Thursday April 14th, 2011

The exercise:

Let's go with: the quest.

Kat and I are in Vancouver for the weekend. She's doing a workshop and I'm running some errands and hanging out with friends. Good times so far. 

Mine: 

Scotty had made it sound so simple. Go into the forest, collect a few plants, and he'll pay me ten gold coins.

Well, if he'd mentioned the fire breathing dragonflies, I might have said forget it. But he didn't.

And if he'd said anything at all about the microscopic flesh eating lizards, I might have slugged him right in the face.

But he didn't. So here I am, with an empty bag, several chunks of flesh missing from my right calf, and no eyebrows.

Me and Scotty are going to have some words when I get back.

5 comments:

Greg said...

Hehe, I hope farming's a little easier on your farm that that plant collection trip! Fire-breathing dragonflies sound rather cool actually, I could see them zipping around water-lillies and the like :)

Have fun in Vancouver -- does that mean we're on scheduled posts for the weeekend?

The quest
Philip shuffled forward, his feet refusing to find any purchase on the glossy, icy floor. His thighs trembled with the strain of keeping his balance, and his breath puffed out in front of him in little white clouds. The wall ahead seemed no closer than it had when he started crossing the floor.
There was a slicing, whisking sound off to his left, and then a sleek shape skated across the wall in front of him. It veered around the door, effortlessly skating up on the ceiling, and disappeared behind him. He didn't risk turning his head in case it threw him off balance and spilled him to the floor.
Another shuffle, another inch gained. He couldn't hear the Ilmatu moving behind him, but he knew it could only sense him when he moved. He risked an additional shuffle, and experienced a moment of panic when his foot started to slide further than he'd planned. He managed to halt it, legs splayed apart like he was starting to do the splits.
The Ilmatu whisked around the walls again, the smooth oval head twisting on the shoulders, the lack of features making it impossible to tell if it was facing him. It stopped over the door this time, and seemed to sink closer to the wall, as though waiting.
He couldn't turn round and abandon the quest now.
He sucked in a breath, tensed his chest, and tried to pull his feet closer together.

Marc said...

Greg - yeah, I think fire breathing dragonflies have some potential :)

Nope, it's an updating weekend - I'm staying with my best man and he's got wireless at his apartment. Very convenient.

I cannot describe how creepy I find the Ilmatu. You use them to great effect.

morganna said...

I wrote a really cool response to this, continuing yesterday's story, and Blogger promptly lost it. I haven't had time today to recreate it. I will try again tomorrow.

Heather said...

Marc- You are early today. I suppose I'll have to get use to that. Wasn't it last summer that you wrote early too?

Good luck to you sister in her tour. I have friends who have done it and it can be rough!
------

Papers in hand, he headed down the path hurriedly. Early morning sunlight lay dappled on the ground under the leafy, but not yet full canopy. A soft breeze blew chill on his bare arms. The sound of his feet slapping on the ground showed his pace had increased. Ahead, the sun painted the ground in a solid sheet of white, the trees no longer towering above his head. Soon, he knew, his journey would begin again. Kindergarten offered many chances to begin again.

Marc said...

Morganna - bah, that's incredibly annoying. I hope you find the time (and patience) to make another attempt.

Heather - well my nights will have to be shorter as I gradually get up earlier to avoid working in the worst of the heat. Plus I wouldn't be opposed to actually start writing before 11:40 pm every night.

Thanks for the well wishes. She's done it a few times before, so she knows what she's getting into :)

I liked the descriptions and the unexpected ending.