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Post by Alma on May 31, 2023 22:42:58 GMT -6
There were not many holidays that Alma would consider relaxing to experience in the mansion, not between things like ice sculptures that giggled and never seemed to be standing in the same place when you turned back to them, and the month with screaming trees whose leaves of stretched flesh quivered without wind. Even the calmer months had tables of food one did not touch if they valued their minds and lives, no matter how tempting it might be should the mansion be reluctant to let you find the door.
Alma preferred to celebrate what holidays she did outside of the mansion’s walls, only stopping in if there were some trinkets she wanted to collect and the day in the city lacked any other diversion. That said, she could not help but find it amusing that the “Day of Dreaming”, a holiday about some draconic god, shifted the mansion to the quietest and calmest celebration she had ever seen it manage.
[May 1]
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Post by Alma on May 31, 2023 22:44:01 GMT -6
She had wandered the grounds of the mansion for a short time after passing the gate, admiring the structure. The paint was clean, the metal-wrought portions free of rust, and she found herself slightly envious of the structure. Perhaps she could save her paychecks for a while and have a less magical version built in a fraction of the size, with maybe a few minor changes to things like paint and window placement.
She stopped by one of the windows in question, trying to make out any shapes behind the dark glass, maybe even a glimpse of a normal room that she knew would never be found if she entered. There was nothing to be seen, not even a suggestion of dark curtains that might have been drawn against prying eyes. It was like looking into a deep hole in the mines, nothing but solid darkness behind the panes of glass. Apparently the house was keen on keeping it's privacy.
[May 2]
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Post by Alma on May 31, 2023 22:44:18 GMT -6
She did not try too long, stepping back and continuing her stroll around the structure, trying to commit to memory which bits she would keep when her imaginary mansion was built. The fountain in the back was one of those,, and she watched the water endlessly spill from the upper portion as she walked around it. A smile tugged at her lips as she considered how long such a thing would last without magic to keep it clean and flowing, and how many of her water-loving beasts would seek to claim it. Not practical at its current size, especially not if her weed-choked crossbreeds decided to fight over it, but she could aim for something smaller if she ever aimed to make it real.
The well that caught her eye as she walked closer to the boundaries of the mansion’s grounds was somewhat unnerving, though she thought that had more to do with knowing what it did rather than it being a well.
[May 3]
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Post by Alma on May 31, 2023 22:44:56 GMT -6
Without any of the month’s tokens clanging in her pockets, Alma purposely kept her distance from the well. She doubted it would act up just because someone was near it without feeding it whatever bits the mansion spat out that month, but she did not want to be the one to find out. The rest of the grounds awaited inspection, after all, and she did not want to end the day early as some half-chewed carcass or raving lunatic dragged out by one of the ‘rescuers’ who ensured those who came out of the mansion only with aid did so without any of their spoils.
Not that there were any spoils to be found outside that night. She found herself back at the front, in the courtyard ringed by completely normal, bark-covered trees. It had been a pleasant stroll, and she had seen a few bits of architecture she was interested in that she was also sure could exist in the real, slightly less magical world outside the iron gate.
[May 4]
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Post by Alma on May 31, 2023 22:45:07 GMT -6
How is it that now is the closest you get to mimicking a normal house, she silently asked the mansion as she stopped near the doors. She drew the line at skiing it anything aloud, hoping her silent questions would not wake it up. It was the “Day of Dreaming” after all, and she had chosen to visit it right before it warped and shifted to reflect the more lively holiday of next month. There were arguments of when it was best to visit the mansion, with some claiming it was more tolerable of its guests earlier in the month, while others countered that it was safest as it gathered strength to deal with the next holiday, ignoring those who wandered in at the last second as it prepared itself.
She wasn’t sure which one she believed, though she usually had visited the place earlier in the months that she sought treasure.
[May 5]
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Post by Alma on May 31, 2023 22:45:17 GMT -6
There might be infinite baubles and trinkets hidden inside of it, but it rarely paid to wait and let hordes of others start looking for treasure before yourself. But, with perhaps an hour left to her before it shifted again and shoved any lingering searchers through its gates like the guests that overstayed their welcome they were, she felt she could at least take a few steps inside, have a look around for any dropped coins that might have been left behind by a more profitable visit.
A shame she had waited so long though. She had forgotten how nice the outside was and, despite the warnings of going mad because some hovering crystals were too confusing for people to understand, she much rather preferred some swirling crystals to bottomless pits and rooms teeming with sharks. With that in mind, she went up to the door and knocked.
No, she did not want to wake up the mansion, not now, but slipping inside like a thief hardly seemed like a good idea to her.
[May 6]
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Post by Alma on May 31, 2023 22:45:35 GMT -6
Alma had never found out who owned the house, or even if the archmage had ever found out anything about why it did what it did, but she doubted any house that full of magic would take kindly to burglars slinking inside and taking more than what the house was willing to give them. To be fair, there were those at the markets who sold beautiful iron-wrought furniture that was based on the designs seen in the mansion during Vakrah, but no one who had been in the city for any length of time would believe the seller who claimed it was from the mansion and therefore would be able to hold up weight on overly dainty strands of metal. She had heard more than one person come screaming into the market later after the metal buckled or snapped after a bit of use, and had chuckled with the crowd when the seller now claimed that of course it had broken, there was no more magic to sustain it outside of that magical house, but they would gladly sell them a new one.
[May 7]
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Post by Alma on May 31, 2023 22:45:46 GMT -6
When the mansion failed to lock its doors with a click or bang them outwards to smack her face, Alma gently pulled the door open and walked inside to the cleanest cave she had ever seen. Well, the cleanest cave she had seen since the last time she had visited the mansion during this holiday. The ceiling was far above her, and she could just make it out through the dancing shadows cast by the glowing crystals hanging far above her. They might have been floating, but squinting at the air above her did nothing to prove whether they were held by magic or something much more mundane, and so she looked away from them to start walking through the rooms.
She moved at a quick walk when the light from crystals and clouds of magic lit up enough of a given room to show the bare stone floors, skirting around crystalline pools that shone with the blues, purples, and whatever other color that lit the room.
[May 8]
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Post by Alma on May 31, 2023 22:46:03 GMT -6
No beasts barred her path, and she glanced at the occasional darting shadows less like a soldier on patrol and more like a parent humoring a child. Ah yes, that might have been a dragon, something with horns and six clawed feet, very good job magical house.
Had any dragon ever wandered these halls, collecting treasure to add to their hoards? Certainly not the larger ones, though the thought of one of them trying to shove their scaly bulk through the front doors drew a snort from her. She knew there were human worshipers of the Binder, though she was not sure how many cultists of any religion would see the mansion’s celebrations as holy rather than a heartless imitation. She doubted the draconic inhabitants of the canyon would think it worth braving the city.
Another shadow darted by, rushing at her as though some great beast flew above her, and she flinched away.
[May 9]
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Post by Alma on May 31, 2023 22:46:27 GMT -6
She ducked into a doorway before she was even aware she had done so, her eyes finding nothing as she looked up at the ceiling but some fake stars that twinkled with barely enough light to have lit her way. In fact, they seemed to dim as she stared at them, and she stepped back through the doorway before they completely winked out.
And then she found herself in a familiar room, the ceiling high above her, the crystals suspended far above any greedy hands could reach. There was one door she could see in the room, the others replaced by the solid stone of the floor, and she could almost smell the grass and flowers that stood proudly in front of the house. Alma made her way to the open door quickly, muttering a quick thanks to the house for giving her a chance to leave instead of spitting her out.
And if there was a coin or two on the grass as she walked to the gate, catching moonlight on their faces, she might scoop them up.
[May 10]
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Post by Silver on Jun 4, 2023 19:07:35 GMT -6
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