Archive: 2 posts

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Oh yes, a little story for you gadders - based off dkjestrup's LBP level. ------------------ The Archaeologist stepped tiredly into the clearing and gasped. In front of him, bathed in a glorious orange light, stood The Chateau de Vin. Its great height was exaggerated by the man?s small, frail figure. Even his bag towered over him, with hundreds of pockets and pans fighting for space all over it. As the man admired the beauty of his surroundings, he heard his name being called. The sudden break in silence angered a nearby Lynx who quickly disappeared into the tangle of bushes and shrubs in a flurry of leaves. ?Doug!? he heard his name again. It was almost as if his parents had chosen his career through his name. He smiled thoughtfully before calling back to his companion. A few moments later his friend emerged from the trees and gazed in awe at the huge house, infested with various plants and ivies. ?Glad you could finally join me Oscar.? Doug taunted, but he had no chance of gaining a reply. Oscar?s eyes couldn?t decide where to look first, the beautiful oak door with the rusty, golden knocker, the smashed windows with leaves pouring out or the layered slate roof with gaping holes where trees were peaking out their heads. Doug delighted in watching Oscar?s expression as it changed so wildly. His blue eyes dancing playfully about the luscious scenery, his mouth upturned underneath his bushy brown beard and his eyebrows raised towards his tangle of thin hair. The cool French breeze snapped Oscar back to his senses and he strode over to join his companion. Neither man dared to break the tranquillity that has settled over the area until they had reached an elaborate courtyard in front of the building. ?It's perfect, just the subject I've been searching for.? Oscar exclaimed wildly before beginning to walk around the large courtyard. He stooped under a patterned archway before stopping as he noticed a small stone gargoyle near the floor. The gargoyle had curved wings and devilish horns, like an angel mixed with a demon. Its eyes were slanted and seemed to follow you wherever you moved. Ivy competed for space on the low pillar it was resting on, but none dared cling to the beast itself. Bending down to examine it closer, Oscar noticed a golden placard almost completely obscured by the ivy. It read ?Virtute Experiamur, let courage be thy test?. Oscar sat staring at it for some time trying to decipher what it meant, but to no avail. Instead of wondering any longer, Oscar pulled a sketchpad from his bag and began to sketch the gargoyles feature. As he was working, Doug approached slowly and sighed. ?I figured it wouldn?t be long before you started drawing something.? he announced before continuing, ?I?m going to take a look around the house ? maybe there will be something important there.? Oscar nodded reluctantly. Doug could never understand that some things were important that weren?t old or rare. For instance this gargoyle was important to Oscar, but Doug just couldn?t understand that. Maybe it was the age difference. Doug was fifteen years his elder and his frail body showed it compared to Oscar?s tall and well built frame. However Doug was an academic and didn?t think of Oscar?s art skills as useful or important. It made the young man feel unimpressed with his own ability and sapped away his confidence in his art. He watched his mentor walk away towards the large oak doors and wondered if they?d have another exhibition together. Doug was getting on in years and Oscar wanted to break free and concentrate on his drawings. He stared and the gargoyle again and began to pick out the strong, defined cheeks and pointy claws. As he observed the stone creature he became aware he was being watched. He gazed around, passed the old water wheel and derelict fountain in the middle of the courtyard and further, over to the other corner. It was there he saw another gargoyle, identical to the one he was sketching. He quickly strode over to the new gargoyle and compared it with his sketch. Without a doubt it was the same gargoyle, except this one had an ugly cut, like a scar from a fight, across its face. It was motionless, but it would not have looked out of place if it had been scampering around the courtyard, throwing up the autumnal leaves in search of prey. The thought unnerved Oscar and he ran towards the doors Doug had entered earlier, but stopped in his tracks as he saw a third terrifying gargoyle. It was the size of a human and twice as wide, with piercing eyes that seemed to glow green in the light. Its wings were outstretched as if it were a bird readying for takeoff and its claws were wrapped tightly around the ledge it was perched upon. Despite his nerves, Oscar couldn?t help but be impressed by the magnificent beast. Whoever had carved it had the hands of a God and the vision of an architect. The gargoyle didn?t seem to fit with its peaceful surroundings or the gothic style derelict house which added to the illusion it was real. The large oak doors slowly creaked open and Oscar scampered up the steps and into a tall hallway. Beautiful oil paintings lined the walls and were lit by a ray of sunlight slicing through the darkness because of a gap in the wall. The end of the corridor was blocked off where part of the old roof had fallen in. It was now just a mess of slates and plaster. To the right of the hallway light came gushing through as another door opened mysteriously. Oscar looked around for a sign of Doug, but quickly hurried through the opening before stopping dead. In front of him stood another gargoyle, but this one stood at around seven foot in height with its wings hanging from its back and touching the floor. Every bone was visible as if it were a carved skeleton and its mouth hung open as if in mid-speech. It stood in the centre of the low room, and its head almost reached the wooden beams holding up the ceiling. This room had a very scary, gothic theme about it which the gargoyle only enhanced. Around the walls were broken windows which the arms of many plants had worn down and smashed through. Oddly, no glass lay on the floor at all. Oscar slowly edged closer to the stone warrior, getting closer and closer. But nothing happened. He confidently walked over to it before knocking it on the head with his powerful clenched fist. ?You?re not so tough are you little fella.? He sniggered. ?Sit still and I?ll sketch you ok?? He took out his sketchpad again and sat on the floor gazing at the monstrous gargoyle towering above him. Despite his height, the gargoyle was still a good head or two taller, and with Oscar on the floor the gargoyle could have easily been as tall as a building. It was as Oscar was sketching that he noticed a bone sticking out of the back of the stone creature. It was a different type of stone to the rest of it and protruded obviously out of its back like a knife. Oscar examined it and when pulling it down, found it causes the gargoyles mouth to open. He held it there for a few seconds and a wailing noise came out of the figure. It was unlike anything he had ever heard and causes Oscar to reel backwards. However the disruption continued until it had begun to beat out a steady rhythm. Oscar stood like a stone and didn?t move. The song was captivating, yet he became motionless and couldn?t move himself. For him, time was over and he would be immortalised forever inside The Chateau de Vin because of the Sonnet of the Gargoyle. ----------- Yeah thanks for reading Tell me what you think, took a few hours but yeah, fun stuff!

2009-09-28 22:44:00 Author: Coxy224 Posts: 2645

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Whoah, not only am I impressed with story, I shall have to play that level. Brilliant stuff mate, great descriptions and pacing.

2009-09-30 19:56:00 Author: Astrosimi Posts: 2046

Posts: 1077139    Threads: 69970    Members: 9661    Archive-Date: 2019-01-19

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