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Post by Nerius on Aug 20, 2020 4:42:53 GMT -6
[49]
Because the water wasn't just falling, it was rising. Nerius couldn't tell if there was just that much water falling down the walls, or if it was magically flooding from the bottom too, but the lower steps were quickly disappearing beneath the water. Worse, it was rising faster than he was climbing. He'd gotten a little bit of a head start on the rising water, but it was starting to catch up. Drowning wasn't an issue with the amulet, and Droplet didn't breathe, but getting caught in it could be dangerous for other reasons.
Nerius tried to climb faster, but the water was rising faster too, he was already a couple of floors up and the water was only a few steps behind. He'd been going as fast as he dared, but he'd have to risk it now, he wasn't outrunning the water now, and worst case he'd just fall in it.
(Nerius: 14/20) (Droplet: Lv: 2, 14/15 | Lyl: 14 posts)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 20, 2020 4:49:30 GMT -6
[50]
Moving less cautiously, Nerius was able to outpace the rising water, if only slightly. But not for long, the speed cost him, and he slipped, falling only a few feet before landing in the flooded center of the tower. It was a harmless landing, it was so deep now he couldn't even see the tower floor. He'd managed to keep ahold of the seedling as well, Droplet was still in his grasp, though the seedling had pulled into its shell as much it could.
Maybe he could just swim upwards with the water? Nerius was able to swim to the surface, poking his head above the water, it had only been a few feet away, even with the rising water. It was flooding even faster now, the stairs had turned into waterfalls, and Nerius realised even if he hadn't slipped there would be no way he'd have managed to remain on the steps now.
(Nerius: 15/20) (Droplet: Lv: 3, 15/20 | Lyl: 15 posts)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 20, 2020 5:03:25 GMT -6
[51]
He was doing alright with keeping up to the rising water, but suddenly there was a current. The feel of being suddenly dragged under the water was enough to cause in instinctive jolt of fear, even with the amulet keeping him from drowning. Nerius went under, still holding on to golem, trying to swim free. But the current only got stronger, swirling as it did so, as if the entire tower was turning into a single whirlpool!
There was nothing he could do to keep from being dragged down down down to the depths, he'd expected to hit the floor of the tower, but that was gone. All he could do was hold on to the seedling, not wanting to loose the small creature in the currents, as the unrelenting water dragged him deeper down. Nerius couldn't even see the walls of the tower anymore, there was nothing but dark open water.
(Nerius: 16/20) (Droplet: Lv: 3, 16/20 | Lyl: 16 posts)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 20, 2020 5:10:24 GMT -6
[52]
Nerius wasn't sure how long it continued, or how far it went, but finally, he was spat out of the current. It took him a moment to reorient himself, that had been a wild ride, but when he looked around, Nerius realized he was on the sea floor now. There was no sign of the stone tower, just sandy sea floor, and a scattering of kelp. He couldn't see the whirlpool anymore either, the violent current had disappeared entirely.
He'd been transported by magic, clearly, but that begged the question, where was he now? Obviously, the Mansion; a better question would be, what were his surroundings now? Underwater, and quite deep too, sunlight still reached, but it was dim, and he couldn't tell how far up it was to the surface. He'd have to explore, but first Nerius checked on his golem, Droplet had fully pulled into its shell, but seemed unharmed by the ordeal.
(Nerius: 17/20) (Droplet: Lv: 3, 17/20 | Lyl: 17 posts)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 20, 2020 5:16:59 GMT -6
[53]
Droplet showed no sign of wanting to come back out yet, either. He'd keep an eye on the seedling, but for now, Nerius was more interested in his surroundings. What at first glance he'd mistaken for rocks in the distance, Nerius realized were actually ruins! Old stone buildings that, he suspected, hadn't been built underwater. Had that tower been part of a larger settlement, the rest washed down to the depths, while only the tower remained?
He might not find answers there, but Nerius was going to explore either way. He swam to the closest ruined building, it wasn't terribly far, but still took a few minutes. Better that than be tossed out right into the ruins, the ride had been rough, but the landing at least gentle. There were a lot of the ruined buildings too, the closer he got, the more he could see leading into the distance. How big had this town been?
(Nerius: 18/20) (Droplet: Lv: 3, 18/20 | Lyl: 18 posts)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 20, 2020 5:23:58 GMT -6
[54]
It was strange, swimming though this underwater ruin, the buildings made it feel very much like the main street of many towns he'd been in when he was younger. Some buildings obviously storefronts, with a second story for the shopkeepers to live in above. Except it was all underwater, and it was empty. All things considered, it would be worse if it wasn't, but it still gave it an underwater ghost town feel.
Nerius had been in many ruins when he was younger, his homeland was covered in the them, and this hardly the most threatening of them. It was strange, but not exactly frightening, and he was very interesting in exploring. But where to start? One of the shops he supposed, though it was impossible to tell what they had once been. Adjusting his golem so it wouldn't slip away when he swam, Nerius decided to just pick one at random.
(Nerius: 19/20) (Droplet: Lv: 3, 19/20 | Lyl: 19 posts)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 20, 2020 5:31:55 GMT -6
[55]
The shop he picked had a sign once, but it had fully faded, and the front window no longer held glass. No door either, the wood hadn't lasted underwater, so he just swam in. There were a series of tiered shelves, a display for some kind of food, he guessed. There wasn't a whole lot in the front of the shop, but there was a back room that presumably lead to more. It was possible it would have been more sheltered from the magical transportation, and at least might have more clues about what kind of shop this had been.
Nerius swam into the back room, there were long counters, and a series of stone... somethings. Ovens, he realized after a few moments, much more primitive than what he had gotten used to at the Labs, but ovens none the less. Droplet had no idea what ovens were, but was slowly uncurling from its shell, its tentacles wiggling out as it peered around.
(Nerius: 20/20 +Added!) (Droplet: Lv: 4, 20/25 | Lyl: 20 posts)
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Post by Nadia on Aug 20, 2020 10:09:24 GMT -6
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Post by Nerius on Aug 28, 2020 8:44:13 GMT -6
[56]
It had probably been a bakery, Nerius suspected, but he highly doubted he'd find any food sitting around. Nothing would have lasted underwater, and while magical preservation was a possibility, it was unlikely. It was still worth looking around, and though he didn't find any baked goods, he did find several shells scattered around the displays, as well as a few more unusual items. Nerius had just picked up what looked like an old compass, when the golem's sudden energetic wiggling drew his attention.
It seemed to have spotted something, and Nerius paused in his shell collecting to scan the room. There, in the back, was... something. He wasn't sure what the creature was, but it was much larger than a pocketpet, and it was staring back at him. Maybe there was a way to make friends with it? Nerius unzipped his backpack to look for anything the critter might like, and, unexpectedly, found something that might. There were a couple of very stunned fish in pack. Ew. That happened when you got drawn through a magical vortex he supposed. Nerius swam a little closer to the critter, and let go of one of the fish. It was alive, but very disoriented, and just sort of floated there, making for an easy grab if the creature wanted it.
(Nerius: 1/20) (Droplet: Lv: 4, 21/25 | Lyl: 21 posts)
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Post by Nadia on Aug 28, 2020 15:02:13 GMT -6
The mareliev seems hesitant. However, upon sighting the fish, it swims forwards... and snatches it up, making quick work of it. Hmm. It tips its head to one side - are you friend, or foe?
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Post by Nerius on Aug 29, 2020 6:00:38 GMT -6
[57]
The sea creature seemed to like the fish, which was a good sign. Nerius had suspected it was carnivorous, given the head shape, but he didn't know much about marine biology, and it could have eaten seaweed or something instead. But it had eagerly gone for the fish, even if it didn't seem to trust him much. There were more fish stuck in his pack, he'd need to empty that out properly at some point, but for now it was useful, and he released another fish to float out in front of him.
He'd been a little concerned Droplet might try to reach after the fish or something, but the golem ignored them. The seedling was almost oddly still, but perhaps it was just picking up on how he didn't want it to bother the mareliev? Either way, it just sort of floated there, and Nerius didn't pay it too much attention, more interested in the other creature. He hoped it would like the fish, he couldn't exactly talk to it underwater.
(Nerius: 2/20) (Droplet: Lv: 4, 22/25 | Lyl: 22 posts)
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Post by Nadia on Aug 29, 2020 7:34:50 GMT -6
Another fish! That was a good sign. The creature certainly appreciated the person’s kindness... and appeared to be swayed by it! It looked as if you would be accompanied by it from there on out.
[Congratulations, you have successfully tamed the creature!]
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Post by Nerius on Aug 30, 2020 17:12:26 GMT -6
[58]
Nerius wasn't surprised when the fish was gobbled up, but he was to see how quickly it was won over. The way to its heart was through its stomach it seemed, and well, he couldn't judge. He had a few more fish for it, not because he thought the creature needed more bribing, but because he didn't want dead fish in his backpack. It was going to be enough of a pain to clean as it was, why were beach trips always so messy?
It was worth it for the finds, at least, and Nerius looked around again to see if there was anything else left in the sunken building. In the corner of a shelf he spotted something.. was that a tiny palm tree? How did that get here? Droplet wasn't helping him search, the golem didn't seem to be doing much, in fact, just floating there, and curling in its tendrils a little.
(Nerius: 3/20) (Droplet: Lv: 4, 23/25 | Lyl: 23 posts)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 30, 2020 17:21:56 GMT -6
[59]
Nerius wasn't paying the golem much attention at the moment, it wasn't like he had to worry about it swimming off real quickly. He spotted an old bottle on the floor, but on picking it up, doubted it was from before the sinking. There was a rolled up bit of paper in there, and that wasn't something people generally used as an ingredient in their baked goods.
He grabbed it anyway, and kept looking, only to be interrupted after a few moments by the mareliev. Though interrupted was perhaps the wrong word, it was helping, he realized, the creature had finished its fishy snack. It was carrying something else in its mouth, and when it swam over, it dropped the item in front of Nerius. A necklace made of teeth, and a thank you gift from the creature for the fish. He slipped the items into his now fish free backpack, and went back to searching.
(Nerius: 4/20) (Droplet: Lv: 4, 24/25 | Lyl: 24 posts)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 30, 2020 17:36:48 GMT -6
[60]
That seemed to be about everything, short of scouring every nook and cranny, Nerius doubted he'd find anything else. Well, there was one thing he needed to 'find', his golem had just been drifting there, and he needed to grab it before leaving. It wasn't hard to find the golem, and while it wasn't always clear what counted as 'acting strange' for a golem, it was oddly still.
Should he grab the seedling anyway? Droplet didn't appear injured, and from what he understood, golems were quite hard to damage. It was possible the trip through the magical vortex had disoriented the elemental construct. Or maybe the vortex had effected it in other ways, it had been magic that manipulated water, and the golem was a water elemental, it was possible the golem was sensitive to the magic somehow. Nerius hoped that wasn't the case, he didn't really want a scrambled seedling.
(Nerius: 5/20) (Droplet: Lv: 5, 25/30 | Lyl: 25 posts)
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