Where is the exit to this confusing maze?
How will you find your way out?
Is it up along the paths around,
Or in the shadows down below?

Which way, which way
Which way will lead you out?
Which way, which way
Which way is which?
#poetry #shortpoem #poem #creativepoetry #originalpoem #storyvember

Has the pattern changed?
Have the bands gotten smaller?
Or have they stayed the same,
and it's simply you whose changed?

How long have you walked
These endless winding paths?
Has it really been an hour,
or have months gone past?

Are you standing upright,
Are you upside down?
Are you walking sideways,
Or the right way round?

Have you walked this vine before?
Has it looped back to you?
Is it a completely new thread?
One yet unexplored by you?

Which way, which way
Which way will lead you out?
Which way, which way
Which way is which?

Which way is up,
Which way is down?
Which way is north
Which way is south?

She took the offered hand, wincing as the claws dug into her skin. As the deal was sealed, she couldn't help but feel she made a terrible mistake.

#storyvember #shortstory #legendsofavantris #crookedmoon #legendsofavantraisshortstory #storytelling

With a twist, she pulled the ring from her finger and placed it into the outstretched hand. The ivory fingers wrapped around it and drew back. The smile upon the croc's face stretched wider. "Ma'am," he stretched out his other hand. "We have an accord."

"Come now dear. Isn't one simple ring worth the safety of you and your beau?" Her eyes fell down to the ring. She hesitated for a another moment, before letting out a suffering sigh. There was no other way.

"I can garuntee your partner's power will return when it's time for you to leave. All it will take," he held out his skeletal hand, "is your wedding ring."

She balked. Her ring!? Surely he was joking. He let out another laugh at her expression.

A chuckle escaped his throat as he shook his head. "You really are desperate aren't you? Alright." He looked her in the eye as a sharp grin overtook his features.

"Someone told me your a powerful sorcerer. One capable of many miracles. Surely this might be one of them. Surely you can give his magic back."

He said nothing for a moment, simply searching her face.

He was scared. They both were. This whole situation was terrifying. But she had to be brave. For Philly. She lowered her hands as she took a steadying breath.

"Yes! Please!" She cried, hand clasped before her. "I-I don't know what else to do!"

He chuckled. "Your husband can't get you out. What makes you think I can?"

She bit her lip. Poor Phillip. He pretended that not having access to his magic was no big deal. But she knew him better than anyone.

And a creaking voice that hissed in her ear, 'You and your king shall leave this place on ashen winds when the Crooked Moon snarls with rage and not a night before'.

"And you want little old me to help you?" He raised a skeletal claw to his chest, a grin upon his face.

The sense of dread. The smell of smoke assaulting her nose. Heat consuming her skin. Embers flying up to the sky above, tongues of flames chasing after them.

And each time, they wound up right back where they started. Without fail.

"And you had a... prophecy. Warning you of you and your husband's demise?"

"Yes." She shuddered as the nightmare returned to her mind.

"So, let me get this straight," the croc rumbled as he stroked his chin. "You can't leave the valley. At all."

She nodded mutely. The mist had completely surrounded the valley they were stranded in when the Ghostlight Express crashed. They and the other passengers tried to walk through.

No, it was the state of his body that threw her off. Scales were flaking off in spots across his body, showing the muscles that lay below. Certain areas were so rotted it exposed the bone beneath. One of his arms was nothing but bones! Each time she looked at it her stomach lurched. How horrid.

Adela fidgeted with her ring as she stood before Mr. Crossroads. It was difficult to look at him. She wasn't bothered by his crocodilian appearance. Heaven knows she'd seen plenty of strange people in her years ruling Druskenvald!

It does not flick an ear at the creaking trees
Nor does it's nose twitch from the flakes
Dancing upon its nose
The little creature continues its restful sleep
Safe amongst the snow

#storyvember #shortpoem #poem #poetry #shortpoetry #winterpoem

But searching deeper amongst the winter bed
One would find a bundle of fur
Tucked in a blanket of snow
As white as it's own coat
Content amongst the cold

If one were to give a quick glance
Across this expanse of white
They'd see not a creature in sight
Afraid of the cold and barren land
They hide away in den and burrow

The trees tower high above them
Feebly offering shelter from the sky above
A token effort, but without success
For their golden auburn hair has long since fallen
No longer shielding those who lay below

Snowflakes drift along the chilly breeze
Carrying tidings of the approaching winter
With grace they fall one by one
To the carpet of white below them
Joining their brethren in blissful sleep

What does it see
Beyond the patterns
Of the universe?

Does it perceive
Those who gaze
Back at it?

Or is it blind
To all that lays
Before it?

#poetry #storyvember #shortpoem #originalpoem #originalpoetry

Spirals
Ever spinning
Ever swirling

Fold inward
Towards the center
Of everything

A dot
Ever still
Unchanging

Looking out
Towards what exists
On the other side

What lays beyond
The glass
Trapping it all in?

Trevor simply groaned as he rested his head on the counter. Today just wasn't his day.
#storyvember #storytelling #shortstory #originalstory #storypost

All eyes turned to the window the gun faced, a noticeable hole blasted into it. He stared at it in shock as the barkeep sighed beside him. "Your going to have to pay for that, sir."

"This time, I THROW HIM BEHIND BARS MYSELF!" He thundered as he slammed the cup down again. *BANG* *SHATTER* The sound pierced through the entire pub. Trevor froze before turning his gaze to the gun upon the counter. Smoke floated up from the end of the blunderbuss.

He remembered the last time Thorn had graced the port with his presence. Shops ablaze. Homes looted. People screaming in the streets. Chaos consumed the city for the few hours he was there. Then he just left! Waltzed out with his crew like he owned the place! But this time, it would be different.

He gripped the glass a little harder. "And to top it all off," he growled. "I've just received word that Captain "Blood" Thorn as been sighted a few days from here in Baroka. No doubt that accursed pirate is on his way here for another visit."