//------------------------------// // Searching for Diamonds in Ruby Hollow(22) // Story: Embrace the Darkness, Carpe Noctem // by musicman722 //------------------------------// “Steady as she goes.” I commanded. Star Streak nodded and made some course corrections as he navigated the airship through the mountains of Gem Fido like reefs in the ocean shallows. The plan was to come in low and fast, take the entire den by surprise while we attacked. Along with my little projects I built on the way here, they wouldn't know what hit them until it was too late. Damn, it feels good to be me right now. I left the bridge and made my way to the main deck where many of the crew members waited. I was a bit surprised by how many joined officially, granted it was mostly the griffins and diamond dogs but I had a good handful of ponies as well along with both Magnus and Pearl. Honestly, I didn't think most of them would stay, but I'm not complaining. They all waited, scattered about the deck. Most of them peered over the rail to try to get the first glimpse of our destination. Over the past few weeks, I had taken the time to prepare them for this moment, training them in the military knowledge given to me from my brother, and suiting them up for battle. Unfortunately I didn't have all the materials for the designs I wanted, but that will come in time. At least I was able to get SOME of my ideas out. I stepped up to the bow of the ship, watching the mountains pass by, bringing us closer to our destination. As I watched, I heard the clinking of weapon checks and armor being put on. I made a mental check of how much longer from our destination from what I gathered from Star Streak and the prisoners. “Almost there, everyone. Ten minutes ETA.” We passed into a low cloud bank. I signaled the pegasi to scout our path in front of the ship, calling out to let us know where any other mountains were. Flamel came up next to me, “Why are you doing this?” he asked. I glanced at him, “Two reasons. One, I get to loot the place and two, it tells them not to try and take slaves anymore.” “This is foolish.” he said, “Some of them could die. The ones you promised to take home.” “I know,” I countered, “which is why I'm only letting those who officially joined me go down. If they joined, then my promise to protect them until they reach home is null and void, because they are home. Besides, they had the entire trip to train and get suited up for this attack. I can only protect them to such extents with my armor and weapons. It's up to them if they want to survive.” We can always use more cannon fodder. I rolled my eyes, 'Shut up, you.' Flamel grunted as he walked off, “I hope you know what you're doing.” “So do I, Flamel. So do I.” I whispered under my breath. I kept my eye on the clouds parting before the bow of the ship. Almost there. Just as soon as we entered the clouds, we came out in the full glory of- “Mother of god.” I said, witnessing the scene before me. From what I had gathered from the prisoners, Ruby Hollow was a sort of Greek style columns and trenches on the surface with the main den tunnels all underneath the mountain. What I saw was completely different. The entire place was torn up like the asshole kid in the sandbox who destroys the castle you try to build before lighting half of it on fire. There was only one visible entrance to the den though it was partially hidden from the numerous scorch marks on and around it. “What the hell happened?” I asked to no one in particular. “Dragon.” Magnus said, suddenly coming up next to me. Man, I must really be out of it to let him sneak up on me like that. “From the looks of it, it may have been a young adult, if not a full grown one.” He pointed to the side of the mountain at long gouges in the rocky soil and the patches of burnt rock, and rotted bodies, “They must have done something to piss them off for damage that big.” “But why?” I said, facing him. Magnus shrugged but this time Meta answered. I immediately made a mental note to make a life detector for myself later on. “Number of reasons. Could have been a simple dragon raid or they tried to capture one and failed. Some dens are known to pay tributes to dragons for protection or work and they may not have paid their last tribute.” “What do they give for tribute?” I asked. “Depends on the den's Alpha. Some give gems and others give up some of their slaves, regardless of race. Most perform the latter from what I hear.” he said. New Quest: Explore the cave system and search for survivors Challenges: Find 10 survivors- 1500 XP Explore the entire cave system- 750 XP Reward- 3000 XP Accept/Decline 'Seriously, why do they even ask me anymore?' I wondered. Because, legal issues Accept I whistled in amazement. “Damn. Well this changes everything.” I turned to the crew who was waiting and looking at the scene I just saw, “Change of plans.” I shouted, “Jun, Camo, I want you to take the pegasi and griffins into the skies. Half of you on watch duty, half on ferry duty. I don't care how you split it.” They nodded and took off with those under their orders. “Flamel, Meta, and Storm Cloud. I want you three to take all the dogs and any pony who wants to go, down to the ground. Secure the area and await further orders.” The deck burst into a flurry of activity as dogs tossed over ropes to slide down and the ponies used the cargo winches. “Inject Vial!” I shouted. The banana unicorn jumped into the air from fright and scurried over to me. She put a shaky salute, “Y-y-yes?” she stammered nervously. “Get the medic bay up and on standby`. We may have a lot of casualties.” She looked confused, “C-casualties? But wasn't that den taken out by a d-dragon?” “Just because it was attacked doesn't mean there aren't any survivors.” I said, “I know we may be too late, but it doesn't hurt to check. Now get it ready. On the double!” She jumped and zipped off the deck and down the stairs. I searched for the last person I needed. “Flamehoof. Gather what's left of those on board and arm the weapons system. If we encounter hostiles, I want them taken out.” He saluted and led some of the ponies away. I was about finished when I caught Magnus about to jump over the rail. I sped over to him and grabbed his shoulder, “Sorry, Mag, but I'm going to need you to stay up here.” Magnus whipped his head around to glare at me, “What?” he growled. “As much as I would love your help, I don't think that anyone we find will take too kindly to another dragon.” I explained, “I want you up here to watch over Pearl and her friends.” Magnus just grumbled and plodded his way to the lower decks as he called out for his sister. I sighed, 'What am I going to do with him?' I wondered. Keep him on a tighter leash, perhaps? I shook my head and jumped over the rail as I spoke the spell to turn me into a harpy. I glided down to the ground where the dogs and ponies were clustered near the main entrance, weapons bristling. I landed in the center of them, changing to my Dog form a few feet from the ground. Damn I love this spell. “Alright, listen up!” I yelled like how my brother's drill sergeant did, “You've had weeks to train on your own time. I even took the time to teach you all about tactics and how we operate in the field.” That was a slight exaggeration, since it was only second hand training. “Normally, proper training would take a bit longer, but we haven't exactly had time for that. Nonetheless, I believe you can pull off a simple Search and Rescue mission.” I looked each of them in the eyes. I saw dogs and ponies that were either nervous as hell or eager to get into the den. I made a quick count of who all was here. All twenty Dogs, about ten Earth Ponies and same for Unicorns. About forty in total. “Okay, we go in by squads of eight. Each squad will have four dogs and four ponies. If you have to split up, I want one dog to one pony. Never go anywhere alone. Rules of engagement, do not fire unless fired upon.” I split up the group into five squads, making sure that each one was balanced. “Any questions?” A dull maroon Earth pony with a beige mane and tail raised his hoof, “Why are we rescuing these mutts? Aren't they the ones who were going to enslave us?” he said gruffly. A few of the dogs gave brief glares at him. What's up with this racism? I know the zebras were afraid of me and justly so, but at least the ponies had the tact of hiding their fear of me. “Yes, Yes they were,” I said smoothly, giving him a death glare of my own. What was his name? I believe it was Grim Lock from that padlock mark on his flank “But tell me this, Suppose I decided to break every bone in your body for the same reason the dragon who attacked this den did and I left you for dead.” I slowly advanced toward him and he stepped back for every step I took forward, “You're dying and your only hope for life is a potion that a passing diamond dog has. Your life depends on his decision on whether or not you are worthy of his potion.” I remembered some of the horror stories my brother told me of what he saw and did during some of his tours as I got into the pony's personal space. It made me a bit sick, knowing that there were those who would let people die, even killing them personally, because they were different. “So tell me, would you want to be abandoned in your moment of need? When you're broken and bleeding on the ground or dying for drink and food?” The pony shrunk back, his ears flattening as I pressed my face into his. He shook his head slightly, “I thought not. Everyone deserves a chance to live, even those who least deserve it. Now get in there and search for survivors!” The pony jumped and rushed into the cave, the rest of his squad following quickly after him. “That was a bit harsh, don't you think?” Storm Cloud said as she passed me. “I never said I was a nice person.” I replied before striding into the cave. Unicorns were spaced out along the groups, lighting their horns to a dull glow. The light was reflected back by the black burn marks along the walls of the tunnel and the shadows of those around them made for fearsome creatures. It didn't help that there were some bones strewn on the sides and amongst our feet. I turned back to my Base form and sped to the front of the group as I jumped from shadow to shadow. It gave a few of them quite the scare. We followed the tunnel for a few minutes until I opened up into a massive cavern. The light from the unicorns showed multiple tunnels hewn into the rock. Gems embedded into the wall gave off a dull glow as they reflected the light. The entire room reminded me of a honeycomb. Now I know what a bee feels like. “Split up. Use the gem communicators I gave you to report in every ten minutes. Contact the others if you find anything. If you find survivors, bring them up to the surface for the griffins and pegasi to take on board. We'll leave supplies for later when we've gone through everything. Also, if you can, try to find out what the hell happened here. Move out!” Everyone scattered for the tunnels, going in their designated groups. I picked the tunnel that seemed to travel the deepest into the mountain and headed down it, turning on my night vision spell as I did. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another dead end. “Let's turn back.” I ordered before going back up the tunnel with my squad. I was stuck with Meta, Canis, Fallout, and Dirk Arm. We had been Dungeoneering the warren for the past two hours. Clearly we had underestimated the size of this place. From the main entrance, all of us scattered into the various tunnels, but caves tend to have a nasty habit of making a lot of smaller tunnels branching off from the main ones. So far, it's been the forty of us searching an area the size of New York, but underground. Thank god I had a mini map in my HUD. I may have a good sense of direction, but this place was a freaking labyrinth. I wonder if I can find a Minotaur like that one Greek hero did? I floated up to the fork in the tunnel and marked the passage we searched as a dead end and passed through. As I marked it, my communicator crackled to life. Most of the reports were of finding more tunnels and homes, but one stood out. “I think we found the armory to the den.” one of the voices said, “Should we bust it open? Over.” I tapped the gem, “Go ahead. See what's salvageable so we can come back for it later. Feel free to pick a few bits for yourself. Over.” “Roger that, over.” The sound of banging metal came through the GemComm once before cutting off. “How much farther do these tunnels go?” Fallout asked, panting a bit, “Feels like we'll never find anything at this rate.” He was pudgy, bright yellow unicorn with a short, jet black mane and tail and neon green eyes. His mark was the warning symbol for radioactive materials. When I had asked, he said he was good at working with dangerous magic and disposing of it. “We can dig tunnels for miles if we want.” Canis said. Canis was, as I learned from their inseparability, Meta's brother. Unlike Meta, he was a darker shade of grey, almost like a black Labrador. “Worst case scenario, we trek for days without reaching the end.” Seeing the distressed look on the pony's faces, he hastily added, “But I'm sure it's not that bad. It'll probably take all day at most.” “I hope so, I didn't bring any food to eat.” Dirk said rubbing her growling stomach. She was a lean, dull brown earth pony with dirty blond mane and tail, both tied in a braid. Her mark was a pair of crossed daggers, matching those she wore strapped to her shoulders. She and her two sisters were an odd family amongst the ponies, with their marks related to violence. They called themselves “Sisters in Arms”, or something like that. Dirk, like her name, was the smallest of the bunch. The more I learned about these ponies, the more it made me wonder how they got caught in the first place. Meta chuckled, “Too bad pony doesn’t taste good.” The ponies just stared at him with blank looks. “What did he say?” Dirk asked. It was easy to forget that not everyone understood him. “He said you need a smaller stomach.” Canis replied with a straight face. I had to strain to keep mine. Dirk made an “Oh” before registering what he said, “Hey!” she said, frowning. “Come on you guys,” I said with the occasional snicker, “We got a lot more ground to cover.” We descended down the other tunnel. This one was much steeper, making it almost challenging to go down without falling. After half an hour, we made it to the bottom. It opened up into a small cave, slightly smaller than the training room on the ship. It was a bit nondescript as far as caves go, just the occasional gem sticking out or patch of mushrooms growing near the pile of rocks. Of course, there was no further way into the cave. Another dead end. Fallout panted, “Can we-,” he wheezed, “take a break now?” I rolled my eyes, “Fine, but make it quick.” I wanted to get that exploring achievement. “Good,” he said, plopping himself down on the pile of rocks. Dirk trotted over to look at the mushrooms next to him. “Hey, I think these are edible if we cook them right.” She said. “We don’t exactly have a kitchen here.” Canis deadpanned. “Yeah, but I can save them for later.” Dirk grabbed the cluster of mushrooms in her teeth and tugged, “Cmmph mmn, myuo shhtupid planmth.” With a swift , sharp yank, she dislodged the shrooms from their spot. “HA! Tonight! I feast on glory!” she said, waving her prize in the air. He victory was cut short as a small rumble echoed throughout the room. “Dirk,” I said cautiously, “Please tell me that was your stomach.” To my dismay, she shook her head. Suddenly there was a shout as rocks tumbled in the cavern. We all braced for the cave in, but when we opened our eyes, we were surprised by what we saw. Not a single rock had fallen out of place, nor had the floor been disturbed. So what was- “Uh, guys, little help here?” Fallout called out to us. It seemed he was a lot farther away from us and I soon found out why. The pile of rocks he had been sitting on collapsed below him, opening up a new tunnel. Apparently, those mushrooms were the only thing holding them in place. Fallout himself laid half buried under the pile of rubble. “Can't you just magic those rocks off?” Dirk suggested. Fallout face hooved, “Oh yeah.” he pointed his horn at the rocks, but nothing happened more than a few sparks. “Huh?” He tried again and again but with the same result. “What in the name of Celestia is going on?” I crouched down, peering in, “Hmm.” I jumped down and pointed my palm at the rubble, “Terra.” The rocks made little movements, but not enough to remove them from their place. “Huh, that is strange.” Dismissing it for now, I bent down and began to lift the rocks off of him. Soon enough, the others jumped down to help me uncover the trapped pony. Fallout sighed in relief, “For a second there, I thought I was a goner for sure.” he kicked off the last of the rubble and began to rub any sore spots he had. I opened my mouth to make a comment, when I suddenly heard a soft, almost inaudible, purring noise farther down the tunnel. I whipped around and scanned the mouth of the tunnel, but to no avail. “Did you guys just hear that?” “Hear what?” Canis said. “A purring sound, from down the tunnel.” Canis tilted his head towards the tunnel, his ear flicking about trying to catch the smallest sound. “I hear nothing.” he said, “Maybe it was a breeze?” I looked down the newly discovered tunnel. Was it that big before? “Maybe you're right, but I still want to see what's down here. Come on.” I hefted up my rifle and slowly advanced down the pitch black maw into the earth. Achievement Unlocked- Diggy Diggy Hole- gained 100 XP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flamel's POV 'So far, so good.' I thought as I clambered past a pile of rubble and bones. I didn't know what made Gunhaver think that there could possibly be any survivors here. This den has obviously been abandoned for quite some time. “I don't get it,” Storm Cloud, my partner for this mission, said, “How in the blazes does that Shade think we're going to find a single damned survivor in these caves?” She kicked over the pile of bones I passed. “Maybe he sees something we don't?” I suggested. She grumbled, “Well, I don't like this place. It doesn't feel right to me.” “Why? Because it was the den of the diamond dogs who tried to kidnap and enslave you?” “No, well yes, but not really,” She gave me a serious look, “I just got a feeling that something feels...off about this place. Like there's something we're missing and we should get out before it pops out at us.” “So…like a ghost town?” “EXACTLY!” she shouted, pointing her hoof at me. I winced at the noise, theses caves weren't built for acoustics. Storm apologized and we continued our, bound to be fruitless, search of the caves. Eventually, we reached the end of the cave, which was cluttered with even more rubble. Did these dogs have no sense of cleanliness or safety for their own kind, but then again, it had been a long time since dogs had maintained these walls. It was only by Celestia's grace that the entire thing didn't collapse on top of them. Storm Cloud groaned, “I swear by Celestia's white flanks, that if we hit another dead end, I'm going to go back to the ship and get a bite to eat. I'm hungry.” I had to agree with her, this was getting tiresome. What I would do for some gem seasoned meat right now. Maybe I should ask that dog cook for some when we get back? “Let's go find another tunnel.” I said. As we left, I pictured the smell of ruby encrusted chicken in my mind. I blinked and sniffed the air again. Could it be? I got down on all fours and tried to track the scent. Storm Cloud noticed my behavior. “What's wrong?” she said, smirking, “Did Timmy fall down the well?” I glared at her briefly before resuming my hunt. The scent lingered in the air, leaving a tantalizing taste of its source as I followed it back into the cave we just left. Soon, I found myself at the dead end, pawing at a small crevice as big as a newborn pup's fist. Unfortunately, it was more rock than dirt, and despite my heritage, I can’t exactly break through solid rock. However, that was the least of my worries as I thought back to the unicorn with me. 'Should I risk it?' I wondered, 'It could be survivors, but then I'd have to explain how I did it. No, I can't let Gunhaver find out. Not yet at least. What if I-' My train of thought was cut off as Storm Cloud unceremoniously shoved me out of the way. “Let me show you how it's done, ya mutt!” Instantly, she lowered her horn towards the wall and charged her horn. It went from a dull glow to blinding light as lightning arced from it, twittering like a strange bird call. She let the bolt fly towards the wall. My eyes widened and I ducked for cover just as it hit CRACKABOOM! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Gun’s POV “Nocte Oculus” I whispered. That was the third time in half an hour I’ve had to reset my night vision spell. I considered setting up lights along the way but I didn’t want to ruin my night vision or warn anything ahead of our arrival. The others alongside me moved quickly, despite the lack of light. I was glad I could teach the crew a few rudimentary spells to help in various situations like this. Unfortunately, their spells were having worse technical difficulties than mine at the moment. “Gaaahh, dammit.”Dirk said, “Gun, these spells aren’t working. Are you sure those were the right words to say?” I sighed in exasperation, “I’m absolutely sure.” A thought struck me. “But if they continue, Arania Carpe.” I weaved my silk into a sturdy rope, connecting the four of us. “There, now, we’ll stick together better.” Dirk wasn’t pleased. “EWW! That’s disgusting!” she shouted as she tried to remove the offending silk from her body. Although, I think I may have hit her mane by accident. I rolled my eyes and adjusted the silk around her barrel to a more comfortable position before she would be willing to move. We continued our journey down the eerie tunnel. As we moved, there was some tacit agreement made that the further we went, the quieter we had to be to the point where we could hear a pin drop. The darkness of the cave was oppressing at this point, almost like it was inches away from strangling us. Every alcove in the walls seemed to be hiding something that jumped away when we approached, only to return to its spot the moment we passed it. But all of that paled to one disturbing fact, this ominous feeling I had as we moved closer to the end of the tunnel. I felt like I was coming home.