VISUAL PROMPT
Submitted by Margaret Sok
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Against the stone wall of the cave, a scraping talon sounds...
The Cave Of Aristanium
As Jake entered the cave there were no noises. It was dark except a light that shone through an unknown hole in the ceiling of the cave that shone a singular island in the middle of a lake. He had been walking for a little while to get up to the cave.
He wore jeans, a brown t-shirt, a flannel, and a jacket. His back-pack lay on his back, full of tools, food, water, and clothes.
He finally found it, the lost cave of Aristanium. It was said that it held great treasures, but none had ever found it, and no one ever came back, so it was purely rumoured.
As he entered the cave, he continually scanned the walls and corners for anything that could endanger him. He explored the cave and let little glowing objects to mark a path to find the exit.
All of sudden he started to hear noises. It sounded like a scraping sound on stone but distant. He started to became wary of his surroundings because he knew that there was something in here. There were rumors about a certain creature that lived in the depths of this cave but he never believed them.
As he explored further, the scraping grew louder and louder. Jake then got to a two way path and had to choose which to go in but was worried that if the one he chose was the wrong one, it might be the one with the scraping sound. He finally chose the path to the left because he thought he saw eyes in the other.
…
When he finally got through the tunnel of dark shadows and webs, he came to a big room. It looked like a dome and in the middle of it was a griffin.
A light that punctured through the ceiling illuminated it and its surroundings. Treasure.
Jake was not paying attention to the loot though, he was paying attention to the griffin. The griffin stared straight at him with eyes that looked like they were staring into his soul. As Jake stood there, the griffin continued to scratch the floor with it’s talon, making a sharp noise.
“What do you want, man? Treasure?” Asked the griffin surprisingly.
“No, I did not come in search of treasure,” said Jake
“Liar,” hissed the griffin.
“Fine! I may have been curious about the treasure but I really wanted to know what this cave was all about,” said Jake.
“And are you satisfied?” Asked the beast still scraping the floor.
“Yes, I did also want to know why you killed those men who came in this cave?” Asked Jake.
“Men? I haven’t seen a single man for hundreds of years. You are the first in a long time.” Said the griffin in a puzzled manner.
“Then who killed the men who came in here?”
“Ahh, well, that must be my friend who lives in the entrance of the cave as a gaurd.”
The griffin finished and looked behind him.
“And here he comes now.”