The Pillar
This week's prompt from Velvet Verbosity was the word pillar. The challenge is to write exactly 100 words on this topic, in any form you like. In my mind, I saw a pillar standing alone, rising out of desert sand. I wondered why it was there; then, all at once, I understood. Read my story to find out the answer.
The Pillar
Gawen sweated and struggled, setting each segment in place, but finally the pillar stood, alone in barren sand. By day he lived in the hidden chamber of a cave nearby. The pillar served as he’d planned, a spot travelers could find again. Some hoped to avoid tax collectors, others didn’t like bringing all their cash into the city. By night, Gawen crept out to dig it up. In three years he had enough to buy Morgan’s freedom, pay their passage to Albion, and secure their future.
The archaeologist scratched his head. “Who put this here, and why?” He never learned.
Gawen sweated and struggled, setting each segment in place, but finally the pillar stood, alone in barren sand. By day he lived in the hidden chamber of a cave nearby. The pillar served as he’d planned, a spot travelers could find again. Some hoped to avoid tax collectors, others didn’t like bringing all their cash into the city. By night, Gawen crept out to dig it up. In three years he had enough to buy Morgan’s freedom, pay their passage to Albion, and secure their future.
The archaeologist scratched his head. “Who put this here, and why?” He never learned.
Labels: challenge, fiction, Velvet Verbosity
posted by The Wandering Author | Permalink: 11:27 PM
7 Comments:
Tantalizing...I like it.
Neat! Love the Arthur references.
Mmm. I love desert stories. This reminds me a bit of a book called The Sword Dancer, I believe.
Nicely done.
Hi Ray,
Happy writing always & be well!
I think Ray you have a snippet here that can my evolved into some fantasy epic. I loved the mood and idea.
I know I've been absent from writing all summer, but a little concerned you've also been quiet. I trust the RB demons haven't bitten?
where have they gone??
Where have Gawen and Morgan gone? If that's your question, they lived during the days of the Roman Empire. There is a span of roughly sixteen hundred years between paragraphs. I still have a lot to learn about being clear in so few words.
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