And a short one inspired by the Explorer pic... on exactly 500 words, inspired by Tehta!
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Day 14
I made it! The others thought that I would go back, that I didn't had in me the courage to keep going after they abandoned me! Those bloody cowards!
Today, after five long and solitary days marching across these frozen plains, I reached the proof that supports all my theories. Something that will make my name known, and leave those that doubted me green with envy!
And I have the pictures to prove it! That monstrous gate of unknown age, standing proud and mysterious in the middle of the endless snow with those perfect straight lines. How many centuries... No, millennia! Perhaps more! If my research is correct it makes our civilization look like a mere blink. And the marks those rocks bear! Scholars will spend their careers just trying to understand the secrets of these strange, sometimes unnerving signs and images.
I must admit my hesitation. Even after the extenuating journey, after so many years of research, all the troubles... I just stood there, crushed by the sheer sensation of... Power? Fear? Magic? It's so hard to tell. I even drank a bit of my scotch, hoping the alcohol would fuel my resolve and push my insecurities away.
Then I remembered all my friends from the Forum... Tehta, Buteo, Dmeck, all the others... and the way they supported my quest for the truth. So I pocketed the scotch and walked into the ominous darkness that waited beyond the gate.
And here I stand, writing this with the help of my small lamp. The space is, indeed, vast and dark, in such a way that my feeble devices are unable to lighten it. Maybe it's just my imagination, but it looks bigger in the inside.
Now I must rest and regain my strength. Many marvels surely await me tomorrow. Now I will make camp next to those curious sets of stones. The ability of the ancient builders was effectively impressing. They do look like giant toes, including some razor sharp claws... Now the sun is setting, and soon the last vestiges of light that come through the gate will be gone, but in the morning the first thing to do will be understanding which creature this elders wanted to represent.
Now I'm very tired and in need of a good night of sleep. Hopefully that will be enough to overcome this sensation of being observed.---
And that's it, ladies and gentlemen! The full transcription of that mysterious and solitary page that was recently found close to McMurdo station on Antarctica. It's believed to be part of the journal of our English friend that disappeared last Summer. The fool, remember, insisted to continue, clinging to some unfounded beliefs despite all attempts from his companions.
Is this proof that he found something? Or just the product of an imaginative and exhausted mind? I'm inclined to the later, but some members of the Forum insist that we should chase his nonsensical ideas and organize an expedition...
That said, let's vote.