Paved with Good Intentions

Griff chuckled. "Thanks, your highness." he says and bows before slowly making his way upstairs like Vision told him to. 'This is actually the first time I've been receiving jobs from a prince... at least the pay is good.' he thought while climbing up the stairs and making his way to the first door on the right. He opened it and walked in.

Wolfe spots the fireballs and the offensive, sidesteps them and turns to the armored force's officer. "You try and distract them. The camp is lost. Our priority is to secure the Chancellor. Fall back once you're outmanned, and hopefully we'll be able to sneak our way away from the unicorns back to the nearest Earth settlement. Hopefully you know where that is so you can meet me and the forces we left with the Chancellor."

As soon as the earth pony was off of him, Dusk got up and left his disabled opponent ignored. He soon picked his halberd back up, but left his shield behind as he had difficulty lifting it with his magic now. He needed medical attention. He wanted to live and fulfill his promise to his mother.

As he looked around for a medic, he did notice the approaching earth pony force. Seeing that they were already being engaged, Dusk kept his focus on finding a mage who could at least cure the poison. His jaw could wait. To help with that, he moved further into the cluster of Unicorns so no earth ponies could get to him and kill him. He then started calling for a medic, though it didn't quite come out clearly as his jaw was broken. He wasn't too sure how long he'd be able to stay up as the poison continued to affect him.

A guard walks into a room marked 'Waterway Warden', carrying with him a stack of reports. He knocks on the door, and upon getting an answer let's himself in. "Yesterday's reports for you, Ser." The Warden, Lumos, groans as she takes the reports, telekinetically closing the door behind the guard. She already had a massive stack of reports to get through, and on top of that their would be a Gala soon. Things being what they are, she would have to attend the event while making sure waterway security was ready for the event. She sighs, and telekinetically sets the reports in a pile with the others. When she turns back to to the wardrobe, she finally spots her Gala dress. "There you are.... Alright, let's see how bad this night will be." While the dress wasn't the most elegant or flowing at the gala, it was one of the few with concealed leather armor. 'I found the dress..... Which means now I have to do the paperwork. Yay.' Lumos looks around the room, forlornly. In the back was the dreaded pile of reports, the modest (by Unicornia standards) wardrobe standing next to it. She had a desk towards the back of the room, facing the door, and a bed a little ways behind that.
It is the desk she turns to now, making her way over to it as she grabs the first couple of reports. 'This will be a looong night I fear.'

Auftrag made his way back to his cubical, finding a note from Amethyst. It said 'Sorry, I'm busy tonight. Knowing you though, you can score yourself a different mare. The Waterway Warden, Lumos, might be available tonight.' He smiled. Good old Amethyst, never let her relationship with him let her ability to find dates fade. He threw his coat and hat on, then walked out of the Intelligence offices. He began to make his way back to the basement and to the room labeled 'Waterway Warden'.

Accentria nodded in agreement at Clover’s reasoning. “ Alright then, we’ve a plan” she said, smiling. “Lead the way.” Accentria continued, blowing an errant strand of mane away from her face.

- Zen -

"Of course. Feel free to play." The figure said, a little wistfulness creeping into its voice. "How long it's been since anyone's wanted to play music. Nowadays it's always about weapons, fighting, wars." Ignoring Sonata's request for more information, she simply said, "Now, this will be a little sleepiness-inducing. If you need a nap, now would be a nice time to catch up on some sleep. Bubbles will look after you." The manticore beside the figure nodded once.

With that, Sonata would suddenly feel an inexplicably heavy feeling of sleepiness come over her.

---

- Eq -

"We'll need to travel light. You must escort the Chancellor back. You're the light troops, you should be able to move faster. Take him and run like Tartarus back to Earth. Once we take these unicorns the rest of us will join you." The officer turned back to the bulk of the army and signalled to them, causing the massive column of troops to turn in their direction, followed by the enormous siege engines. Some of them were already beginning to fire.

---

- Dragon Soul -

Dusk's call for medical treatment was heeded; a battlemage who had previously been slinging fireballs at the earth ponies teleported down to his side. Without a word, he touched a horn to Dusk's head, pausing for a few seconds. Dusk would then feel a trickling of healing energies enter his body, slowly alleviating the poison. Not completely, but it did remove some of the fatigue.

In the meantime, he would notice that the bulk of the earth pony army was now drawing closer, with arrows being fired up into the sky and coming down on the general position of the unicorns.

---

- Arry -

As Griff entered the room, he'd find an elaborate layout before him. A large bed, twice as large as the usual kind and three times as luxurious, occupied much of the back of the room. Other features, like a bedside table and an array of oil lamps, also stood prominently there, however, the area of the room closer to the door, two enormous closets sat against the wall; upon opening them, a whole multitude of clothes could be found, likely satisfactory for Griff's purposes, no matter what he chose.

---

- Khaos -

The stallion looked over the amulet intently, flipping it over and side-to-side as he examined it. "Hm... I see. It's quite an interesting piece. Not identical to my grandmother's, but appreciably similar." He cocked his head as he gazed at the two. "You want a meal, you say? Well, it wouldn't be very nice of me to leave you two out here, then. Would you like to come back home with me? I could always cook up something for you, even if I don't have all that much myself."

---

((Wise and Lolk, you two are now in 'conversation mode', so I haven't written an update for you both this time around. Sharp and I have a... special arrangement.))

Auftrag walked up to the door labeled 'Waterway Warden', passing guard on the way there. He did a quick tip of the hat to the guard. He looked at the door, then placed a hoof up to the door, knocking three times. "Intelligence Division. May I intrude?"

Lumos looks up in surprise. Could this be an escape from the paperwork. "'Es? Come in, please." She calls out, opening the door with her telekinesis. When Auftrag comes in, he sees Lumos comparing a suit of studded leather to a gala dress that has been subtly reinforced with enchanted studded leather. In the corner of the room, a massive pile of paperwork reaches to the ceiling.

Auftrag stepped in to an odd sight. Papers piled high, more than the Intelligence Division processed in a day, a mare wearing studded leather and with a dress....reinforced with studded leather? Leather was one of his many fetishes. Good lord Amethyst knew his type of pony. His voice was smooth and he seemed soft-spoken. "Hello, I'm Meggire Auftrag Lula-Tyrannus. You may call me Auftrag at the moment. I'm with the Unicornia Intelligence Division." He took off his hat and did a proper bow. "Now then I have an assignment that I need a partner on. My usual selection is busy. You won't need to worry about paperwork, we'll get someone to do it for you. I can't tell you any more details unless you accept though. Sorry, Intelligence Division policy."

Feeling the wave of tiredness, Sonata's form sagged and she staggered, despite both of those however Sonata didn't dare break the stream of notes echoing out as she played. Fighting against the tempting calls of sleep, Sonata forced herself to finish the piece and as the echo's from the last note range out through the cave, she quickly put away her violin with the same fluid motions that could be done in the autopilot like state she was now operating on. No sooner had she gotten the case shut and the latches re-fastened than did she slump over the case, sound asleep.

Lumos is somewhat stunned by this graceful intelligence pony. Her brain shuts down at 'have some to do your paperwork for you'.
"Say no more, I would be happy to help the the Intelligence Division on this matter." She says, trying and failing to conceal a glance at the pile of paperwork. "So, Auftrag, what do you need help on?" She asks, heading towards the door before Auft could change his mind about the paperwork thing.

Dusk felt some of his energy return after the healing. His magical grip on his halberd was stronger, and he felt like he could fight again. Perhaps a side effect of the spell was that his jaw didn't hurt as much anymore. He thanked the mage as best as he could, and went to rejoin the knights. Having no idea where his group of knights were, he joined the ranks preparing to take on the new force of Earth ponies. He stayed somewhere in the back though, as he hoped he could recover a bit more energy.

As the first arrows rained down, Dusk picked up a fallen Earth Pony shield, apparently made of fine steel. It wasn't as protective as his tower shield, but it would have to do. He raised it to keep arrows from hitting his head and chest, and hoped his armor would stop the rest. If they were like the other arrows and were poison tipped, he couldn't afford to be wounded by another one.

Griff walked into the room and all he could say was a faint "Woah.." as he looked around. 'Well, this sure will be a safe place to stay in this damned city...' he thought as he came closer to the bed. He was tempted to lie down on it, but his will defeated the temptation and he decided to stand instead. He then looked at the wardrobe with nice and expensive clothes, then at his own. 'At least it's luxurious..'

"Well, the Intelligence Division wants eyes on the Gala. Sadly my partner couldn't join me. So now I have this extra ticket here...." He said in a teasing manner as a devilish grin crossed the unicorn's features. "And it'll also be what we at the Intelligence Division call a date. How does that sound to you?"

Lumos perks up at the mention of the Gala. She was normally.... Well, barred wasn't the right word for it, but the High Nobility didn't exactly like the omnivorous kelpie. The chance to go, with a prestigious member of the much admired (by her at least) Intelligence Division was a very good opportunity. Not that she wouldn't have gone just to not have to do as much paperwork. How had she let it build up so much? Her Division was smaller than others, and she filled out the forms diligently.. She shakes her mind clear, and refocuses on the question at hoof. Yes, a break from the office work would be nice. And the date.... she gives Auftrag an appraising look, before nodding happily.
"Shall I wear the dress or the armor? Just checking, the nobles make such a fuss if I get it wrong."

"I'd be fine with skintight leather and a whip, or you could always go with nothing but body paint and it'd still be visually appealing. But most nobles would make a fuss with either of those." He chuckled and planted a quick kiss on her cheek. "Darling, go with the dress. It's the Gala. You need to dress nicely. We unofficially represent the Unicornian Intelligence Division, we have to look the part."

Lumos grins, blushing lightly at the kiss before quickly clearing her head (yet again) and slipping on the dress. After a few more adjustments, she looks presentable. She takes two throwing knives and a small flask of water off the desk, and slides them into the dress. Having finished, she turns to Auftrag with a devilish grin. "Well then love, shall we?"

"Hey, slow your roll. The Gala isn't till tonight. Doesn't mean we can't cut to the chase right here, but I recently bought this suit, and I would not like to have unsavory stains on it." He fished around in a pocket of his suit jacket, taking out a slip of paper with an address on it. He tucked it into her dress. "I also have a sister to pick up from school. Go to the address on the paper about 6:15-ish. That's my house. I have a babysitter scheduled to watch Alta for the entire time, so no worries there. For now, you might want to go back to paperwork and put in a request for a secretary." He smiled and kissed her.

"Don't suppose you've got a name ta give us then." Pocket chirped up, giving the stallion a sideways glare, "Not exactly too keen on following you somewhere secluded; we've played that particular game of cat and mouse far too often. Though, I guess when we do it the expression is a bit more..."
"Apt?" Spare offered.
"Fitting." Pocket retorted, giving the other hippogriff a bit of a warmhearted glare before rolling his eyes; he'd almost certainly be smirking if it weren't for the fact that beaks don't smirk. "I mean, we love food and all, and relaxing a bit's always nice, but you're kinda acting strange for somepony who just wanted a quick look at an itty bitty amulet."
"Uh huh. I mean, I know it's a pretty amulet, but surely you'd know where your grandmother's is, right?"

Wolfe nods. "It will be done." He would gather up a few of his men and take off running back toward where they'd left the Chancellor, running even faster than his sprint to the stage. Things were coming quite down to the wire, and he figured it was time to push himself.

Lumos sighs, kissing him back before she looks woefully towards her paperwork. She turns back, pouting adorably. "Must I? It is an awful lot...." She sighs again, this one in exasperation. She glances askance at him. "why ser, I have no idea what you could possibly be implying. The suit doesn't look new." She says, grinning devilishly.

- Zen -

After Sonata fell asleep, she'd slumber peacefully for an unknown period of time; when she finally woke up, however, she'd discover that the figure from earlier was gone. All that could be seen of the manticore was a dim silhouette between the trees and its softly glowing white eyes.

---

- Eq -

Wolfe made it back to the bulk of the army quickly, moving fast as he was. When he reached, one of the earth ponies at the front of the moving convoy approached him and saluted. "Do we have any other orders?" he asked, as his eyes darted between Wolfe and the preliminary confrontation between the unicorn and earth pony forces occurring not a long distance away.

---

- Dragon Soul -

The incoming arrows thudded on Dusk's shield, which appeared to not be made of as high-quality steel as he had originally diagnosed, given that it was dented badly in many places. However, it did the trick; it caught most of the incoming arrows and the rest bounced off of his armour. Whenever he decided to look beyond the shield, though, he'd see an incoming horde of earth pony knights charging directly at him, spears raised and preparing to ram him as hard as they could.

---

- Arry -

As Griff eyed the room, he'd hear the door creak open and Vision peek in. "I trust the accommodations are satisfactory? I'm sorry I couldn't provide any better. Guests don't usually come by very often, so my rooms tend to not be the best."

---

- Khaos -

The stallion sighed. "Sadly not. Our family amulet went missing a while back. It's been years. Forgive me if I seem a little overeager; losing our amulet hit me hard. Me and my family. It was quite precious." He shook his head, and the frown that had appeared on his face rearranged itself into a smile. "Sorry, I don't mean to rant. To be honest, I'd just like a closer look at the amulet. A lot closer. My mother is pretty familiar with it - well, the old one before it went missing - so I'd just want to be sure that the one you have isn't the one we lost. I'm sorry for the inconvenience." He extended a hoof. "My name's Calm. Calm Eye. Pleased to meet you."

---

- Wise and Lolk -

As the two were conversing, they would suddenly hear a knock at the door. It wasn't a very gentle knock either; it had the cadence of restrained violence. Once either acknowledgement for entry was given or someone opened the door, Lady Plant, escorted by several Royal Guards, would enter the room and give a brief bow. "Auftrag. Captain Lumos. My apologies for the intrusion." Her face soured. "Both of them." She gestured out the door. "Just for both of your informations, there's been a break-in recently. We know not how, but it happened. In the Royal Library. Our esteemed Minister of State for Economy has apparently had one of his private archived files stolen from his own archive in the Library. The orders from the Princess are to increase security for the foreseeable future," she nodded to Lumos, "and to investigate this matter immediately, the latter of which falls to the Intelligence Bureau." She nodded to Auftrag. "Perhaps you both would like to inspect the crime scene?"

Griff heard the door behind him creak open, and then Vision asking him something and after that telling him something. He released a slight chuckle before turning around to face the prince. "Oh, yes, it is much better than what I'm used to, your majesty." he said with a slight bow. "At least it's a room, that's already something."

Once Dusk thought the barrage of arrows had ceased, he lowered his newish shield. Of course, he saw the charging mass of earth ponies. It actually took him a bit to realize he pretty much was alone now. It seemed the Unicorn forces had shifted elsewhere while he was defending himself. There was no hesitation as he turned and ran. There was a difference between running away like a coward and running away to regroup. He was doing the latter, hoping to join the rest of his comrades to continue the fight, or retreat if that was what the Grand Marshal ordered. He was running as fast as he could, as the earth pony spears were not far behind him.