Snowshoe

[i'm up for continuing. It wasn't due to us that you lost it, was it?]

So what happened at Unicon? I musta missed this.

Oh my, I completely forgot you were playing an antagonist O.O This is going to be interesting. I just accepted a pair of extra parties involved: another antagonist, and just a general third party. Uh...so that's a darn good question, my friend. Try PMing Imagination, it's possible you two can form an antagonist team. If you don't want to do that, we can brainstorm something.

Curio had been in the middle of reading when the first of the crew arrived. He took a moment to look her over as she approached, going through a mental checklist in his mind. He didn't have a photographic memory, but he was good at recalling things. Pink coat, grey mane, odd little hat. This must be Arcana. A cold one, if he recalled correctly. He greeted her with a tilt of the head as she approached, grinning at her laughter, and her words. "To be frank, ma'am, neither am I," he admitted with a laugh. "Aha! No, things ain't always. But for the most part...this all here? Exactly as it seems," Curio assured her with a smile and a wave of the hoof. "For instance, this is a real fire, it is real snow on the grass, and this is really a camp, prepped for some adventure. And my name is, in all sincerity, Curio, though perhaps not from Manechuria. And there truly is what appears to be the ruins of an ancient Pegas Empire town." The stallion went to retrieve a map from some saddlebags nearby. "If my good friend is correct, aside from another possible addition to our group here, we're here before the University of Canterlot's archaeological society," he explained, setting the map down on the ground near the fire. It was a copy of an old map, written in an archaic form of Equestrian. While it did show the north, very little seemed the same. The desert was not named, and there was no indication of Appleoosa or other settlements there. Talonoplis was smaller, and the rivers were named differently. In addition, multiple other settlements were noted, farther east toward modern day Stalliongrad. "Right here..." he tapped an X, marked on the map. "Is where it should be."

Everypony who posted interest in the topic before this post gets in on a free pass, rest should PM me for entry. Everypony involved would have visited Curio's shop in Canterlot, and interviewed with him looking, and acting, as a mysterious, stereotypical "Far-East" Manechurian merchant, and if accepted would have gotten a letter giving them instructions on when to get to Talonpolis, and to his camp.

It was an unusual day, to be sure. The sun was shining and the Badlands weren't particularly cold, either. It was also unusual in that Curio was adventuring for something specific. He knew, full well, that most things in his shop were horsefeathers. You might buy a high quality and decidedly antique writing desk, but that wasn't to say it was ever owned by an old Duke of Canterlot. Every item had a story...and none of them were (usually) real. He'd gotten quite a bit of a shock when it turned out an amulet he sold had actually caused quite a bit of trouble for one small town, according to hearsay and the papers. But not today. This was not going to be another wild goose chase, nor another collection of items to be given false stories. No, this time he'd learned of an amazing find, north of Talonpolis: what might possibly be an ancient Pegas Empire town that served as a trading post with the griffons. The possibility of a true, legitimate ancient artifact with an important story, as well as the possibility of crazy profit, attracted Curio like a moth to a flame. But he knew he couldn't do it alone: he was an adventurer, but he was no Daring Do. So to that end, he'd posted flyers around Canterlot, Fillydelphia, and other major cities. SEEKING! Intrepid ponies for exciting, possibly dangerous trip to the Badlands! Must not fear cold, adverse conditions, ancient traps, or curses! Inquire at Curio's Relic Shoppe, 12 Starswirl Way, Canterlot. Of course, everypony who he'd interviewed and accepted would recognize him, given that Curio wasn't in his mysterious, far-east Manechurian salespony persona. But he reasoned that the loss of mystique for a hoof-ful of ponies was worth the adventure and the profit. He'd even sent out letters to each pony involved, telling them to meet him at his camp north of Talonpolis, where the Raptorclaw River split. At the camp, Curio was making sure everything was ready. His mane was down, not in the usual braid, and he wore a brown, REA surplus greatcoat to keep himself warm. A fire was burning, and a wagon sat nearby. He intended to have everypony take a turn pulling it, and had decided it was essential. The wagon was loaded with food, water and other such survival necessities, which he deemed necessary given the often dangerous conditions of the Badlands. The blue pony checked the position of the sun, and noted it was still before noon. Plenty of time for everypony to get there from Talonpolis, which he could see in the not-so-distance. He hummed quietly to himself and took out one of the few legitimate artifacts he owned, a zebra-made machete to cut through the brush, and got to sharpening it. He had no idea what was going to happen once they plunged into the woods, and Curio figured something to cut wood with for a fire would be incredibly handy to have around.

Wind Rider nodded to Martini. "Oh, I know. I wouldn't dare try and get back now. Still got a bit of a headache from nearly running headlong into a lightning bolt, and I'm a bit sore in general. Not very conducive to long distance flights," he said with a chuckle, thanking her with a warm smile for the cider. "I have, actually. Being from Hoofington, I'm not too far away. It's a favourite vacation spot of mine, and I've become good friends with this young stallion, Bowsprit, who runs ship tours from there," he explained, taking a sip of the cider. Quite good stuff. Wind made a mental note to ask about where she procured her cider. He looked at Pocket Change and laughed at his talk of the tour, understanding completely. The Sisters were gorgeous, for sure. "The wonders of her blazing sun?" he asked with a wink. Double-entendres for the win, considering what her cutie mark was. "Well, thanks, Pocket," Wind said happily. "Looks like I'll have a bit of a busy morning tomorrow. Wonder if I could catch a concert here..." he mused, grinning at the stallion. He seemed to be rather flustered and had something far removed from weather and Canterlot on his mind. Before he could comment on it, he heard Misty Morning's question to Martini and gave a wry grin. He knew where this was going, but said nothing.

Oh man, I totally forgot about Jubal. Best character ever. "Am I a lion?" "What?" "I don't think of myself as a lion. You might as well though, I have a mighty roar." Despite being hilarious, also manages to be downright evil. I wanted to punch him for what he did to Kaylee o.o

Unf, Vaas. Quite a good villain, and all the props go to the voice actor for making him believable, and making me truly hate the character. As for myself, I've got a few. Iago from Othello, for being so tweaked, and so magnificently evil. He destroys the lives of so many people, just over a little case of jealousy. While not a true villain in a sense. HK-47 from Knights of the Old Republic is awesome. He's an assassin droid, and the only thing keeping him reined in is you...if you so choose. He's also snarky and hilarious, for a droid. Benny from Fallout New Vegas, for being pretty charismatic and awesome, tied with Mr. House from the same game for being able to manipulate EVERYONE, even through TIME. A pity that they had such a terrible voice actor for Benny. Finally, Col. Landa from that one Tarantino flick about WWII that I can't name due to the board filter. Landa is probably my favourite of this list, for being incredibly charismatic, manipulative, and downright evil all at the same time.

Muggo' Ale looked down at the bits, smiling a bit. Mmm, money. He wasn't greedy by any means, but it was always good to get some extra here and there, especially as he'd have to replace some brewing equipment soon. "Celestia bless yer cotton socks, b'y. As for the crew I promised ya..." he looked up as the door bell rang when Quill stepped in. He waved and gave his customary greeting. "How's ya gettin' on?" but instead of an answer, the pony went off to find Fire Walker, Swift Squall on his heels. Muggo' looked over at Abbot and chuckled a bit. "Sorry, b'y. Be back in a second, get the folks from downstairs." He trotted off toward the stairs and down, hearing what Swift said to Quill. "Swift, be nice to the b'y!" he admonished. While he may have no real authority, it was his bar, after all. "Fire, featherbrain!" he called out to his friends. "Got a proposition for ya. Ya can come two, Swift. We may have ourselves a bit o' an adventure."

TL;DR, but we love ya too, Allura.

This one will be in Florida for the next week, and with limited if any internet access. Catch y'all when I get back.

One last update: this is still on, however, it won't be started until early March (1st, at best). I'll be going on a week-long vacation starting Saturday, and don't want to leave you all high and dry.

The Belloq to my Indy, as Taco put it before I could I'm fine with it, if you want to play a bit of an antagonist.

Alright, I'm thinking of just going with the poster/flyer deal, very likely going to the Badlands (The Outlands subform). sound good for y'all?

Wind Rider et. al. for me are still in. I was away for a bit, not sure if I'm still on hold for the Hoofington RP, or if I should have posted.

Hello, ponyfolk! Recently, I apped a minor cast character named Curio (added him to my roster, you can check on the side bar, under my name). Been looking for something to use him with. I've got an idea that involves an adventure, just not quite sure what I'm going to do yet. Currently, I'm debating having him post a flyer looking for help finding a helmet belonging to a griffon general in the griffon lands, or an ancient pegasus empire something or other up in the Badlands to the north. Would anypony be interested in this?

[sorry for my disappearance, been away.] Muggo' Ale took the map from Blueblood with a nod, storing it temporarily in a pocket of his vest. It stuck out at a strange angle, but at least it wasn't going to get creased or lost. As a friend had once told him on a trip, you never fold the map. He'd put a crease through Canterlot once doing that. The plan in place to commandeer a boat, he nodded to Blueblood and followed him and Fire over to see the Captain. He couldn't help but grin at the verbal thrashing the Prince gave the poor kid out front. He may be a bit full of hot air at times, but Muggo' had to admit, he had a commanding presence if he needed it. When called upon for the map, he produced it readily. "I'd give the prince control over one o' the chariots, if'n I were ya," he directed to the captain with a laugh, unrolling the map and hoofing it over to Blueblood. And with that, he simply waited for further instructions. To him, it might have seemed like folly, but he was up for a great adventure. And he really, really wanted to bop the griffon that'd glued him down across the beak, because that hadn't been the most comfortable of situations. Yes, revenge would be sweet...once they finally got the diary, of course.

[Apologies for disappearing.] Muggo' Ale looked over at Abbot, then raised an eyebrow and looked down at the letter. "No worries, b'y. Just so happens, I might know a group o' ponies that can be of assistance," he said. He and his friends, Dunder and Fire Walker, had been on a number of adventures together in the past, and this seemed like just another to add to an ever-growing resume. Before he could say anything else, Swift came upstairs to see him. He nodded at the call for snacks, repeating the order to his kitchen crew through the small window at the back. He looked back at the swordstallion and chuckled. "This is true, b'y. An' no, can't recall. Usually got an early one, the noon train...next one, by me count, leaves at 6:30," he guessed. Muggo' Ale shrugged. "I'd go check down at the station, if'n I were ya. Oh, an' by the by..." he tapped the letter that was on the bar, grinning at Swift Squall. "Go get me featherbrain an' Fire Walker when yer down there. Got somethin' to run by all of ya," he said. This could be quite the adventure, he decided. At least it would be interesting...a trip to Roam, followed by a trip through an ancient temple? It sounded like an amazing trip. "Trust me, b'y. I think ya'll like it," he assured Swift, passing him a few bowls as they were passed through the window from the kitchen.

Wind looked over at Martini Paradise, who mentioned the rainbow mare and buying drinks. He laughed a bit, shrugging. "If I had any money left, I would. But I'll need to pay for accommodations here in Canterlot tonight," he explained. There was no way the forest ranger would have enough energy to fly across almost all of mainland Equestria to get back home, not after that storm. He looked over at the others at the bar and chuckled, nodding to what Misty Morning said. "Wonderbolt's got a point. Rainbow back there looks like she's got her head so far in the clouds she might be able to tell us tomorrow's weather." He adjusted his hat a bit, where it hung off his neck from the cord, resting loosely on his back. "Speaking of, I hope it's nice," he mumbled. A long flight back followed by a long few days of repairing stuff. That was going to be fun. "Eh. Actually, might as well enjoy my stay here. Might stay the morning tomorrow." Wind Rider looked up at Misty Morning, Pocket Change, and Martini Paradise. "Y'all from the area, I take it? What's some good stuff to see in Canterlot for the tourist who hasn't been?" he asked casually. "Tomorrow, of course. And preferably early on, I want to get going as soon as I can, so I can get home at a decent hour. Gah, my replacement's probably worried sick, wondering where I ended up," he said. There was a sudden look of mild distress on his face when he realized that he was technically missing after a major storm, and they'd be out looking for him. "Oh, I know, I'll send a messenger pegasus," he mumbled with a wry grin, mostly to himself. "Martini, could I get one of those ciders, please? I have a feeling I'll need it."

I want this game, just haven't gotten it yet D:

"I know! Don't look at me. Some pegasi take that way too far. I don't mind, I've always wanted to get one," Rain Maker said to Fire Walker, shrugging. She looked over at Nocturna and smiled. "No worries. Just follow me up, and break left. You remember the trick, right? Fly up, tuck your wings in, break to the side as you start to fall back, then flare wings at the end," she recapped, just in case. All that being said, the blue mare flared her wings and took off, waiting for Nocturna to catch up. As soon as she did she pulled straight up and started going until her wing power wasn't enough to counteract gravity anymore. She tucked her wings in tight and twisted right, hopefully at the same time as the Shadowbolt went left, and then she was rocketing toward the ground again, flaring her wings at the last minute to glide to a stop on the arena floor. "Booyah! I love that little trick," she said with a giggle.

Muggo' Ale grinned at the hug. "Gotta go with yer mare on this one, b'y. Always been more o' a fan of Luna meself. Maybe because I do most o' me business at night," he joked. That, and he found her rather pretty in comparison to Celestia, for reasons he couldn't explain and probably wouldn't say around his marefriend. "Yer not gunna be a Royal Guard no more? Why not?" Muggo' asked, legitimately shocked. He had always thought that was Dunder's dream, and while opening a swordfighting school was just as interesting, it seemed...odd. "I mean, more power to ya, b'y. But still....ah, who'm I kiddin'. Ya growin' up, thing's change. And aye, me colt? He'd go to ya. Least I know ya'd knock sense into him," he joked with a grin. He looked over and let Dunder have his moment with Fire, sighing softly. He tilted his hat back as he watched them, knowing how hard it must be. They'd seemed to have really hit it off, and he would have sworn they'd be the ones to be married. He then looked trotted over when he was pointed at, hearing his introduction as he did. "Still honoured by that, b'y. An' a pleasure to see ya again, Swift. Holdin' up alright?" he asked, extending a hoof.

Muggo' Ale leaned against the bar as he watched the tattooed Itailian pony read the letter. He wasn't going to read over his shoulder or anything like that, that'd be rude, but he was still curious. As a bartender he'd learned to watch his customers for subtle clues, changes in body language. Those that were having a great day would always order certain kinds of drinks, and certain types of food. Same as if they got bad news, or were having a bad day. And with Abbott, the latter seemed more likely. Muggo' poured a second one for the stallion, noting his tone of voice. "Bad news, b'y?" he asked, leaning toward the pony and tilting his hat back. As any proper bartender should be, he was a great listener. [by the by, guys...if you're doing karaoke, you're downstairs from the bar, so you wouldn't be able to see nor easily hear Muggo' and Abbott upstairs xD]

My leg, my dog, a Dresden Files book, and a sunny day. Glorious.