//------------------------------// // House of Cards // Story: Death March to Equestria // by Toxicfox //------------------------------// Everfree clearing BlackJack and trixie pull the carriage and the beast cage into the forest back to thier camping spot. "So master how are we going to begin" trixie asks detaching her self from her cart. "Hmm that's a good question, let's see" he says opening his menu, it shows a new tab labeled -Base- upon clicking it a green aura surrounded the campsite and went a few extra feet into the woods on all sides. [ "wow even the base building system is here, that makes things easier"] BlackJack walks to the rear of the camp an cut down trees with his sword, after they land he cuts them into smaller logs Item Acquired: Log ×50 BlackJack scrolled through his items and selected the cabin frame from the menu. Upon clicking on it some of the logs began floating surrounded by his black magical aura and assembled together matching the image in the menu. "Huh, neat so it literally assembles rather than suddenly appearing" he says to himself, BlackJack then looks to the girls who were sitting by a newly made campfire. Trixie was showing clover her card tricks. BlackJack narrows hisneyes and walks to them" Having fun?" he says to them sarcastically. " why yes master trixie was..." she's interrupted by the sight of a pick axe infront of her face "About to get us some stone." BlackJack says handing her the tool. He then turns to clover and hands her a bucket. "Go get us some water." The Girls groan in protest before entering the woods to pursue their tasks, Clover flies over the forest canopy while trixie walks through the woods "hmph why would master Blackjack ask Trixie to gather rocks" she says pouting as she navigates the dark forest dragging the pickaxe with her magic. she happens upon another clearing full of boulders. "*sigh* let's get this over with" trixie say as she begins minning mining rocks. As she finishes with the first boulder she hears the bushes rustle. "Hello?.." she calls with no response. " is some pony out there?" She says taking a few steps back and looking around the area. Before hearing a ferocious growl in the bushes. Trixie begins to shake in fear as continues to step back. Suddenly a trio of Timberwolves leap into view, eyes glowing bright yellow as they slowly approach, flanking the pony on both sides. She begins looking for an escape as her options begin to dwindle suddenly one of the wolves pounces, in her fear she closes her eyes but instead of feeling the painful bite of the timber wolf she only hears a wimper. She opens her eyes to see the shattered remains of the attacking timberwolf gathered around a boulder with the other 2 looking in confusion, Skill used: Shadow substitute Soon she realized she was standing where the boulder had originally been. Soon she realized she was standing where the boulder had originally been. Trixie was surprised at the sight while the wolves turned to her snarling. They begin their charge, Trixie decides to stand her ground hoping that what her master said was true. The wolves draw closer as Trixie charges her magic the light blue aura of her magic begins to darken into a dark Indigo. The wolves leap to pounce on their prey and as their reach the tip of her hat "Rrraaaahhhhh!!!!" Trixie yells unleashing a large blast of dark magic completely vaporizing the wolves. Skill used: Dark Wave Trixie's horn emits dark smoke as she catches her breath. " I...I did it" she says looking at the charred remains of the Timber wolves. "Trrrixie Did it!!!" she yells happily at her victory before collapsing to a sitting pose. " *sigh* combat is hard." Trixie collects herself and resumes her task. after a while Trixie begins walking back to the camp carrying the stone with her magic. she was both tired and excited she already feels stronger and thanks those timber wolves she was finally able to use real magic and defend herself. she was eager to learn more from her master but for now she was happy to bring him the stone he needed for his home. she gleefully smiles as she approaches the perimeter of the camp upon exiting the woods her eyes widen and her jaw drops with the stone. "what the Buck!?" Trixie yells seeing the wall of log palisades towering 10 feet high and the large gate. With a sign at the top that reads -Deck Fort-. she enters through the gate to see not a camp ground but a fully open yard with tilled dirt paths, a decently sized garden, a training area with targets and dummy ponies oddly colored like the princess and mane 6, a large shed that smelled of blood and the biggest eye catcher; A large 3 story building at the back of the area perfectly lined up with the path out of the forest. (pretty much this but with a large spade where the sign is and an extra floor up with a balcony) Blackjack and clover exit the shed, wearing blood covered aprons, " great, now that you know how to skin a beast, your next lesson will be hunting them" blackjack says to clover as he takes off the apron. "Sweet I can't wait" clover says tossing the apron to him and flying to the house "Oh hey your back" he says closing trixies hanging jaw. "*deep breath* Master...may Trixie ask you a question? "shoot" he responds "why did Trixie need to get the stone?" she asks continuing to stare at the wooden mansion "for the foot paths" he says selecting the path options from his menu, the stone floats up and begins to smooth into slabs before assembling on the ground all the way down the exit path. Trixie looked on in comedic disbelief as the slabs set,was all that work and the timber wolf attack really for a foot path? before she can air her grievances Black jack begins walking to the home. "c'mon lets have some Linner" "Linner? what's linner." Trixie asks confused as she follows him "The meal you eat when it's too late for Lunch but still early enough for dinner" Blackjack explains as he opens the door The Main Hall is the size of a Hotel lobby ,there were chairs, couches, a kitchen, tables, a large fire place and numerous games both foraign and familiar to the unicorn and in the center of the main area directly facing the Door resting on an elevated platform, was a large shiny black chair With a lever attached to its side. Trixie was impressed she hasn't seen a cabin this fancy since her visit to the ponecanos. "Wow master how did you do this" she asks looking around the room. "Mmmagic" he says doing jazzhands After placing the food on the table. Grilled boar ham, a large bowl of salad, bread, mashed potatoes, and a small bowl of gems for Clover. They all sit and eat, trixie tells her timber wolf story to Clovers excitement. Meanwhile BlackJack scanned through her skill tree. [Mhm I was right, her affinity is high for dark magic and illusions.] He adds her newly gained points to unlock more branches in her illusion and dexterity tree. Skill Acquired: Sleight of Hand (1) Skill Acquired: Sleight of Hand (2) Skill Acquired: Shadow Step After dinner BlackJack shows the rest of the house to the girls, the second floor is mostly spare rooms for future endeavors and recruits. The third floor had BlackJacks master bedroom and a magic lab/ library. And at the opposite end of the 3rd floor was the girls rooms, clovers was mostly empty save for a bed, a nightstand with gems in a bowl and an empty closet. Trixie's simply had all the stuff from her carriage piled into it. Soon enough night fell and the moon rose. Trixie and Clover have already gone to sleep. BlackJack however was wide awake. " what is this?" He says looking at ponyville through a pair of binoculars. " why does everyone sleep at a such an early hour?" BlackJack says looking at his HUD clock 10:37pm. Blackjack begins walking around the halls of his home before eventually plopping down into his reclining chair. "god these ponies make no sense to me" he says leaning back and facepalming. "*sigh* they just sleep the night away." blackjack reclines the chair and starts combing through his inventory. It's full of the numerous test items for the new patch including the new crafting tools and weapon schematics. " hmm I wonder if.." he selects the Weapon crafting table and gestures his hand to the floor. the with a digital flash the bench assembles covered in tools and other objects. "oh shit it actually worked" Blackjack says surprised as he places his hands on the table. and in an instant the tables crafting menu pops up. "ok looks like I can even use the crafting table UI's, Thank god I thought I was actually gonna have to learn workshopping" Blackjack says relieved before returning the table back to his inventory. while walking back to the stairs black jack has a stroke of genius. and walks to the side of the stairs. and entered his base crafting menu and selected the extra room option. Cost: 100,000 G Having plenty of gold from his character's long bug testing history. Blackjack selected yes and a door formed on the wall under the stairs. Black Jack opened the door to an pitch black empty room, using more gold he purchased lanterns to illuminate the room and used the extra stone to reinforce the walls, floor and ceiling. after finishing he begins to place the numerous crafting tables that were in his inventory. Enchanter Used to enchant weapons and items with magical effects as well as dispel magic items to obtain their enchantment for later use Weapon Workbench Used to craft and enhance melee and ranged weapons, as well as ammunition for ranged weapons. Spell Crafter Used to Create and improve magical spell and curses. Crucible Used to melt ore into metals for crafting Armor Workbench Used to create armor for both players and their beasts Item Crafter Used to craft items such as, jewelry, clothing, and customized decorations Blackjack takes a step back to admire his new workshop, adding chests and racks to house his creations. He always loved crafting in games it always made him feel more immersed and free in even the most...."Bethesda" of games. taking a deep breath he walks to the weapon workbench and removes a schematic title < Stymphailian Bow > and begins working. 12:45 am, Canterlot Castle, Balcony Princess Luna is out for her nightly dream patrol. with 2 of her Lunar guards standing at the door to the balcony. An unlikely guest enters the balcony much to the guards suprise Princess Celestia unable to sleep due to her concern about their alien guest. "Sister, what brings you here so early "Luna says without breaking her concentration. "Were you able to do as I asked?" Celestia asks standing next to her. "Unfortunately not" Luna Responds calmly "What!? How is that possible?" Celestia asked surprised "You asked my to pry his dreams for information sister, that's an impossible request if he isn't aleep" Luna says slightly annoyed. "how could he not be asleep it's the middle of night!!!" Celestia yells confused "Indeed it is Sister, so I suggest you not wake every pony with your screaming" Luna says annoyed Celestia covers her muzzle embarrassed. " ahem fair enough" she says lowering her voice " but what are we supposed to do? Not only are those new creatures appearing all over the land but they come from the same world he does, he must know something about them." "Maybe, but invading his dreams for information is not the way" Luna says exiting the dream realm to face her sister " you must be calm Celestia, If you act too irrationally you may turn him against us and I doubt Equestria will come out unscathed" she says putting a hoof on her sisters shoulder. "*sigh* you right Sister, we'll just have to keep our eyes and ears open" Celestia says calming herself as she hugs her sister "but we should still monitor him, after all he's still an oddity in our world" "just watch him for now." Luna adds as she returns to her dream patrol Celestia nods and exits returning to her room. Even though her sister is right she can't help but feel cautious. these new beasts seem stronger and more deadly than the average creature and blackjack's knowledge of them will be necessary. she has to find a way to get him to reveal more about them and maybe even share more about him, If she can find a way to face both of these threats in the future it will be a great benefit to Equestria.