Realm of the Lost

by Orsuros

Chapter 4: The Shadow Mountains

Smolder could feel something pulling her toward the light, but she flapped her wings to try and fight it. All her friends had vanished, but she’d keep fighting. She was able to slow herself down, but the magic kept pulling her down. She was pulled past the light. The portal closed above her before she could try to fly back into it.

Swirling winds caught her wings and almost threw her into a mountainside. She tucked and flapped to counter them and landed gently on a plateau. Dark mists and clouds covered the mountains, so Smolder couldn’t see far, but she almost couldn’t believe what she could see.

A huge fortress filled the center of the plateau. It looked like it had been partially built and partially carved out of the mountain rocks. It was all sharp edges. Some pony-like figures were on the ramparts. They looked down at Smolder before turning into smoke and floating down toward Smolder. The closer they got, the more she could see their nightmarish features, skull-like with eyes glowing red in the dark.

They didn’t look friendly, and Smolder wasn’t about to find out the hard way whether they’d attack her. She stuck out her tongue before twisting around.

“Catch me if you can, losers!”

Smolder took off and was happy to see that they couldn’t keep up. She flew off into the howling winds and fog surrounding the plateau. She couldn’t see any good landmarks, and the mountains all looked the same. Even if the fortress wasn’t safe, it was still her best chance at finding some clue to what was going on. Smolder looped back around after she made sure nothing was following her.

She landed on a tower of the fortress after making sure it was clear. She could see a group of the creatures gathered below. Smolder’s heart raced as they suddenly turned, but she heard two voices down below and decided those had drawn their attention.

“A dragon? Here?”

The deep masculine voice came from a large shadowy figure in the shape of an alicorn stallion. Beside it, a slender and feminine shadow of an alicorn walked with more elegance.

“It couldn’t have been one of Scriptus’s kobolds. They’d never make it this far, and it had wings. Maybe it was tied to that magic we both felt. Keep searching, umbrum. Something came here from Equestria. I want it found.”

The shadow stamped her hooves and cracked the stone. The two leaders turned to go back inside the fortress while the other spirits spread out in pairs. Smolder briefly thought about attacking the two leaders. She was tough, but fighting so many seemed like the wrong approach. Instead, she’d sneak around and figure out what was going on.

Smolder found a set of stairs that led down from the tower. She stepped slowly and tried to curl her toes up to keep her claws from scraping and clacking on the stone floor. The stairway was dim, but it ended in a hallway lit by flickering blue torches. Smolder’s claws tapped loudly as she misjudged a step.

A shadowy form billowed out of the darkness. Smolder tried to swipe at it, but her claws went right through it. The creature’s hooves solidified a moment later and gave her a sharp kick in the side. The pain was enough to make Smolder angry. She could feel the flame inside before she let it out. The creature shrieked in pain. It tried to flee, but Smolder wasn’t going to let it blow her cover. The bright fire charred the umbrum until it collapsed on the floor.

(Smolder loses 2 stamina in the fight.)

After all the fire, smoke, and noise, Smolder felt wound like a spring. She kept listening for anything else approaching, but after a few minutes of hiding around a corner, nothing came. Smolder slinked down the hallway to see what else she could find. The hallway led to another room, and she saw two ornate doors along with a huge stairway going down to the lower levels of the fortress. One of the two doors was made of glistening onyx. The other was made of a mix of onyx and purple gems. That one seemed more promising.

Smolder tried the door, and it was unlocked. None of the creatures were inside, either. A large table had stacks of papers, but what drew Smolder’s eye immediately was the set of armor on display in the corner. It was a deep bluish color that seemed to shimmer in the dark. A crescent moon adorned the center of the breastplate.

“Nightmare Moon’s armor?”

Smolder whispered to herself as she ran a claw down it. She could feel the magic in it, almost as if it was calling to her. The magic was dark and powerful. It overwhelmed the sense of protection that Smolder had felt inside, but it promised a magic that might be just as powerful. Smolder’s tongue flicked out as she imagined herself triumphant over her enemies with this armor.

She hadn’t noticed grabbing the armor with both hands. She let it go and took a step back. Nightmare Moon had been powerful, and she had beat Celestia before Twilight and her friends had used the Elements of Harmony on her. Luna was back in Equestria. Smolder was sure of that. Maybe Luna had banished the armor here because she hadn’t wanted the temptation to use it? And if Luna didn’t want it, Smolder could have it.

Smolder shook her head. She was supposed to find her friends, and this armor was distracting her. But it could also be a great help in finding them if she had to fight more creatures like the ones outside. She wasn’t afraid of a little dark magic. A tough dragon like her could handle it.

1. Take the armor.
2. Search for a way out of the fortress.
3. Search the other room.

Author's Note:

Voting closed for this chapter.
Or feel free to leave an alternate suggestion in the comments. If I see any great ones, I might use them instead.

Character sheets and story notes here.

And here's the behind the curtains rolls/events:

!mythic ask 3 Does Smolder arrive in the center of the mountains?
Does Smolder arrive in the center of the mountains?
Yes

!mythic ask 4 Does she try to fight?
Does she try to fight?
No

!mythic ask 4 Does she try to run?
Does she try to run?

!mythic ask 3 Does Smolder get lost and make no progress on escaping?
Does Smolder get lost and make no progress on escaping?
Yes

!mythic ask 6 Does Smolder wait and try to attack their leaders?
Does Smolder wait and try to attack their leaders?
No

!mythic ask 4 Does Smolder try to sneak into their fortress to find something that can help her?
Does Smolder try to sneak into their fortress to find something that can help her?
Yes

Body !1d8
Body 3

Smolder is noticed and tries to take out the sentry
Combat results: enemy defeated after trying to run, Smolder loses 2 stamina and keeps the enemy from escaping.

!mythic ask 2 Does the fight attract attention?
Does the fight attract attention?
No

!mythic ask 6 Does Smolder find something like a map?
Does Smolder find something like a map?
No

!mythic ask 6 Does Smolder find something historical?
Does Smolder find something historical?
Yes
I was surprised that Smolder wasn't noticed after the fight. She also had some fun rolls that took her down different paths than expected.

Comments

[omegasnowfall]

......................................................

ok :)

[Yoshifan30]

Maybe there's a reason why Luna didn't went that armor