Sessions Worlds and Stuff

"If this house isn't giving you answers, you could always try asking Kentlr," Quente said. "I imagine he's still around."

"Kentlr?" Hobbes asked curiously. "What's he got to do with any of this?"

"wait....and how long did you say you were in that closet? Did you know him as a kid or something? Damn, must have been smart even back then.....egghead type and all that: *Daxton pondered aloud*

"...Kid?" Quente snickered. "Nah, Kentlr's older than he looks. Older than me, anyway. Surely you didn't think that this much magic would be contained to one house.

"Kentlr's known around here, for being able to fix, 'unnatural happenins'. Well, things that can be fixed with potions and stuff at least. And if he's still around, I'd be surprised if he didn't keep vague tabs on the property. It's hard to avoid that kind of gossip, even for a shut in like him."

"It'll be nice to have a lead other than Rikesh," Hobbes mused. "Between the two of them, we might be able to piece together a clearer picture of what's happened here."

"alright, but I'm calling it now....potion boy's a vampire" *Daxton replied with his trademark mischievous smile. Leaning up against his wife in the process, his newly gloved hand brushing her's subconsciously*

"I couldn't quite say," Quente said, getting up. "Not something I'm really concerned about either way. However, there are some things I should be checking on. So I'll see you two later."

"I wouldn't be /too/ surprised. Weird talking frogs in the well, evil dryads further down, ghosts in the bedrooms, golems, whatever Rikesh is, and of course my heroic demon husband. No telling what else we'll run into."

*Daxton gives his wife a wink at the heroic comment, before reaching out to Quente*
"Oh, one more thing. Well, more like two. A question and a warning. First the question, since Hobbes just brought him up anyways, do you perchance know anything about our froggy friend down in the well? I'd really like to get him out if at all possible, but powerful magics seem to be holding him there...and since you've been around the house awhile I was wondering if you'd heard anything?" "As for the warning. Recently we bought a new "pet" into the house....a lizard, that lights herself on fire and, eats magic. Since your new form is made in large portion from magic I infused into you....I figured I should give you a heads up"

"The lizard is new... thanks for the warning on that one. Hasche sealed me in here pretty tight, but with the infusion you just gave me and all, there's really no telling how it would hold up against a fire lizard.

"As for Froge, Hasche created him pretty earlier on. He purifies the water in the well, since the villagers went through a phase of dumping poison in it. Besides the normal hazards of unboiled water. And sometimes if magic isn't contained properly, drinking nearby water from nearby sources can be a mistake..." She shifted her weight to her other hip. "But Froge stays in the well because the seal over it holds him together. Otherwise I think he would burst into a thousand tiny frogs and be lost to the aether."

"thanks, that gives me a bit of an idea actually"
*Daxton finally let the Golem leave to check on whatever golem business it is she had. Which daxton was admittedly curious about, but so early on into this new "friendship" of theres he didn't really feel like pressing her for more private information she wasn't offering up freely was wise. So instead he turned back to his wife*
"so shall we pay Ricky a visit and return his lovely scarf?"

"I think it is about that time," Hobbes said. "Think we're going to run into any more nonsense on the way back? No telling how many evil ghost witches could be lurking."

"Oh you mean dessert?" Daxton replied with a chuckle, making his way out of the room and back down towards Ricky's door

"Turns out, buy a house get some food free. And what luck, they even threw in a mysterious voice behind a door." Hobbes snickered. "If only they'd known what they were really selling."

As they approached, they saw something dark and shadowy dart beneath Rikesh's door.

*Daxton paused for but a moment*

"uh...Ricky? I think you got Rats. Something's darting around"

*The demon slid up the rest of the way to the door, leaning against it very slightly*

"but besides rats, you also have a reclaimed scarf here"

The person behind the door with Rikesh made an excited, interested noise. "Oh gosh, I thought I was never going to see that scarf again! You have no idea how much this means to me! My grandmother knitted it." There was a nostaligic chuckle. "She told me the yarn was spun out of moonbeams and ocean's breath, which I completely believed at the time. I loved listening to her tell stories while she knit."

Rikesh was going to say something about rats, but whatever it was trailed into nothingness as the other person talked.

The door, however, did open a crack just as it had before. A rather large, very heavy, and intricately carved key was pushed out by seemingly nothing, a bit of it still in the shadow of the room.

"If only I still hands, I'd knit one for you, too," she said, and then fell quiet, lost in thought.

There was a pause before Rikesh spoke. "This is the key to Hasche's workroom. There are many locks on the door, but they're just for show. What you're looking for is the shelf on the left side; the bottom slides forward and there's the keyhole underneath. The hallway in between that first door at the bottom of the stairs and the actual door into the workroom is on the other end. Do not, under any circumstances, go through the entryway on the right, and be careful. That hallway is heavily runed."

"Thanks, I'll keep all that in mind. Am I allowed to ask why such a strong warning over the entryway on the right"

*Daxton stoops and picks up the key, pocketing it. As he gets back up, he drapes the scarf over the doorknob*

"leaving the scarf on the doorknob, so it won't get dirty from touching the ground. Wouldn't want to present a dirty scarf to such a lovely sounding lady after all. I'm sure whatever you would have knit the two of us would be quite lovely. After all, we might need some tiny socks some day"

*You reply with a cheeky and loving wink to your wife*

You can grab the key after we've left Ricky"

Rikesh didn't bother waiting; the door opened a crack, and a slip of shadow pulled the scarf in. The other person made pleased noises, excited to have such a well loved item back.

Hobbes kissed Daxton's hand. "A little druid demon all our own." She snickered. "That child will be a complete handful."

"I've lured many things into that room, and never heard from them again. The magic there tastes... well, you'll feel it."

"hmm...that'll have to be dealt with eventually, if this is to be our home. But yes, thanks for the warning"

*Daxton offers a loving wink to his wife, before starting back up the stairs. It was time to head off to the next death trap this house had to offer*

"As unforthcoming as Rikesh is, it is nice to have someone that'll give us a little warning about what we're walking into," Hobbes said as they climbed the stairs. "I imagine the golem knows even more though, having been made by Hasche. If we can find her, it might be good to convince her to help us."

"she seemed like the sort that enjoys having her secrets. We could always just order her to tell us, but something tells me approaching it that way would just cause more problems than it's worth unless we are truly desperate. Best to find a way to coax the answers out of her in more...friendly manners."

Daxton pauses at the top of the stairs before the hallway that would lead to the workroom and the other less welcoming room Rikesh mentioned. Beyond these stairs the hallway would be very warded, which would spell trouble for a demon such as himself. This was better suited to Hobbes brand of magic.

"If I can sniff out where the runes and wards are, can you do your magic on them hun and allow us some passage?"

The hallway was infact warded, but it was like a one way mirror. Any magic could cross into the hallway, but the conditions for coming back out were extremely specific. A lot of it, unsurprisingly, golem related.

And, going purely off of visuals, it was impossible to figure out where the runes were. It seemed like every inch of the hallway, wall, ceiling, and floor, was covered in intricate carvings. They were all very geometric in design, and there was no telling how long it had taken to do all of this.

Some were more purposeful than others, however. There were deep gouges in the stone walls, especially near the door at the far end. Magical burns had scorched the wooden planks making up the floor, exposing some sort of foggy glass beneath. Two mirrored runes drawn in dripping, electric blue fluid had long dried, and the wall beneath severely dented and cracked beneath them.

Again, behind the wall was more foggy glass. And this time, on the left side, there was a chip taken out of the second wall.

And just as Rikesh had said, there was a doorway on the right side. It was actually more of an archway, leading into a room that looked like an enormous library. Books ran from floor to ceiling, and there was a stack on a desk next to some notes. It looked like anything you could possibly want to know, you could find in here.

Beyond even that, though, were the monsters trapped behind the barrier. All were visible, coated in some kind of shimmering dust, even if they were transparent besides that. There were seven or so, some scrabbling at the barrier to get out, one trying to lick the blue substance the messier runes were made of, and the others... it was really unclear, what they were up to.

"Yeah, I can do that." She dug a couple of seeds out her pocket. "But if these runes are as powerful as I think they are, they're going to cause an intense magical blast when they go down. They're carved in; I can't re-route the magic powering them."

"any other way you think we can get around them without completely taking them down? I'm terrified of entering the hallway as it is...runes like this are the sort of things Elder Demons tell young demons to frighten them into staying out of the palace armory.....but at the same time, taking them completely down...I'm worried about accidentally unsealing anything else that may be trapped around"

*Daxton replied to his wife, eyeing up the hallway with a wary gaze*