10. Ilaria and the team of mortal adventurers marched on through the bowels of Hell, assisted by the benevolent giant Julian. It was a miracle that anyone would want to help them obtain the Tools of the Trade they all needed to get back to the human world and retake the kingdom of Scala from the Devil. After traversing two wide sinkholes and knife-edge stairs, Julian showed them to where the Third tool of the Trade lay. The team had already braved snakes and musicians for the first two Tools, but two more remained to be taken. The Third tool of the Trade was a glinting silver sword with a golden handle stuck halfway deep inside of a dark slab of volcanic rock, set around a river of flowing fire.
All the team needed to do in order to retrieve the sword was to hop over and pull it out of the ground, a task that many a soul had tried and failed in vain to accomplish. The red hot flames illuminated the vast cave as much as the surrounding crystals did. One by one, each member of the team tried and failed to rip the sword from the stone. Vico, Ennio, even the mighty bronze giant and the mysterious Enforcer could not move the firmly placed saber from its scabbard of solid rock. Nonna Piazza did not dare risk putting her back out or suffering burns from a dip in the river, leaving Ilaria as the only one yet to try her hand. She pitter-pattered over the several steps to the stone and grabbed the handle of the sword, watched on eagerly by the rest of her company. Finally, at long last, she could feel the sword budge and move from its resting place.
YOU ARE READING
The Fiasco at Scala
Short StoryA royal sibling rivalry and a deal with the Devil will lead to a wild ride through the legend of what happened on the isle of Scala in 1700. A short-ish myth filled with pirates, monsters and new worlds. a small token of appreciation for 1000 follow...
