03 August 2020 – The One – #11: Dragons True – Segment 8

And another cliff hanger! We left the three characters – the One, Argose, and a species, yet-to-be-determined at the mouth of the cave that the magical being calls her home. She appears almost fully human, but something in addition lives in the center of her being. Will her secrets be revealed? A few more clues arise in this segment, but not enough for a positive identification. Keep your mind open and ready for magic. Reason and rationality don’t always carry the day.

The One – continued 

. . . She proceeds regal in stark elegance

            Argose whimpers and retreats from darker

                        territory where his wisdom fails him

            I console him, pat his chest, stroke his back

            With hesitation, decides to follow

            Full of curiosity, we enter

                        with our guide to hell or to paradise

            Makes no matter – I must this mystery know

 

                        Soon enough, my hand on her shoulder rests

                        Five times better in the dark Argose sees

                                    and pads behind us close whimpering distress

                        As we enter darkness deeper

                                    a flicker pulsing and now torches ten

                                                and grunting abrupt – heavier steps and groans

 

                        “Floods this cave and caverns the river does

                                    from time to time, but the places farther

                                                rise above the cresting’s highest”

                        “Why tell me this when so far in we’ve come?”

                        “‘Tis the season of river-rising hymns”

 

                        With that said, toward the sounds she keeps walking

                                    her ears hearing what I cannot perceive

                        For sloshing of the river I’m alert

                        Argose drags his nails, scraping floor of rock

                        “In this rock house, traveling farther are we?”

                        “As far as needs be – not always near he is”

                        “Of this ‘he’ you speak, who nearby may be?”

                        “He’ll to us show himself – wise is this ‘he’

                                    Fear not, good traveler. Worse than him you’ve seen

                                                on adventures ridden long o’er time

                                                the long course to be here have you wandered

                        

                        Now, from above, filtering light streams

                        Soon the source unhidden – openings in rock

                                    some barely holes – others man-wide chasms

                                    beneath the hollows, clear rainwater pools 

                        On my knees, I drink sweet yet metallic

                        Bellows now whatever breathes just beyond

                                    but softly breathed, a question hesitant

                        Comes to me asudden – I know not why I walk here

                                    except my own blind curiosity

 

                        Argose warned me with his hesitation

                                    his nose sensations sharp where I’ve no scent

                        Where I walk will reveal what I see 

                        Where I finally end up is where I’ll be

                        The girl of no name asks nothing of me

                                    whether come vanquished or with victory 

                        Farther into cavern she keeps trudging

                                    as if this is some kind of vile duty

                        Once more, asudden, it occurs to me

                                    that what lives here is not all mystery

                        It is heavy, large, if not gigantic

                        Why not another Dragon in his lair?

                                    or a mother snake of hungry offspring

                        No, we would have heard the young ones wailing

                        A male then, with an appetite for meat

                        Now the deception is coming clear

                                    Providing dinner is why we’ve been brought here!

                                    We are a meal for a lizard’s belly!

 

                        Our guide stops short as if perceiving me

                        With palm raised and forward she signals stop

                        “Again, allow that I should enter first

                                    then waves me follow as she dips to dark

                        My alarmed thoughts shift now to turn and vanish

                        There’s no escape now because it’s famished

 

                        While I’m fretting, she’s gone ‘round a corner

                        Trembling Argose nose-bumps my hand and whines

                                    another clue that this must be unwise

                        I hear the girl murmuring to something

                        The reply is a base-throated purring

                                    a predator cat –  a lion, cougar 

 

                        “Prithee, come to us now – feel our welcome.”

                        Do I sense sinister intention here?

                        Curiosity and place leave no choice

                        I round the corner. Argose stays behind . . .

Background:

Perhaps few other experiences top the following for sheer anxiety and even terror: you enter a very dark tunnel (cave) while hearing groans and cries, heavy footsteps, and a sense of something exceptionally large and foreign. Knowing something or someone is actually there in the dark, raises the hackles on the back of the neck. Of such elements are horror movies made; but this story is no horror movie. It is the journey of The One (or to the one, or both). An element of magic and ancient entities permeates the atmosphere; however, the main character remains with both feet on the side of reason despite the out of the ordinary experiences on this journey.

Okay. Yes, as a child, I liked to watch horror movies, and play games with friends like “haunted house” where in the dark, peeled grapes served as eyeballs, and cold spaghetti felt like shredded intestines. Yes, I liked to scare myself, and was on the lookout for places, crooks, and crannies dark enough for my imaginary exploits.

Exploration 1: What additional clues are given above for the girl’s identity? Have you figured out who or what she is? Hint: She only appears human. Go ahead; venture a speculation and post it. There is an answer.

Exploration 2: Would you follow the female “guide” into the cave? Why or why not? What is the risk/reward ratio operative here?

Exploration 3: This segment introduces yet another character that we haven’t yet met; however, we’ve heard enough sounds to know that we face potential danger – perhaps even death – around any corner. How would you reconcile fear and curiosity, terror with a need to know?

Stay tuned for next week’s post where the newest mystery takes down its shields!