Mansion and Rooms
The manor rose high above the golden wall of the garden, at least two stories in height.
From the sides, a facade of intricate gold and vibrant colour painted the walls and dictated the architecture, undoubtedly convincing any passersby the home was much like all the other homes around.
Yet from Wanderer’s vantage point in the garden, they could see the truth, because hidden behind the vibrant exterior was a vastly different building.
The subtle tones of the garden carried over to the mansion, yet with vastly more grandeur and pomp.
Curving lines of deep blue stone lined towering pillars of white marble, accented with large, open windows made of shiningly clear glass, that, even in the middle of the night, seemed to reflect so much light that it was impossible to look in.
From inside, bright lanterns shone a pure white light everywhere within the home, casting sharp shadows in the few areas that the energy could not reach.
A massive balcony strut out from the top floor, the fanciful railings the only element of dark colour in the well lit home.
The Vessel didn't feel the need to wait much longer, figuring it safe enough to leave Emio exploring the garden, Wanderer crept in the unlocked back doors.
They moved silently and slowly through the opening hallway, nowhere near foolish enough to believe that just because the owners of the home were likely away, there was no one in the building.
Then again, they had not worried about that when they jumped in the garden.
Wanderer had to be careful, their disguise might work amongst the chaotic crowds of vibrant costumes, but they doubted they would do the same here, anyone who looked at their earthenware body for more than a couple moments would be able to tell something wasn't quite right.
And after all they had seen today, the Vessel didn't want to see how someone would react.
Halfway through the hall, Wanderer suddenly realised that if stealth was their goal, then perhaps leaving a green, tentacled monster with a giant glowing eye roaming around in plain sight was a bad idea.
The Golem turned back around, unhappy to have to restrain the verdestry once again, when the soft sound of footsteps, coming from an adjacent room to the back door entrance caught their attention.
Without hesitation, Wanderer opened a nearby room and snuck in, caring more for speed than stealth.
Just as the Vessel escaped behind the reflective glass door, the creator of the footsteps, a young servant with pale skin and long brown hair entered the hall where Wanderer had been moments prior.
“Is someone there?” they called, after a moment's hesitation, “if that is you, little one, then you had best be back in bed at once, you're in no condition to play chlrario games”.
To the Vessel, games were the furthest thing from their mind, much too concerned with finding a hiding spot from the encroaching searcher, or better yet, hoping they never investigated at all.
Wanderer had entered some kind of hobby room, in one corner there was a low desk, piled with textiles and threads, half of which were arranged into pieces partially resembling some kind of clothing that was evidently unfinished.
On the opposite side of the space, past a large central candle that provided light to the room, was a writing pedestal, with all manner of inks and ivory writing-reeds adorning its rim and clean sheets of bleached paper taking centre place.
And finally, tucked away, almost enveloped in the piles of fabrics and clothes was a tiny desk, a third of the size of all the others, accompanied by a small, waist high bookshelf and a soft chair.
What stood out to Wanderer, even in their panic, was the layers of dust that covered the small desk and chair, quite blatantly, the setup had not been used for some time.
Despite this, the bookshelf had some brightly coloured books missing from their prescribed spots, so perhaps the user had not abandoned their hobby, afterall.
But the Vessel had gotten distracted, wasting time while the steps got ever closer, and Wanderer’s mind went into overdrive.
At the last moment, seeing the otherwise lack of appropriate spots to hide their bulky form, the Golem dove into the nearby fabric, attempting their best to cover their head and feet, hoping their own robe would allow them to blend in.
Not a moment too late, the door creaked open once again, and the servant entered, surveying the room as they did so.
“Are you in here, young one?”, Peering to the left and right in curiosity, “While it is good that you are feeling well enough to have fun, your keflorigio has told me that you are not to leave your room until the derlariag says so.”
For a dreadful moment, Wanderer felt the servants gaze on their back, the whole while thoughts of failure suffused their being.
Yet soon the servant moved on, the Golem’s disguise had worked.
“Should've known it was just the wind, the poor kid hasn't gotten out of bed in days.” the searcher announced, voice dripping with pity.
Soon they walked out of the drawing room, and left Wanderer alone with their thoughts.
Only when, even to Wanderer's hearing, the footsteps of the worker were long gone did the Vessel leave their hiding spot, head full of worries and questions.
Yet chief among these concerns was the child the servant had mentioned.
“What could make a child not wish to leave their room”, the Golem questioned.
Even with their limited knowledge, children were energetic and playful, it seemed quite out of character for any child to never leave a single space, let alone a bed.
Wanderer shook their head, waving off the question, they had more important things to do.
With painful caution, they crept back out into the main hall and resumed their task of making sure Emio wouldn't be found.
Yet, much to their worry, once the Vessel reached the large windows that opened into the garden, the verdestry was nowhere to be seen.
“Where do they go?”, they panicked.
Perhaps they had been found and taken away, or maybe they had wandered inside after the Golem, or worst of all, they had scaled the wall and were currently out causing chaos in the crowds.
Yet just as the Golem’s anxieties began to reach their breaking point, and they were going to call off their search to try and find the cacti-formed creature, a glint of familiar red-green light caught their gaze.
Likely unintentionally, Emio had done a better job of hiding themself than Wanderer could have, as the monster had camouflaged themself with the rest of the garden by shedding their previous form.
Now their tendrils were covered in leaves and flowers, so thick that if it wasn't for the glow of their eye, there may have been no way of telling them apart from all the other bushes around.
The Vessel shook their head as they realised their worry was entirely unnecessary, indeed there was little more that could be done to hide the verdestry than what had already been done.
Wanderer shoved any other worries aside, they were in enemy territory and the quicker they found the map and got out the better.
Slowly, and with painstaking caution, they began to sweep through the house and check every room, hoping to find one that looked somewhat like the office Keshte had underground.
The first door they opened was a small parlour, with an even smaller table in the centre, built in such a way that it could hardly fit three people.
While there were plates and dining utensils (a rather novel concept to the Vessel yet not an unexpected one), no food nor place to prepare it was anywhere nearby, leading Wanderer to believe that the room was more for private conversation than actual eating.
Yet this wasn't what the Golem was looking for and so they moved on, opening a door instead into a wide open lounge.
It was a place clearly meant to entertain a great deal of people, massive pale leather seats line the walls in a semicircle, facing around a small stage.
The same white lanterns that could be found all around the home were now restricted by a metal cone, forcing the light out into a beam that lit only the stage and not much else.
Next to the stage, hidden by the darkness, was a box filled with brightly coloured props and puppets, contrasting the whites and blues of the mansion with vibrant hues.
And while the room fascinated them, they resisted their curiosity and moved on.
It was at this point they realised that, perhaps, the first floor didn't contain any of the more personal rooms they were looking for, for the most part only possessing the areas meant for others.
And so, taking a gamble on the office's location, Wanderer snuck upstairs in their search for a map.
