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Post by Eivor on Jun 18, 2023 7:32:04 GMT
"There is much to enjoy here but the observatory raises as many questions as provides answers. I need to investigate what we've witnessed in person as well as from afar," Eivor replies. "Rest assured I will not abandon you. There are too many places to discover, and they all need to be documented."
A thought occurs to her. "Have you heard of Eshanta and its Mirror Maze? Do you have a ring for that do you think?"
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Post by Admin on Jun 27, 2023 2:02:32 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/QQq3fVm/dworkinmaybe1~jpg "Eshanta? Eshanta...Eshanta....it does ring a bell. Large devices floating in the sky Eshanta? Or the port city Eshanta on the shadow crossing Sen River? Or the undersea Eshanta with the choruses of - err, never mind that one. The long bridge Eshanta? Are you thinking of any of those? Can't say that I've heard of a Mirror Maze in any of those places. Let me check the rings."He begins to dig through the piles of mouldering paper and pulls out more of the large rings.
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Post by Eivor on Jun 28, 2023 6:55:41 GMT
"The one with the devices in the sky, I think," Eivor suggests, before going to help with setting up the device.
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Post by Admin on Jul 1, 2023 3:00:59 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/QQq3fVm/dworkinmaybe1~jpg "Ah, that's a difficult one to see. Located where the Pattern ends its sway over Shadow. Much churning and shifting of worlds there. New universes are born and die in an instant. Powers rise from the maelstrom wax, then wain and fade to nothing. Do you hope to corral one of those powers? The Maze? Mirrored, you said? Dangerous things mirrors; who knows who you might see looking back!"He goes back to muttering to himself and searching the hieroglyphs on the rings. "Ever been to Earth?" he says suddenly. "And looked through a telescope?"
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Post by Eivor on Jul 1, 2023 7:18:05 GMT
"I can't say that I have," Eivor confesses. "Should I? What would I see other than stars?"
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Post by Admin on Jul 7, 2023 4:26:51 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/QQq3fVm/dworkinmaybe1~jpg "I don't blame you; it's an awful place, but for a while there, it seemed to be all the rage with everyone visiting. Sadly none of them were interested in Astronomy. It's unfortunate because there are wonders to be seen through their telescopes - other worlds, strange nebulae. Few shadows have such a varied sky. The locals have even invented telescopes that don't use light! How did they think of that? Everything there spins in a harmonious cosmic ballet while these shadows twist and turn and are pulled by Chaos. Much more difficult.
"Ah! Here it is! Eshanta!"He hands the large ring to Eivor and explains how to replace the rings on the telescope and how to focus and control the device. Once done, she sees Eshanta, much to the man's surprise. "Out there? Where the shadows bubble and churn? I can't believe it is still visible!"Eivor sees Mytorran in ruins and dead demons everywhere mixed in with other odd insectoid creatures. A strange new large industrial building has been constructed outside the fallen city walls. Its pipes and tubes dig deep into the ground, and its smokestacks release foul black clouds into the air. The only signs of life are vegetation and the few birds the smoke hasn't killed.
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Post by Eivor on Jul 7, 2023 9:35:02 GMT
"It seems quite a durable place," Eivor comments, trying to get a better look at the pipes and tubes. "That machinery wasn't there on my last visit. Any of it familiar to you?"
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Post by Admin on Jul 8, 2023 2:24:16 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/QQq3fVm/dworkinmaybe1~jpg The man looks through the eyepiece. He adjusts a few of the knobs, focusing and defocusing the image. "Nothing like that, no," he says. "Why, I'd swear it is expanding even as we watch. Curious!
"So, what would you like to look at next? Heerat? Han Dolt City? Avernus? Texorami?"
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Post by Eivor on Jul 8, 2023 7:32:08 GMT
"I think I need to explore for a bit," Eivor says, "though I'd appreciate it if you keep a check on Eshanta. It was recently attacked by forces from Chaos, so how it adapts would be an interesting study."
"I'll return as soon as I'm able. There's only so much to learn from looking from a distance. Remember to record what you see and maybe next time you'll feel like coming with me."
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Post by Admin on Jul 12, 2023 4:21:36 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/QQq3fVm/dworkinmaybe1~jpg "Chaos isn't so bad - I have friends from there.
"Well, I don't travel much these days. I prefer staying close to the centre of things. Good luck on your travels!"He turns back to the telescope and appears to have completely forgotten about Eivor. "Wait!" he says like he just snapped out of a dream. "Take that dreadful horse with you."
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Post by Eivor on Jul 13, 2023 7:37:20 GMT
"Don't worry, I will." Eivor assures him. "Until next time, master."
She then goes to see Pinewer and makes sure they're still friends before saddling up and heading out into Shadow. A message had been left for her to travel to the Horns of Anubis; she now knew what it looked like so that would be her next port of call.
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Post by Admin on Jul 14, 2023 19:05:32 GMT
The ghosts still drift in great numbers up and down the path. Some seem to recognizer her, or maybe the horse, then point and speak but no sound comes from their mouths.
The dark paths of Arden soo return to the colour and ghost-freeness she remembers, To her left is the great ridge which almost bisects Arden. Her private glen is up on those cliffs, and her father's lodge too. Ahead is the great road through Arden and to the shadows beyond!
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Post by Eivor on Jul 14, 2023 21:23:20 GMT
Eivor is glad to be away from the monochrome world and takes a deep breath of the clean forest air. She urges Pinewer forward and begins to move Shadow, bringing to mind the Horns of Nimon or the Twin Peaks of the Dogged Pass as the Caretaker called them, or the Horns of Anubis as she was told they were named.
She seeks an rocky hill rising from an arid plain dotted by small bushes. She looks for that wide, ornate stone staircase climbing straight up the hill, crested by a jackal-shaped temple flanked by large spires of rock. To be the correct place, there should be three moons in the sky. It might take some time to get there, but she is in no particular hurry.
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Post by Admin on Jul 19, 2023 23:00:09 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/F6r5HTS/vult2~png Through the mountains and out of Arden-proper. Rugged terrain changes, melts into gently rolling forested hills. Tress thinning...thinning..thinning to grassland. Grasses become patchier showing the hard yellow clay underneath. Pinewer is a mighty horse, so similar to Morgenstern, she imagines, not that her father ever let her ride his mythic horse. The patches of grass become smaller...smaller.. then Eivor is in a world of yellow ground, tan hills, and mustard sky. The umber sun begins to set as one moon rises...two...four. Four moons all the wrong colour and size in the sky above a cracked, volcanic land. Other than a snort, Pinewer is unconcerned with the change. Circle a slag heap, and there are three moons in the sky. The sun rises and the three moons fade and she is crossing a vast desert, hoodoos to all sides. Black tumbleweeds cross her path, the trail crosses rusted train tracks, and tall cacti loom in an arroyo the path gingerly avoids. Mirages dance in the air. A sign hangs from a wooden post. 'Tombstone 3mi.' it reads with a painted arrow pointing west. A vulture sits atop the post. "You! Rider of the great horse, a friend of Devil, you are!" it croaks while bobbing its head toward her.
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Post by Eivor on Jul 20, 2023 7:09:43 GMT
"Where you are a devil or not rather depends on your perspective," Eivor replies. "I'm not here to raise hell or to invoke dark powers, and I'm not a friend of those who do. Perhaps you're talking about Edmund, my brother. This is his horse, but he's hardly a friend. He did like to raise hell though."
She looks at the sky again. Where had she gone wrong? Was there some sort of barrier she had to go through? She supposed it made sense, if someone wanted to keep it secret.
"I'm looking for the Horns of Anubis. Is this the right path?"
It suddenly dawned on her she was asking directions from a vulture, and how ridiculous she must seem.
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