Swing Low, Sweet Bat Pony
Resting high above the icy gray waters of Frostknife's Bay...
High above the iron docks and the granite shelves and the wooden platforms built into the V-shaped canyon's west side...
Above the walkways and suspended buildings and lofty balconies...
...the largest entrance to the Frosted Shelves loomed. The prison gates were enormous steel doors built into a rigid square frame carved into the icy stone surface of the wall. No less than twenty members of the Central Guard stood at watch: griffons, unicorns, and pegasi clad in silver armor with windigo intaglio. Those who weren't standing at stalwart attention were instead marching in patrol, covering every possible crevice and niche that could conceivably lead in or out of the sprawling labyrinthine facility.
It was here that Lieutenant Keris stood along with two other members of the Talon. The three of them could not look any more out of place—their armor and feathers worn from days upon days of exhausting flight and combat. While Sergeant Raptr and Sergeant Starstorm stood calmly along the edge of the frosted balcony before the doors, Keris paced and paced in an exceedingly anxious manner.
Raptr clenched his beak. He gave Starstorm a nervous look.
Starstorm cleared her throat. "Uhm... Lieutenant?" She squinted at Keris' shuffling figure through her helmet. "I mean no disrespect, but perhaps you would be better off in the Central Guard's Infirmary. The rookie and I can wait here for the rendezvous. Meanwhile, you can have that arm of yours looked at. After all... just how many days have you gone with it in a sling? Surely it needs a physician's expert eye."
"I've suffered worse injuries and endured greater lengths of time before recuperating," Keris murmured, continuing to pace. "Right now, my duty is here... awaiting the Commander."
"She appears to have been delayed... uhm... sir..."
"Yes, but with what?" Keris hissed under his breath, continuing to pace. "With what?"
Raptr shuffled.
"Well, perhaps you could... cease pacing... s-sir?" Starstorm asked.
Keris shuffled to a stop. His magenta eyes blinked at her.
She smiled nervously. "I think it's making the rookie nervous."
"Hmmm..." Keris looked over at Raptr. "Is this correct, Sergeant?"
"Uhhhhh..." Raptr glanced at Starstorm, then back at the Lieutenant. He gulped. "Maybe?"
Starstorm face-palmed.
"I must admit... I share the other Sergeant's concern for the well-being of your talon," Raptr said. "It's been through a lot these past few days."
"We've all been through a lot, Sergeant. Including the Commander." Frowning, Keris squinted up into the skies. "Where is she?"
"Look!" Starstorm pointed towards the sky, causing a few nearby guards to jolt at attention. "Incoming! From the northwest!"
Keris exhaled with a small smile. "Verlaxion be praised. It's about time." He turned to look—and instantly his headcrest drooped beneath his helmet.
From a long glide, Windburst landed with a shivering prisoner in his grasp. He lowered Longaze onto her hooves, and a group of guards immediately rushed up to surround her. Shuddering, the mare swiveled about and trotted into their company without protest.
Raptr blinked. "...huh."
Windburst looked at Keris. "Lieutenant."
"Sergeant..." Keris squinted back. "...where is the Commander?"
"She... uhm..." Windburst cleared her throat, then stood up straight at attention. "She decided to investigate the Central Harbors, sir."
Keris blinked, his beak agape. "The... Central Harbors?"
"That is correct."
"To what end?"
Windburst gulped. "She did not give too much clarification, although I suspect it's to investigate the Shoreline Trade Consortium even further." His expert eyes narrowed. "The last time I saw her, she was headed southwest..."
"That's..." Raptr gaped at the others. "...that would lead her back to Osmanthus Prefecture!"
"And... and..." Starstorm glanced at the other guards, then leaned in to whisper to the Talon. "We've got a report to give to the Council of Verlaxion!"
"I have a report to give to the Council." Keris took a deep breath. "I've put a lot of faith in the Commander. But now... I'm starting to wonder if perhaps I've been putting too much faith."
Windburst looked over. "She said that she would still meet with us, sir."
"And I'm sure she intends to, Sergeant." Keris sighed. "But... it's obvious now that she also intends to do a lot of other things, and I fear for what that might do to our image... much less the integrity of our authority here in Frostknife."
"She... she'll come around." Raptr attempted to smile "She's never let us down before!"
Silence.
"R-right...?"
"Her concerns are her concerns now, Sargeant," Keris said. "Her actions have made that more than evident. Right now... we still have several loose ends to look after." He gestured the others to follow. "Come with me."
"What would you have us do, Lieutenant?" Starstorm asked.
"For now, I wish to oversee the securing of this unicorn in the Frosted Shelves." Keris followed the guards and Longaze towards the massive gate. "Then... I suppose... I shall prepare the mother of all reports to present to the Council."
"I'm sorry that I didn't attempt to talk the Commander into flying with me, sir," Windburst said with a shudder.
"Do not blame yourself, Sergeant. The Commander has more enemies in her life than all of Rohbredden combined. If she must deal with them, then we can only extend the Goddess' blessing to her. For now, we have much to contend with here in the heart of the continent." Keris clenched his beak in mid-stride. "The state of things is turning out to be far more complicated than we thought."
"What do you mean by that, sir?" Starstorm asked.
Keris replied, "Now, more than ever, I'm starting to suspect that our entire debacle with the Rainbow Rogue was a distraction. Whether it was intended or not, I can't pretend to say. But there's a great deal of blindness afflicting us, our Commander, and the Central Guard in general. It fills me with great worry. We must be vigilant..."
Meanwhile...
Far below, inside the dimmest, deepest reaches of the Frosted Shelves...
...an equine figure with leafy ears hung upside down. He breathed in and out in calm motions. Then—with seemingly no provocation—a pair of slitted eyes opened, reflecting the tiniest hint of meandering gray sunlight from far beyond his cell.
Within a minute, the hoofsteps of a guard clattered into existence. A unicorn in silver armor marched around the corner. He approached the bars of the cell and levitated an envelope out from under his breastplate.
"Hey... Midnighter." The unicorn squinted at the rusted plaque above the cell, then back at the envelope. "You go by 'Echo,' yes?"
A pair of fangs reflected the unicorn's glowing horn. "I've been called much worse these past few days." His ears twitched. "But yes. That would be my name."
"Mrmmfff... whatever." The guard tossed the envelope limply onto the floor of the cell. "Try not to get any of your guano on it."
"Charming." Th-Thwisssh! Echo flipped down from the ceiling and landed on spry hooves. "Do you drool on your mother with that mouth?"
"Watch it, freak!" The unicorn frowned, pointing a hoof. "Or I'll come in there and nail those stupid ears of yours to the wall."
"Careful." Echo bore a lazy grin. "One bite from us, and I hear daylight stallions never get it to rise again."
The unicorn blinked, his frown disappearing in a flash.
Echo whispered, "All the... guano in the bloodstream, you see." His eyelashes fluttered. "Unless you want your girlfriend to shit out a poop baby."
The unicorn grumbled. "'Bleak's pissant'... that's what you are." And he turned tail and marched off.
Echo picked up the envelope. It flopped in his grasp, and his brow furrowed. "This has been opened."
"Of course it was, dipshit!" the guard spoke over the sound of his hoofsteps. "What do you think we are? Stupid?"
Echo opened the note and looked all over. "And... there're no words on here. Just a blank page with the sender's name at the bottom!"
A cackling voice echoed back. "Sounds like you're the butt of some loser's dumb joke! Hah! Only fitting!"
As the sound of hoofsteps dwindled, Echo looked at the name on the bottom once again. His velvety muzzle scrunched.
"...just who in the blue Hell is 'Jordan?'"
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Hmm... New character...
Well. Well. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllll......
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/4/8/868512__safe_solo_twilight+sparkle_meme_smiling_edit_open+mouth_image+macro_tongue+out_caption.png
132 chapters gone, and now the heat is on.
Or at least slowly turning up. From the Talons' realization to the urgent news Theanim heard to the letter Echo received, things are definitely getting set into motion...
Ack! Now that I'm caught up I can't just find out the answer right away.
I first though this was a creative way of saying he teleported which made his reappearance quite befuddling.
It's good to see Keris taking charge and standing for what he believes.
Must have got here right on time. Been keeping up as of late, good stuff going on!
And who is jordan...
So... it's heavily implied at this point that Jordan is Wildcard, right?
...well well well...
Did Wildcard used to know Echo before he became Wildcard?
...and I guess his vow of silence extends to printed words too.
Is Theanim going to cross paths with Keris while on his way to see Echo?
Jordan's fate might reach the Talon's earholes yet.
-Companions have returned, inner darkness spurned. Utaan.
6951682 If he did, wouldn't Echo recognise the name? As is, I'm a little confused as to why Jordan sent it if Echo wouldn't recognise it. Guess we'll see...
Jordan?
The only thing that even comes to mind at the moment is when Vetinary hands Vimes an empty envelope, with his name Sir Samual Vimes, Knight, on it.
The Odd Job Squad are coming to take him away?
Keris now knows the Commander is unleashed elsewhere. Wonder how well he can write up the report while being treated in the infirmary?
Wonder if Longgaze will break any further on seeing Echo, or when Dash gets into Frostknife?
Okay, hooves up, who here was surprised to hear that Jordan was alive
. This aside things are starting to come to a climax it seems. Now the lies are to be exposed.
Edit:
Almost certainly Acme brand Disappearing Reappearing Ink
. The name is simply to make it less suspicious.
Sassy Echo is better than salty Echo.
Ok I think I see what is happening here. Echo is part of the Squad and Wildcard is using his real name to get his messages through to them with less suspicion because he's a known bandit as Wildcard.
6951677
p much.
Interesting chapter
Well, that invites all sorts of questions, don't it? I, like most people, have been working off the assumption that Wildcard is Jordan, but is that a given? If so, why contact Echo? And if Echo knows/knew Jordan, why no indication when they interacted in Rust and Shoggoth? And how does Theanim play into all this?
Very intriguing.
I find it a bit chuckle worthy that Keris and Seraphimus' positions are now reversed from how they were when he went off to investigate the Quade and then ended up at Red Barge. Now Keris is stuck waiting to hear about what the result is when his Commander goes off on her own.
At this point I'm guessing Wildcard/Jordan was once in command of/part of the Right Talon, but after whatever incident occurred he supposedly was killed in he got the metal arm, changed his name, ect, and at that point might've run into the various members of the Job Squad, which Echo might be a part of. If he is, its possible Echo was feigning ignorance about knowing Wildcard earlier, or perhaps Wildcard himself went through enough physical changes over him that he appears as someone else now. Don't know. Remains unclear at this juncture.
A Blank letter from an hereto unheard of character? Just who is Jordan, and why has he contacted Echo? Is this some part of an elaborate prison break?
So now we have Theanim heading towards Echo, most of the Talon still in the area, and possibly Wildcard on his way as well?
Hm.
6951707
Moon runes!
only, not runes so much as letters...
6951651
6951655
6951660
6951691
6951960
Speculation that Jordan ~= Wildcard
6951682
Wildcard used sign language against letter
It isn't very effective.
I know we've seen the name "Jordan" somewhere before, and if my memory serves, the Talon mentioned it a long time ago. So I'm going to go all in on this being Wildcard assembling the Job Squad.
Although, as to why Echo and Wildcard didn't react when they saw each other in Shoggoth is beyond me, if that's true. Even still, I'm fairly certain that Jordan == Wildcard.
If Seraphimus loses the support of the council...
Suffice it to say another piece of The Prophecy will be fulfilled.
You know. The one where she turns into Shell.
Prison breaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak
because Echo is totally getting recruited for the Job SquadUnfortunately, when one prisoner breaks loose, it's common for other, ah, sexy prisoners to escape as well and cause havoc.
I looked over Jordan and what did i see?
Commin' for to carry me home
There was a band of angels, a-commin after me
Commin' for to carry me home
IC what you did there.
6951687 That was my first thought as well. My only guess is that somebody was trying to convey that the name will be important for Echo to know later on.
I'm with you, Echo. Just who is Jordan?
The sass is so real.
Echo's a member of the Job Squad? Thinking about it, I should have seen that coming.
6952054 6952289 As Appletank pointed out above, we have nigh confirmation that Jordan is Wildcard's birth name - before he feigned his own death to the Talon and went rogue.
Nice to see Windburst delivering the prisoner alone, without Longaze using that as a chance to escape.
I feel a break out in the works. Don't worry, Echo, when your out, I'll make sure to throw a party. There will be plenty of booze.
Curious.
Getting the Job Squad back together.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/af/Frosted-Flakes-Box-Small.jpg
6952496
And crunchy things to munch!
Crawfish crab and crickets!
Things are definitely on the move now.
I wonder when Wildcard is going to reappear.
The letter is signed "Jordan" not because Echo knows who Jordan is, but because he knows who Wildcard is. Why would he be happy to receive a communication from the bounty hunter who had been chasing him?
Interesting. Looks like there's more to seraphimus's "investigation" than we first thought.
6952408 I feel he did not feign his death. Although we don't yet have all the details and it isn't truly "confirmed" yet, we know the talon witnessed Jordan grievously injured and they only ever found his talon, which has now been replaced with a metal one. I'd more say they assumed (with all the evidence pointing to such) he died and he had a good reason not to correct them
6952714
durandal.dnsalias.net/imgur/bb.jpg
6953198
Jordan got his metal prothesis before he was "killed." It was how Seraphimus knew it was him who had rescued Dash: by the impression the metal talon left in the snow.
6953198 ...so he feigned his death.
6952408 Maybe? It's either just our friends reaching out to him... Or the job squad is the group that pulled off the big heist Though from the way they have said things that sounds unlikely... Would be funny if he was one of them though, I mean he TRAVELED with them for a while and didn't notice, maybe too hopped up on coral? XD
6953787 we do not know that for sure. It seems he knows how to maintain the device, so it's conceivable he had a talon (pardon the pun) in constructing it. Seraphimus likely knew he was mechanically inclined and would be one of very few griffons capable of building such a device to replace a limb. (especially one so complex.)
Of course, it's all conjecture until proven otherwise.
Maybe I'm slow on the uptake, but it just occurred to me that longaze (which I can't help but always read as "lozenge") probably told Seraphimus that the consortium had a hand in the attack on her village. Goading her into a thoughtless emotionally-driven quest for vengeance would be a great distraction.
I swear, Echo has some of the greatest comebacks of all time. I love them.
6952074 I don't see that happening. Then again, I didn't see the Quade happening either...
Wait wait wait
That was one of the Talon they thought had died.
And there's another griffon who seems to be someone the Talon thought had died, until they saw his claw print.
And if Jordan's alive then
HOLY SHIT JORDAN IS WILDCARD
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I think that’s very likely, I called it a few chapters ago. I wonder what this has to do with what Theanim knows.
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But what would Echo have to do with all this? that's the part still confusing me.
Hmm... Job Squad?
Ahhh, my guess is that she's really gonna go back to hunting Rainbow. This is just a stop she can make before going back the way she came.
Jordan, the dead Talon member? Not so dead and I'm guessing much more of someone else.