A little story I wrote for Comp 2 yesterday...This is the first draft, so dont be too critical :)
The Treasure of Elisina
As the dark haze quickly spread across the sky it seemed to utter a sullen warning of the things to come. The eerie silence seemed to draw me in, threatening to suffocate my courage and leave me defenseless against the dark, shadowy powers of the evil I would soon face. This expedition had been formed because of fate, and to fate would its results forever belong. One day last June, my colleagues and I had happened upon a plaque bearing a mysterious encoding. The plaque turned out to be of Metonikan origin, and dated about 450 C.E. Needless to say, we were quite intrigued by this cryptic message, so we decided to do some digging to see if we could decipher it. Three months into our search we found an invaluable piece of information that helped us to crack the cryptic message, and in essence, seal our fates as we knew them. As I recount these events and matters to you, I do so as a man lost in despair, his destiny ever sealed. I stare death cold in the face, and warn you to not make the same mistake as I. If you value your life, both eternally and in this world, then you will stay clear of all these matters.The happenings of the past months had been filled with apathy and lackluster activities such as reading and picnicking, so I was elated at the prospect of going digging with a few close friends. It had been a custom of ours for quite some time to go in search of various artifacts and oddities that had been left behind by the local tribes-people in times past. I suppose one could say that we where amateur archeologists of a sort. As I prepared my things for the trip I began to feel a certain sense of joyful anticipation well up inside of me. When I had packed my things I made my way to the rendezvous point and found the other gentlemen waiting there for me. After we had greeted each other and gone through the niceties we came to the decision that we would go to the Alawic region. The weekend was so uneventful that the only thing we even decided worthy enough to be brought home was the aforementioned plaque, and this only because of the quaintness and mystery we associated with it. We assigned our dear friend Charles Bloume the task of taking the plaque and deciphering it because he was quite the language expert. Almost two fortnights had passed before we heard from Mr. Bloume, but what he told us was enough to make our hearts stop in our chests. We listened attentively as Mr. Bloume excitedly told us, “Lads, I have some grand news for you. Our mysterious plaque is none other than the Elisina treasure map!” Now, we had all heard of the Elisina treasure; in fact, it was something the four of us had obsessed with for years since our childhood. All we knew of it was from a similar plaque that read, “The Elisina treasure is sought by many, but only those of true virtue, dedication, and courage can obtain it.” I rushed over to Charles house to help him decode the message, and upon finishing we found that it included the location of the treasure, and on the back there was an inscription reading, “Beware of ravenousness, for its tactics are strong; few are those who can withstand its power.” At the time, we hardly gave this message the smallest thought. The next day, the four of us set out at sunrise on the journey of a lifetime that we thought would lead us to eternal riches and happiness. On the journey, Charles Bloume was to act as our linguist, Joseph Mannon was to act as navigator (seeing as he was a geographer by trade), Scott Newsek was our technique expert, and I, Calvin Fonlin, was to keep a journal of all the happenings. The first few days of our trip were filled with excitement as we filled our conversation with all sorts of wonderings of the things we might find. Before long we came to the general vicinity of our treasure, and soon a more serious air come upon us as we realized the intensity of our expedition. Day after day was filled with strenuously articulate searching and waiting as we followed the instructions that had been laid out before us. After a week we found the spot we had so patiently searched for, and with hope in our hearts we started to dig. By high noon we had begun to find stray strands of pearls and gold pieces, and by night fall we had uncovered more wealth that any could ever imagine. As we sat around the campfire that night we discussed the matter of dividing the goods among ourselves, and before long greed and hatred started to flow as some men tried to say that they had more claim to the wealth for some reason or other. Mr. Bloume seemed to think that he had more claim because of the hard work he had done in decoding the map. Mr. Mannon thought he was entitled to more because he had led us to the treasure. Pointless bickering and such continued for quite some time, and soon I began to fear for my friends’ sanity as they seemed to be crazed because of this wicked treasure. I went off to bed only to be woken by the sound of screaming. I jumped out of my bedroll and ran to examine the situation. What I saw confirmed my fears. There before me stood Mr. Bloume and Mr. Mannon. Mr. Bloume had a sack full of treasure and was trying to run off, but Mr. Mannon was chasing him down. I was not too frightened until I heard the shot go off. I had not realized that Mr. Mannon was carrying a pistol. To my and Newsek’s dismay, Mr. Mannon first shot Bloume in the back, and then, so demented by his own greed, ran and jumped onto the bag of treasure, landing squarely on a previously concealed golden sword. I watched in horror as the two men lay dying, both knowing that their greed had taken them over and had prevented them from having true satisfaction. Their blood was on their own hands, and their souls would be in eternal turmoil because of it. As I stood taking all this in I was suddenly taken over by an intense fear. I knew that the same evil greed that had taken over Mannon and Bloume was starting to grip at my heart, because feelings of apathy towards my friends’ end were starting to form. I was terrified that I found pleasure and satisfaction in knowing that now there would be more treasure for myself. I began to run as fast as I could, but in my frenzied attempt to escape from myself I soon became lost. It seemed as if I had never once moved; that I was running the same circuit over and over again. Slowly, I could feel that fearful greed gripping at my heart; choking out any feelings of kindness towards my friends. I wondered out loud, “What is this devil inspired feeling that takes over my soul? Why am I not in control of myself? This cursed greed will ruin me as it did my friends, and there is no escape from it.” Exhausted by some unknown force, I fell to the ground and slept. Upon awakening I found that it was now day. I recognized some of my surroundings from the trip. Thoughts raced through my mind as the events of the past few hours replayed relentlessly in my head. My heart now cold and blind, I slowly made my way back to the campsite. When I entered the camp I found Newsek burying the other two men. A sudden uncontrollable feeling came upon me and I mercilessly overtook Newsek, killed him, and threw his body in with the others. Emptiness stabbed at my heart as I realized what I had just done. I looked at my hands in utter disbelief. I did not even know why I had just murdered a man that I likened unto a brother. I tried to ponder these things, but my mind would not consent. I fell asleep and awoke a full day later, and only then did reality sink in. I then realized what things had taken place, and also realized that I could never leave this place of damnation. So, I leave this journal here as a warning to any person who thinks of wandering into these woods in search of the cursed treasure of Elisina. Only eternal doom awaits you here, and death is in its hard, greedy hands.
