggo' smirked back at Fire to show he'd just been joking around. He wasn't going to ACTUALLY hold Blueblood's journal hostage for bits. That would just be unfair. He held his tongue, and then looked at Dunder, who kept running with the joke. Laughing a little, he looked over at Blueblood.

"We're just kiddin', b'y. It belongs to ya, right an' fair." he said with a sincere smile. "An' that's where it'll stay." he added, taking a sip of wine from his own glass, though he was never a huge fan of it himself. Still, it was a drink, and he was a bit thirsty.

"I know how much a family heirloom's worth, an' ya can't count it out in bits. If that book belongs to yer family, it's yers. Can't put a price on that even if ya tried." he said. It'd be like somepony asking how much it would cost to buy the bar from Muggo'. It having been in his family's hooves since his grandfather bought it, the price would be nothing, because nopony would ever get it except his own child, whenever he had one.

[tacobob]

Fire gasped as her wine glass was spirited away from her very hoof. She could not believe her ears! Were they trying to ruin it for her? They were going to anger and insult the prince! He would probably throw a few bits at her, take his notebook and then have her banned from the hall before leaving in a princely huff! She'll then be forced to do less heroic and less adventurous quests, or even worse, go back to foal-sitting grumpy unicorns. Or maybe even far worse-r, she would have to return to her old guard duty, with her tail between her legs. Back to standing still for hours at a time. Back to having silly tourists try their very best to make her giggle. They'd probably make her a private, or a junior private! She couldn't go back to her old uniform,...it probably doesn't fit anymore! She gave the two her saddest, most pitiful puppy dog face ever, complete with droopy ears. This generally worked before and she was able to use this special talent before to get the two to do things for her, such as paying her drink tab or get her the last hay-fry in the basket. She really wanted to jump on the table, scream an assortment of profanities and then proceed to slap the two silly, but she could not. For today, she was a lady! She took a few breaths and let her eyes slowly creep over to the prince. Hopefully he was so caught up in reading the notebook, he did he hear her companion's outbursts.

OOC: Ha! Great posts guys! Very funny! It's nice to play the serious one for a change! You know she's going to murder you all!

[Stainless Steel Fox]

(OOC: I know I don't get on as often as the rest of you, but can we keep the from putting up too many posts in the mean time?)

The pegasus mare was properly respectful, but the pony in the grey jacket was overly familiar, and how crass to immediately talk of coin. His mare companion was properly embarrassed by such gauche behaviour, but tried to cover for him. Fairly obviously. Still, he had the notebook, so he would ignore such shenanigans. After all, what could you expect from a lower class pony? He lifted the book reverentially, his magic caressing the clasp, which as he'd expected clicked open at the touch of his telekiesis. He opened it carefully, finding, as he expected, notes and diagrams clearly written in a fine and familiar cursive horn writing style. He started to read...

"Muggo' is right. We want to know what you're gonna pay."

Well now, that was just rude! Blueblood's offended expression made his opinion clear. The dopy looking grey pegasus wasn't even able to drink a simple glass of wine without spraying half the table, let alone approach any negotiation in a civilised manner. He had come prepared to pay a finders fee, but after this reception and display of near thuggery he was half minded to walk straight out! But it was the other half, the part that intensely wanted to know the circumstances of the find, that stopped him.

"We're just kiddin', b'y. It belongs to ya, right an' fair." he said with a sincere smile. "An' that's where it'll stay." he added, taking a sip of wine from his own glass, though he was never a huge fan of it himself. Still, it was a drink, and he was a bit thirsty.

"I know how much a family heirloom's worth, an' ya can't count it out in bits. If that book belongs to yer family, it's yers. Can't put a price on that even if ya tried."

That was a slight improvement. "Well, if you will restrain your mercenary compatriot from leaping upon me and hauling me up in the air to shake me loose from every bit I posess, maybe I can confirm this is a family heirloom, and determine if this is worth my time."

Actually, he was already sure, but he wanted to have a chance to read. A few pages was enough, it was not only his father's horn writing, but his phrasing and style too. He laid it down carefully, and considered. He had it's brother in his own inside jacket pocket, but he would never reveal that to anyone. How to get information from them without seeming too interested and revealing his dirty little secret. A proper noble wouldn't hang on details of some common pony's trek...

He shook his head. Maybe a small advance was appropriate. His horn glowed again, and a moneybag was pulled from the depths of a designer saddlebag. A stack of bits levitated from it and onto the table. "Three huindred bits. It is indeed one of my father's exploration journals. Consider it a finders fee. And I will double it if you describe the circumstances in which you fouund it."

(OOC: Fish or cut bait time. I left the circumstances of his disappeance vague so that it could fit in with whatever story was going to use it. So choose Bezonian; are we to freeze out horns off on the steppes of the northern badlands, or sweat our way across the savannahs and jungles of Uyanazi?)

[tacobob]

(OOC: Sorry 'bout that. I usually try to keep my posts down between users as In, I post, you post, they post, etc, but the last posts were SO PERFECT, so AWESOME, I had to get a quick reaction post for Fire Walker before Blueblood was able to react or reply. I'm currently working very long shifts during the next few days, after I work, I check my posts and go to bed..So I won't be on that much either.)

"Yes, my grace.", Fire Walker bowed her head once more, "He will respect your personal space, or I will give him a proper 'whoop'n.", she glared at the two stallions before looking back at the prince, "They mean you no disrespect, they are simply very spirited when it comes to their tasks.", she let the good prince continuing his reading and when he presented her a few questions, she nodded her head. "We actually found your notebook by chance. After we discovered the 'fabled right eye of 'King Kungaloosh', we were heading back to Canterlot when one of my companions needed to take a short break. While on his er, break, he stumbled upon a hidden cave, which contained several crates that were part of a bandit's treasure hold. These items were stolen goods, so we made sure they were dropped off at the head constable's office. Nearly all of these items were listed as stolen, with the exception of the notebook. I decided to take this to my mentor in the 'Hall'. Captain Pure Heart recommended that I contact you after he noticed the cover. The items we found were not simple bags of gold, or your usual forms of wealth, but treasures of a great personal nature. Items that would be difficult to sell. They were paintings, or engraved items. I guess the bandits were not able to sell these, so they left in the crate. Some of the items looked like they belonged to zebras. Wedding beads, masks and even an 'Akwati Sarki', which is referred to as a 'King's Box'. Thankfully the R.E.A were able to get a hold of an representative from the Uyanazi so that these stolen goods were returned to their rightful owners."

OOC: Wasn't sure where to go with this, but yeah. Zebras are cool, so it's the jungle. And 'short break'. Dunder had to use the little colt's room..Which was a bush. The bush hid a secret entrance...

Fire Walker doodles BTW. The artist started to work on my Fire Walker pics. These are VERY rough doodles. Hopefully I'll be able to post the finished ones soon:

[Snowshoe]

[Rog. My bad, SSF.]

"He's not a merc, just likes jokin' around. We weren't goin' to shake ya down for yer bits." Muggo' assured Blueblood. He chuckled and set his hat down respectfully on the table, shaking out his grey mane just a little.

He sat by quietly while Blueblood looked through the journal, glancing over at Fire walker and smiling a little. He looked back at Blueblood when he spoke, and set the bits down. He hadn't expected at all to get paid.

Instead he looked at Fire, then at Blueblood again in turn.

"That 'bout covers it. An' I got no theories on how a bandit got hold o' it. Crates, to my memory, hadn't been disturbed in a bit o' time. More'n a few weeks by me estimate. I rememberin' that right?" he asked his two companions.

[Dunder]

[Maybe a posting order? Stainless Steel Fox, tacobob, Sturmmann, Dunder?]

"Mercenary compatriot?" Dunder asked as he looked around at his friend's faces. Everypony except Blueblood. He looked back at Blueblood, "Oh. Me. I'm hardly a mercenary. And Muggo' is right, we're just kidding." He said. He didn't smile or try to assure Blueblood that the joke was true. In fact, Dunder hoped to get paid, after all, he thought he should after falling into a hole after going to the bathroom in a bush. Especially since he scraped up his wings pretty bad while falling down the hole.

The way Blueblood was acting was amusing to Dunder. He expected the pony to be acting pompous, that it was true was making everything the better. He'd be trolling the pony right now if it weren't for Fire or the bits on the line. When he offered to double it for details, he looked over to Fire then back to Blueblood, "200 bits a head? You're a very generous pony, Blueblood." He said, sounding sincere.

He didn't add anything to the story, after all, he didn't want to muck up any of their memories. Anyway, Blueblood wouldn't know that their stories were inaccurate if they were.

[Stainless Steel Fox]

Oddly enough, the white unicorn looked downcast at the end of their tale, but another three hundred bits landed on the table in front of them.

"I... see. My father's last expedition was to Uyanazi, he hoped to explore beyond the northern savannah, deep into the southern jungles. There are rumours of a pre-Ponylithic civilisation, the remains of one at least..." He realised he was sounding too enthusiastic for a dignified noble and cut his monologue. "I had hoped your story could shed light on what had happened to him, but instead it just produces another mystery. I understand there is a market for Punda Milla artefacts, so I can see why they might be worth stealing, but I have no idea how my father's journal got in them. A dead end."

He looked dissapointed. Then he realsied that he was once again letting too much emotion show and cranked his upper lip stiff again. "Obviously, I would want to know what happened. I am, after all, one of the most important nobles in Canterlot, and to have such a mystery hanging over my family is not good for our social standing. Maybe the notebook itself might provide some clues."