Seems like for the umpteenth time I learn there is a major difference between reading about an adventure, regardless if it is fictional or not, and actually being in one. I'm just glad I'm not the only one here who has a reaction to the arrival at the site of where a massacre took place. I feel like retching when we see pony blood spread about the area and the sight of a single old pony leg just lying in the ground. While the reaction of my companions isn't as severe, they still prove that even professional adventurers aren't immune to normal pony emotions. They just hooffle it better. In this case the Doctor just lowers his head and sighs. Tanon Burrows also lowers his head, closes his eyes, grabs his pith hat off of his head and presses it to his chest with a hoof in a brief moment of memorial.
“This is the jungle alright,” Doctor Smith acknowledges sadly. “I suppose this isn't much of a surprise considering their age and what they were up against, but I still hate to see it.”
“Not much left by the looks of it,” Tanon notes as he replaces his hat to his head. “I can see where each of them have largely been consumed. The thickest pool of blood is in two spots. That is where the creature must've eaten them.”
I perk up as I ask, “Just two?” I look at Tanon with a sense of hope. “Does this mean there could be a survivor?”
“So far it does look like it,” Tanon replies with a shrewd and discerning look as he crouches down and examines the tracks around this area carefully. He's quiet for about nine seconds as he scans about the area before saying, “Looks like the majority of the conflict took place around this area,” he says as he gestures with a hoof to indicate approximately twenty feet radius around us. “They were spread out at first, but the old guards quickly gathered together in one spot for some reason.”
I perk up even further as I recall, “Straight Arrow did tell me that they had some formal training in combat magic. Specifically, he said they could do horn beams and barrier magic.” I squint with a look of uncertainty as I roughly guess, “Maybe they gathered together to join their horn beam attack? Perhaps they discovered they didn't have enough power separately to have any effect on the creature.”
“Or more likely they gathered together to reinforce their barrier magic,” Doctor Smith surmises with a discerning expression. “I'm not too familiar with unicorn magic, being an earth pony myself, but if I had to guess, I'd assume cooperative magic is easier to accomplish if unicorns are gathered in close proximity to each other?” When he finished his question, he gives a lifted eyebrow questioning inflection to Tanon.
In reply, Tanon shrugs a bit as he says, “One would assume so, but don't think the mere fact I'm a unicorn also means I'm educated in the ins and outs of cooperative combat magic.” He looks at the Doctor. “But it makes sense, though. If two unicorns combine their magic to levitate a single couch, for example, it should take approximately half as much effort for each of them. Horn beams and barrier magic might be the same way.
“Anyway,” Tanon looks back at the local ground as he goes on to say, “this is the story the earth is telling us right now. They were spread out then they gathered somewhere in this area. Whatever they tried to do, it did not stall that creature for long.”
“But by the looks of this area, only two of them were consumed,” the Doctor adds with another visual scan about this area. He then shakes his head. “I can't be too sure how hungry that creature was when it arrived, but little ponies would make a paltry meal to a creature that large. I doubt that thing would stop with just the two of them if it had the chance to finish them all off.” He tilts his head and then gives me a questioning and hopeful expression as he asks me, “Was it possible any of them were trained in teleportation magic?”
I shrug as I reply, “Straight Arrow didn't mention that any of them were trained in that spell, but I suppose it's possible.”
“Very few unicorns are trained in that spell,” Tanon cautions. “As far as I know, only well trained wizards tend to cast that spell. These were just retired Royal Canterlot guards.”
“Seems to me the security of the most esteemed estate in Equestria could benefit abundantly with fully trained wizards in their Royal Guard staff,” Doctor Smith figures. “Plus, I know for a fact that some of the most prestigious magic unicorn academies is in Canterlot, so that city has ready access to the greatest supply of such talent. It wouldn't even surprise me if Princess Celestia herself personally sponsored some of them in exchange for some years of service guarding her castle from potential intruders. After all, it would make sense to have some preparation against potentially other wizard trained magical intruders.”
“Shh,” Tanon shushes as he examines the terrain more carefully. At this point he also expands his search radius. Two minutes later he announces, “One of them did escape, at least briefly, in this direction.” He then shakes his head. “Despite the fact that this pony's tracks does skip about fifteen feet, I don't think this one teleported. When this pony landed, he slid along the ground about another eight feet. That pony rose back to his hooves somewhat unsteadily. I can tell because the tracks here are somewhat uneven.” He pauses again as he examines the tracks in this new area more carefully before resuming to announce, “The giant creature did not pursue right away. Too busy munching on his companions for a moment but that didn't take too long. Meanwhile this other pony retreated off to . . .” Tanon trails off as he follows where these tracks take him. As he does so, the two of us follow.
“Take a wide berth around these tracks,” the Doctor advises me as we follow Tanon. “At least for now. Let's not disturb these clues until we're done with them.”
“Gotcha,” I acknowledge before hopping into the air and flapping my wings to hover about fifteen feet off the ground. From that new elevation, I follow the others here.
“Clever girl,” I overhear Doctor Smith quietly mumble under his breath.
“The giant creature did eventually follow the one that retreated,” Tanon reports from ahead of us as he pauses another moment in a new area, examines it carefully, then moves on. “At this point the survivor is alone. This pony kept on going to . . .” he trails off again as he gazes ahead and sees a base of a tree that is partially uplifted, just like the one the rest of us hid under not long ago. The opening under this tree is much smaller, but it could easily fit one pony. The gnarled roots of this tree is partially rubbed off. Even I can see some teeth marks in the upraised roots as if the giant creature attempted to gnaw at this area not long ago.
Upon seeing this, Tanon races ahead for a moment and shines his golden/brown horn brighter, which in this case casts much less illumination than normal simply because of the brownish color. Regardless, he reacts as if he spots something important under the tree. He then quickly looks at us and the Doctor in particular as he announces, “Doctor, come here quick. You have a patient in here.”
“Oh thank God!” Doctor Smith breathes with a sigh of relief then races ahead. I have the same reaction at first until it occurs to me with a wince of confusion, “Thank who?” I look at the Doctor strangely as I wonder who this God person is.
“It's Straight Arrow,” Tanon announces as the Doctor passes him up and crawls under the tree.
“Is he okay?” I ask in anxious concern as I land just by the entrance and exit to this little hiding spot.
“He's alive,” the Doctor announces from within, “though barely conscious. I'll need a few more moments before I can give a more thorough report.”
“It wouldn't take much to injure a pony that old,” Tanon announces grimly. “But at least he's alive. We should count our blessings.”
“How old are these tracks?” I ask Tanon with concern. “Can you tell?”
Before answering, Tanon pauses to examine the area again more carefully. About thirty seconds later he announces, “About twenty to thirty minutes. There is still some saliva on these gnawed roots. It didn't have time to fully dry yet.” He flashes me a narrow-eyed grim look. “Which means the creature might not be far from here. I recommend you patrol the area a bit from above.” He points upward with a hoof. “Use the tree branches as cover. That way, even if you are spotted, you'll have some barrier between you and the creature. If you hide above forty feet, it is unlikely the creature would be able to reach you anyway even if it did spot you.”
“I'm on it,” I reply while casting a final worried look at the little nook under the tree before spinning about and flying off. As requested, I fly off into the branches of the tree and crawl about them in order to explore this area stealthily. Because I am so concerned about spotting that giant creature returning to finish off its little snack, I am shocked to instead spot several other creatures closing in on this area instead. In general configuration, these new creatures vaguely resemble the one that attacked us insofar as they also walk upright on their two hind legs. They also have long tails trailing behind them and extended snouts on their faces. Just like the larger creature, they also have short fore claws, but they also appear a bit longer for some reason. Because of their strong resemblance to what attacked us I, at first, mistake them for baby versions of the creature that attacked us, but then I notice their hide color is more brownish instead of gray, and there are other things about them that set them apart. Curiously, some of them are upholding spears in their fore claws. The tips of those spears are pointing outwards while the back sometimes rests near the shoulder that is holding the spear. They are also closing in on our group in an almost perfect circular pattern between them which demonstrates strong coordination with this group. All of this suggests that, while the creature that attacked us earlier was a dire threat largely because of its gigantic size, these creatures are a threat because they seem to be higher life forms mentally and there is more of them.
For a brief moment I an caught by indecision. There is no way I can get to my companions and warn them to escape fast enough before this new group closes in on us from all sides. If I say nothing, this new group won't spot me, but it also means my companions will have no warning, and these new creatures seem to be approaching with hostile intent. They are trying to sneak in and some of them are doing so with spears at the ready.
Eventually I shake my head as I argue that I need to get over myself. My companions have to be warned, even if that means alerting these new creatures to my presence as well.
Those that approach us actually hesitate for a moment when I glide down to meet up with my companions. I even see them glance at each other in intense surprise. There's even a tiny bit of awe to their reaction as if they just spotted something of religious significance. While I think that reaction is interesting, it doesn't stall me from doing what I have to do.
“Look alive!” I warn my companions as I land nearby them. “The creature that attacked us doesn't seem to be here, but something else, or rather some things else, has taken its place.”
“I'm well aware,” Tanon replies even though it doesn't seem like he is. He's still staring into the cubbyhole under the tree. Now that I've landed close to him, however, I also notice one of his ears aiming back at those who are closing in around us. Upon seeing that detail, a glow of pride lights within me which reveals as a small proud smile outwardly. By Celestia, I love hanging out with true professional adventurers.
“How many of them are there?” Tanon asks me quietly.
“More than a dozen at least,” I report to him. “Fourteen to eighteen I think.”
“Did you catch that, Doctor?” Tanon quietly calls within the tree.
“I did,” Doctor Smith replies, “and I can assure you that this patient is in no medical condition to be moved in a hurry.”
After Doctor Smith says that, he starts to crawl out. While he does that, the other creatures that were closing in on us finally arrive, but not all of them are immediately visible. Apparently some of them held back and are hiding around the base of the tree. Spotting me seems to have changed their tactics somewhat. Maybe they are wondering if any more of us are hiding somewhere, so they decided to hold some of their own members back in preparation for an even further reveal.
Yeah. These creatures are obviously far more intelligent than the first creature we encountered. They are probably even intelligent enough to have their own language with each other.
Closer examination reveals more details that I missed earlier. Their hind legs that they are standing on appears just a bit wider than the large creature proportionate to their overall shape, and for some reason they each have one curved clawed toe that appears it could do a lot of damage to us if they leap upon us. I also notice that their irises are yellowish and their eye pupils are sidewards like a snake or a cat. Some of them also appear to be wearing constructed items like a necklace of teeth or a rounded headgear that has a plume of colorful feathers on it. Now that I'm examining them this closely, there seems to be a tribe-like motif to them in their appearance and mannerisms.
I am also greatly relieved to see that they are not attacking immediately, and for some reason, they are regarding me with a small shade of reverence. They are still holding up their spears cautiously, but they appear really reluctant to attack me in particular. Rather than that, they appear to regard me with both curiosity and even a small shade of hope for some reason.
Then they speak to us in a language we might not be able to mimic let alone understand. There is a lot of growls, gurgles, clicking and hissing sounds to their language. It is also clear to me that these sounds seem far too complex to be just random sounds.
Next, to my utter shock, Doctor Smith nods in understanding and speaks back to these creatures in the same manner they communicated with us.
“You can understand them and speak their language?!” Tanon asks Doctor Smith with intense surprise as well. In response, Doctor Smith simply lifts up a hoof to silence us while he awaits a response from the creatures we are currently engaging.
These creatures appear caught off guard by that fact as well. They glance among each other in a moment of shock before one of them looks back at the Doctor and says more in their curious language, although there appears to be a questioning inflection to this creature's mannerism this time and it is aimed directly at the Doctor. If I had to guess, it probably asked something along the lines of, “You can understand us? Really?”
Doctor Smith nods once in confirmation to whatever question the creature asked and then proceeds to speak again in their native language. Several sentences apparently go by in this manner. During that time, the Doctor gestures among the rest of us once during his apparent explanation of some kind? A little later on he also gestures into the cubbyhole under the tree in a similar way. When he does so, most of the creatures we are engaging spare a quick glance into the cubbyhole before looking back at the Doctor as they listen to the Doctor ramble on further about something or another. While he does that, Tanon and I spare a brief look at each other. When we do so, we both give an innocent and confused shrug at each other. This is a very unexpected development. Natural pony throats does not even seem capable of making some of the sounds the Doctor is making right now. This actually seems so unusual that I'm tempted to call this magical instead.
When Doctor Smith is finally finished explaining whatever it is he was saying, these tribe of creatures appear greatly intrigued by what was said. They spare a moment to turn among themselves and have a private conversation of their own, probably about what Doctor Smith just said.
“Care to fill us in, Doctor?” Tanon requests behind our increasingly mysterious brown earth pony stallion.
“They were wondering what we were doing here,” Doctor Smith explains as he turns to face us, “so I proceeded to give them that explanation with just a bit of modification to our story. They do appear to recognize our species a bit but not at a personal level. We're more like a legend they speak about over a campfire. Something they never expected to actually encounter.”
“But they have heard of us?” Tanon double checks with the Doctor. “If that's true, then we might not be the first ponies to have come here after all.”
“Or they have migrated from some area where we were more common,” Doctor Smith offers with a bit of a half shrug. “I'm not sure yet. I'll need to speak to them further to refine our information.” He nods to them briefly awhile still looking at us as he goes on to say, “While they do not seem to expect us, they at least partially consider this a good omen of some kind except I can sense an edge of caution and almost . . . Well, I guess you can say that, in a way, they are a bit offended by our presence while at the same time amazed. Maybe they consider this territory sacred, or perhaps it is the creature that attacked us that they revere. I'm not sure yet but I have detected a few hints that we did something wrong already.”
“How is it possible that you can speak their language?” I ask Doctor Smith in utter astonishment. “Pony throats don't seem capable of this, and even if we can, where could you possibly learn this? We just arrived at this continent a little over a day ago.”
“I can explain that later,” Doctor Smith replies. “For now we have more pertinent issues here.”
“As unexpected as this is, this situation is quite fortunate,” Tanon announces between us quietly. “They can talk, their willing to talk to us, and one of us is capable of communicating right back at them. If we can secure their cooperation, not only can we avoid a fight with them, but we might be able to secure their help in other ways. They are intelligent locals, which means we could at least win some more information about this local land. I'm sure they are more than willing to educate us about this place if it also means informing us what we did wrong, if anything, and how to avoid offending them again in the future.”
“I agree,” Doctor Smith replies with a nod at Tanon Burrows. “Maybe we can also get their help with our injured friend here.”
“You think he'll make it?” I ask Doctor Smith with worry mixed with hope.
“If he's handled carefully, then yes,” Doctor Smith replies to me. “I suspect that these people have a medicine shaman among their tribe, but considering the way they regard us with a sense of hope, I further suspect there will be a price in exchange for their generosity.”
“Whatever it is, it would also give us more information,” Tanon mentions with a nod. “In the long play, that'll ultimately serve us. If there is a problem in these lands that they want our help with, it would also help us to be aware of it.”
“Has anypony ever told you how weird you are, Doctor?” I ask Doctor Smith with a perplexed face. “At this point I'm starting to wonder if you're an alien or something.”
In response, Doctor Smith gives an amused and cunning grin as he says, “Oh trust me, I get that a lot.”