Morning all and welcome to midweek. While I got up with my alarm today (and not after pressing the snooze button as many times as I thought I could get away with) I still feel like I missed a few hours of sleep somewhere. Not like I couldn’t sleep, but more like there is some sort of sleep thief loose in the world. It would certainly explain a lot. However sleep thief aside, I’m going to wake up with my morning prompt followed by lots and lots of coffee. So let’s get started on the prompt so I can get started on my coffee. Ready? Excellent!
You know, this actually fits with a story I am outlining. I’ve been looking for an additional character to feature to make the story work and I think this could play into it. I’ll have to think a bit more about it.
Wednesday, April 14th: The walls were carved with thousands of small glyphs, some no bigger than a thumbnail.
The walls were carved with thousands of small glyphs, some no bigger than a thumbnail. They were arranged in long lines and although at first glance they looked to be mere decorative images, as he studied them, he realized that certain symbols repeated.
‘Like words or letters,’ he thought. Jacob blinked and set down his camera for the moment. He took a step back and simply gazed at the wall in front of him. He let his flashlight move up the wall, eyes following the beam of light. The wall stretched high overhead and every part of the wall was carved in the glyphs. There were long rows of larger ones, but placed in between them there were rows of smaller ones. He wasn’t certain of the significance of the size. He wasn’t even sure if he was looking at words or individual letters. No symbols like this had ever been uncovered. This was writing no one living knew how to read.
Jacob turned to his right facing deeper into the dark temple interior. He let his flashlight play along the wall reaching for the corner. The light failed before he reached it. He had no idea how deep into the temple the glyphs ran. For a moment he found himself torn. Did he stop and record as he explored, marking down what he found as he found it, or did he push deeper into the temple to see where the writing stopped and what other treasures lay inside.
As he stood debating, he heard a shuffle behind him. He turned and found his assistant Elliot entering the room.
“Perfect,” Jacob said, seeing immediately the solution to his dilemma. “Is that the last of our gear?” he asked as Elliot placed his arm load of bags down on top of the assorted boxes and crates.
“It is,” Elliot told him. “And a good thing too. We’ve got rain coming in. This is the only shelter for miles.”
“Excellent,” Jacob replied, not caring about the weather only that Elliot’s task was accomplished leaving him free to take on another. “I want you to start recording the room. Every symbol must be recorded and the placement must be made. Take all of the photographs you can first and then start the mapping.”
Satisfied that the task would be started, Jacob gripped his flashlight and walked off deeper into the temple. The barrel arch made the room as wide as an Olympic swimming pool, but given the sheer length of the side walls, it felt like a long narrow room. He started off looking at the walls but paused now and again to let the beam of the flashlight sweep the floor, looking for anything to show what this room was actually used for. The floor, was bare. The stone was covered with centuries of dust but beneath his boots the stone felt smooth, almost like tile. It was something else he would study once he managed to get a feel for this room. He kept walking, finding only the glyph covered walls. He frowned wondering how big this room could possibly be. Finally, he reached a corner. For a moment he stood there, panting slightly as he stopped to catch his breath.
Ten til Midnight 