The Caribou Plague: Roads of Askr (Chargers)

[RainbowFoxxy]

A trail of sweat and melted snow lead to the haunt of chargers that had taken over a blockade and store house at the edge of the hold. 

One of the infected swiveled its head upward, its keen ears picking up the distant sound of hoof steps. They were far away, possibly by a mile or more. 

A breath exhaled from the monster's dripping nostrils, steam pluming in two columns and rising with the freezing air. The beast sniffed once, picking up a variety of smells once undetected in his pre-berserk state. 

CRUNCH!

The sharp teeth of the once herb eating bou severed flesh and bone as it devoured what was left of the grizzled remains of a snow hare. Its head flicked to the side in an odd movement, not possible with the skeleton of a healthy bou. It cast pulsing red eyes over the rest of its ravaged herd.

All of them were stricken in the same way as he. Lengthened limbs, terribly grotesque bone structures and musculature, accelerated reflexes and lightening quick response. 

The block house floor was mud mingled with filth and sweat. All traces of snow melted from the ground and surrounding area from the heat their tormented bodies gave off. They stood in a circle facing inwards, their shoulders rising and falling as quickened breath escaped their foaming maws. Their coats were gone, sluffed off with the outer layer of skin they had shed from their tremendous body heat. Steam rose from their skin, mingling with the plague ridden air creating a putrid effect. 

They were hungry and would soon need to eat. Rabbits were not enough to satiate the ravenous edge. Awful canine fangs dripped saliva as their crazed minds focused on means of other food sources.

Somewhere deep in its fevered brain the scream of the once upstanding page bou echoed. The cry did not reach the outer limits to emit from the monster he had become.

[moonshineTheleocat]

“Interesting thing about these engines,” Java remarked mostly to himself. He was leaning against an airships railing, and looking out into the sky. “I never thought after origionally making them for my own ship, that they’d actually perform very well in colder climates where the air pressure is significantly different.”

 

The stallion was dressed in a mixture of the Equestrian combat armor for the Naval forces, and heavy winter gear. The sort of winter gear you’d wear if you plan on traversing through the artic. The coat wasn’t poofy, but it was most certainly dense and warm. It was a blueish gray in color, and had thick fur along the rim of it’s hood and cuffs around the legs. The stallion also wore a pair of reflective goggles over his eyes to help him see better over the snowy landscape.

 

His eyes soon tilted downwards…. Seeing horror in the landscape.

 

“Hey uh… Naj was it?” The stallion called out with a nervous tone. He lifted a pair of saddle bags off of the railings, and hitched them onto himself, before grabbing the crossbow right next to him.

“We’re nearing the AO so go ahead and get ready. But… ah… you might want to take a look… at  -what- we’re dealing with.”

 

[Ciraxis]

Meanwhile outside the borders of the settlement, a lone figure was approaching the the gates of the Askr Hold. Wrapped tightly in the robes and furs of the northern beats, the traveler though nothing about the buffeting winds and ice dusts. The heavy cart that he was hauling didn't seemed to inconvenience him either, his mind already at the forgotten tombs of past Jarls and Kings of Whitescar. Swift Squal - for it was he who walked through the frozen wastes - was not fond of disturbing rest of the dead. But it was strange times for Equestria and it's ponies, with much unrest and malicious forces prowling around the corner. Viking caribou were not mages by any means, but valued magic - especially when used against their foes. There were also those among them who had knowledge of various secrets and possessed mystic powers. And they tended to take both to their graves. Unusual times required the unusual methods. And if Squall had to disturb the peace of the dead, to maintain the peace among the living? So be it.

 

Squall pulled of protecting googles that were covering his eyes. Something was wrong. Hold Askr only just now appeared withing the eyesight and even from here nobelpony could say that something was not right. Some would call it a hunch, others a six sense. But when you were close to death so many times that you could call Grim Pony an acquaintance you started to sense danger way before it came.

However Swift Squall however never shied away from danger. Not to mention the there was no other close settlement to go. Steeling himself he continued to march forward.

 

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When Squall arrived under the town walls his suspicions seemed to prove themselves. All gates were closed and everything was eerily silent. Especially the later was very unsettling. Swift was not fond of the caribou (and that was putting it lightly) but he was conscientious to start learning their customs and culture - a duty that he was still fulfilling. Among the things swordpony learned so far was that the were definitely NOT the quite people. Clan Askr was one of most important in the Whitescar, and caribou understood the importance of trade. Such settlement should be bursting with activity, audible.

And yet the only thing Swift was hearing was only the howl of the northern winds.

Or not. Unicorn's ears perked as he listened to other kind of howl. One full of bloodlust....and hunger.

"What in Harmony's name?" stallion muttered to himself. What kind of beats has taken hold of Clan Askr domain? His eyes squinted as he pondered his options. Should he turn back? For all of his knowledge he was alone, and the city could be taken by denizens of Tartarus himself. If he did that nopony would know that he was here. Except him that is.

Squall shook his head. No. He himself may have no love for horned kin of the Whitescar, but it was not up to him if High King was worthy of alliance or not. If something happened to Clan Askr and Jarl Sigrun it fell on his shoulders, to find out and later bear the news of their fate. Besides Count Squallcoast would not sleep peacefully if he did not know what happened to his chosen rival. And turning back because of cowardice disgusted him

Fifteen minutes later, laden with various equipment, Swift Squall was scaling up the town walls of the Hold Askr with the clenched teeth.

[DerpRavener]

Naj was out in public in her natural form for once, and it was a strange feeling.  Her thinking was that in this case, anyone she was working with would know she was a part of EPIC or if not, they'd at least know she was a specialist called in to assist, and anyone who didn't know that probably shouldn't be in the combat zone anyhow.  What's more their targets today were actually civillians, driven mad by disease.  Precisely what that would mean Naj wasn't entirely sure, but she knew it mean she couldn't afford to kill any for several reasons, while they would no extend her or her allies the same courtesy.  Not using a disguise meant one less distraction in the head of combat, and she wanted every bit of focus she could get.

Naj wore a light coat, with a borrowed REG symbol attached to ensure ponies knew which side she was on.  She'd been here once before, and knew the cold to be bearable once one got used to it, but the coat should help keep out the worst of it, and beyond that she wanted as much mobility as she could manage.  In dealing with infected victims, she was sure that speed would be a lot more helpful than raw defense.

Naj let a hoof rest on the railing, as she watched the ground below with a grim expression and idly listened to the chatter of her companion.  Apparently he'd designed parts of the craft they currently rode.  Though as not someone versed in such things, the changeling focused more on the state of the ground below than what her companion was saying.

Javasun recommended Naj get ready and called her attention to the situation on the ground.  “Yeah,” she replied, voice tinged with undirected anger, “I've been watching.”  She might have hissed then if she hadn't already been analyzing it in her mind.  She looked over at her companion.  “I'm ready whenever you are,” she said, and her wings twitched impatiently.  The longer they took, the more time they spent in the air like this, the more chances for something to go horribly wrong, but they'd have to be careful.  And that meant sticking together, until they had a better sense of what they were dealing with.

[moonshineTheleocat]

The stallion’s head turned when he heard the voice. At the sight of the changeling, the stallion’s head gave a startled recoil, but quickly relaxed. Oh right, his companion for this journey was a changeling. The initial reveal he had received was certainly not a gentle one, but all together the stallion appeared not to mind the creature known for a parasitic relation with creatures.

 

In fact, he just stared thoughtfully at Naj for a few moments. His eyes held a scholarly quizzical glint, and his hoof was rubbing away at his chin. He hadn’t quite let the reveal sink in yet… so now would be the best place to start. Let’s see… what did he really make of this arrangement?

BUCKING AWESOME, that’s what Java made of this.

 

To think that mother nature could device a creature that was practically the perfect hunter was incredible! Natural body armor like chitin, the ability to fly, and while physical strength and speed might be subjective, the magic to shapeshift was more than enough to cover for that!

And heck! It felt just like yesterday when he had a changeling by the name of Flux take a romantic interest in him, which Java had to respectfully decline because there was only one other who had his heart – she was a good pony none the less. And here he was working with one! Oh the possibilities of hunting techniques he might be able to observe could be endless!

 

“Sorry to be a bother, but it’s not very often I get to talk to a changeling that decided I was pray. But if you don’t mind, either during or after this little job, I can ask some questions? The scholar in me is genuinely curious about the culture of changelings outside of what the media makes of you.”

The stallion waited for a response, and which ever it was, he gave a respectful nod. He cleared his throat and then called out with a hint of gentlemanly authority in his tone.

“Mister Captain Smooth Sailing!”

“Aye sir!” Came a gruff voice of a stallion. He was situated at the helm of the ship.

“See to it that any other pony that wishes to join the shore party is properly equipped with barding and tranquilizers from the storage, and their names are recorded on the leave ledgers if you will.”

The stallion waited for the affirmative before continuing.

“Make sure that any pony who leaves this ship understands that our actions will greatly change the relationship between the Caribou of Askar, and Equestria… and then some. Other than that, wish the two of us luck!”

And with that, the stallion tossed a heavy rope over the railing and hooked a clip on his harness to it. He glanced to Naj, and gave her a smile. “Welp! Out of the freezer, and into the fire.” The stallion lept off… the clip snagged on the rope and quickly did it's job at slowing down his rapid decent. “GIRANAMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo!”

It wasn't long before the stallion turned impromptu marine had touched down on the snow, and began jogging out to the town.

"So Naj! Any brilliant ideas? Because I've got nothing right now!"

 

[RainbowFoxxy]

"GGGGrrrrrAAAAaaaaaaaa!"

The tormented scream echoed from the blockhouse and onto the empty streets.

The creature recoiled from it's position of intense surveillance, clacking both clawed hooves hard against the wall. The creature bowed it's horrible head between its arms and panted roughly. Sweat dripped from every pore as it stood there in agony. Every fiber of the one time page bou screamed out in anguish. He was at once intensely hungry and horribly fevered, unable to control the beast that had taken over his body.

Terribly elongated limbs pressed off from the wall as the creature turned to view the others in the block house.

They were the only beings he could not rip and rend. Sink his sharpened fangs into and crunch marrow from bone. Saliva rolled down his exposed canines at the thought. But it could not be done. They were infested as he. The plague that controlled him also resided in them. A house divided would fall. Though they were not yet fully transformed to what he had become he would not touch them.

The two other chargers had taken to the muddied floor of the block house, writhing in agony against the sickness as it overtook them body and mind. Their limbs cracked and crunched as the bug worked to stretch out their limbs. Howls and screams of pain shot through the block house walls as their very skeletons were stricken to their roots.

The creature's grotesque clawed hoof flicked up and pull the last knotted mass of fur from his chest. His body poured sweat and steam as his red eyes swiveled to the streets. Something was moving nearby.

Inside the monster Halvor cried out, longing to be free. It would be better to be dead by far than to be cured to this fate. The young bou had been nought but an apprentice, serving his master in the Askr Hold. When he was young his parents had apprenticed him to a renowned weapons maker who held a forge room in the mighty clan of Sigrun's hold. Many a warrior had steel and iron forged by this master. Some took their weapons to the four winds in conquest and adventures, others put pits in their blades in the very arena of  Saarvarberg. Halvor had grown up under the discipline and watchful eye of this weapons master. He had been sent on the task of delivering a fine new ax blade to the Jarl herself not long before the plagues overtook the hold. After depositing his burden into the hooves of the Jarl's guard, he had stopped by the watering cistern on his way out. It was that small drink that had ended his natural life...

The Charger's ears flicked to the roads outside the block house. In a moment he had changed positions, now standing just inside the main door. His head cocked at an unnatural angle as he listened intently. His craving for flesh would soon meet satisfaction...

[Ciraxis]

With a final bit of effort Swift Squall managed to haul himself through the battlement crenel.

The climb as not easy by any means. Squall had seen his fair share of fortifications, and yet the stone walls of Aksr proved themselves to be one of the best of them. High and smooth - not to mention covered with rime - they were quite a challenge for even as experienced climber as Swift. This wasn't something that he was exacting from the race mostly known for their tendency to raid oversea lands. Compared to some mountains he conquered it was a short ascent, and yet he was out of breath - despite only taking a minimal equipment, leaving the rest at cart beneath the walls. Of course what Squall considered minimal equipment, other pony would describe as heavily armed.

Another hungry howl roused noblepony from his thoughts. Swift looked left and right, but as far as he could see he was the only living creature in sight. That was not surprisng, if someone would be present on the walls, then in no way his climb would go unnoticed. But now if not for the bestial cries - which had to surely come from further inside the city - then one could very well assume the Askr became the domain of ghosts.

Phantoms or not, unicorn had to proceed with caution. Surprise could make a great ally, and equally terrifying enemy, and Squall learned long ago to have it on his side.

Squall took his hoofsteps to the nearest tower. Wealthy clan like Askr would surely keep their supplies stocked and he very well may find something that would prove useful on his way through the city, or at least tell something about what happened here. Surprisingly the tower doors were open. Whatever happened here it meant that guards left in a hurry, otherwise watchbou would never leave everything unlocked. Walking through the corridor Squall arrived to what could only be casern. A simple glance was enough for his to tell that while there was no battle here but their exit was mane in haste. For what reason? Search through the captain quarters did little to resolve the mystery. Swordpony knowledge of caribou language improved enough that now he was able to read the papers - this is it was nothing here. Orders, reports, changes in shifts, checklists of monsters seen outside the walls. But one thing was interesting. The last report was from...yesterday? The whole city became desolate in just twenty four hours?

This was....disturbing. But it only confirmed that Squall had to get to the bottom of the issue. Unicorn proceeded to the storeroom next. Without embarrassment Squall 'borrowed'  beared axe that he found there. He did the same with seax, piece of rope, binoculars and...what was this? A Hippostion aspis? Was that a gift? A war trophy? Whatever was the case Swift happily added it to his equipment. As he prepared to leave the tower a sudden thought struck him. If the city was indeed in the claws and fangs of monsters it would be wise to prepare for them. Most of them were the predators, and predators tended to relay on smell, hearing and sight to cacth their meal. Swift could do well enough against the sight, it was other two senses that he needed to secure himself against. And thanks to his experiences in Unyasi he knew exactly what to do.

Few minutes later squall emerged from the tower. The oils and powder used to clean the weapons were now masking his smell after he rubbed them into his coat and mane. Additionally pieces of fabric were now wrapped around his armored hooves muffling the sound and giving him better traction on ice covered surface. Thanks to binoculars Swift could see that not whole of Askr was abandoned. Inside the keep in the middle of the city, the lights were still glowing. Heavy snow prevented him form seeing by whom but one was clear - it was occupied.

Jumping onto the nearest building, Squall proceeded to skulk towards the keep, using the rooftops and avoiding alleys below.

 

[DerpRavener]

Naj blinked in surprise at the questions.  The responses she expected were were tolerance, passing interest or fear, she had not been prepared for enthusiastic curiosity.  It took her a moment to remember herself.  “Uh, sure, I wouldn't mind answering a few questions.  But save that for later.”  She looked back down at the ground beneath them.  “Right now we need to focus.”  Her companion didn't strike her as having a military background, and then even if he did they'd still likely need all their focus to get through this unscathed.

And then it was time.  Java gave some instructions to the airship's captain regarding any that might follow the two of them to assist, before hooking himself up to a cord and rappelling down to the ground.  It was a clever device, allowing a pony to get quickly to the ground without need for the ship to land.  Naj however, had the good fortune of being flight-capable species, so instead opted to simply vault the railing.  She let herself fall for a moment before slowing her descent to a buzzing hover above and to the left of the stallion on the ground.  While she wasn't the best flier, she doubted their opponents this time around would be that strategic in bringing her down, and the vantage point was sure to be useful while they were still assessing the situation.

 

On 5/15/2016 at 1:03 AM, moonshineTheleocat said:

"So Naj! Any brilliant ideas? Because I've got nothing right now!"

Naj replied almost instantly.  “We're outnumbered, ideally we want to isolate our adversaries and bring them down one at a time.  Failing that, they should be fairly easy to either bait or distract, I could probably keep them occupied while you pick them off.  That said, we don't yet know the full situation, we'll need to see how things look before we can be sure of either plan.”

The distant cry of some horrible creature interrupted their conversation.  Naj fell silent, her head swivelling around scanning the streets from the air, her full concentration on the empty streets ahead of her.  She contemplated dropping to the ground, to provide an extra target to split their attention, but decided against it for the moment.  They were still a ways from where she was expecting to encounter the infected, and she figured that while the two of them were moving into position, it would be better both to see more, and to drop onto an enemy from above should they be caught by surprise.  Naj picked up speed, trying to get a little ahead of Java and be able to give him some advance warning to anything she spotted below. 

[moonshineTheleocat]

And… of course there would be a bone chilling roar. Java’s breath caught it’s self in his throat when he heard the roar. Instincts told him to turn tail and leave, but discipline in his days in the navy fighting pirates kept him going. The stallion inhaled deeply, as a small tear of fear formed in his eyes. Luckily that was hidden by the goggles. Definitely be an embarrassing thing to see right now.

Now steeled, he quickly increased his pace from a jog to a full fledge sprint. It wasn’t much longer before Java was now at the base of the wall. He stopped once he neared it, and quickly pulled a device off of his chest. The device was connected to his harness on his vest with a metal wire. And on the other hand it held a hook and a strap.

The pony strapped the device onto his foreleg, and then aimed it up to the ledge of the wall above him. He flexed his wrist once the connecting wire was taught, and out came a wire with a whip like crack. Once the hook connected with the wall, Java was quickly reeled up to the top.

 

He now stood looking over the city, from the top of the wall. His pair of binoculars were already out looking for a suitable point to set up shop. Somewhere high. He could always lure them out with some loud noises and take pot shots at them from sa-… wait… what is that?


The stallion frowned as he thought he saw something moving along the roof tops. Maybe he was just seeing things. Wait… no… yes someone is definitely bounding from roof to roof from the keep. Maybe it’s one of the bous? Perhaps… but the matter is his tranquilizer bolts won’t be able to work their magic from this distance. They’d lose too much force that the needles won’t be deep enough.

 

Well… guess the only thing he can do is to give chase. The stallion sighed as he now dropped off of the wall and landed soundly on a ceiling below. He grunted at the landing, taking a moment to let the shock settle it’s self, before bounding about from building to building.

“Naj! Unknown contact north-north west! It’s on the roofs!”

[RainbowFoxxy]

The Charger sniffed the air. There were various scents on the air most of those were pony. Of course the smell of caribou was strong as well...but the smell of pony...
 He had to lick his horrible maw to allow the saliva dangling there to fall to the ground. He needed feeding!

 

The horrible beast slunk out onto the road, its senses on high alert. Hardly a sound it made as it took a few steps, sampling the air. It's grotesque frame shifted at an alarming rate, carrying it across the road in less than a second. It now stood with its back against a log building.

 

He would seek out the ponies...and feed!

[Ciraxis]

After a minute or two of his roof jumping Squall fell hair of his coat standing up. Someone had him in his sights! After years of exposing himself to various dangers, unicorn could that's he's being watched by his instinct alone. Pausing for a moment between the hoops, he turned his hooded head towards where he felt unknown observer, listening to some unrecognizable sound at the edge of hearing. The wave of enmity and killing intent that he sent it's way was almost palpable...almost like that chimney that he magically ripped off and thrown in the same diction.

 

"That should be enough of the distraction." judged the swordpony as he jumped down to the alleys below. His descent was almost gentle, in sharp contrast to the sprint he bursted into as his hooves touched the ground. The cloth around his legs drowned the sound of his hooves - as well as sabatons and greaves that he wore. Thick black hooded cloak did the same for the rest of his equipment. Squall started regretting that he didn't got a replaced for his outer garment. It's spell that previously bended the perception of others has faded a while ago, and now that it was worn out by his travels he looked like some wraith in it. The only thing it hid now was his species and the face. But since his last meeting with Spring he couldn't bring himself to throw it away....

He shouldn't think about things like that. He needed a hiding place. What was this? Perfect! A dumpster.

In one fluid motion unicorn opened it up, jumped inside and close behind himself near silently. Afterwards he pulled his ear near the cover to listen for eventual pursuers.

Perhaps his hiding place of choice was a bigger blessing then he thought. True, he rubbed the cleaning oils from armory into his coat before. But trash was guaranteed to mask his smell even better then that. Still, one was clear. Rooftops were as dangerous as the rest of the city. After a few minutes of silence stallion decided to slip out of his hideout. Now much more careful, and still on the edge he slipped around the corner....only to be a witness to a grisly sight.

 

A bunch debris that once had to be cages. Next them was what's left of it's former inhabitants, a poultry of various kind. The stone paved road and nearby walls were smeared with feathers and blood. On the doorsteps of open house on his left laid the remains of what once had to be a cat. All of those animals....ever devoured. His initial guess was right. Only some kind of beast could done this.

"What kind of curse has a hold over this place?" noblepony muttered to himself.

[DerpRavener]

Naj looked where her roof-bound companion indicated.  Sure enough, there was an equine figure moving across the rooftops in a way similar to that Java was using, and the changeling looked just in time to see that figure dart down to a concealed position.  That would likely prove the silver lining to the current situation, that whoever that was, they were fit and agile.  A small favour, given that now Naj and Java would need to account for the unknown element of whoever this unknown person stumbling into a critical situation.  Naj barked out a short string of curses before confirming.  “Yeah, I saw it too.”

 

Still flying, Naj weighed her options.  There were a number of approaches she could in theory try, but most of those she ruled out pretty quickly, at least for the moment.  A stealthy approach would be too slow.  She couldn't reasonably draw out either the figure or the infected without knowing where the latter were.  There was really only one workable option, until their adversaries started announcing their presence.

 

Naj angled herself down toward the rooftops, picking up speed as she went.  While capable enough in the air, Naj was better at travelling by hoof than wing.  “Java!” she called as she touched down, galloping a few paces in the air to keep her speed up when her hooves made contact with the surface, “I'm going to try to run her down, keep an eye out for anything that starts chasing me!”  Naj then put on a burst of speed, leaping between roofs in an effort to get to the last place she saw the figure as fast as possible, though keeping an eye on the streets below.  She had a sense of what was lurking in the city, and wasn't going to be caught flat-hooved if she could help it.

[moonshineTheleocat]

Keep an eye on her? She could fly out of trouble if needed be! And before the stallion could even let out a hint of protest at the idea… she was already off. The stallion grunted as he tried to keep up the pace. Being an earth pony made things rather… hard. Sure by default you’re in better shape than a Unicorn half the time… but being raised helping your father pull and fix trains over the summer as a foal, and lugging metal up a mountain to your workshop tends to make for a very dense pony. No matter how thin the pony actually looked.

The increased speed meant that he hit the roofs a lot harder than he’d probably like. Some creaked and gave precariously under his hooves… but he dared not think about what could possibly happen. Well… it did eventually. His luck eventually ran out as he struck a very weak roofing material.

There was a loud crack underhoof, and the flooring gave out completely once his hind hooves struck. His hooves scratched frantically for something to hold of… but his efforts was only rewarded with loosened snow. And just as quickly as the roof gave out… he fell through the wicker.

His rear slung it’s way underneath him, and forced him to land back first on a wooden table. The poor thing was no match to the earth pony’s weight. And it’s legs and surface immediately snapped into fragments and came crashing to the floor with him.

 

Annnd… now he was on his own for the time it seems. Fantastic.

The stallion let out a low groan as he rolled onto his hooves, and pushed himself up. A quick look around confirmed that he had definitely landed in a caribou’s home. He had completely ruined their nice wooden table. But there were no residents it seems. Looks like there was a struggle ahead of time too. Deep scuffings in the ground showed that creatures had been drug through the door against their will.

Well… might as well see what’s waiting outside.