The Epic of Balwyn - Part 4

Part 3 | Part 5

Then Balwyn understood! Up he jumped, uttering a shriek of unending delight, face upturned

The group of en-gravings mirrored the glowing heavens, their grand arcs graphed the burning points.

From their rising to their return, Balwyn realized that every shape ran along with a view from the rocks.

The carvings created a map someone could set course by when the heavens were covered,

Balwyn marveled at the mechanisms by which the map measured the meandering stars

What clever people have wrought this? He wondered, knowing without doubt it was not his own.

Then he saw a shimmering, showing a thousand shiny objects shoved in a spot in the shallows

The misty sky obscured this trail of objects, only revealing them on clear times.

Balwyn did not wait, but dove below the water to bring out the treasures before they were lost

The gold and silver lined a long underwater lane, so Balwyn lunged along for a further look.

Through the dark Balwyn swam, thinking that his folly may be his end, then he felt through the water

Fresh air, a cave, lit by a single shaft of starlight, revealed more sparkling treasure

An entire horde hidden, piled high among heaps of bones and half eaten clothes

Eagerly Balwyn examined each piece of treasure, elated by the enormous wealth

All in glittering gold, silver and other glinting metals—weapons and jewelry, giant idols of strange gods

However the bones heralded death and some form of harm haunting the hidden place.

Realizing the risk, Balwyn sought a reliable weapon to repel any enemy ready for him.

He eyed an axe, its edge proving most excellent upon examination, and eagerly lifted it up.

For the cave was filling with frothing foam, a violent form fighting to enter the narrow tunnel.

Balwyn waited to see what dangerous creature was arriving before wading into the water

The thing thrashed and threw water everywhere, so that Balwyn could not see through

And then a tentacle arced in the cave air, accelerating towards him…

Part 5