I had hoped that I was leaving this thread in good hands, however, I see that I was wrong! /~unreal/ubb/html/smile.gif Well OK, you guys have done well, gave the old college try and, at times, were quite humorous, but please make way for the master.... well, maybe "master" is a strong word, but... if the shoe fits! /~unreal/ubb/html/smile.gif Boy, I'm in such a good mood today you'd almost think it was Friday. On with the story....
Beads of sweat formed quickly on Taskmaster's brow as he stood stiffly hunched over a rough-hewn stone pedestal. The dank cavern was dimly lit by small cracks in the ceiling that let in thin beams of the morning sun, that cut laser-like swaths through the dust.
The gold idol before him gleamed brilliantly in just such a thin ray of golden light. The brilliance of the solid gold sculpture was almost hypnotic in appearance.
Taskmaster ignored the drop of sweat rolling down his nose, even though it was screaming to be itched awayed. He was carefully eyeing every last inch of the sculpture, mentally calculating the approximate mass and weight. As his eyes traced the shape of the priceless idol, his hands cautiously filled a leather pouch with dirt and grit, hoping to achieve a weight matching that of the idol.
"Hey Task, you in here?" came the sudden loud voice echoing through the chamber, half scaring Taskmaster to death. Taskmaster startled, nearly dropping the pouch and losing his precarious balance.
"Stop!" hissed Taskmaster frantically, recognizing Morety's voice (even though he had never heard it or met him /~unreal/ubb/html/smile.gif ). Taskmaster heard the unmistakeable "spfitzz" of a poison arrow being fired from an unseen hollow in the narrow passage leading into the cavern. A moment later, with barely a scream, he heard the thud of a dead body fall to the floor.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment at the lose of another member of his expedition, but he shook all the thoughts out of his head and concentrated once again on the glittering gold.
With one hand poised over the golden sculpture and one hand holding the filled leather pouch, he moved with lightning fast reflexes, and in a single fluid motion he lifted the golden artifact and place the pouch quickly in it's place.
A self-satisfied smile formed on his lip, disturbing the beads of sweat on his upper lip. The sweat rolled down either side of his half-smile, but before they could hit the rocky floor of the cavern, the stone pedestal began to shake.
Soon the whole area began to shake violently causing the air to fill with the disturbed dust and small chunks of rocks to fall from the ceiling.
Taskmaster, driven by fear for his life, rushed toward the entrance, forgetting all cautions. He plunged headlong down the bobby trapped passages, jumped a forming chasm, ripped through huge tangles of cobwebs, and dove out the cave exit just as it was sealed by a massive boulder.
Taskmaster lay breathless in the dirt sucking in air for his burning lungs. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his right hand. He looked up to see a big black Army boot crushing down on his hand.
"Well, Taskmaster!" said a familiar voice. "Once again we see that there is nothing you can possess, that I cannot take away!" Taskmaster looked up at the face of his laughing nemesis, CHRYSt!
CHRYSt held up the golden figure high above his head catching the morning sun. The gold figure shown in all it's glory. The ancient Golden Carp of Buhuwana!
* Music builds to a climatic frenzy *
RAIDERS OF THE LOST CARP!
OK, ok... so it isn't very original, but at least I wrote it from scratch! So see where you can take this story.... /~unreal/ubb/html/smile.gif
I declare myself to be the self-annointed voice of reason for PuF! Opinions expressed by Taskmaster are not necessarily those of Planet Unreal!
