As Jim was looking over the possible destinations, a sudden flash of light caught his attention. He felt a strong heat emanating from the pendant in his hand, and he looked down at the object. It flashed several times, leaving runic-patterned afterimages in his sight as he blinked.
“The Hell?” he exclaimed, as a nova-intensity blast of light swallowed his world.
When it abated, he found himself at the edge of a forest, dark clouds gathering above him, with an onyx castle looming before him. Red flags, tattered with age and looking like blood droplets waving in the wind, fluttered from the parapets. A crash of thunder and a peal of lightning rumbled over the sky and struck the rod atop the largest turret.
“Nice touch,” Jim said sarcastically.
He looked down at the pendant, and found it still glowing brightly in his hand. Apparently, it belonged to whoever lived in that castle. He began to reconsider whether he really wanted to go in there. Then again, he’d sworn to do his duty and return the pendant.
Mon Jul 11 09:06:50 2011