"Hera?"
A distant cry echoed around the high walls of the temple, breaking the silence that had engulfed it not long beforehand. It bounced off the decaying limestone walls; it buried itself within the rubble that covered the floors; it decayed within the overgrown fronds of ivy that had crawled in through the windows. But, ultimately, it fell upon deaf ears - for there was no reply, nor any sign that a creature of any nature had heard it, for the interior remained as still as it had been before.
"Hera!"
The call repeated, more urgently this time. It was like the calls of a young, starved chick to it's mother - thin, and wailing.
"It's no use, Baldr. She can't hear you."
There was a quiet sigh in response.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think anyone could have surviv-"
"She isn't dead!" Baldr snapped, directing his fury at the other speaker. There was a sigh after a short pause. "She can't be dead."
"You should be glad you're still alive. You were lucky to escape that rockfall with such minor injuries."
Silence.
"Doesn't mean I deserved it," Baldr grumbled, his voice barely audible across the temple. "Why does everyone else have to pay for my stupidity?"
"Perhaps then you might learn a lesson?"
"Are you calling me stupid?"
"No, I'm just sa-"
"Perhaps I am. Now look what I've done! Now we're trapped in this godforsaken temple with no food, no water..."
"Baldr..."
"...Not even a bloody campfire. Can't you see, Aesir? We're both going to die in here, and it's all my fault..."
"Baldr!"
"What!"
"Get ahold of yourself, will you? Honestly, I've never heard someone moan so much in my entire life!"
Baldr heaved a sigh and threw himself onto the marble tiles underfoot. "The gods hate me," he concluded.
His companion shook his head, the kind of motion made by a man at his wit's end. "That rockfall was just a freak accident, Baldr. Nobody could have seen it coming."
Baldr retreated from his companion's gaze, dropping his eyes towards his feet. Aesir never quite understood the way that bad things always happened to people around him, and it was only a matter of time before Baldr's bad luck caught up to him, too. Hera had been one of his childhood friends, as the two had grown up together, and now she was lying, probably dead, underneath the pile of rubble that was now keeping both of the would-be adventurers trapped within this ancient temple.
And it was Aesir's stupid idea to come in here in the first place. It's not like such a ruin would have any treasure left, it would have been picked clean and left to the bears already.
"...maybe if we use some of this rubble, we could..."
Right now, bears were the least of Baldr's worries. What if the place was haunted? He'd heard a lot about the malevolent spirits of men, tortured by their continued presence here in the mortal plain and not in the aether where they rightfully belonged.
"...and perhaps some of these plant stems are woody enough for firewood?..."
Can't blame them for being insane, Baldr thought. i'd go insane, trapped in the same world as such incompetent fools as Aesir, people who are so blind as to the prospect of treasure and what not that they charge headlong into whatever disas-
"Baldr?"
"Hmm? What?" Baldr suddenly felt himself yanked back into reality.
"Did you listen to a word of what I've just said?"
"...No?"
Aesir sighed. "You're impossible, you know that? I'm trying to organise some way we could get some warmth in here while we decide what to do next, and you're too busy brooding in your dark thoughts."
Baldr glared at him. Heartless bastard.
"The least you could do is pay attention."
"Alright, fine," Baldr muttered, before adding, sarcastically: "At your service, master."
Strange, that. These two were supposedly friends.
Hi, peeps. Lib here.
Don't know how many of you saw my little attempt at a fan-fic style write-up of one of my dwarf fortress games, which ended quickly after I managed to lose my save file
, but I've been into the prospect of writing for a living for a while now.
See, I'm only 16. Still got a long life ahead of me, and I don't intend to spend it cooped up in some office somewhere. I want a career with a bit more freedom, something flexible that I can adapt to and shape around my life, rather than having to shape my life around my work, know what I mean?
Anyway, getting to the point, I intend to try my best at becoming an author, but I'm probably going to need a bit of practice first. Sure, I've got a load of decent ideas and a whole universe to base a novel in buzzing around in my head, but I'm not that brilliantly well known. I've only recently picked up on my talent for creative writing, strangely enough. I guess I've never made the effort to sit down and write anything worthwhile in the past. So, my intention is to post up short stories and the like, and you guys tell me what you think of it? I won't use any of my novel ideas though, in all likelihood, as I don't particularly want anyone nicking them, heh. Sure you understand.
Not too much to ask... Right?
Author
Topic: Quick bits of writing and the like (Read 2423 times)