The rain began to fall and the need for shelter became more dire. As the mist parted, a lone spire stood looming in the distance as if it been there all along. My feet were still leading me forward. My body, now reinvigorated by the thought of sanctuary, trudged on. The thought of any possible danger was pushed to a distant corner of my consciousness as I began to realize there was a possibility of safety, free from the rain and wind.
My pace was hastened as to not let this chance for shelter slip away. In my approach, I noticed the spire I had seen at a distance was apart of a bigger, more intricate construct. Huge slabs of stone were joined together to create what seemed to be a dwelling so vast the eye could not see where it ended. The sun had set and the need to be out of the elements was vital. Looming ever closer, the assembly of the monolithic slabs that made up this otherworldly structure seemed even more ominous the closer it became. It was unlike anything I had ever conceived but I was too close and tired now to consider what awaited inside.
The moon’s light now guided the path, beaming down upon what seemed to be an entrance. The door stood towering over me. To my luck, it was open wide enough for me to slip through. Had it not been ajar, I surely would’ve been left to freeze outside as the rain had not let up and the wind had only grown more aggravated at my opportunity to elude it. Biting at my heels in its last efforts to deter me, I found a moment of comfort as I shielded myself behind the lofty door.
The moment was brief as I surveyed my surroundings only to find myself in a dark, circular room. The shadows cast seemed to swirl around the outskirts of the room, unable to penetrate the natural light shining in. Perfectly illuminating the center of the room, the moonlight shone down onto a stone pedestal that stood in the center of with on a book placed upon it. Without thinking, I took a step toward the book.
As consciousness came back to me, I began to gather myself from off the cold stone floor. My recollection only served useful up until a certain point. My heart sank as I remembered. The book. A sharp pain coursed through my being. My nerves began to curl in upon themselves all the while as I inadvertently made my way towards what had previously seized my attention.
Time seemed to have vanished. The source of the light which poured into the room seemed further. Although dimmer, a faint glow permeated the air. The vastness of the room could now be seen. With no discerning end, beyond the columns that held the domed ceiling above me, there was what seemed to be a bizarrely built maze of astonishing proportions.
Architecturally, a feat of this magnitude shouldn’t have existed especially within the confines of the unnatural safehold I had entered. I cautiously cut my way through the thick auspicious aura that now enveloped the entire space. Still I moved forward, my wariness waning, as if guided to the center of the room which held the book. My yearning for what lie in front me only grew stronger as I drew near. Each step bringing me closer to what I coveted until I stood there facing it. Before having a chance to open it, the light began to fade. I stretched my vision to where the light had once shone through only to see a faint luminary remnant of what once was. My gaze returned, my hands stretch out to open the book, gleaming even in dimness of the room.
As I made contact with the binding of the book, my senses were put into disarray. Shooting through my body, this time with more intensity, I was ignited again with a surge of energy. The very fiber of my physical form vibrated as the waves of the most stringent sensation washed over me. Each wave hitting more subtly than the last to a point where what can only be described as the feeling of weightless had overcome me. Beginning to regain control, I gathered what was left of myself with. The waves dissipated as the feeling of floor beneath me returned. My senses, still vibrating from what had just occurred, acclimated slowly, still distraught from the sudden surge pushing them beyond their previous limitations.
Regaining full mobility of my limbs, I collected myself. To my surprise the book had vanished. Surrounded again by the dim, otherworldly setting I was in, the echoing of far off moisture accumulating then falling to the floor was all that could be heard. Each drop fell forebodingly as if setting in motion something more ominous than what had just occurred. The stillness in between was deafening leaving me with only my thoughts to face.