The Ossuary
prompt submission for IronAge.Media
Beware the stare of the skull
The one that rests inside the hall
Above all others it stands tall
And shines at night when darkness falls
If you go alone what will you see
Things on earth not meant to be
And there in dark you can not flee
You’ll die alone in the ossuary
These were just stories that I heard
From village elders in hushed word
Told to children, meant to disturb
And have dead left unperturbed
But I am grown and not upset
Though I need all the help that I can get
I’ve run out of luck, made one bad bet
It’s left me sprawling into debt
Although it may be thought a crime
I fear I’m running out of time
If this skull has metallic shine
Then very soon it shall be mine
I know what others will say of my plan
How when facing demons, instead they ran
This is fine, if they want they can
But I fear more the wrath of man
I’m done with criticism of my plight
I’ll start my trek before the night
If the crypt seeks to rob me of my sight
I’ll bring the glow of lantern light
I take with me an empty bag
Meant only for treasure, of which I’ll drag
Up over hill and rocky crag
Through canyons that wind and cliffs that jag
In the distance I see the place I shall raid
The tomb in which so many have been laid
I know soon my debt will be paid
As the shine of day proceeds to fade
The entrance I now stand before
Its opening blocked by great stone door
Etched upon it scenes of horror
Depicting grim, unsettling lore
Carvings of faces contorted in pain
Crying out but only in vain
As all their hope started to wane
And grotesque horned beasts, by which they were slain
The monsters themselves held expressions of pleasure
Taking pride in their work and in great measure
But one sat above all in a throne of leisure
In his palm, that most wondrous treasure
A chill crawls across my skin
As I gaze over this emperor of sin
For the moment I see his most sinister grin
The door cracks open, inviting me in
The sky above me now totally black
I clench my hands to the burlap sack
As I squeeze my way through the narrow crack
I now know there’s no turning back
Even if the progress is slow
Still onward I go
With lantern tow
Spurred on by its glow
Down now I creep
On a staircase made steep
Descending further into the endless deep
Thinking of only the award of which I shall reap
Thoughts of riches giving me power
I press on for what feels like an hour
Void engulfs me, the path behind it devours
And all of the sudden, the air turns sour
The stench pulls me from my thought
And ties my stomach in a knot
I fight the urge to heave but all for naught
It’s the odor of corpses trapped in rot
I stop to wonder, “how could this be”
The door’s been sealed for a century
Of its halls, no memory
Perhaps there is more to this ossuary
I continue on, my quest I’m still bound
Until I come to even ground
For as I start to look around
I swear to you, I hear a sound
Though walls around are made of stone
Between each one, a death is sown
Every crack holds skull and bone
I hear them groan, I hear them moan
Others may have turned and fled
Confronted by this evil dread
But I walk this path none else will tread
My destiny still lies ahead
I pass bones again and again
As I’ve traverse this long-buried den
I’m only ever halted when
I notice not all belong to men
Remains that hold a sense of scorn
From long before mankind was born
Left in here, perhaps to warn
For these were of those beasts of horn
I do not hold any feeling of woe
Standing before this once great foe
After all, why should I worry so
If they had died so long ago
I move past this grisly display
Through more corridors of ancient decay
Until I find a most peculiar way
One illuminated by foreign light ray
“How is this possible” I can’t help but wonder
How can light shine from so far under
With everything else here torn asunder
Could something perhaps be guarding the plunder
But with this path now in full view
And greeted by its radiant hue
I know this is the way, it must be true
I take a deep breath and walk on through
It is now I reach my fate
As I travel through the gate
The feelings I can not equate
No other glory can relate
I marvel at what I have found
The discovery seems so profound
A room of myth that’s so renowned
And trapped down deep here underground
All around me do I see them
The souls of those who’ve lost their freedom
Locked inside this coliseum
That doubles as their mausoleum
From their pain they’re not released
Frozen in torment that never ceased
Joined by these poor deceased
The bones of those aberrant beasts
As I look at the agony inflicted
And the misery of those convicted
I realize I’ve seen this all depicted
On the door it was predicted
Yes, the scene was quite exact
Time had left them all intact
No details in which it lacked
From all of those who’d been attacked
Even the monsters were all deployed
Except for one which seemed destroyed
The one by whom they were employed
For his throne had been left void
Although it had been left bare
Its beauty is beyond compare
For sat upon the arm of that chair
Was an object from which light did glare
It’s at the top of a slope, which I now scale
Made of those long bleached pale
One more challenge, I will not fail
For all others did I prevail
This hill’s incline is quite sheer
A fall now would be severe
But through all I preserve
Until I see the prize so near
My excitement is now uncontrolled
Lost in the beauty I behold
The truth had been foretold
This skull in fact is made of gold
Here now I’ve reached my goal
Sat atop this morbid knoll
thinking of how I’ll pay my toll
As I reach to take control
I take it within my fist
But to my surprise, does it resist
No matter how wrench or twist
Something then grabs my wrist
The hostile force evades my sight
As I pull away with all my might
It doesn’t care how hard I fight
This apparition holds on too tight
I cannot break the seal
Then burning on my hand I feel
The agony is so surreal
And the skin begins to peel
Then ghost lets go as if to hide
The burning too does it subside
And from its place the skull I’ve pried
I feel as though I’ve turned the tide
I smile and I bless my luck
And reach for the sack which I still ruck
But regardless of how I shake or buck
To my palm the skull’s still stuck
I drop the bag and turn to flee
And I curse the ossuary
Now something else grabs onto me
A hand of bone wrapped around my knee
I will not let myself be taken
So I fight off this thing forsaken
But in doing so I’m mistaken
The struggle causes more to awaken
The congregation only seems to grow
When I remember what I still tow
I look to the lantern and still does it glow
I turn back to the mass and at them I throw
In the middle of them it explodes with a flash
Turning some of their dry bones to ash
And down the slope do I make my mad dash
I must get away from this unholy cache
I slide down to the base
Hoping to escape this cursed place
But something else has joined the race
The hill itself is now giving chase
All their bodies interlink
Crawling forward in perfect sync
Moving faster than one can blink
Giving me no time to think
I move quick through the boneyard
Running fast and running hard
But now I see the path is barred
The beasts from the hall are standing guard
I try to push through but I cannot
The wardens are rooted to the spot
All the dead have foiled my plot
I know now that I am caught
They drag me over stone and bone
Back up the hill and to the throne
Where, for my sins, I will atone
Tis the place I’ll die alone
It matters not how much I flail
It is all to no avail
For the chair becomes my jail
Along with it the skull my grail
I appeal to those who saw my arrest
Those whose corpses had been possessed
But they care not of my protest
And soon they themselves return to rest
Far above I hear a roar
It is the closing of the door
Of its thousand souls or even four
The ossuary adds one more