Peter, The Archеr
Misterious forest
“The villagers who lived near the Blackdark Forest called it the Weeping Cottage, though none alive could say why. It wasn’t marked on any map and there weren’t any roads leading to it. Everyone claimed to know someone who'd seen it – a shepherd boy lost at dusk, a hunter returning late or an archer from another village. The descriptions of the house varied, although all of them described a single, unwavering point of yellowish light, like a watching eye, glowing behind a thick wooden door. It never flickered like a candle or fire. It never moved. And it appeared regardless of weather – piercing through fog, shimmering in rain, or casting its faint, baleful reflection onto the stagnant pond on clear, starless nights. The place utterly avoided, seemingly abandoned for generations, yet always occupied by that single point of light. Was it a witch's lantern? A ghostly remnant? Or was the cottage itself somehow alive, watching the forbidden woods with its unblinking eye?
No answers came…”
This is my entry to Summer Joust 2025, "Where No One Dares Go" category. Hope you enjoy it!
P.S. Still water jokes are welcome.
Misterious forest
“The villagers who lived near the Blackdark Forest called it the Weeping Cottage, though none alive could say why. It wasn’t marked on any map and there weren’t any roads leading to it. Everyone claimed to know someone who'd seen it – a shepherd boy lost at dusk, a hunter returning late or an archer from another village. The descriptions of the house varied, although all of them described a single, unwavering point of yellowish light, like a watching eye, glowing behind a thick wooden door. It never flickered like a candle or fire. It never moved. And it appeared regardless of weather – piercing through fog, shimmering in rain, or casting its faint, baleful reflection onto the stagnant pond on clear, starless nights. The place utterly avoided, seemingly abandoned for generations, yet always occupied by that single point of light. Was it a witch's lantern? A ghostly remnant? Or was the cottage itself somehow alive, watching the forbidden woods with its unblinking eye?
No answers came…”
This is my entry to Summer Joust 2025, "Where No One Dares Go" category. Hope you enjoy it!
P.S. Still water jokes are welcome.