Hollowed Ruins (Dunder, Andifferous, Winter, Sturmmann, and Phil the Time Wizard)

[Dunder]

Dunder couldn't believe how outnumbered and how outgunned they were. Just the sheer number of diamond dogs and griffons against them was enough to make Dunder cringe. As Muggo and Midnight got ready, he did too. He stood on his hindlegs, the scabbard rasped as the sword was drawn out. He went bac to all fours, his rapier not in his hoof, but he could grab it in a flash if he needed to. "Everypony, get close..." He looked back, they needed to protect Winter, he wasn't in a fighting position anyhow. Dusty could maybe fight if he really needed to. Muggo' would probably go berserk. Midnight looked like she was ready. Dunder didn't know if he was ready with all these ponies in his hooves. "Close in on Winter, protect him." Dunder said as he backed up, dragging his rapier along.

The griffons and Diamond dogs seemed to enjoy the ponies' fear. The ones who grinned showed mouth full of missing and battered teeth. The griffons, on the other hoof, were pretty clean looking.

When Midnight stepped up, an older female griffon, about the same age as midnight, scoffed. "Watch out, looks like we have a bad flank over here." She groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Miss R.E.A., venom in her voice.over here has to be a hero!" She almost yelled at Midnight. "And we're not letting any of you ponies go? We were actually expecting you...." She said as she started to pace in front of them.

Dunder felt like an idiot. He had led all these ponies to something horrible.... though... it was up to them all to get themselves out as one. He wanted Midnight to back down, it took him a while to find his voice. "Midnight!" He called demanding, "Stay in formation!" He said. There was probably going to be negotiations by the sounds of it. And Midnight out, being one of their good fighters, was dangerous if she were to get surrounded by herself.

"Yes, we were expecting you. You were probably sent here by a researcher... that scrawny little thing.... no way he would be any use to us." She said as she paced, "He begged and pleaded for us to let him go, we were thinking about just throwing him off the cliff, but he offered us something. He said that if we let him go, he'd send bigger, stronger ponies. Ponies." She emphasized on the plural. "It wasn't really a loss if we let him go, so we did. And guess what? His plan worked!" She started to laugh.

Dunder couldn't believe it. He had run... no... flown... headfirst at terminal velocity right into a trap. As the adrenaline pumped through his veins, he knew that they were all going to get out, he just needed to do something. He needed time to think.

[Andifferous]

Things were looking bad. Of all the ponies who could still fight, he was the only one unarmed. He kept toward the back, closer toward Winter. Dusty knew at this point their best bet was going to be to try and negotiate, or at the very least wait for a proper opportunity to escape. In his mind he poured over memories of various adventure stories that he had read, hoping for some sort of inspiration, some sort of similar scenario.

The diamond dogs were definitely a threat, but they could be quickly outpaced, and at least in his and winter's case, outflown. The gryphons however were a very different story, skilled flyers and far too coordinated to simply try and fly away from. Chances were they could probably outperform the pegasus in the air if it came to straight up maneuvering, and in his current state he doubted Winter would last very long in the air. The only hope he could see was in waiting for the right moment and using as much trickery as they could possibly muster to escape the gryphons.

[RarityDash]

Midnight took a step back into a tighter formation with the others, but remained at the ready. She didn't trust this situation and she wasn't about to let anypony get hurt over it. It was hard for her to follow Dunder's order. In her eyes all of them needed protection not just the most injured. Still, he was the leader, so she'd comply. Not listening to anypony but herself had been what had gotten Chaser killed all those years ago.

One of the griffons seemed intent to mock her. Midnight was used to this. It was why she chose not to mention her record much. She wasn't entirely proud of it and it just felt like boasting. She didn't blame the griffon for ridicule. Her only point in speaking was to inform them of what she was capable of. A warning to them all before they decided on what to try.

She listened to the story with an even face. This had been a trap from the beginning then? Their leader had been naïve to trust the researcher. That did seem Dunder's weak point, naïvety. Midnight just hoped she wouldn't die for it.

"And what do you need ponies for?" Midnight asked, ignoring everything else and just cutting directly to the point. "What is it you're after?"

[Snowshoe]

Muggo's heart was pounding as he stood there. Adrenaline meant he no longer felt the dull throb from his injured leg. He glanced quickly between Midnight, Dunder, and the lead griffon. Sure they'd walked into a trap, but Dunder couldn't have known. So a researcher asked them to do preliminary scouting of a location...that wasn't that off. How were they to know that griffons and diamond dogs would be waiting in ambush.

"Ah 'gree wi Mi'nigh'." Muggo' attempted to say around the knife between his teeth. He kept in front of Winter, watching as Dusty walked over a little closer. He was not prepared for this at all, but if push came to shove he would fight hard, hard enough to make his father proud should he not come back.

No.

He had to not think that way. They would make it back in one piece, that he knew.

[Winter]

Winter flinched as the griffons spoke. So it had been a trap... Ugh, this whole adventure had been a mistake! He shook his head and tried to get back focus on the situation when he felt his mind start to wander. This was serious, and he needed to pay attention and stay conscious to keep safe. Maybe if he could fly... He put out each wings slowly and tried flapping each around in turn. Confident that he could fly at least a little when he needed to, he continued to strain himself to keep with the real world and not fade into the dream world. He was just so tired...

[Dunder]

"We need strong ponies like you to work the mines. There is a large black-market demand for straight-from-the-ground metals and gems. Five pretty strong ponies from letting a pony go and some time, it's worth it." she said and eyed Midnight.

When Dunder heard this, he knew that there was no chance they would escape. If they wanted to kill them, they probably would have done it already. They wanted them alive, so they knew to cover all the escape routes. If the ponies fought, they'd all fall. If they tried to escape, Dunder, Muggo, and Midnight probably wouldn't make it. If Winter and Dusty tried to fly away, they'd probably get struck down and swatted from the sky. These griffons probably knew how to fight, at least they knew how to fly.

One of the other younger male griffons spoke up, "And nice job falling for our trap. You," He said while looking at Muggo' "were so cute as you made your little headstone. Also, you." He aid and shifted his gaze to Winter, "you can keep that ring. I divorced that hag a while ago." He said and turned his head away, no remorse in his voice.

While this was going on, Dunder was thinking. There was little chance of them surviving if they fought... his heart raced from the stress. The soldiers, the mocking, the lives on his hooves.... the ridicule he was probably getting from the other ponies, them all looking at him to tell them waht to do. He certainly wasn't going to order them to their deaths, but his choice wasn't much better. "Everypony." He said, his voice losing some of it's authority, "stand down.... If you want to get yourselves killed, be my guest." He said as he flicked his sword over to the griffon mare who was grinning wide at a Dunder who was hanging his head low.

[Andifferous]

Dusty flexed his wings slowly, biting his lower lip. He didn't like Dunder's order to surrender, but the other pony was right, and it would be a bad time to start and argument. This was definitely a bad situation; certainly not the worst he could imagine, but still bad. Still a thought occurred to him. As he folded his wings he looked around once more, before taking in a slow breath and standing up slightly.

"Why would Gryphons be working alongside Diamond Dogs?" He asked, voice quiet but clear. "Especially gryphons who I'm guessing are trained military flyers, if the way you landed is anything to go by." He clamped his jaw shut as he finished, half expecting a physical rebuke of some sort. A couple of other insights popped into his head, but it wouldn't be wise to mouth off too much. Plus he needed to know more about the situation before he could really make any further statements just yet.

[RarityDash]

Midnight removed her blades at once and threw them at her hooves.

"if that is our leaders decision, I comply without question," she said in a stern voice as she laid the weapons. She remained vigilant though, ready to act if their captors did something she didn't agree with.

She respected Dunder's decision. This situation was not good, but going along with their captors was right now a better choice than dying. A younger her probably would have chosen to recklessly challenge the whole lot of them, but here and now surrender was clearly preferable. Dying for pride wasn't an option when she had real reasons she needed to return from this place.

[Snowshoe]

At the younger griffon's taunting about his actions with the headstone, Muggo' Ale tapped his right forehoof angrily to the dirt. "Ye ge'in' th' ri'h' we' fer a dou'e 'ross th' 'eak, 'y." he tried to say again (You're going the right way for a douse 'cross the beak, b'y). The look he gave the griffon, mixed with the knife clenched in his teeth, was probably enough to get most folk to stand down. Ponyfolk, at least.

The order came to surrender, and Muggo' grunted. He tilted his head to the side and flung his knife at the ground, purposefully aiming at the griffon that had taunted him and causing the tip to land in the dirt an inch or so from his talon. "Ya did the right thin', b'y." he told Dunder, the look of anger at their captors gone and back to his normal one. He looked over at the pegasus and gave him a small grin, then looked back at their captors, not planning on giving them any satisfaction in this. Especially that young griffon male.

[Winter]

Winter stood confused a moment. They had all gotten ready to fight, but Dunder was giving the orders to stand down. Winter stated, "Fair enough, Dunder..." As he sat down to the ground. A fight probably wouldn't have ended well, he had to admit. It was probably best to bide their time and wait for a better opportunity to escape. Maybe when they were all in better condition they wood stand a better chance... Winter wasn't sure what they would do, but he was sure of one thing. He would not be stuck here the rest of his life, and Dunder was going to make sure that never happened to any of them.

[Dunder]

As the ponies all put down their weapons, Dunder sighed. He knew there was a too slim of a chance for him to fight back and live. He was just glad the other ponies accepted his order to surrender.

The griffons and the diamond dogs all began to close in on the group of ponies. Dunder took off his saddlebags and threw them over next to his sword. As Dusty spoke, one of the griffons slapped him with their wing, "Shut your talking!" He commanded the stallion pegasus. "Or else I'll hit you again." He thretened. It was the same griffon that mocked Muggo'. Actually, he soon turned to the earth stallion, "And if you wouldn't be able to hurt me, you're old and

a pony!" He said before chuckling. some of the diamond dogs and griffons joined. Dunder saw Muggo' grin at him, but didn't respond. He only gave him back a blank stare with one eye.

The diamond dogs formed a circle around the group of ponies, "Single file and march!" She told the ponies from the back of the line, behind Dunder. Dunder hel his head high, he knew he needed to be strong for the rest of them. He cleared his throat before speaking, "Ponies, these diamond dogs are oafs and these griffons are greedy. We will prevail." He said before getting smacked in the back of the head by a spear. He felt like bucking the dog in the face, but didn't, knowing that it'd end up horribly.

The female griffon flew up beside Midnight, "And you're not going to be a hero, Miss Lieutenant in the REA?" She asked, emphasizing the mocking when he addressed her. "You seem to be following your leader pretty well. I suppose you don't want to revisit your REA days, pony?" She asked, the mocking tone still present.

[Andifferous]

Dusty grunted a bit as he was batted by that wing, his bruised eye throbbing a bit as it took the brunt of the strike. "Ow, geez!" he spat. "Not much good to you as a worker if I'm injured now, am I?" he said, more to the diamond dogs than the gryphons. He was putting together an idea in his head, one that might allow them a chance at escape. But he was still trying to formulate the proper way to phrase it. It might also be best to wait until the gryphons weren't within striking distance. Unless the gryphon was going to rebuke him again he'd keep quiet and cooperate, at least for the most part. Learning as much of these caves and pathways wouldn't hurt either; it'd be no good in their escape attempt if they got lost or ran into a dead end later on after all.

[RarityDash]

Midnight hung her head as she got in line. She did as told, not questioning anything. There was no reason to. Dunder didn't have to tell her they would prevail. She was already entirely confident.

The same griffon as before seemed intent to goad her for hear earlier words. In her younger days, she might have bucked this griffon right in her smug beak and moved along. Here she just kept moving along, not even looking at her.

"I'm just a soldier following orders. I'll do as my leader commands. I have no reason to question it," Midnight said resolutely, still only looking forward.

[Snowshoe]

Muggo' stared down the griffon, raising an eyebrow. He debated stomping on his talon as soon as the griffon got close, but decided against it. He kept quiet, planning a good moment to knock the young griffon out with one punch, which he was convinced was totally possible. Nonetheless, he turned his head to glare at the griffon that hit Dusty. If any of them dared to try and hit Winter, who was still obviously rather woozy from his fall and probably unable to defend himself, or heck, attacked any of them again, he'd end up bucking one of them in the face, his injured leg be darned.

"Which is probably more than ya two can say, eh?" Muggo' asked after Midnight spoke. "Celestia t'underin', if the REA found out what ya been plannin' here they'd drop on ya like toads on a log."

[Winter]

As one of the youngest and currently least able fighter in the group, Winter didn't stand much of a chance to do anything. He couldn't help but feel relieved they were being captures instead of all being disposed of on the spot. Maybe this way, they would all be able to escape somehow. He kept quiet and decided to bide his time, uplifted by everypony else's remarks on the matter.

[Dunder]

The griffon smacked dusty again with his wing. "I said no talking!" He spat at the pony. "What part of that do you not understand? Just keep walking. He said as he grabbed Dusty by the vest and pushed him forward.

The female griffon grabbed Midnight by the jaw and pulled her head to face her. "When you talk to me, look at me!" She commanded then pushed the pony, "Didn't they show you how to do anything right in the REA? Jeez... It must have been horrible to serve you... you'd probably get me killed." She said, trying to insult the pony's REA background and leadership rank as much as possible.

Dunder winced every time another one of the ponies got hurt or yelled at. If he knew he was the only one at risk, he'd fight back with a force to scare Celestia. But, he was glad that the possibly weakest, at the time being, in the group wasn't speaking or getting hit. He didn't know what he would do if winter had gotten hit.

He knew he needed to speak up, "Everypony Just--" He was cut off when one of the diamond dogs smacked him on the head with the spear. He lost balance a bit as he rubbed his head. He looked at the diamond dog with one eye... remembering his face.

The male griffon flew up to Muggo' and landed beside him. His face was full of rage. "Who said you could talk?" He demanded, "Shut up!" He yelled at Muggo'

[Andifferous]

Dusty grunted and winced as he was struck again, but this time kept his mouth shut and didn't fight back.

Over the past few minutes Dusty's mind had been racing, trying to figure this puzzle out. Why would the gryphons and diamond dogs be working together? That was the big question, but not too difficult to solve. In his head he began going over the motivations for both sides; the diamond dogs were obviously after gems. and using other species as labor was not unheard of. Ok, so that was why they were being kidnapped like this.

How did the gryphons come into play then? So far it seemed like they were just here to set up traps and capture more labor for the diamond dogs... possibly for a share of the profit... It made sense enough, despicable as it was. At this point he took a guess that with how agitated the gryphons were, they might just be on shaky ground with the diamond dogs.

If that was the case, he thought, he might just be able to throw a wrench in the works and give them a moment to escape. Glancing about he began to look for the diamond dog that was in charge, a smile pulling slightly at the corners of his mouth.

[RarityDash]

At the griffon's words she could feel a bottomless anger suddenly well up. Her young self surfaced for a moment, and she desperately wanted to hurt this other creature. As she lifted herself back up, her eyes widened in rage and she stepped forward. She only managed a few steps toward the griffon before Hopesong's face flashed before her eyes.

This wasn't right of her. Picking a fight here would only get her and the others hurt. She needed to calm herself. For the sake of the group, for the sake of Hopesong she needed to just endure this treatment. She turned her head and just returned to the line, not saying a word to her attacker. There were no words to say. Midnight was better than this. Her faith that they would escape their captors would not be shaken.

[Snowshoe]

Muggo' Ale trotted along in silence, though it was broken by Dusty which unfortunately got him another hit, then Dunder who got hit for trying to get them all to calm down. He was about to say something else, but before he could, the young male griffon landed next to him and snapped at him. He turned on his captor and shoved his face against the griffon's, the top of his snout pushing against the beak, bringing their eyes practically level. For the first time ever, likely in his entire life, Muggo' looked...well, beyond angry. He was tense, just staring the griffon down with a look that had quite a bit of intent to severely harm the griffon.

"Hit another one of us, b'y, an' I'll put ya under yer marker up in the cave." he said in a calm, even tone, his voice a low growl. He stomped a hoof hard against the griffon's talon as he spoke, twisting his hoof to grind the talon harder against the dirt as emphasis.

Then Muggo' let go and visibly relaxed, taking a step back and resuming his position with the rest of his companions, looking the same as before, as if his little episode there hadn't happened. It was all an act, and a particularly good one if he did say so himself...if he was right, the griffon was much more bark than bite, and would back off now. It wouldn't stop the female one who took particular interest in pestering Midnight, but at least it would take some pressure off the rest of them, and hopefully make it so that either they'd focus their efforts on him instead of taking it out on the rest of his friends, or keep at least one of the griffons too afraid to try again.

[Winter]

Winter walked with them in silence. This was a bad situation, that much was clear. Griffons and dogs working together... Just not natural. Winter didn't like it. The way his companions were being treated didn't help this feeling. He wanted to help, but he knew that anything he did would only make things worse. The pegasus braced himself for the worst and kept as stoic as possible. His head throbbed and he wanted to ask for help... anything really, would be nice. What he wanted most, though, was water. He felt sore all over and a little water would go a long way in making him feel better. He resisted the urge to ask his captors, however, knowing they wouldn't be very considerate of his request. He would probably wind up getting smacked in his already sore head. The stallion could barely manage to drag his hooves along with all these ailments affecting him, but he still managed. Anything to keep him and the rest of the group a little bit safer. He didn't want to make anypony get hit because he wasn't moving fast enough.

[Dunder]

Dunder was glad to finally see all the ponies were finally silent. He couldn't stand the idea of one of them getting hurt. But, of course, Muggo' spoke again. Dunder prepared for the worst.

The griffon was surprised to see the pony stand up like that. He smiled back nervously, his eyes full of fear as Muggo' made his threat. "I...uhhh.." The griffon was lost for words. He was scared of the large green stallion. Though, it made it easier for him to be less cowardly when the female griffon flew up.

"You! Quiet yourself before I smack you so hard that your grandchildren will feel it." She said, going eye to eye with Muggo'. She was obviously one of the least cowardly of the griffons. She was also probably the leader role of the group of griffons.

They were all led to a large wooden door guarded by two diamond dogs. They pulled the door open to reveal a cave, well lit to make sure none of the gems were missed.

"What are you waiting for? Get inisde!" the female griffon spat at all the ponies.

[Andifferous]

Looking toward the Diamond dog who was the leader, Dusty cleared his throat and stepped forward. It was time to test his theory.

"You know, I have to wonder why you're bothering with ponies for labor." he said quite clearly, and loud enough that everyone in the room could hear. "After all, Gryphons are bigger, and tougher. They can fly, and they don't have any pesky magic to fight back with." He gave the briefest pause for them to consider that. "And the ponies they're bringing you, (that's us) are all injured. Definitely inferior labor." He waited for a moment to let that sink in, wings folded, and fully expecting harsh retaliation from the gryphons at any point.

"They're playing you for saps."

[RarityDash]

Midnight was none to pleased with being lead into a well-lit cave. She was more pleased with Dusty's cunning. Diamond dogs were, in average, not the smartest of species. A shrewd pony, good with his words, might be able to manipulate them. Turning them against the much shaper griffons could be the ticket out. Dusty seemed inclined to at least try.

Midnight wasn't sure what to add. She had never been very good with words. She doubted there was very much she could add to expedite matters, but she had to at least try.

"He's right. None of us are unicorns, so our actual efficacy at this job is limited and reliant on tools. Griffon talons are fare more suited to extracting things from dirt," Midnight said to the dog. "That's not to mention that griffons are far more prevalent and easily attainable in this area."

[Snowshoe]

Muggo' smirked at the effect his threat had had on the griffon. He probably didn't have the bite to match up to his bark, but at least he'd gotten the griffon to back down and lay off them for a while. The female griffon was going to be a problem, but he was sure he could goad her into silence, or to relieve the stress on the rest of the group if he needed to. "Please do." Muggo' said with a smirk, following his companions inside.

He listened to them try and put the griffons down in the face of their Diamond Dog compatriots, and he chuckled, but made it a point to remain quiet. He didn't exactly have a silver tongue to get things done his way, so he'd leave it to the rest of them to figure it out. He'd just be the muscle if needed.

[Winter]

Winter caught on quick to what Dusty was doing and was doubly pleased when Midnight joined in with him. He kept quiet, since in his current state he would probably say something he shouldn't. It was hard to think with a herd of buffalo stampeding in his head, and words without thought behind them don't usually make things turn out well. Of course, there was a nice, well lit cave ahead... The dark made Winter strain his eyes, so he decided to just listen and keep walking in, with or without the rest of the group.