Last thread ended with a split vote. Coin flip went with saving Flash over Silver.

>>41026044
“Silver, leave the spear!”
>You turn your attention to Flash and telekinetically yank him as fast and hard as you can
>He soars through the air and you do your best to give him a soft landing inside the ceremony room
>The second after he’s safe you are knocked over by a blast wave as several sticks of dynamite explode at once
>The flames of the braziers flicker and sputter and you choke on the dust filled air
>You force yourself back to your hooves and turn back towards the enemy
>Parts of the ceiling have collapsed and continue to crumble
>Half a dozen Dogs lie partially buried beneath the heavy rubble and you see several bloody limbs scattered across the floor
>There’s a shimmer of golden light to your left and you see Soul sprinting towards the ceremony room, his bubble shield protecting him from the collapsing floor above
>”Run!” he shouts at the top of his lunges
>You pick up the small bundle of dynamite and hold it above the still flaming brazier but hesitate
>You look for any sign of Silver or Hollow
>You finally spot the pegasus, who lays limp on the ground on the edge of the blast radius, her old leg wound reopened and her left wing twisted and bent awkwardly under her
>Hollow lands hard next to her and tries to pick up the unconscious mare only for a spear to soar past her head, barely missing her
>The bat drops Silver and rockets towards the ceremony room as the remaining Dogs begin to restart their rapid advance
>You drop the dynamite on the ground and, like Flash, toss your pegasus companion into the ceremony room as a Dogs thrusts a spear at her limp body
>Not a moment after she’s inside you grab the dynamite again and rush towards the ceremony room yourself, closely followed by Soul
>You dive inside while Soul slides to a stop just inside the entryway, his shield split between both rooms
>The Dogs continue they chase, seemingly over their fear of the magical shield
>The moment a group of the reach the vicinity of the brazier you drop the dynamite, which explodes near instantly
>Even with Soul’s shield you feel the blast wave
>Soul’s shield flickers and then collapses as it takes the full brunt of the explosion and the stallion falls to his stomach
>Dust again engulfs you and several torches as snuffed out

>>41028822
>When you can finally see again you find yourself still standing, your horn throbbing with pain
>There’s a painful ringing in your ears and your right foreleg is sore
>Just outside the ceremony room is a large heap of rubble that leaves just barely enough room for you to look over
>You see only a few Dogs left standing
>One Dog charges forward but is pulled back by another, larger mutt
>The larger Diamond Dog says something you can’t hear and the Dogs retreat as the floor above continues to collapse
>Searching around the room you see all of your guards have made it inside, though Silver’s condition is horrific as blood dribbles from her ears and nose
>Soul raises to his hooves and recasts his Bubble Shield, screwing his eyes shut as he does so
>It’s just in the nick of time, too, as a large section of the ceiling collapses right outside the entryway, burying you inside but prevented from hitting anypony
>You pant heavily
>The fight is over, but now you’re stuck inside a crumbling building
[Input Needed]

Gonna be reeeal pissed at those two anons if Silver dies.
First things first, retreat as far we can from any crumbling ceilings, then help the wounded.
Could you remind us about the layout of where we currently are?

>>41028858
Oh yeah, we bought those mana potions right? Give one to Soul if he's feeling burned out.

>>41028825
Now would be a good time for us to use our healing potions.

Is everyone alright call out so we can know who's wounded and who's not so we can administer first aid to the critical injured!

>>41028825
I need a status report of the situation can anypony fill me in on what's happening right now Hollow, Flash, anybody?!

>You immediately look up at the ceiling above you
>Cracks radiate from the entryway but the ceiling seems to be holding for now
>Still, you make sure to back up and move anything and anyone nearby to the back of the room
>The room is mostly barren with the exception of a small bookshelf carved into the stone wall, a stone chest half the size of a pony, and a stone table in the center of the room that holds five large knives as well as dried flowers and a thurible
>Partially hidden behind the chest is a hole in the wall just big enough for you to squeeze through
>Your triage training takes over and you take a quick headcount, dividing ponies up based on their physical needs
>Already Barrel Cactus is clearing the central table of the ancient Dog relics and quickly pulls the bloody, dying Flash on top
>Even with a health potion and Soul’s magic you’re unsure how likely the stallion is to survive
>Silver lies in a broken bloody heap on the floor, unconscious with multiple wounds to the flanks, head, and a clearly broken and dislocated wing
>Like Flash, you’re unsure if she’s going to make it, or if she’s even alive
>Hollow and one of the settlers that helped hold the frontline with you are also bleeding profusely from deep slashes caused by Dog spears or claws
>Several of the other settlers scream, but you fail to hear them over the ringing in your ears
>You turn around just in time to see Soul saying something to you, but you can’t understand what it is he’s saying
>The stallion drops his shield spell and casts a spell on you
>There’s a strange pressure in your ears before they suddenly pop painfully
>”There… we… go…” the medic pants
>You drop you saddlebags and grab your mana and health potions, passing a mana to Soul who downs it immediately
>”Cast a medical diagnosis on Silver immediately,” Soul orders you before pointing to the sole remaining Roughshod unicorn, “and you’ll stop her bleeding while Ardent does so. Tell me immediately what’s wrong with her.”
>Your medic rushes to the table, “Barrel, you do the same for Flash while I do my magic.”
>Your head still swims and your horn aches, put you push through it without a mana potion
>As you prepare your diagnosis spell your order the remaining Roughshod pegasus and the settlers to help Hollow and the other wounded ponies
>The unicorn with you begins applying first aid as you cast your spell
>You feel a lump in your throat as you scan over your young friend
>…

>>41029682
>Silver is alive, but barely
>She’s bleeding to death fast, has a major concussion, her ear drums are damaged but haven’t burst, and her wing is broken in two places and dislocated at the shoulder
>Her flanks both have major open wounds, one from tearing open the old, stitched wound and the other from a Dog’s blade in addition to many minor scrapes and bruises
>Her airways do remain clear, however
>You shout out the results to Soul, who is in the middle of performing his own diagnosis on Flash
>”Get her a health potion immediately, but mover her wings out from under her carefully. They could miss heal otherwise.”
>The two of you unicorns do as he says, wincing at the sight of Silver’s battered wing
>She doesn’t give you any feedback as you do so, not even an involuntary response from pain
>You pour the health potion into her mouth while holding her head up
>You know that you shouldn’t move a concussed pony like you are, but the situation demands it
>Slowly her torn flesh begins to mend itself with magical energy, stopping the immediate problems regarding infection and stopping her from bleeding to death
>However, her concussion, torn muscles, the deep cut on her flank, and broken bones remain unaffected and will need serious medical treatment
>You grab a nearby blanket from your nearby pile of supplies and gently telekinetically place your friend onto it, making sure to lay her head down properly and remove her barding
>”Shit…”
>You turn your attention to Soul and Barrel, who hold down over half a dozen bandages on the bleeding Flash Fire
“Is he going to make it?”
>”Probably not,” Soul admits as he casts his healing spell on the stallion
>Though most of the bleeding stops the earth pony patient finally slips into unconsciousness
>”That’s bad, right?” Barrel asks but Soul doesn’t answer, instead grabbing his medical instruments and preparing to work on the deep wounds that failed to heal
>When he removes Flash’s barding you see some of the stallion’s chest wounds, five long cuts from a Diamond Dog’s claws, still bleed, too far damaged for even an advanced healing spell to heal

>>41029686
>While Soul and Barrel work on the stallion you do your best to bandage Silver’s still open flank wound
>Hollow gives an uncharacteristic whimper as her own wounds are treated by the settlers, your last health potion going to the bleeding settler stallion that helped hold the line
>”Shit,” the Roughshod unicorn with you mutters under his breath, “we’re it.”
>He notices you looking at him
>”Dusty, Weathervane, everypony else…” his hooves begin to tremble and he sits down, “if Flash is dead, then it’s just me and Crash Course left. Two out of eight…”
>He sits quietly for a moment
>You’d comfort him, but you have other responsibilities
>You take a quick head count
>Your entire group is alive, though Silver will probably be unable to do much anytime soon, assuming she survives, which she should
>As for Roughshod, only the unicorn and pegasus archers are still standing, the rest either confirmed dead or missing with the exception of the dying Flash and the earth pony that was left in Conjunction Junction the week before
>Doing a quick count of settlers you find three of the six volunteers that helped hold the line are missing, with one confirmed dead by a witness
>Many of the settlers sob, especially the foals and lovers of the missing volunteers
>One mare, the boisterous turn coat from earlier shakily gets to her hooves and stomps her way to you
>”You!” she shouts, “you did this! We could have surrendered and just returned home, but you killed him!”
>The mare tries to slap you but you instinctively dodge
>”All this because of her!”
>The mare spins and points to Fleur
>”You and your stupid project! You said we’d be safe! But you marched us into a trap!”
>You prepare to grab the mare with your magic but her advance is stopped by her husband
>She tries to fight him off but he manages to pull her back
>”Murderers!”
>Several other ponies mumble agreements, one stallion even echoing the mare’s accusation but otherwise everyone simply sits, exhausted and scared
>Hollow wobbles to her hooves
>She walks to the now blocked entryway and looks at the rubble before walking up to you and whispering in your ear
>”I don’t think we can undig ourselves. We can move towards the river, but…”
>For the first time you can think of since you’ve met her, there’s a thick layer of fear in her voice
>You jump at the sound of a loud thud behind you as Soul slams a hoof down on the stone table, his golden magic fading as he finishes casting another advanced healing spell on Flash
“Soul?”
>The stallion doesn’t answer, but Barrel shakes his head and lets go of the blood soaked bandages on Flash’s chest
>”What are your orders, sir?” your old friend asks
[Input Needed]

>>41029689
Cast our diagnostics spell on him. Also, use earth sight

Bump

>>41029689
Looks like the river is our only chance. Obviously we can't bring the wounded through, but maybe some of us can get out and get help or help dig the rest out.

>>41030444
Lets not start on that until we've confirmed the situation

Boop

>>41029689
Well, seeing as all our supplies and the wagons are now gone if we do manage to somehow make it out of this complex we dont really have a choice but to try to limp back to Gate City. I'd say this caravan was a disaster...

>>41030444
Noted

>>41029775
“Give me a second.”
>You walk up to the still body of Flash and cast your medical diagnostics spell on him
>He’s still alive, but only barely
>His blood pressure is low and his pulse is barely detectable
>What little breathing he does is shallow and weak
>There’s almost no brain activity
>The spell ends and you come to the conclusion that he’s all but dead already
>You push it from your mind and cast Earth Sight
>The first thing you notice is that the second story of the temple is beginning to collapse faster than before
>Amazingly, the third floor and higher seem to remain intact
>You search for signs of life and find it
>Despite the danger to their lives some of the Diamond Dogs have stayed behind to rescue their wounded comrades and unbury the Dogs stuck under rubble
>They even drag their slain comrades with them as they go
>You search for signs of pony life and find a couple, but they move so little that they are barely visible with the exception of one stallion who desperately drags himself away from the collapsing floor above
>The area beyond the ceiling of your room shows no signs of movement, leading you to believe it is probably solid canyon wall
>You open your eyes and find Barrel still waiting for your orders
[Input Needed]

>>41030816
>all our supplies
You managed to store your food and water rations in addition to some other things. You would need to take time to get an exact list and tally to know what exactly you have and how long it’ll last.

>>41030833
Barrel let do a inventory check first to see how many supplies we have leftover if it's a lot than we'll proceed going south if not then we should go North and head back to Gate City!

>>41030924
First we need to figure out a way out of here. though.
>>41030829
So we're on the second floor and the third floor is intact, right? Did the ceiling collapse in a way that it'd be possible to get to the upper floor through it?

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>>41030933
>So we're on the second floor and the third floor is intact, right?
no. you're still on the first floor, its just that you've climbed some stairs to a more elevated position.

>>41030959
Gotcha. Probably not a good idea to try to dig up to the second floor then. I guess we're left with >>41030444
Unless someone else has an idea.

bumpa

>>41030829
Let's go recon the area and see if there are any other secret paths and entrances that can get us out of our trapped hole if we happen to find one we'll scout it out and see where it might lead us if we can't find one then I'll only option is to take the dark river and hope the cave waters will eventually lead us an exit!

>>41031483

>>41030829
I want to know what's inside that chest.

“Barrel, I want you to do an inventory check. Count all of our supplies.”
>You slip off your saddlebags and pass them to him, as do the rest of you guards
>However, you all keep your weapons and armor
>You turn to address your group as a whole, guard and client alike
“Everypony not helping Barrel take inventory I want to follow me. We’re going to check this cave for any possible secret passages that could lead us to an exit.”
>You help Soul throw a blanket over Flash Fire and then set about your scouting mission

>You spend two hours checking what feels like every square inch of the cave
>You use your Earth Sight several times, each time your headache growing until you need Soul to cast his magical replenishment spell on you
>Ponies tap and feel the rock walls and investigate every little oddity they find, but despite your efforts you fail to find anything
>The longer you wait in the cave the more anxious ponies get, especially once they come in contact with the gas near the river
>Maybe it’s a trick of the light combined with the tense atmosphere, but several times ponies call out seeing Diamond Dogs or other monsters hiding just beyond the edge of your lamp lights
>When you investigate, however, you fail to find any such things
>You are forced to minimize your time by the river due to the gas but you’re certain that there’s nothing there besides the water and gas

>When you finally return to the ceremony room you find the caravan’s collective supplies gathered by the entrance and sorted out
>When you ask Barrel for the exact count of everything he hoofs you a list

>>41032310
>Food: 31 Days
>Water: 30 Days
>Weapons: 7 bronze spears, 4 steel spears, 1 rapier, 5 hoof blades, 1 mace, 3 bows, 21 arrows
>Potions: 2 Health, 4 Mana, 5 Antidotes, 1 Bear Strength, 1 Water Breathing, 1 Smoke Bomb, 3 Mane Dyes, 4 Sleep Potions
>Medical Equipment: 5 Needles (various), 2 pairs tweezers, 2 surgical knives, 20 large bandages, 31 small bandages, 15 feet of gauze (divided between five rolls), 5 rolls of tape, 5 pairs of scissors, 5 tubes of antibiotic ointment, 1 bottle of pain relievers (20 pills)
>Alcohol: 5 gallons Apple Family Hard Cider, 2 gallons Hard Cider (Various), 1-3/4 gallons of Whiskey, 13 bottles Wine (6 Reds 7 Whites), 1 gallon Rum, 500ml Gin
>Shelter: 11 individual tents, 3 couple’s tents, 2 family tents (4 adults or 6 foals), 42 bedrolls, 23 blankets, 50 pillows
>Other: 24 pots (various), 15 pans (various), 45 sets of silverware, 8 shovels, 3 pickaxes, 49 snow globes, 37 family heirlooms (various), 18 dresses (various), 11 suits (various), 24 peppermint candles, 98 cigarettes, 12 cigars, 12 books, unknown number of government and ERP documents

>>41032314
>You whistle at how much you were able to keep and note the weapons you and the other guards, sans Silver, carry are not included in the list, nor are your and Soul’s magic scrolls
“Good work on this list. It’s a shame we’ll probably have to abandon a lot of it. It seems like our only way out is through the river and I doubt most of this will survive, especially the food.”
>”Is the water drinkable?” Barrel asks. “If it is, we can dump out our barrels of water and fill them with all of our food and maybe a few other items and reseal them. They should be water tight that way and we can send them down the river ahead of us.”
“That’s a good point. I know you’re an expert on that kind of thing so go ahead and check the water while I decide what we bring.”
>Barrel nods and heads out
>After he leaves you realize you haven’t inspected what’s in the heavy stone chest yet
>You have to strain your magic to take off the lid of the chest and when you do a rush of pungent air comes out
>You raise to your hind legs to look inside, as do a couple of other curious ponies
>Curled up inside is a mummified Diamond Dog wrapped in cloth
>Around the mummy’s neck is a gold necklace with a large gold pendant with the images of an eight armed sun and a crescent moon
>Besides the Dog is a golden rod that shimmers with magical energy
>Along the rod’s length is the depiction of a tatzlwurm and a dragon
>The smell of sulfur is strong
>Along the inside of the coffin lid is the depiction of various Dogs, similar to what was on the temple facade
>”Must have been a pretty special Dog.”
>You turn your head to Hollow, who’s unexpectedly joined you
>She reaches for the staff before you stop her
“Don’t. You don’t know what it could do.”
>She frowns and steps away from the chest
>As you look over the mummy once more Barrel returns
>”Water checks out. I say we dump what we have, store what we’re taking, and refill the barrels later.”
>You and Hollow both nod
>”Well, Ardent,” Hollow addresses you, the fear in her voice gone, “what are your orders then? If we’re going to go down the river what are we taking and who’s all going down? We should probably come up with a good, clear plan of action.”
[Input Needed]

>>41032318
Use our spell to analyze the staff. and pendant.