Loose Ends and Gates Ajar (Open)

[NiktoBarada]

Tongue Twister checked her compass again before looking around the forest.

According to her mother's optimization calculations, this site would be a nearly perfect place to build an underground lair.

Of the two dozen locales she'd already checked, only two actually had a lair.  All were decades old, abandoned long ago, decrepid and all but collapsed from the ravages of time.
One was just a hidey-hole somepony constructed to keep a stash of questionably legal liquors and probably stolen items until the heat died down.  Unused for years.

 
TT paced around a bit, looking for something ordinary that was trying a bit TOO hard to be ordinary.

She noted a very old tree, wider than her wingspan.  Its roots would make excellent free roofing for an underground complex of quite respectable size, but she didn't see any secret levers, nor did any of the nearby rocks she tapped do anything.

But she had a sneaking suspicion that there was a hidden entrance here somewhere; she just needed to open her mind a bit.  Broaden it to see other possibilities.

So she reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a padded mat and set it out.

Then got comfortable on it and tried to meditate (once she was sure what was left of her wings were tucked under the heavy dark blue cloak she was wearing).
It was a nice, sunny day.  Even if this 'mission' failed, it was still nice to be outside.

[Ashton]

((gawd I wish this were FFA - I have a "bat pony" Twilight who decided to embrace her "evil" appearance (and the prejudice against her new race) and build a villainous underground lair... she fails miserably at being a villain (I mean, she *IS* still a Twilight) but what fun she could have in this situation! XP ))

 

((Azure "Iggy" Ignine))

 

Unfortunately, little did TT know she was about to be interrupted... 

 

From another direction came another pony - well, not a pony per-se, but being a kirin she was still atleast half pony- floating a map up in front of her face, paying no attention to where she was going, causing her to bump right into TT, stumbling back and dropping her map, navigation compass, protractor, slide-rule, drawing compass, astrolabe (why did she have an astrolabe during the day?!?!) as well as a notepad filled with strange symbols that were clearly either a foreign language or written in code (and given the fact this was a kirin, either was possible)

 

Her first reaction was a little harsh, but she quickly adjusted herself when she saw who she bumped into "Watch it Clou- Oh, hello, so terribly sorry, I didn't see you there" she said awkwardly as she tried to quickly grab all her stuff "Didnt expect anycreature to be out this way" she laughed a little awkwardly, glancing around and adding "er... You wouldn't happen to have seen a dragon and a hippogriff come this way, did you? I seem to have lost track of them" she then paused "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself again!" she said with a bit of a smile and a playful soft flap to her forehead "Azure Ignine, but everyone calls me 'Iggy' for short" she offered a hoof to shake

 

 

[NiktoBarada]

Tongue Twister was focusing on her breathing, calming the torrent of emotions and thoughts in her head.

 

"Well, there is a chance there MIGHT be a secret lair here." she mused to herself, "But there is also a chance there is nothing here.

Of the two dozen locales I've checked, only about half had the remains of something.  I suppose that is a good thing - fewer threats to emerge from hidden bases, and so a good chance there won't be any drama for a little while at least."

 

Then somepony bumped into her.

 

 "Watch it Clou- Oh, hello, so terribly sorry, I didn't see you there" the pony said.

 

Then TT noticed something - the yellow coated pony had scales.  A single horn, and a fiery orange lion-like mane with electric blue streaks.

It took TT a moment to realize that the mare wasn't a pony.  Or a Qilin from Long Guo, but a kirin.

 

 "Didnt expect anycreature to be out this way" the mare laughed a little awkwardly, glancing around and adding "er... You wouldn't happen to have seen a dragon and a hippogriff come this way, did you? I seem to have lost track of them" she then paused "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself again!" she said with a bit of a smile and a playful soft flap to her forehead "Azure Ignine, but everyone calls me 'Iggy' for short" she offered a hoof to shake.

 

"We are Tongue Twister.  TT for short." TT replied as she got up and shook the offered hoof.  "We haven't seen any creature out here.  But we've only been here less than half an hour."

 

She noticed the stuff Iggy had been carrying.  "What are you looking for so far from the Peaks of Peril ?" she inquired.

Spoiler

(( It sounds like your batpony Twilight could use a consultant.  Oddly enough, TT is trying to start business as a consultant.  She even has a business card - "Phantom Consulting Inc." that has an enchantment on it so the card can only be found by those desperate enough to need her help.

 

On the front of card : a silhouette of a pony, but when the card is tilted, the pony shadow disappears and the words 'Phantom Consulting, Inc.' and an address appear.

 

On the back is a commercial :

 

"Need something translated from Bureacratese or Legalese or any other language into Ponish ?

Need somepony to track down what forms you need for whatever you're doing ?

Need a second opinion to determine if your 'Big Idea' is actually a good idea ?

 

Then just send a note to Phantom Consulting Inc !

Ponyville PO Box 1123 !"

 

Her dad set up the Devil's Business Card enchantment for her awhile ago.  ))

 

[Ashton]

((O_O you put too much effort into your side-Hussle   though I do think that could be a hilarious idea sometime.... oh yes, I can see exactly how that would work out *evil grin*))

 

"...really? where did they wander off too....?" asked iggy quietly to herself, though she managed to maintain just enough focus on the conversation at hand not to be rude. "Its always a pleasure to make new friends" commented the kiren, unsure if TT's use of 'we' was meant to be symbolic of a status, indicative of a mental illness, or a warning that there were invisible chihuahua assassins waiting in the bushes that she should be warry of.... despite the logic of the situation being the latter, deep down, iggy was really hoping for adorable chihuahuas in assassin robes just once!

"Either an exciting adventure or a fools errand" smiled iggy as she lowered the map, showing a lot of calculations scribbled in the corners as well as a path that seemed to be where iggy had come from, though it was drawn onto the map very... sloppily "My friends and I are trying to map out the local intersections of Dragon Lines!" the excitement in iggy's voice was obvious, not to mention... well... infections might not be the term for it, but it was clear that the kirin was excited to share her task with anyone else she found.... probably literally anyone....

[NiktoBarada]

TT noted that Iggy was very enthusiastic about what she was doing.  Then she remembered that, until recently, the kirin were under the effects of the Stream of Silence, and had their emotions dulled and bottled up for most of their lives.  So a little emotional recoil was to be expected.

 

"Mapping out local nodes of Ley Lines ?  That is a rather ambitious project." TT stated, "Creatures of all types have been doing that for centuries, so it's not that rare an art.

 

So you think there's an intersection of Dragon Lines around here ?" she asked, adjusting her glasses slightly, "That would be another factor making this a good place to build a secret lair, if you're doing magical experiments.

 

Hmm - we wonder if Cozy Glow's almost eliminating all magic in Equestria for a few days did something to the Dragon Lines.  May have to check on that ...."

[Ashton]

"yeah, you'd think there would be maps all over the place but for some reason this area has never been mapped out" explained iggy "I don't know if it was just an oversight or if something was being hidden, but I'm gonna find out" she explained with a bit too much enthusiasm "while I hope to find an ancient lab of Starswirl the Bearded, used for focusing energy and infusing the most dangerous of magics... I realize I'll probably at most find a clearing where the magic is so chaotic that nothing grows there" she sighed, clearly wanting to find something important atleast ONCE

 

"it wouldn't surprise me at all if her trick had unintended side-effects --- these things always do... though I do wonder if all the dragon lines in equestrian have shifted or perhaps combined because of it... I mean she was channeling all that power into one place, it wouldn't be too surprising if a new intersection formed!" she was getting even more excited now, momentarily forgetting her missing friends and the fact that TT had mentioned the possibility of a secret lair around here....

[NiktoBarada]

"yeah, you'd think there would be maps all over the place but for some reason this area has never been mapped out" explained iggy "I don't know if it was just an oversight or if something was being hidden, but I'm gonna find out" she explained with a bit too much enthusiasm "while I hope to find an ancient lab of Starswirl the Bearded, used for focusing energy and infusing the most dangerous of magics... I realize I'll probably at most find a clearing where the magic is so chaotic that nothing grows there" she sighed, clearly wanting to find something important atleast ONCE

"Uncovering one of Starswirl's old labs WOULD be quite the find !" TT replied, "I know a few museums that would pay almost anything to have anything like that on display !

Magic flows through this world; figuring out how to collect it and shape it to do what you want is a major feat for anypony.

Early on, he most likely had many failures - explosive and otherwise - when the rules of magic weren't quite what he thought they were.  So it would make sense that he'd have somewhere to test his ideas that wouldn't endanger others.

But we suspect such a lab would be closer to his original home of Canterlot.  

Assuming, of course, it wasn't blown up, liquefied, vaporized, or displaced to another dimension.  Or left a clearing where magic is so chaotic that nothing can grow there.  From what dad told us, some of Starswirl's spells were REALLY high energy !"

"it wouldn't surprise me at all if her trick had unintended side-effects --- these things always do... though I do wonder if all the dragon lines in equestrian have shifted or perhaps combined because of it... I mean she was channeling all that power into one place, it wouldn't be too surprising if a new intersection formed!" she was getting even more excited now, momentarily forgetting her missing friends and the fact that TT had mentioned the possibility of a secret lair around here....

"Those - are very good points."  TT noted, "With that much power focused into one place, we would not be surprised if whole new Dragon Lines formed if the old ones didn't quite snap back into place.

But we wonder just how far that draining reached.  She was trying to eliminate Equestrian magic - but there are other kingdoms far away from Equestria.  They may not have noticed if the effect weakened over great distances.

Was the kirin's magic affected too ?" she asked.

"We do have to wonder how many times an ancient villain or unspeakable evil was imprisoned with unicorn magic, with the idea that the prison would hold as long as unicorn magic did.

They would've thought it would hold forever.

But for almost three days, unicorn magic did not exist.

So the idea that something MIGHT have gotten loose is worth investigating.  We almost feel sorry for them though - given how much more powerful the forces of harmony have gotten, those old unspeakable evils may not stand much of a chance !"

 

TT paced around a bit.  "This location would be ideal for a secret lair.  It is close enough to town to get there quickly, yet far enough away for privacy.  We've been checking for hidden switches, but all of the visible rocks are just rocks.

 

This tree is more than large enough to hold a staircase" she continued, gesturing at a rather wide tree, "It is a bit out of place - this species of tree is usually found in wetlands and bayous.  Mage Meadowbrook's home is a tree something like this one.  But I haven't been able to find any secret levers !"

[Ashton]

At the question about her race's magic being effected by the pint-sized chessmaster iggy kinda moved her head side-to-side in a "ehhh, kinda? maybe?" motion "I had already left the village by the time she launched her plan - I was already on the coasts of Equestria - and I felt the drain but probably not as much since our magic, while similar, is significantly different enough that I've never found a unicorn spell that worked for me without modification...., and I'm not exactly close with anyone back home" she said awkwardly, making it clear she didnt have any other kirin she could send a letter to for inquery "Cloudy and Jasper are in the same boat really never having any friends till we met each other in equestria" she explained "Though I might still be able to contact some creatures from the other continents or just other countries far from equestria..." she said this last part more to herself than to her new acquantience since the trio were trying to keep their affiliations secret for good reasons...

 

Iggy looked very concerned at the things TT was talking about, no doubt more than a few would get lodged in her brain and at some late point she would start looking into them - even if just out of paranoia! - but fortunately for the kirin, the pony circled back about the possibility of a hidden lair nearby, unfortunately for them both, this was exciting iggy more and more, causing her to lower her guard

 

Iggy walked aroun, gently pawing at the ground and tapping on the tree "cant tell if there's anything there... could be hollow though..." she commented, thinking a moment "I'm gonna see if the owner or anycreature related to him or her is nearby, they can probably tell us" she said as her horn took on a sickly green glow, the magic feeling... just wrong... not severely wrong; not eldritch, but whatever the kirin was doing, she was channeling a lot of dark magics for her spell

 

((Now you get to have fun... Iggy just cast 'raise spirit' on a large area (along with a necromantic control spell!), so it was a lot of magic... if this really is junction of dragonlines... there are going to be a LOT of ghosts from a surprising distance or else the dragon lines power corrupts her magic and 'upgrades/mutates' her spell to "Summon the rotting horde" raising a potentially large number of Zom-creatures... or just 1 ghost, or no ghosts at all! your the OP, your choice))

((and yes, if iggy were a unicorn she'd likely have something like a skull as her cutie mark - she is *very* skilled in Necromancy))

((kinda hilarious and ironic, by dark semi-evil black-and-silver-loving gothic pony specializes in battle magic, and my perky happy brightly-colored kirin is the necromancer... I think I picked the color-wheel up upside-down when I first designed these two  ))

[NiktoBarada]

Iggy tapped the tree a bit, then stated "I'm gonna see if the owner or anycreature related to him or her is nearby, they can probably tell us" she said as her horn took on a sickly green glow, the magic feeling... just wrong... not severely wrong; not eldritch, but whatever the kirin was doing, she was channeling a lot of dark magics for her spell.

"By Nyarlathotep's one thousand and first name !" TT gaped as she watched Iggy's power sink into the ground and make it glow for a moment, "Is EVERY creature I run across an adept at dark magic ?!"

A few moments after Iggy cast her spell, a faintly glowing green mist rose from the ground, condensing into the barely visible shape of a REALLY old unicorn stallion.

Who then glowered at Iggy and TT for a bit, before energizing his horn and pulling every nearby loose rock and twig to him to form a material body.

"WHAT DO YOU IDIOTS WANT ?" the matter-clad ghost bellowed, "The forces of L.O.V.E. do not tolerate trespassers or looters !"

[Ashton]

Iggy's eyes danced with glee, she always loved when a spell worked - she had highly doubted there would be any souls nearby she could call on! She did not address TT's comment as it would be a rather long explanation and right now the kirin was more focused on their ethereal friend

 

"My deepest apologies" said iggy, bowing to the ghost "I am Azure Ignine," she floated out her medallion with a skull on one side and the S.T.A.R. crest on the other, though she conveniently held it where the ghost could see it, but not TT "There was recently a sudden loss of magic in our realm thanks to a pint-sized chessmaster called 'Cozy Glow'" she explained, not knowing how much the spectral pony knew about these incidents "as such my friends an I have been tasked with re-mapping the dragon lines; seeing how many have changed, if any new ones have formed etc" she paused for a just a moment to indicate she was changing topics "Due to the lack of magic, my associate here" iggy nodded at TT, pausing a moment should TT wish to produce any form of ID for the ghost to see "has been sent out on a separate mission to ensure that no dangers to equestra -or even Terra itself- were unleased or their containment weakened by said loss of magic"

 

Iggy's ear twitched and she reached up to scratch it, but as she did, if either of the two had exceptionally good hearing they might hear the kirin mutter sub-vocally 'Trinity Converge on my location'

 

This was followed by an equally near-silent

 

'on my way!'

 

'Roger!'

 

Iggy Just stood there, smiling kindly, though there was a look of concern in her eyes as well as... excitement? yes. She was a necromancer through-and-through and absolutely loved consorting with spirits!

[NiktoBarada]

TT raised an eyebrow at Iggy's speech.  It was very professional - clear and to the point without being overbearing or pushy.  Pretty much exactly the way it SHOULD be done !

Technically, TT wasn't on a mission (she was doing this of her own accord), but that was neither here nor there.

The spectre squinted at Iggy's medallion (well, as best he could when his skull was made from a dry block of shaped roots).

"S.T.A.R. ?  NEVER HEARD OF IT !" the ghost sneered as the yellow glows of his eyes briefly flared, "Sounds like one of those annoyingly naive, 'heroic' organizations that are always getting in the way of what needs to be done !"

TT cocked her head to the side.  "And what, precisely, 'needs to be done' ?"

"Putting non-ponies back in their proper place, of course !" the wraith replied.

"I got a bad feeling about this ..." she thought to herself, but simply had to ask "And their 'proper place' is ?"

The ghost/timberpony smirked creepily and replied  "The grave."

TT smacked her hoof on her face.  "Figures this is a 'good news/bad news situation." she said to Iggy, "Your spirit summoning spell was perfect !

Unfortunately, the spirit you summoned was, well, THIS guy !" she finished, waving a hoof at the ghost.

"Hmph !  As I said before : L.O.V.E. does not tolerate trespassers or looters !" the ghost stated as he tapped into the dragon line node under the tree.

"HEY !!" TT exclaimed as roots shot up and wrapped around her barrel, binding her wings under the heavy cloak she was wearing.  The bindings weren't tight enough to hurt her as of yet, but binding a pegasus' wings was an EXTREMELY rude thing to do !

[Ashton]

This time, iggy didn't bother with subtlety as she reached up and tapped her headset "Hostile spirit! Civilian targeted! Situation is now a Rescue! Hurry!" with that she released a blast of colored energy into the sky; a beacon for the others to converge on!

 

Fortunately, only moments later, the Calvary arrived.

 

From the sky swooped a white hippogriff who sliced the vines near the ground with his claws as he passed (though leaving the pegasus to extricate herself from the vines already wrapped around her), followed by a blue teenage dragon who attempted to grab TT and move her away from the growing vines so the ghost couldn't just regrow them to repeat the trap (not that it stopped him from using the same spell, but he would atleast have to spend more magic for a second instance of it, instead of just adding to the existing spell to regrow the vines

 

"While I appreciate you inadvertently telling me where the dragonline was, I never said anything about looting, and there was no sign that we were trespassing" she said "because of this, I'm afraid I'm going to have to retaliate" dark magic swirled around the kirin "apparently my control spell wasn't enough, try this on for size!" with that she cast a far stronger spell on the spirit - Mindslave. This kirin was certainly a master of dark magic, it was probably a good thing she was on the 'heroic' side...!

 

"This is your only warning, I'm sure you know how dangerous it is to piss off a Kirin in a forest, while being made of wood... and if you dont..." flames were dancing in her eyes as her fur was already starting to produce small wisps of smoke - a clear warning she was heading towards Nirik form....

 

Meanwhile Cloudy had swerved back up skyward, drawing his crossbows while Jasper, assuming TT was now out of harms way, began wafting white smoke from his nostrils, preparing a gout of flame in case iggy's spell failed. From the co-ordination it was clear these three had known each other for quite some time and were very close.

[NiktoBarada]

"Well, THIS is a fine kettle of fish !" TT groused to herself as she took stock of the situation, "Go out looking for abandoned bases, and get accosted by a revenant !
Obviously a member of an old-school villainous organization.  Tend to be paranoid and violent, since they presume everypony they meet is as unscrupulous and violent as they are.

And if I were going to case out a joint I was going to rob, claiming to be looking for something reasonable would be great cover for getting in !"

? Who is Iggy calling to ?" TT noted, then took a closer look.  "That's not an earring - it's some sort of communication device !

And that blast must be a flare to alert nearby agents to where they need to be.

And getting civilians out of danger first means they are reasonably competent ..."

And, sure enough, they arrived : a white hippogriff and a blue teen dragon.

Iggy gave a very convincing threat as wisps of smoke started to curl from her fur.

"Oh, right - kirins can SET THEMSELVES ON FIRE when they turn into Niriks !" TT recalled, "But material attacks have no effect on spirits !  She or the dragon could go hot enough to melt sand into glass, and that ghost wouldn't be harmed in the least !  

But magic - and spells specifically designed to work on spirits - most certainly will."

The stones and twigs making up the ghost's body started to fall as he shuddered, then began cackling.

"Mindslave ?  That is my FAVORITE spell !" he stated as he tried to focus, "I use it to shred the mind of anypony that dares to tell me 'NO' !

Wasn't ... expecting to be hit with it myself though.

Time to end this - OMNIPOTENCE : DENIED !" he stated as his aura pulsed and there was a burst of darkness and colors faded from the world for just a moment.

His counterspell was a mana scrambler - instead of overpowering Iggy directly, he just randomized the flow for a moment.  Just like shifting a train engine into neutral, no matter how much fuel or power the engine has, it will go nowhere.

The Mindslave spell failed.  The magic holding his form together failed.  The spirit summoning spell failed, returning him to wherever he was before.

As the rocks and twigs that were his body dropped into an inert pile, there was a 'CLICK' from the tree as a small secret door opened.

"Hmm.  Eliminating himself before he could be controlled or captured.  A very old-school villain thing to do." TT stated as she opened the now exposed door.  There was an upraised plunger in the space inside.

She pushed it, and the ground to the right of the tree dropped very noisily into a ramp.

"We assume that S.T.A.R. stands for "Severe Threat Action Response force ?" she stated with an inquiring look to Iggy and the others.

[Ashton]

((There was actually a very good reason for iggy's actions - two in fact. 1. psychology, the ghost might not realize they are no longer actually physical and think that they could be hurt by fire or arrows, and secondly, to destroy the manifestation and force the ghost to create a new one, potentially weakening it))

((And hilariously despite my characters being members of STAR for over 2 years IRL... I've never actually been told what the acronym stands for  So I am going to assume your right unless proven otherwise  ))

 

At the mention of STAR, the other two glanced at Iggy, clearly this wasn't something they flaunted...

 

Iggy sighed as the ghost made his exit and shook her head, it wasn't like she couldn't just re-summon him with a stronger spell if she wanted to... Not that she really wanted to try that given her history with most spells.... of course she wasn't going to admit it in front of their new acquaintance...

 

With the threat eliminated, Cloudy returned his crossbows to their holsters under his saddlebags, looking relieved, and circled back down to the ground "Every time you go wandering off on your own...." he shook his head "I swear you prefer the company of the dead to that of the living" he teased the kirin

 

Jasper, however,  did not let the smoke for his attack fade, instead he seemed to bathe his own claws in the blue flame, but as it faded, a massive sword was in his hands, with back sheath, which he slipped on "I don't trust this place" he explained "and it takes too long to build up a good gout of flame"

 

Cloudy snickered "you just like showing off your sword" he said quietly, though teasingly, to the dragon

 

Jasper did not respond, merely rolling his eyes

 

Iggy nodded at her friends, then turned to the pegasus "TT, these are Cloudy Skies" she nodded at the griff "and Jasper" she nodded at the dragon "guys, this is Tongue Twister, or TT as she prefers"

 

"Pleasure to meet you" said Cloudy with a smile

 

Jasper nodded, but his eye was on that ramp... clearly he wasn't making an excuse and it really did worry him...

 

Iggy sighed "and yes, the ghost didn't lie, we are from S.T.A.R." she said, more to explain to the others how TT knew about their affiliation (and cover up that she had given it away herself) "And while I technically should assert my authority and send you home, classifying area as a STAR investigation... you were the one to find it, so it would be wrong of me to deny you the chance to see the fruits of your labor" she smiled "just watch your hooves; I will have to report this afterwards" she continued to smile though it became a little more awkward at the end, wondering now if the pegasus was going to start asking her hard questions about how much of this was personal and how much was related to STAR....

 

"So, onwards and downwards?" asked cloudy with an excitable grin, clearly less worried than Jasper --- or atleast showing no worry.

[NiktoBarada]

TT smiled and nodded to the griff and the dragon before chuckling to herself slightly.

"We work for S.T.A.R." TT replied, "Well, at least we think we still do.  We were amongst the first agents employed when S.T.A.R. was formed.

If it is still run the way we remember, rank is determined by military experience, combat prowess, and usefulness of skills or mark Talents.

We may have seniority, but we suspect that you three outrank us."

She shrugged and continued "Depending on what is in here, reporting this to the higher ups would be a good idea regardless."

 

Quote

"So, onwards and downwards?" asked cloudy with an excitable grin, clearly less worried than Jasper --- or atleast showing no worry.

 

"Oh, most certainly !" TT stated as she descended the ramp to the sliding door at the bottom before holding up a hoof and proclaiming "Now remember : this used to be the lair of a villainous organization.  There may be some security measures still active if that spirit was any indication of the sort of ponies that used this place.  But after a few decades without maintenance, those measures may - or may not - still work.

Plus the normal risks of entering a dilapidated underground construction ..."

She pushed the door aside, and stood back as some of the base's air wafted out.  A stench that could put curls in a dragon's spines.

From what could be seen in the dim sickly yellow light of the emergency illumination crystals, the door opened into a circular corridor that curved behind the troop in both directions.

The walls had a good growth of mold, but the words "Legion of Virtuous Equestrians R & D" was painted on the wall ahead of them.

TT scraped her hoof along the floor as she examined the cracks and protruding roots on the ceiling.  "The floor is covered in moist silt.  This place has flooded and dried out, probably several times."

She poked the nearest wall.  It flaked from her touch.  "Yeah, this place is a complete wreck !"

To the left, there was a closed door.  To the right, was the shattered remains of a door, and a bent doorframe.  There was a closed door on the wall beyond.

[Ashton]

At the revelation that TT was also a member of STAR the group relaxed a little, but the two males gave a lightly-venomous glare at Iggy, who looked slightly embarrassed, but only slightly so "Well that does make things a lot easier" said the kirin "I was worried if things got too intense I'd have to make you one of my new gardeners"

 

At that the dragon and hippgriff groaned

 

"The clods that zombies drop are high in nutrients! haven't you seen my garden growing faster than the others?!" exclaimed iggy annoyed

 

Cloudy sighed but smiled at TT "You get used to this with her" he explained "just assume any threat involving death or the undead is a joke - it usually is...."

 

"Not always" snorted jasper as he glared at iggy, who just smirked, clearly there was a story here but neither was going to volunteer...

 

As they entered Iggy looked around and nodded at TT's evaluation as that dark green energy began swirling around her eyes and horn "I think it might be a good idea to send some skeletons in first, that way they wont drip slime and cause further damage while being expendable in case of traps"

 

"I'll go radio the regional commander about this" said Cloudy as he headed back above ground and, based on the heated murmurings that could still be heard down the ramp, was getting into an interesting argument about the 'regional' commander for the group being in Las Pegasus, so why were they out here?!

 

Jasper just muttered something to himself about 'anytime you have 'legion' in your name your nor really fooling anyone that your oen of the bad guys --- atleast EVIL wasn't as delusional with their name...'

[NiktoBarada]

On 7/11/2022 at 9:03 PM, Ashton said:

At the revelation that TT was also a member of STAR the group relaxed a little, but the two males gave a lightly-venomous glare at Iggy, who looked slightly embarrassed, but only slightly so "Well that does make things a lot easier" said the kirin "I was worried if things got too intense I'd have to make you one of my new gardeners"

 

At that the dragon and hippgriff groaned

 

"The clods that zombies drop are high in nutrients! haven't you seen my garden growing faster than the others?!" exclaimed iggy annoyed

 

Cloudy sighed but smiled at TT "You get used to this with her" he explained "just assume any threat involving death or the undead is a joke - it usually is...."

 

"Not always" snorted jasper as he glared at iggy, who just smirked, clearly there was a story here but neither was going to volunteer...

 

TT quirked an eyebrow at them and replied "Ohhhhhhhhhkay ...."

As they entered Iggy looked around and nodded at TT's evaluation as that dark green energy began swirling around her eyes and horn "I think it might be a good idea to send some skeletons in first, that way they wont drip slime and cause further damage while being expendable in case of traps"

"I'll go radio the regional commander about this" said Cloudy as he headed back above ground and, based on the heated murmurings that could still be heard down the ramp, was getting into an interesting argument about the 'regional' commander for the group being in Las Pegasus, so why were they out here?!

Jasper just muttered something to himself about 'anytime you have 'legion' in your name your nor really fooling anyone that your oen of the bad guys --- atleast EVIL wasn't as delusional with their name...'

"That's sort of the way it works." TT stated with a shrug, "It's pure marketing.  If you're a secret evil organization that has no intention of ever going public, you can call yourselves anything you want.  Being a secret organization, it's not like anypony would ever hear of you, so you could be completely open about your intentions.

The more troublesome groups are the ones that THINK they're the good guys." she continued, "They want to be known so they can recruit members and gain political or social power.  Which may require quite a bit of 'shading the truth' as it were.

Creating that sword was quite an interesting ability, Jasper was it ?" she asked, "Did you summon it from somewhere else, or form it out of dragonbreath ?  Either way it is an impressive ability !"

[Ashton]

"Always a mistake" said Iggy as the energy swirled and a white hoof of bone burst from the ground as the skeletal-earth-pony pulled itself free of the earth "Even the most secret organizations always get found out at some point, even if its only by another group, like in this case" she smirked

 

The skeleton's empty eyes ignited with a tiny blue flame as it fully formed, the flame changing to a pale yellow as iggy exerted her control on it, giving it commands through her magic, it then began to explore the base, being as careful as an undead could --- meaning it specifically only looked at things and slowly moved around. the glow faded back to blue as iggy stopped directly commanding it, leaving it to, again carefully, explore on its own. 

 

"Its a teleport spell" explained Jasper "I was lucky enough to learn it from the Princess's assistant while Iggy was pestering Sparkle at the last festival - I can send items to anycreature I want, and I can also store them in a pocket reality... dont know if its the same reality he uses or not, never tried to share an item with him by having it stored there"

 

"That's the worst, but the second worst..." began Cloudy as he returned "Is when the organization isn't evil but gets that reputation... I hear Harley had a lot of problems with creatures trying to join her crew that WERE evil" he commented, not stopping to think on weather TT would have even hard of the 'infamous' sky pirate who was now secretly also a part of S.T.A.R.

 

((sorry for the delayed reply, its been a busy week for me))

 

[NiktoBarada]

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"Always a mistake" said Iggy as the energy swirled and a white hoof of bone burst from the ground as the skeletal-earth-pony pulled itself free of the earth "Even the most secret organizations always get found out at some point, even if its only by another group, like in this case" she smirked

 

The skeleton's empty eyes ignited with a tiny blue flame as it fully formed, the flame changing to a pale yellow as iggy exerted her control on it, giving it commands through her magic, it then began to explore the base, being as careful as an undead could --- meaning it specifically only looked at things and slowly moved around. the glow faded back to blue as iggy stopped directly commanding it, leaving it to, again carefully, explore on its own. 

 

 

"True." TT replied, "But 'good' organizations can at least work with other organizations, while 'evil' organizations are out for themselves.  Generally end up with a few, very large 'good' orgs that stay operational for a long time, versus many small 'evil' orgs that tend to form and disappear very quickly.

Like the 'Legion Of Virtuous Equestrians.', whose base we are in." TT continued, scowling at the cracked and water-damaged ceilings and walls, as the animated skeleton ambled off, "This lair looks about fifty or so years old, yet no one's ever heard of it, and we doubt it ever had more than two or three members."

 

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"Its a teleport spell" explained Jasper "I was lucky enough to learn it from the Princess's assistant while Iggy was pestering Sparkle at the last festival - I can send items to anycreature I want, and I can also store them in a pocket reality... dont know if its the same reality he uses or not, never tried to share an item with him by having it stored there"

 

"That's a very useful spell !" TT remarked, "You could have a whole warehouse full of useful stuff that you DON'T have to carry around everywhere.
From what dad said, pocket dimensions don't overlap - stuff in one 'pocket' cannot be accessed by anyone else.

But he does have trouble with 'unusual' items dropping in and appearing in his shop every now and again." TT stated with a shrug, "We think it's a side effect of the 'Bigger On the Inside' enchantment."

 

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"That's the worst, but the second worst..." began Cloudy as he returned "Is when the organization isn't evil but gets that reputation... I hear Harley had a lot of problems with creatures trying to join her crew that WERE evil" he commented, not stopping to think on weather TT would have even hard of the 'infamous' sky pirate who was now secretly also a part of S.T.A.R.

TT thought about that for a bit.  "That's rough !  She's trying to do good, but keeps getting evil recruits.  Word should get around about your friend's organization and its true alignment - eventually."

From further around the circular hallway was the sound of rending metal, then a splash.

Going to the sound reveals three doors on the outside wall, with a faint square of silt in front of two of them - the third has an open pit in front of it, with damaged pit doors, a pit knee deep in water with an unfortunate animated skeleton at the bottom of it.

"Hmm.  Water damage." TT stated, "Water gets into and ruins everything - including the traps.

Those pits were only supposed to open if somepony tried to pick the locks.
So what now ?" she asks, "There is a single door back there, and three right here.  Pretty sure that one door back there wasn't trapped."

[Ashton]

Iggy shrugged "mostly true, though from what I heard there is one organization that's been around a while that even attempted a coup, but despite failing and losing a lot of members its still around" she explained "Though statistically speaking it will depend less on the alignment and more on the size and the dedication of the members, there are some large groups that have a constant turnover, so they only seem to be consistant despite there only being a couple 'core' members who are there from the start, and likewise there are some small groups who are very dedicated and despite having only a few members they never disappear"

 

Jasper nodded "good to know" he said simply when TT explained the pocket dimensions did not overlap the vast majority of the time

 

"Bigger on the inside?!" asked iggy with a slightly insane grin "you have GOT to teach me that spell!" her enthusiasm making her completely forget for the moment that the pony she was talking to was a pegasus and couldn't have taught her the spell even if she somehow knew it...

 

Jasper just rolled his eyes at iggy, clearly this was a common occurrence.

 

Cloudy shook his head "sadly it was her fiancé's parents who were slandering her, making sure her 'evil image' was kept in the public zeitgeist" he explained "even though last I heard the ponies responsible were... well they're not around anymore, there's been so much damage I question if her reputation will ever recover"

 

Iggy walked over to the trapped skeleton and shook her head, her horn glowed and the skeleton's bones fell to the ground in a pile, then sank down into the floor as she ended the spell, slightly dramatically. "well if at first you dont succeed..." once again the black energies swirled around her as another skeleton burst from the ground, though this time it put a more noticeable strain on her, making it clear she could only do this a few times... why she wasn't tapping the layline instead of using her own magic was up for debate, though perhaps she had a good reason...

 

The skeleton began walking around and gently hitting the doors to see if more pits opened or other traps were sprung

 

"If they boobytrapped this area, there must be something important or exciting behind one or more of those doors!" she grinned, thrilled at the idea of possibly learning new, maybe even forbidden, knowledge! "Once we get through these doors we'll try the one in the back, though I may have to upgrade this skeleton so it can actually interact with the doors... I'd rather not risk a trap targeting ME instead of the skeleton standing in front of the door if I were to just cast Knock"

[NiktoBarada]

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Iggy shrugged "mostly true, though from what I heard there is one organization that's been around a while that even attempted a coup, but despite failing and losing a lot of members its still around" she explained "Though statistically speaking it will depend less on the alignment and more on the size and the dedication of the members, there are some large groups that have a constant turnover, so they only seem to be consistant despite there only being a couple 'core' members who are there from the start, and likewise there are some small groups who are very dedicated and despite having only a few members they never disappear"

 

TT mulled that over for a bit.  "All very important factors that can be hard to quantify.  Plus you have luck - one group could do better than expected just because they got lucky.

We've seen the math used to make predictions about long term group stability.  It is not pretty !  It is beyond the use of numbers and letters; the equations look more like abstract doodles than math.  Well, at least to those that don't understand math that advanced."

Jasper nodded "good to know" he said simply when TT explained the pocket dimensions did not overlap the vast majority of the time.

 

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"Bigger on the inside?!" asked iggy with a slightly insane grin "you have GOT to teach me that spell!" her enthusiasm making her completely forget for the moment that the pony she was talking to was a pegasus and couldn't have taught her the spell even if she somehow knew it...

Jasper just rolled his eyes at iggy, clearly this was a common occurrence.

 

"Well, Dad would probably be glad to explain that spell to you Iggy," TT stated, "Ya got a LOT of bits ?  Dad may be a unicorn, but he could put some greedier griffins to shame !"

Cloudy shook his head "sadly it was her fiancé's parents who were slandering her, making sure her 'evil image' was kept in the public zeitgeist" he explained "even though last I heard the ponies responsible were... well they're not around anymore, there's been so much damage I question if her reputation will ever recover"

TT shook her head sadly.  "That's rough.

Having her own in-laws doing that !  We've faced grief from both the unicorn and pegasus sides of our family, but NOTHING of that magnitude !
We honestly hope that things become better for her.  No one deserves that sort of treatment."

 

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Iggy walked over to the trapped skeleton and shook her head, her horn glowed and the skeleton's bones fell to the ground in a pile, then sank down into the floor as she ended the spell, slightly dramatically. "well if at first you dont succeed..." once again the black energies swirled around her as another skeleton burst from the ground, though this time it put a more noticeable strain on her, making it clear she could only do this a few times... why she wasn't tapping the layline instead of using her own magic was up for debate, though perhaps she had a good reason...

The skeleton began walking around and gently hitting the doors to see if more pits opened or other traps were sprung.

 

Once the left door was jostled, a pit sort of opened up in front of the door, the hinges so rusted the pit doors only dropped an inch before grinding noisily to a halt.
The trap in front of the center door didn't move at all, being completely rusted shut !

 

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"If they boobytrapped this area, there must be something important or exciting behind one or more of those doors!" she grinned, thrilled at the idea of possibly learning new, maybe even forbidden, knowledge! "Once we get through these doors we'll try the one in the back, though I may have to upgrade this skeleton so it can actually interact with the doors... I'd rather not risk a trap targeting ME instead of the skeleton standing in front of the door if I were to just cast Knock"

 

TT took a close, careful look at the bottoms of the three doors.  Only the center one had waterstains at the bottom.

"It looks like the left and right doors are fakes." she stated, "Any picking of the locks would set off the traps.  Fortunate the trap in front of the real door no longer works.
This - is rather competently devised security.  We may know a few ways around it." TT continued as she rummaged through her bags to retrieve a small L-shaped piece of thin metal and another bent into a tight U-turn loop attached to a rubber handle.

She slipped the devices into the lock and carefully 'twanged' on the U-loop with her hoof (normally a pegasus would use their wings for this, but TT isn't, and seems a bit clumsy).

 

The vibrations of the U-loop pushed all the lock's pins up at the same time, and with tension supplied it was easy enough to turn the cylinder.

"Since this place should be condemned and demolished, it would have been easier to simply destroy the lock or the door.  But best to do it safe anyway." TT stated as she put her tools away and pushed the door open (being sure to be standing to the side of the door - just in case there was another functional trap).

The room inside was lit by still functioning emergency light crystals.  There were large chalkboards on the left and right walls, beside massive benches.  
The chalkboards were covered in glyphs and notes, and mostly overgrown with mildew.

On the benches were what looked like statues - to the left were two pairs  of guardgoyles : one pair were the blockier Tenochtitlan guardgoyles.  One intact, the other dismantled.  The other pair were sleeker Maredripoorian guardgoyles - one intact, the other dismantled.   

On the right side bench near the entrance was a single statue - an intact Saddle Arabian guardgoyle.  Tongue Twister was grinning like an idiot, since it was the earliest known version of the enchantment, and finding one in such great condition was extremely rare.

The other half of the bench was covered by gears, rods, cylinders and pistons of various metals, and a few bowls of gems of various types, polished into perfect spheres of various sizes.

On the back wall was an alchemic forge, the magic fire still going after all this time.

There were crucibles with the residue of different metals in them.

In the right back corner was something that looked like post modern impressionistic statue of a pony.  It's body and head were just two large metal ovals the shape of grapes the color of tarnished steel.  The neck was a piece of thick wire.

The legs were slightly curved long cones.  The tail was a single piece of thick wire bent and curved into a three dimensional scribble taking up the volume an actual tail would.

There were two oval dents where the eyes should be.  No ears, mouth, or mane.

The body looked like somepony had carved glyphs into it then filed them off several times.

It was standing in what looked like a containment circle mostly obscured by a fine layer of silt.

 

"Looks like they were busy doing something about a half a century ago ...." TT noted.

[Ashton]

Iggy shrugged "it was before any of us came to equestria so I couldn't really tell you more about it or how they nearly succeeded or ultimately failed"

 

"I heard a little about it" said Cloudy "apparently the whole plot was foiled by one brilliant pony who pieced together what was going on... dont know his name though... too bad, would have loved to meet him"

 

At first, as TT said her dad could teach iggy the spell, her eyes lit up and her legs twitched like she was trying not to dance back and forth in excitement, but when their new friend brought up money, the joy and excitement melted from her eyes as she sighed "we're in debt" she explained "untill we get our next payday from the commander we barely have the bits to scrape together for lunch..."

 

Jasper snorted "I had to eat squirrels! do you know how lanky and tough they are?!"

 

Cloudy nodded, no doubt having a similar experience...

 

As the conversation turned to harley, the three exchanged conspiratorial glanced, clearly they were a part of this story

 

"lets just say her luck has turned around" said Cloudy "...and sadly its ex-fiancé - turns out he was just as bad as his parents in all ways except slander... she also found out he was cheating on her... but she's gotten a lot of help now" he said with a slight smirk... yeah, these three clearly were instrumental in this story somehow but weren't going out outright say... though then again, they were part of STAR so it wasn't too surprising that the organization had poked its proverbial snout into the business of an infamous sky pirate...

 

Iggy stared stupidly as TT picked the lock "...I could have just used knock..." she said, more to herself than TT, which made jasper's lips curl very slightly upwards in a light smirk, while cloudy quietly chortled

 

When they entered, all three stared in awe at what they saw. 

 

Iggy commented "Golemancy was never an interest of mine - I just summon up a skeleton or a zombie- but I bet Singlestone would love to see all this, I'm sure he said his friend dabbled in golemancy"

 

Jasper walked over to one of the gargoyles, looking at it from an angle "This one reminds me of an albatross" he commented, though his eyes flicked to something on a nearby table.

 

Cloudy walked over to the dragon, though if TT had paid very close attention, she would notice that as he passed one of the tables, an object on it mysteriously vanished.... "I guess if you squint hard enough" he commented

 

"your both crazy" said iggy "if anything..." she walked over to a different gargoyle "This one looks like an albatross!" though her gaze at the statue seemed a little off...

 

This time Jasper passed a table and an item on it vanished "yeah, I guess your right"

 

Though the trio was extremely good at their trade, it would be painfully obvious to any con-artist (or daughter of a con-artist....) that 'albatross' was a codeword and they were using the word and their glance to tell the others of items to stelthfully pocket... given the trio's earlier mention of money problems, it wasn't exactly surprising though...

 

((you have no idea how much you helped me - this solved a roadblock I had with a plot that has been in the works for over a year! Now I just need to find a good way to  connect the dots in-game and I can finally get it off the ground!  ))

((and if your wondering about the coup story, its an old plot of mine from another MLP site (that's long dead now) if you want more info, PM me and I'll gladly share - its part of one of my favorite plots of all time))

[NiktoBarada]

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At first, as TT said her dad could teach iggy the spell, her eyes lit up and her legs twitched like she was trying not to dance back and forth in excitement, but when their new friend brought up money, the joy and excitement melted from her eyes as she sighed "we're in debt" she explained "untill we get our next payday from the commander we barely have the bits to scrape together for lunch..."

Jasper snorted "I had to eat squirrels! do you know how lanky and tough they are?!"

Cloudy nodded, no doubt having a similar experience...

As the conversation turned to harley, the three exchanged conspiratorial glanced, clearly they were a part of this story

"lets just say her luck has turned around" said Cloudy "...and sadly its ex-fiancé - turns out he was just as bad as his parents in all ways except slander... she also found out he was cheating on her... but she's gotten a lot of help now" he said with a slight smirk... yeah, these three clearly were instrumental in this story somehow but weren't going out outright say... though then again, they were part of STAR so it wasn't too surprising that the organization had poked its proverbial snout into the business of an infamous sky pirate...

Iggy stared stupidly as TT picked the lock "...I could have just used knock..." she said, more to herself than TT, which made jasper's lips curl very slightly upwards in a light smirk, while cloudy quietly chortled

 

"We don't get much practice on modern door locks." TT replied with a shrug.

 

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When they entered, all three stared in awe at what they saw. 

Iggy commented "Golemancy was never an interest of mine - I just summon up a skeleton or a zombie- but I bet Singlestone would love to see all this, I'm sure he said his friend dabbled in golemancy"

 

TT mused for a bit.  "Well, it certainly looks like they were trying to figure out how the guardgoyle enchantment works, judging by the different samples here.

And we suppose that 'thing' in the corner was the practice dummy.  Why carve a new golem each time when you can just reuse something ?

Your friend might get to see all this - the best thing would be for STAR to impound all this stuff and then demolish this old lair.  We're honestly surprised the ceiling hasn't collapsed yet, going by all the water damage over about fifty years."

 

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Jasper walked over to one of the gargoyles, looking at it from an angle "This one reminds me of an albatross" he commented, though his eyes flicked to something on a nearby table.

Cloudy walked over to the dragon, though if TT had paid very close attention, she would notice that as he passed one of the tables, an object on it mysteriously vanished.... "I guess if you squint hard enough" he commented

"your both crazy" said iggy "if anything..." she walked over to a different gargoyle "This one looks like an albatross!" though her gaze at the statue seemed a little off...
This time Jasper passed a table and an item on it vanished "yeah, I guess your right"

(Though the trio was extremely good at their trade, it would be painfully obvious to any con-artist (or daughter of a con-artist....) that 'albatross' was a codeword and they were using the word and their glance to tell the others of items to stelthfully pocket... given the trio's earlier mention of money problems, it wasn't exactly surprising though...)

 

"What the heck are they talking about ?" TT wondered to herself, "One looks like a blocky pegasus, one something like a griffin, and the Saddle Arabian one looks like a lion with wings ...

Oh, RIGHT !  In Mom's 'family', 'albatross' was a term for stolen goods - because they're such a burden until you can fence them !"

"It looks like we got three 'International Incident' level thefts here." TT stated, "Best to call in someone to secure this place before the golems can be returned to their countries of origin.

Especially that Saddle Arabian one !" she continued walking closer to it for a better look, "Constructs of this quality and preservation are extremely rare.  There are only two others of this age known, and they were eroded so badly it was difficult to even tell what they were.

The black market value for something like this is probably one or two million bits, so we're pretty sure the Saddle Arabians would like it back.

But everything else here that is not a golem is technically salvage.  Though getting that alchemic forge out to sell it would be quite the challenge !

We suspect there may be something else here, since all those rods, cylinders and pistons do not belong to any construct in this room."
 

[Ashton]

The trio glanced at each other, they knew they'd been caught, but at the same time, TT said they outranked her... not to mention the captain herself had told them to continue on as they had before, so... better to ask forgiveness than permission!

 

Iggy sighed

 

Jasper and Cloudy both gave her a look

 

Iggy looked like she might be about to say something, but just smiled "Your right, we should probably check that other door, as interesting as this is, we should leave it for singlestone"

 

The pair looked relieved... it wasn't like they'd pocketed anything particularly valuable anyway, they knew where the line was... hopefully...

 

Iggy's eyes flashed that dark energy as the skeleton turned, stepping off the rusted-shut trap and heading to the other door

 

"Once we finish exploring, we need to make an inventory of everything here so we can relate it to the regional commander" added cloudy, no doubt either trying to sound less shady or possibly making a list of things to nab before the commander got there... hopefully the former... though with these three it was questionable...

 

((you know... its funny when the "Pirate" is the more upstanding and honest agent XD ))

[NiktoBarada]

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The trio glanced at each other, they knew they'd been caught, but at the same time, TT said they outranked her... not to mention the captain herself had told them to continue on as they had before, so... better to ask forgiveness than permission!

Iggy sighed

Jasper and Cloudy both gave her a look

Iggy looked like she might be about to say something, but just smiled "Your right, we should probably check that other door, as interesting as this is, we should leave it for singlestone"

The pair looked relieved... it wasn't like they'd pocketed anything particularly valuable anyway, they knew where the line was... hopefully...

Iggy's eyes flashed that dark energy as the skeleton turned, stepping off the rusted-shut trap and heading to the other door

"Once we finish exploring, we need to make an inventory of everything here so we can relate it to the regional commander" added cloudy, no doubt either trying to sound less shady or possibly making a list of things to nab before the commander got there... hopefully the former... though with these three it was questionable...
((you know... its funny when the "Pirate" is the more upstanding and honest agent XD ))

 

"And then they'll come and take everything that can be reused, saving STAR's finances quite a LOT of bits on items they won't have to buy." TT stated, "Then sell off or recycle everything else.

Honestly, stripping this place down and selling off every single bolt is probably the best thing that could be done with an abandoned lair like this !  It's not like any previous owners could ever be tracked down, given the degree of secrecy they used, and the time.

Many ponies and creatures will make quite a bit of money from this - there's no reason YOU three can't be among them."

Then she sighed heavily.  "But those guardgoyles require proper handling.  We've worked in a museum for years, so doing anything BUT taking appropriate actions are things we cannot do." 

As she turned for the door, there is a sound like a steam engine powering up from somewhere down the hall.

Going out into the hall, Iggy's skeletal servant stepped through the door of the room the group was going to investigate - when what looks the jaws of a mechanical bear slam down on the skeleton and grind it into dust with its serrated metal teeth !

This thing is a mechanical marvel.  Its pistons and rods move flawlessly.  Its many gears spin silently and easily.  You can catch the glints of the gemstones it uses in its joints (because they are perfectly smooth, for efficient and fast action !)  It would be easier to admire the genius and pure engineering skill needed to make it if it wasn't programmed to attack anyone who ISN'T a member of L.O.V.E. !

The mechanical beast turns it head and looks to the STAR agents.  There is a series of ticks as its mechanical mind decides who to go after first.

TT quirked an eyebrow at it before sighing.  "When poking around in ancient tombs or old lairs, it's ALWAYS something !  If it isn't a giant snake, or a frog/crocodile monster, or big spiders, it has got to be something !

But a steam-powered golem ?  We knew golems can be made from many things, but we have to wonder WHY someone would make this ?"