October 12 Contest entry - Scene desc.

NaNoPrep Oct 12 Setting Description - contest entry




         You step off the last stair into a small alcove. The dust is thick on the floor and steps. Nothing marks the smooth surface except your footprints going back up the stairs into the gloom. In front of you is a stone wall made out of large fieldstones, probably dug up from around the property years ago. Dust clings to the stones wherever it can.
The silence is utter allowing you to hear your heart begin to beat faster as you turn and see the door to the left. The heavy plank door is imposing with its rough-hewn oak and hammered iron bindings. It looks like the old doors seen in fairy tales, not modern houses. You grasp the handle the cold iron is unforgiving and the latch unyielding. You strain against the latch still it refuses to yield.
Looking around you spot a loose stone on the floor in the corner. Taking the stone you disturb a small storm of dust making you sneeze and cough. The smell and taste of the heavy dust is difficult to get rid of. The slight stench of rot and taste of dirt gives you chills as you think of being in a grave.
Taking the rock firmly in your hand you strike the lever on the latch and are rewarded with a small shower of sparks and a busted knuckle. The blood flows freely from the cut and you quickly stick it instinctively in your mouth only to combine the coppery taste of blood with the dirt. Striking the lever more carefully you hear a harsh click, as the latch breaks free. Pushing firmly against the door you manage to get it open about a foot before the hinges bind.
Peering into the darkness you can see nothing. Carefully you shine your light into the room; a bright light shines back and blinds you causing you to look quickly away. Looking again you realize you have shined your light into a tall mirror.
Chuckling you squeeze through the door and look around. The smell of decay is much more apparent in here. The musty air smells like something long dead but not quite gone. The dust stirred up by the door begins to settle as you dig in your bag for a lantern.
You switch on the LED lantern and its bright white light brings the room into view. The dust catches the light as it slowly dances back to the floor. Boxes and furniture are piled on the walls half filling the room. In the corner opposite the door stands a tall mirror with a metal frame. Beside the mirror are an old dresser and more boxes. Cobwebs cover everything but look like they have been long abandoned.
Looking at the dresser you see its made of rough wood and the finish has long ago worn off. The drawers are stuck shut from years of disuse. Looking down beside the dresser you see a mass of cloth piled behind a big box.
Sliding the box out of the way you discover the cloth is covering a small skeleton. The hair is long under a strange hat that matches the strange clothing it is wearing. The smell is coming from the corpse, luckily it isn't overpowering, as you look closer.
You spot a small satchel clasped in the corpse's hand. The leather like material is rotted and when you touch it the leather crumbles in your hand. You peel back the top and spot a small rectangular piece of crystal in the bag amongst what looks like old rotted and petrified food and pieces of paper that crumble at your touch.
Picking up the crystal you look closer and see it has a small square hole or slot in one end and the rest looks like it has a prism etched in the surface and inside the crystal. It's edges are like the edges of a cut gem with smooth facets down the sides and polished edges. You have never seen anything like it before. Sticking it in your pack you look again at the mirror.
The glass looks very thick and is surprisingly clean, not a speck of dust is on the glass. The frame is coated with dust and cobwebs as well as the thin wires that seem to impossibly support the weight of the thick glass. Looking closer at the glass you see the reflection is distorted like that of a funhouse mirror, and it has the same type prism effect you seen in the small crystal.
Your curiosity gets the best of you and you reach out to touch the glass, your finger doesn't stop at the surface like you would expect. Instead it passes through like it would into oil.
The glass feels thick and clings to your finger causing you to panic and step back quickly jerking your hand back. Stepping back you almost fall on a box behind you, you turn quickly to regain your balance and step back again onto the foot of the mirror that is leaning back against the wall. The mirror leg pushes down to the floor causing the mirror to fall forward into you. Your whole body feels like it is immersed in oil.
Closing your eyes you hear a faint whooshing sound and begin to smell clean air. The dust is gone and you begin to hear murmurs like distant voices. You crack your eyes open and the bright daylight blinds you. Slowly opening your eyes you become accustomed to the light and see your no longer where you were.. where are you?