HP: A Sociopath Gamer In Magic World [ Chapter 48: Puppets! ] (Patreon)
Content
Stopping, I noticed that it was a puppet shop.
Walking closer, I spotted a pair of troll marionets dancing ballet in the shop's window.
That reminded me, I had recently gotten two new skills.
[Arcane Mirror] (Active) LV 1 EXP: 0.00%
[Description: You have innate knowledge of how to craft enchanted mirrors, which can have a wide array of effects.
Effect: You can create a mirror from thin air.
Cost: 100 MP]
[Puppetry] (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%
[Description: This skill allows you to temporarily imbue your will into an object. You will have a sense of their location at all times and be able to control them telepathically even from a distance.
Limitation: 30 Minutes
Cost: 50 MP]
I've mostly been focused on other things, so I haven't really had time to test them out, though seeing as I was already there, I might as well investigate.
Walking into the store I began to casually use [Observe] to look at the various items in the store.
So far, this store had the best impression. It was clean, didn't smell, and most importantly it was tidy.
It looked like a basic toy shop that specialises in dolls and other sculptures with an almost hippie vibe to it.
A doll house was set up on one side of the room that had little 6-inch people going around doing different activities. Coming closer I was surprised to see just how life like they looked, almost as if people had actually been shrunken down.
Looking up, I could see miniature toy dragons gliding between the rafters. I even managed to spot a Hungarian Horntail, just like the one they used in the movie.
On another part of a shop were a variety of stuffed animals that looked to be having a tea party, a griffin pouring imaginary tea for a purple unicorn.
Attending the counter was a hunchback old man with receding grey hair and large round glasses. Hanging above him from black strings was a wooden, life-sized mannequin dressed in a jester outfit. Behind them were several books on puppeteering as well as different materials and tools one could use to make a puppet.
Going straight to the counter I was greeted by the old man, "Hello there lad, what might you be looking for today?"
"Hello, I was hoping to get some information on puppets."
"Well then, I think you've come to the right place. Always happy to help those looking to learn the craft. What would you like to know?"
"For starters can you explain how it differs from muggle puppetry? I'm a muggle-born so I'm still very new to everything," I asked.
"Yes, yes, I see," the old man nodded in understanding as he reached under the counter and grabbed a hand puppet that looked like a clown.
Placing the puppet on his right hand, he began to talk, "Allow me to explain. While similar in scope, muggle and magical puppeteering differ greatly in execution. Take for example this puppet. Even without magic it is possible to bring this simple cloth doll to life."
"What do you mean life, I'm already alive you dingus," the puppet said, turning to man. Looking back at me it spoke in a high pitched voice, "Don't listen to this old bag of bones kid. He's more dust than flesh at this point."
"Alright that's enough out of you," the old man said, ripping it off his hand and laying it down on the desk. Looking at my lack of reaction the old man took out his wand, "Ahem, moving on. As I was saying, normally it takes many years of practice to master this craft, many of which will be spent disciplining yourself in order to multitask. Magical puppeteering on the other hand relies less on yourself and more on the doll. Depending on the structure and the material used to make the doll you can get a wide range of effects. For example, when you make marionettes the type of wood you use can affect the personality of the doll. The same holds true for stuffed animals with cloth," the old man explained before waving his wand over the hand puppet.
"Urk," the clown puppet said groggily as it moved to sit up only to stop as it looked at its legs or rather lack thereof, "Aaaaaaaaahhhh! My legs! What happened to my legs!"
Okay, I was not expecting that.
It looked hysterically around the room then saw the old man and pointed accusingly, "You! What did you do to my legs?!"
The old man ignored the puppet and went on, "As you can see, with magic it is possible to temporarily give them life."
"Hey don't ignore me you old fuck!" it yelled, waving its fist menacingly.
"With practice it is possible to craft different personalities and such."
"There you go ignoring me again! Fine you old coot, lets see how you like being without legs," the small puppet said slowly crawling toward the old man, who did nothing to stop it.
It got about halfway before its arms seemed to lose strength and it plopped down lifelessly.
"Unfortunately, the effects don't last forever. The less complicated the personality, the more time it has to operate," he said pointing to the dragon sculptures flying above us then pointed to the clown doll, "The opposite also holds true."
Nodding, I began to understand a little bit more, "I see, this is very interesting. Do you happen to have any beginner books on the subject?"
The old man gave me a wide smile as he reached under the counter and took out a stack of books, "This set has everything you might want to know. It contains instructions on how to make different types of puppets as well as how to craft their personalities. It even has a few neat spells you can use to prank your friends."
"Great. How much for the set?" I said taking off my top hat.