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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 12, 2019 9:42:53 GMT -6
Soon, she had it slipped in amongst it's fellows. She had five wax leaves now, all carefully nestled in the outermost pocket. She lazily wondered how many she could find while she was here- there certainly seemed to be plenty lying around here. She was also curious as to what sorts of creatures lived here in the mansion. She had heard that there were fantastical creatures that lurked in its depths, but so far she hadn't seen any. Well, not unless she was counting the pocket pets she had found, the little angry shadows and the spleen. But that wasn't really what she was thinking of. She did have a couple of vai min mur themed pets from years past, but she didn't really count those either- she had gotten them from the labs, not the eccentric's mansion. Perhaps the creatures that lived here were simply rumors from various explorers.
Fiera 17 Victor 9.2/11.2 77
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 12, 2019 9:46:22 GMT -6
Fiera supposed that a lot of what she had heard about the mansion could have just been rumors and hearsay. It was very difficult to prove anything that happened here because of how the mansion changed and shifted constantly. It definitely played tricks on people and was difficult to traverse as well. Fiera could easily see chagrined and egotistical explorers trying to blame their misfortune in the manor on anything but themselves, so they'd come up with wild stories explaining their failures. Tales of monsters and pitfalls and whatnot. And yet... a lot of what she had heard had turned out to be true. The ever shifting nature of the mansion, the way it seemed to have a sense of humor. She already had gone on quite a number of seemingly unbelievable adventures here already. If she told people what had happened to her, she wouldn't blame them for not believing her.
Fiera 18 Victor 9.3/11.3 78
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 12, 2019 9:52:57 GMT -6
Like this, for example. Fiera stopped, dragging Victor to a halt as well, to look at the sight in front of her. The trees had gotten ever taller as she walked, until they passed out of her range of vision in the fog. Some were even ten feet wide, if not more, but still as dead looking as anything else. The bushes had grown less and less frequent, though there were still a few of them around. The spider webs were still present in force, but had grown in size to match the trees. The one Fiera was standing in front of now was the biggest she had seen yet. It stretched up dozens of feet, further than Fiera could see, lacy and elegant. Each of its 'cells' were so big that Fiera could just walk through it if she liked. At least she didn't have to avoid the spider webs anymore.
Fiera 19 Victor 9.4/11.4 79
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 12, 2019 10:00:11 GMT -6
She passed through the titanic web carefully and curiously, watching as it swayed gently in her wake. These webs must have been just an illusion- what creatures of that size were there to catch, even? The idea of the spider that would live in such a web was an uncomfortable thought as well. No, they must simply be fake decorations of the mansion this month. Still, at least it made traversing this part of the mansion grounds easier than before. She didn't have to watch herself to make sure she was getting caught on anything, or keep an eye on Victor to make sure he wasn't gathering cobwebs around his horns like cotton candy. She even unwound her black, long furred tail from around her waist, letting it flow freely again, without fear of getting it dirty. Combing dirt and sticky things out of her fur was the absolute worst.
Fiera 20 (level up!) Victor 10.0/12.0 80
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Post by Renathan on Oct 12, 2019 10:08:50 GMT -6
A spooky wax leaf floats on the whistling wind. Where are they coming from?
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 13, 2019 7:36:59 GMT -6
Movement flickered at the peripheral edges of Fiera’s vision, and her hand whipped out to catch it on instinct. By the time she consciously realized there was anything there at all, the wax leaf was already bunched up in her fist. Whoops. Well, at least now she knew that they weren’t as delicate as they looked, she thought as she uncrumpled it and smoothed our the wrinkles as best as she could. And what luck! She had six by now, that she had found just floating around the mansion grounds. She heard that items like this could be traded in at a wishing well somewhere on mansion grounds. If that was really true, she’d have to track it down- she was becoming rich, if the given currency was wax leaves. She slipped her backpack onto one shoulder, to put the autumnal leaf with the others she had found.
Fiera 1 Victor 10.1/12.1 81
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 13, 2019 7:49:18 GMT -6
Once she had put it in with the other, Fiera zipped her backpack back up and lifted it onto her shoulders. Victor was waiting for her patiently, but immediately got back up once she had herself situated. The webs seemed to become even further spread apart now, between the massive trees- or perhaps they were still there, but so high up that Fiera couldn’t hope to see them without a flying mount- which she didn’t have. She should probably get around to training that to one of her pets sometime, she thought. Still, most of what she could see now was the monolithic, huge trunks of the dead trees. The bushes had faded off entirely now. That combined with the bare, grassless ground made the fact that she was in a forest still feel open, empty and unnerving. Hopefully something would break the monotony soon, before the urges to bolt got any stronger.
Fiera 2 Victor 10.2/12.2 82
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 13, 2019 8:16:26 GMT -6
Just as she thought that however, she found something... interesting. The trees by this point were incredibly wide, over two dozen feet in diameter, and so smooth that if she hadn’t been walking in this forest from the start, she wouldn’t have known that they were even trees. There weren’t even any fallen branches or leaves to denote their species, she realized with a start. But that wasn’t the interesting thing she had noticed. Instead, one of the trees she had found had a hollow in it, like a hole that had rotted larger and larger, with the tree healing around it. This hollow was massive though, a room in the center of the tree, leaving the trunk supported by what looked like a narrow ring of bark. It should be dangerous, structurally unsound but... that seemed a rather obvious trap, even for the eccentric’s mansion.
Fiera 3 Victor 10.3/12.3 83
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 13, 2019 8:25:20 GMT -6
So she approached, carefully but confidently. Sure enough, Victor seemed interested as well, sniffing loudly and starting to tug on the leash. She guessed they were on to their next adventure. As she approached, she could see a glow coming from inside the tunnel. What was that? Why was there a glow in a tree? Fiera’s interest had been piqued, and she entered the wide mouthed hollow. The inside was about as she expected- a dirt floored hollow with wooden walls. Toward the back of the tree, where one would expect to find... well, the back of the tree, the ground dipped down, leading to a tunnel that was dug beneath the earth, beyond the tree. It was from this tunnel that the warm, orange glow was emanating. Victor pulled on the leash in its direction incessantly- it looked like he was on SOMETHING’s trail, here. Who was Fiera to refuse?
Fiera 4 Victor 10.4/12.4 84
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 13, 2019 8:53:43 GMT -6
As she approached, the glow got stronger. As she stepped onto the threshold of the underground tunnel, she peered into the darkness. From her vantage point, she could see much- the tunnel changed directions too steeply, down then out, to see where the glow originated. She did think however, that she could see stone instead of dirt down below. Not your average rock that is, but cut cobbles and hewn tunnels. Whatever was down there, she was pretty sure it originated from human hands and effort. She turned to Victor, unsure of whether she should go forward. “Well, buddy? What do you think?” She said. Victor looked at her, and sniffed the air before pointing his nose further down the tunnel. Well, that was about as much an answer as anything else she was going to get from the rakai. She stood up, getting ready to go into the glow.
Fiera 5 Victor 11.0/13.0 85
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Post by Renathan on Oct 13, 2019 8:59:49 GMT -6
A thrumming could be felt coming from somewhere up ahead... What was that coming from? It was very distinct.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 13, 2019 9:27:03 GMT -6
She started shuffling down the slope, sending down a cascade of pebbles and dirt after her. Victor followed suit, a little less gracefully due to having to manage four legs. She gave her previous area one last glance- all she could see was wood, darkness and wisps of dog. She nodded and turned away- nothing left for her there, it was time to say goodbye to the forest of webs. As she did however. Victor started barking up a storm. “What’s going on, V?” She said with a smile. “Little Timmy fall down a w- oh. Oh my.” She said, looking where he was. Sure enough, half embedded in the dirt was another one of those glowing crystals, right on the threshold between her last area and the next. “Well, that’s as good a sign as anything else for this place.” She said, approaching the pale crystal carefully.
Fiera 6 Victor 11.1/13.1 86
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 13, 2019 9:39:32 GMT -6
Fiera gently took it in her fingers, wincing at the initial jolt of energy. Once it was done though, the thrumming of the crystal dulled to a much more comfortable level. Victor calmed down too, satisfied now that she had claimed it. And she did, picking it up and tossing it in the air once. These crystals weren’t nearly so scary now that she had found more than one of them. She still had the feeling that they were very rare though- she’d have to keep it safe. She opened up the innermost pocket of her bag again, and put it with its fellow. They both glowed briefly upon meeting each other, as if sending a polite greeting. She zipped them up, right and safe. Nothing would be getting at them any time soon with her and Victor around. Now, to figure out where she was in here...
Fiera 7 Victor 11.2/14.2 87
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 13, 2019 9:47:41 GMT -6
The... ambient energy of the area didn’t seem to have faded since she took the crystal out, not like before. Before, it had seemed like all the wonder had been sucked from the area when she took the crystal out, leaving it full and uninteresting. However, she still felt just as driven to enter this new area. Perhaps it was because the crystal had been located in a place of transition? A bridge between two places? Fiera could only speculate as she began to walk toward that warm orange glow. Victor seemed happy to join her, no longer distracted by the energy of the crystal. Soon, her feet met the cobbles she had seen from outside, hard and cool. Victor soon joined her, his claws click clacking over the stone. The walls transitioned to stone too, carved out and smooth instead of the rough, pebbly dirt of the previous area.
Fiera 8 Victor 11.3/14.3 88
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 13, 2019 10:20:57 GMT -6
As she walked, the source of the light finally came into view. Torches were attached to the wall, embedded in rough sconces dug out of the stone wall. How anti climatic that the mysterious glow turned out to be simple fire! Though Fiera supposed that led to an equally large question of who put them there- not that she really expected an answer. Victor sniffed at them and the strong, tarry scent they let off. Other than that though, the hall was otherwise bare, at least for the time being. It was about ten feet high, but nearly twenty five feet wide, leaving Fiera as the only source of sound in a wide, stony tunnel, her shoes clacking against the ground. She forged ahead regardless, however. There had to be some reason for this tunnel being here, even if it was just as a passageway to a different place on the mansion’s grounds.
Fiera 9 Victor 11.4/14.4 89
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