Strike of Luck

By the bank Palit got his flute out. He blew a long, monotone sound. Then they waited.

Nothing happened.

-Maybe we’re in the wrong place? Nista glanced over at Palit staring out on the lake.

-Look!

The water moved. Something came up, emerged through the surface.

A hippo creature, big as a whale. It moved in to the shore and waited.

Palit leaped out on the big beast’s back. -Come on, jump!

Nista hesitated. It didn’t look safe. The animal sunk down, moved away from the shore.

-Jump!

She jumped, landed on its back. Slipped, fell into the water. Palit pulled her up.

The journey was long. The creature walked on the bottom where it could, swam where it had to. The water got deeper, the rocks on the sides taller.

-Where are we going? Nista said.

-I have no idea. The old man only told me I had to blow the flute. The rest would be up to fate.

They moved out into open water…. (more)

Experimental Chemistry

Dirk had been sitting in the jar for days. He was hungry and thirsty, and there was no one around. He had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered was eating some strawberries in the forest. Then he had gotten sleepy.

The door opened. A giant figure came in, long and thin, dark and grey. It looked at him and smiled an evil grin. This monster did not have good intentions.

Dirk got up on his feet. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could find some way to escape this horror, some moment when his keeper would look the other way. If he could only get out of the jar, he could make a run for it.

His abductor looked around the room. He found a test tube, poured some transparent liquid into it. He searched some more, swearing in some strange language. Lifting books, moving glasses and bottles.

He found what he was looking for, a little bottle. Opened it, poured it into the tube. Smoke emerged. The test tube changed colour.

The chemist laughed. He took a deep smell of the smoke coming up. Dirk could see a flash of madness in his eyes, a triumph he didn’t like at all… (more)

Minverd – Ages of Raging Madness – Burning Flesh

Darkness. Blood so fresh, burning flesh. A shadow in front of the fire. Evil, Monstrous. Death.

Tears pressed behind Dalk’s eyes. The madness was threatening to take over.

The shadow moved. Fast. Dalk charged an attack into the darkness. It was there, over him. Claws sunk into his face, his chest. Searching for his heart. His mind. He felt himself fade. His life essence diminish. His sanity disappear

The shadow moved. Fast. Charged an attack. It blended into the darkness. It was there, over him. Claws sunk into his face, his chest. Searching for his heart. He felt his mind fade. His life essence diminish. His sanity disappear… (more)

Game of Nature

-Good move, Push said thoughtfully. -A very good move, I hadn’t expected that. His voice was dark and low. Forest sensed worry and anger.

The birds were singing in the trees, two deer ran by in a distance. People walked by. Forest felt the fresh air in his lungs. His mind wandered through the surroundings for a moment, to get a well deserved pause from the intense game.

Push sat there, thinking, rubbing his little flute. There had to be a way out of this situation, some way to read his opponent’s plans. Then, there, just in front of him, it appeared. A solution. He lifted one of his pieces, moved it two steps forward.

Forest snapped out of it, stared at the table. It was turned. He was the one in trouble, the one behind, the one losing. Nature would go under by the power of the supernatural, the beyond, the way of the old gods. The definition of reality was in danger… (more)

Bridge of Paradox

-We’re close, Gin! Track said exited. -We’re so close I can smell it!

-We still haven’t found the place where the others turned back, though. The hardest part is still to come.

The rocks around them got steeper and steeper, the landscape more and more hostile. Anyone who ever tried this journey before them either disappeared or came back empty handed telling tales of invincible monsters blocking the way.

They came to a bridge over a bottomless abyss. On the other side they could see the lost city, the place where the treasure was hidden.

-The bridge looks safe enough, Track said ironically looking at the massive construction under his feet.

Halfway over a shadow was seen at the end of the bridge. Something materialized, something big. Something monstrous. A giant came to be, a giant with a giant sword in his hand.

The two adventurers stopped. The air had been hard to breath before, but now Track felt dizzy.

The giant spoke:

“You’ve come this far in total vain

The journey you seek will end in pain.

The shadows in darkness, your greatest threat.

I am the Round Square, this bridge is your death.”… (more)

Stuck in a Rock

-Here on the right side you see the great attraction of the park. The giant stuck in a rock!

-Oooooooh! A sigh went through the crowd. A huge man was sitting on the mountain, looking down at them.

-We urge you not to go past the fence, since he can be dangerous on a bad day.

-How did he end up there? one of the tourists asked.

-Ah, I’m glad you asked. The story goes way back. You see, this giant used to terrorize the villages around here. He roamed around, stepping on people. Yes, you heard me. Stepping on people.

-That’s horrible!

-Yes, it is. But you see, he was a very, very lazy giant. Every once in a while he sat down for ages, and even then he kept growing. One day he sat down here on this rock. He put his leg down in a hole in the ground to cool it off. When he decided to walk on, his leg had grown and was stuck!

Laughter. Everyone looked up on the giant sitting on top of the rock. The giant was looking down at them.

-That’s so funny, one of them said.

-What a stupid giant, said another.

-First, the villagers thought about killing him. Now that he was stuck it wouldn’t be too difficult, but it would still be rather messy… (more)