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#Post#: 1472--------------------------------------------------
Re: An Unusual Suspect
By: Azure Karla Date: October 27, 2016, 10:58 pm
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"I know a thing or two about magic, Sergeant," Azure comments,
somewhat regaining her composure as she slumps back in her
chair. "All living things have some form of innate magic.
Unicorns, of course, can be amplified through the use of their
horn. Pegasi have the ability to control the weather and build
towering cities in the clouds. Even Earth ponies possess magic
with their strong will, perseverance, and connection to the land
on which they live. Mother Nature herself can spring fantastic,
magical feats every now and then. But most of everypony already
knows that. Something artificial, however, possesses no magical
aptitude. Zero. None. By all intents and purposes, it's hollow.
In order for a non-living, artificial object to posses magic, it
must be given to them..." The mare pauses, looking up at Trail
Blazer to see if he was following her words. After her last
little outburst, Azure had no interest in showing her grin...
She was reluctant in revealing such knowledge to somepony who
could just as easily throw her in a cell, but at this point, she
had nothing to lose.
"Take Timberwolves for example, one of Mother Nature's defenses
gone awry. Just a tightly wound bundle of sticks and twigs given
shape by an outside source. Time and time again, you knock them
down. Break them into pieces. Burn them into ash. Or, in your
case, overwhelm with firepower. And still they come, over and
over again. The only way to halt the vicious cycle is to destroy
that outside source- their Alpha. Or rather, the corrupted
lodestone inside the Alpha. Have you ever noticed just how much
larger and more powerful they are? Or, more specifically, how
thick and dense their neck is? That's where the lodestone is...
Separate it from the Alpha's neck, and all the Timberwolves fall
to pieces, lifeless. I can almost guarantee that many of these
stones go unnoticed after an Alpha's "death" as they are small
and rather ordinary looking, in which case it would eventually
rebuild itself and continue its ceaseless rampage." Once again,
Azure pauses, and once again, Trail Blazer could possibly have
already known all of this. But the Changeling was proving a
point.
"Now, I want you to take what I just said about the Timberwolves
and apply it to this hell-hound, with only a few minor
differences. Mother Nature is one thing, but many ponies are
able to give "life" to artificial constructs through the use of
their magic. Could be something small like having a broom sweep
for you, or something much more advanced like the art of
golemancy. The catch is, no matter how big or small, it requires
the caster to be present and actively paying attention. So how
do you control something when your attention is needed
elsewhere? Lodestones... Magic-users took a tip from Mother
Nature, imbuing ordinary objects like stones with part of their
own magic and building their construct around it. You could be
halfway across the continent, not even thinking about it, and
the construct still moves and acts as though its owner was still
right there. So what's the catch? Why not build an army of these
things? The bigger and more powerful the constructs are, the
more powerful the imbued object must be. If one uses too little,
they are apt to die at the feet of their own creation..."
Azure sighs, recollecting her first encounter with the beast.
"You might ask again, how did I know about the runestone? You
also might think me as contradicting myself when I state that it
was an artificial beast when it clearly has living, breathing
organs. I know about the runestones because I've killed one of
these already, and promptly had to kill it again the next night,
prompting a rather messy search of its insides. Even without the
caster's embodiment, the stone is steeped in powerful magic.
It's no wonder why these beasts are incredibly dangerous, and it
further proves just how skilled and powerful its creator is. As
for the organs, I thought of it as just a mere cover-up to hide
the stone, which could certainly be true, but... Anything beyond
this is mere speculation, for the record..." She takes a deep
breath, leaning forward as she furrows her brows in thought.
"There is a particular school of magic- forbidden magic, I might
add- that utilizes bodies and blood as a source of energy to
fuel their spells. Even with an ancient runestone as a catalyst,
putting a powerful beast like that together would take an
astounding amount of resources and energy. Using cadavers would
greatly reduce the strain on the caster, and, if done properly,
would fuel its own catalyst, which in turn fuels itself. A
walking, near-living construct that doubles as its own recharge
battery to fuel its own catalyst and spells. But tell me, have
you ever seen what they do to a body when they choose to carry
it off? Besides scraps and bones... It's gone. Here is my
theory: This forbidden magic-user has an operation somewhere to
dig up these ancient runestones. After killing off a few,
unfortunate victims, the caster creates the first hell-hound
using the runestone as a catalyst- a now self-sustaining entity.
And off it goes, dragging even more unfortunate victims to its
master, who in turn creates another, self-sustaining hell-hound.
You see where I'm going with this? Just a few of them would be
enough to wipe a small, unprepared city. How many more would be
created then?"
Azure sighs again... She feels like she was incriminating
herself in these matters, but nothing was further than the
truth. If she was right... Well... They would soon have a much
bigger problem on their hooves. "Still, none of this changes
that I had absolutely nothing to do with this. If that's not the
case, then why am I babbling my head off, telling you everything
I know about these monstrosities and how they tick down to the
letter? Feed that to your boss. Do some research. You'll see
that I'm right. Oh, and I know about the body because I stumbled
into its bloody den and saw it. I wasn't happy to see it, and it
wasn't happy to see me. How many victims has it claimed,
traipsing about the forest or galumphing into the nearby town?
Having experienced the horrors of one before, I made it my duty
to strike this one down, too. I just don't know what happened
between there, and here. It snaps at me, I snap at it, rev up a
light-mass spell, and the next thing I know, everything goes
black and I wind up, wound up in here."
#Post#: 1492--------------------------------------------------
Re: An Unusual Suspect
By: Equinox Date: October 30, 2016, 1:14 am
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Runner simply sits in silence, listening to the Changeling. At
first, when she is talking about magic, he is seemingly
disinterested, mainly because this is all stuff that he already
knows. "This is all very basic knowledge. Everypony knows how
magic works here. Continue." he says. While she is talking about
the Timberwolves, a series of faint gunshots and yelling can be
heard by everyone, followed by howls. "Very few have witnessed
an Alpha, fewer still have lived to tell about it." he says,
pulling up his right sleeve, revealing an ugly, deep, three
pronged scar, but he says nothing more, but the implications are
more than obvious. He perks up hearing about the magic of the
hellhound, hard memories coming back to him of that fateful
night. He continues to listen, but with a grim, but determined
and focused look on his face. At the end of her spiel, he gets
up, and paces around, thinking on all that she's said.
"And here I was, thinking this would be a simple interrogation,
just go in, ask what you were doing when this all happened, and
hand you over to them." he says, motioning to the two pictures
of the noctrals on the table. He returns to his seat, sitting
forward. "This information is all well and good, but what do you
expect me to do with it? How will this help me, my group stop
these hellspawn? All I know about it from this is its source of
power, and how to shut it down. That raises the question, how do
we stop them effectively with minimal death?" he pauses, letting
a dogtag drop to the table. On it read: "Cpl. Quick Strike -
'Lighting'", and on the other side a crude drawing of a
lightning bolt. "The damned thing killed one of our own, and
who knows how many others? How the hell do we even find them,
anticipate their next attack? Cut them from the source?" he
says, his voice filling with rage. "Where the hell was all this
information when Lightning died? When that pony died? When
ponies suffer at the hands of this bastard, and their
families!?" he says, close to yelling. "How many have died
before tonight, and how many more will die before this all
ends...?" he says, his anger subsiding as he slumps into his
chair, but his anger is still there, not as much as before. "So
I hope you can see how I am suspicious of you. It's too
convenient for me, how you know all of this information, but you
claim to have no memory of the latest attack." he seethes, his
anger simmering to a boil.
#Post#: 1499--------------------------------------------------
Re: An Unusual Suspect
By: Azure Karla Date: October 30, 2016, 2:57 pm
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Azure simply watches as the Sergeant slowly breaks down,
following his intense gaze as he raises his voice and paces
about the tent. Ironically enough, the tables were turned, but
what truly catches the Changeling's interest was a peek at Trail
Blazer's true feelings and personality, however brief it may
have been. The mare gazes rather solemnly at the dog-tag as it
clattered against the table, studying it for a moment before
bringing her attention back to the Sergeant. The silence was
almost palpable as he fell silent, and still, Azure could see
the pain and anger she had brought up to the surface. It was...
unintentional, but perhaps some progress was made. "My
condolences, Sergeant. Truly. I have my own fair share of
losses... Still, what you do with this information is up to you.
Like I said, take it to your boss. Do some research. I'm just
one Changeling. You potentially have an entire army."
The mare bites her lip, leaning in close again as her darkened
eyes peer into Trail Blazer. "You want to know how to find one?
Just wait. The controller of these things already knows this one
is dead, and soon, another will take its place to investigate,
possibly with the controller itself close by. Set up a defense
perimeter and keep an eye out for it. When it appears, stun it.
Blind it. Wound it. But whatever you do, don't kill it. Let it
run back to its master. Pursue it. Maybe then you'll find out
where it's coming from, and, if you're lucky, the master itself.
If my experience with the last one was any indication, they're
looking for something around here. If it just wanted to rack up
bodies, it would have done so. The one I killed practically
razed the entire village to the ground in one night... So
they're either looking for something, or something is preventing
them easy access. My bet is on the former, seeing that they
would more than likely just move on if it was the latter."
Azure comes full circle once more, now facing the usual
"suspicion" clause. Unless she figured out what exactly
happened, the Changeling was probably not going to see the end
of it... Perhaps if she retraced her steps... "Once again,
Sergeant, I know all of this information because I've studied
magic for a very, very long time. This is not something anypony
could just look at and surmise off of just one chance encounter.
That's what makes these things so dangerous. Large, powerful,
merciless, and most ponies, even those adept in magic, would not
be able to piece it all together before it returns to life. And
once again, I honestly claim that I have no memory of this
attack, or anything inside that den, for that matter. If you'd
so like, I can take you there to see for yourself. Perhaps you
can even find something useful." She sighs again, moving to prop
her hind hooves up on the table, much like before. "And as it
stands, Sergeant, I am your best bet against these things. If
you won't allow me to help you, then at least take what I've
said."
#Post#: 1521--------------------------------------------------
Re: An Unusual Suspect
By: Equinox Date: October 31, 2016, 7:43 am
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Runner simply buries his head into his hooves, obviously
stressed and tired from all of this. "I'm just so tired of
losing ponies..." he says, his energy seeming to drain. He takes
the dogtags back and hangs it around his neck once again. "So to
find their master, wound the creature, and follow it, and maybe
find the master. Then we kill them both and destroy the
lodestone inside the damn thing." he says. At that moment, his
radio once again buzzes to life. "Runner! This is Bandit 2-1!
We've arrived on the scene, but we've got injured soldiers and
civilians- oh shit, I think we have an Alpha here! We need
reinforcements ASAP!" the voice says before being cut off by
gunfire, which can also be heard in the distance. Runner then
looks to Azure. "So you know how to kill the Alpha?" he asks
desperately. Time was running out after all.
#Post#: 1532--------------------------------------------------
Re: An Unusual Suspect
By: Azure Karla Date: October 31, 2016, 6:00 pm
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Azure frowns as she watches the Sergeant cycle through a variety
of emotions... The constant stress and worry that he has kept
bottled up was starting to take its toll, and despite
practically giving out crucial information, the Changeling
didn't seem to be helping matters at all. She listens quietly to
the stallion, nodding slowly in agreement as he reiterates what
she had just said, but her frown turns to a deep scowl as his
radio goes off once more. Injured soldiers, injured civilians,
an Alpha, and what sounded like multiple hostile contacts. The
situation outside has only gone from bad to worse; Azure had
known the Alpha would eventually rear its gaping maw,
considering how many Timberwolves they've mowed down. She just
didn't know it would happen to chance upon them this soon. And
adding in civilians being caught in the fray on top of
everything else...
"If I can get a clear, precise shot, it wouldn't take me more
than a few seconds... I would just need the others distracted,
and nopony close to the Alpha. Considering how close it is, I
can teleport both of us there." Azure seems full of confidence,
but she wasn't sure if Trail Blazer would allow her the effort.
"If you are... reluctant to set me free and allow me to help you
save those under your charge, as well as the civilians..." She
pauses, tilting her head off to one side as she thinks through
several different scenarios, none of which that were appealing
and safe. "...Then your next best course of action would be to
shove a live grenade deep inside its throat. Unfortunately,
that's not one-hundred percent effective, and could certainly
cost somepony an entire limb, and possibly their head with it."
#Post#: 1547--------------------------------------------------
Re: An Unusual Suspect
By: Equinox Date: November 2, 2016, 6:55 am
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Runner takes a moment to think, trying to decide the best course
of action. He then pulls out his radio saying "All EQUINOX
units, this is Pathfinder actual. We have a code red in Everfree
forest. We need immediate medical and fire support. Over." Soon
after, he goes up to the changeling, removing all of the
restraining items from her, and putting them away on him, but
not before placing a band around her arm. "Unfortunately I don't
have the time to be reluctant, or to hold grudges, all of that
crap. As far as I'm concerned, there are good ponies dying out
there, and we need to help them." he says, stepping back.
"Alright, don't worry about the band, just a precautionary, and
mandatory measure. Whenever you're ready, get us to the others."
he says, getting all of his gear ready.
#Post#: 1554--------------------------------------------------
Re: An Unusual Suspect
By: Azure Karla Date: November 2, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Azure rubs at the bends of her hooves as the Sergeant removes
her restraints, pleased that he was willing to trust her... If
only for a moment. The mare didn't even question the band that
was slipped onto her; as long as she could move willingly, she
didn't care. Perhaps it was some kind of tracker, considering
they've yet to close out their arguments against each other. No
matter, Azure thinks, standing up as she turns to listen to
Trail Blazer. "While it is not my place to offer military
suggestions, you really should invest in combatants well versed
in the art of magic. Not all foes can be easily slain by steel
and gunpowder, such as the Timberwolves and the hell-hounds."
The Changeling pauses for a moment, taking a deep breath as she
morphs herself into a Pegasus, her body now matching her
namesake's color, as well as donning feathered wings. Azure had
no intention of getting shot while suddenly appearing as a
Changeling in the middle of a large firefight. Trigger happy,
panicked, and wounded soldiers could very well see her as an
immediate threat. "Ready?" she asks, stepping closer to the
Sergeant as she folds her wings against her sides. Azure reaches
within herself, seizing that spark of magic that had previously
been denied to her, and in a quick breath, a flash of light, and
they were gone. --->
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