Prompt 219 - Rune Stone
Oct. 2nd, 2010 11:15 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
guardian-erin.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
tamingthemuseTitle: Sorcerer's Stone
Author: guardian_erin
Summary: Two kids find a mysterious stone.
Note: I just went with the prompt, to get my creative juices going again.
"Do you think it holds magic?" Kayla whispered. Her voice barely stirred the thickness of the silence that hung in the night around them.
Narren wanted to say, Don't be foolish, but all he could do was stare at the rune stone that he held in the open palm of his hand. His muscles trembled ever so slightly from trying desperately to hold it steady, and away from himself.
The stone was smooth, with oddly shaped edges, but was surprisingly heavy and seemed warm to the touch. So warm, in fact, that as Narren continued to hold the stone in his hand, it seemed to grow even warmer over time, threatening to burn his hand.
The color of the stone was a tan, sandy hue, with what seemed like numerous flecks of gold that glinted and shimmered with secrets. One side of the stone, the side resting on Narren's hand, was flat and flawless. The other side was marked with etchings - - grooves about an eighth of an inch deep, with smoking coloring in the curving, crossing lines. The pattern was deliberate, nothing like what might occur in nature, therefore clearly man made. At the same time, however, there were no tool marks on the stone to show it might have been worked by human hands.
What was noted by both of them, and perhaps even more frightening for that fact, was that the rune stone seemed to possess a light all of its own. The night sky offered no illumination for Kayla or Narren - they were crouching in the darkness of a tent that had been raised in Kayla's backyard.
Blankets and pillows were strewn around them, on top of their sleeping bag beds. It was too warm to cover up, but they softened the hard spots on the ground. One of those hard spots - one that had not been easily fixed by covering with a pillow - had turned out to be the mysterious stone itself. Narren had had to finally leave the tent and find what the offending bump was under their tent, to see if it was removable or not. He had groped underneath the bottom of their makeshift fort and found the stone. Even against the cool ground, and covered in a layer of stubborn earth, it was warm.
It seemed like an illusion for the first few moments. Narren knew the stone was surely only warmed by his own skin, and his own body heat, but the stone continued to gain heat. Soon it was even hotter than his own body heat, and began to hurt his fingers.
Before Narren could even voice a complaint to his childhood friend, the heat seemed to rapidly rise in the stone. Within a second, it was beyond scalding hot, and Narren had to drop the stone, pulling his agonized hand away before it was damaged.
The rune stone fell to the earth in a straight path. It did not bounce when it hit the ground, or even have to settle. Instead, it seemed to stick to the ground, as if it were tremendously heavy. Both of the observers backed away in surprise as the glow seemed to become distinct at the same time. It was no longer a possible optical trick.
Narren considered trying to grab the stone, but if the stone did not burn through his hand, he was sure that it would now be too impossibly heavy to even lift. He urged Kayla not to touch the stone, and at the same time they became aware of the smell of smoldering plastic. The rock sank slightly, having burned through the floor of their tent and some layers of top soil. Within three more seconds, the stone sank into the ground and disappeared, never to be found again.
Author: guardian_erin
Summary: Two kids find a mysterious stone.
Note: I just went with the prompt, to get my creative juices going again.
"Do you think it holds magic?" Kayla whispered. Her voice barely stirred the thickness of the silence that hung in the night around them.
Narren wanted to say, Don't be foolish, but all he could do was stare at the rune stone that he held in the open palm of his hand. His muscles trembled ever so slightly from trying desperately to hold it steady, and away from himself.
The stone was smooth, with oddly shaped edges, but was surprisingly heavy and seemed warm to the touch. So warm, in fact, that as Narren continued to hold the stone in his hand, it seemed to grow even warmer over time, threatening to burn his hand.
The color of the stone was a tan, sandy hue, with what seemed like numerous flecks of gold that glinted and shimmered with secrets. One side of the stone, the side resting on Narren's hand, was flat and flawless. The other side was marked with etchings - - grooves about an eighth of an inch deep, with smoking coloring in the curving, crossing lines. The pattern was deliberate, nothing like what might occur in nature, therefore clearly man made. At the same time, however, there were no tool marks on the stone to show it might have been worked by human hands.
What was noted by both of them, and perhaps even more frightening for that fact, was that the rune stone seemed to possess a light all of its own. The night sky offered no illumination for Kayla or Narren - they were crouching in the darkness of a tent that had been raised in Kayla's backyard.
Blankets and pillows were strewn around them, on top of their sleeping bag beds. It was too warm to cover up, but they softened the hard spots on the ground. One of those hard spots - one that had not been easily fixed by covering with a pillow - had turned out to be the mysterious stone itself. Narren had had to finally leave the tent and find what the offending bump was under their tent, to see if it was removable or not. He had groped underneath the bottom of their makeshift fort and found the stone. Even against the cool ground, and covered in a layer of stubborn earth, it was warm.
It seemed like an illusion for the first few moments. Narren knew the stone was surely only warmed by his own skin, and his own body heat, but the stone continued to gain heat. Soon it was even hotter than his own body heat, and began to hurt his fingers.
Before Narren could even voice a complaint to his childhood friend, the heat seemed to rapidly rise in the stone. Within a second, it was beyond scalding hot, and Narren had to drop the stone, pulling his agonized hand away before it was damaged.
The rune stone fell to the earth in a straight path. It did not bounce when it hit the ground, or even have to settle. Instead, it seemed to stick to the ground, as if it were tremendously heavy. Both of the observers backed away in surprise as the glow seemed to become distinct at the same time. It was no longer a possible optical trick.
Narren considered trying to grab the stone, but if the stone did not burn through his hand, he was sure that it would now be too impossibly heavy to even lift. He urged Kayla not to touch the stone, and at the same time they became aware of the smell of smoldering plastic. The rock sank slightly, having burned through the floor of their tent and some layers of top soil. Within three more seconds, the stone sank into the ground and disappeared, never to be found again.
