A Game at Dinner

[Kiernan]

[46th of Summer, about 6 in the evening. Open to Kai and Geoff for now, and to Turnkey and Sil after Kai and Geoff have entered Kai's home]

Akaitora lay on his back, untangling the string of lights his brother had brought him, wrapping it around an old hose reel to keep it in a neat coil as it became straight again. He had noticed the breaks in the line, and he would get to those, but he had to know which ends to connect, lest he be building a string of spark-spewing electrical fountains.

As he worked, he reflected on the days events. First, going home and collecting materials he would need for something he had now finished, meeting his brother for lunch, and then coming back here for the sole purpose of adding a room to the hole in the ground that he lived in whilst he was here, and filling it with spare supplies for his guest, including a pound of Saltpetre, as he had promised.

He hoped his guest hadn't stiffed him for two meals, six hours of work, and the 16 bits he had paid for the Saltpetre...

[luemas]

Geoff stumbled in, weary after a long day of, what ended up being, more or less fruitless toil. The ponies in town had, more or less, been completely useless. Not their fault he supposed. If anypony knew anything, they were doing a dandy job of keeping it well hidden.

So instead he had paid a visit to the library and retrieved a few books on eclipses. Astrophysics wasn't his forte, as while solar flares and supernovae were impressive, he couldn't very well recreate them quite as well as he could recreate, say bombs, or that one time he got his hoofs on some uranium. We'll just say someponies weren't too happy with the hole in the everfree forest that resulted from it.

Geoff sniffed once or twice. "Why Akaitora old buddy old pal! If my nose serves me correctly, and while it may not be as good as yours, you found the saltpetre I desired!" Geoff rushed over there and moved to give Kai a hug out of gratitude.

[Kiernan]

Akaitora awkwardly accepted the hug. He knew that some ponies were inclined to give hugs, whether they knew the other pony or not, but he definitely wasn't one of them. Still, he wasn't jumpy, or excitable, so he didn't react with a counterattack right away, but rather, waited for the hug to end.

"Yes, I did. I always hold my end of an agreement," he smiled with pride. "My integrity is the subject of talk among those I work with, for the right reasons."

Akaitora opened the portal and stepped through, after sending his hose reel through, depositing it in a small bag that hung from the wall. His living area was no different than he had left it, though much different than it had looked this morning. New cushions, brighter and fluffier than the ones from last night, the most minor change. The walls had been smoothed further, and now even had a bit of a shine to them. Even the kitchen had an upgrade, a large marble slab for chocolates. But the biggest standout was the brand new door, leading into the brand new room he had made for his guest, which, when open as it was now, revealed a raised stone platform, topped with a large, plush cushion, a blanket, a comforter, and two pillows, all freshly refurbished. A three inch thick slab jutted out of the wall on one side of the room, a makeshift counter for working on, which had a mortar, pestle, retort, and a suspended fire opal sitting atop it.

"Feel free to use this as a base of operations while you're here," offered Kai, dropping his cloak, then promptly hanging it up on the wall.

[luemas]

Geoff held onto the hug for just a moment too long as was his tendency and then followed his host into the living area.

Geoff furrowed his brow in confusion. He wasn't the most observant of pines but something seemed different. "Why, I'd do say you changed the room. Whatever for?" He asked Akaitora.
He took a second, closer look. "And quite a bit it seems. Is something going on?"

And then Geoff got to his room and let out a small gasp. "For me? You shouldn't have!"

Geoff quickly returned to the living room area and grabbed the saltpetre, and brought it to the marble counter. He turned to Kai. "You wouldn't happen to have a mortar and pestle by any chance? Or something else that would be good for mixing together charcoal, sulfur, and saltpetre?" He could barely contain his enthusiasm.

[Kiernan]

[okay, starting in this post, whenever Kai and Key are together, Kai will be the light blue text, Key will be the light brown text.]

"Right there on the counter beside you," Akaitora chuckled at Geoff's excitement. When asked about a mortar and pestle, he simply ointed to the supplies on the counter, as they sat in plain sight. He really couldn't blame his guest, though. when he had hit breakthroughs in the past, he would have forgotten how low the door frames were, though not for long.

"If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen," he said, as he moved toward the garden just beyond, gathering a few ingredients, to mix into that night's meal.

"Not far now," assured Turnkey, as he and his guest rounded another corner. They had been walking through the districts of Whinnyapolis for about half an hour, but that was the drawback of walking to the exact opposite end of town. "It's just over this hill, I think..."

[Person]

"I sure hope so, we're nearing the edge of town," Silent Storm responded slightly worriedly as they continued down yet another unmarked, narrow street, "This friend of yours sure lives in quite an unorthodox location."

Remembering that this section of town was riddled with skilled thieves and cutpurses, Sil decided to check himself to make sure he still had all he came with. The cloak he was currently wearing to cover his draconic wings was obviously still there, and since the pockets he did have were either empty or filled with inconsequential items such as old grocery lists that were few in number to begin with. He raised his front left hoof slightly, allowing the edge of the cloak to fall from it, and revealing a leather sheath strapped onto his hoof containing a medium-sized dagger that he carried everywhere with the only exception being when he slept and when he washed, and even then it was always close by.

The unusual pair turned down yet another street, and Sil began to wonder if Turnkey correctly remembered the way to their destination, but cast the question aside, confident in 'Key's directional ability. He readjusted his cloak so that it masked his wings better than be fore, than continued plodding along beside, but slightly behind, his unusual traveling companion.

[Kiernan]

"You have no idea," said Turnkey, reaching the crest of the hill. "Ah, very close now," he said, as he stepped out into the open area just outside of town. No visible buildings as far as the eye could see, just a big open field with a few hills, ending in a distant mountain range. The only thing breaking this great expanse was a few hills, the occasional tree, and some runoff from the lake.

He quickened his pace, but not by much, as he descended to the bottom of the first hill, to the peak of the second, and once more to the bottom of the second, where he found a steep slope, just out of view from the rest of the town, to where anypony seeing them would guess that they had come from around the raised terrain, instead of from under it.

"Here we are," he said, indicating the wall of dirt. "This is the entrance to my friend's house."

He didn't want to be thought of as downright mad, so he decided that he should explain. However, he held off on that for just a moment. "I'll just make sure he's in. Wait here for just a moment?" He then disappeared into the wall.

Kai had only just made it back into the kitchen when he heard the portal open in his living area. Either his brother was paying him a surprise visit, or somepony was about to end up with the business end of his spells. He decided he had better investigate, however assumed the worst, and prepared a spell anyway.

As he peered around the doorway, he saw that it was his brother, and nullified his spell.

"Oh, good, you're here," smiled Turnkey, glad he had assumed correctly. "I'll be right back, just remember to call me by my public name when others are around!" he shouted, leaping back through the portal.

Once outside, he turned to Sil, and grinned. "Come on in," he said, making the portal more visible by turning it white, rather than the usual transparent

[Person]

Silent Storm was a bit startled when Turnkey had told him to stay put momentarily then suddenly disappeared into the wall, and was unsure whether to stay as his friend had intended, follow, or go get help because the was a pony-eating monster hidden within walls of dirt. The last of which just seemed silly and the second impossible, so he stood alone and waited for Turnkey to return.

After only a brief moment, Turnkey popped back out and invited Sil through the now visible portal, grinning like one who enjoys showing off to others. Sil poked a tentative hoof through the magical door, then thought, "what the heck" and jumped through the milky-white oval. He came out in what appeared to be the interior of a small house entirely crafted from stone. He saw the well-furnished living space directly before him and gazed in wonder at, well, everything.

Sil looked up from the room and his eyes met a light blue unicorn with blue eyes and... wings? He looked the stallion over more closely and was slightly taken aback by what he saw. The unicorn had artificial wings, but appeared to be operational. He realized he was staring and sheepishly looked away.

[Kiernan]

Akaitora was filled simultaneously with anger, confusion, and just a hint of fear. There was somepony in his home, whom he had never met, just before dinner, and his brother seemed to be fine with it. In fact, he was just standing there, with a big grin on his face. Akaitora's face grew into a slight scowl, he took a deep breath or two, then turned to his brother, and in the sweetest voice he could muster in his current mood, spoke, remembering that he should refrain from blowing his cover. "Could I speak with you in the kitchen, Turnkey?" He realized that he had put too much force into the last word only just after he said it.

Only after being asked did Turnkey realize that something was wrong. When he invited Tundra and Frostbite over for a meal, everything was okay. So why would one less mouth be a bother? granted, he was a bit later than he usually was, but not by that much... Mayhap it was something he had said at lunch that didn't sit right, or mayhap that mass of cable he had given had been too difficult to unravel, or even... Her. Kai's eyes looked a bit puffy. Was she in danger? Trapped? Being held for ransom?

He calmed himself, realizing that assuming the worst would do no good, and he should just talk to Kai to find out what had happened to her, and then panic afterward. "I hate to ask again, but please wait right here. We shouldn't be too long," he said to Sil, before following his brother cautiously into the kitchen.

[luemas]

Geoff grabbed the mortar and pestle and quickly got to work. It wasn't very hard work at all. Mostly dumping charcoal, sulfur, and saltpetre into the pot and grinding it with the mortar and pestle. Or whichever piece was which. It took less than a minute of grinding for him to have made up a decent sized batch of black powder. Humming to himself, he poured it into a stainless steel canister and filled it, trying to leave as little air in it as possible. And then he sealed it, making sure that the seal was as airtight as possible. This way he could control its use and explosion, and no unwanted bombs would be made of the canister. It would make an unfortunate grenade if it caught on fire while he was carrying it.

Geoff waltzed back into the living area, as oblivious as could be, and suddenly he noticed the scene transpiring. He could feel the tension in the air, thick as butter. Kai was steaming, and not vegetables, at two newcomers, one with a very strange necklace and the other with a strangely bulging cloak.

Geoff attempted to slink back into his new room as inconspicuously as possible.

[Person]

Silent Storm shrank back and he whimpered almost inaudibly as the unicorn's face radiated an emotion somewhere between annoyance and murder plotting. He gave a small nod in response to Turnkey's second request, and though the thought of leaving both house and company briefly crossed his mind, he remained awkwardly standing alone in the living room. He watched on as both unicorns exited into what Sil could only assume was the kitchen, and a certain lab coat-clad stallion attempted to slip away unnoticed.

Sil sat down on the cold stone floor, unwittingly revealing a corner of his right wing from beneath the fabric as he did so, and rested his front hoof on the pommel of his dagger, a habit that became apparent whenever he was nervous or unsure of a situation. Thoughts raced through his head like fireflies in a jar, thoughts of fears, mayhaps, and what-ifs regarding his continued well-being for the duration of the evening. After a moment deep in thought, Sil sighed a deep sigh of resignation, realizing that such in-depth fantasies of times yet to come were unnecessary and downright ridiculous, and so then awaited the outcome of whatever was going on in the kitchen.

[luemas]

Geoff watched Akaitora and the main pony his anger was directed at, the one with the unique necklace, disappear into the kitchen. He carefully considered his options, hiding in here until the storm passed, or introducing himself to the second new pony, whoever he was.

Geoff saw him grab the dagger and cautiously entered the room. It would do him no good to try to greet him and then get stabbed, and it would be very ungracious to Kai as he would then have to clean up blood, and his house looked too pristine to sully.

"Hello there young sir!" He said cheerily from halfway across the room, giving the pony plenty of time to notice him as he approached, hoof extended.
"My name is Prof Geoff, and you can call me Geoff. Or Prof really. I don't mind."

[Person]

Silent Storm looked up at the older stallion, observing his physique. The professor was a bit taller than him and his coat struck a blue seen in the sky just after nightfall. Sil was a bit wary of scientists as a result of one particular attempt with, to put it lightly, invasive experiments on the young pegasus. Still, this particular stallion seemed jovial enough and certainly did not impose a threatening figure. He removed his hoof from the sheathed dagger's hilt and stood, embracing Geoff's risen hoof with his own.

"Umm, n-nice to meet you professor," Sil said to the blue stallion, "My name is Silent Storm."

[Kiernan]

[decided to break the kitchen conversation into chunks, to make it easier to digest. And by digest, I mean to bring in, as one would nutrients.]

Akaitora led his brother into the kitchen, and sealed the door. As an added precaution, he muffled any sound that could exit the door and provoke any kind of undesired response from his... guest. After a few moments of nothing but staring at the floor, a blank expression on his face, he pulled his head up, to look directly into his elder brother's eyes. "Usu," he said, keeping his voice calm and level. "Who is that, in my living room?"

Usutora noticed the tone his younger brother was using straight away. It was the tone he always used when he was angry, angry enough to execute his wrath, to cripple those who would cause him pain. He was in the eye of the storm, and it was getting ever smaller as the seconds ticked on. His only hope was to answer the questions in such a way that he wouldn't have his brother's anger explode, such a bomb would have a hair trigger, and every wire would set it off. This would be tricky. "He's a friend of mine," he said, his fear showing on his face, but not yet audible in his voice. "He needs your help."

Akaitora knew that as long as he kept calm, he was downright mortifying to anypony that knew him. His first stage would be to gather the information, before he would start shouting in the second stage, after which the third stage, negotiation, would begin. "Needs my help, eh?" thought Akaitora aloud. "And instead of asking me to meet someone I've never met in a public area, or somewhere secluded, you decided instead that it would be best to show a complete stranger where I live, what I'm doing, and how to get into my house." His calm demeanor slipped ever so slightly, revealing an anger in his voice. "What possessed you to bring him here?"

Usutora swallowed, though he had no idea why. "He needs your help. If anyone can help him, you can."

"And there it is once more," said Akaitora, rubbing the left side of his jaw. "You claim he needs my assistance. What does he require by which I can give?" When his brother didn't answer, or even so much as look at him, he asked again.

"Usu. What help from me have you promised him?"

[luemas]

[Sorry for my delay in responding. I was in MIchigan and forgot to respond prior to my departure... *whistles*]

Geoff warmly shook his hoof, giving it three downward shakes. "So what--or who--brings you here? And do you know anything about the fury of our amicable host? He always seemed so kind and generous to me..."

Geoff glanced off, lost in thought. "Who was that pony you came in with. What can you tell me about him?"