Meadow Whisp's Arc

Chapter 11 of 10

Meadow stuffed the last of the bread into his pack and limped to the door. His foot still ached under its bandage. The orange lizard climbed onto his shoulder, its scales warm with cracks of light. Outside, the gray house sat quiet in the morning cold. Meadow pulled the riddle scroll from his belt and read it again. Four stones burning in four colors. A lion that spoke true. But the words gave no direction. He didn't know north from south. Guess wrong, he thought, and I walk alone into nowhere. He stood between two faded villager houses and listened. A farmer passed with a cart. Meadow asked about four stones and old pillars. The man shook his head. But a woman hanging wash spoke up. "The ruins past the ridge," she said. "Four stone posts round a cave mouth. Folk don't go near." Meadow's heart jumped. Four posts. That had to be it. He thanked her and set off, sure he had unfolded the last riddle at last. The path climbed over broken ground. By midday he reached them. Four ancient pillars framed a dark cave mouth, carved with faded swirls. Vines hung across the stone. "Four stones," Meadow whispered. "This is the place." He stepped between the pillars, sword drawn, the lizard tense on his shoulder. Inside, the walls rose jagged and sharp. Loose rock covered the floor. He saw no burning stones. No lion. Only shadow. The lizard dug its claws into his shoulder and hissed. Meadow froze. Ahead, a boulder shifted. Then another. What he'd taken for rocks were backs and shoulders. Stony hides split with veins of purple light. Yellow eyes opened in the dark. A pack of them. They had lain still as stones, waiting. The nearest one rose on four clawed legs and snarled. "No," Meadow breathed. "Wrong place. Wrong riddle." He backed toward the entrance. His bad foot caught a rock and he stumbled. The lead creature lunged. Meadow swung his sword and the blade scraped its armored jaw. The hit barely slowed it. Two more crept along a ledge above, cutting off his left. He had guessed wrong, and he had walked straight into their den alone. And now he was in danger, As the pack of rock monsters sealed off his exit, he thinks of what to do, he says to himself do i hide run fight or negotiate maybe they are peaceful. They are not peaceful and they want to eat some dinner and their favorite food is Komodo Dragon, oh and humans. Now he will have to fight, them but oh wait his sword is broken chipped in two and it barely works.