Pennwick Posted April 15, 2011 Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 Ashton trotted out of the inn with his mouth still full of muffin. Still very early he couldn't even make the sun out from between the mountains to the east, though a glow could clearly be seen from that direction. 'Maybe its a little too early?' he mused to himself as he crossed to the far east side of town where he had landed the balloon yesterday.He tossed the bags that he had brought with him into the basket and started getting the balloon ready for todays trip. The dull envelope was slick with water. It would take a while to inflate the balloon. Perhaps he should have taken care of it better last evening. It would be very difficult to make it to Canterlot before evening. A strong wind was blowing towards the forest though, maybe they could still make the trip in one day. Though only if his companions showed up early enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Rime Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Lola fussed and preened as she made her way back to the balloon. The accommodations had not been what she was used to, and while that was no surprise given the luxury she had been raised in, it was a little inconvenient. Washing up was much more of a chore without a proper shower, though at least the bath had both hot and cold running water, more than she had expected of pony technology. Still, she did not complain about it, as that would have been rather rude."Ah, Ashton, good to see you're up and about already. What's our status so far? Have you heard from Delios yet this morning? Not a bad little wind we've got going, with any luck it'll be stronger further up and we can make it to Canterlot by tonight."She took a second glance and noticed the water problem. "Hmm, filling the balloon seems slow this way. I wonder what could be done to speed that up..." She retrieved a notebook and began to brainstorm a few things while she waited for the balloon to fill. There wasn't much to be done right now, but in the future she would be prepared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennwick Posted April 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 "Haven't seen Delios this morning. Didn't see him at all yesterday either after we got here actually. Did he even check in?" Hadn't he mentioned something about finding a cloud or cave? Hopefully he had caught that Lola was paying for their rooms. "Thank you again for covering the room. I can't believe that I didn't bring along more bits." He was a little confused with her generosity. He wouldn't be able to help her much with her research. He hoped his didn't come off as someone who could tell her all about magic.He nodded. "It will take a while. Monty mentioned a Mr. Breezy in Ponyville but we might not even be stopping there." He checked to make sure the balloon was secured as he kept the flame aimed properly. He wanted to see what Lola was writing in her notebook but he felt it would be rude to ask. Plus he was busy with the balloon he couldn't just leave it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Rime Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 "Hm, I didn't actually think to ask if he had. I hope he hasn't wandered off, we can't afford to wait too long for him. Well, flying by wing is much faster than by balloon, if worst comes to worst I'll leave him a message and he can catch up with us along the way."She shrugged off Ashton's gratefulness over the room. "It simply seemed more efficient to get all the rooms at once. Besides, forcing my companions to fend for themselves in the wilderness is not something I wish to be known for, and the money was barely a pittance. Think nothing of it.""As for Ponyville... well, we'll have to see how much time we have left when we reach it. If it's still early enough that we can make it to Canterlot, that would be nice, but there's no real rush to push ourselves too long. Especially for yourself, it must be quite trying to remain in that basket all day long without at least being able to stretch your wings like we can." Unicorns, she reminded herself, in spite of having access to the mysterious arcane energies she coveted, were still tragically limited in the scope of their abilities most of the time, and as land-bound creatures they were all the more pitiable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennwick Posted April 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 "I'll be fine. Please, don't worry about me. he replied. He was becoming a little irritated with the Griffin. Maybe it was because he was nursing a bit of a headache but he couldn't help feeling like she was talking down to him. He was a little stiff after yesterday's journey but its not as if she had dragged him along. He had known what he was getting into when he initially asked Monty to take him. He wasn't going to let something like a little stiffness bother him.Griffins that we're like that were sometimes more bothersome than those that outright scorned them. You could easily ignore those with practice. With those that pitied you they still placed themselves above you but you're forced to act grateful. He hoped Delios would show up soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Rime Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Lola huffed. "Well, suit yourself. Either way, we won't have time to make it all the way if we don't leave as soon as the balloon is ready, it'll already be a delay. Why don't you stay here and get this ready, I'll fly back to the inn and see if he's there. He may simply be asleep."Without waiting for Ashton to reply, she set out. She checked the inn, and asked around a bit before leaving messages with the innkeeper and at the Rhinestone Quarry, letting Delios know that they had headed out ahead of him. She hoped he would catch up with them by the time they reached Ponyville, but she couldn't spare any more time to wait for him.She returned as the balloon was nearly filled. "Well," she announced, "he wasn't at the inn or the tavern, and nobody had seen him. I left a message for him, but we should head out while the wind is favorable. It would be nice to have him around to help with dead air, but I suppose we shall have to make do." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennwick Posted April 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 'Unlikely.' Ashton thought to himself as she left to check the inn. He wasn't going to object. Having her out of his mane for a while would be a welcome change.'This is stupid.' She isn't being outwardly mean or rude. Maybe all high class Griffins were like that. If the amount really was small in comparison to what she had then he couldn't really complain. Still it rubbed him the wrong way. He hoped Delios would show up.He was visibly disappointed when she came back alone. He responded with an indifferent "Alright." He leaped into the basket while he waited for her to board. Turning up the gas the balloon quickly rose into the air. As soon as the appeared to be at a comfortable altitude Aston began nosing through his things. He wanted something to occupy himself with before she started talking about Magic or the Forest again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Rime Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 Lola smiled as they set off. She felt a little bad about leaving Delios behind, but there was not much to be done for it. She was about to strike up a conversation, but noticed Ashton busying himself with something or other. She pulled out a notebook and did a little brainstorming, but she hadn't had any inspiration since she set out.She finally gave up on inventing for a bit and noted the wind picking up. "Well... the wind seems to be cooperating well, we're already deep over the forest." She grabbed the side of the basket as a sudden gust shook them. "Er, perhaps it's cooperating a bit too well. Do be careful, we're getting some peculiar microbursts." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennwick Posted April 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2011 "Microbursts?.." he asked. He was about to accuse her of making words up when the balloon lurched again. Maybe he was just forgetting things. He always skipped class on flying days. Not much point for a pony without wings. He hung onto the edge of the basket, looking out over the forest."We should land but I don't see anywhere." He scanned the area below him but nothing looked suitable. There were a few small clearings but there would be no real way to get into them without risk of crashing. Maybe a professional could but he was just a novice when it came to ballooning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Rime Posted April 26, 2011 Report Share Posted April 26, 2011 "Yes, Microbursts. They're small columns of wind that gust downwards abnormally fast. Could be quite dangerous. Look," she pointed down at the forest below, which had been shredded by the short gust. "It's enough to poke holes in the canopy. Stripped the leaves right off there. Still too many branches to land though..."She peered around, even though Ashton had already looked around, figuring his eyesight wouldn't be as keen as her eagle eyes. He was correct, however. "I should scout out for a clearing, the forest may be interesting, but the last thing we need is to get stranded in it. You'll be alright alone for a moment won't you?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennwick Posted April 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2011 "I know what Microbursts are." he lied. He wasn't even really thinking about what he was saying. He just wanted to get on the ground. He felt helpless up in the air. If something like that hit them the balloon would go down for sure."Sure, yeah. I'm not going anywhere." he said shakily. The balloon lurched again and Ashton wished he had talons to grip with. He dropped into the basket so he couldn't see the ground any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Rime Posted April 27, 2011 Report Share Posted April 27, 2011 "Hmm... Well, start taking it down a bit, at least, that way if you do crash while I'm out it'll be less damaging. I'll be back in a jiffy." Lola sighed and flew out of the basket. She scouted out a little ways with little success. After a few minutes she headed back to the balloon, not wanting to lose sight of it out here. She caught back up, and was just about to holler out to Ashton to try to land in one of the smaller clearings, since the damage from a rough landing would still be significantly less than from a full-scale crash.Before she could say anything, however, another gust walloped into her. The wind just missed the balloon, sending it careening off to the side before Lola lost sight of it. She, however, plummeted into the canopy, narrowly missing a few large branches that would have broken bones. In a rather skillful bit of flying that she wished someone else had been there to see, she managed to recover control of her flight under the trees, evading a few more large branches and making a fairly graceful landing.After a quick sigh of relief, some compulsive straitening of her ruffled feathers, and a fruitless look around for any interesting creatures that might have happened to be nearby, Lola made her way back up to the canopy and looked around for the balloon, but it was absent. Either it had crashed, or Ashton had managed an emergency landing somewhere. She briefly accounted for her possessions that were still on her, her purse and her parasol, which had thankfully not been unfurled in the gust.She then set out to search for the balloon. It could be that hard to find, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennwick Posted April 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Ashton watched over the forest for any clearing to land but the constant lurching of the balloon made him hesitant to poke his head out over the edge. Ashton cowered as a strong gust sent the balloon spinning further off course. This time when he looked over the edge he couldn't even spot Lola. He could however make out what appeared to be a clearing in the direction the wind was roughly pushing the balloon.He immediately pulled the valve to release as much hot air as possible. Too much! From his perspective it looked like he would crash into the trees at this rate. He tried to ignite the burner but another push knocked him off his hooves. Before he could recover a sudden lateral gust from the rear knocked the basket sideways dislodging occupants and cargo. Free of some weight the balloon slowed it decent and sank into the forest.[Ended] ((OoC: Somepony please join the crash thread. Ashton is so lonely.)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts