Dance On A Volcano (Genesis)
Your eyes must be more sensitive; you didn't notice until now that it's beginning to get dark. Guess that explains how you could see the glow of the lava pool from a distance. Maybe time to call it a day, or whatever it is.
You hear a distant rumble. Thunder? If there's a storm coming you'd better get inside, and the cave is the only place nearby fitting that description, so you pull in your wings (which you had kept half unfurled to keep your balance as you jogged down the uneven mountainside) and duck into the dark cave mouth.
Funny, the rumble seems more pronounced in here. But it's warm, and the cave is more roomy inside than at the entrance. You start looking for a place to settle down when you notice an eerie red glow from the back of the cave.
Going over to investigate you find that the glow comes from a tunnel leading further in and down. Curiosity gets the better of you, and soon you are walking down the tunnel. It's still pretty dark except for that red glow, and the ground seems to be getting warmer.
Suddenly you emerge into a chamber where the glow seems to be coming from all around you. The ground is uncomfortably hot - if you want a place to lie down for the night you'd better get back to the first lukewarm cave. You are about to turn around when you notice a big black lump lying on the ground with a patch of green light floating over it.
Closer examination reveals that the lump seems to be a charred corpse with a green cross of light floating over it. That reminds you of something, but you are not sure what. The cross does remind you of the kind of icon you see in video games though, so you try to touch it in case it's a powerup.
Nothing happens. Your hand just passes through the cross as if it wasn't there. You don't see, hear or feel anything special. Well, except for that almost continuous rumble...
Then it strikes you. The mountain is a volcano, for crying out loud! The rumble isn't thunder, but the volcano stirring in its sleep or whatever it is volcanoes do when they are not inactive or erupting all over the place. And the corpse... Well, the pain in your feet from the hot ground tells you all you need to know about that! Stay too long, and soon there will be two charred corpses for the next hapless wanderer to find.
You turn to leave - and realize there are two tunnel openings behind you.
Written by Won-Tolla on 17 November 2007
