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 Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:22 am
The news that someone was coming to look for Supreme after such a long time had been surprising in some ways, Ironforge had always expected Pirata to come looking for her but had expected it much sooner and yet... it was something he had been prepared for. He had already sent Mercy to keep an eye on th other mare and sent for Kale as well. the remainder of the herd had been drawn close and watched over carefully although Ironforge did not expect them to be in any true danger... Pirata did not care about his herd, only Supreme and his Knights.
Nodding to Camaria as she brought news of the mares progress Ironforge huffed slightly "Doesn't waste much time now does she?" He snorted "Well..never mind the herd has been gather and I've sent Mercy to keep an eye in Supreme, I didn't go through all that trouble to free her only to let Pirata steal her back." He stated decisively "we will let this stranger come and when she gets here capture and question her, if Pirata has a plan I want to know it."
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:34 am
"Even so, I find it strange that she has not met up with any others on the way." Trailing behind Aquitaine, Camaria had expected at some point to see others join the mare on this journey. And yet that never happened. Either way, the herd was ready for the mare and then they would find out what was going on. "I'll keep on eye on her and send word if anything changes, but she has made it this far by herself, I don't think she will suddenly make an army appear just outside of the herd border." But she would make sure that did not happen, or if it did that Ironforge and the others were warned.
With a nod Camaria took to the air to see that through.
It was quite a hike to get to the the herd lands where Supreme was said to be. She had made good progress the first day and then found a place to rest for the night. The journey continued the next day and setting a good pace she would be there soon. Aquitaine was looking forward to meeting Supreme, a mare who played an important role in Agave's life and who was one of the only good points in his life before he came to her. He had come such a long way since then, she was certain that Supreme would be very impressed when she did see Agave again. The last time Supreme had seen Agave was the day she was freed from Pirata and that had been quite some time ago.
The sun sat high in the sky as Aquitaine headed towards the border of the Moon Glade herd lands. It was funny, she had passed fairly close to this place a few times in her travels and had never even realized a herd was sitting there only a short walk away. And to think, she had not only walked by this herd several times, but she had also walked by Supreme as well without realizing it. With a shake of her head Aquitaine continued forward, eager to see the mare and speak with her.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:54 am
Ironforge agreed that the mare's actions were strange but he wasn't going to completely discount the lack of an army as 'safe' either. Pirata was a cunning and devious mare, she had shown time and time again that she did not have to rely on brute strength to get what she wanted and as such he wasn't going to tell Camaria not to bother keeping an eye on her.
As the afternoon wore on and Camaria did not appear to tell him differently Ironforge could only assume that the strange mare continued towards them alone and by the time she was expected to arrive he had plotted out an ambush that should capture her with the least amount of risk involved to anyone.
Eyeing the path through the woods Ironforge waited for the mare to appear, Kale and Zhevra waited down the path a ways, hidden in the woods to flank the mare once she moved into the capture zone. It was important to know the lay of ones land - for situations like this it gave him the ability to surround an enemy without them being aware of it. He had borrowed Sorin from Mercy, the owl stationed in the treetops would alert him when the mare passed Kale and Zhevra's hiding spots.
"You are certain she was still alone this morning?" The stallion softly asked the Wopletinger beside him.
"Yes, She was right on track, exactly where Camaria said we should expect her, I cast around her but could see no sgns that she was being followed by more of Pirata's minions. She is alone...I am sure of it." Prospector responded and because Ironforge knew the little beast well he took his word for it.
"Then we wait." Ironforge responded, eyes narrowed and ears pricked forward as he waited and listened for Sorin's alert.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 10:03 am
While they had not expected the mare to arrive so quickly after Camaria spoke with her, at least the herd was well prepared. They had been increasing patrols ever since Camaria first came to them with the mares request and now their efforts would truly be tested. Luckily they had time to set up an ambush and once his assignment as handed out Kale moved through the trees to where he would wait. Zhevra was out there with as well, though both he and the other stallion were too well hidden to see each other, they were in prime position to close in behind Aquitaine once she entered the herd lands and the alert was sounded.
The herd lands seemed to be situated in a densely forested area. Or at least that was what Aquitaine was walking through at the moment. There were several well worn paths among the trees but she took the largest of them. She could only assume that this was the main path to where she would find the herd and it's members, as Camaria had not given her details outside of where the herd was located in general. Judging by the amount of wear on and around the paths Aquitaine guessed that the herd was quite large. She knew next to nothing about the herd, that was something she should have asked Camaria about, but she would find out soon enough.
The deeper in the trees she walked without sight of a herd member had her a bit on edge. Should she not have seen someone by now? Or was the herd land so vast that they did not always fully occupy each part of it at a time? With a slight shake of her head she continued on.
The dragon head in her mane snapped his mouth in agitation. "Will you stop that." She said softly to the hair bound beast. While he was normally fairly behaved, she still took stalk of his odd behavior. But it could be anything from a squirrel in the branches above, to the scent of rain clouds in the distance to just about anything that made him act like this. Even so, she did slow her pace just a bit and began to look around the forest more as she moved deeper. Perhaps it was her own excitement and nervousness about meeting Supreme that was putting him on edge.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 10:26 am
He could see her now as she moved through the tree's,her hide was dark blue and the oddities around her body sure seemed to suit Pirata and her taste's..and was that a beast bound in her hair? The sight of it snarling and snapping at the air made him shudder slightly in disgust, was it poisonous like Pirata's spiders? Had it alerted the mare to their presence with it's actions? She was speaking to it and Ironforge thus assumed that they had some form of communicating with one another. Regardless of the creatures ability to communicate the stallion made a mental note to avoid it when it came to a fight..just in case it was indeed poisonous.
Shifting his weight slightly the shaggy stallion waited impatiently for Sorin to sound the alert, although he could not see Zhevra and Kale he had a rough idea of where they were located and the mare was getting close, just a few steps more and surely they would be free to surround her. Just as Ironforge was about to send Prospector to check on Mercy's pink owl a soft hoot filled the air.
That was it...the signal! Without letting another second pass by Ironforge burst from the tree's, he did nothing to lower the sound of his arrival, instead he did as much as he could to make his entrance as surprising and violent as possible, drawing himself up to all of his height, although he was not the largest of beasts Ironforge knew well that his shaggy coat gave him the illusion of great bulk and brandishing his large and impressive horns in a threatening manner he hoped to cow the mare into submission before she could even think about fighting.
"Halt." He commanded, his tone making it clear that he was used to being obeyed without question, his narrowed eyes gazing at her as if daring her to consider doing anything but what he demanded her to do.
It was not often that Zhevra had the opportunity to see his father in all his glory, but watching him burst from the trees was enough to make even he, who was supposed to be on the stallions team duck his head just a little bit in submission, best not to draw that ones attention his subconscious whispered to him - even as logically Zhevra knew there was no danger in doing so.
With his father commanding the mare's attention from the front, he and Kale were free to slip onto the path behind her, unlike his father Zhevra did not make his arrival a source of attention, rather he merely slipped from the trees and flowed onto the pathway behind her to black her escape.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 10:39 am
Kale waited patiently for the signal. He knew the mare as close, could hear her hoof beats as she moved down the path but he himself would not move until he needed to. They had set this trap for a reason and moving prematurely could ruin it. Yes, they could chase her down but they were looking for a quick and clean capture if needed.
When the alarm sounded Kale began to slip through the trees. Ironforge made his presence known to everyone around and he was certain that the mare would listen the shaggy stallion. But just in case, it was his and Zhevra's job to block her escape back down the path. The large stallion slipped through the trees and blocked off the right side of the path, while Zhevra covered the left.
The hoot of the owl was unexpected, especially given the time of day, but what really caught her attention was the large shaggy stallion suddenly barreling down on her. What was going on? Aquitaine was already stopping when the beast told her to halt. Her dragon began growling, staring at the stallion over her shoulder. He was a threat to Aquitaine and therefore the dragon was responding in the only way he knew how, and that was aggressive posturing.
Aquitaine couldn't help but shake slightly at the sight of the stallion before her. He held himself in a way that made her way to get away from him. He was aggressive and yet not fully forcing her to defend herself. Before she could even say anything she hear the soft hoof beats behind her and turned to see two more stallions on the path. One looked similar to the first and the other was a rainbow of colors. As her dragon continued to snarl and snap at the three stallions Aquitaine turned to face the first once more. Though her body shook and her heart beat rapidly she tried to force her voice to remain calm.
"Forgive me for coming onto your herds lands." She began, thinking perhaps this was simply one of those herds that didn't like strangers. She had seen herds like it before, where a stranger was forced out upon entering their lands. "I am here to see someone. A mare names Supreme. I spoke with Camaria about her, she said this was where I could find her." After a moments paused she continued. "My name is Aquitaine." Not that introducing herself would guarantee safe passage, but she felt it important to retain her manners even in a moment like this.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 10:54 am
For a brief moment Ironforge thought the mare might try to run as she turned away from him only to circle back around at the sight of Kale and Zhevra behind her, aside from the snapping and snarling of the beast in her hair however the mare did not seem ready to start anything - however it could all be a ploy and Ironforge did not let his stance soften as she spoke, he carefully refrained from moving as she mentioned Camaria - Camaria was an information broker, it would not due for her reputation to be sundered if word got out that she forewarned those she informed on. Let the mare think they had simply spotted her on the path.
A pink owl swept through the tree's alighting on one of Ironforges horns, his head swiveling to regard the mare and while typically..the sight of a large and powerful stallion with a pink owl on his horns might be a source of some amusement, the look in Ironforge's eyes would likely keep that amusement buried.
"Sorin." Ironforge acknowledged the owl "Alert Mercy that we have captured the intruder." Flipping his head up to propel the owl off and away while keeping his gaze on the mare before him.
"I am Ironforge, behind you is Zhevra and Kale." He told her motioning to them each in turn "If you comply then you will not be harmed, keep your creature in check or we will have to subdue him with a net." He threatened, not yet ready to speak about why she was here. First he would move her to a more secure location.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 11:05 am
This seemed too much like a dream. Everything had been going so well and now she was surrounded and not in a friendly welcoming manner either. Her heart skipped a beat at the word intruder. Was this herd truly that against outsiders or was something else going on here? No matter what was going on Aquitaine knew not to fight them. Even if she wanted to, three against one was not good odds, and while she had learned to fight some time after her run in with a skinwalker, she preferred to solve things in a peaceful manner whenever possible. This could all be just a bit misunderstanding.
She did not turn to acknowledge the other two stallions, for she did not want to turn her back on Ironforge again. Instead she dipped her head. "I will do as you say." And then to address the matter of her dragon she spoke once more. "He only acts out to protect me. As long as no one gets too close he will behave." He would likely continue to growl and snap his jaws in frustration but he would not attack - could not unless someone got close enough to get his jaws on them. His movements were restricted to the area of her back, so he could make as much noise as he wanted but until they got in range of his bite he was no danger to them.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 11:28 am
Ironforge eyed the creature tangled in Aquitaines mane, it was an unknown entity and Ironforge hated unknown entities, those were always the things that got you into trouble when the mud started to slide. Still, short of attemptign to hack off the mares mane and kill or subdue the beast away from her Ironforge could see no way to deal with it any further, nor was he willing to chance Kale and Zhevra's health on dealing with it..for now.
"Stay out of it's range as long as she is listening, we will deal with it further only if needed." He instructed his fellow stallions before turning his harsh gaze back upon the mare, now that she was close and apparently subdued the stallion could give her a closer look, she had several horns, though they were far smaller then his own, cloven hooves and a long skinny tail which lacked any sort of breed distinguishing attribute - She could have kalona blood, unicorn blood...perhaps even Suti blood or a mixture of all of it. In the end Ironforge supposed it didn't really matter, although she didn't act like it she looked enough the part and her arrival was suspicious enough that he was going to assume for the moment that she was part of Pirata's army.
"Come with me." He instructed the mare, motioning with his head for her to walk beside him. "And we will talk about your mistress and why she has sent you here." Eyeing her carefully to see her reaction to his statements.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 12:05 pm
Aquitaine couldn't help but shrink a bit under the stallions direct gaze. She had met a lot of different individuals in her travels over the last year or so, some were good, some were bad and some were in between. She couldn't quite place where this stallion stood, he was forceful and somewhat aggressive, but he wasn't pushing her to the point of hurting her - yet. All she knew was that, for now, she would do what he said, to keep herself safe and try to figure out exactly what was happening. This had to be a misunderstanding - a very big one.
When Ironforge motioned for her to walk she did so. She only made in a couple of steps before he spoke of a mistress and her plans. Aquitaine swung her confused gaze towards the stallion. What was he talking about? "My mistress?" She asked, not sure she heard him properly. But she knew she had, he had said they would talk about her mistress and her plans. Her mind started to race, trying to sort out what he was talking about.
Kale nodded at the instructions. He would keep his distance from the strange hair creature unless he needed to get closer. They knew nothing about what it was or what it could do, but if he had to guess by the way it was tangled in the mares hair, it had a limited range within which it could travel. All they had to do was stay out of that range and they would be fine.
As the mare began to walk with Ironforge, Kale positioned himself so that he was behind and slightly beside the mare. She may be cooperating at the moment, but she could change her mind and try to flee or pick a fight. He needed to be in position to stop her if she tried.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 1:00 pm
Ironforge remained silent as they walked farther into his herds territory, he steered the mare away from the herd proper, angling her towards a pen he had fashioned a while back, a secluded glen he had ringed with larger logs and piles of brush and while he was loathe to call it a 'prison' that was, in essence, what it truly was. With one way in or out it was simple to keep someone here under guard. Holding someone in such a manner was not what the stallion liked to do and he was grateful that he had not had to use it until now.
Although he remained silent Ironforge did not miss the mares reaction to his comments earlier, he waited however until they were nicely encased in the security of his holding pen before responding. "Yes..the one who sent you here, things will go much easier on you if you simply admit to the true reason for your visit, we know that your mistress can be manipulative and we are not without mercy for those she has forced to do her dirty work." Ironforge consoled her gently.
The mare was frightened, that much had become obvious as they walked and so far she had made no move to harm either him or his fellows, judging by the way she moved and the muscles of her body it was becoming clear that she was not a fighter..but that didn't mean she was entirely safe either, she could have hidden abilities with that hair demon of her's and she could merely be a scout testing their defenses.
Zhevra fell in alongside Kale, following his father and the strange mare towards the holding pen on the herds outer circles. It wasn't a place used often - unless you counted the herds foals using it as part of their games and Zhevra was glad of that fact..even if he was doubly glad that they had one today.
He had grown fond of the mare Supreme in her time with the herd and she had finally managed to come out of her shell, become more then the slave that Pirata had made her..have a life again, the thought that someone had come looking for her had frightened her and angered him. Supreme deserved to live the rest of her life in peace, not be haunted by her terrible past.
Snorting softly at the thought Zhevra took up a post at the edge of the holding pen, letting his father take care of the questioning for now.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 1:26 pm
Aquitaine said nothing else as they walked. Not that Ironforge was talking at this point either, but she was too busy trying to figure out what was happening to strike up a conversation. She balked only once on the trip, and it was as they neared a pen like structure. Her steps faltered slightly when she realized she was being taken inside of it. This was no more a simple case of accidentally walking into the wrong herds territory, she was certain of it. Now it appeared she was going to be a prisoner. Regardless she entered the pen. She could feel her body lightly shaking, panic was still present as this was such an unexpected turn of events. Her panic fed her dragon who continued to growl and stare at the shaggy stallion.
Aquitaine turned when Ironforge began to speak once more. She felt like she was being interrogated. Actually, she was pretty sure that's exactly what was happening. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm herself before answering, but it was clear by her tone of voice that she was frightened and confused. "I honestly have no idea what you are talking about." She managed to say before focusing a bit more. The only thing she could do was explain the how and why she came here and hope that it satisfied Ironforge "I hired Camaria to find Supreme for me. For my mate actually, he grew up with her. She took care of him. He lost contact with her after she was rescued. That day was the last day that he has seen her. He made a choice to turn his back on that life and came to me. I helped him heal and become the stallion he is today. He mentioned to me some time ago that he would one day like to see Supreme again, to thank her for being a good point in his life and to apologize for the way he eventually treated her. Our lives got busy and for a time I forgot about his wishes. It was only recently that I remembered this and decided to find her for him."
She paused taking a moment to catch her breath. Now that she was explaining herself she felt a bit calmer, but she was still on edge over what was happening. "I learned about Camaria, that she is one of the best informants there is. So I asked her to find Supreme for me, so I could reunite Agave with her. When she met with me last she told me I could find Supreme here, at the Moon Glade herd. I wanted to make sure it was correct information before I told Agave, I did not want to get his hopes up and find out in was the wrong mare. So I came to see for myself. And here I am." She shook her head. "I have no mistress. I was not sent her by anyone except through Camaria's instructions on how to find your herd. I am not whoever you think I am."
So far things had gone smoothly with the capture and other than a small hesitation outside of the pen, Aquitaine had done nothing other than what was asked of her. Along with Zhevra Kale took up a position outside of the pen, he would be ready in case Ironforge needed him, but so far the mare was cooperating and as such there was little for him to do at this moment,
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 1:58 pm
That the mare was frightened was a good thing, frightened prisoners tended to be more apt to talk and that was exactly what was happening, he listened attentively as he rambled out her story, pairing it with the knowledge he had of Supreme's past. Parts of it seemed ..plausible, but he would need to check with the mare herself before making his decision on the matter.
"The mare you have come in search of has a troubled past, she is not always keen on visitors and so I will not let you speak with or see her until I have corroborated your story and I am sure that she will be safe. If you are mates with her former ward then you know of that wards mother, she is a cause of great pain and we have long been worried that she would attempt to regain her slave. You look very much like a member of Pirata's army, your mutations..the beast in your hair..it is precisely the sort of thing the Spider Queen desires in her minions, you even look as though you could be related to her in color. You will remain here, under guard, while I speak with Supreme."
Ironforge did not think that he needed to threaten her about trying to escape, not with Kale and Zhevra on watch and while he had told her he was going to speak with Surpeme that was not all Ironforge had planned. It was a warm day and the mare had traveled far, she was no doubt tired, hungry and thirsty...he would leave her for a time, let her get more uncomfortable and then send Mercy to her. Mercy was small and kind and was quite suited to playing the good guard to his bad guard, Mercy could bring her small bits of food and water, gain her trust and they would see if the story changed.
Turning Ironforge left, pausing only long enough to whisper to Kale "No food, No water...No sleep." It was not orders that he liked to give..but they had a duty to Supreme to make sure they got to the bottom of this and a day or so of discomfort wasn't going to cause any lasting damage..it was certainly kinder then some of the interrogation techniques that had been used upon him in the past.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 2:07 pm
With her story told Aquitaine waited to hear what Ironforge would say. Would he believe her or think it was a well made up lie? When he did finally speak she nodded, her head lowered. "I know. But I assure you that I am neither a part of Pirata's army nor her bloodline." Why hadn't she thought of this sooner? She had dealt with enough Soquili who judged her by her looks that she should have put two and two together. She looked evil, yes, and she was tracking down a mare who had once been held captive by an evil mare. No wonder she was captured immediately and questioned in such a manner. But if they could prove she was telling the truth, then perhaps she could change these stallions minds as well, show them, like she had shown others, that looks didn't always match personality.
There was nothing else she could say at the moment. She could only wait and hope that they believed her in time. Of course catching his announcement of no food, water or rest sent a shock through her. It had been a long journey here and those three things she would need eventually.
Kale listened to the mares story. There were some similarities from what she told them and what they had learned from Supreme. But was the whole story truth or was she spinning a great lie in order to gain their trust. Only time would tell. He nodded to Ironforge's instructions. It would be hard on the mare, but they needed to put her through this in order to truly test her and her story.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 2:30 pm
Ironforge left the mare to stew in the holding pen, rotating her guards so that they were well rested and capable of keeping an eye on her properly. Now and then he would check on her, never speaking nor approaching..merely watching for a few moments before walking away again. The mare had stood up well for a day and a half but now she seemed to be showing signs of getting worried...and quite frankly he was growing tired of Mercy's persistent pestering. Of all of his students..only Mercy could get away with such things
"Ironforge..now? It's been long enough! We can't starve her to death!" Mercy stated in exasperation, pacing along side her surly mentor and pestering him in a manner that no one else would dare to try.
"I'm not letting her starve, don't be melodramatic Mercy." Ironforge responded with a slight rolling of his eyes "She's barely even been tested so far."
"Well not everyone is as strong as you are, what if she's not used to this kind of treatment? We can't torture someone just for answers!"
"What if she's a spy from Pirata and she's here to try and lure Supreme back into danger?" Ironforge countered "We can and will use whatever we have to in order to get to the truth. It's not like we are beating it out of her."
Mercy didn't have a good argument for the Pirata point - it was true, they couldn't put Supreme back in danger but...she still didn't think this was right. "Ironforge...just let me talk with her, I'm sure she will speak with me now and if anything in her story changes or doesn't match what Supreme has told us..well then we can take her somewhere far away and move Supreme." The littler mare offered, and knew that she had won when the shaggy stallion sighed a long suffering sigh.
"Very well..take the mare some food, allow her to drink from the stream and see what she has to say." Ironforge finally allowed, shaking his head slightly as Mercy trotted off.
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