»
Main Forums
»
Passions in Prose
»
The Box..."THRICE" ((not the end))
| Passions in Prose |
|
The Box..."THRICE" ((not the end)) |
|
|
Solstice Son Member
since 2000-09-19
Posts 469 |
I should have stopped. I had amassed a vast amount of knowledge in what everyone would consider a very short amount of time. I tried to stay away from the allure of the Box, but even when I slept it seemed to creep into my mind. It was the final line of the incantation that truely bothered me. “ Thrice and the Door will shut where or when, win or lose.” It seemed a bit....dark. A bit cryptic and sconced in forboding. I couldn’t ask John, obviously, for I had ‘ sworn ‘ to let the matter be and I spent a lot of time at the library, researching ancient folklore for a clue as to the nature of the Box and its final use. I only found one referance in all my reading. And no, it wasn’t Pandora’s Box. It was in a small leather bound book by an scotsman named Angus St.John. A monk from a little known abbey in the highlands of Scotland. The runes of the Box were clearly scribed in classic illuminated text and I marveled at the detail of the work. I found an entry dated August 1545. The last in the page of the ancient tome. The script was startlingly different, and it became obvious as I read that another hand had taken up the quill where Angus left off. “ He is gone now. Poor old Angus was just here one moment and then the next he disappeared. Before he left he gave me his journal and told me to hide it from everyone lest all his work be branded for heresy. I shall abide his lasting wish, though I fear for his soul most certainly. I looked for the wooden chest the previous entries have described, but have not found even a trace of it. I recall also that Brother Angus oft spoke of such a box, but said he’d left it behind when he journeyed here to our beloved abbey. Fare thee well good brother. May God bless thee and keep thee always.” I sat for a long while and simply pondered. The entries of the journal were little more than a good description of the Box, but not of its final purpose or even of its mysterious origin. I went home that night and sat in the dark. Thinking. I spoke words the norsewitch had taught me and small sparrows alighted upon my window sill one by one. We conversed, the little birds and I, just as I had spoken with animals all those years ago within the standing stone beneath the snow. “ You afraid of Box?? Why?? “ asked one sparrow, chubbier than the rest. ‘ Because, it is a mystery and that invites danger.’ I said. “ We no fraid of no things. We brave. “ another spoke in the strange avian tongue. ‘ Yes. You are all very brave. I wish I was as certain as a sparrow,’ There was a shout from the alley below, a crash of garbage can lids, and a cat sceeching in protest. The latter caused all my little friends to scatter ’ bravely ‘ into the night, leaving me alone again to ponder. ‘ Thrice and the Door will shut ...’ I wispered to myself, and to my shock, I heard the telltale screeching of the iron lock and the magic portal appeared beside me. The blue glow shimmering and shining like an angel. I peered through the portal...wary...my mind debating weather or not I should enter. I thought long on the choice....then it came to me....if I didn’t go through I’d never get another chance....I’d never be able to use the Box again..this would be my third and final trip to mystic places unknown. I stepped forward then, armed with my keen knowledge of arcane arts and mystic teachings, and found myself on a low, lonely, hilltop. The sky split with the flash of lightning and the clover shook about me. Rain poured down then, cold, hard and it stung my skin. I spoke a few choice words and felt the shimmer of magic as it shielded my skin from the storm’s fury. I walked down the hill, the sight of a small farm surprised me in its modern design. Modern at least in comparison to the tomb, and the standing stones. I walked down to the barn, (rain flowing off my incantation in sheets) for I saw that a small lantern lit the interior. I moved quietly there, reasoning that the usual guide to the place of learning must be inside. Imagine the shock of seeing a young woman bound and hanging by her ankles from a rafter beam. She was gagged with a cloth and had the look of someone who had been hit repeatedly. Bruises marred a simple yet pretty face and I grew queasy with sympathy....... ‘ I stepped into the light and felt a hand grab my neck, then another hand clamped over my mouth and finaly there was a thud against the back of my head.....as i spun into unconciousness..i heard the sound of the magic prtal....the screeching of the iron lock....and in my mind, John’s words rang again like a bell...”where or when, win or lose” .....everything went black.....then I woke up and you were here. ‘ “ So thou doth ADMIT that thou useth Magic to braveth storm, to enter unto our home, and to attempteth a rescue of thy fellow witchfriend????” Asked the man dressed in black. He had tried speaking english when he first woke me, but now everything was in german, which I had learned in the standing stones. Beside him sat a small boy in a brown monk’s robe. A jesuit scribe, busily taking down every word that was poken, weather by me or the man in black. ‘ Yes..... I am a wizard, a brother of the Sacred Cube. ‘ I said, knowing its what he wanted. Knowing he’d never let me go, never let me live to see another day. “ So be it! By thy own tongue thou hast confessed, and come the morrow, thou shalt burn for your crimes! “ Grinned the man in black. I laughed out loud at him and he backed away in terror.... I would see another day. Behind me,though, I heard the young woman sobbing. She would live to see the morrow as well...and nothing and then she'd die with me. " and I dream of her always, |
||
| © Copyright 2002 Adam M.M. Stevanovic' - All Rights Reserved | |||
|
J. K. Mitchell Member
since 2002-01-12
Posts 311GA |
The last line puzzles me a bit. You said "She would live to see the morrow as well...and nothing and then she'd die with me." What is the nothing that she will see? Nevertheless, the story is brilliant! |
||
|
Solstice Son Member
since 2000-09-19
Posts 469 |
THAT....is why you should always proof your work *L* the 'nothing' is part of a different thought..not completely erased... my aplogies..I was writing under extenuating circumstances...I shall endeavor to be more thorough in the furture..if ever I live thatlong . Sol  " and I dream of her always, |
||
|
Solstice Son Member
since 2000-09-19
Posts 469 |
THAT....is why you should always proof your work *L* the 'nothing' is part of a different thought..not completely erased... my aplogies..I was writing under extenuating circumstances...I shall endeavor to be more thorough in the furture..if ever I live thatlong . Sol " and I dream of her always, |
||
|
Kethry Member Rara Avis
since 2000-07-29
Posts 9082Victoria Australia |
Alright, I can ken where this is going and I'm not sure I still like it, it has got a little dark in here. When you say you should proof your work does that go for the txt as well, if so you should listen to your own advice there are a couple of errors here nothing major but they detract from the story. Keth Here in the midst of my lonely abyss, a single joy I find...your presence in my mind. Unknown |
||
|
Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
very interested in the rest - i like a bit of originality with my day, and this is a decently original piece. as keth said, there are several spelling errors (aren't we all subject to the typo monster) and i think it's going along pretty well. opposite her (kethry) i like the dark direction this seems to be heading. i've felt that it was presented as 'dark' but not shown as such. it's starting to feel that way and i'm a-likin' it. Chris |
||
|
Pilgrimage Member Elite
since 2001-12-04
Posts 3945Texas, USA |
I don't think you were very bright to go in again. I wouldn't have. I would live with not knowing where it would go. I've always wondered about people who can't resist entering a trap, when they know it's a trap. But it's a fine story, so keep it up. What happens next? Nan |
||
|
|
⇧ top of page ⇧ |
|
| All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format. | ||
