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Post by Èdan on Sept 22, 2021 0:56:01 GMT -6
Before they can get all too close the hedge, there's one more soft thud into the soil nearby, signalling a solid landing. Not a fruit, and even though he quickly glances upwards in case any of those follow, there's nothing. Not that it makes him be any more or less at ease, but cautiously, he does lean down to pick up the object in the soil. Unsurprisingly, it's another of those glass eyes.. perhaps more curiously, though, this one isn't green, but black. So, much like glass roses, these come with variations too, it seems.. He pockets the eye and begins to continue along. At least, that would be the plan.. Once he straightens and faces forward again, the hedge is only but a few steps away from them, looking to all the world as if it had always been there. There's a pause as he considers this on several different levels (And finding concerning reasoning on each, not that it was anything new to him).
. 21 . Chalceus: 6 (1/5) September: 21 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 22, 2021 2:25:14 GMT -6
Sentient shrubbery is all well and good, but there is no reason for it to be quite so pushy (Or rude, for that matter). He can take a hint (And has been for some time, actually), so the toying with perspective is rather unnecessary. The hedge does have an opening, a little arch with vines entwined across it, small berries growing from them. Far from it is he tempted to pick them (Especially since half the stuff here might be poisonous, and the other half enchanted. Not every type of natural bounty was safe, after all).
He eyes the arch and the path beyond. It's not much of one, going only a short distance before another hedge cuts it off, but does seem to continue to the left and right. That, in itself, brings more suspicion, even if the foal seems largely unconcerned about any potential warning signs. As far as divining rods for danger go, she isn't exactly what one might call 'well-tuned'..
. 22 . Chalceus: 6 (2/5) September: 22 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 22, 2021 2:36:00 GMT -6
But he has seen enough manors and estates to know the tell-tale signs of a hedge maze when he sees one.. Under normal circumstances they are largely decorative pieces of aesthetic terrain intended to entertain the art fancies of the wealthy, rarely actually attended (Unless some were looking to be secretive for one reason or another - Conspiracies and trysts alike). But the foal has no such knowledge and less sense for the hidden threats, instead boldly walking through the archway and pulling on the lead for him to follow.
Now, normally he would find this a most terrible idea, in no small part because practically speaking there's no good overview in closed quarters (And tactically speaking it leaves one quite vulnerable to all sorts of unpleasantness). However, the manor made it a point to bring it to him, and he knows the manor is poor in accepting a 'no'. (And some rules should be played by, even if others can be more easily broken).
. 23 . Chalceus: 6 (3/5) September: 23 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 22, 2021 2:49:02 GMT -6
So, he steps through the arch, letting the foal lead where she may. If the hedge really is a maze, any one direction is no better or worse than another, so he might as well surrender the decision down to whatever force of randomness governs the foal's ability to decide.
The foal heads right, and there's little shock to find the path quickly branched again a short distance further. The foal then turns left, and there's a longer path that ends in another branch. And then another, and then another. As they pass each way, the man makes sure to drag the heel of the boot along the ground to mark their passing and direction in small distinct scuffs. (It might not have helped, if the manor decided to simply erase them, but it didn't hurt, either). Eventually, one turn brings them into a broader opening - A clearing in the hedge, though by no means out of it just yet.
. 24 . Chalceus: 6 (4/5) September: 24 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 22, 2021 2:53:40 GMT -6
Even as he's taking in the sight, the foal keeps pulling towards a flower bush, the apparent source of her single-minded direction. While the blooms there might seem like tasty treats, he keeps her close to him, "No, we don't know what those are." Plants, obviously, but the question went a little further than that - Not quite all plants were edible, much less to the foal's specific tastes (And digestion).
The clearing, while ringed with the same hedge, seems to lack much decoration otherwise. There's a bench to either side, some additional decorative bushes and a few other paths that branch off. And near the middle, something bright in the dirt.. Cautiously, he approaches the object, keeping an eye out for the surroundings (You never knew. Conveniently central objects tended to have purposeful positioning) and scuffed some dirt off of it with the boot. While still half-buried, the object looked to be a strange sort of silver necklace, one he hadn't seen before.
. 25 . Chalceus: 7 (0/5) September: 25 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Jack on Sept 22, 2021 18:46:12 GMT -6
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Post by Èdan on Sept 23, 2021 10:58:20 GMT -6
It is at the moment of reaching down and picking it up, that the tell-tale whistle reaches his ears, and he quickly moves. Not quite a leap backwards, from such a crouched position, as rolling back on the balls of the feet and stumbling some steps before getting up. The dirt before him puffs up a dry cloud of dust as something heavy lands in it with a softer thud (Something organic, then). Ever willing to learn from the past, the man keeps backing up, eyes scanning the skies and not surprisingly, more apples follow, as a second and third one seem to arc up and down towards them from beyond the hedges.
Great.. Even without trees these things seem to be able to follow him around. The foal's attention span is caught by the movement, but only so far as she's able to recognize a new source of food, rather than a reason to be concerned.
. 26 . Chalceus: 7 (1/5) September: 26 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 23, 2021 11:05:22 GMT -6
The barrage has barely abated and the foal is already making her way towards the closer one, so he pulls the lead towards himself and let out an annoyed "No!". (Goddess damned it, for all that this one's supposed to be a fearless warhorse, he's starting to think the scientists put a little too much 'fearless' and not enough 'war' into it. There's some tactical fumbles even beasts should be able to consciously avoid). "We're not eating those, and we're not walking into line of fire," he adds, with that ever-tired voice generally reserved for when one's on the edge of their patience with someone very small or very simple.
Up above, a new sound enters the fray, as a hoarse voice begins laughing. The presence of it doesn't startle him much (It's to be expected here. After all, he'd previously met the panther by complete happenstance and there could be any number of different people here besides him).
. 27 . Chalceus: 7 (2/5) September: 27 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 23, 2021 11:11:01 GMT -6
What does surprise him is the source of it - Up on the hedge, perched upon a long grapevine sticking out of it, is a black bird, beak wide open and cawing mockingly. In one claw there seems to be a large piece of corn ear, while the other clutches the vine, but dangling under it are some grapes as well. The bird's looking directly at them, and continues to caw, with only a slight rustle of the wings to accompany the derision. Wonderful, they now have an audience to go along with the torture, and he's quite confident the bird's part of the usual entourage that tends to caravan up here after enough time.
"I don't suppose you're a friend of the goat," he calls up to it, with a motion to the wheat contraption, but to little effect - The bird seeming no more or less entertained by it. "Figured as much," he scoffs, and finally pockets the serpent necklace.
. 28 . Chalceus: 7 (3/5) September: 28 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 23, 2021 11:18:47 GMT -6
Leaning down, he picks up a small rock from the dirt and makes a casual fling at the bird. It's half-hearted at best, more to satisfy an attempt at getting it to leave, even if he knows it wont. The bird takes off with an even or raucous cawing, as if to mock the attempt even further, and the branch bends down enough to be within arm's reach. There's a lot of symbology to derive from simple little events like this and philosophers and writers alike could lose themselves in trying to dissect it any one way or another - a black corvid bird (Symbol of death), an ear of corn (Symbol of growth and wealth), elevated grapevines (Symbol of greed and pettiness).
Fortunately for him, he is largely unconcerned about all of it. He simply picks up the branch of grape, not out of some need, but a much more practical sense - Should the foal end up wandering, it might just be possible to use it in order to guide her back on track, like a carrot on a stick.
. 29 . Chalceus: 7 (4/5) September: 29 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 23, 2021 11:23:54 GMT -6
And speaking of.. The man's back has been turned for but a moment, and yet the foal has already found enough time within that to head over to the bushes and begin to bite down on some flowers. The motion he makes to reach her is one-part reflex, one-part a certain parental instinct, as he pries the flower out of her mouth, "No! We're not eating anything here!" To the foal's credit, she doesn't put up much of a resistance, but does remain looking at him with woeful doe eyes as if entirely confused as to why not. Unfortunately for him, there's not enough words in the bestial vocabulary to explain that manor food is dangerous food and could result in anything from an upset stomach to a full-blown fever episode.
So, he remains firmly staring her down for a moment, before closing his eyes and sighing, shoulders lowering. Great.. Now he's doing that thing as well. Talking to these animals as if they had even any inkling to the meaning of the words.
. 30 . (added)
Chalceus: 8 (0/5) September: 30 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 29, 2021 4:18:32 GMT -6
There is something in the air here, he figures, something that makes it just contagious. Some of the beasts could be smart enough to understand (As much the shadow has proven) but by and far the majority are no more or less clever than an average dog or horse. They just happen to have a lot more things going for them. A lot more. To deprive the foal of further temptation, he snatches up the flowers and dumps them in the witch hat. If they end up being real and they can get their respective tails far away from the manor, then by all means, the foal can eat her fill of them.
Until then, nothing eaten and nothing ventured (Too far away) makes for safer passage. Not exactly the usual modus operandi in this scenario, but he's had enough experience with the manor in the past to know that the usual risk and reward rules don't quite apply the same way here as they do in the real world.
. 31 . Chalceus: 8 (1/5) September: 31 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 29, 2021 4:24:09 GMT -6
A risk here could lead to anything from getting even more lost to coming down with a sudden sickness in a matter of moments. The rewards, by comparison, are treasures more close to trinkets than anything of particular substance. Thus, the the degree of abuse-to-reward can range quite a bit (Compared to the real world where consequences didn't tend to be quite so immediate to the actions taken. Usually you had at least a few hours, if not a few days to make a hasty exit and an appropriate act of disappearance).
"Come on," the lead is tugged again as he walks forward, towards the other end of the hedge clearing. The foal follows eagerly, especially since the scent of flowers now seems to trail from the hat cradled by the crook of the tail. It isn't quite as literal as the grapes on the stick, but it doesn't even need to be - The effect is largely the same.
. 32 . Chalceus: 8 (2/5) September: 32 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 29, 2021 4:28:57 GMT -6
The paths forwards are plenty, and the choices quite the plethora. By which measure, it means the choice itself doesn't matter half as much as the result - With this many options and this little information on where each leads, as all paths look about the same as the other, any one choice is no worse or better than the other as well. The foal doesn't seem to be half as interested in leading the way as before, largely because of the flowers now being on his person rather than the destination (Though a part of him wonders what would happen is he tossed a flower over the hedge somewhere and let the foal lead to it, and whether that could improve their odds or worsen them).
The free hand rubs the back of the neck as he considers the directions. There's four, so it's not exactly like a coin toss would solve it either, though two coins and a process of elimination might have helped.
. 33 . Chalceus: 8 (3/5) September: 33 Serpent's Dawn
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Post by Èdan on Sept 29, 2021 4:34:26 GMT -6
The man generally considers himself a decent navigator, even though he's rarely had to travel the same paths and parts twice (It tended to be safer that way). Thinking back on the path here, the twists and turns the foal took, there had been a general north-ward direction inherent (The manor didn't have a north, exactly, and even if it did it probably more treated it like a suggestion than a rule, but if he had to assign a cardinal point in space, it might as well be that. The space here is malleable enough to not follow general rules of physics, or even space itself, but at least this way he can keep some shred of sanity remaining - Something to anchor, a tether, however slim).
So if that is to be their direction, might as well continue it until the manor runs out, loops them back, or they find the actual exit to the place. The duo stepped into the leftmost opening of a path.
. 34 . Chalceus: 8 (4/5) September: 34 Serpent's Dawn
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