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Post by Noa on Jan 31, 2023 0:38:09 GMT -6
Once he began traveling towards it, it was much easier to narrow down where it was. It was not unlike playing a children's game of call and response, though it took some focus to pinpoint whether the sensation was getting stronger or weaker based on his own movements. After he had more or less triangulated a certain area where it might be, Rhys began to help him search in earnest, even flying away from Noa to better canvas the area. Here, at last, was something of sufficient significance to distract Rhys from his vigil.
Noa didn't bother dwelling on that thought though. For the moment, his only priority was to find the crystal. Things for the trader were all well and good, but if he could get something directly related to magic, so much the better. And it was just a matter of time before they managed to track it down...
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Post by Noa on Jan 31, 2023 0:55:51 GMT -6
{It's here!} Rhys sent up the call, and Noa stopped whatever he had been doing to go over at once to where Rhys was hovering. As it turned out, the spot that Rhys was indicating was a bush, with the crystal hidden mostly underneath it. A little was visible from a certain angle, which was probably how Rhys had spotted it. But then, Rhys was his own light source, and he also had an easier time seeing in the dark than Noa did, thanks to some work they had done in the past. And Noa didn't have the right kind of magic to be able to grant himself that same ability to see in the dark; and given the going rate of tainted crystals, he doubted he would for quite some time.
But that was neither here nor there. Noa crouched down and picked it up, inspecting it for wholeness.
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Post by Noa on Jan 31, 2023 0:56:03 GMT -6
There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it, which was what he expected, but still good to see. You could never be too careful with these things. The crystal was deposited in a separate pouch that he kept on him at all times just in case he happened upon a magical crystal, and then the search resumed.
Now that he had the idea to start looking under bushes though, Noa turned his attention to the foliage around the front yard of the Mansion. These things were curious enough on their own -- at first glance appearing to be like glass sculptures, but turning out to have the same texture as one would expect from an ordinary plant when touched. Briefly, his thoughts turned to his garden at home, and then to its caretaker. What would Briar make of these things, he wondered? For that matter, did Briar ever visit this place?
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Post by Noa on Jan 31, 2023 0:56:17 GMT -6
It was hard to imagine Briar in a place like this, but it was also true that he went out on trips of his own volition on occasion. Noa didn't know what he did with that time, and although he had at least a passing interest in finding out, there were generally other things of more pressing importance to occupy his days. Being nosy about Briar's errands wasn't going to bring him any closer to a cure for his condition, alas.
Perhaps Noa could bring him a cutting... But no, that wouldn't serve any particular purpose either. No, he would put the thought from his mind.
A glint of something else caught his eye as he passed a line of bushes, and he brushed back the branches to reveal some sort of... sparkling polyhedral shape. His initial thought was that the object had to be a toy of some sort.
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Post by Noa on Jan 31, 2023 0:59:04 GMT -6
But as he picked it up and got a better look at it, the craftsmanship seemed too detailed for it to be meant for children. In fact, it didn't look as if it was crafted by human hands -- or for that matter by ordinary means -- at all. And some of the things he found in the Mansion were like that, though not many. Even the things with magical abilities of their own often looked mundane, with their extra functions only being revealed once they were interacted with.
{Oh, that's really pretty. We had something like this in the collection before, didn't we?} said Rhys. The Faeron was starting to relax, enough for him to take some interest in the things that Noa was finding now.
Noa turned it over in his hand, studying the way the object glittered, even in the faint light radiated by Rhys under the effect of his familiar magic.
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Post by Noa on Jan 31, 2023 1:02:29 GMT -6
No, perhaps the object itself had its own inborn luminescence -- though what fueled that light, he couldn't quite guess. "Well, I'm sure the trader will take it," he said, and put it into the bag.
Rhys sagged a bit at that. {It would have been nice if we could keep it for ourselves,} the Faeron lamented.
Noa arched a brow at him. "Why? It's not going to do us any good sitting on a mantle somewhere. Better to have magic crystals, if you like something that sparkles. At least those do something."
{Can't we keep something just because it's pretty?} said Rhys plaintively, though Noa doubted he was really looking for an answer to that question. {I wouldn't mind magical crystals either, actually... But sooner or later, they all go into a node.}
"Nodes have their own sparkle," Noa pointed out. "Especially the more powerful ones."
{Yes, but it's not really the same...}
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Post by Jack on Feb 1, 2023 19:40:40 GMT -6
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Post by Noa on Aug 5, 2023 22:26:39 GMT -6
Having spent some quality time, so to speak, with Nightshade down by the river, Noa felt that he may as well take Azalea for an outing somewhere too. He recalled that the Mansion had a lot of water this time of year, so he decided they may as well go there, and give Azalea the chance to swim around. It wasn't that she couldn't breathe air or get around on land, and ironically, since her transformation, she had an easier time slithering along than that awkward Majikiuma hop that she had to use when she was still a halfbreed. But there weren't as many places that had enough water for her to swim around properly now that she was this size.
Unfortunately for them, it seemed that he had gotten the timing wrong. When they arrived at the Mansion's grounds, they were greeted by a large expanse of sand, not water at all.
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Post by Noa on Aug 5, 2023 22:32:01 GMT -6
"Funny," Noa said. "I could have sworn it was supposed to be during high summer..." It did look like the beach here, and he could smell the salt, but there was no actual water in sight. But they were already here, and it felt like a waste of time to have come here just to head home immediately. Sighing, he turned to Azalea. "You won't be able to swim, but we should take a turn around the grounds."
{I don't mind,} Azalea replied. {I've never seen this much sand before.} She did seem a bit curious about the place. Had Noa ever brought her here? He couldn't recall, but he probably had. The trouble was, even if he had, she probably wouldn't recognize the place. It changed its entire appearance throughout the year, owing to some magic too old and complex for even Noa to make heads or tails of.
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Post by Noa on Aug 5, 2023 22:35:24 GMT -6
He could probably have unraveled it at least a little if he had spent time and effort in studying the changes of the Mansion and its grounds, but as powerful as this working was, it didn't seem like it would help him at all in his own goals. So it would have been a waste of his time and resources to devote them to puzzling out the underlying mechanisms of this place. Besides, it wasn't as if it was causing any problems outside its grounds, and the city officials didn't seem bothered by its presence, so he may as well leave well enough alone.
{How hot is the sand?} said Rhys, peering at it from his perch on Noa's shoulder. {It won't scorch your belly scales, will it, Azalea?}
It was pretty hot outside. Noa hadn't thought that far, but now that Rhys mentioned it, Azalea did have to make full body contact with the ground.
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Post by Noa on Aug 5, 2023 22:55:46 GMT -6
It wasn't as if they could go inside the house either, with how big Azalea was. Even if she could fit inside, it was going to be cramped, and Noa hadn't brought her all this way just to stuff her in a box.
Sighing, he pushed open the gate and decided to test the temperature for himself. He knelt down in the sand and pressed his palm to the surface. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hot as he thought it might be. It was warm, but not unpleasantly so, and certainly not warm enough to burn skin. Azalea's scales were thicker than his human skin too, offering an added layer of protection, so he was sure she would be fine if it was only this warm.
"It feels fine to me," Noa said. "But if it gets too hot, just say something. It's not worth getting burned just to walk around this place."
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Post by Noa on Aug 5, 2023 22:59:45 GMT -6
{Wow, that's the nicest thing I've heard you say to anyone in a while,} Rhys said. It was a remark that would have been snide from anyone else, and it still earned the Faeron a look, but he had probably meant it in earnest surprise. Actually, that didn't really make it better, did it?
"You'll be the one treating her burns if she does get injured," Noa pointed out. "Besides, Azalea is part of Gracehaven's security. It would be a problem if she got injured for no good reason." Even with healing magic, recovery wasn't always an instantaneous process, and it might create some kind of trauma that impeded Azalea's willingness to cross sand in general in the future. It was a practical consideration not to put his creatures in harm's way for no reason. Azalea was a fighting beast, so it wasn't as if he coddled her or anything.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 7, 2023 20:13:34 GMT -6
Even though the tide has gone out, there's at least one shell sticking out of the mud!
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Post by Noa on Aug 9, 2023 22:00:59 GMT -6
{Yeah, I don't want her to get hurt either,} Rhys said, inclining his head. {But sometimes you tell me I'm worrying too much.}
"You don't know how to weigh the costs against the benefits," Noa replied. Rhys was useful as a familiar, but he didn't have a sense for strategy, and he definitely didn't have the stomach to make any difficult decisions. So it was just as well that it was Noa calling the shots and not him.
At any rate, now that they had established that the sand wasn't going to burn Azalea through her scales, the three of them made their way into the grounds proper. Noa surveyed their surroundings while they walked, frowning slightly. Aside from the absence of an actual large body of water, it really did feel like being at a beach... Or at least what Noa thought a beach would probably be like, anyway.
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Post by Noa on Aug 9, 2023 22:06:08 GMT -6
He had never actually seen the ocean for himself. The city they lived in wasn't close to the shore, and the lakeside had a distinctly different feel. Some of it was sand, but a freshwater lake didn't have quite the same... sting. The salt in the air was almost palpable here, in a way that Noa otherwise had only ever read about.
Azalea, too, was scenting the air, her tongue flicking in and out. It had taken her some time to adjust to her new body after the transformation; the loss of hearing had probably been the biggest thing for her to get used to, but there were other things too, like this. Noa couldn't really imagine what it was like, though he suspected the experience was a unique one. Not only did she change shape, she had gone from a halfbreed, which was already relatively unique, to a modified Pliathor.
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