Is the mists that form us all
Is the mists that make us live
It’s from them that bounty comes
And ruin that will consume all we hold dear
A beam of greenish steam came out from a crack in the cave wall. A middle aged man, fitted in full armor, went through it as if it wasn’t even there. He was used to the noise, the sickening steam and the overwhelming scent of rot and smoke.
He descended to the depths and found the beacon of hope he was looking for. It was round and glowing with the same greenish steam that was all over the cave. It was big enough to fit a whole cart through it. But the place it lead wasn’t fit for carts nor donkeys. He was in full armor and it was for a reason.
As he marched forward, the world around him changed completely. The cave ceiling was replaced by a faint glow in a cloudy sky. The twilight like light was just enough to see your way through an eerie landscape composed by red hills with brown grass and bright turquoise rivers.
He arranged a set of stones to form a circle and he sat there and closed his eyes. The earth surrounding him started to mound and crack as rubies started to emerge. Emeralds followed them, then golden items of all sorts. After a while he was surrounded by all the treasure he could’ve hoped for. He was quick to grab a couple of gems and a golden item and to run towards the exit.
The ground started to rumble as screams and ear rending screeches came from it. Hands started to pop from the ground and the treasure mound behind him started to move and take a lizard like form. All the gold melted into scales and flesh.
He grabbed his sword and cut two out-worldly warriors in half. An arrow bounced at his armor and fell to the ground, but it was too late for the mists to claim him. He made it to the exit and he was back at the smelly cave again.
Amarnath put his bounty inside a pouch that he left near the exit of the cave. No one would even bother trying to enter that disgusting pit. They just left corpses there to rot from time to time. The place was considered unholy by most of the town’s folk.
Screams and screeches came from it and the greenish vapor didn’t make the place any more popular. Amarnath had come across that particular spot when he was serving in the military. He chased one soldier of the Murubian armada there.
The poor man had been injured and hid wherever he could; but Amarnath was a good tracker and followed him to the pits. The Murubian crawled towards the portal, seeking refuge. But he found even more than that; a gentle presence in the earth surrounded him and started to heal him.
The unknown spirit was compassionate and didn’t want the injured Murubian to die. It knew he was an honorable man who had unwillingly been caught in the middle of the conflict. Although he served in the military, he had taken care to never injure anyone, even his enemies.
The approaching warrior was bound to kill the Murubian when a woman’s voice manifested in the air. She would show him a dangerous place where he could grab as much treasure as he wanted in exchange for the Murubian’s life. Amarnath was a brave warrior and treasure ment much more to him than any fear of danger, so he accepted the voice’s offer, after all he was just a sellsword. She generously provided him special armor suitable for the task and showed him exactly where this treasure trove could be found. “Lay still here, close your eyes and let your mind wander. You shall find the treasure you seek,” the voice had instructed. Amarnath obeyed eagerly, wishing full well to lay his hands on the treausre of which the voice had spoken.
That memory seemed so far away now. The challenge of obtaining the voice’s offering was growing as swiftly as his hairs were growing gray. Amarnath would have to revolutionize his routine if wanted to maintain his substantial income. Even though the arrow had done nothing to his armor, it had made a huge blow to his confidence.
The aged warrior let out a sigh and removed the armor from his sore body. Amarnath took the armor and dressed it on one of the skeletons that abounded in the cave, taking care to hide it beneath a bed of rocks so it would resemble a tomb. As Amarnath departed, he glanced back at his mockery of a tomb, wondering if the skeletons of the past had buried and unearthed each other as many times as he had.
Edit: I was too obvious with some things.
(edited by Ludovicus.7980)