Post by Topaz on Nov 9, 2014 22:54:05 GMT -5
For this year's "Escape at Twilight" contest sponsored by Twilight Serenity:
-----------------------------------------------------
Bemused, bewildered, here I stand and stare
around this place, mouth parched and breathing dry,
and shield my eyes from scorching heat and glare,
and ask myself, What happened? Where am I?
A moment since I walked the sandy shore
of Kilican, and breathed the scent of sea;
but now the heat and smoke, the glowing floor
make all too plain to me where I must be.
I cough, and breathe the sulfured air, and choke,
and quickly drain my useless water-skin;
and as I grow accustomed to the smoke
I feel increased misgivings deep within.
I try to get my bearings in this haze,
lost in the deadly, dread Volcano Maze.
Lost in the deadly, dread Volcano Maze,
awash in heat that takes my breath away
with every step, my eyes begin to glaze,
and faintness follows; staggering, I sway
from side to side in trackless halls of flame.
No respite, no relief from heat I find;
the maze in all directions looks the same;
the walls and floors burn bright enough to blind.
But then a hint of movement I espy --
or was it just illusion that I saw,
crazed by the heat, that so deceives my eye?
Then straight ahead, with hostile hiss of claw,
burned black and glowing furnace-red with wrath,
enraged, a Smoldering Ember bars my path.
Enraged, a Smoldering Ember bars my path,
to sear and scorch and, burning, to devour.
Can I escape this foul and fiery death?
Or will I fall in flames before its power?
I draw my sword, but dare not use my shield,
for metal soon grows hot in this environ;
yet in this battle still my sword can wield,
for gauntlets shield my hands from heated iron.
Fiercely the Ember presses; I defend,
and carve great gouts of magma from its side.
Will I survive or will this be my end?
I strike; it falls, its death-wound gaping wide.
Alive I stand, but still in danger dire,
entombed in endless corridors of fire.
Entombed in endless corridors of fire,
with armor scorched, and blistered hands and face,
I fear this maze will be my funeral pyre.
I see no life nor movement in this place
of heat, but heat-spawned creatures; 'tis the den
of hostile Smoldering Embers, and the lair
of Greater Lava Titans. Now may Ben
the Mighty Builder save me from despair!
Then far ahead an eerie sound I hear,
like scales that creep and slither on the floor.
Some creeping thing approaches, drawing near,
then rises up before me with a roar.
Amid this heat I feel my blood run cold:
the massive Blist'ring Fireworm I behold.
The massive Blist'ring Fireworm I behold,
its coils of living lava, writhing flame,
its fearful beauty burning red and gold;
it leaps with fangs of fire, my life to claim.
I turn and flee. I have no shame or pride,
no warrior instinct, cleric's purity
of godly purpose, roguish skill to hide,
enchanter's spells -- I simply turn and flee,
alas! not swift enough, for fiery jaws
engulf me, though I flee their deadly strife.
I feel the final rending of its claws --
then waken at the Monument of Life,
and breathe once more the tang of ocean air:
bemused, bewildered, here I stand and stare.
-----------------------------------------------------
Bemused, bewildered, here I stand and stare
around this place, mouth parched and breathing dry,
and shield my eyes from scorching heat and glare,
and ask myself, What happened? Where am I?
A moment since I walked the sandy shore
of Kilican, and breathed the scent of sea;
but now the heat and smoke, the glowing floor
make all too plain to me where I must be.
I cough, and breathe the sulfured air, and choke,
and quickly drain my useless water-skin;
and as I grow accustomed to the smoke
I feel increased misgivings deep within.
I try to get my bearings in this haze,
lost in the deadly, dread Volcano Maze.
Lost in the deadly, dread Volcano Maze,
awash in heat that takes my breath away
with every step, my eyes begin to glaze,
and faintness follows; staggering, I sway
from side to side in trackless halls of flame.
No respite, no relief from heat I find;
the maze in all directions looks the same;
the walls and floors burn bright enough to blind.
But then a hint of movement I espy --
or was it just illusion that I saw,
crazed by the heat, that so deceives my eye?
Then straight ahead, with hostile hiss of claw,
burned black and glowing furnace-red with wrath,
enraged, a Smoldering Ember bars my path.
Enraged, a Smoldering Ember bars my path,
to sear and scorch and, burning, to devour.
Can I escape this foul and fiery death?
Or will I fall in flames before its power?
I draw my sword, but dare not use my shield,
for metal soon grows hot in this environ;
yet in this battle still my sword can wield,
for gauntlets shield my hands from heated iron.
Fiercely the Ember presses; I defend,
and carve great gouts of magma from its side.
Will I survive or will this be my end?
I strike; it falls, its death-wound gaping wide.
Alive I stand, but still in danger dire,
entombed in endless corridors of fire.
Entombed in endless corridors of fire,
with armor scorched, and blistered hands and face,
I fear this maze will be my funeral pyre.
I see no life nor movement in this place
of heat, but heat-spawned creatures; 'tis the den
of hostile Smoldering Embers, and the lair
of Greater Lava Titans. Now may Ben
the Mighty Builder save me from despair!
Then far ahead an eerie sound I hear,
like scales that creep and slither on the floor.
Some creeping thing approaches, drawing near,
then rises up before me with a roar.
Amid this heat I feel my blood run cold:
the massive Blist'ring Fireworm I behold.
The massive Blist'ring Fireworm I behold,
its coils of living lava, writhing flame,
its fearful beauty burning red and gold;
it leaps with fangs of fire, my life to claim.
I turn and flee. I have no shame or pride,
no warrior instinct, cleric's purity
of godly purpose, roguish skill to hide,
enchanter's spells -- I simply turn and flee,
alas! not swift enough, for fiery jaws
engulf me, though I flee their deadly strife.
I feel the final rending of its claws --
then waken at the Monument of Life,
and breathe once more the tang of ocean air:
bemused, bewildered, here I stand and stare.