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Post by Ashe on Oct 4, 2019 1:58:06 GMT -6
Ashe and Charon arrived at the next tombstone, and this one was a little less weather beaten. It was legible, save for the very ends of words or dates. It wasn't pristine but it definitely wasn't as old as the first one. This time, Ashe read that it was a woman named Phoebe who had been buried here, and her inscription was a fair bit more heartwarming and heartfelt than the last one. 'RIP, beautiful mom and daughter'. That kind of made Ashe sad. Who was this woman? It sounded sad for a parent to go before the grandparent; what happened to the kid? Maybe they were old enough to fend for themselves... Ashe touched the tombstone respectfully and continued on. Charon floated along after him, not having any interest in this particular stone. Once you saw one head stone, you saw them all, as far as he was considered! Nothing exciting about a rock shoved partway into the ground.
Charon: Loyalty 1 0/5 Ashe: 0 5/20
October Post 5
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Post by Ashe on Oct 4, 2019 2:15:29 GMT -6
Together, the pair wandered a little more among the tombstones, checking out each one, with Ashe occasionally making comments about the dead person's life, such as "Oh, that's a pretty name, I bet she was hot" or "That's a tough name, but was he a wimp I wonder?" Charon was supportive in whatever Ashe decided to do, and joined him with eagerness each time he paused and kneeled.
Darkness was starting to settle on top of them, sapping the light like a leech, draining it slowly until it felt more like purgatory than nighttime. Ashe was in his element, completely at ease. Unfortunately, as bright as the moon was - was that a full moon? - it still wasn't bright enough to read the tombstones by. Ashe did have a flashlight with him, which he turned on. It was borrowed from his mining gear, with fresh batteries put in just in case. This way made it slightly easier to read, but it still wasn't perfect.
Charon: Loyalty 1 1/5 Ashe: 0 6/20
October Post 6
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Post by Ashe on Oct 4, 2019 2:29:41 GMT -6
That feeling still wouldn't go away, though. He felt like he was being watched, just out of his range but still there. He looked multiple times, both with and without the light. He looked quick, and he looked slow, and he pretended not to look at all while he just moved his eyeballs. But still there was nothing to be seen there, nothing of this world at any rate. It could be a ghost for all he knew, a translucent being that Ashe could only see as a flicker when it was moving but when it stayed still it was perfectly invisible? It sounded pretty out there. This was the Labs, though - and even more so, this was the Mansion! - and anything was possible.
He decided now would probably be a decent time to go into the house next. He called to Charon and together they left the tombstones and headed for the mansions doors. Ashe climbed the steps and opened the door with a creak.
Charon: Loyalty 1 2/5 Ashe: 0 7/20
October Post 7
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Post by Ashe on Oct 4, 2019 2:36:55 GMT -6
The door creaked on rusty sounding hinges, letting the entire world know that Ashe - and Charon - had arrived to the party. Any ghost would have heard and could either hide or rush to the door to greet him; every interesting yet flighty creature was miles away by now. Ashe walked in, looking around. A thin layer of dust covered almost everything, including the floor. He made a face, noting that there must not have been anyone ahead of him already in the house. Unless the Mansion swallowed them up and cleaned up after them with a fresh layer of dust? Who knew, it was always possible.
Ashe took a step, then another. He turned to look and saw that he was indeed leaving foot prints behind him and that wasn't actually the floor just made to look like a slick layer of dust. Charon, on the other hand, didn't leave a single mark on the dust, though he did float down to get a closer look at it.
Charon: Loyalty 1 8/5 Ashe: 0 8/20
October Post 8
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Post by Ashe on Oct 4, 2019 2:43:18 GMT -6
Ashe and Charon were barely just inside the door and into the first hallway when the front door, which Ashe had left open in his distraction over the smooth sheen of dust on the floor, slammed shut suddenly. It made Ashe jump and he whirled around, ready to confront a foe. His hand went to his pocket, where he kept his nodes, ready to tap. Charon was so startled, poor thing, that it ended up in the rafters, clinging for dear life to one of the ceiling beams.
But nothing was there, nothing came after them and nothing rattled the door knob or anything of the sort. "Just the wind," Ashe told Charon with confidence and a shrug. The dragon took a little while to come back down but eventually it was hovering over Ashe's shoulder again, curious and ready to explore. The man started walking down the hall to the first door, which he quickly turned the knob of and - it rattled but wouldn't budge.
Charon: Loyalty 1 4/5 Ashe: 0 9/20
October Post 9
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Post by Ashe on Oct 4, 2019 3:01:03 GMT -6
He shoved his weight against it, trying to get the door to open, but it remained steadfast. It must have a deadbolt in it for some reason, Ashe thought. That was odd, he'd never come across a locked room in this mansion before, usually the building welcomed him with open door after open door. With a disappointed sigh, Ashe decided to move on. Charon went with him, darting and rolling around in the air as he led the way to the next door. This time, when Ashe tried it, it opened eagerly and swung inward. He walked in with his little Amulet Spirit in tow and they looked around. This appeared to be a living room of some sort. A dying fire provided some light in the fireplace, some furniture was set up such as a couch and an armchair. It seemed cozy enough, but Ashe couldn't see a lamp or an overhead light or anything he could turn on to make it brighter. Guess he'd just have to investigate by a dying ember's glow!
Charon: Loyalty 2 0/5 Ashe: 0 10/20
October Post 10
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 4, 2019 7:08:27 GMT -6
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Post by Ashe on Oct 6, 2019 16:01:43 GMT -6
Something was rustling in the corner of the room. Ashe paused to listen, trying to see if it was just a breeze moving a leaf stuck somewhere, or if it was something approaching them. Charon started to float forward out of curiosity, but Ashe held out an arm to stop him from going too close. He wasn't sure what it was or if it could hurt an amulet spirit. Not that he'd ever experienced anyone in his care getting hurt before, he didn't really want to start now, especially when they had just started their journey here.
It sounded to Ashe like the thing, whatever it was, was simply moving around in the corner. It was slow sounding, so not rapidly moving like a rodent of some sort. He crept forward, trying not to make too much noise in case he drew its attention. He didn't want it to run away, if it was something he could catch and bring home with him!
Charon: Loyalty 2 1/5 Ashe: 0 11/20
October Post 11
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Post by Ashe on Oct 6, 2019 16:20:36 GMT -6
Ashe walked closer to the sound and soon enough, it was revealed even in the dim light what they were approaching. There was a blob of goo with some things stuck inside it, and actually it was a leaf that was on top of the goo beast rustling against the wall as it moved that had attracted Ashe's attention in the first place. He crept closer, with Charon hovering right over his shoulder as he went. It looked like there were some other things suck in the goo, too, and there was a cloak of some sort hanging from the wall that the goo monster seemed to be trying to retrieve. Ashe watched for another few minutes, determining his plan of action. That leaf looked interesting, and he wanted that vial also stuck in the goo, and you had to be kidding yourself if you thought Ashe would walk out of here wearing less than that cloak around his shoulders! He nodded to his dragon and they burst forward.
Charon: Loyalty 2 2/5 Ashe: 0 12/20
October Post 12
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Post by Ashe on Oct 12, 2019 4:44:15 GMT -6
The goo monster looked like it was going to try to attack them, but when both Ashe and Charon charged at the same time, it seemed to think otherwise. It took ages for it to turn itself around, but it had started to move backward even while facing forward still, by the time the pair reached it. "Ah-ah!" Ashe told it triumphantly. He plucked first the bottle out of the goo, shaking it free of any clinging sticky syrup. He cleaned the rest of it off on his shirt - which could and would be washed later - and tucked it away in a pocket. Charon floated above the monster and decided, on his own, that the best thing for him to do was distract the beast while Ashe claimed the prizes. He blocked his escape route, dropping down to just above the ground. The syrup monster came to a halt, considering, then it tried to go in a different direction to get away from the two bullies.
Charon: Loyalty 2 3/5 Ashe: 0 13/20
October Post 13
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Post by Ashe on Oct 12, 2019 4:54:10 GMT -6
Charon made a dive forward to block the syrup beast, and with a tight roll, he ended up right in front of the gooey mess. He preened, pleased with himself for thwarting the mighty beast, then glanced at Ashe to see if his master had seen him. Ashe smiled and gave him the thumbs up, quickly grabbing the tattered cape that was being dragged. Only a corner was stuck in the syrup monster's body, just enough to be dragged along with it. He wiped it off as best as he could, then draped it around his shoulders for lack of a better place to put it. It would be easier to carry like this, and out of the way to boot. Now he just needed the leaf. "A little bit longer..." He murmured to his amulet spirit, and Charon doubled his efforts to block the escape of the ferocious beast. He was just a cute little dragon, yet somehow he managed to get in front of the monster at every turn.
Charon: Loyalty 2 4/5 Ashe: 0 14/20
October Post 14
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Post by Ashe on Oct 12, 2019 5:06:07 GMT -6
Success! Ashe was able to reach down and pluck the leaf out of there next, and that was quickly wiped off and placed in a pocket. It wasn't a normal leaf - Ashe couldn't tell if it was just coated in something to help it keep its shape or if it was plastic and made to look like a real leaf; he'd have to figure it out later with a closer inspection. But he wanted to keep it anyway, it reminded him of the other items that he could collect through the other months and toss into the wishing well at the end of the season. Since he now had all the prizes that had been caught up in the slime, Ashe wasn't quite sure what to do with it. He didn't want to put that in a pocket! Charon was busy trying to herd the syrup beast like a cutting Equillion would herd a Murp, cutting it off at every turn. Hm... Maybe Charon could just herd it into a corner and Ashe could pick it up on the way out.
Charon: Loyalty 3 0/5 Ashe: 0 15/20
October Post 15
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Post by Renathan on Oct 12, 2019 8:02:16 GMT -6
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Post by Ashe on Oct 22, 2019 18:15:06 GMT -6
The pair finished in that room and headed for the first door they could find. It was difficult, seeing as it was near pitch black in here now with the fire embers dying way down at this point, but the old fashioned door knob gleamed in the dim light and Ashe made a beeline straight for it. He reached the door, touching it with a hand tentatively to feel it and make sure it was indeed what he was hoping it was. It felt like a door, like a thin but solid object, that led to something hollow on the other end such as a room. He grasped the handle and turned it, hearing it click as the metal piece was drawn back and the door swung open. As he was about to swing the door open and enter the next room, he heard something moving. Looking down at his feet, he saw a pumpkin headed thing carrying two leaves - and Charon had floated down there to be nose to nose with it!
Charon: Loyalty 3 1/5 Ashe: 0 16/20
October Post 16
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Post by Ashe on Oct 24, 2019 21:08:25 GMT -6
While Charon was down there to distract the little pumpkin headed guy, Ashe decided to be sneaky and try to steal those two leaves. He didn't know what he would be using these things for, he just knew he wanted them. He reached down slowly, watching his little dragon amulet spirit dodge this way and that way, letting the pumpkin head get close but never close enough to touch. To swipe at Charon, the pumpkin had to drop the leaves, but it stood over them, guarding its prizes. Ashe was sly and hidden behind the creature, well enough, when he reached down to pluck them straight off the ground. He had both of them in the air, well and far out of reach of the pumpkin, before it was even noticed, and by then there was nothing that could be done. So the little guy just attacked Charon with renewed energy, much to the little dragon's delight. He did a few flips and other fancy air work, just to show off!
Charon: Loyalty 3 2/5 Ashe: 0 17/20
October Post 17
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