[OLD] Cursed

Chapter 12

     Thomas woke up from his dream, right before the chest opened and revealed what was inside. His hand was clutching a vibrant blue lapis lazuli. A sky stone. Was that really a dream? Or was it a vision? Am I going insane? The raft wobbled underneath him as he stood up, filling his boots with water. They sloshed around and he walked, but he was used to it since he had been that way for a few days.

     The woods seemed to whisper encouragingly to him as he walked through them, but he ignored them. They won't let me go near them. Why should I accept their help?

     You're think that the trees hate you? A small voice in his head snickered. Are you insane or just plain stupid?

     He ignored the voice as he had ignored the trees. Like his dream, the sky stone was glowing softly, lighting the way like a torch in the night. The trees ushered him forward, and the wind urged him to continue. Only the roots and the stones beneath him were stubbornly refusing to make him a path. The trees became fewer, and they finally opened up to a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a small stone building, about a quarter of the size of his old ship.

     The entrance was a rectangle cut out in the stone. Beyond that was dark. He held up the lapis lazuli so he could see his surroundings. Hundreds, no, thousands of symbols decorated the walls. They crossed over each other in desperate attempts for themselves to be seen. Above him, the stone roof was covered in thick, dark green and brown vines, some loose strands dangling down. Then he saw it. The chest.

     The chest was in the center of the room, glittering an eerie silver. Somehow, it managed to camouflage itself in the dark. The sky stone was a miniature version of the moon in his hand, glowing a blinding blue and silver. There was a slot, waiting expectantly for him to place an object in that was just the right size. For some reason, he hesitated. You fool. Don't you want the answers? Thomas look a deep breath, then slid the lapis lazuli into the slot.

     CLICK! The lid flew back, revealing what was inside. Nothing. It's empty. Why? The ground started to rumble, dust tumbling off of the walls. His brain told him to run. His instincts told him to run. His feet commanded for him to stay. The wall that he was facing split into two, revealing a small room, torches adorning either side of the doorway. There was a small, rolled up piece of parchment sitting on a table in the center of the room. Curious, he walked up to it, unraveling the scroll.

     Words. He thought disdainfully. And I can't read. His eyes quickly scanned over everything, confirming that it was complete useless to him, since he wouldn't be able to know what it said. Doesn't Caroline know how to read? She read something before. She told me about it. What was it called? Oh yeah. 'Human scribbes'. Does she mean words? I guess. If only she was here, she might be able to read them.

     He silently scolded himself for remembering the dragon girl. You're supposed to be mad at her, remember? She's the reason Captain banned you from the seas. He winced as his thoughts counterattacked him.

     If you were never so curious about the land, you wouldn't have met her, or been in this mess.

     Yeah, but if Captain wasn't so stubborn about telling me that the land was dangerous, I wouldn't have been so curious on why it was dangerous.

     Oh stop accusing other people and take the blame for once!

     The blame of what? Something I'm not responsible for?

     He realized then that he was scowling it the scroll, holding it so tight that the edges were becoming crinkled. He laid it flat on the table, smoothing the wrinkles down with the palm of his hand. He stared hard at the words. They still wouldn't reveal to him what they said. With a frustrated sigh, he rolled the scroll back up and took a good look at the room around him.

     There were about a dozen bookshelves on the perimeter of the room, leaving a lot of space in between them and the table. Not all of them held scrolls or books, some held objects. He walked over to a round metal one, picking it up. A compass. He was facing east, meaning that the exit behind him was the west.

     He put the compass back and pulled out a small book, the size of his hand. He flipped through it, bracing himself for the words. But there were barely any. On every page was a picture, and underneath it, a single word. Captain had one of these books. What did he call it? A dictionary? No, that was all words. This one was full of pictures, so he decided to call it a pictionary.

     Thankfully, none of his crewmates were around. They would have mocked him, saying that pictionaries were just for little kids. But he was still a kid, wasn't he? He didn't know. No one ever told him his age.

     Thomas flipped back to the first page, looking at the picture first, then at the word. Acid. He traced his finger over the word and locked it firmly in his mind. I will remember that. He continued to go through the pages, picking up a few useful words. Angry, bright, broke, clear, complete, dark, deep, delicate. He had a little bit of a hard time on the word, 'independent.'

     Independent. I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T. That's what I need to be. But it's so hard, after depending on my crewmates and captain to support me all my life. He sighed, but then a thought came to him.

     I'm touching this without water. He dropped the book, and it hit the floor with a painful thump. He stared at his hands, which were completely dry. He picked up his book, brushing the ground in the process. It didn't sting him like it usually did. I thought it was a curse... it's gone. It's actually gone! He almost laughed out loud. I can touch the land! I can actually walk on the land!