The chasm still seemed to be widening, though it was an illusion. The dust had begun settling, and Alfred’s screams had slowly subsided to a subtle echo within their minds. There wasn’t even a trace left of his sudden descent into the maw of the newly formed sand skull.

They had been promised an exciting adventure for treasure, and the trail now seemed to lead inside of this apparent death t...

Stains in the night, darkened,

Growing bigger by the minute,

The day, the hour, the second.

One prays they are not infinite.

The sun rises, her bird sings,

It knows the calm morning brings;

A new light, a hope renewed

That this time will be more shrewd.

Little she knows of her power,

The peace only she can prosper:

The fact that her freedom lies

Elsewhere than within her cries.

She refused to a...