Post by CableZ on Mar 4, 2015 4:21:15 GMT
Maps. Bags. Fetching scarf.
Today was going to be a very long day, probably the longest in a while. The shrill wind of the coast line ran over the pier as a salty mist of sea water was cast over the damp wood. Several ponies were stood on the pier at the end of the docks, waiting for ships and deliveries of all sorts to arrive from far off lands. One individual who walked along the creaking planks stood out more than most, an individual who may have not belonged in pony society but certainly was part of the world. A'bek Thorns was a mighty Ibex, part of a lost species that the world had forgotten. He was a druid, warrior, guardian and all round warden of nature, the world and it's elements. He was also a traveller, which explains why he was there. He'd wandered around much of Equestria but he knew there was much of the world left to see. After a chance encounter with an ambassador had given A'bek the desire to travel cross seas to a desert land to the south east. It had taken some time to earn the bits to bater passage across the seas, A'bek didn't exactly have much to trade with considering he didn't even own a house. As he walked along the pier, a few ponies turned and gasped, whispering things behind their hooves as if it made it harder to spot. Smirking as he pulled on the heavy duty scarf he'd bought to tighten it around his neck, he headed over to the end of the pier to look out on the vast ocean.
It had always given him calm when looking out over such a large body of water, though the choppy nature of the seas were cause for slight concern. The overcast clouds and brisk temperature let him know that it would be a trying journey for the boat, which was a slight worry. Not least because swimming in the ocean was not a good thing for A'bek, in fact it would be pretty bad for him. The main reason he avoided the ocean was his size and his fur. The salt water weighed him down making swimming in salt water fairly difficult and dangerous, even his druidic power served little help as salt water was salt water and while he could change it if it were isolated, it was fairly impossible to filter in the ocean. He was in no hurry to jump in either due to how cold it look, the grey sky above sort of sucked that kind of enthusiasm out of what was meant to be a fun journey. Still, that was weather, A'bek had never appreciated how ponies controlled weather in areas.
The ship he was meant to board was currently docked near the end of the pier, ready for passengers. One thing he really admired about ponies was their technology and ingenuity. The large sea ferry was amazing, his kind never developed to this point and it made him wonder if they would have gotten to this point. He looked up at the large white metal structure of the ferry with wide eyes, it took something special to make A'bek feel small and this really did make him feel small. With a gulp he looked up at the large cruise liner ferry, far more extravagant than what he expected. A ferry to A'bek used to mean a large heavy duty raft. Stumbling out of the way as some passengers wanted to get on board, flashing their tickets to the attendant who stood at the base of the ramp. A'bek quickly figured out the procedure and while he was hesitant, he was eager to get on his way. Showing his ticket to the bewildered attendant, A'bek made his way up the ramp to the ship. As his hooves stepped onto the wooden floor of the Ship's deck, A'bek tapped his hoof down to test the material. The ship was a typical cruise liner, several outer pathways and one large hull in the middle, though non of this was typical to A'bek. He noted to excessive use of metal, it made up most of the hull and he betted it was pretty thick. This was probably how they avoided sinking in harsh seas, extraordinary. Looking around for a moment, A'bek decided he wanted to find his room and get some sleep, the offer of a bed was rare for the goat and he could make a great use of it.
~~
14 hours later
A'bek's eyes softly opened with a low rumbling groan. He looked around the small cabin that was his room, his legs hung over the side of the double bed that just wasn't quite big enough. Letting out a yawn that would silence a ball room, A'bek shuffled out of bed, misjduging the distance to the floor due to his size and almost falling face first out of bed. Shaking himself off, he stretched out his bones with a few cracks. His eyes ached a dull pain as he yawned, he'd not had a sleep like in a while. He didn't mind sleeping on grasslands and meadow but a soft warm bed would always be preferable, he felt his body revitalizing and the benefits of the sleep coming to him. Still, sleeping for that long had left him groggy, what didn't help was a very loud horn sounding before a voice rung out across the ship.
“Ladies and gentlecolts we are approaching the harbour, please gather your belongings. We hoped you enjoyed your journey with us.” The fuzzed yet warm voice rang around the ship.
A'bek hefted his two satchel bags onto his back, not yet having found a large enough bag he had taken to using two large pony sized bags. Exiting his room, he looked both directions down the hallway that was only just big enough for him. Certainly if anypony wanted to get past him it'd be a squeeze, his horns tapped against the ceiling every so often. With a sigh he made his way through the ship, wanting to breath in some of the outer air. He got a little lost, but soon enough he saw the sunlight shining through an open door way. Ducking his head down, he emerged outside from the bowels of the ship and had to shield his eyes from the intense sunlight that awaited him. The pure blue sky above was vast, one that threatened to turn your head backwards as you tried to look at it all. The light blue on the horizon leading to the deep blue high up above, it was mesmerizing. A'bek had to stop gawking as he looked down at the ground, he felt a brisk wind on his fur as he saw a city of sandstone lay before him. This place was incredible, beautiful...and really really hot. A'bek had only just noticed but the heat was incredible, maybe not so bad for a creature with short fur but with shaggy fur like his, this trip would be difficult. Heading down the gang plank to a sea of staring and bewildered faces, A'bek looked around with a raised eyebrow before spotting a group of individuals waiting around what resembled a carriage. He figured they were waiting for people to pick up. No better time to start a journey, he waded through the awe struck crowd as he reached into one of his satchels and pulled out a map of the region he'd procured. The map was pretty much the only way he would be able to get around and communicate for awhile.
Approaching the group, they looked up at him with wide eyes as he came to a halt in front of them. He could see that these creatures were a little taller than others around them, but A'bek still comfortably dwarfed every creature at this harbour. Nice to know some things weren't going to change. A'bek was a little awkward, well aware he spoke nothing resembling something even anywhere close to a language these guys might speak, he instead held the map up for a moment and pointed to a point on the map he assumed was correct. The group looked at him for a moment before nodding and signalling for him to get on board. A'bek did as he was instructed, kind of unsure if he'd been clear, it was all quite alien. Not speaking the language in a country was an uneasy feeling, you were always aware that you were probably not being clear in every action you made. Still he was on his way somewhere and that was more than he could have said for ten minutes ago, he just hoped he'd pointed to the right spot on the map. Time would only tell.
It was several hours before A'bek saw anything on the horizon, they'd been travelling in the desert for a while and A'bek was getting uneasy until he saw the buildings on the horizon. Looking on the map, he tried to remember where he'd pointed at, his big stupid hoof could have hit one of five locations if he looked at this. Oh well, he wanted to get around so whatever. There wasn't much point asking one of the guys pulling the carriage, so he'd just sort of have to wing it when he got there. The reason he wanted to be in this area was that he'd heard tale of a large oasis near this area, or at least this was the closest area that he would be able to travel from. Soon they pulled into the city and A'bek paid his dues as he dismounted from the carriage. Looking around, A'bek sighed as he stared at the map, where in the world was he? He decided to wander around for a bit, despite the entire street stopping and looking at him as he walked by. A creature like A'bek was causing such a stir that soon word spread of a giant horned creature wandering around the city, it was causing quite a fuss.
Today was going to be a very long day, probably the longest in a while. The shrill wind of the coast line ran over the pier as a salty mist of sea water was cast over the damp wood. Several ponies were stood on the pier at the end of the docks, waiting for ships and deliveries of all sorts to arrive from far off lands. One individual who walked along the creaking planks stood out more than most, an individual who may have not belonged in pony society but certainly was part of the world. A'bek Thorns was a mighty Ibex, part of a lost species that the world had forgotten. He was a druid, warrior, guardian and all round warden of nature, the world and it's elements. He was also a traveller, which explains why he was there. He'd wandered around much of Equestria but he knew there was much of the world left to see. After a chance encounter with an ambassador had given A'bek the desire to travel cross seas to a desert land to the south east. It had taken some time to earn the bits to bater passage across the seas, A'bek didn't exactly have much to trade with considering he didn't even own a house. As he walked along the pier, a few ponies turned and gasped, whispering things behind their hooves as if it made it harder to spot. Smirking as he pulled on the heavy duty scarf he'd bought to tighten it around his neck, he headed over to the end of the pier to look out on the vast ocean.
It had always given him calm when looking out over such a large body of water, though the choppy nature of the seas were cause for slight concern. The overcast clouds and brisk temperature let him know that it would be a trying journey for the boat, which was a slight worry. Not least because swimming in the ocean was not a good thing for A'bek, in fact it would be pretty bad for him. The main reason he avoided the ocean was his size and his fur. The salt water weighed him down making swimming in salt water fairly difficult and dangerous, even his druidic power served little help as salt water was salt water and while he could change it if it were isolated, it was fairly impossible to filter in the ocean. He was in no hurry to jump in either due to how cold it look, the grey sky above sort of sucked that kind of enthusiasm out of what was meant to be a fun journey. Still, that was weather, A'bek had never appreciated how ponies controlled weather in areas.
The ship he was meant to board was currently docked near the end of the pier, ready for passengers. One thing he really admired about ponies was their technology and ingenuity. The large sea ferry was amazing, his kind never developed to this point and it made him wonder if they would have gotten to this point. He looked up at the large white metal structure of the ferry with wide eyes, it took something special to make A'bek feel small and this really did make him feel small. With a gulp he looked up at the large cruise liner ferry, far more extravagant than what he expected. A ferry to A'bek used to mean a large heavy duty raft. Stumbling out of the way as some passengers wanted to get on board, flashing their tickets to the attendant who stood at the base of the ramp. A'bek quickly figured out the procedure and while he was hesitant, he was eager to get on his way. Showing his ticket to the bewildered attendant, A'bek made his way up the ramp to the ship. As his hooves stepped onto the wooden floor of the Ship's deck, A'bek tapped his hoof down to test the material. The ship was a typical cruise liner, several outer pathways and one large hull in the middle, though non of this was typical to A'bek. He noted to excessive use of metal, it made up most of the hull and he betted it was pretty thick. This was probably how they avoided sinking in harsh seas, extraordinary. Looking around for a moment, A'bek decided he wanted to find his room and get some sleep, the offer of a bed was rare for the goat and he could make a great use of it.
~~
14 hours later
A'bek's eyes softly opened with a low rumbling groan. He looked around the small cabin that was his room, his legs hung over the side of the double bed that just wasn't quite big enough. Letting out a yawn that would silence a ball room, A'bek shuffled out of bed, misjduging the distance to the floor due to his size and almost falling face first out of bed. Shaking himself off, he stretched out his bones with a few cracks. His eyes ached a dull pain as he yawned, he'd not had a sleep like in a while. He didn't mind sleeping on grasslands and meadow but a soft warm bed would always be preferable, he felt his body revitalizing and the benefits of the sleep coming to him. Still, sleeping for that long had left him groggy, what didn't help was a very loud horn sounding before a voice rung out across the ship.
“Ladies and gentlecolts we are approaching the harbour, please gather your belongings. We hoped you enjoyed your journey with us.” The fuzzed yet warm voice rang around the ship.
A'bek hefted his two satchel bags onto his back, not yet having found a large enough bag he had taken to using two large pony sized bags. Exiting his room, he looked both directions down the hallway that was only just big enough for him. Certainly if anypony wanted to get past him it'd be a squeeze, his horns tapped against the ceiling every so often. With a sigh he made his way through the ship, wanting to breath in some of the outer air. He got a little lost, but soon enough he saw the sunlight shining through an open door way. Ducking his head down, he emerged outside from the bowels of the ship and had to shield his eyes from the intense sunlight that awaited him. The pure blue sky above was vast, one that threatened to turn your head backwards as you tried to look at it all. The light blue on the horizon leading to the deep blue high up above, it was mesmerizing. A'bek had to stop gawking as he looked down at the ground, he felt a brisk wind on his fur as he saw a city of sandstone lay before him. This place was incredible, beautiful...and really really hot. A'bek had only just noticed but the heat was incredible, maybe not so bad for a creature with short fur but with shaggy fur like his, this trip would be difficult. Heading down the gang plank to a sea of staring and bewildered faces, A'bek looked around with a raised eyebrow before spotting a group of individuals waiting around what resembled a carriage. He figured they were waiting for people to pick up. No better time to start a journey, he waded through the awe struck crowd as he reached into one of his satchels and pulled out a map of the region he'd procured. The map was pretty much the only way he would be able to get around and communicate for awhile.
Approaching the group, they looked up at him with wide eyes as he came to a halt in front of them. He could see that these creatures were a little taller than others around them, but A'bek still comfortably dwarfed every creature at this harbour. Nice to know some things weren't going to change. A'bek was a little awkward, well aware he spoke nothing resembling something even anywhere close to a language these guys might speak, he instead held the map up for a moment and pointed to a point on the map he assumed was correct. The group looked at him for a moment before nodding and signalling for him to get on board. A'bek did as he was instructed, kind of unsure if he'd been clear, it was all quite alien. Not speaking the language in a country was an uneasy feeling, you were always aware that you were probably not being clear in every action you made. Still he was on his way somewhere and that was more than he could have said for ten minutes ago, he just hoped he'd pointed to the right spot on the map. Time would only tell.
It was several hours before A'bek saw anything on the horizon, they'd been travelling in the desert for a while and A'bek was getting uneasy until he saw the buildings on the horizon. Looking on the map, he tried to remember where he'd pointed at, his big stupid hoof could have hit one of five locations if he looked at this. Oh well, he wanted to get around so whatever. There wasn't much point asking one of the guys pulling the carriage, so he'd just sort of have to wing it when he got there. The reason he wanted to be in this area was that he'd heard tale of a large oasis near this area, or at least this was the closest area that he would be able to travel from. Soon they pulled into the city and A'bek paid his dues as he dismounted from the carriage. Looking around, A'bek sighed as he stared at the map, where in the world was he? He decided to wander around for a bit, despite the entire street stopping and looking at him as he walked by. A creature like A'bek was causing such a stir that soon word spread of a giant horned creature wandering around the city, it was causing quite a fuss.