Walking within, Norbert looked at the room ahead of him, walking past the doorway with the number for three he had been taught from this world etched on top. Norbert stood on the other side, looking around the hall he would now be in for some time.
Stepping through, Norbert saw the dust catch the light of the white room; standing in its light, Norbert covered his mouth with his scarf, not believing it would be possible for there to be even more dust here than before.
Looking around the hall, Norbert was happy that this one was not empty. Seeing undulations on the floor, he stood on. Norbert wondered what that was about, seeing how they rolled from one to the next.
Not moving as Norbert changed his vision, Obsius landed on his shoulder as the bird looked expectantly out into the hall. Seeing the usual brown hues to expect from the stone walls on either side of him. Looking out into the hall on the floor, Norbert found something unexpected.
He was there, rolling idly about green colours mixed with brown. Changing his vision to better see in the darkness, Norbert looked around, wondering why life was so far down. Not believing there could be any plants growing in this hall compared to the others that were utterly desolate from life.
Turning his head to see Obsius, the bird not shooting forward either. Knowing he couldn’t go back, remembering the last time he was just reset when he attempted to, the only way would be forward.
Stepping forward out of the light of the white room behind him, Norbert felt something change in the air. Looking around, not seeing anything different, a chirp from Obsius as he remembered to look elsewhere. Changing to magic, Norbert looked around, seeing no difference in the air, only slightly more greenness around him.
Turning around, Norbert saw the change, the white room being blocked off by a wall of blue; Norbert looked at it as it crackled underneath his watch. Gulping, Norbert took a throwing dagger out of its sheath. Looking at it, Norbert chucked it into the blue barrier. Watching as when it hit, the dagger flew off with more energy, a trail of blue lightning following after it, before disconnecting from the dagger as it fizzled out.
Looking at the dagger several meters away as it clattered against the stone, Norbert turned to Obsius, saying what they both thought, “Guess we won’t be going out that way.” Obsius chirped in her agreement.
Norbert walked over to the dagger, making sure it wasn’t crackling with anything. Confirming it wasn’t, Norbert went to pick it up, only feeling a slight static shock from the piece of metal.
Dropping it from surprise, Norbert picked up the weapon and put it in its sheath again. Breathing in the air, seeing the dust in the air try and go into his lungs, being sucked in only to be stopped by the scarf still around his mouth, happy to have it there.
Brushing it with his hand, Norbert saw a trail of dust follow after it. Hoping it wouldn’t forever be like this, Norbert wished he had the staff that Skelly took to clear some of this dust away. Shaking his head in annoyance, Norbert changed his vision back to normal as he looked out at the hall that lay before him.
Knowing he would need to find another way out, Norbert started walking forward, able to see each side of the wall as he walked forward. Hearing Obsius cough on his shoulder, Norbert picked the bird up and placed her in his chest pocket, keeping her away from all the dust.
Going over the slowly rolling undulations of the hall, Norbert’s feet sank into whatever he was walking on, whatever was not being stone from which the halls were supposed to be constructed.
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Bending over, being careful with Obsius not to fall out of the pocket, Norbert stuck his finger in the ground, feeling it go within up to the nail before halting, unable to compact it any more quickly.
Taking his gloved finger out, Norbert rubbed what was caught on his fingertips; looking down at it again, Norbert realised it was dirt; there was dirt down here.
He changed his vision to better see in the dark, not wanting to miss anything that this hall could give him; with all of the life he saw with his magic vision and the presence of dirt and being trapped here, Norbert had a sinking suspicion that there was something else here with him.
Their ears peeled for whatever else was here with him. Norbert looked around as he slowly stepped forward, being careful of every step he took and rising and falling with the earth on his feet; Norbert looked for something that would be out of place. Norbert continued walking forward, keeping a half eye on the ceiling, turning around to confirm his suspicion, knowing the hall above would have ended by now; the light was the same distance; Norbert could not see the wall showing the end like the one above.
Staring at the ceiling, Norbert looked for a crack, wanting to see if he had damaged the floor, and he punched at the wall, not wanting to be trapped in the rubble. Not seeing anything, he continued walking past, wondering what he could get out there and its purpose.
As Norbert continued walking further along, other things began poking their head from the soil and seeing little bugs and worms inside; bending over, Norbert took to pick one up, being a worm-like creature. Pulling it from the earth, Norbert did so, needing to step backwards to pull it out.
Norbert saw the creature wriggling on the ground, its body and structure looking the same as a typical worm, even the thickness being the same: the only crucial difference is the length.
He watched in amazement; he started to burrow the earth, creating a new hole. Transfixed by the motion as it slowly undulated down into the earth, Norbert watched the creature disappear underneath.
He walked backwards the way he came, confirming the same creatures were there as well, moving all over the earth; the only place Norbert didn’t catch anything was in the light of the doorway, with no dirt for the creatures to step onto.
Sitting in the least dusty place in the hall, Obsius out as she poked around in the earth, not wanting to stray too far from the doorway, or else the dust would also affect her.
Norbert watched the creatures as they moved about; coming into the light, they would stray away from it, moving backwards before turning around and going in another direction.
Looking behind him at the wall, not leaning against it or else he would fly apart, hearing the sizzling of one of the creatures in the dirt move into it, instantly becoming fried. He tapped his thumb on the stone, looking at it as he changed his vision to magic, looking down to see if anything was different.
Confirming that there wasn’t anything that Norbert could see, he looked around the hall. The green swirls coming off the dirt even more than before, the brown colour now nearly entirely consumed by it. Norbert remembers Skelly and the poison mist it created, with the green and the brown swirls moving about within it.
This did not look like that; instead of the two moving together, Norbert could easily see the two segments, like water and oil, not mixing as they moved about the medium that created them, slowly dissipating in the air.
Thankful that whatever was out there wouldn’t harm Obsius, still playing in the dirt, having taken a worm out of the ground as she flew in the air, taking her prize with her. Norbert watched, taking his eyes off the floor as she dropped it from the height.
I watched it wiggle through the air, trying to fly before smashing to the ground. After several seconds of staying still, Norbert watched as it wiggled again, moving back off into the earth.
Norbert looked up to Obsius, a raised eyebrow at the bird as she slowly glided down to the floor. Norbert wondered why the bird would do this. A rustling coming from something next to him.
Dagger instantly appeared in Norbert’s hand as he looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. Scanning his eyes over Norbert, he saw movement. Taking a throwing dagger out of his other side, Norbert let it go flying, watching as he heard it impact something.
Standing up, Norbert walked over to his dagger. Looking down, he saw it was stuck in something. Pulling the dagger out and wiping the blood off it onto the ground.
After sheathing the dagger, he was surprised he needed to clean it. Poking around with the other dagger in his hand, Norbert found the creature that he took down. Looking back at him was the head of a mouse. Its beady red eyes stared at him, Norbert watching as the life went out of them.