The Whirligig (#920)(an instance of Generic Room with Seats made by polyhymnia)You take a tentative step onto the creaking and visibly unstable floorboards of this carousel which seems to belong to some other fantastical age. As you glance around you notice that where there would typically be galloping horses done in pastels and gilt, there are instead a variety of fabulous mythical creatures. Beneath the streaming cobwebs and thick layers of dust, you can barely make out what must once have been a marvelously intricate paint job; now, however, the paint crumbles and flakes at the lightest touch and the once vivid colors have faded into the shadowy grey of nostalgia. You notice some details: Aloof, incandescent eyes gleam out at you from under lank coils of hair. Spiders and moths have long made their home in the manticore's face, nesting in the rotting and porous wood. The cruelly curving tail of a scorpion curls over its massive leonine body, inviting you to make yourself comfortable on this ancient and elegant seat and consider a ride on The Whirligig. Scales once gleaming iridescent greengold now flake into faded dragonskin, revealing the cracked wood of the Dragon's body. You can almost see a forked tongue behind the cage of ivory teeth lining the mouth of this hulking figure. The body of the Dragon ripples down to the point of its tail, creating three smooth curving seats encouraging a ride on The Whirligig. You see calliope here. EXITS: [ west ] Dying Moon Carnival. Leaving behind the world of faded mythic beasts, you're faced again with the prospect of the decrepit gate which lets out another tortured groan as it opens to let you through. [ eye ] The Manticore. |