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[Khenal]

I just stand there, blinking in confusion.

'This guy is definitely wrong in the head...'

[ZeroInfinity]

Silver looks at the strange Alicorn as he confuses poor Flux to no end, then finally decides enough is enough, approaching even though he's not sure how far counseling can go before therapy would begin. "Hello you two," he says, nodding to both of them.

[jaxler]

"OH hello good sir! My name god... no wait... my name is flux... no... my name is, CRAP." Moral then lowers his hat again. "Hi I'm Moral Decay... Where am I, Who are you two? What was me doing... OH Yeah, I need to talk with a pony named Red later on and I got stuck looking at the circle water thingy."

[ZeroInfinity]

"Moral... Interesting name. Do you need any help finding this 'Red' fellow?"

[Khenal]

The new pony draws me from my stupor, and I try to greet the silver unicorn.  I quietly observe as he talks with Moral, wondering if he can make sense of the odd alicorn.

[jaxler]

"turquoise was um... I need to talk to the reserve captain named ruby"

[Khenal]

"Reserve leader?  You mean Indigo?"

[jaxler]

"Yes hematite, I do mean Indy Snow! My name to be Moral!"

[Maklak]

(( 15th Felsite 260: Training foals ))
(( Sadly, this is not possible in-game. All the foals learn are social skills and farming, except from occasional mooded ones. ))
(( This is shortly after Patina and Friesden became young adults. ))

Indigo approaches the keep, talks to the guard and is allowed to enter. "Hello Lady Virtue. Can I talk to you now, or should I come later?" The stress after the massacre has worn him down, and it shows.

Virtue takes a quick look at her guest and recognizes the exhausted expression on his face. Something she could relate to. He didn't seem upset though, so that was something. "Now is fine. What's on your mind?"

"Firstly, I'd like to congratulate you on forming your own guard. It should considerably improve your safety. If my opinion is worth anything, I wouldn't form a separate unit, just pick ten or so soldiers to rotate their shifts and always post a guard outside the keep, and get more guards when there is a caravan or new arrivals or under similar circumstances."

She nods slowly. "That is something I considered." She looks off toward the barracks and adds, "When I spoke to Halberd about it, he seemed to think it was a better idea to have a separate unit dedicated to the task. Something about wanting to get new recruits to build up our forces for when they're needed."

"Ah yes, I think it could disrupt training schedules, and Halberd knows what he's doing. Never mind then." answers Indigo. "Now, the reason I'm here. It is about the kindergarten. Some of the parents are helping, but with Kat wounded and Glyph gone, I was thinking what else could be done about it."

Kat being wounded brought back some painful memories, but she forces them aside for the moment. "I hadn't considered that... what did you have in mind?"

"Well, some of the foals have grown up recently. A few were already apprentices in some crafts, but more were indecisive about how they can serve the community. I was thinking that if we separate the older ones and organize classes and workshops for them, something good might come out of it. They are already taught reading, writing, arithmetic and history, which is good, but I think there should be some practical subjects too. That way when the foals reach maturity, they will have a general idea about all kinds of work they could do. Some might even get their cutie marks." 

"That does sound like a good idea," she replies, considering the difficulty that some of the children had had trying to think up ways to help out in a community that wanted for little. "Do you have any specific ideas? Would some of the more experienced workers give lessons? Have you asked around about it at all?"

"Well, I... wanted to talk to you about it first, so I haven't told anypony except Amor about it yet. Yes, we have something like that in mind. Miners and masons could talk about rocks, and give a few to the foals along with the tools to carve something. Wood and bone carvers could do the same. The farmers could use some more help some of the time, and talk about plants. Billows or Cinder could teach them the basics of working with metals. Fauchard could convey some things about being a soldier. That sort of thing. If some foals like anything in particular, they may want to become apprentices. Amor says we should prioritize teaching mining, smelting and masonry, while I'm leaning more toward a generalized list of needed professions, so older foals know what occupations are most needed at the time. I admit it is rather vague, but I'm sure you get the general idea."

She nods. "Every idea starts out small and vague, but I do like it." Another thought strikes her. "Have you considered helping at all? It might... help. To get your mind off things, I mean." Come to think of it, being around the children and speaking to them would do her mind a lot of good, if she had much of anything to teach them. Not many would likely be interested in how to keep records.

"I... I could teach foals about rocks and show them how to carve mugs and other things. Or teach them arithmetic. Maybe. I don't think, I'm very good at handling foals, they are much too undisciplined for me. There are more skilled ponies for whatever I could teach them in any case and I'm rather busy anyway. Working with stone is enough to take my mind off things. Usually. Teaching is... much more involved. I asked Amor, and she doesn't volunteer either."

"That's understandable," she says. "I'd only ask for volunteers for this sort of thing anyway. I wouldn't want anypony devoting time they don't have."

Indigo nods. "One more thing. While I think practical lessons for older foals is a good idea, it has some downsides. First of all, the cost and investment of time by skilled craftsponies would be considerable. And well, foals are irresponsible. When they get sharp tools, there may be some accidents, despite any precautions. But then again, the very same thing can happen to apprentices." Indigo saddens as he remembers Amber and Cross Stitch loosing their horns in the fishing pier accident.

"Perhaps..." she trails off, thinking over it for a moment. The last thing she'd want to see or hear was a foal injuring herself with a knife. Still, there was a lot of merit to the idea. "I do like the idea though. When I have a chance this afternoon I think I'll go speak with some of the workers and see what they think about it all." She takes a moment to jot down a note about doing just that.  "Was there anything else you wanted to speak about?"

"Nope, that is all I wanted to talk about. Goodbye." Indigo walks away, looking somewhat better.

As Indigo leaves, Virtue sits and thinks about the idea. It was pretty sound, and probably something they should have been doing ever since the children started getting older. Still, better late than never. As she returns to checking off the work orders, she considers again helping out herself. Even if she didn't do anything but go see the children, it was sure to lift her spirits a bit. If only she wasn't so busy...

(( NOTE: If your pony is responsible, has any useful skill and you think you can handle it, feel free to make a scene about teaching the foals something practical. ))

[Maklak]

(( Moonstone 260, Captain's meeting. ))
(( Bardiche got mauled on 28th Timber, 260. ))

This month's meeting of the squad captains starts with mundane stuff, as usual. While everypony knows that the recent fight with a monster from the caverns will be discussed, it is customary to get other things out of the way first. Training schedules, supplies, Partisan asking for more bolts, Glaive asking for more bolts for Storm Cloud, Indigo asking for any left-over bolts for the reserves, Halberd giving report about the armoury and so on. Fauchard listened, but said nothing, as these mundane day-to-day concerns were not why he was here. Once they are done with it, the topic of discussion switches to the caverns.

"It seems, I opened a can of worms with the whole caver exploration, haven't I?" says Indigo.

Halberd rolls his eyes and shifts in his seat. "I'll say. What I don't understand is how we managed to buck up opening the caverns again. Can't the engineers get this right?"

Indigo shrinks under Halberd's gaze. Yes, the architects screwed up. "Well... I didn't design it, but I can give you the rationale behind it. The trap itself is a downscaled and rushed version of the airlock to the topmost cavern, which was designed by Stiletto. I'm quite surprised something like that even worked in the first place. It should be much longer and snaking to give more time to the pony pulling the levers. Still, it was never my plan to send just one inexperienced soldier close to the breach. It was to move around in force. The airlock was supposed to be more of a safety measure than a trap. Speaking of which, a quick fix to the problem would be to put some cage and weapon traps on our side of the airlock."

"Well, can't say I disagree with that," Halberd adds, cutting his eyes to Virtue, who winces visibly. "Bardiche is about as green as they come, running ahead like that. I guess Coupledye was trying to get rid of him sending him out here. If Kukri hadn't been there he'd be dead for certain."

"Aye, I've seen green recruits run off like him before." says Fauchard, "They are rarely so fortunate, most I've seen ended up on the end of their foe's spear."

If somepony wanted to be rid of Bardiche, how come he didn't end up in my unit? "Yes, some think fighting is about glory, not victory. Bardiche wanted to kill it in single combat, but Halberd was right all along; those beasts are dangerous." I thought the military was ready to handle them. "Maybe we should just stick to the topmost cavern, or abandon the plan altogether." I just don't know what to think anymore. Indigo hangs his head low.

Glaive interrupts, "It's too early think of giving up, Indigo. Those beasts are dangerous, but when our troops fight together we can overpower them."

"Dangerous doesn't begin to describe it," Halberd says in a low tone. "We were very lucky the upper caverns were clear when we explored them. The middle caverns were unexplored, but we knew there were monsters in them. How we managed to buck this up and still got off with only one injured soldier is beyond me."

Naginata breaks the awkward silence by saying, "It's best not to dwell on that. He's alive and recovering, for that we should all be grateful. And wiser for the experience." She sighs. "Still, the mid caverns are safe enough to explore in earnest now. If we're still going through with it."

Fauchard offers a bit of advice, "You don't want to spread yourselves too thin, lest something decide to prey upon you. Best to keep the lower levels sealed until after you finish walling off the top level. Then move your troops to the lower levels in mass."

Indigo nods "That makes perfect sense, Fauchard. That is, if we are still going to do it. I thought getting a safe foothold in the caverns was worthwhile, but I'm not so sure anymore. I don't want ponies to die for it. The upper level could be safe enough to wall off, but there are just not enough narrow passages around our airlock to do it quickly. It is possible, but will take months and a temporary camp in the caverns."

Glaive: "Then we should do it. Even if it takes months, the potential profit from gems and mineral veins, that we could access will pay for it ten times over. Additionally, there are a great deal of underground plants in the caverns, large woody fungus things and smaller ones as well. We might be able to make use of some of them as well once the area is safe, and we can take the time to study them."

Virtue nods and taps a spot on a map on her desk. "We're still planning on trying to wall off the caverns. We've invested this much time and energy making the area safe, the least we can hope is to get some good out of it. The masons haven't had a lot of work recently anyway."

Fauchard makes one last suggestion on that topic. "I haven't seen the caverns myself, but I hear that parts of it are quite tall and I know we have seen some flying monsters, I hope your masons are prepared to build a wall all the way to the roof of the caverns?"

Indigo nods. "A good question. Yes, the current plans to wall off the caverns include scaffolding to reach all the way to the ceiling. That is why the work is going to take so long, even with miners preparing stones on the spot. Another reason for this, apart from flying mosters, is that otherwise some adventurous pegasai could try to fly to the other side of the wall."

This exhausts the topic of the caverns. After a moment of silence, Virtue asks "Do we have anything else left to discuss?"

Indigo rises his hoof. "I have a suggestion. There is a possibility of war and with all the cavern exploration and Lady Virtue's bodyguards, the militia is becoming spread thin, even with new squads and new arrivals. As much as I am sorry to say this, my squad in still not ready for combat. I ask that our training time be doubled and that we may be allowed to keep arms and weapons in our rooms or even carry them around when working. That might help in case of an ambu---"

"An ambush?" Halberd questions. "In an ambush the best you and your friends can hope to do is come galloping and shouting for help. If we get anything resembling a squad of actual soldiers attacking, you're dead without us."

Naginata frowns at Halberd and waits for his rant to end. "Yes, if an ambush of real soldiers from the rainbow coalition shows up, please come get the militia and don't try to fight them on your own."

Glaive interrupts, "You assume that they would have the chance to run. If it's an ambush they could very well be cornered, and I'd rather them have something to go down fighting with then be caught empty hoofed."

Naginata nods in agreement, "I don't see the harm in letting them carry their weapons around. It'll help them get used to carrying them and if they do need them when off duty they'll have them."

Fauchard adds, "Additionally, if we appear to have more armed and armoured ponies walking around, it would make us appear to have a larger trained military force than we do. Should the enemy scout us ahead of time, it is in our best interest to appear formidable, might be just enough to make them think twice."

Halberd shrugs. "Fine. But when that idiot Jaxler gets drunk and shoots somepony because he touched his darling crossbow don't come crying to me," he says to nopony in particular.

"I told the reserves to yell for backup, help evacuate ponies and don't play heroes, if they see anything dangerous. Still, doing even that with proper equipment is safer than without it. As for Jaxler, he had a crossbow for a long time and so far nothing bad has come out of it. Besides, I told him to okay carrying it around with you."

Halberd nods. "Yeah, he did okay it with me. While on duty. When he's off duty, he seems to be trying to break some record on how fast and thoroughly he can get drunk. I'm astonished he hasn't killed somepony yet. I don't like the idea of him having the thing in the first place, but he is a good shot and stays almost sober while on duty. He's a problem just waiting to happen."

Indigo sighs. "Let me tell you something about Jaxler, Halberd. I've been sparring with him and I've seen what he can do. If he gets pissed, he is much to sadistic to just shoot a pony dead. He'd rather slowly bludgeon his enemy to death. He can do that with a chair. Or a farming tool. Or whatever random item he can get his hooves on. Or even his bare hooves. That crossbow is the one thing he values above all. If you take it away, he will get really angry. So I'd say, he is actually less dangerous with his weapon than without it. Not that I disagree with the 'problem just waiting to happen' part."

Virtue decides to give an attempt to rerail the conversation and take it away from the fight it was starting to brew into. "Yes, well, so far he has done his job and done it well. Does anypony have anything else to discuss?"

Indigo rises his hoof again. "The barracks are becoming crowded with the new squads and are too far from the entrance. A while back Amor gave Lady Virtue a blueprint for a watchtower. Maybe a second barracks by the entrance would be a good idea? That way, there will usually be some soldiers close to the gate in case of an emergency. We should also finally go about moving the entrance to the mines inside the walls, the exit from the entrance trap outside the walls, and collapsing unnecessary tunnels. Or build a watchtower over the old mine entrance, with the only access from the mines. That way Partisan's squad could shoot at something before it even gets close to the gate."

Fauchard nods his head, "Yes, I agree, I spoke with Lady Virtue about something similar over a year ago, after the Rainbow caravan incident, though she appears to not have acted upon my suggestions."

"It is getting crowded..." Halberd says, reflecting that it was mostly Indigo and his motley crew of misfits that was taking up the remaining room. "Expanding the barracks might not be a bad idea. Not sure how I feel about setting up another one though. We'd have to keep two stocked and watched."

Virtue looks at the map and considers the blueprints. "We'd have to move some things around... but we might find room to place another small barracks near the entrance. Perhaps move Naginata and either the reserves or guard out there..."

"Perhaps," Partisan says. "It would probably be best if we stayed in the existing barracks though. Closer to the archery range.  Actually..." he adds,  "a watchtower of sorts out near the gate might be a good idea.  We could move a training and archery range into something like that, and we'd be in a good spot to see anything approaching the gate."

Virtue scribbles something down and resigns to consider the new barracks. When they'd get to it she had no idea, but she'd try to think of something. The fact that Fauchard had mentioned this to her almost a year ago scared her a bit. It had completely slipped her mind. Best to go back through all of her old notes and make sure nothing else important had escaped her attention.

[Omicega]

.

[Maklak]

(( Opal 260: Should we make more coffins? ))

Indigo approaches Virtue's office. He responds "I'm here about clarification of a work order." to the guard's inquiry and is let in. "Hello Lady Virtue, I'd like to talk to you."

Indigo didn't look happy, but Virtue couldn't recall the last time he did look happy. Well, whatever it was, he wasn't going to just disappear. "Hello Indigo. What's on your mind?"

"Well, there is just no good way to put it. I looked over the work orders for the masons and noticed something that could be missing. The next Rainbow Caravan could be coming soon... Shouldn't we expand the crypts and prepare more coffins and slabs?"

Her face goes blank as she suddenly feels a lot colder. "Expanding the crypts? More coffins? Wh-why would you think we needed to do that?" Of course she had a perfectly good idea of why he might think that, but she still wanted to believe maybe he wasn't going to say what she expected.  And dearly hoped he hadn't heard a rumour of more bloodshed to come.

"I... um... On one hoof it would send a signal that another massacre is to be expected. On the other, maybe we should prepare anyway, just in case. 'Hope for the best, but expect the worst' as they say." Indigo gives her an insincere smile as he desperately tries to improve the mood.

"I... well..." she trails off, unsure of how to respond. Surely they wouldn't need more coffins. Surely. If there was another massacre, the first coffin to be filled would be hers, because she wouldn't be able to take that. Still... it did highlight something of an oversight on her part. "I don't think we're going to have another attack. That... no, that's not going to happen. But... I realize that we don't have any spare coffins in case of other tragedies here. Perhaps making a few to keep in stock wouldn't be a bad idea... four or five should be plenty and a bit of a compromise I think."

"Alright, I'll tell that to Mortar. Goodnight." He leaves, feeing awkward and uncomfortable and quite aware, that he made her feel much worse. Still, there was nothing he could do or say to console her. He had to ask his question. Last time cleaning up the mess at the depot and burying all the dead took almost a full month. If anything like it were to happen again, it would be much better to be prepared beforehoof.

With Indigo gone, Virtue slumps back into her chair and takes a glance at the bowl of food sitting on her desk. She brushes it aside and sighs, placing her face in her hooves. Her appetite was gone and not likely to return for a while.  Indigo was just being paranoid. There wasn't going to be anymore innocent deaths. Everypony had learned their lesson. It wasn't going to happen again.

Why didn't she believe that? If it did... she was sure she'd live up to her promise of being the first to be buried.


====================================



(( Late Slate, 261 ))
((diplomat / assassin died on 14th Slate, 261) ))

Indigo approaches the keep and asks to see Lady Virtue. After a short rummage through his saddlebags, Falcata finds nothing unusual: masonry tools, paper, wheatstone, flask, food rations, greasy piece of cloth, clean piece of cloth, a brush and some other trash. She follows him in, as she does during every one of Indigo's regular visits, and stands by the door. Indigo addresses the Countess. "Hello Lady Virtue. Can I talk to you about the recent fight?"

Virtue looks quite alarmed. "A fight? Has something else happened?"

"Not that I know of, no. I was referring to the one where Longshot got wounded. Well, some ponies might say, that if you spoke to the diplomat, you might have calmed him down, but I don't think so. If he attacked Longshot over something so minor as not allowing him to see you, until he calms down, he was probably sent to kill you. I think he lost his nerves over an unexpected obstacle and decided to attempt a secondary objective: kill another important pony."

"Yes... that's the conclusion that several of us have come to about it." Which did nothing to help ease her nerves, of course. Knowing you could have died wasn't something that was easy to get used to.

Indigo continues. "I'm afraid, another assassin may not be so sloppy. If the previous one had good manners, he would be allowed to see you and attack you instead of Longshot. You got more personal guards and improved security, which is good, but maybe they should be more thorough in their searches? For example," he pulls a chisel out of his saddlebag, and levitates it half a meter from her head, pointing sideways, so she can see the length and sharpness, "look as this. It is just a tool, but sharp enough to pierce a pony's skin. Deadly, if it was poisoned."

Falcata takes a threatening step towards Indigo, preparing to unsheath her axe. "Indigo..." she growls, tensing up and preparing to spring, just in case.

The alarmed expression returns to Virtue's face. For an instant she wonders if Indigo was there to do just that. Had he been bought out by the rainbows? Was he a spy all along? Was he going to kill her? An instant later reality reasserts itself and she mentally shakes off the nonsense. She just needed to calm down... and he was making a good point.

Indigo looks at Falcata, then at Virtue and the realisation, that what he just did looks like a real attempt on her life, dawns at him. He takes a step back and puts the chisel away, but Falcata continues to hover just behind him, looking thunderous. "Oh. I... didn't mean to scare you. I mean I kinda did, but not that way, I mean I didn't quite think this through... Look, the chisel was just an example. The dust on it is from a gabbro rock, I was working with earlier." Indigo takes a nervous glance at Falcata. If Sarissa was here instead, I'd be dead by now. "I... only wanted you to be aware, that if assassins are after you, you should treat your safety very seriously. I think your security measures are fine for most of the year, but when caravans, diplomats or new arrivals are here, I'd suggest that you have 2 guards at all times, and one for the mayor, even if that means temporarily reassigning soldiers from normal squads. While I can't guarantee it, it appears to me that most of the old residents are firefly loyal to you and you should be safe around them. Still, with so many ponies in Dawnpick, there could be a mole among us, so having at least one guard around you at all times won't hurt." Indigo takes another nervous glance at Falcata. I probably shouldn't tell her about my suspicions, that somepony is working in league with those bandits, who keep bothering us.

That made sense, and she nods. "Stepping up security during those times might be a good idea. I hate to ask it of my guard, but it might be necessary." Although she had no reason to distrust the zebras or the caravan from home, maybe it would make sense to apply extra security. Those would be natural targets and times to strike if the rainbows were considering it. And what of the other ponies in Dawnpick? She trusted them all... especially not to sell themselves out to enemies. But... what if there was a mole?  And had been for years?  That was an unsettling thought.

"There is something I'd like to tell you about being paranoid. On one hoof if you are too trusting, you'll be betrayed. On another, if you are too mistrustful, you'll be stressed all the time and see danger in every shadow. It makes for a miserable and fearful life. I think there is a middle path, where you are cautious, but let ponies, who work for you, to slowly win your trust. I've read something like that in a book once, does it make sense to you?" asks Indigo.

"It does," she responds. In truth, of course, she imagined she was treading that middle path, but didn't everypony think what they were doing was right, until pointed out that they were wrong? She knew well enough what being stressed all of the time was like though, and wasn't keen on making that any worse. "I've been trying to avoid either of those mistakes. I hope I've struck a reasonable middle ground."

Indigo gives her a scrutinizing look, then adds. "Oh, one final thing. Now that it seems unlikely that Dawnpicks relations with the Rainbow Ponies will be fixed, should we expand the crypts and make more coffins and slabs? Five empty coffins were already prepared, as you requested." asks Indigo.

Virtue sighs and slowly shakes her head as she looks down. "I don't know. I hope it won't be necessary. That silly naive part of me still believes it won't be necessary." She stares into her desk for a moment. "But it probably will. If you or the other masons have spare time... it might be a good idea to make a few spares."

Indigo sighs. "I hope they won't be needed as well, but I would find it prudent to prepare for the worst. Last year we had to rush making coffins and store bodies in the crypt till we were ready to bury them. By the end they started to rot and it was messy. I'll spare you the description of just how messy a corpse crawling with maggots can get, but it was bad. If there is a battle, the last thing we should worry about is the lack of burial receptacles. If we prepare well and there won't be many deaths, so much for the better. We will have an unused crypt waiting to be filled with ponies dying of old age. Any rumours of incoming doom, originating from building a big crypt will die in time. Besides, it was you who insisted that each soldier gets a coffin prepared in advance a few years back in the first place. Oh, and it can't be 'if you have time'. Something of this magnitude must be approved, designed, well, you know the drill."

She nods. "Yes, that is true. I suppose it never hurts to be prepared." She wants to say something more, but really can't find any words.

"That is all, I wanted to say. But... you don't look well. I'm sorry to burden you with telling you all these things, but I really think you needed to hear them from somepony. Goodbye Lady Virtue." Indigo turns to leave, and casts Virtue one last worried look before exiting the door. Falcata follows him and keeps guard outside for the rest of her shift.

As Indigo and Falcata leave, Virtue looks up slowly and mulls over the potential deaths lingering in the future. Enemy soldiers, Dawnpick's soldiers... maybe Dawnpick's civilans or even her own. Still... none of it had happened yet, and she could still hope things would turn out better than she feared. She was too tired to worry about it now. There were a thousand other things she had to worry about right now. For once... just once, she manages to convince herself to worry about it later. Worry about it later when it happened, and when it mattered. She could worry all night about it, and it wouldn't change a thing anyway.

[ZeroInfinity]

"So, Moral, why don't we go look around for this Indigo fellow, then?"

[jaxler]

"Sure, that would... uh... That would be quite swell."

[Khenal]

I take a few steps back, fully willing to let the unicorn handle Moral.  He seemed better able to handle the... unique stallion.  Once they leave to find Indigo, I try to find a saner pony to talk to.  Maybe Arbalest has some free time?