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Post by Nerius on Dec 28, 2019 22:23:12 GMT -6
[47]
Russet was perched on his shoulder for the walk, leafscatters had small legs, and it would have taken even longer if Nerius had to let the creature walk. But the friendly leafscatter was happy to perch on people, though Nerius had attached a leash to him, just in case. He was small and skittish, and if Russet ran off, there was no way he'd find him again.
Thankfully, there weren't any monster noises as they entered the gate this time, or as they walked along the path. The trees looked much the same as they had on the last trip, with bare trees, other than the evergreens, and a light dusting of snow. Nerius wondered if he'd be able to find the snow ship again if he looked, but somehow he doubted it, the grounds and building were constantly shifting. He wasn't too interested in trying either, he'd already explored most of it, and wanted to visit the Mansion itself today.
(Nerius: 2/20) (Russet: Lv: 3, 17/20 | Lyl: 3, 17/20)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 28, 2019 22:34:38 GMT -6
[48]
The walk to the Mansion wasn't short, but it was uneventful, likely due at least in part to sticking to the path this time. The outside was festively decorated, and if he didn't know better, could have just been one of the larger properties on the street his own house was. There was nothing glaringly strange as Nerius entered the building either, the ring of the bell above the door, and the bowels of snacks set out weren't anything unusual.
It was cosier inside than out, which was to be expected in a normal house, but with the Mansion, it easily could have been the other way around. And as he expected, the leafscatter did appear more comfortable inside, and peeked out of the collar of Nerius' coat that he'd been hiding in. Or maybe it was the scents that drew him out, Nerius could smell something food like, it wasn't the snacks in the dishes, but it could have been the drinks, he supposed.
(Nerius: 3/20) (Russet: Lv: 3, 18/20 | Lyl: 3, 18/20)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 28, 2019 22:41:24 GMT -6
[49]
He couldn't tell what the drinks were, hot cocoa? Cider? He'd found a mug of some kind of spice drink on his last trip, but these didn't look like quite the same thing. Overall, it wasn't really the most interesting room, and Nerius decided to keep exploring. There was a hall off to one side, though a archway. There was some sort of plant above it, he noticed, but couldn't tell if it was the one humans had some strange romantic ritual about. Well, he didn't have any other people with him on the trip, so it didn't really matter, and he walked under the frame, and into the hall.
It was a long hallway, with many doors branching off of it. He could still smell the food smell, too, it wasn't any more faint, so it probably wasn't the drinks, but it wasn't any closer either. Russet was looking around from his perch, and Nerius gave him a pet as he considered which door to try first.
(Nerius: 4/20) (Russet: Lv: 3, 19/20 | Lyl: 3, 19/20)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 28, 2019 22:48:58 GMT -6
[50]
Starting with the closest one was a decent option, but when he opened it, it just lead to another room similar to the entry way. The second was filled with nothing but thousands of candles, it was interesting, but Russet didn't seem to like all the fire. Made sense, for a plant creature. But the third was much more promising, and very, very strange.
The best way Nerius could describe the next room, was if he'd been shrunk, and dropped right into a toystore's Light Festival train set and tree display. There was a track that wound around the entire room, but it was so large the Nerius would be able to ride on the train. There were wrapped presents, some taller than he was, and the room was scattered with massive evergreen.. trees? Shrubs? They weren't the classic triangle shape of a holiday tree, but they towered over him, much larger than an ordinary shrub.
(Nerius: 5/20) (Russet: Lv: 4, 20/25 | Lyl: 4, 20/25)
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Post by Renathan on Dec 28, 2019 22:58:51 GMT -6
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Post by Nerius on Dec 28, 2019 23:33:18 GMT -6
[51]
Even from the doorway, Nerius could already see one of those bells lying on top of a 'small' giftbox, it didn't tower over Nerius like some of the others, but it was about four feet tall. They were hardly anything special, but he'd take it, so he walked into the room, and over to the box. He hadn't even reached the box when he sensed something he more commonly felt in the mines, the distinctive thrum of magic. Distinctive, but different. It was magic, no doubt about that, but lacked anything to suggest an element.
Exciting a find as it was (or would be once he actually got his hands on it), Nerius still decided to grab the bell first. It wasn't far, and the thrumming got stronger in that direction anyway. Russet seemed to be oblivious to the magic, but he was interested in the bell. Nerius considered tying it to the leash, to give him something to do.
(Nerius: 6/20) (Russet: Lv: 4, 21/25 | Lyl: 4, 21/25)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 28, 2019 23:45:03 GMT -6
[52]
But in the end, he decided not to. As much as the leafscatter wanted to play with the bell, Nerius didn't want all the ringing that would involve while he was trying to track the crystal. So he pocketed the bell, and focused on locating the source of the magic. It was.. within about twenty feet or so, and further into the room. The room itself was massive, and that wasn't that far. It wasn't a strait walk though, not with all the trees and giant presents, and, were those massive ginger bread houses? He was pretty sure those didn't usually go under the tree, but there was nothing usual about this.
The box the bell had been was in the way, and Nerius walked around it, before having to duck under the prickly branches of one of the shrubs, only to run into a particularly massive pair of giftboxes. They were much to large to climb, without any handholds, squeezing between them was the only option.
(Nerius: 7/20) (Russet: Lv: 4, 22/25 | Lyl: 4, 22/25)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 28, 2019 23:53:47 GMT -6
[53]
He'd fit, but it'd be an awkward sideways shuffle, but worth it for a crystal. Russet didn't like it much though, and made unhappy little chittering sounds, hiding back in Nerius' coat collar. This was where that leash was coming in handy, and bringing something small enough to perch on his shoulder.
After a few seconds, they made it through the present ally, and Nerius paused to see if he could locate the crystal with any more precision now that he was closer. And it was closer, though not as much as he expected. It was.. higher, he realized, and as he noticed a mote circling around the top of a very large present, had a suspicion of where it was. He groaned; why did these trips always end up involving climbing? Again, worth it for a crystal, but the question now was how he was going to get up there, the box was much too tall and smooth to climb straight up.
(Nerius: 8/20) (Russet: Lv: 4, 23/25 | Lyl: 4, 23/25)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 29, 2019 0:01:36 GMT -6
[54]
There were some relatively smaller boxes close by he could climb, but that still wouldn't get him all the way to the top. Nerius considered maybe moving something, but as he looked around, found another option. One of the gingerbread houses. He'd be able to reach the top of the present from the roof, and if he pushed some of the smaller boxes just a little, he should be able to climb up to the roof.
It was worth a shot, and as he pushed one of the giftboxes, was glad to find it wasn't too heavy to move. It wasn't light, but he was able to push it the few feet it needed to go to reach the gingerbread house, even if Russet wasn't too happy about his perch shifting aorund. The issue was, it wasn't quite enough to reach the roof. The gingerbread houses weren't the size of a real building, but the top of the roof was a good seven feet up.
(Nerius: 9/20) (Russet: Lv: 4, 24/25 | Lyl: 4, 24/25)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 29, 2019 0:08:22 GMT -6
[55]
Great, now he needed to find another box. There wasn't any shortage of them, at least, though most were bigger than he needed, but finally Nerius managed to spot one that would hopefully work. Now was just the task of moving it over, and he suspected it would be easier without the leafscatter perched on his shoulder. The first box was reasonably heavy, and he decided to pin the end of the leash under the box. He could move it, but Russet wouldn't be able to.
With that dealt with, Nerius went over to the second box, it was smaller than the first, but somehow still heavier. It took him a bit longer to lug this one over, and it would have been worse with the leafscatter still perched on his shoulder. It also didn't help that one of the shrubs were in the way, and he ended up having to push it around the spiny thing.
(Nerius: 10/20) (Russet: Lv: 5, 25/30 | Lyl: 5, 25/30)
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Post by Renathan on Dec 29, 2019 0:12:22 GMT -6
A soft bell tingles nearby, leading you to a nice soft wreath. A good omen?
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Post by Nerius on Dec 29, 2019 0:37:49 GMT -6
[56]
The worst part? He still had to figure a way to get it on top of the other box. Or, maybe he could move the other instead, it was lighter, and this one was smaller, which meant less height to clear. He'd need to move the leafscatter's leash first, which had stayed put.
Possibly because Russet hadn't even tried to go anywhere, as the leafscatter was very interested in the icing used to glue the gingerbread together, and the entire time Nerius had been moving the box he spent the time eating the icing. His face and paws were covered in it, and he'd end up with one serious sugar buzz. Nerius couldn't even be mad at him though, he knew he was just as bad. He did still need to attach the leash to something else, even if he now doubted the leafscatter would try to run off. Nerius settled on tying the leash to a large candycane attached to the house as some kind of decoration.
(Nerius: 11/20) (Russet: Lv: 5, 26/30 | Lyl: 5, 26/30)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 29, 2019 0:44:11 GMT -6
[57]
Russet didn't even notice the leash had been moved, being too busy eating the icing. It probably wasn't the best thing for the leafscatter to be eating, but there wouldn't be anything poisonous to him, at least. Nerius was about to go back to moving the larger, but lighter, giftbox, when he heard ringing. Looking up, he spotted a bell tied to a wreathe, which was hung on the gingerbread house, and he added them to his pack before going back to the box. Actually, it would be a good idea to take the pack off before attempting to climb, so he set it down next to the leafscatter.
Now to move the darn box. It was lighter than the other, at least, and the ribbons tied around it made good handholds. Still, it was heavy for Nerius to manage, and it took a lot of struggling and shoving, before he finally managed to brace it on his shoulder, and, well, dump it on top of the other box.
(Nerius: 12/20) (Russet: Lv: 5, 27/30 | Lyl: 5, 27/30)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 29, 2019 0:54:30 GMT -6
[58]
Nerius took a moment to sit on the box and rest; at least this made the actual climbing seem easy in comparison. He took the opportunity to check on Russet, who had finally stopped eating the icing, and was staring at him, and had probably been watching the box struggle. Or at least, had been startled by the loud 'thud' of the larger box hitting the other.
Now for the part he had been dreading, but now seemed the easier bit, actually climbing. He was already sitting on the lower box, and after testing the stability of the second, climbed on top of that. It was mildly sloped, but the gingerbread was easy enough to hold on to, even it was covered with trails of frosting and candy. He tried not to get it on his hands, as it'd make climbing difficult, but his boots got coated in frosting. But that didn't stop him from being able to climb onto the final, massive giftbox, and from there, he could see the crystal.
(Nerius: 13/20) (Russet: Lv: 5, 28/30 | Lyl: 5, 28/30)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 29, 2019 1:02:37 GMT -6
[59]
The box was bit more of a difficult climb than the rest of it had been, the wrapping was very, very slippery, and the surface was uneven and warped. A result of being so close to the crystal, perhaps, they were usually harmless to be in proximity of, but given that the mansion was shaped by magic, the concentrated from the crystal might have effected the formation. Whatever the case, it made it a bit of a challenge to reach the crystal, but after some careful, but wobbly steps, Nerius managed to. He picked it up, and took a moment to happily inspect his prize. It looked much the same as what came out of the mines, a small, glowing crystal, but was a pale grey, and had no detectable elemental alignment.
Russet had been watching for a little while, but the sugar buzz was kicking in, and he soon lost interest, and started exploring as much as the leash allowed.
(Nerius: 14/20) (Russet: Lv: 5, 29/30 | Lyl: 5, 29/30)
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