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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 20:02:23 GMT -6
Varus worked quickly, digging through the rock layer of the wall and into a patch of hardened clay. There was still some semblance of the original hole here, giving the gargoyle a place to aim. It could feel that it was getting closer. A faint thrum rang out from the hole.. And it could sense some precious things the leopard would like, probably. If it happened upon another noisy crystal, the warden would undoubtedly be proud. Though.. Part of the gargoyle wished to hoard magic for itself. It just couldn't bring itself to be selfish before the mammalian though. Meanwhile, Xentus took to making some notes about the ruins he'd found himself in, scribbling in his notebook about the strange rock-bug and the opal drake. The karzik had skittered by, drawn by the scrapping of the gargoyle. Its large, red eyes flicked between the man, the drake, and the puffs of dirt getting ejected from the hole nearby them.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 20:08:21 GMT -6
"Ah, hello little friend", the man greeted, looking up from his notebook. It clicked a few times at him, buzzing its wings as it surveyed the tunnel. Xentus did his best to take this chance and sketch a rough drawing of the creature. Insectoid.. With two wings, no foreelimbs, skinny legs.. And a face only a mother could be pressed to love. He smirked at that last thought. But it really wasn't the cutest thing he'd ever seen. His scrappy drawing of it wasn't detailed, but offered enough identifying features for him to remember and look up some better resources later. There had to be some information on this thing, right? He was most interested to learn if the creature had been named, and if it was dangerous in any regard. Overall, it didn't seem like there was much to be too afraid of when it came to beasts of the underground. Except for maybe sarane..
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 20:20:13 GMT -6
Ah, but coming across a sarane nest wasn't a common occurrence. Aside from dragons, he had heard of there being giant worms that tunneled through the earth. Ones even big enough to forge a path for a man to follow after one. He shuddered at the thought of coming across something like that. It was a short while before Varus finally made its way out of the hole. And bearing gifts. Xentus perked up before the stone being was fully out, feeling the telling thrum of magic. Varus even seemed to have a smug look on its face as it revealed its haul - a couple of gems, a fossil, and the blue tinted magic crystal. "Amazing, Varus", the man cooed as the gargoyle relinquished its finds to him, "This one knows now how you sense such treasures, but he will always be in awe.." The stony being clacked its beak as it soaked in the man's words, taking in the praise with pride.
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Post by Jack on Sept 8, 2021 20:22:42 GMT -6
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 20:32:40 GMT -6
Uncharacteristically, the gargoyle's tail even seemed to wave with excitement. Not exactly wagging, but more of a.. Content cat's tail flicking. And the best part was, there was still more to unearth! But.. The leopard didn't know that. Soaking in all this praise now with the expectation of more so soon; now that brought a great deal of pleasure. Varus allowed itself some rest before going back for the rest of the treasures it sensed, settling down in front of the warden to watch him examine the finds. Xentus cast the occasional glance up at the familiar to check on it while inspecting the haul. When he'd first freed the gargoyle from the cage at the trader's, he'd felt that those hollow eyes were so.. Judging. Looking down upon him and silently coming to conclusions based on any of his motions. But now, it didn't feel so harsh to be watched. Maybe he'd just gotten used to it.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 20:39:46 GMT -6
There was a lot about Varus that still was fairly mysterious, mostly regarding what the gargoyle thought of him. But he'd come to see parts of it warm up to him. It wasn't beyond the leopard's notice that it seemed to enjoy his praise, and even his touch. Even though it was still perplexing to him how he ought to treat his ward sometimes. Overall, he was happy with how their relationship shaped up. He felt himself a guide, yet also guided by the being. Ah.. Confusing. Xentus did his best to wave away his wandering mind and refocus at the task at hand. The fossil was the most curious find to him. Some kind of vertebrae.. But it was hard to discern of what origin. He stared hard at the curved shape, running his fingers along the edges. And finally, he let out a sigh. This one would need more research later..
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 20:46:16 GMT -6
Of the two gems, one he immediately identified as amethyst. A fairly low value gem of beautiful purple hue. He'd come across these before. The other.. A turquoise color with banding stripes. At first, he figured it to be some kind of agate. Those were usually banded, but typically with more rusty coloring. The blued hues of this one lead him to think it something more like jade. Thankfully, he had a book to scan through to identify it. Seeing the warden fully occupied, Varus took the lapse of attention as a signal to delve back into the hole for the rest of the treasure. It was buried further within, possibly as some old hoard of a underground dweller who'd left it long forgotten. Worry not, treasure, it would come to see the light again. It just had to get there.. Scratching, scraping, and overall scuffling ensued as the gargoyle returned to work.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 20:53:53 GMT -6
Xentus hummed curiously, looking over to watch the gargoyle escape into the hole once again. The thought that there might be more to be found there was astounding, but definitely possible. Once they'd found two little hoards of gem-creatures, side by side essentially. It didn't seem too uncommon an occurrence. Perhaps hoards were kept close by so that the ditzy things didn't forget about them. It was all speculation, but it kept the mind busy. Ah, but a little too busy. The leopard snapped his attention back to his book, trying his best to search for a gem that matched this green-blue one he had in his claws. A long hum sounded from the man's throat as he thumbed through the pages. And finally, he came across the entry for malachite. Meanwhile, Varus was nearing his target. Oh, he could feel it. A quiver of anticipation rocked the stony being's body.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 21:00:21 GMT -6
There wasn't as much to take back, but the warden was never disappointed to see a magic crystal. There were few that he figured would be, though. One needed to have either no interest in magic or knew not of its worth. And the warden was the exact opposite of either quality. The familiar gathered its haul and carefully backed out of the tunnel it had dug. Xentus perked up at hearing the telling sound of his ward making its return, and he was already fairly excited to see what he could add to his collection next. The blue crystal was a magic crystal of water, as far as he could discern. He'd gotten fairly good at telling sources of magic apart, especially after working with the golems. And it would seem he'd have yet another to appraise now. The leopard beamed, grinning at the sight and feel of the thrum of the earth crystal. "What wonderful finds, dear Varus!", he purred.
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Post by Jack on Sept 8, 2021 21:14:42 GMT -6
This was a pretty good area if all these crystals keep being found.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 9, 2021 16:00:53 GMT -6
Two crystals, dug up in the near vicinity of one another. How lucky was that! The man beamed, obviously excited to take a closer look at the green crystal. While brown was the color he'd more closely associate with earth, green was pleasant too. Like lush forest leaves. Mulling on it, the leopard favored fire the most of all the 'basic' elements. Warm, powerful, yet destructive if left untamed. Beyond that, he enjoyed the divine element of order. Stately, lawful, predictable. Or so he felt it was. The green crystal was twirled between his fingers, his gaze getting lost in the shimmering hue. With this, his collection was steadily growing. Unfortunately, he had few matching elements. Had to get it started somehow, though! "Fine additions to the collection", the man deemed with a nod, storing away the finds. The gargoyle seemed to thrive in the man's words, knowing them to certainly only be good.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 10, 2021 15:08:25 GMT -6
Xentus had the feeling that this ancient ruin was a hotspot for magic. And.. Part of him suspected that he really shouldn't even be here. Both wildlife and magic flourished here - left untouched by anyone for a good reason. He mulled on what he ought to do here.. Turning back now felt so unsatisfying. His wanderlust craved further adventure. And if it was illegal for him to be here, it certainly wasn't obvious! He hummed and came to the conclusion that.. He was going to continue onward to see what other secrets lay here. Let him be stopped by whatever may stop him! Varus tilted its head curiously at the warden, who seemed to be actively making his mind up about something. It was fascinating to see his resolve making his face twitch. Mouth moving from a pursed line, to a frown, to a smug smirk.. Eyes squinting, widening, and lighting up..
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Post by Xentus on Sept 10, 2021 15:59:20 GMT -6
The leopard was so dazed all the time, that he probably forgot to remove his hand from its head.. Not that Varus minded much. The gargoyle patiently waited for the man to come back to earth, secretly enjoying the gentle touch. And it was nice to take a break from all that digging. It hardly was exhausted - digging was its specialty - but there was something nice about sitting around unworried. The two sat there until Xentus seemed to make up his mind, clasping his hands together. "Right! There is much to discover here, so let us explore", the warden piped up as he rose to his feet. Truthfully, he wanted in on some of this magic crystal finding action. He couldn't let Varus do all the work while he lazed around. With that in mind, the leopard backtracked down the tunnel and into the rook where they'd first stumbled upon the karzik.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 10, 2021 16:07:39 GMT -6
He didn't take much time exploring here because of that strange little bug thing. He spotted it quietly observing them from atop a pile of rubble, red eyes gleaming in the brightness of his flashlight. The beam of light scanned the area for anything of interest. A lot seemed to be destroyed here due to the earth's natural shifting, leaving little which seemed intact. Xentus walked slowly around the damp floor, eyes perusing the cracked stonework, the fungi, and.. An odd stone disc embedded in the wall. It was large, hefty. Chipped, but not entirely broken. And there were pictographs on its surface, sectioned into three rings. And there was a sphere in its center. A quiet thrumming could be felt there, making the man's eyes light up. Some kind of ancient puzzle? Or mechanism of sorts. Maybe an antiquated power supply. Curious, a clawed hand reached to touch one of the rings.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 10, 2021 16:13:50 GMT -6
And it felt loose. The leopard blinked in surprise. His eyes glanced down at Varus for a moment to see if somehow the gargoyle knew about this kind of thing, but the familiar was silently watching on, giving no offer of aid or assistance. That was fine, he liked himself a puzzle. The mammalian continued to touch and poke at the stone disc, finding that the rings moved freely and the center did not. The pictographs were of animals.. As far as he could tell, anyway. Some looked odd, like the karzik. Others were slightly more recognizable, resembling an eagle, bear, and snake, among others. To find how to orient these shapes was the next task. Part of him wanted to have the creatures he found here in some order. Karzik, drake, then.. Something else. Seemed like he'd need to come back to this later. A disappointed frown curled down the man's lip as he turned away to look around some more.
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