Good morning all and welcome to Monday morning. It is Monday’s like this that make me wish for an extra weekend day. I feel like I could have used just one more day off to settle myself before the work week started. Admittedly if I got that extra day then my Thursday I would be complaining that I didn’t have enough time to get everything I wanted to do done. So it is sort of a catch 22. Since neither is likely to occur, at least not at the moment, I can still dream of an extra day, even as I get started on today. So let’s do that. The getting started part. Are you ready? Good. Let’s go.
Okay I rather like this one. I’ll need to pick a character to focus on if I am going to write it, but I kind of want to find the story in this one. Definitely a book mark for later type of tale. Also a reminder that I need to pick out the prompt I’m going to expand for my 2022 Fifteen Minute Novel soon. I really need to start looking at that seriously soon.
Monday, December 6th: Ice coated everything.
Ice coated everything. It was a strange sight to behold. It looked as though everything was encased in a layer of clear glass. The floor and ceiling. The tables and other furnishings. The people. Everything eas frozen under a solid sheet of ice. It was at least an inch thick and distorted the view of the items beneath in places making it look as though parts were magnified.
This cavern was deep underground. It wasn’t a natural cavern, but one shaped with tools and skill. It was in fact created by craftsmen who’s skill the team could only wonder at as they passed from room to room. They entered a cave at the top of the mountain, finding carvings that indicated someone passed this way before.
The cave entrance looked natural. It soon became clear that even if it started off as a natural cave, or even cavern system, it had been converted to a hidden palace. As they proceeded deeper and deeper into the cave, the more elaborate the details became.
In addition, the colder it became. Outside the sun was shining brightly and the world was filled with a semi-tropical heat. Entering the initial cave had been a relief. The air was slightly cooler due to the shade the cave provided, but it hadn’t been unnaturally cool.
As they proceeded the temperatures slowly dropped. At first it seemed expected. They were going deeper into the mountain, walking in places the sun couldn’t touch. Then someone started to check the temperature measurements and realized the temperatures were dropping far faster than simply pushing deeper into the cave could account for.
And then they entered this chamber. Their clothes were not designed for this kind of clod, but even though they were shivering, no one backed out of the cave. No one was leaving. The sight before them was simply too astonishing to walk away from.
The large room was a banqueting hall. The ice seemed to have come upon the gathering mid feast. There was a slight ripple showing that the ice might have come in through the door. One of the team’s scientists hesitantly mentioned directionality in the ice striations. It was a low voice comment with any further talk dying away as they continued to sturdy the room.
Around the table people were gathered. Some still had spoons lifting soup to their lips, others held knives and forks. Some were smiling, others frowning. One gentleman was scowling in the direction of the entrance. All were preserved in the ice. The colors of their clothing, the textures of the curtains. The wood grain of the table and even the food they ate was all perfectly encased in ice.
There was a feeling of watchful waiting.
Finally, as enthralling as the sight was, the cold became too much and they were forced to retreat. They left silently, closing the door to the icy banquet room behind them. They retraced their steps back to the front of the cave system in silence. There, stepping back into the bright hot sun, they warmed themselves. Their voices remained stilled until the chill faded from their skin and they could feel life returning to them. Even then, they spoke in whispers.
Ten til Midnight 