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Weekly Contest #376
The spear was light with anticipation and heavy with purpose in Commander Pyrron’s hands as he watched the figures in the dark take their positions. He could not see them, but he trusted his men to get where he ordered them to go; two on the rise, four blocking the road ahead, two behind, and a final three behind the trees on the other side of the road. The bushes concealed the commander as he watched the small caravan enter the ambush zone. Usually there was no traffic at night on the roads, especially where people had been slain in the dar...
Weekly Contest #373
Sari studied the manacles on his wrists, and the chains connecting them to the table he sat at. He picked at the lock, but without anything to press into it, the tumblers inside couldn’t be pushed out of the way. To his annoyance, his chains were solid and well designed. At least they let him keep his amulet. He adjusted his glasses- such an infernal tool. How he longed to yank them off of his face, the inconvenient things, but he needed them. No choice but to endure the irritation. He still hated them. A man entered the room, and Sari sat u...
Weekly Contest #372
Bird wiped down a table spilled with more than he could identify. Not the most noble work, but it had to be done. Despite the inglorious role he now endured, he still wore his leather armor. It was something to hide under, to conceal what he was from the dozens of customers that ebbed and flowed through the tavern. He tried not to think about how he still stood out. Returning to the bar, he nodded to Alphonse. “Table nine is clean, you can send that party over when they get here.” “Thankee,” Alphonse said, wiping down a glass. “How are you h...
Lurching up from his bedroll, Ealdian clutched his chest over his heart, the memory of agony fresh in his mind. The carrion of the battle was still tangled across the ground, his waking eyes darting across the lumps and mounds with sickened dread. It was dark, for the fires that he’d seen burning before his death had long been put out. The grey world was blurred in drizzling rain, obscuring the landscape in shadowed mists. As Ealdian drew in each shaken breath, the ancient memory of war faded. The twisted bodies of the fallen became stones a...
Weekly Contest #369
Even a deity cannot undo the past. Hoðr strode through the towering pines and snow-laden conifers of the far north of the lands he and his kindred had ruled over since time began. They had nearly been broken, once, as all things had been threatened during the wars that it endured uncounted years ago. Many of his folk rarely visited the mortals anymore, choosing to reside in the divine realm removed from the material world. A realm Hoðr yearned to return to. Snow glittered in the dark where the deity stepped, not crunching underfoot, for it w...
Weekly Contest #368
Candles burned, the scent of the wax like vanilla and autumn weaving together in elegant fragrance. Three place settings were put out on a neat, white tablecloth. Every plate, knife, spoon, and fork was perfectly aligned, and tall glasses were set beside each. Drifting from the kitchen was the scent of food of magnificent quality, made more appetizing by the golden light of the waning day. Almost ready. Has to be ready. Has to be perfect. What’s the time- Pyrren had just taken the roast out of the oven when he heard a knock at the door. Rush...
Weekly Contest #367
In the void, all Curuisarinaeth could do was remember. There is no sight. There is no sound. No taste. No touch. No feel. The emptiness was endless. But, he remembered. The workshop was bustling along with the artisan jeweler it hosted. Sari never bothered to track time here; it was an effort in futility. A fact made more true with the project held in his hands in that moment. “Are you sure this is a good idea, Sari?” Sari glanced up to see Ansel in the doorway. The fae had indigo skin with dappled markings, his dragonfly-esque wings folded...
Weekly Contest #366
Taverns, the favorite establishment of any traveler. Usually attached to an inn, they had everything a weary wanderer could hope for; a bed, food, drink and talk if they wanted it. Sometimes a game of knuckle bones or merchants selling unusual wares were found around the bar or at the wood tables. Every town was bound to have at least one, and Tolm was no exception. The Last Unicorn had a good reputation. Ealdian had heard that there had only been two stabbings this year, and most of the brawls were broken up with no worse injury than a brok...
Weekly Contest #361
Jing-a-ling! Landon used his back to open the café door, a large coffee in each hand and late afternoon light glancing off the shining brass frames of his aviators as he exited the building. He set one of the coffees on the roof of his partner’s cruiser, freeing a hand to pull open the passenger door. Sliding into his seat, he grabbed the coffee once again and slid it into the cupholder by the driver. He pulled the sun visor down, the setting sun’s orange rays piercing his eyes through the windshield. Each day it set a bit earlier as summer ...
Weekly Contest #359
Tennis shoes struck the ground as papers fluttered away from Avalon’s hands, the corridor racing by as he rushed to meet fate. Another page was lost, but it was inconsequential. It served no purpose if he was late anyway. A mere record of his genius made manifest. The real data was in his mind, as it always would be to keep it from those who would steal his dreams. West 24C, where was it? Avalon skidded around a corner, hopping on one foot as he nearly overbalanced. A few more pages escaped his custody, but he snatched one back and let the o...
Weekly Contest #357
Afternoon sunlight glittered with motes of dust as it gilded the walls of the king’s keep, the largest beam illuminating the carved wooden throne in which King Griffith sat. Its armrests were the carved faces of great bears, and the wings of oaken eagles made the back, framing the king as he looked upon the young man who sought his audience. “And you are certain of this?” King Griffith asked, his expression grave. “Without a doubt your highness,” the young man said, his gray eyes full of pride for his discovery, “I saw him perform magic myse...
Weekly Contest #356
“Wait- please!” Blackbird said, reaching out to Yrsa, but she was already struggling to her feet and backing away. “Stay back!” she said. “Don’ get near me!” Bird’s fear raced through him. She would run, he’d lose her friendship, be alone again. Could he blame her? He knew what it was she saw. Bones that were charred and dark, without flesh or sinew, alive as it should never have been. A deep red glow within the cranium shone through his eye sockets. An endless grin of ruined filth. A monster. Without a proper face, there was no expression h...
Weekly Contest #355
Gravel crunched under Ealdian’s boots as he walked along the road, carts rattling as they passed him and hooves clopping as horses went by. Spring was at hand, and the air was warming in the lands where winter had less of a hold. A few birds were returning from the southeast of the continent, and the days were more gold than gray when it was not drizzling with vernal rains. Since his brief visit to Tolmacht, and subsequent death there, new horizons were what Ealdian had longed for. A place where no one knew his name, face, or curse. A chance...
Weekly Contest #354
The Last Unicorn. An interesting name for a tavern and inn, but certainly one to be remembered. Perhaps it was the warm wood walls that rose from the stone foundation, carved with intricate patterns of swirling vines that drew Blackbird’s eye, or it could be the deep, forest green shingles that dripped over the roof and awnings like ruffled leaves that lured him to its doorstep, frosted with bright snow. The light inside was a welcoming gold, and a sign mounted over the door swung in the wind. Upon it was painted a unicorn, a cloven hoof lif...
Weekly Contest #353
Ewan felt the bumpy texture of his basketball he dribbled against the tips of his fingers. Nimbly they caught his hand before he sent it again to the ground. The sound of it colliding with the sidewalk marked the tempo of his steps. Even after a decade, he and his best friend still shared their tradition of walking home together. “I’m telling you, you should try out,” Damon said. “You would be put on the team just like that!” He snapped his fingers. “I dunno,” Ewan said, not missing a beat as his basketball kept its steady tempo. “I’m not in...
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