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Post by Èdan on Jan 30, 2020 8:30:51 GMT -6
When arriving at the property its front is dominated by an old manor house, overgrown in plants and cracked with age.
It appears to be in disrepair, though the front of the gate still holds a simple sign that states: "No trespassing on private property."
The wear and tear of foot paths and occasional pieces of lumber and building materials here and there suggests the plot is not abandoned, however.
Subtle signs of a humanoid presence are scattered around, perhaps some people still being here after all, and so heeding the sign would likely be a good call.
The plot of land itself is surrounded by a thick forest, stretching all the way to its further borders beyond and behind the manor itself.
Different semi-worn paths run criss-cross here and there on the manor grounds, several of them even slipping into the woods.
But only one specific foot path might take one's self to the deeper reaches of this contained forest..
Hidden in its heart is an old tower, seemingly just as worn and even more abandoned than the manor itself.
No direct path leads here, and the tall trees themselves seem to close in around it to cover it from view, blending into the nature around it. The path-that-is-not leads it to its base, riddled with rubble and overgrown plants.
Some such paths-that-are-not might lead to a small clearing beneath the canopy, bereft of any distinctive features, halfway between the manor and the tower. The clearing might not look any different to other parts of the grounds, with sparser undergrowth. And there's just an old, unassuming overturned stone, overgrown with moss and vines.
. (Images from Google, Tower tokens by 2-Minute Tabletop)
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Post by Èdan on Jan 30, 2020 8:37:01 GMT -6
Old flagstones lead up to a creaky door.
It takes some strength to push the door open (or to just know the proper angle to which it is easiest). The room inside is the ground floor of the tower itself and much like its outside, seems entirely abandoned. Stones, broken pieces of what may have once been walls or supports litter the floor. Dead leaves and dried vines gently slide around in the breeze of a draft. Parts of the floor see cracked stones or even some stones missing entirely, leaving an earthly hole. Webs and dust cover every surface, disturbed only by the footprints of woodlands creatures and the ever present draft.
Aside an old fireplace with rubble in its chimney and a great oak door long since jammed stuck, there is nothing here for strangers to see.
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(For the resident, there is an old hatch to a basement hold and knowledge how to precisely unstuck a seemingly impossible door.)
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Post by Èdan on Jan 30, 2020 8:58:16 GMT -6
1st Floor - Kitchen and Storeroom.
Directly behind the jammed oak door is a set of stairs, leading up to the first of the tower's three floors.
The damp and cold of below is replaced with warmth here, as a cooking stove and fireplace tends to quietly crackle at the back of the room. Crates, barrels, sacks and bags line one side of the room, while a table takes up the other. At the back sit cupboards and shelves with eating- and cookware. In the middle is a single trap door, thick enough to be quite a hefty lift, and above it in the ceiling a winch set. Combined, the two allow for an easier time lifting goods from the ground floor below to the kitchen. Beneath the stairway up is a small room with a wash bin.
Herbs and a few spices hang from strings in a few places, set up to dry in the warmth, producing a nice appetizing smell in the process.
The only light are from magic-infused sconces, as there is no window present.
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Post by Èdan on Jan 30, 2020 9:08:39 GMT -6
2nd Floor - Wardrobe and Spare Room
Climbing the stairs again leads to the second floor of the tower.
Here natural light begins to intermingle with the magic-infused sconces as a window is present in the hallway. To either side of it are thick, heavy curtains, perfect for pulling closed, so no inside light shines outward in the evening hours. A simple table and set of chairs line the hallway, leading to another stair beyond and a door to the left.
The door opens up into a spare room.
Here, the walls are taken up largely by different wardrobes, cupboards and chests. At the back is a small desk with a large mirror, facing another larger desk and chair on the opposite wall. To the left corner sits a bed, more used as a surface to place things than sleeping in. The distinct impression of the room seems to be as extra storage, rather than living in, as whatever possessions can't fit elsewhere, they land here, including different kinds of clothing. The window provides some precious daylight, likewise flanked by a set of heavy curtains.
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Post by Èdan on Jan 30, 2020 9:25:40 GMT -6
3rd Floor - Bedroom and Study
The final set of stairs leads to the last floor of the tower.
This floor is entirely intended to be the resident's personal space, as both a poster bed and an old oak writing desk make up the middle of the room. A chair matching the same oak stands facing the desk, which is (usually) cluttered in all manner of books and papers, ranging from local topics of note to scribblings of many different esoteric things. Above the desk stands a shelf, holding but a fraction of the books in the room. At the back is another fireplace, designed to keep the living space nice and cosy in even the chillest of seasons.
To the left of it sits a couch with two small tables around it, mostly for surfaces to place things. A few more cupboards are evident here, flanking either side of the bed. On one is a small chest, while another, considerably larger, sits beneath the window. Between them stand three bookcases, shelves laden with all manner of scriptures. The window, much like the previous floor, has its own set of heavy curtains to block the light from venturing outside.
The overall sense of the room depends on the moment. There are times where items seem cluttered and scattered, rather untidy in how they're simply tossed aside and left to lay about. However, just as likely it is to be in proper order, everything cleaned and in its rightful place.
Beyond the obvious, there's no telling what other objects may be hidden about.
The larger weapons usually stand propped up against available wall, while smaller ones might be placed into chests or desks. But if a small hatch in the ceiling at the base of the chimney is any indication, bolted firmly closed, the resident isn't one to be without.. options.
( active )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 30, 2020 9:34:40 GMT -6
The entirety of the tower is capped by a pointed roof, looking in as much disrepair as the rest of the tower.
It remains quite water poof, thanks to repairs made on the inside, even if the outside looks rather ramshackle, to the point its almost impossible to tell there is a latch to be found among the disjointed shingles near the chimney. Above it towers a great oak, with much of its canopy veiling the tower and its branches nearly scraping the roof itself. Thus, most of the smoke from the chimney seems to scatter among the leaves than become a visible line in the distance. A great metal spike holds up the middle of the roof, looking to be the only sturdy thing about the construction.
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Post by Èdan on Jan 30, 2020 13:35:32 GMT -6
Basement - Creature Pens
A sharper eye may come to notice a piece of the stonework on the ground floor to include a wooden latch.
Of course, the latch itself wouldn't simply open to a touch, but if one knows the trick, it leads down to a set of stairs below. The stairs end at the basement level of the tower - a large hall that would have once been home to anything from a granary to a winery. Dug into the earth, the room is divided up into different pens, one assigned each to an available creature. To one end is a fireplace, to ensure warmth in the colder season, to the other a set of stairs leading up and to heavy double-doors, latched from the inside. The doors open to the side of a lumpy hill among the dense forest, otherwise seeming no more out of place than a regular bush. Beside the fireplace is a small room where food for the creature-kind residents is stored and opposite, flanking the exit, are two small side room intended for any gear necessary.
Of current residence, there are seven:
Loricatus / “Lorie” Offspring PHIL, Female
Description and nature as documented: A rambunctious and curious creature, that seeks to play and gnaw anything in its way, but if met with resistance, backs off in caution. Presides in lower left pen.
Level 13 (0/5) / Loyalty 11 (0/5)
Stamina: 2 Strength: 2 Resistance: 3 Dexterity: 2 Mentality: 1
Special Abilities:
Stone Skin, Psychic Resistance
Moves:
Bite, Rend, Climb, Mental Barrier Tricks:
Accept Blood/Scary Sights
Chalceus / "Callie" Warlander Pasha-Sarane FVSC, Female
Description and nature as documented: A calm nature since matured, taking on tendencies to be protective through aggression. Presides in lower right pen.
Level 30 (0/5) / Loyalty 35 (0/5) Stamina: 6 Strength: 5 Resistance: 4 Dexterity: 3 Mentality: 1
Special Abilities:
Run, Iron Will, Stone Skin, Commanding Presence, Cavalry
Moves:
Kick, Screech, Solidify
Tricks: Accept Blood/Scary Sights, Name, Come, Follow, Move, No, Stay, Tolerance, Wear Harness
Acies / "Ace" Offspring Pasha-Sarane, Male
Description and nature as documented: A bolder nature, with a penchant to meet challenges. Requires more work to properly train up. Presides in lower right pen.
Level 0 (0/5) / Loyalty 2 (0/5)
Stamina: 3 Strength: 2 Resistance: 2 Dexterity: 2 Mentality: 1
Special Abilities: Run, Nightvision, Commanding Presence
Moves: Kick
Tricks: -
Perscitus / “Percy” Offspring Rakai-Sarane, Male
Description and nature as documented: A very vocal pup, who seeks to chase and play with anything which moves. Unafraid, but also lacking caution. Presides in top left pen.
Level 46 (0/5) / Loyalty 31 (0/5)
Stamina: 1 Strength: 2 Resistance: 3 Dexterity: 2 Mentality: 2
Special Abilities: Lone Wolf, Desert-Dwelling, Nightvision, Swim
Moves: Nip, Time Stop, Wither
Tricks: Accept Blood/Scary Sights, Accept Noise, Accept Sudden Movements,
Stay, Name, Get, Fetch, Don't Eat That, Fishing
Atrum / “Art” Shadowling, Male
Description and nature as documented: Very elusive and unapproachable. Prefers to keep to the shadows and out of sight. Does not have a designated residence pen.
Level 26 (0/5) / Loyalty 26 (0/5)
Stamina: 1 Strength: 0 Resistance: 0 Dexterity: 1 Mentality: 3
Special Abilities: Shadow Immunity, Ethreal
Moves: Soul-Strike, Spook
Tricks: Name, Come, Follow, Stay, Go Away, Hitch a Ride
Skills: Foreign Language - Common II
Irascor / “Ira” Custom Chelcauda, Undefined
Description and nature as documented: Dangerous in all the right ways (and for the wrong reasons). Elusive and only to be called upon when absolutely necessary. Does not have a designated residence pen. Resides on the manor grounds.
Level 22 (0/5) / Loyalty 51 (0/5) (x2)
Stamina: 9 Strength: 7 Resistance: 7 Dexterity: 4 Mentality: 3
Special Abilities:
Natural Antivenom, Gleam, Fly, Thick Fur, Iron Will, Fire Resistance, Empathetic Link (Loyalty)
Moves:
Crunch, Projectile Poison, Agony, Shackle
Tricks: -
Filumaureus / “Aurey” Lacewing Messenger, Female
Description and nature as documented: A withdrawn and uncertain nature that is just shy of the sharpness for intelligence. Can carry out tasks, but struggles with improvising.
A corvid-like penchant for bright and shiny items. Does not have a designated residence pen. Resides in a nest within the tower rafters.
Level 0 (0/5) / Loyalty 0 (0/5)
Stamina: 2 Strength: 1 Resistance: 0 Dexterity: 6 Mentality: 7
Special Abilities: Mimic, Fly, Physical Weakness
Moves: Psychic Distortion, Travel by Moonlight
Tricks: -
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Post by Èdan on Oct 14, 2020 12:45:31 GMT -6
A less worn, almost unnoticeable path, leads deeper into the woods, towards a large swath of thickets. The trees crowd over this thicket, though they do not cover it's center completely. Were one to push through, they would find a wicker fence. Were they to cross that, they would find a pond hidden amongst the trees. Heavy stones line its edges, making it uncertain if human hand has made this, or nature merely found the perfect place for it to settle. The water is murky in parts, clear in others, suggesting a flow from some streams unseen or another, but none that wind through the forest itself. It is certainly clean enough to drink and use, at least. What is man-made is the wooden pier running deeper into the water, it's condition suggesting wear and age, even abandonment.
No other sign of activity is visible on the shorelines, as the grassy patches carry no footprints.
The thickets, too, seem to form a natural barrier around it, making it easy to miss at a glance, within and without.
(sunk on the bottom)
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