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Something organic: It’s dripping. Dripping discolored fluid that pools on the ground and swirls with iridescent shades. It squishes in your hand. Squish. When you squish it, more fluid rolls down your arms, leaving a slight tingling in its wake. When you plucked it out of the swamp, it seemed just an ordinary handful of swamp debris. But now - you see the shapes of things in there. A bone? A stick? Things you might expect to find in a swamp. Discolored and deformed, with algae hanging off. If you took the time to lay it out in a sunny spot, let it dry, then plucked it apart with forceps - who knows what treasures you might find inside? But you don’t. You offer it up as it is, tangled and disorganized, squishy and dripping. It smells like the swamp, a pungent odor of decay, water, and /life/. There is power in such things. The overlooked, the ordinary, with the smell of the place that made it. Spun it like molten gold, from all the offerings of the world around it. A swamp is a magical place, a place of neverending transformation. Decay and renewal. Life and the end of life. And it offers up the potential of everything within: everything can change. Everything can be remade anew. The squish in your hand proves it.
Posted 04/09/23
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Something organic! Swords Become Seeds is not really sure how to respond to this tiny creature, but, like, that’s their default state when interacting with other beings. They consider the raven’s request with great solemnity; at their shrine, all petitions are treated with respect, no matter how great or small. Finally, the guardian plucks one of the vivid red flowers growing from their main and bends down to place it on the ground in front of the raven. The flower’s petals, achingly crimson and delicately formed, almost seem to glow in the light - though it’s only a trick of perception brought on by their intense color. “Will this do, little one?” they ask in a gravelly murmur, golden eyes aglint as they watch their avian interlocutor.
Posted 04/09/23
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Cajun stomped away from the rave, muttering to herself as she did. “How was I supposed to know? The asked to see the goods. Sounded like they wanted to see a stick of dynamite to me, not some silly dance move…” Everyone knew that was what Cajun was known for, her skills with explosives! What else would her goods be. They’d had the gall to bar her from the rave for such a simple misunderstanding! The least they could have offered was to talk it out… or brawl it out. Either would have worked. The sound of coughing ravens diminished behind her as Cajun stormed away, her expression looking more and more cloudy by the moment ; however, her grumblings were interrupted when she heard a screeching voice call out behind her, “Give me more, give me more, give me more! Boom, boom, boom! Bright and shiny! Give me more, give me more, give me more!” A small raven bustled down the hall towards Cajun, it’s feathers ruffled and askew because of the brief panic that followed Cajun’s dynamite exploding. Cajun paw, spinning on her paws to face the new arrival. “What did you say?” she asked, not quite sure she believed what she was hearing after the fuss the massive raven had caused. “Give me more, give me more, give me more!” the raven croaked, hopping from leg to leg. It cocked its head and looked at Cajun out of one eye. Cajun’s sour mood instantly evaporated, and she smirked down at the little bird. “You want one of these?” she asked, pulling out one of her pieces of dynamite that had been crafted to look like a red chili pepper. “You’ve got taste. Boom, boom, boom! Bright and shiny, alright!” she added, cackling to herself. She set the piece of dynamite on the ground next to the raven, the object the size of the bird itself. Her smirk grew bigger as she watched the raven hop over and grasp it in its claws. Its wings fluttered frantically as it struggled to move the too-big piece of dynamite. Cajun tipped her hat in the raven’s direction and said, “On the house, since the rest of y’all’s friends have no sense but you have an eye for the real goods. You need help carrying that to your stash? Or do you just wanna set it off right here?” “Shiny!” the crow said in reply.
Posted 04/09/23
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something magical in exchange for a Protagonist shroom: Wiska appears from an alleyway, a bag slung over their shoulder. The raven stands, trying to be imposing despite being about an eighth of Wiska’s size. They frown down at the critter. “Alright, you want magical? I got magical. That’s easy. That’s my thing.” They speak through gritted teeth, as if trying to swallow a great affront. They would never admit it, but this isn’t their first dealing with a raven. They hate ravens. Rustling around in the bag, Wiska finally retrieves a small pouch of burlap. They untie the top and pour out a handful of green… beans. “Magic beans. That do anything for ya?” Before the raven can respond, Wiska throws them over their shoulder. “No, you’re right. No good. Been there, done that, right? Lessee…” They continue to rummage, a great clattering coming from within. They hold out a length of rope. “Magic rope. You know, like magicians use? You can cut it and repair it as many times as you want. I know what you’re thinking - magicians don’t do real magic. There, you are correct. Those jokers were inspired by this rope, an actual magical rope. Pretty cool, huh?” The raven does not seem swayed. Wiska doesn’t blame him. How can he prove that it’s actual magic rope and not just slight of hand like those phony street performers do? “A bird with taste, huh? Smart. Smart.” They return the rope to their bag and resume pawing around inside. Finally, with a loud clank, they pull out an enormous, handheld mirror. It is heavy in their paw, the metal dark and tarnished with age. The face of the mirror, however, shines beautifully. They hold out the mirror so the raven can see its reflection. “Magic mirror. That more your speed?” Wiska practically purrs as the raven begins to peck at their reflection. “It’s magic, alright. Has the power to captivate any creature with the beauty it shows you. Be careful, though. Fella could lose years of their life looking into this thing.” Wiska slides a thin cloth covering over the mirror, breaking the raven from its trance. “We got a deal?” Wiska taps one claw on the back of the mirror.
Posted 04/09/23
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[Something Magical - Paper Rose Mushroom] 
Vee giggles, watching the little raven dance around her. “Oh, hello there, little one.” She thinks for a moment before answering their incessant squawks. “You know, I actually think I might have something for you.” She walks over to a shelf, pushing aside bottles, flasks, and vials of various sizes to find what she’s looking for. “Hmm, let’s see…No, no, no…Ah! Here we are.” She pulls out a small jar and uncorks it, dumping the contents out into her paw. The little rock shimmers with a sparkling rainbow of color, shifting between hues as its jostled this way and that. The little raven is excited, hopping happily in place as it watches the little rock glimmer in the light. “GOOD. I FETCH.”
Posted 04/09/23
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I’m offering something colourful! Kol cocked his head, mildly amused by the hopping birds. His hunter girl had already wandered off to find something ‘to make the pests go away!’, though Kol would be so very sad to see them go, they had yet to drive Aaren to even greater heights of annoyance, after all. “I don’t suppose I could bribe you to make repeat visits, hmm?” Kol’s grinned, sharp. The birds looked at him with interest or perhaps that was wishful thinking? Ah, well. In for a penny, in for a pound. If this little venture didn’t work out, he could always hunt them down later for it. “I could make it work you while.” Kol held out a brightly coloured necklace, beautiful and exquisite. When the light hit it it changed colours rapidly, every angle bring out out more and more. Kol had… Acquired it, through entirely legal means. Definitely. Kol would stand by that to his grave. “I could give you this, hm? You’d just have to, ah, visit Hunter girl every now and then. She oh so loves seeing you, after all. She’d be delighted.” The way the ravens cackled was a promising sign.
Posted 04/09/23
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“Come on, Gaile, you already agreed to this!” As it turned out, convincing a dragon to give up even a single piece of his hoard was enough to drive even the most affable of folk to exasperation. Gaile was damn lucky it was Teth he was arguing with and not, say, Glisdri, who would have already have walked out the door with the ring in her hand. She’d learned efficiency in both the military and as a medic, and she’d have short-circuited Gaile’s protests in under a minute. Gaile hissed at him, which was far less intimidating in his human form than his draconic one, and in this situation, with Teth holding his head away with one hand while Gaile reached out for the one (1) ring he’d agreed to part with only an hour previous (the hour between being spent sorting through Gaile’s endless piles of shinies), it was sort of funny. Only ‘sort of’ because the only thing standing between Teth and an actual dragon being out for his blood for thievery was Gaile’s clearly mediocre self-control. And that thought was enough to take the rest of the fun out of it, because he knew how hard Gaile was fighting to keep a handle on himself, after growing up in a culture steeped in greed and surviving centuries of gold lust. “Look,” Teth continued, transitioning his block into a gentle arm around Gaile’s shoulders. It could be said that the hold bore some minor resemblance to a headlock, but the pressure was mostly affectionate. He moved a leg to keep Gaile from getting too close to his outstretched hand, because Gaile’s arms were a tad longer than his own. “I know you’re a little out of your head right now, that the Gaile of an hour ago was only faced with the theoretical knowledge that he’d give up a treasure rather than the actuality of it. Take a breath, all right? The ring’s still right here.” Gaile vibrated under his arm, no longer reaching, but Teth hadn’t felt a breath yet. “It is a pretty nice ring, I’ll give you that. White-gold band, right? Glisdri thought it was platinum, but she’s not quite got the same eye for metals that you and I have. Except for copper, maybe. She knows copper like the back of her own hand, heh. I like the alternating pattern of rubies and amethysts, too. They’re small, so it doesn’t go past fancy and into ostentatious, you know? The middle amethyst is a really nice color. Lighter, so it doesn’t get lost against the darker rubies around it.” Teth felt a faint slumping of shoulders from the man tangled up with him, and then a determinedly controlled inhale. “Stop me if the treasure talk makes it worse, yeah? I think they could have done a little bit more with the settings. They’re so mundane. The elven half of me thinks some nice, intricate curves could go a long way to spicing them up. We can go for another dive in the treasure pond if you really want to keep it, but time’s-a-wastin’ and you seemed pretty convinced this was the one to go with. If it no longer sparks-” “Do it,” Gaile interrupted. His voice sounded even rougher than normal, like he had gargled the words with rocks, which was a thing Teth knew dragons did now, but that probably wasn’t the actual cause of the hoarseness in this particular instance. “It will be good practice.” “For giving up more of your hoard?” Teth darted a sideways glance at Gaile, who was staring pointedly away from the ring. He hadn’t thought Gaile had any intention of giving up anything else in the future. They had come to the conclusion that this would be an important next step in working through Gaile’s gold lust, but Gaile hadn’t made any indication that this would become a regular event anytime soon. “No.” Teth squinted. He thought there might be a blush on Gaile’s cheeks. “For when I give you… Well. Another time.”
Posted 04/09/23, edited 04/09/23
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I am offering something magical -trailblazer The fog begins to roll in from the entrance of the caves, flowing down through the tunnels enveloping and obscuring the floor. Sliding up along the entrance of a smaller cave entrance’s doorway and beginning to glow a bright icy blue. One might think that such a bright hue amidst the darkness of the tunnels came directly from the rave just prior. Though most ravens had left the tunnels after the last of the rave music played and light began to breach the horizon. One raven curious at the sight of those ugly creatures, Inekis, featherless, beakless -most anyway, and some with things called ‘ears’. Upon catching site of the rolling fog and mist the raven followed it to the smaller cave entrance. “Ahhh, hello there visitor! I see you have brought yourself a meal.” The voice echoing off the cave walls. No figure or form could be seen, causing the raven to tilt it’s head from one side to the other. Slowly the fog and mist began to come together, swirling into a fog wolf Ineki. His bright, deep ocean blue eyes shimmer in the darkness. Flames of equal brilliance stretch up along his forms. As the insect is dropped upon the cave floor, the fog Ineki watches as the raven goes towards something, shinny, eyeing it’s own reflection in the golden chain that hangs upon the wall. The raven taking a few hops backwards turns to look out the entrance of the small cave.
Posted 04/09/23, edited 04/09/23
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