The pyramid
As you approach the massive monument, you begin to appreciate its sheer size; a feeling of smallness, of insignificance nearly overwhelms you. Upon reaching the entrance, you see no tour guide—instead, there is a sign in both Egyptian hieroglyphic and English that reads:
Traveler who enters here
Be careful where you tread!
Inside this monument of stone
Two choices lay ahead:
The leftward path, descending down
Into the deepest dark
Will draw you in, until you kneel
To Anubis' deathly bark.
The rightward path, though leading up
Towards the soaring blue,
Will cast you down among the beasts
If you don't answer true.
The choice is yours, O Traveler,
To choose your final fate,
Or turn back now, and try to flee
Before it is too late!
Something about the poem briefly gives you pause, but you steel your nerves and step forward into the pyramid. After passing through halls lit by torches and covered in exquisite carved decorations, you indeed find yourself at a fork in the path: to your left, a stairway that leads down further than the torchlight can reach, into darkness so black you can't see a thing; to your right, a smooth slope leading upward, with a Sphinx head on the top of the doorway and more torches lighting the way. Which path do you choose?
Written by CoggerD on 06 October 2023