How many steps?
As you look at the words on the ground one more time, you realize there has to be something more to them. ?Go up the stairs? doesn?t sound very hard? There has to be something else to this. You walk up to the entrance of the temple and peek in, still curious what it holds. Of course, your curiosity doesn?t stop your legs from shaking as your mind comes up with quite a few nasty things that could be inside.
As your eyes adjust to the light inside the place, you can plainly see there are no stairs in there. Stepping back out, you look up at the huge monument again. All you can see is a giant pyramid shaped building with several layers getting smaller the higher they go. And that?s when it hits you.
The riddle didn?t mean stairs as in a literal staircase. It meant you had to climb the side of the stair-like structure! Walking just to the side of the door, you reach up to the top of the first layer and hoist yourself up. They only come up to about your chest, so climbing them doesn?t prove too difficult. Within about a half hour, you find yourself nearing the top of the pyramid. The air is a bit thinner up here, and you can feel your breaths getting heavier. The ledges have naturally been getting a little smaller, but they?re still about a foot long. Still, it?s a long and bumpy way down for one misplaced step.
You decide it best for your balance and your sanity if you crawl the rest of the way up. The layers are a lot shorter, and you can claw your way up them with minimal effort. Winds buffet your clothes and whip your hair around, threatening to gust you right off your perch.
Luckily, the winds stay fairly mellow as you reach the top of the temple. You look around at the surrounding area. Well, the view is great. But there?s not much in the way of mystical powers up here.
The top of the pyramid is wide and flat, giving you plenty of space to crawl around on, still keeping your body close to the stone in case of any sudden gusts. Getting a bit desperate and not wanting to climb all the way back down the tower, you look around on the platform for anything that may be of use. Just as you?re about to give up, you notice a tiny little note carved into the face of the stone, about three inches from the middle of the platform. ?Break me? is all it says. This could be your only shot at making the trip up here worth it. Raising your hand above your head, you bring it down hard right where the words are carved.
Instead of the excruciating pain of punching a slab of rock, you feel the stone crumble around your hand as a hole opens up where your hand met the writing. Using your hand that?s now on the inside, you claw away at some more of the platform, opening up a hole big enough for you to stick your shoulder through. Taking a glance through the hole, you feel your heart start to race.
There it is. A little golden statue of a sphinx. It looked like it was sitting on a pillar that placed it just below your hole, despite being rather far off of the platform it sat on. Craning your neck and stretching your arm, you just barely wrap your fingers around the wings of the statue. Instantly, you feel some strange power flow through you.
<spanFullTF>It starts in your arm. You feel it shrinking a bit. Your elbow almost feels like it?s turning around in its socket. It doesn?t hurt as much as it feels weird, but it?s still a bit unsettling to be feeling this at such altitude. Your arm hair starts growing out and thickening, causing you to stumble back in amazement. Bad choice. You start plummeting off the side of the temple. Wanting to save the shock as much as possible, you kick yourself away with your legs that are already becoming furry and ripping out of your jeans. You feel lumps on either side of your spine start growing, and you grasp your back in pain. Feathers start sprouting out of your back, shredding your shirt as they spread into full wings. Not wasting a moment, you flip upright and start flapping them, instincts taking over. You swoop in towards the ground and shoot back up, letting out a roar from your new muzzle. <spanFullTF>
<spanSumTF>You feel your arm start turning into that of a lion?s. It causes you to jump back in fright and fall from the tower. Luckily, wings sprout from your back, and you swoop away just in the nick of time, letting out a roar of victory. <spanSumTF>
Your childhood dream of finding this island?s treasure fulfilled, you fly off into the jungle, your new body ready for any challenges it may face.
Written by Zorpix on 13 September 2014
The end (for now)