11: Spike's Campaign- You Did What!?
Forge World: The Full Metal Fantasy Role Playing Game
By: Zelkova48
Chapter 11: You Did What!?
* * *
“Are you sure we’re going the right way!” Twilight shouted as another wave of water was splashed onto everyone, soaking them down to the bone with cold saltwater. They were making good time with their new and enhanced motorized fishing boat. “I’m getting really sick of being splashed every five minutes!”
“I’m a pirate, silly! I know what I’m doing!” Captain Pinkie slurred as she downed the rest of her emergency grog from her flask. “As a diamond dog, my sense of smell is far greater than ponies. I’m following the latent smoke trail that the ship left behind from the ship's smokestacks. We’ll be there soon! Just wait ten, fifteen minutes tops!”
“Pinkie! I’m over here!” Twilight shouted again. Pinkie blinked her eyes a few time to rid herself of the haze that was clouding her vision. When she could finally see straight, it turned out that she was actually yelling directly at L’ Orange instead of Twilight, who was covering her ears in annoyance as she battened herself down using makeshift seat belt from her rifle sling.
“Just keep driving! I’m okay, I zink,” replied L’ Orange as she pulled up her heavy cannon shield to deflect the next wave of water that came by. Which, unfortunately, splashed onto Twilight. The unicorn glared at her with such vehemence the boat could’ve burst into flames if she kept it any longer than she had.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Twilight asked as she wiped her dripping wet bangs away from her eyes.
“Not as much as the captain is with this vessel,” L’ Orange grinned wryly.
“Whoo! Wheeeeeeee! Wahaaaaa!” Captain Pinkie exclaimed at the top of her lungs. “I’m still drunk!”
***
Meanwhile, back at the transport ship. The crew of the ship had finally managed to put out the fire that was threatening to sink them, thanks to the valiant effort of the Butterfly, Elusive, Rainbow Blast, and the Thanite refugees. Someway, somehow, they were still afloat despite being on boat that was charred and had more holes than a block of swiss cheese. It was a miracle that they didn’t capsize yet. Perhaps the great alicorn, Thanatos, was looking after them.
On deck, various ponies, changelings, gryphons, and diamond dogs were busy mopping everything up and repairing machinery that the mercs and guild members had damaged during the assault. It looked pretty bad, but nothing far too serious. They were still en route to Black Pearl cove, except that they were still missing three other members of their team.
Off by the bow, Rainbow Blast watched the sunset with her helmet off, letting her braided ponytail flow freely in the crisp salt air. Her melancholy expression made it clear that she was worried about the rest of the team they’d left back at port. She sighed heavily, and pulled out a bottle of wine that she had ‘acquired’ from the galley. Popping the cork off the top, she took a few sips for herself before dumping the rest into the ocean below.
“There, that should do it,” Rainbow whispered to herself.
“Do what, hon?” Elusive snuck up from behind, causing Rainbow to yelp in surprise and nearly fall over the edge until she caught her at the last moment. “Whoa! Easy there, hon. Y’all almost fell off.”
“That’s only because you startled me!” Rainbow barked back angrily. “What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were all eating.”
“We were, and Ah’d just finished. So Ah decided that it be good for my complexion if Ah were to get some fresh air,” replied Elusive with a flick of her tail. “There is far too much smoke inside the galley from the chef’s stove. By the way, what were you doing just know?” she pointed over to the empty bottle of wine. “Drowning out your sorrows? Shug, there are better alternative than turning to the bottle, you know?”
“No! No! I wasn’t doing any of that,” Rainbow denied. “I mean, I did take a few sips of the wine but most of It was for... well, you promise that you won’t laugh if I tell you?”
“Do you think me so shallow, Rainbow?” Elusive gave Rainbow as hurt expression. “An aristocratic southern belle such a myself, being born and raised in a household of higher standing, is far too ignorant and immature to listen to the plight of my own dear friend?” a few tears streamed down her cheeks as she turned away to stifle a sob.
“What! No! You got it all wrong,” Rainbow struggled to rectify her mistake. “It’s just that...” she stopped as she heard Elusive giggle, much to her surprise.
“Gotcha,” Elusive turned and struck a mischievous smile for Rainbow as she stared back with a stupefied look plastered to her face. Elusive looked fine. There wasn’t a trace of sadness on her face. Only an amused grin as she took in Rainbow’s reaction for just a bit longer.
“Huh? But... you were crying just a minute ago!” Rainbow shouted. Elusive giggled again as she reached into her pockets and pulled out a small vile of liquid with an eyedropper built into the cap.
“Tap water and an eyedropper. Instant tears on demand. Had you fooled, didn’t I? ” Elusive replied nonchalantly. “Heh heh, anyway. Sorry bout that. I needed to see if my acting skills were still believable enough.”
“Well, you had me fooled. That’s for sure,” said Rainbow. Although she wouldn’t admit it, Elusive did have going there for a while. She was one heck of an actress for a spy.
***
“And one heck of an actress in real life too,” said Rainbow Dash. “I know that this is just role playing, but I think this game is at its best when we’re all just chilling and getting into the groove of things. Really makes thing so much more enjoyable.” Her friends all nodded along with her.
“And to think, a few days ago you were badmouthing this game to Discord and everyone else,” Spike stated with a smug grin. He turned to Rarity and stared at her longingly. “That was great. Have you ever thought about a career in acting, Rarity?” he asked,
“I’ve thought about it, but you’d be hard pressed to know that the limelight isn’t really for me,” replied Rarity. “I mean, I enjoy acting on stage every now and then but I think my passion for dressmaking outweighs my passion for acting.”
“Ever thought bout doing both?” Applejack asked.
“I think it would be hard to do two things at once,” said Fluttershy. “Although, I think having the ability to act and make your own dresses could increase your chances of finding a job.”
“You know, if you could act, sing, dance, and sew your own dresses, I’d think that you’d be one of the most successful idols out there!” exclaimed Pinkie. “Having your name in lights, with thousands of fans screaming wildly as you show up in a puff of smoke wearing flashy clothing while singing your latest hit single!”
“I think that’s too much, even for me,” replied Rarity. “Plus I can’t stand how rude the paparazzi is. Parasites, the whole lot of them. Spike, can we get back to the game, please?” she asked.
“Can do, Rarity,” replied Spike.
***
“I was, uh... wow. Gee, how can I say this without making it sound weird?” asked Rainbow with a scratch of her neck. “I was beseeching to the great alicorn Thanatos in hopes that she could grant us safe passage to Black Pearl Cove and to the Obsidian Flats. Because for the last two days we have been constantly shot at by the Broken Wands Guild and I don’t think having bullets fly at us on an hourly basis is conducive to our good health.”
“How thoughtful of you, shug,” replied Elusive. “But Ah believe that you just made a grave mistake with that wine you just poured out.”
“Relax. The wine wasn’t even all that good,” said Rainbow Blast. “It was probably because it was about only a few months old and didn’t have any time to ferment properly.”
“No, it’s not that. According to my reliable sources, there are specific tributes and ritualistic guidelines you have to follow when you ask Thanatos for a favor,” said Elusive as she examined the empty bottle of wine that Rainbow held in her hooves. “Providing the wrong tribute can lead to rather unsavory consequences, shug. In this case, you just beseeched to her using a pinot grigio. A white wine.”
“So?” Rainbow raised her eyebrow. “Your point being?”
“White is more commonly associated with Thanatos’s sister, Vita, who is also known as the great white alicorn of life,” said Elusive. “In short, giving Thanatos, the great black alicorn of death, a tribute that was meant for her sister is the equivalent of spitting directly at her face. Now, she’ll probably do everything in her power to damn us unless you can fix it by giving her the proper tribute and beg for her forgiveness.”
“W-what?” Rainbow reeled back in horror. “You’re just trying to scare me. I don’t believe in all of that superstitious stuff!”
“You were just appeasing to a dark god not five minutes ago with a bottle of wine, Rainbow,” Elusive bluntly retorted. “Look, there’s still time to fix this. Ah assume that there is a bottle of pinot noir in the galley, or even some animal bones used to cook stew for the diamond dogs that we could use to stop Thanatos from invoking a terrible curse on us.”
“I’m not going to head back and steal another bottle of wine just to stop some make believe curse!” Rainbow whispered back loudly. “Do you know how hard it was just to sneak this one out?”
“You were the one who started it, Rainbow,” Elusive shot back. “Ah know you had good intentions doing what you did, but if you don’t get that pinot noir then Ah’m afraid tough times are gonna hit us fast and hard.”
“Hey, what’s going on over here?” a new voice joined in. Rainbow and Elusive turned to face the source of the voice and found out that it was Butterfly who had spoke to them. Behind her was the rest of the Thanites they were assisting. Tiny had both Soul Catcher and Heartstopper atop his shoulders, whilst Plague hid behind from the rest.
“Oh. Hello everyone,” said Elusive. ”Guess what? Rainbow just appeased to your goddess using, get this, a white wine!”
The exact moment Elusive mentioned white wine, Butterfly and the Thanites had the color drained from their very being. They stood stiff as a board with their mouths agape, gawking at Rainbow with a look of pure incredulity ever so present in their terrified eyes. Tiny was the first to break out of his stupor, and rushed up to Rainbow. With one smooth action, he lifted Rainbow off the ground by her neck and shook her around like a ragdoll.
“WHAT DID YOU DO LASS!?” he shouted hysterically. “DO YOU REALIZE THE DANGER THAT YOU JUST PUT US ALL IN!”
“Wah! Stop it! Put me down!” Rainbow cried. “What’s the big idea!? I just wanted to help! So I thought it’d be a good idea to make an offering for safe passage!”
“YOU JUST SEALED OUR FATE!” he wildly retorted before shaking Rainbow some more. “NOW THANATOS IS GOING TO SINK US INTO THE OCEANIC ABYSS ALL BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY PAY TRIBUTE TO A GODDESS!”
“Tiny! Calm down!” Plague interrupted him. “Look, the child didn’t know, so the blame isn’t entirely on her.”
“Plague’s right,” said Butterfly. “We just have to pay the proper tribute and everything will return to normal.”
“Uh, I know you guys are devoted to your beliefs and everything, but be honest here. What’s the worst that could happen because of this little screw up?” Rainbow asked curiously.
“What could happen?” Tiny spoke lowly as every Thanite, save for Butterfly, turned to glare so fiercely at the ex-skyterror that she was rooted on the spot in terror.
Almost immediately, Rainbow’s answer came in the form of the emergency siren blaring loudly from every nearby speaker that dotted the transport ship. Seamen and deckhands alike began scrambling to their respective positions, taking note of the multitudes of silhouettes that darkened the horizon line.
“All hands and hooves on deck!” an alert voice spoke through the loudspeakers. “Marauders spotted off the port bow!”
“Look at the size of those ship!”
“There must be dozens of them!”
“How many guns are on those damned things?”
“Hey!” a changeling cried out, pointing his hole filled hoof to the horizon. “Look at the emblem on the sails!” Sure enough, all eyes found themselves directing their sights to the massive red patchwork sails that adorned the largest and most imposing galleon of the fleet of ships that was en route to their current location.
It was the white image of a dog’s skull with a massive lower jaw filled with sharp, jagged teeth that had more points than the prickly thorns of a cactus plant. Surrounding the skull was a collection of bones that formed a wicked ring around it. Rumor says that anyone who sees this emblem are in for a slow, agonizing death.
“It can’t be...” the changeling paled as he collapsed onto his haunches. “We’re all dead, we’re all dead...” he chanted to himself, putting everyone around him on edge. The feeling of dread and despair blanketed the ship like a thick fog that weighed heavily upon everyone’s shoulders. To drive the feeling home even further like a tiny nail being struck with a wrecking ball, the blaring loud speaker started again and gave away the grave news.
“It’s the Ripper Fleet! All crew, prepare for evasive actions!” snapping back to attention, the entire crew of the ship began to frantically operate and work every piece of machinery on the ship at a psychopathic pace considering how all their lives depended on it. The transport ship jolted violently to the side, banking so hard it nearly sent part of the crew and our heroes tumbling into the shark infested waters hadn’t the railings prevent that from happening.
The smokestacks bellowed so much black smoke from the increased activity onboard the ship that it clotted the skies to the point where not sunlight could penetrate it’s inky clouds. Valves hissed, coal was being shoveled, wrenches and levers were pulled, and the speed of the ship began to pick up dramatically as they fled in another direction. Hopefully, as far away from the Ripper Fleet as possible. Unfortunately, the shelling had already begun.
Yet in the midst of all this panic, between the orders being screamed to deckhands and the sound of explosions that sent the water flying into the air, Tiny and the Thanites faced Rainbow Blast with the same glare that they’d kept on her previously.
“That could happen!” Tiny roared back.
***
"Great..." Rainbow spoke with sarcasm dripping from her lips. "This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?"
"Oh, I'm not done yet," Spike stated as his grin grew long enough to reach the ends of room. "I'll be playing a very special role soon... heh, heh, heh..."
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Oh god I love using the god's wrath as good clincher!!
Oh ****, this is not good, not good at all.
OK the Sentinel got a new toy but this....this is just......
...this is gonna be hell..
Oh well they can just reroll if their chars bite the bullet.
Lovin it so far and i am surprised how sturdy her light steamjack is,even with poor armor.
ALL ABOARD NO-HOPE-TRAIN!!!
Next stop:Davy Jones locker.
Keep it coming.
dam you MURPHY AND YOUR LAWS DAM YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4764208 go for it man
MORE! MORE! MORE!!!!!!!!!!!
4764225 ok i think i get it ready for tomorrow
4768125 probably. I know what class I would choose. Mechanical engineer. Earth pony. Etc.
4768125 probably. I know what class I would choose. Mechanical engineer. Earth pony. Etc.
The weapons compendium has been updated again
4779135 you updated here ?
4782843 yea
4783485 ok all corrected in the book, there are somethings i didnt add in it because i am adding them in the gear and equipment section
the weapons compendium has been updated on 8/15/2014
added details for shillelagh, claymore, and great cleaver, cutlass, scimitar
newly added, shovel and e. tool
So I'm curious before reading: how closely related is this to the IKRPG/Warmachine/Hordes continuity is this RPG setting? Is it just inspired by, or is it a fully ponified version of the setting?
This is relevant to my interests.
4980657 It's not a ponified version of Immoren if that's what you are asking, the whole world is made up by me with the backdrop being steampunkish and fantasy like Hordes/Warmachine etc.
I did however take element from the games like warjacks and combining magic with guns etc. and intergrate it into the story
5138213 I used to have one, but I think I'm gonna have to find a new one soon
Slightly upset this isn't more closely linked to warmachine, but still pretty cool
So good, need more.
Please update
Rewrite dude. Rewrite so badly, you go from using D6s like Iron Kingdom/WarMachines to a D20 system. That bugs me to know end having played and love both systems. You can't just hot swap the dice and still have the systems work. Please go back and either rewrite the start to use D20s or the later to stick with D6s. Then I will finish reading but not before.
6148195 fixed for your leisure
Is this story dead?
6339911 could be, haven't had any motivation to finish it since I started focusing on work and college. Would anyone care to adopt a dead story?
6364716 God damnit... I can't do it, cause it would be the same as you. No motivation.
6364775 it was fun while it lasted, at least
6364841 Not pleased... Though that really doesn't matter.
6364955 who knows, maybe I might wipe off the dust, however unlikely it may seem now
6366105 One can only hope.
Lalala, I'm using this to make the DND style ttrpg Forge World, Arcane Steel.
Hope you don't mind! I'll tell ya later how well it ends up being. Oh, and I'm adding a few things to balance everything.
6564321 sure thing
6565642 talk to me over the pm, ill email it to you
Incoming Thanatos (cough Luna cough to make it even worse.
Is Forge World related to the miniatures game known as Warmachines?
6339911
no I am alive, its just RL kicking me in the guts
So why is this in the updated column? There's no new chapter here
.
sorry to all of you I am still working on this one, I truly am, however RL has taken a real like to kick me up while I am on the floor, update soon
9430678
6567303
6364955
5362076
6049138
Will update soon
11542604
sorry, I updated it by mistake, will get updated on sunday with the new chapter, I really apologize
11542599
Yes.
The story was originally inspired by Iron Kingdoms, the dnd setting that later became its own thing and lead to the creation of the tabletop wargame Warmachine and Hordes.
11542626
.
So much for that, it seems
11741201
What do You mean
I'm still here, RL has been a bitch as always
11741517
No new chapter like you said there'd be. Stupid real life ruined everything.
11741539
im really sorry, needed to move out from my old place due to a job opportunity, so I just left everything on standby untill I could get back to the story, Im finishing the moving on these days (hopefully) so ill try to get it done, also was a wonderfull time on my job to tell us that we need to head back to office in about a month, so basically I have this month(kinda) to finish with the move and fix my bike, so I can head back to office