The Eilott of Bhallns Guard

Crouching low, daring the world to catch me, I knew what had to be done. The landscape, presenting itself in a wholly unfamiliar way, seemed bent on my demise. The ragged ground beneath my feet betrayed my every footfall. Shhh! The cool night breeze shifted about ominously, ripping at my skin, embodying my doubtful thoughts. All the while, the sparse flora did nothing to conceal me from ever watchful eyes. But that was the least of my concerns. The mere thought of the bastion perched upon the precipice jutting towards the sky, looming over me like a cruel general waging war and waiting to see the whites of my eyes before extinguishing their life, was enough to cause my blood to turn to ice within my veins.

Slip past the agents patrolling the area, scale the rocky face, penetrate the perimeter of the citadel, not die in the labyrinth of deceit and danger that lies inside, and capture The Eilott. The simplified plan whirled around in my mind. Easier said than done, for sure. Damn it, I hate clichés… no matter how adequate. The finer points of the first step of the plan had already been perpetrated. Intel had successfully procured the necessary tools to slip through the wards encircling Bhallns Guard. Adorned in dark patterned, military issue garb, gee how stylish, and beautifully fraudulent identification, slipping pass the mountains foot soldiers was…not a piece of cake, but easy, unnerving, but easy none the less. There were several looks of suspicion cast in my direction. With each cold stare from a staged ally, my heart hardened inside my throat restraining my sense of calm and restricting my breath. But in the end, no one suspected that there was mischief dancing on the wind, instead they took little notice and went myopically about their inane duties while I stared incredulously at the rock wall before me.

Well, time for scaling. Dark had descended unnervingly quickly, causing me to blindly search for hand and foot holds. Propelling myself upwards, towards almost certain doom, No don’t think like that. You never see Steven Segal or Jean Claude Van Damme being scared, just keep trying to live up to examples set forth by fictional movie characters they’ve portrayed, and you’ll be fine, the long climb proved to be arduous. The Earth shift at will in further efforts to sabotage my mission and nearly succeeded.

Almost three quarters of the way up the craggy demon, the boulder supporting my feet gave way. Scenery blurred as the world up ended itself, letting gravity ravage my body. I was lucky, psh lucky, enough to have my rapid decent jarringly halted by a narrow ledge six feet below. OW! Landing with a thud loud enough to rupture the mind, body, and soul, I was surprised to find that nothing more disconcerting that bruises and the feeling that all my internal organs remained 6 feet above waiting for my return, would inhibit my ascent. My body and lungs ached, contaminated by dizziness, and clarity refused to pacify my misgivings, a grievance that was aided by the thinning air. Okay breathe. Nothings broken, you can do this, don’t psych yourself out, you’re nearly there. Watch what foot holds you use, and just get up and go. More climbing and internal bitching, then the epic ascent had come to a close. Yes, stage two complete, now for the fun part.

There it was the citadel, the sacred home of The Eilott. Eerily, the home for such an esteemed object, rumored to be a thing of great beauty and wonder that contained magical abilities, was quiet and seemingly empty. Upon crossing the threshold, I still hadn’t been confronted about my intentions, nor had I caught sight of a single entity. The lack of other personnel was bittersweet. I couldn’t tell if it was a good or a bad thing. Maybe it’s a trap. But if they knew I was here wouldn’t they apprehend my right away. I don’t know, I’m not them. Maybe I should be thankful. Don’t jinx yourself. But don’t get a false sense of security. I have to find it. There’s no one here. Just find The Eilott and, I don’t know how I’m going to, but finding it’s the bigger issue right now. Just find it. You have to find it. My insatiable desire to find the Eilott and complete my mission consumed me. The darkened hallways, distinguished only by matching doors, echoed causing me to creep as slowly as possible. All the while, I worried that the adrenaline flooding my body and my heart to beat violently against my sternum would surely announce my presence if anyone happened to be lurking in the shadows. But I still continued in my mission, following the crudely twisting corridors.

The maze of claustrophobic alleys was slowly becoming unbearable and maddeningly so. No longer could I tell which direction was which or even whether or not I had already visited each particular corridor. Suddenly, almost too late, I realized that the echoes through the corridor were of foot steps that didn’t belong to me. My breath hitched as I ducked into an adjacent hallway and proceeded to pray frantically for a not-so-narrow escape. The foot steps died away, thank God, and I quickly darted in the opposite direction that they had come from. After another eternity of hopelessly wandering the maze of inevitable failure, I could feel something in the air change. It’s here. I can feel it. Maybe it really is magical. Cautiously I reached out to the nearest door handle. With a deep exhaled I turned it only to find the most beautiful sight beyond the solid wood frame.

There, sitting upon a luxuriously upholstered stage was The Eilott in all its glory.