Watty's Shortlist 2023
"I have been waiting a long time to meet you."
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When two warring kingdoms hear of a magical object that will end the conflict once and for all, two rival heirs embark on a quest to retrieve it and bring their...
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"What now?" Castor asked, frowning at the openings before them.
"We pick wisely," Kaiden's tone was grim.
"It's the second trial..." Aila pondered. "The trial of the mind. There must be an obvious-"
A dreadful scream emanated from the fourth tunnel, punctuated by a profound terror that Aila had never heard before. Before she could register what was happening, Kaiden had unsheathed his sword and was sprinting down the path, his flame shrinking with the distance almost instantly.
"Well," Aila groaned. "It'd be stupid to split up." She ran after him, confident that Castor would follow.
She turned bend after bend before there was another fork, this time one path going straight and another curving off sharply to the right. She paused, listening, but when no sound came, she veered off to the right.
"Urgh!" She yelled in frustration as she hit a dead end after another bend. She slapped the rock in frustration, wincing as pain shot up her arm.
She backtracked and pursued the straight path for a few hundred metres, dreading the next fork. When it inevitably came, she yelled Kaiden's name, frustrated when there was no reply and only her own voice echoed back to her.
The harsh scream sounded again, and Aila bolted down the path it had come from as adrenaline coursed through her veins. It sounded like it was nearby; fear burned within her as she imagined what she'd find there.
She suddenly stumbled over a hunched figure in her path, and the shriek sounded again, this time coming from right in front of her. Aila paused with her dagger out, assessing the situation.
She held her match up in front of her, wondering where in the stars Kaiden was, and wishing she had his fire ability in that moment. The tiny flame illuminated a frail woman, curled into herself on the floor. She flinched away from the light and let out another ear-splitting scream.
"Hey, it's okay," Aila began, adopting a pacifying voice and raising her arms in a defensive gesture. "I'm not going to hurt you, see?" She sheathed her dagger, maintaining her soothing voice.
She turned on her heel, but Castor was no longer there.
"Did my friend come this way?" She asked the woman gently.
The woman shook her head, and shrieked again in fear and in pain. Aila winced as the sound echoed around her, but she crouched closer to the woman.
"Are you okay?"
The woman again shook her head and groaned.
"Please can you speak to me?" Aila asked, her patience beginning to wear her down.
The woman gave a shudder and stared back blankly, no life in her features.
"Do you need food?" Aila rummaged in the rucksack she had brought, and held out a sandwich. She was glad that the bag wasn't too large, that it was able to fit through the cave's tunnels. The thought of leaving behind everything she had brought was an uncomfortable one.
