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Post by Emery on Feb 6, 2024 13:12:31 GMT -6
EmeryEncounters Off
| Klik Level 6 | Loyalty 6
Stats: Stamina: 1 Strength: 0 Resistance: 0 Dexterity: 1 Mentality: 0 Abilities: Carapace Moves: None
Knows: Name (1), Come (1), Follow (1), Stay (1), Fetch (1) |
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Post by Emery on Feb 6, 2024 15:15:35 GMT -6
Emery had been researching the mansion feverishly. Books bought, interviews sought out, research read. And frustratingly, it hadn't amounted to much. She was still just as in the dark about how the mansion worked now as she had been to start with. Despite people visiting it quite frequently to claim its trinkets and boons, nobody had ever seemed to be able to come up with any concrete information about it. She knew the basics- it was a large tract of land on the edge of the city's boundaries that had unique reality-warping effects due to a prodigious magical field around it. Every month the nature of the warp would change, resulting in massive changes to the mansion's physical appearance, properties, and even in various beasts roaming the grounds. She was quite hoping she wouldn't run into any of those. And yet there was a lot about the mansion that remained a complete mystery. Moxie 4.1/4.1 Emery 1 1
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Post by Emery on Feb 6, 2024 15:45:00 GMT -6
No one had been able to pin down even a theory about the underlying mechanisms of the mansion, whether it was a curse, a natural wrinkle in the flow of the leyline, anything. It seemed that so long as it was offering up consistent treasures, nobody really CARED about how it worked. Needless to say, that bothered Emery immensely. Her intentions here then were less to collect resources to be sold or traded (though that was admittedly a welcome bonus), but to take samples for research and to learn more about an entity that other people seemed happy to ignore. Of course, that was more easily said than done. The mansion was known to be plenty dangerous during some months, and Emery had neither the magical prowess nor physical fitness to meet it on its own terms. She knew from the start that she would have to plan her trip carefully to get the most out of it.
Moxie 4.2/4.2 Emery 2 2
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Post by Emery on Feb 7, 2024 14:45:42 GMT -6
First, she had to choose a protector. She wasn't foolish enough to think she could explore on her own. Thankfully, creating strong beasts to keep one safe in dangerous areas was something that the Labs excelled at. Moxie had started out as a tiny little thing, something she could carry under one arm, but over time he had swelled and blossomed into a beast the size of a particularly beefy ostrich. He couldn't quite be ridden on, but he was certainly large enough to scare off most monsters that might assail her. She had even taught him a few fighting moves, minor as they may be. At the very least, he made her feel more secure, though she wished he was a bit more obedient than he was. Oh well- that was always something she could handle later. For now at least he was behaving, twitching his head from side to side attentively as they stepped through the front gates.
Moxie 4.3/4.3 Emery 3 3
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Post by Emery on Feb 7, 2024 14:48:48 GMT -6
The other matter she had to think about was what time of year to arrive in. The mansion changed in shape and theme throughout the year, and some months were more dangerous than others. That part was well documented at least, and Emery was able to find several documents comparing and contrasting the different times of year one should come. As a result, she felt that the holiday of Vakrah, during the month of February, was the best time of year to make her first foray into what the mansion had to offer. It was the season of love, though she had never participated in it herself. As a result the mansion was luxurious, romantically decorated and, best of all, quiet. She hadn't read about any sort of fearsome beasts that roamed the halls around this time of year, and why would there be? Getting torn limb from limb wasn't romantic.
Moxie 4.4/4.4 Emery 4 4
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Post by Emery on Feb 7, 2024 14:52:24 GMT -6
Well. Not unless you had some strange ideas about romance, at any rate. Compared to months like July and October however, it was downright inviting. Sure it was a bit cold, but that was the maximum threat that Emery was expecting. Sure enough as she stepped onto the front lawn of the mansion, there was nothing moving. Tiny pieces of gravel crunched under her and Moxies' feet as they stepped in. It looked like they were on a small gravel path leading towards the front door of the mansion. Lining it to either side was a tiny cast iron latticework, barely ankle height, with the metal twisted into the shapes of hearts and roses. How tacky, Emery thought to herself. Of course, that was nothing compared to the actual roses in neat hedges just beyond, lining the path to either side. Some said the mansion had a mind of its own. Emery didn't agree.
Moxie 5.0/5.0 Emery 5 5
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Post by Emery on Feb 7, 2024 15:02:43 GMT -6
If it did though, she could easily take this as the building trying to railroad her in, keeping her from exploring the gardens. She wasn't about to disobey at any rate- she'd prefer to explore somewhere where she could sit down easily as opposed to roughing it in the garden. The roses were pretty to be sure, blossoming in shades of pale lavender, all of them facing the pathway, but she hardly wanted to go on a jaunt through their thorns. She heard rustling behind her, and for the briefest moment she turned her head. There she found Moxie, looking at her with a 'caught' expression as he chewed on a mouthful of roses. Apparently he didn't notice the thorns- perhaps that was for the best. Either way, there was very little that would poison a kito, so so long as he kept on following her, she was fine with him snacking on whatever he pleased.
Moxie 5.1/5.1 Emery 6 6
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Post by Emery on Feb 7, 2024 15:09:52 GMT -6
After all, the mansion had all sorts of various goodies and sweets this time of year. Emery couldn't really have any of them, what with her battered digestive system, but perhaps she could take a few to melt down into something more palatable later. It made sense to let Moxie do as he pleased however. There was no sense in not letting either of them have anything nice, and his presence was more for intimidation than anything more formal. As long as he was in her general vicinity, he was pretty much doing his job. She couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that though- there was a time when he was so small that SHE was the protector. In fact, she considered him a small companion, a bit like a tiny yappy dog. Like a dog, he still ate everything he could find off of the floor, though his tastes now included little yappy dogs.
Moxie 5.2/5.2 Emery 7 7
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Post by Emery on Feb 7, 2024 15:24:43 GMT -6
The change wasn't lost on her however, and she was now careful to keep him muzzled in public areas, or at least until she could teach him some better manners. Having to pay for a smaller pet's medical bills once was too many times for her. In here however she could relax a bit more. Not enough to let him off the lead of course, but enough that he could nibble on bits and pieces here and there without her having to worry about it. After all, one only ever rarely saw other people in the mansion. For the most part each person was alone, shuffled off to another location or perhaps even instance of mansion each time they stepped in. Indeed, while this place gave the appearance of being built by human hands, Emery knew it better to be a very lonely place indeed. Always searching for people to come and visit it.
Moxie 5.3/5.3 Emery 8 8
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Post by Emery on Feb 7, 2024 15:30:00 GMT -6
Well, she wasn't denying it today. She stepped up to the front porch of the mansion, carefully bending her knees to push herself up the last couple of steps it took to get to the door. An enormous wreath was hung on it, decorated in all sorts of symbols of love and romance. Lavender flowers set the tone of the building, the cloying sweet scent making its way to Emery even through the thick filters inside her helmet. A small silver serpent, thin like jewelry, wound its way through the boughs, keeping them lashed down and in shape. And finally, two golden bells hung off of the bottom. She gently pushed open the door and they jingled daintily- announcing for all to hear that she had arrived. The corners of her mouth turned down- she was quite hoping she could avoid attracting attention. Hopefully the rest of the mansion wouldn't rush to meet her.
Moxie 5.4/5.4 Emery 9 9
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Post by Emery on Feb 7, 2024 15:43:40 GMT -6
Luckily, the room was just as silent as before when Emery walked into... a kitchen. Before she could properly take it in however, Moxie shoved his way in behind her, sniffing loudly at all of the objects. Emery didn't object- she was happy to let him scope out the room for her, though he wasn't exactly gentle about it. He nudged various pans off of their positions on the stoves, causing the lids to fall askew, and the plates rattled nervously from their racks on the walls as he nudged his teeth against their corners. None of them were flying off to attack so eventually the occasus kito settled down a bit, now gently snuffling around in search of food- his default. That left Emery able to take a more careful look at her surroundings. Gently she pulled the door shut behind her, and the whole mood of the room instantly changed.
Moxie 6.0/6.0 Emery 10 10
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Post by Emery on Feb 7, 2024 15:53:47 GMT -6
Not for the worst perhaps, but there was a part of Emery that now felt like she was... somewhere else. As if she was no longer a few inches from the exterior of the mansion anymore, let alone the front door. She turned around and tried to reopen the door, but sure enough it was stuck fast. Perhaps someone stronger could get it open, but that person certainly wasn't her. She glanced around- there weren't any windows in this room either, which meant that she was well and truly stuck. There WAS another door across the room, but luckily this room seemed safe enough. There was no point in rushing things. She gave a sigh of resignation and released her hold on the doorknob. Might as well see what this place had to offer. She ran a hand along the tiled counter. It was well made, edged with wood and covered in bright white tiles.
Moxie 6.1/6.1 Emery 11 11
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Post by Emery on Feb 8, 2024 7:40:47 GMT -6
You could barely see the beautifully constructed counter past everything stacked on it, however. Baskets of lush fruit, far more juicy and colorful than any Emery knew were stacked high, hanks of ham hung from the walls, all sorts of various cooking implements were arranged along the counters in an order that she was sure would make sense to a professional chef. Unfortunately, Emery's culinary experience was limited to mostly protein shakes and other things that she could quickly drink and then forget about. Her sense of taste wasn't great nowadays. This place looked perfect to cook up a romantic meal, stuffed to the gills with ingredients, but nothing seemed immediately ready to eat. Well, not to her at least- Moxie was having a fantastic time dragging the hams off the wall and snapping them down into his apparently bottomless gullet. He swished his tail happily as he unhooked another.
Moxie 6.2/6.2 Emery 12 12
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Post by Emery on Feb 8, 2024 7:48:02 GMT -6
Well, he might be well occupied, but Emery wasn't seeing anything of interest. The fruit was juicy to be sure, and the flours and spices were no doubt of the highest quality, but she had the feeling that if she tried to take any of it with her it would wither and die before she got home, crumbling into dust. That seemed to be the case with a lot of items people took from the mansion's grounds. It could be very particular about what it allowed people to take with it. Still, Emery did her due diligence as a researcher and checked the cabinets, sliding each one open to see the assortment of dishes and plates within. Yeesh. That was a lot. There was only a small island in the middle of the kitchen, presumably to assist in cooking, but for the time being it was completely empty, excepting a particularly enormous decorative fruit basket.
Moxie 6.3/6.3 Emery 13 13
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Post by Emery on Feb 8, 2024 7:53:46 GMT -6
So if this was where you were supposed to MAKE food... where were you supposed to eat it? Emery turned around slowly, taking in the environment. It didn't look like a place you would actually set up chairs and some candles to make a romantic night out of it, now that she thought about it. It also wasn't a room that you would expect to find directly behind the front door of the mansion though, so really, what did she know? But... Emery couldn't help but think she was missing something here. She looked up. There WAS still the other door across the room. Perhaps it was time to step through it. She wasn't expecting any reasonable answers, but it was better than nothing. "Ready to go, Moxie- oh god, what are you doing." She said, looking at her pet with surprised. He croaked nervously as he looked back at her.
Moxie 6.4/6.4 Emery 14 14
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