Norbert looked around the white room, craning his neck as he tried to see the ceiling. Squinting, unable to see the ceiling above him correctly, just a white blur where the walls came together. Looking around the walls, Norbert saw a hole in the white space above. Norbert now realised he was looking at the ceiling; it blended in well with the walls so well making it seem as if the room’s height was never ending.
Following the walls down, spotting on the left wall was a ladder, its rungs etched into the wall, so your hands and feet had to go inside to either up or down. Following the ladder down, Norbert saw a large hole in the ground; peering over the side, Norbert looked down, getting vertigo as he saw the floor below, the same white room he was currently in.
Looking around the room he found himself in, much smaller than the hall outside that he ran from. Turning to Obsius, he asked her, "Up or down?"
Obsius just shrugged to Norbert, not getting anything useful out of her. Norbert guessed it was time to play his game again. He took a coin from his pouch on his belt and found it from Earth; he looked at both sides, confirming that it was the correct coin and that nothing had damaged it on his travels.
Holding the coin to his lips, Norbert whispered, "Heads go up, tails go down." As he flicked it into the air. He followed it with his head as he watched it spin, quickly going up before stopping mid-air and falling again.
Holding his hand by his side, Norbert reached out to grab the coin, only for it to move out of the way, hitting his fingers and clattering to the floor. Frozen, Norbert watched as it rolled on the floor towards the hole to the level below. Now unfrozen, he leapt to the coin, wanting to catch it before it rolled to the ground.
Just as he was about to close around it, the coin went over the edge; Norbert was lying on the ground, sticking his head over the side as he watched and heard it clatter down, bouncing off the ladder and the walls before coming to a rest.
Looking to Obsius, who was still on his shoulder after the debacle, stated, "Looks like the decision has been made."
Obvious tweeted in agreement as the bird took off from his shoulder flying slightly into the air, before diving down into the hole on the floor leading to the level below. Norbert watched as the bird descended, moving something around that was glittering.
Sighing to himself, knowing the bird wouldn't pick it up to spite him, Norbert stood up, placing one hand on the ladder's first rung before stepping onto it.
He needed to be careful, as the holes weren't deep enough for his entire foot to be placed inside; only the ball of his foot remained in contact, his fingers unable to grip the flat surface properly. Standing on, Norbert looked down as he took his first step, trying to force the vertigo to stop surrounding him.
Carefully, Norbert climbed down, his body going lower and lower until only his head remained on the floor from which he entered the white room—He looked around at the walls next to his hands, seeing as they were producing the light for this section.
Looking around, Norbert was surprised that it didn't blind his eyes. Changing his vision to magic, Norbert looked around, seeing a light blue hue to the light all around. The constant colour does give away how the system's internals work.
Changing his vision back to normal as he started his descent once more. Not bothering to count how many rungs of the ladder he went down, just continuing one after the other.
As he continued climbing each rung, Norbert saw no change to the brightness as he descended. He looked around the room idly; he went down to see it was the same as before.
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Looking below where the ladder continued, Norbert saw another hole in the floor, leading even deeper down. Afraid of what the coin would show him but wanting to find out sooner rather than later, Norbert sped up slightly, still careful as not wanting to fall but increasing the rhythm as he found his pace again.
Coming to the next level, Norbert hopped off the ladder, walking towards Obsius, sitting next to the coin, staring at it. Norbert saw the tail's side shining back at him. Breathing a sigh of relief that he wouldn't need to climb the floor that he had just travelled instantly, Norbert picked up the coin, placing it in its respective pouch, hearing the coins jingle around in their pouch.
Obsius left the ground, fluttering her wings as she went onto Norbert's shoulder before scrunching back up in a ball again. Norbert looked at the bird as he felt her rise and fall rhythmically, realising the bird had gone to sleep on his shoulder.
Slightly shrugging his shoulders at the bird's attitude, Norbert climbed on the ladder again and descended to the next floor.
About what he would call halfway down, Norbert looked around, this one being the same as the two above; Norbert saw the single rectangular exit leading to the rest of the hall. Eyes caught Norbert looked above the exit to what Norbert assumed was another hall. Two lines, having been etched into the stone of the white wall, the only indents Norbert could see other than the ladder. Staring at it, realising it was the symbol for the number two of this world. Not able to remember a single one anywhere Norbert continued along his path. Looking at the exit, Norbert wondered what it could be, remembering the floors that the one above would have previously held books and be dusty, Norbert realised this floor would be where he found the red orb and the skylight leading to the stars.
Carefully going down the ladder, wanting to rush but not wanting to face the wrath of a pre-maturely awakened Obsius Norbert went down the ladder carefully. Jumping off when he came to the correct floor, Norbert looked around, confirming another hole in the floor. Norbert stuck his head down, seeing it was the same as the previous rooms, the same tall rectangular room leading to another one even further below with its exit to the floor.
Stepping back, not wanting to fall, Norbert spun around, heading towards the exit to the rest of the floor. Pulling the scarf over his face to ensure it was covered, Norbert looked out into the hall.
The same darkness that he was used to seeing in all the others, the light spilling out of the current room he was into the hall that opened up to him. Scanning the air, Norbert did not see any dust there, not wanting to remove the scarf around his face in case it would return later. Norbert looked on either side of the hall.
He saw no light being produced around it; he squinted as he changed his vision to pick up as much light as possible. The light came from the room until it became blinding. Norbert could not see even a pinprick of light in the hall before him.
Changing his vision to magical Norbert, he scanned the hall, not seeing any runes on the ground, just the passive brownness that he would expect to see coming off a large amount of stone this deep underground.
Nothing spooking his reason, Norbert carefully took his backpack off, taking a torch out as he lit it. Looking in the backpack, he saw he only had a few left before he ran out of them, wanting to remember to ask for some more, not knowing the next time he would need to go spelunking like this.
The torch caught a light, and Norbert placed the flint back in his pack as he stepped into the hall.
Holding the torch high in the air, Norbert stood in the doorway, looking across as he took another breath. He looked into the room, confirming that no monsters were crawling in the darkness. That Skelly wasn't waiting for him to take the first step into his new domain.
No bats were hanging off the ceiling that would be alerted by the torchlight as he entered further into the hall, too far to get back into the safety of the white room, only to be picked up and dropped from the ceiling, splattering like a pancake on the ground.
As Norbert started thinking about the following situation that could happen to him, Obsius chirped in his ear. Looking down at the bird, feeling himself become grounded again. Taking a deep breath in, surprised at how nervous he became, only after the thought of something coming for him.
Looking towards the bird, Norbert rubbed her head, feeling the bird start to cuddle up next to him, whispering to it so as not to hear his voice echoing too loudly down the hall, having a feeling that this one wasn't empty like some of the others he had found. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, buddy."
Obsius chirped in his ear in reply before taking off into the air. Norbert watched as the bird quickly did something he couldn't. Not wanting to be outdone by the bird, Norbert stepped into the hall, wondering what he would find hidden in this one.