8 June 2012
In the very second that the muddled crew entered the cave, the shimmering sunlight illuminated the wondrous mountains of treasure that lay waiting. Gasps echoed from the stony walls as the awe-struck party wandered through the cavern. Brilliant golds flashed and glinted in the greedy eyes of dwarves. Ruby-red daggers and shining emerald-encrusted swords rested innocently on open chests that overflowed with heavy bronze coins. Delicately engraved tables with curious symbols marked on the elegant legs held the finest-looking cups any of the group had eve seen. Armour in all shapes and sizes, made to fit any creature: from the ginormous breastplate that scraped the ceiling to a tiny, thimble-sized helmet. Row after row of jewellery featuring precious stones that filled the air with dancing flashes of light. The vast collection of treasure was truly glorious - but it did not just include objects of high financial value. Seemingly boring rolls of parchment cluttered one corner, covering a polished wooden desk. Flarius cautiously approached the scrolls, peering over his glasses for closer inspection. He then slowly reached out a shaky hand and unravelled the yellow parchment. "Oh my!" he cried to nobody in particular, "This is rather extraordinary." Flarius leant closer, round nose almost touching the paper. His grey eyes scanned the inky marks, widening as he did so. "This has to be the most detailed map of our lands that I've ever seen." he murmed. But nobody was listening. They were too absorbed in discovering their own magical treasures.
The three elves were admiring a set of expertly-carved bows. Grondunk was trying out a new club. Sewfollon and his companions were all dreamily gazing at a collection of exotic potion ingredients. But Quentalin stay still, apparently disinterested in the cave's many rare treasures. He did not talk to the others, but merely acknowledged their euphoria with a look of dark fascination. Watching them unblinkingly, Quentalin straightened his hat absent-mindedly. It was quite a while before anyone noticed him. "Quentalin? Are you not enjoying the final discovery after all our hard work?" Quentalin turned to the dwarf, who was proudly wearing a gold chain-mail shirt that stood out from the rest of his leathery attire. "Felope, is it not?" the Dwarf nodded. "There is something wrong. This cave... it is swimming in Dark magic. And not one beast to guard it all. Rather curious, don't you think?" but to his surprise, Felope chuckled. "Dear old Quentalin, always the optimist! Don't fret, we're here now. Come on, admire the treasure. There's a lovely stack of axes over here if you care to join me..." and so he wandered off, ogling some deadly-looking axes. Quentalin glanced over at the axes. Something was wrong.
"What time did we arrive here?" he briskly asked Flarius. "Oh, what does it matter?" Flarius gave an uncharacteristic giggle. "Nothing matters anymore!"
"TELL ME." Quentalin demanded, shaking the clearly bewitched Flarius. "I don't know! But will you see this, Quenty? Look! Fantastical volumes full of unknown facts. Book after book of the undiscovered!" he went on. Quentalin abandoned him and searched for the others: Surely one of them would be unfazed by all this treasure? But as he strode through the labyrinth of previously shining objects, he noticed something. "The light..." he whispered. "It's getting darker. No, that's impossible. How can it be nightfall?" he twisted to where he thought the entrance to the
cave was...
and stood was facing a solid wall of stone.
Timeless Treasure • Opuss № I