Haha, I like your choice of tag to go with this prompt!
In or out "Wow!" Jimmy spoke first, and Ben had to push him out of the doorway in order to get into the room and see what had stopped him in his tracks. He, naturally, decided to be less impressed so he just grunted and walked over to the map, examining it the way I had been, and appreciating the detail. "Who made this?" Jimmy was clearly still starstruck by the map. "I mean, it looks like the whole city. It must have taken days." "Months, probably," said Ben, who had also located the black spot on the map now. "Maybe it started when the city was smaller and then grew with the city. It certainly got updated up to a certain point." "Updated?" Ben pointed at the black square on the map. "That is definitely newer than much of the city here. Red and I heard some creatures moving around the city just before dawn, hooting like owls and stamping like moose. They're likely what tore up the floor downstairs, and they seemed to be hunting for the guys at the docks." Jimmy stared first at Ben, then at me. "And you didn't think to tell me about this until now?" "Didn't want to scare you," said Ben casually. "It's not like there's anywhere for you to go without us anyway, and having you jumping at shadows and looking over your shoulder all the time wouldn't help, would it?" Jimmy looked sulky, which might be the first time I've ever seen him like that. "I'm not a kid," he said. "If you two can handle knowing about it, so can I." Ben flashed him a quick grin, and then picked a key off the map and looked at it curiously. I produced the four I'd already picked up, and a fish for good measure. "Now this is more like it," said Ben, his grin becoming a broad smile. "Have we found the keys to the treasure house?" "Maybe," I said, showing them the rest of the things from my pockets. Jimmy seemed to like the rings, and Ben decided to keep the knife for himself. I had no objections; it was lethally sharp and didn't have a scabbard to keep it in. "I'm thinking we see if we can find what the other keys are for, then check the docks out before it gets dark." "We can come back here then," said Jimmy. "This seems like a good place to use as a base -- we can see if and when the boat comes back, and all the keys and the map are here." I shook my head. "That's the problem," I said. Jimmy looked at me, puzzled. "If this was a safe place to stay the Elizabethtown folk would be in here," I said. "They'd be just as interested in these keys as we are. And this is a great place, like you said, to keep an eye on the dock and boat. So why aren't they here?" Jimmy thought for a moment. "The room downstairs," he said slowly. "With the torn up floor." I nodded. "Something comes here often enough that it's kept people out. It's only because we don't know how much danger we're in that we're in here, isn't it?"
Greg - I'm trying to find ways to have fun with the limited choice of prompts; glad you caught this one :)
Enjoyed Jimmy and Ben's reactions to the map, keys, and loot. And Red, at least, seems to be grasping the gravity of their situation. Not that it's stopping him from exploring the damned place, but still...
2 comments:
Haha, I like your choice of tag to go with this prompt!
In or out
"Wow!" Jimmy spoke first, and Ben had to push him out of the doorway in order to get into the room and see what had stopped him in his tracks. He, naturally, decided to be less impressed so he just grunted and walked over to the map, examining it the way I had been, and appreciating the detail.
"Who made this?" Jimmy was clearly still starstruck by the map. "I mean, it looks like the whole city. It must have taken days."
"Months, probably," said Ben, who had also located the black spot on the map now. "Maybe it started when the city was smaller and then grew with the city. It certainly got updated up to a certain point."
"Updated?"
Ben pointed at the black square on the map. "That is definitely newer than much of the city here. Red and I heard some creatures moving around the city just before dawn, hooting like owls and stamping like moose. They're likely what tore up the floor downstairs, and they seemed to be hunting for the guys at the docks."
Jimmy stared first at Ben, then at me. "And you didn't think to tell me about this until now?"
"Didn't want to scare you," said Ben casually. "It's not like there's anywhere for you to go without us anyway, and having you jumping at shadows and looking over your shoulder all the time wouldn't help, would it?"
Jimmy looked sulky, which might be the first time I've ever seen him like that. "I'm not a kid," he said. "If you two can handle knowing about it, so can I."
Ben flashed him a quick grin, and then picked a key off the map and looked at it curiously. I produced the four I'd already picked up, and a fish for good measure.
"Now this is more like it," said Ben, his grin becoming a broad smile. "Have we found the keys to the treasure house?"
"Maybe," I said, showing them the rest of the things from my pockets. Jimmy seemed to like the rings, and Ben decided to keep the knife for himself. I had no objections; it was lethally sharp and didn't have a scabbard to keep it in. "I'm thinking we see if we can find what the other keys are for, then check the docks out before it gets dark."
"We can come back here then," said Jimmy. "This seems like a good place to use as a base -- we can see if and when the boat comes back, and all the keys and the map are here."
I shook my head. "That's the problem," I said. Jimmy looked at me, puzzled. "If this was a safe place to stay the Elizabethtown folk would be in here," I said. "They'd be just as interested in these keys as we are. And this is a great place, like you said, to keep an eye on the dock and boat. So why aren't they here?"
Jimmy thought for a moment. "The room downstairs," he said slowly. "With the torn up floor."
I nodded. "Something comes here often enough that it's kept people out. It's only because we don't know how much danger we're in that we're in here, isn't it?"
Greg - I'm trying to find ways to have fun with the limited choice of prompts; glad you caught this one :)
Enjoyed Jimmy and Ben's reactions to the map, keys, and loot. And Red, at least, seems to be grasping the gravity of their situation. Not that it's stopping him from exploring the damned place, but still...
Post a Comment