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 Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:09 am
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:27 am
Several days before Camaria's Arrival....
It had been several days since Lolly, the little brown goat had shown up begging for help. After hearing the goats story Ironforge had immediately sent Prospector to find Camaria, an information broker..or spy if one wanted to get technical...that he had known for a great many years. It had been a long time since he had needed her services and to be honest Ironforge wasn't entirely sure she was still in the business...but if she was then Prospector knew how to find her.
Lolly had been growing restless as the days passed and Ironforge was growing weary of placating the little beast. He could understand her worry - her friend sounded as though she was in certain need of help but trying to make her understand that simply rushing in and trying to grab the mare would likely be bad for everyone involved had been something of a challenge.
"Are you sure this friend of yours is going to come?" The goat asked, pacing alongside Ironforge as they walked, following the shaggy stallion around had become something of a habit these last few days. Lolly had tried not to pester him to much, had tried to leave him alone but everytime she managed to detach herself from his side she found herself fretting until she could do nothing but seek him out and ask if there had been any developments.
She knew she was bothering him, she knew in the back of her mind that nothing had changed but ..she just couldn't help it. Supreme had already been in the blue mares grasp for so very long while she looked for Soquili willing to take up her cause and now that she had found them every moment that they sat here seemed like an eternity. She had found her heroes and now she desperately needed them to act.
"No, but as Prospector hasn't returned with that news then I am still assuming that there is a chance she might." Ironforge added with a sigh "And yes I am aware that you are willing to act as a scout...but you said yourself, the blue mares companion saw you when she kidnapped your friend, if they spot you poking around they will be suspicious. No one on the mountain is likely to know Camaria." The goat was brave...for a goat... he had to give her that, an loyal to boot but the fact that she had little to no experience with these sort of things was becoming more and more apparent.
"We must be patient..I know that you are worried for your friend, but they have kept her this long and it is doubtful they will do anything to her now without provocation." He reminded the goat - and even if they did there was nothing they could do about it. Assaulting a mountain blind was a good way to turn a rescue into a suicide...but he kept that information to himself for now. "We must all be patient, Such operations are not done at the drop of a hat." He reminded her gently.
Giving a heartfelt little bleat Lolly sighed. "If you say so.." She finally allowed, resigning herself to the fact that she was at the mercy of the shaggy stallions timeline. She could only hope that it was a timeline that would work out in the end.
*************************************************************************************************************
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 6:05 am
When Prospector had showed up several days ago stating that Ironforge needed her help Camaria had been surprised. She had known Ironforge for years but she had also not seen him for quite some time. Perhaps he had been busy, she had been busy with various assignments and their relationship was based mostly on their business side more than friendship. Not that she disliked the shaggy stallion but in this line of work it was best to remain as unattached as possible from your various clients and contacts. That way they wouldn't turn on you later. After getting the shortened version from Prospector, a mare needed rescue and Camaria would need to scout the area, she had taken off. She had offered Prospector a ride back but the wolpertinger had declined, something about wanting to stay on the ground, and said he would return at his own pace as it was important for Camaria to get there as soon as possible.
So she made the journey by herself, something she had become quite accustomed to in her field of work. Though she had told Prospector to be safe, Ironforge was close to the little creature and she would feel terrible if something bad happened to him while returning from her home.
When she finally reached her destination Camaria wasted little time finding Ironforge. She knew him well enough to know where he would be waiting for her. Setting down the large mare folded her wings, it had been a long flight but there was work to be done. "Ironforge." She said giving her head a small bow. "It's been a while since you called upon my services."
Kale had just finished setting up the next training exercise for Mercy. Ever since that attack from the half-Kalona mare Mercy had been truly putting an effort into her training and it gave Kale hope that she would make it to the end of this. She had come a long way in that time and while she still had a good ways to go he was confident in her abilities thus far. Sad that such a traumatic incident had been the thing to push her from naive princess to hard working student, but he supposed it was better than hearing her whine and complain about doing every small bit of training and patrols.
"Alright." He said, turning to face the alicorn mare after finishing readjusting a log. "This is a bit of an obstacle course. It's to mimic a fighting scenario where either your surroundings or other Soquili are in the area. You will be learning to keep your focus on your opponent but at the same time know there the things around you are that may both help and hamper your moves." He walked towards the center of the training area. "First thing is..." Movement overhead caught his attention and he lifted his head up to watch the figure fly over. The color of the pelt matched Ironforge's description of his friend and information gatherer. Which meant they needed to get over there to help construct a plan. "Looks like Ironforge's guest has arrived. We will continue this later, best we don't keep him waiting for us." And with that he turned and began to lead Mercy in the direction that the winged mare had gone, to where they would find Ironforge.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 6:31 am
Ironforge was glad to see Camaria - for several reasons, least of which was not the fact that Lolly would stop pestering him about when and how they were going to rescue her friend. But he was also glad to see her still active and apparently healthy - in her line of work Ironforge was aware that such things could change in an instant. "Yes, I've been sticking closer to home of late, securing the herd..but something has come up, Prospector briefed you?" He asked, already aware that the wopletinger had likely done so.
"Kale has likely noticed your arrival and already on his way." He remarked knowing that his former student was the observant type and motioning with his muzzle he invited her to join him at the meeting place, a small clearing only a little ways off.
"This is who you've been waiting for?" Lolly asked after Camaria and Ironforge had spoken...with the way Ironforge had spoken about her Lolly had expected some small,dainty, sneaky looking thing half made of smoke...Camaria was not what she expected. Not at all.
"Yes." Ironforge answered the goat, without turning his head to look at her as they walked. "I assure you she is more then capable of doing what we need. Now if you'd be so kind as to find Zhevra and tell him to come to the meeting area I would be grateful." He finished with a tone that was neither raised nor menacing but none the less unquestionable.
"If you say so..." Lolly found herself telling the shaggy stallion again, really she was starting to say that to him a lot it seemed like. But it wasn't like she had much choice, he was the first stallion that she had come across who was willing to try and save her friend. Without uttering another word the goat turned and bound off through the tree's in search of Ironforge's son.
When the goat was safety out of earshot Ironforge sighed. "She's a bit trying the goat..but clearly loyal and if her story check's out her friend is certainly in a great deal of trouble." He finished as they reached the meeting place.
Mercy had been watching Kale with a quizzical look on her face for the better part of the last hour as he moved logs and branches and such things to and fro - clearly the stallion had lost his mind and she couldn't begin to fathom what this training session was supposed to be...until he finally seemed satisfied with his preparations and explained things.
It actually sounded kind of fun once he did and she was looking forward to giving it a try...which of course meant that something else would come up and she audibly sighed when he urged them to go go and meet Ironforge. Trotting to keep up with her Master she muttered "Of course, why couldn't she have shown up when we were doing laps earlier..."
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 6:45 am
Camaria's gaze turned to the small goat and the corners of her mouth tugged up into a smile. She knew she didn't match the description of a spy, whatever that description may be. In fact a number of her previous clients had had their doubts upon seeing her, but when she had proved to them how good she was all those doubts had gone away. Her eyes swung back up to Ironforge and she nodded. "Yes, he briefed me." It hadn't been much of a brief, but that was the entire point, getting just enough information for her to decide whether to take the job or not without fully committing everything known ahead of time.
She watched the goat bound off before following Ironforge to the grove. Being in the profession that she was Camaria knew the importance of loyalty even if she didn't have a companion like Lolly. In fact it had been the reason why she had never sought out the bond of another animal, because she didn't want to risk them being caught and divulging information or in a worse case scenario backstabbing her. "It's not wonder she is that way." Camaria commented as they entered the grove. "You know I'll do what I can to help." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I have heard some things about this mountain, how dangerous it is, how those who enter don't come back out. It won't be an easy thing to do, even for you."
Kale couldn't help but chuckle at Mercy's comment. "That is because you don't enjoy laps." He had seen the look of interest in Mercy's eyes as he had explained what the setup was meant for and was happy to see her ready to go into this challenge. It was a shame they were being interrupted but knowing that Mercy was half a second away from happily entering another training session was enough for him.
He kept the pace quick, knowing that they had already waited days for Camaria to show up, not to mention all the time the mare had been held captive before hand. If they were to make this a success then they would have to work as quickly and efficiently as possible during the lead up to the actual mission. Nodding to Kale and then to Camaria as he entered the meeting area Kale took a place a short distance away from the shaggy stallion. Noting that Lolly wasn't here he knew they would need to wait for her return before beginning but at least he wasn't late.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 7:13 am
"Of course I don't enjoy laps!." Mercy retorted with a slight roll of her eyes "Who enjoys laps? I bet you didn't like them when Ironforge made you do them either." She went on as she followed behind Kale although whatever answer the stallion might have had to her remark was lost as they filed into the meeting and standing to the rainbow stallions side. It was quite the gathering and despite being disappointing about missing out on what might have been an actually interesting training session she couldn't help but feel just a little bit excited about the prospect of going on an actual real mission to. Excited and Nervous.
Provided of course that Ironforge let her go - he had stated previously that it would depend on how well she did in the days leading up to their departure and taking his words to heart Mercy had tried to put extra effort into her training ever since. She didn't want to be the one left behind.
Zhevra had been posted as a watch on the far side of the herd, when Lolly had shown up and told him to rush to the meeting place he could only imagine that Camaria must have finally arrived. "Alright Alright" He told the goat who was urging him to hurry and finding another herd member he told them to keep watch in his stead for a few moments while he answered his father's summons. The other herd member was only to happy to comply and Zhevra trotted off after the goat.
Arriving at the meeting place with Lolly beside him, Zhevra bobbed his head in greeting to the others before taking his place silently at his father's other side. He still couldn't believe that his father was actually going to attempt this and at the word of a goat no less..sure he was willing to help those in need but you couldn't help anyone ever again if you wound up dead and by the words of the goat this was one of those missions where that could very well happen.
Lolly had found Zhevra at the far side of the herd and prodded and poked at him until he finally followed along. "Hurry up, that spy mare is here and we are going to miss the meeting!" She rushed him along the pathway.
Thankfully upon arriving she saw that nothing had started yet and she anxiously took up a spot in the circle. "Well? What are you all waiting for?!? Start planning and leave already!"
Ironforge frowned slightly at Camaria's words "I have heard much the same." He confirmed. "But it cannot be helped." Although the mare had stated her doubts, the fact that she had chosen to come spoke volumes. She wouldn't be here if she didn't think that there was at least some chance they could pull this off and a chance was all that they needed.
As the others began to file in Ironforge nodded to them, waiting until everyone had arrived before speaking, giving Lolly a tolerant smile. "It is a bit more complicated then that." He told the goat "But we will hurry as best we can."
Turning his attention to the rest of the gathering Ironforge stamped his hoof to ensure he had their attention before starting. "As you know we have been asked by Lolly here" He motioned to the goat "To rescue her friend Surpeme... apparently she was abducted by an armored mare and taken to a mountain where she has been help hostage for some time. This may very well prove to be a highly dangerous mission - and no one will think ill of you should someone decide not to go. If you are having second thoughts for whatever reason then feel free to leave now." Fixing his eyes on the group Ironforge waited - he did not think that anyone would back out but he wanted to give them the chance.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 7:31 am
Camaria stood silent as the others made their appearance in the grove, including the goat returning with Ironforge's son. There was definitely a strong family resemblance between the two. As Ironforge spoke she took a quick survey of the others, whom she was not entirely familiar with. She had heard about he rainbow stallion but didn't know much about him. He was large and obviously a well trained warrior. The mare was small compared to Kaleidoscope and looked a bit on the young side but that didn't bother Camaria one bit. Heck, she had starting spying on others as a foal, and while it had all started as a game back then, it had grown into a way of life for her.
"You know me Ironforge. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't committed to my part of this mission." If she had thought it too dangerous or not worth her time she would have simply sent Prospector back here and moved on to something else. Her gaze swung to Lolly. "But I need a few more details from you before I can do a proper scouting mission." She knew the essentials but it wasn't enough for her to rush off to the mountain and start exploring.
It didn't take long for Lolly to return to the group with Zhevra. It was a small group, and while Kale had a few doubts about the size of the mission group he knew that sometimes a small team could be more efficient, and let's face it easier to hide, than a larger group that would sweep in and try to win by sheer numbers. But of course they had no idea how many enemies they would be up against and only a very minimal knowledge of the mountain. But that was where Camaria came into the picture. Kale knew of her only from what Ironforge had told him in the past, that she was the most reliable information gatherers he knew and that if anyone could do a job and not get caught it was Camaria.
After Ironforge spoke and Camaria gave her answer Kale voices his opinion. "We cannot let Supreme remain a captive no matter the danger this rescue attempt may put us in. I am committed to it." With luck, and a good deal of planning they might just have a chance of pulling this off. But even with the possibility of failure Kale would see this through, for better or for worse, for that's what a Knight would do.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 7:55 am
"I'm in!" Zhevra spoke up instantly, sure it might be dangerous but he was more then ready to try and prove himself to his father. A little bit of danger had never bothered him and this seemed like a gallant rescue to be a part of - even better it was for a mare, perhaps she would be a beautiful mare and he could sweep her off her feet and return with her to the herd..it was a nice fantasy.
Not to be outdone by Zhevra, the only other student in the gathering Mercy was quick to voice her own agreement. "Me too.!" She had been working hard - doubly hard these last few weeks. She was ready to help..she knew she was, she might not be as experienced as the older stallions but she was willing to listen and learn and she couldn't stand the thought of staying here while that poor mare was still held captive in that dreadful mountain.
The Confirmation's were much as Ironforge had expected, and he nodded to Kale and Camaria before regarding the two younger Soquili with a thoughtful expression. He did not want to attempt this with a large group, They would never be able to gather enough Knights to take the Mountain through numbers alone and so Ironforge had chosen to go a different route..they would be sneaky an tactical.
And he needed someone to stay behind and keep an eye on the herd while he was away. "I'm sorry son." He started off, giving Zhevra an apologetic look "But I'm going to need you to stay here and watch the herd. Mercy..." He studied her for a long moment, making sure of his decision before uttering it. "You can come."
"What?!? She gets to go and I have to stay here! That's not fair! I'm more then ready! I've been training longer then she has!" Zhevra argued, his eyes narrowed, how could his father do this to him? And in front of the group too.
"...I can stay and watch the herd if he wants to go." Mercy offered after a few moments of silence had passed and Zhevra's outburst has been absorbed.
"The very fact that you are arguing with my decision rather then considering the responsability of watching herd is proof enough that my choice was the right one. Length of training does not equate state of readiness." Ironforge stated, with a strong look towards his son. Zhevra might have been training longer but he had never taken the training seriously and Ironforge was well aware that his son was more interested in the glamour of being a Knight rather then the act of doing good for the world. I n time he hoped that would change but for now it was what it was. "You are staying, Mercy is going. End of discussion." And he turned back to the group in dismissal of his son and any further ranting he might do.
"Ask Lolly your questions Camaria, she will answer as best she can." He urged the tan mare with the hopes of getting the meeting back on track.
Lolly had been a bit taken aback by the arguments of Zhevra but at Ironforges behest she had turned her attentions back to the meeting at hand her gaze turning up to the winged mare who was to be thier spy. "Yes..I'll tell you everything that I can" She assured the mare before falling silent to wait for the questions.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 8:10 am
Camaria raised an brow as the two younger Soquili bickered over who got to stay and who got to go. Though the majority of it came from Zhevra, which surprised Camaria, she had always figured Ironforge's son would be a well established knight just like his father, but this display had shown her differently. But Ironforge swiftly put him in his place and moved on to the important task at hand. So her attention turn to the goat.
"I need to know everything. About the mare who took your friend. What you can tell me about the mountain if anything. Do you know anything about the lands, why they took your friend, and who the mare is working for? I know a little about the mountain already but I need to know as much as possible before I can go out myself." Though her duty was to gather information there was always the necessary step of gleaming anything useful about her target before heading out. There was always something to know ahead of time, but the willingness of others to share it was often a greater challenge than doing the mission itself.
Kale was proud of Mercy for volunteering to stay in Zhevra's place instead of going on the mission. He knew Zhevra wanted to go, and part of him wanted to see his mentors son in action, but Zhevra's outburst was proof that the young stallion still had a ways to go. True, Mercy wasn't quite done her training yet, and they would need to be watchful of her to ensure she didn't get into danger because of it, but the fact that she had been putting in a lot of effort into her training lately and taking it seriously showed that she was suited for taking on this mission.
As Camaria began questioning the goat Kale thought quietly to himself, and when the mare was done speaking he adding a question of his own. "What of the herds around the mountain? Do we know if they are allies of this mountain dwellers domain or are they her enemies?" They needed to know if there were be more resistance to the rescue outside of the mountain or if it was simply the mountain and it's inhabitants that they needed to worry about.
Camaria glanced up at Kale and nodded. "Yes, I will need to know that as well. If they are enemies then perhaps I can gain some information from them as well. But if they are allies with those of the mountain then it will make both our missions than much more difficult."
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 9:14 am
Zhevra opened his mouth to reply to his father after the older stallion stated his decision. He wanted to go, and he was ready for it regardless of what his father thought - however he knew his father well enough to know that further arguing in front of the group would only cement his decision and so Zhevra closed his mouth and fell silent although he had a decidedly unhappy look on his face.
It simply wasn't fair that Mercy would be allowed to go and he wasn't, sure someone needed to watch the herd, he got that but it wasn't like there had been any threats lately, one of the other members could handle keeping everything in line for a couple of days. He'd bring it up with his father later on...for now he decided it would be in his best interest to listen to what the goat had to say.
Lolly pursed her lips as she pondered the questions being put to her. "The mare who took my friend looks quite nice, in fact when you first see her you'll probably think she's a Knight, she wears armor and has a pleasant expression, that's how she got Supreme..she acted nice and lost and then Bam! She turned on us and dragged Supreme away..I was lucky to escape. I followed them for a little while - goats can get to places on the mountain that Soquili can't so they couldn't chase me off, there are quite a few rocky pathways and stony dead ends on that mountain, the slaves are all kept in a canyon with only one entrance. I wanted to stay and try to find a way to sneak her out..but they started hurting Supreme every time they saw me so I had to go." It was clear that leaving her friend in such a place grieved the little goat dearly and she took a few moments to regather her thoughts before continuing on.
"Anyways, there are many guards and patrols but most of them are kind of stupid and easy to steer clear of, they tromp about in large groups that are easy to hear coming..the leader is a blue mare with a bunch of spiders on her, she's creepy with glowing eyes, the other two with some influence are green stallion with spikes and the armored mare I spoke of earlier. I don't know why they took Supreme, just for the heck of it I suppose she's not a noble or anything like that..." She paused turning to look at the brightly colored rainbow stallion when he asked a further question.
"I..don't think they are allies by choice?" Lolly finally hazarded "They are under the blue mares control but I think they are afraid of her more then loyal to her."
Ironforge remained silent as Lolly spoke, while he had heard much of this before there were some information tidbits that were new and now that the entire group had been gathered and settled upon he knew what he had to work with in terms of planning.
By the sounds of it, assaulting the mountain itself seemed like a foolish idea, but that did not mean there were other ways..it might just take a little while longer. "And these slaves..do they ever take them out of the canyon?" He asked once Lolly had stopped speaking.
"Oh yes! Once a day they take them in groups to a stream to drink and Supreme and a couple of others are taken to collect herds every couple of days as well." Lolly answered "They are typically guarded by either the green one or the armored one."
"A guard or two is certainly better then trying to force our way into the mountain proper - it sounds like quite a stronghold. I think ambushing one of these creek or herb collecting trips is our best bet unless Camaria uncovers another opportunity while gathering her information. Things might have changed since Lolly was forced to leave."
Mercy shifted her feet restlessly as Ironforge made his final decision, glancing at Zhevra with an apologetic look on her face before turning her attention back to the meeting that was taking place.
When Lolly began to speak of the mountain and it's inhabitants Mercy almost..almost..wish that she had been chosen to stay behind, a green stallion with spikes? A mare who had spiders and this two faced armored mare whom had started this whole mess to begin with. None of them sounded like Soquili that Mercy particularly wanted to met and she unconsciously took a nervous step closer to Kale.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 8:55 am
Camaria listened carefully to Lolly's explanation of the area and the Soquili in and around it, adding it to her own limited knowledge of the mountain as well. She would need to be very careful on this mission, far too many unknown variables even with all the information given today. She took a couple of moments to process this all before speaking. "We can only hope that those herds are only allies in the sense of protecting themselves from that blue mares wrath, if that is the case getting in will be a lot easier not only for myself but for your group as well." If they turned out to be allies by choice then Camaria would need to find a way to get the group in undetected, which would prove difficult since nearly all of them were grounded. Mercy was the only one besides herself that had the advantage of flight, yet there was likely to be winged guards as well so it was something she would need to keep an eye out for.
"I'll see what I can find." She told Ironforge, nodding to his plan of attacking one of the slave trips instead of a full on assault. "Best to get this moving as soon as possible, so unless there is anything else I better get going, it could take me some time to get close enough to get all the information you need."
Kale stood and listened to the conversation choosing not to add anything at the moment. As it stood they were practically going into this blind and were relying on what Lolly had told them and whatever Camaria could find out when she left. It could be far more dangerous than they were all expecting but they would still see their plan through somehow. Seeing Mercy shift nervously a bit closer to him Kale smiled a bit. "You'll be fine." He told her in a quiet tone. She had improved a lot in these last few weeks and he did have faith that she would be okay through this mission. Besides, real life experience was better than training in the settings of the herd any day.
With Camaria looking ready to get going Kale looked over at their informant. "Keep safe. We really appreciate you helping us out." He just hoped she would be able to get in and out safely but also with information they all desperately needed to pull this mission off.
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Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:21 am
Ironforge looked about the gathered group, it seemed that all of the information that was known had been given and all that was left was to see the mare Camaria on her way. "I will see you off." He told the pale mare, intending to work out with her a meeting place as he did so. It wouldn't be to difficult as both of them knew the surrounding landscape quite well. No need to hold the others up for such a detail in any case. Looking towards Mercy and Kale he nodded. "You two were in the midst of training yes? Best get back to it..she will need all the help she can get in this mission...Zhevra why don't you join with them." He suggested with a glance to his son before motioning with his head and leading the pale winged mare off while the rest of the group broke and scattered to their appropriate duties as he went.
FIN
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