Bay 12 Games Forum

"Gee wilikers, professor, you sure are smart!" the griffon mocks as she walks towards the door. "Magic is alright, I guess. Talons are better. Multi-use tools. Gutting, grabbing, goring, slashing, smashing. Simple, but effective."

"I thought it was a pretty interesting display of skill. And a good understanding of the fundamentals. That will take you far, my friend," Autumn comments with a smile.

"Well, I think that--" Mead Mix begins before the door dominating the rooms north wall opens with a loud clack.

"The ring will see you now," a unicorn mare announces, standing to the side to let Sasha through.

"I also have pretty good hearing," she says before making her way down the hall. One after the other, the initiates follow suit, walking down a hallway dominated by paintings of great ponies from Equestria's history. Perhaps one day one your images will be immortalized among the other greats? With hope fresh in your minds, you enter the ring chamber.

Light pours into the stained glass windows, various heroes of the Tribes glowing in its wake. Banners of various origin hang on the walls, some simple, some embellished. The largest one hangs on the far wall depicting all races, pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns, working together in harmony. Below the tapestry, the illustrious Ring sits. Eight ponies, each one honoured with a special title and position, sit behind a great longtable, mostly bearing stern expressions. They are silent as the initiates file in. Each was told beforehand the proper etiquette when dealing with the ring. Stand a respectful distance away, keep proper posture, don't speak until you are addressed. Basic things when dealing with rulers, most would think. But some of these initiates are Farlanders, and needed reminding of their place. Still, none of them err from their position.

The scribe takes her place at the edge of the table, allowing the ring to focus their full attention on the initiates.

"Greetings, prospectives, I am Clover the Clever. The ring has called you here today to complete your initiation into the ranks of the pioneers. Half of you will pass, the other half will be denied. Do you accept the call?"
 
Edjane nods, then she walks into the room. The four of you follow. Inside, you find a fine, if spartan, dining room. Well polished and tended, but bare. A single portrait dominates the east wall, depicting a pony that looks much like Xavus, but older, and with a greying mane. The lord himself stands, facing towards the large portrait, and his wives stand behind their seats. A posh looking mare with soft features but sharp eyes stand to the left of Xavus. She wears much powder makeup and fine jewels adorn her headdress. A condescending smile enforces her aura of dominance. Marrin stands right beside her, a bored expression on his face.

Right of Xavus stands the mare from before, the one in the clan hall. At the time the pioneers might have assumed she was an adviser, but she appears to be his wife as well. She wears a cold, neutral expression. Right of her stands Edjane, perhaps the only local pony you can really call an ally. She has removed her armour, but still wears protective barding.

Left of the posh mare stands an elderly mare. Very elderly. She has a satisfied look about her as she patiently waits for the festivities to begin. Several servants and guards stand quietly in the corners and to the sides, Luciona and Adjus among them. Fine cutlery is arranged on the table, but no plates nor food.

The silence goes on for a few awkward moments before someone closes the dining room door.

"The Great Lord Xavus has invited farlanders into his realm, and into his home. May this meal bolster relations and create new bonds where there was once uncertainty," a servant announces as if reading lines from a scroll. With that, Xavus turns around to face the farlanders. Without a word, he takes his seat. After him, the posh mare takes her seat, then Marrin, then the stoic mare, then Edjane, then the old mare.

"You may now be seated," Xavus says. Each one of the pioneers takes a seat, and the statue-like servants finally begin to move.

"Oh, isn't this fun! Let's start with a prayer, shall we?" the old mare begins. This attracts an annoyed glance from the posh mare.

"No, that is not proper. We will start with introductions, as law dictates."

"But we must thank the gods for blessing us with such bountiful harvest! Now, which god shall we thank, hm? Rhunekin, perhaps? But I do so adore the God of Plenty!" This elicits an annoyed sigh from the stoic mare, and a belittling laugh from the posh mare.

"Please, do ignore Helen. She is old, and her mind grows soft with age. Xavus, introduce yourself." Xavus shows the slightest twinge of annoyance, but starts his introduction.

"I am Lord Xavus of house Splitstake, Lord of Numbra and protector the Temple."

"I am Lady Esse of house Splitstake, maiden of Vaulta and the Heart of Xavus," the posh mare announces with great eloquence.

"I am Melesa, Mind of Xavus," the stoic mare says calmly.

"I am Edjane, Hoof of Xavus and Elite of the Elite."

"I am Helen the Black. A witch, a sorcerer, a practitioner of the old ways, and ever a reminder of Xavus' foolhardy youth!" the old mare announces with jubilance.

"I am Prince Marrin of house Splitstake, heir of Numbra," Marrin says with vigour.

The group then turns their attention to the pioneers.

Now, now. Don't be silly you two.

I'd call his description a slight overreach, at best. I'm okay with such things as long as they aren't unreasonable. The fact that it was destroyed utterly doesn't really hinder any NPCs nor any other player, so I don't have a problem with it. If, say, he smashed the table over someones head and declared that it knocked them out, or grabbed someones weapon and snapped it in half, that would be God-modding.

The bottom line is that it was clear that this was a demonstration of strength. Since he's a minotaur, I think his description is acceptable.

"Don't be so hasty there, stripes. I've had pony before. Not that I had much of a choice in the matter. It was either the pony or me. Still, the taste was okay, if a bit bland," Sasha responds, checking her gauntlet for scratches.

"I'd rather not talk about this, if that's okay with the rest of you. How about this: Would each of you kindly give your names and talents? After all, I'll be joining two of you on an adventure, so we should get to know each other a little bit." The unicorn mare says calmly, with an air of confidence. "I'm Autumn Switch, and I can control the weather, to a degree. I also have talent as a falconer. Scouting and control are my specialties."

"Isn't that special? Well, I'm Sasha, and I know how to survive in the wilds. I'm also pretty good at killing folks, and protecting others, if it suits me."

"Hi! I'm Mead Mix, but most ponies call me Mel. I am pretty good at bargaining and negotiating, and getting ponies to laugh! Alchemy's also my strong suit."

"Do not concern yourself with niceties. My lord understands that you are farlanders, and doesn't expect you to know much of our ways. I will say, though, that you shouldn't address Lady Esse unless she asks you a question. And don't encourage Helen to go on with one of her stories. Just be respectful, and answer my Lord's questions truthfully."

That appears to be an npc. Which race?

Earth pony. Autumn Switch is a unicorn.

Format suggestions/requests:

Players: Not everyone's character name matches their forum name. For clarity I propose we make a general policy of putting our character name in bold at the top of turn submissions, as shown here.

GM: Could we get links in the opening post of the in and out of character threads linking to each other? Also, would you edit the OP to include a player to character namelist and description? Something like:

Player list
 * Aurora Dawn, unicorn mare played by LordBucket
 * Sam Harvey, minotaur bull played by Patrick Hunt

Thanks.

Sure. Sorry, I was really tired when I made the thread. I forgot to link it here! Here's the IC. I'll update the OP in a sec.

Also, Bucket, your character is in Equestria atm, not in Numbra. Refer to the first section of the post.

We got everyone signed up, now all I need to do is put up the thread! Expect that soon.

Your sheet looks good, Patrick. You're in! I'm just waiting on Geek now, who has already messaged me about some details.