//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: A Prisoner for Curiosity // Story: The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM // by FireOfTheNorth //------------------------------// Chapter VII: A Prisoner for Curiosity “Nopony escapes from Doompit Mine!” I awoke with a pounding pain in my head. Opening my eyes revealed the inside of a burlap bag. Fighting through my head pain, I focused enough to pull the sack off with my magic. I gritted my teeth in pain as the dried blood on my forehead held it in place, but forced myself to pull it all the way off. A slight trickle of fresh blood ran down my face, but I could see again. I immediately regretted taking off the bag. By the dim light of poorly-made torches, I could see I was lying on the stone floor of a tunnel. Metal bars cut off the tunnel in the direction I was looking, and rolling over showed me the same thing on the other side. Echoing off the walls, I could hear the sound of pickaxes cutting into the stone. How had I gotten here? Blurrily, recollection of the events the night before came to me. Breaking into the Hall of Records. Discovering the Hall of Forbidden Records. The Marekarth Treaty. And finally, the guard pony knocking me out. But this place didn’t look like a prison. At least, not like the prison in Kvatch. “Get up, prisoner!” an earth pony mare in Marekarth guard armor said as she opened the door behind me. I tried to push myself to my hooves, but apparently I wasn’t fast enough. The guard kicked me in the ribs, causing me to go sprawling again. I tried to get up again with the same result. My third try I was successful in getting up before she kicked me again. I stood and faced her, letting my contempt show. It appeared I was in some sort of prison. She had called me a prisoner, at least. And all my possessions had been taken from me. My weapons, my armor, my saddlebags, my potions, all gone. Now I had nothing, not even any clothes on my back. “What is this place?” I asked, trying to stay alert in case she kicked at me again. “You’re in Doompit Mine,” she mocked, “Where Marekarth’s prisoners mine silver until their sentence is up, or they die of exhaustion. In your case, I’m betting on the latter, since you’re sentence is for life.” “What?” I exclaimed. “That’s right,” the guard laughed, “You’re going to be here forever.” I stood frozen in shock as I saw my life crumbling around me. In prison mining silver forever. This wasn’t at all what I set out to do when I left Unicornica. “Hey, it’s not like you had somewhere else to be blank flank!” the guard mocked. I turned to her with rage in my eyes. “Now get to work,” she said, throwing a pickaxe at me, “Your sentence starts now.” ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ By the end of the day I was extremely tired and sore. Muscles I didn’t even know I had screamed out with aches and pains. I was too tired to do anything but fall heavily onto the thin bedroll provided for me and close my eyes. My life was in shambles. I had gone from a respected hero to a prisoner in less than a day. Now I had to mine silver for Marekarth until I died. And based on the state of my body after just one day, it wouldn’t take long. At least the guards had left me alone after sending me into the mines. And the prisoners didn’t seem inclined to beat me to a pulp either. In fact, they didn’t seem like hardened criminals at all. About half of them were ponies, with an out of the ordinary sprinkling of unicorns and pegasi thrown in. The other half of the prisoners were goats, no doubt captured in raids on Cloven Hoof camps. Everyone went about their business as if there were no barriers between the races. None of the guards were willing to come down among us prisoners, so an ugly buck with a scar across his face, a fellow prisoner, was in charge of making sure everyone worked. But I noticed that he took it a little easier on a few of the prisoners, his friends probably. As I lay on my bedroll, pondering the day, my new life, and trying to ignore the aches and pains, I suddenly became aware that the background chatter of my fellow prisoners had gone silent. I didn’t even have time to open my eyes before I received a sharp kick in the ribs. “Get up,” I heard the voice of the guard who had mocked me in the morning. I stood up to find her sword held menacingly over me. Two other guards held out swords to keep the other prisoners back. “What do you want with me?” I asked, my voice catching in my throat. “Follow me,” she said, sheathing her sword. Obediently, I followed, acutely aware of the swords pointed at me. The guards led me out of the tunnels of the mine and into the crisp, cool air of the Horizon night. I looked longingly down through the city toward the gate. If I got a running start, I wondered if I could make it and disappear into the wilderness. But I would still be weaponless, and the guards weren’t giving me any opportunities to escape. Soon, I found myself in front of the doors to the Marekarth palace. The guards led me inside and through the winding hallways until they herded me into an unmarked room, shutting the door behind me. I appeared to be alone so I took a moment to look around. Of all the rooms in Marekarth’s palace, other than the great hall, this room was the most exquisitely decorated. A king-sized bed obviously added after ponies moved in dominated the room and a shield bearing Marekarth’s seal hung over it. I was starting to get a bad feeling about where I was. My fears were confirmed as the door on the other side of the room swung open. Jarl Glamus strode into his bedchamber, staring me down as he took a seat next to a writing desk. “Come now, take a seat,” he said, motioning toward a nearby chair, “No need to live like savages.” Showing my contempt, I fell into a nearby chair. “So, how are you liking your stay in Doompit Mine?” he asked. I refused to answer, keeping my muzzle clamped shut. “Giving me the silent treatment, eh?” he said, “Very well, just listen then.” “Now, you probably think I’m in the wrong after reading that dusty old document, but I assure you I’m not. This land belongs to ponies. All ponies, including unicorns like yourself. The Alicorn Empire proved that. All of the Northlands was united under a pony banner, and the land had peace.” “But now these upstart races want to take back land given to ponies by the Equines, who I might add, are all ponies. Zebras, Griffins, Goats. They all think they can rule themselves, but time is only proving they cannot. The Zebra homeland of Darkpass, after it left the Empire, has been torn apart by civil war and it’s crumbling into chaos. The Griffins have only a floating city built ages ago and scattered tribal strongholds to call home. And the Goats, they live like savages in tribal camps and raid the homes of us civilized ponies. No, only ponies deserve to rule.” “The Treaty of Marekarth was never meant to be followed. I know that, my father knew it, and his father knew it. And he signed the treaty himself! Ponies must rule, and the lesser races must follow. The real crime was giving the goats the illusion that they could have the land in the first place. But most ponies don’t see it that way. So the truth had to be covered up, for the good of all.” “I never wanted to send you to Doompit Mine, Sapphire. You’re something special, a pony who can overcome any odds if you put your mind to it. But you forced my hoof by unearthing those documents.” “So, I can go if I don’t tell anypony about them?” I piped up. “It’s hardly that simple anymore,” he replied, “I’ll have to trust you, and you’ve already betrayed my trust once by looking for those documents in the first place.” “So, what? You called me here to tell me you’re sorry about dooming me to mine until I die, but there’s nothing you’re willing to do about it!” “No, I came to offer you a path out.” “Go on,” I said, crossing my stiff and sore forelegs. “As I see it,” he said, “You have two options.” “Door number one: You stay in Doompit Mine and continue to unearth silver until you either die of exhaustion or old age.” “Door number two: You help me find out where the Cloven Hoof’s main settlement is.” The sick jerk. He knew he had me boxed in. Of course I would have to pick the latter option. Anything beat going back down into the mines to die. “How am I supposed to do that?” I asked. “I happen to have a very special goat as my prisoner in Doompit Mine. Ivon Strong-horn, King of the Cloven Hoof. And he’s planning a breakout.” “How do you know this?” “My court wizard has become extremely skilled at using a spell to hear through walls. It’s how we found you in the Hall of Records, after all.” “Anyway, he plans to escape, though I’m not quite sure how. Whatever way he chooses, he’ll surely head straight back to his capital. I need you to get in with him, close enough that he’ll agree to let you escape with him. Then, once you’ve found out where his main base is, send me a message and I’ll respond accordingly.” “When you’re done, I’ll pardon you of all crimes and your possessions will be returned to you, along with a hefty reward. What do you say? Are you in?” It didn’t seem like I had much choice in the matter, but I made a show of thinking it over anyway, just to aggravate the Jarl. “All right, I’m in,” I said. ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ In the Jarl’s quarters, agreeing to help had seemed the best course of action. But, back in Doompit Mine, I realized I had no idea how to get close to the King of the Cloven Hoof. None of the other prisoners seemed to know anything about where he was being kept, and if they did, they weren’t willing to share the information with me. I tried to strike up friendships with some of the Cloven Hoof prisoners, but all I gained were annoyed bleats and orders from the mine overseer to talk less and work more. So I put my back into mining silver to be sent across the Empire, the buyers never realizing how it had been obtained. The work was no less exhausting than the day before, in fact even more so. But I was too sore and numb to notice as much. And I had a hope, however how slim, of escape. A whole day passed of work in the mines and I was still no closer to the Cloven Hoof’s leader, or to escape. Another day passed in much the same way. My quest was starting to seem impossible as I lay down to sleep. If the Cloven Hoof was planning an escape, surely they would be prepared to leave extremely soon. And if I didn’t get in on it before it happened, I would be stuck mining silver for the rest of my life. A gruff grunt broke me out of my shallow slumber. I looked up to see the scarred mine overseer standing over me. Instinctively, I reached for my pickaxe with my magic. It wasn’t technically a weapon, but could be used for defense in a pinch. “Come with me,” he grunted. Intrigued, I followed him as he turned away, keeping my pickaxe handy in case it was a trap. Most of the other prisoners were asleep as we walked through the sleeping quarters, but the few that were awake didn’t seem surprised by my departure, they just followed me with weary eyes as I exited the cavern. The buck led me through the winding tunnels until we were back in the central cavern, in front of a rusted gate in the wall he spent a large portion of the day standing in front of. Pulling a key from a hiding place in the wall, he unlatched the gate and swung it open, motioning for me to walk in. I felt uncomfortable heading down a strange pathway alone with this imposing buck who could easily overpower me. Except that I had a secret weapon he didn’t know about. Confident I could fend him off with my Shout, I headed into the tunnel. The tunnel seemed to be barely used, yet fresh, bright torches burned at regular intervals. Finally, past a sharp bend, the tunnel ended abruptly with a small cavern. Behind a writing desk sat a goat with larger than usual horns that curved around the back of his head. Around him were four other goats, and one unicorn like myself. “Thank you, Malcius,” the goat behind the desk said, “You may go now.” As the buck next to me turned and left, my heart began to lift as the realization hit me. I had found Ivon Strong-horn! All my questioning had paid off, I was finally in the same room as the Cloven Hoof’s leader. Now I just had to earn his trust and escape. “Sapphire, correct?” Ivon asked, fixing me with his stare. I nodded that he was correct. “You’ve been extremely friendly to my subjects here, and I hear extremely inquisitive about the Cloven Hoof outside of the mines. So I’ll just come to the point. What is your interest in the Cloven Hoof?” “Can I join?” I asked, trying to keep my desperation from showing, and beneath it, the scheme to trick him. “One does not simply join the Cloven Hoof. It represents the many scattered goat clans who have been abused by ponykind for generations and are ready to strike back. But, I believe you may be able to help us. And one day, maybe you can be folded into the honorary herd like Topaz here.” He motioned to the unicorn standing beside him. “He provided us with a plan for escape, and I believe you can help us with the means.” “How?” I asked. “If you are willing,” he said, pulling out a pitch black phial, “I need you to poison the guard captain tomorrow night. It will ascertain we will not be impeded in our bid for escape.” “How are we going to escape?” I asked, making sure he knew I wasn’t going to be left out of the jailbreak. “Don’t worry about it,” Ivon said, “Poison the guard and return here when you’re finished. Will you do it?” In reply, I took the phial from him with my magic. ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ The next day passed swiftly as I looked forward to the escape that night. I was only in my bedroll for a few minutes before I got up to poison the prison guard. Creeping through the abandoned tunnels, I finally found myself in front of the bars I had woken up behind just a few days before. It gave me a sick satisfaction to see the guard on duty tonight was the same one that had beaten me when I’d first entered the mine. I hovered the phial of poison through the bars and over to her table. I managed to finish pouring the poison into her tankard of mead moments before she picked it up and took a drink. The moment she slumped over in her chair I took off galloping as fast as I could to let Ivon know the deed was done. “Excellent,” the Cloven Hoof’s leader said after my report, “Round up all those loyal to us. We escape tonight!” A few minutes later, a disorderly collection of goats and a few ponies filled Ivon Strong-horn’s cavern. Clearing his throat, he jumped on top of his desk with a nimble grace and addressed the assembly before him. “All of you may be here in Doompit Mine for different reasons,” he began, “But you all want the same thing. Justice! The ponies of Marekarth have mistreated each and every one of you! The Cloven Hoof seeks to put them straight. And if they think they can contain us here, they are wrong! No one has ever escaped from Doompit Mine before. That all changes tonight!” Jumping off of his desk, he grabbed a heavy hammer for smashing open rocks and slammed it into a wall Topaz had marked. With the sound of falling stone, the wall gave way to a dark, smooth-walled passage. “This is our chance!” Ivon yelled, grabbing a torch and charging into the tunnel. I found myself pushed along in the mass of bodies and swept into the tunnel. The darkness suddenly vanished as lights burst up on their own within crystals mounted on the walls. Steam hissed from bronze pipes stretching along the walls and the clanking of machinery emanated from the depths of the passage. The ever-present bronze-work and the higher than usual ceilings led me to believe we were in another part of the Minotaur city that Marekarth was built in. I soon found myself pushed up to the front, trotting along next to Topaz. “What is this place?” I asked him. “The Minotauran city of Nuzel-zum,” he replied, “Marekarth is only built on the outworks. The majority of the city stretches deep into the mountains. As an expert in Minotauran culture and ruins, I chose these to explore. But some of my discoveries caused the Jarl alarm, and he had me thrown into Doompit Mine, to keep my discoveries from leaking out.” “Like what?” I asked. “That the automated defenses the minotaurs left in this city are still very much active.” Up ahead, a grated section of the wall lifted up. “Speaking of which . . .” Topaz commented. Out of the new opening in the wall rolled the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen. A bronze sphere let the automaton make contact with the ground and move freely. Mounted atop the sphere was a thick bronze post leading up to a smaller, gem-studded sphere. Protruding from the main post were two spindly posts that acted as arms and ended in sharpened bronze blades. The gems flashing a variety of colors that made the machine look angry, it rolled forward toward Ivon, its blades spinning menacingly. As the Minotauran automaton neared him, he ducked his head down and rammed the lower sphere with his formidable horns. The sound of bending metal filled the air as the lower sphere crumpled under his attack. But the machine wasn’t dead yet (if machines even could die.) It aimed a swing with one of its sword-arms at the back of Ivon’s exposed neck. Levitating the pickaxe I now wore as a makeshift weapon, I blocked the automaton’s swing, twisting its arm out of shape. As the blade of the sword-arm fell to the floor, I smashed the end of the pick into the thing’s “head”, shattering the array of gems that served as eyes. Giving a metallic groan and hissing steam, it toppled over into a wreck on the floor. “Thanks,” Ivon said as I retrieved the automaton’s sword to use as a weapon, “I guess we’d better watch out for these things.” Around the next corner, two more of the automatons were patrolling. But, they hadn’t seemed to have noticed us yet. A blast of lightning from my horn changed all that. The lightning strike shattered the gemstone “eyes” of one and it fell to the floor, leaking steam. The other one was not happy (if these things even had feelings) to see its partner dead. It rolled full speed at us, spinning its blades. I blasted it with fire moments before it smashed into my scavenged sword. Sliding backwards from the force of its blow, I held my block and pushed back. Then, suddenly, I released, throwing the machine off balance. As it tried to compensate, I smashed my sword into the back of its head. Steam poured through the bent and out of place seams, but the automaton still swung around on me. As I blocked its first swing, I saw Ivon charging out of the corner of my eye. He slammed into the machine’s base just as I blocked its other sword. It desperately tried to spin itself away in time, but eventually failed and fell to the ground. Ivon smashed his cloven hoof into the array of gems, shattering them and crushing the automaton’s head. A sad whistle escaped from the machine, but the light in the gems died, signaling its demise. Levitating my Minotauran sword, I continued deeper into the ruin. Topaz would point out what passage to go down intermittently. Some of the goats and ponies had started picking up discarded Minotauran weapons to defend themselves. They came in handy when the ambush fell upon us in a grand cavern. Ten of the ancient machines came pouring from holes in the walls, five on each side. I held my sword ready and easily blocked the first strike that came at me. The second, however, bypassed my block and nicked me across the flank. The sensation of blood dripping down my leg empowered me to smash in the face of my attacker. Small pieces of diamond fell to the floor as the machine met its end. I cast a quick healing spell to seal my wound and turned to look for a new adversary. One of the automatons was attempting to attack a group of unarmed goats not too far away. I shot a lightning bolt in its direction, but it didn’t destroy it like the one in the passageway before. However, it did temporarily stun the machine long enough for the goats to ram it into a mess of twisted bronze. Nearby, Ivon rammed another automaton into submission, finishing it off with a scavenged blade held in his mouth. Hissing steam, another of the machines moved away from a group of goats it had slaughtered and came towards me. I shot a gout of flame at it, which seemed to do little more than cause more steam to escape the machine. I ducked down and slid under its spinning blades as it charged me. Spinning my blade around, I stabbed it into the mechanism controlling the arms. With a flash of sparks, they ground to a halt and the machine was thrown off balance. It quickly regained control and spun around at me. As it swung a blade at me, I smashed my sword into its arm just above the blade. The metal twisted and the blade fell to the floor, but it continued to swing its other weapon around at me. I ducked down and the blade sliced over my head, just above my horn. I shot lightning up at it as it passed over. The arm locked up as lightning arced over it. Rising and levitating my blade above my head, I slammed it down on the machine’s head. Bronze bent and gems shattered as the brains of the machine split in half. Wires and a particularly large crystal spilled out onto the ground. Almost immediately after I succeeded in destroying the machine, a second one came wheeling toward me. Snatching up another fallen sword, I blocked both of the automaton’s blades. I blocked as it swung again, then again. I was too busy blocking to get a strike in myself. Eventually, my guard slipped and one of my blades was knocked from my magical grasp. Even before it hit the polished stone floor, I shot the automaton full on in the face with a blast of lightning. It sputtered and sparked before losing its balance and falling over in a heap. The last Minotauran automaton was overwhelmed by a group of goats and ponies and the great hall became silent except for the hissing of steam and the clanking of machinery. Quite a few goats and ponies had fallen to the mechanical attack, but a significant amount remained standing and ready to continue. “How much farther, Topaz?” Ivon asked, limping up to the caramel unicorn. “Not too far,” he assured the Cloven Hoof king distractedly as he leaned over the automaton with the smashed open head. “As suspected,” he said, lifting the oversized crystal that had been at the center of the machine’s mind, “They run on soul gems. But how?” “Focus, Topaz,” Ivon said as I healed the cut on his leg, “Which way?” “Of course,” he said, snapping out of his meditations and tucking the soul gem away in his saddlebags, “The exterior exit should be just a few chambers down.” He took off down one of the multiple passageways leading off of the main hall. Ivon followed him, I followed Ivon, and the rest of the Cloven Hoof supporters followed me. Through the twisting, turning passages Topaz seemed always certain of where he was going, even though I was lost in minutes. Eventually we passed through all the rooms with walls covered in bronze-work and bronze piping and came to a large entrance foyer. A double staircase with handrails designed for bipeds curved down toward a grand set of bronze doors. A few goats and ponies charged ahead, sensing freedom was close. As the base of the steps, a cacophony of grinding metal and hissing steam erupted from between the stairs. A massive automaton stood up on twin bronze legs covered in gears and piping. The legs supported an overlarge upper body that sprouted two sturdy arms that ended in bladed hands and had crossbows mounted to the forearms. Atop the body was a bronze head fashioned in the shape of a Minotaur’s face, with glowing rubies for eyes and twin steam pipes for horns. Letting off a blast of steam, the machine took a step out of its hiding place and fired crossbow bolts the size of pony legs into the eager escapees. Its bladed hands grasped at the screaming, backpedaling Cloven Hoof members who were next down the stairs. Several were torn apart by the powerful claws, but the rest managed to retreat to the top of the stairs where Ivon was rallying his troops. From the top of the stairs, I fired a lightning bolt at the machine’s head. It struck straight on and lightning skittered over the Minotauran mask, but the automaton seemed unfazed. I sent another blast at it as it turned and made to ascend the steps. The bronze on the faceplate tarnished and one of the ruby eyes shattered, but it kept coming. I ducked down as a crossbow bolt shot over my head, smashing into the ornate bronze-work the Minotaurs had placed on the walls centuries before. Just when I thought I was safe, another bolt smashed through the railing I was hiding behind, spearing the goat cowering next to me. I rolled aside as a bolt smashed through where I was hiding a moment before. The automaton was now nearly halfway up the stairs, taking steady and cautious steps. But now I was completely exposed, with nowhere to hide. I pulled an ornamental Minotauran shield from its place on the wall and held it up just in time to reflect the machine’s deadly bolt. The shield vibrated and threatened to fall from my magical grasp, but held true. I deflected another two bolts, holding the overlarge shield between myself and the automaton. As it paused at the top of the stairs, I took a risk and threw the shield at the machine’s face. It bounced off the horns, twisting one out of place, but managed to stun the thing momentarily. It was far from dead, but I wasn’t finished. The force of my shout pushed the automaton over the lip of the top step. Comically, it fell backwards, unable to stop its tumble down the stairs. Gears and bits of bronze bounced off as the machine fell to the bottom. Retrieving my shield, I held it up to block before the automaton stood back up. Several crossbow bolts went flying my way, but I blocked them easily. In my mind, I could feel my knowledge of FUS beginning to form back together. I only needed a few moments more. Without warning, the automaton opened up its chest and shot a blast of fire at me. I was taken unaware, and the flames scorched the ends of my mane and tail. But luckily I was far enough away that no harm was done to my flesh. I noticed my throw with the shield had pinched one of the steam horns shut and the other was belching even more steam to compensate. The huffing of steam came irregularly and the machine moved a little more irregularly, so I figured something had broken inside of it. Either that, or cutting off the release of steam was doing irreparable harm to its interior. I decided to test my theory by throwing my shield at the automaton before jumping aside to avoid the flurry of crossbow bolts. But, I was saddened to see that, instead of striking the machine’s other horn, it caught the shield in midair. Tossing the shield aside, it started back up the stairs. Unfortunately, this time it wasn’t going to give me an opportunity to knock it back down. Crossbow bolt came continuously my way, giving me no chance to Shout it. As it reached the top of the stairs, it opened its chest to fry the remaining Cloven Hoof assembled above the staircases. Out of nowhere, Ivon rammed into the back of the automaton’s leg, twisting it out of shape and causing it to lose its balance. “Now, Sapphire!” he yelled before jumping aside. The automaton once again stumbled falling down the stairs. It grasped feebly at the handrail, tearing it apart as it fell. By the time it halted its fall at the stairs’ base, I was already closing in on the mech. As it rose up, I jumped onto its back, bracing my hooves on the intricate pipe-work. Pulling out my sword, I stabbed it into the machine’s neck. Steam hissed and metal snapped, but the automaton seemed unaffected. It did, however, notice something was wrong and began flailing wildly as it attempted to throw me off. As I pulled my sword back to slam into its head, I was forced to hold on for my life, and the sword flew out of my magical grasp. All I had now were my hooves, my magic, and my Shout. I directed a blast of fire at the intact steam horn, melting it closed. A steam cloud hissed out from the machine and the metal casing began to grow hot to the touch. It locked up as pressure built inside of it. Bracing myself on pipes that were rapidly heating up, I Shouted straight at the back of the automaton’s head. The head snapped off and a geyser of steam shot up, nearly scalding me. I was forced to jump off as the machine toppled to the ground. Rolling to soften the fall, I landed near the shield I had picked up earlier. Levitating it to examine the condition, I strapped it to my back. “That was amazing!” Topaz rushed up, congratulating me on my victory over the monstrosity, “I don’t know of anypony who’s taken down a Minotauran death-clanker before!” “Well done,” Ivon said, stretching out and smiling, “The Cloven Hoof can always use a fighter like you. Would you accompany us home?” I could barely contain my excitement. The leader of the Cloven Hoof was asking me personally to come with him. Everything was working out perfectly. I tried to push the thoughts of what had to come next far from my mind. “I’d love to,” I said. Without another word, Ivon pushed open the grand doors to reveal a mountain pass stretching off into the night. I was on my way. Level Up Health: 130 Stamina: 120 Magicka: 120 New Perk: Honeyed Words [Speech] -- You now have a significantly higher chance of convincing somepony to see your point of view. Your persuasion attempts will rarely fail. Faction joined: Cloven Hoof -- An organization of goats in the Karth, the Cloven Hoof is devoted to taking revenge for the “Marekarth Treason” in any way necessary. New Quest: Daggers in the Dark -- Obtain the Cloven Hoof’s trust, then report the whereabouts of their main settlement to Jarl Glamus’s soldiers.