The Day Wurm Stood Still - a thrilling adventure of a rather special explorer

[Guest Ephemeral]

Author's note: Based on the relative success of Blacklighted (and in a rather vain attempt to break free of a particularly bad streak of writer's block), I decided to give Wurm storywriting another go - except this time on a bit of a lighter note. You will see comedy cliche in this. I'm trying to portray Seron as a bit of a bumbling dreamer, or as we more commonly know them - an idiot.  It won't be anywhere near as long as Blacklighted, and I expect to conclude this story fully within a few chapters - 5 at the most. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I'm sure the ending will give people who were online just after Rolf implemented the new fixes a bit of a laugh

The Gods of Wurm are strange at the best of times. Untold throughout many changes are the periods in Wurm's history where  everything seems to just stop. Nothing moves, sometimes for hours or days at a time. The denizens of Wurm do not know this most  of the time, as to them, life just stops and begins again in an instant. But a curious explorer would one day stumble upon a  creation the likes of which Wurm had never seen before.

"Libila be cursed! Not again.. ow." Seron hissed as he smacked the tip of his foot against a particularity resilient rock.  Sending a list of expletives that would make a small child cry, he sits down on a nearby clump of dirt and begins vigorously rubbing his throbbing foot. Some explorer I am, he thought to himself. I've been out for weeks now and all I've found is forges  and ovens sitting in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but a few spiders and bears to keep me company. Memories flooded his  mind of the blissful cloisters of Kyara - where he spent most of his days alongside his fellow man smithing weapons and tools  for the town's denizens. "I gave all that up for this." he sighed, lazily kicking a small pebble across the floor. Raising his  head to Sol, trying to gleam the time - he caught a small glitter at the corner of his eye. A tiny white fleck was sitting where  the pebble he just kicked away used to reside. Curiosity gripping him, he drops to his knees and begins to claw at the dirt  through his tough leather gloves. More white reveals itself, and within a few minutes of fervent digging - a ghastly visage  renders itself within the dirt.

Stepping backwards, Seron cannot believe what he is seeing. Embedded within this ancient land lay an old mine door - one of  incredible quality, carved from what was once the finest marble by a masterful mason. The face of a troll adorned the door, with  blackened holes marring it's eyes where gems clearly resided in the past. Tiny flecks of dirt clung to small cracks coursing  throughout the marble slab, dulling the pristine marble. Two rusted iron handles sit patiently atop the ancient door, just  beckoning him to find what lurks beneath. "Treasures of old! A horde of gems! Artifacts.. It could be anything!" he whispered to  himself, his voice floating away on the cooling breeze that swiftly bounced from tree to tree. It could also be nothing, the  other side of his mind muttered. Just like the other fifty abandoned mines I've found on this cursed expedition.

Gripping the rusted iron handles, Seron places his legs apart and begins to brace for the huge pull that normally accompanies  opening a heavy stone door. With a few breaths, he pulls with all his might - only to find himself flying backwards into the  dirt as the ancient handles shatter - torn asunder from years of neglect. Letting loose another torrent of expletives into the forest, Seron gets back up and in his furor - kicks the marble door with his stubbed foot. Yowling in pain and rage and  clutching his again throbbing foot, he hops around atop the door - it slowly giving way as his rather significant bulk pushes  down on it's ancient hinges. A loud groan and the sound of rock crumbling stops Seron for just a moment, giving him a final  thought as the door caves way and he plunges into the encroaching darkness.

"Oh no, not again!"

[Danypos 0]

Nice story, keep going!

[Draconis_T 1]

Heh, now I know I've been reading too many gripefest threads on here... swear I read that title and thought 'Oh no... not someone else complaining about the lag around NT!!" Thankfully, I saw who wrote it and where it was before I opened my mouth.

Great start and certainly fun reading so far!

[Huck. L. Barry 1]

I snickered at "forges and ovens sitting in the middle of nowhere".

[wwiiol 0]

I snickered at "forges and ovens sitting in the middle of nowhere".

[MadWallaby 1]

Ephemeral, I've said this before, but I really like your writing.

I demand MOAR.

[milp 1]

Awesome, more to read ;D

My first thought when i heard about the ancient mine door was that when he opens it there will probably be 20 aged scorpions ganking him ;D

[Guest Ephemeral]

Groaning loudly, Seron slowly rises his head and opens his eyes - slowly rubbing his aching head while cursing just about every animal on the face of Wurm. Nothing. He can see nothing. "Oh Fo, Oh Fo! What have I done?" he whispers fervently, rocking to and fro on the spot. Fumbling in the intrepid darkness, he brings his steel and flint and some scraps of wood to bear in trembling hands - loosening several pockets on his backpack in the process. A iron lump sees it's chance for freedom and leaps forth from the pack, only to be swallowed into more darkness. Seron freezes as he realizes - he hasn't heard the lump hit the ground yet. Staying perfectly still, he cringes as more and more time passes, until a tiny 'plop' echoes throughout the darkened cavern.

Whimpering slightly, his movements greatly slowed by anxiety and fear, Seron gently clacks his steel and flint together, sending sparks flying throughout the cavern, each one illuminating the beads of sweat now dripping from his muddied face. Glorious light floods the cavern as the scraps burst into flame - rather precariously close to his boots. Craning his neck slightly, he looks to his left to see the fate of the liberated iron lump.

A huge sideshaft stands not but a foot away from where he is sitting, The iron lump just barely glitters in the feeble light from his makeshift campfire - nothing but a speck the size of an ant. Seron goes pale as his head slowly inclines to the ceiling from which he came. Sunlight spills through the huge crack in the once-sublime marble door - the light just appearing to halt only a few steps into the cave. From perfect illumination to none at all. Thoughts of witchcraft and the terrible magics of Libilan priests flood his mind, further stoking his already roaring fear.

Unable to contain himself any longer, he gets up slowly from the rocky floor, edging away from the precarious sideshaft. As soon as he can no longer see it, he bolts at a full out sprint down the tunnel, only to fall into another sideshaft after a few more steps. Darkness once again floods mind, only to be broken by the piercing cold of rushing water as he plunges into a coursing underground river. As he struggles to breathe amongst the turbulent waters, he catches glimpse of rotting sails and sundered keen sections impaled upon razor-sharp rocks protruding from the sides of the caverns. Just as quickly as he acknowledges their existence, one gleefully latches itself between his back and his pack, severing the the two in a fitful jerk.

Only the concentration spent on keeping him afloat and alive stop him from wondering where this river ends - if it even does, and then where he will end up.

[Emoo 4,357]

Hehe, enjoyable  ;D

[Guest Khalid]

good read, keep it up.

[Guest Ephemeral]

For a while, Seron blacked out - the forceful currents tumbling him over and over as he thrashed against the waters in what he thought was his final defiance. Right before the end, as his vision was fading to white and he could just see the spirit awaiting him at the gate to the Void, he was slammed against the edge of the river wall, awakening him just enough for him to sight the shoreline a few meters away from him. Mustering up his last reserve of strength, he kicked himself off the bottom of the river and followed the current for a few seconds, welcoming the feel of solid ground once more as the shore rushed up to greet him. Lying exhausted and battered in relative darkness - only lit by tiny glowing mushrooms that grew on the surface of the cave, he falls into a void of his known, not knowing if it's the embrace of death or just the toll of exhaustion.

Hours pass as he lay motionless on the bank - time meaning nothing to Seron as he slumbers away from the greatest ordeal of his life. Torn asunder from wakeless dreams, he is pushed back into reality with a resounding thud, as a rock carried by the river smacks into his bruised foot. Rested enough for his body to care about pain again, he sits up slowly, whimpering slightly as every bump and cut makes itself known to him simultaneously within a few seconds of consciousness greeting him once more. Glad to be alive, Seron begins to chuckle. His eyes, now accustomed to the darkness, spot something. Just ahead of him, lay the most peculiar sight he could ever hope to see.

The cavern wall, seemingly solid and normal at first, rises and stretches manically upwards towards light at a terrible angle - as if the rock itself had been stretched by some horrid magic, as if there was a void behind it. Standing up slowly, cursing and hissing slightly, Seron stumbles towards the wall and tries to touch it - only to see his hand disappear into the cavern wall and touch something behind it - something dry and warm from the touch of sunlight. Excitement pouring through him, he clenches hard on the wall and finds he can grip it easily. I can climb this! He thinks to himself, hope flooding him with energy once more. Slowly he begins climbing, his body half-engulfed by the illusion of the cavern wall - enough to make any bystander gasp in horror as they see a person fuse with the wall. Up and up he goes, unable to see anything but the illusionary cavern wall in any direction he looks.

Until finally, he comes to the top, turning his head to see sunlight for what feels like the first time in decades.

Only, parked in the middle of the cavern, sitting just infront of the exit into thick forest, lay a single marble pedestal, with book in pristine condition lying upon it's surface.

[Huck. L. Barry 1]

[Looroll 0]

lol...Has that kid got painted nails?

[Guest QuakeIV]

This story pwns! pwns. But my guess is he will be corrupted and become evil out of curiosity of the book, then he will be this evil dude everyone has to destroy!

[Guest Khalid]

That kid looks like my nephew tyson

[Looroll 0]

Crap.

[Guest QuakeIV]

Heh this just seems cooler every time i think about it... but it sure is taking a while to come out with the next part  :-\.

[Guest Ephemeral]

Oh rar.

I'm busy with CV and piecing my new computer together. Hold on a little bit longer and I'll get the final chapter out and finish this thing off.