Lucifer’s Ring

The entrance loomed foreboding, a fortress carved into the rock. Its vast halls were desolate, empty for thousands of years. Boom!!! An echo resonated through the fortress, as Buck Winters entered the fortress. He landed, sprawled on the ground as he considered his choices.

Leave the area, and be called a coward for the rest of his life? Buck didn’t think so. Swallowing his fears, he stepped forward bravely and crossed the threshold of the main door. WHIZZ! A blade rocketed through the air, obsidian black as it hurtled towards its target.

Buck gave a yell and ducked as it thudded into the wall behind him. He turned fearfully as he looked on in horror. Twenty skeletons lay pinned to the wall, blood still dripping from their bones. Buck almost immediately reconsidered his choices and turned around to run.

Then it dawned on him, if he fled now, he would never become famous like his dad! And he would never find out where his dad went either. He turned around, suddenly filled with courage and marched onwards.

Shwing! Spears burst out of the walls, dripping with blood. Buck, terrified, jumped backwards, the action saving his life. He gave a cry of horror as the spears receded, something hit the ground.

He dived forward as he grabbed it, hoping it wasn’t true. It was. Buck was holding his father’s RLE (Royal League of Explorers) badge and it was covered in blood. He let out a strangled gasp as if he couldn’t believe what he had just seen. Buck collapsed on the ground, rivers of tears pouring from his eyes.

How could his father die? He was the bravest and the best explorer in the world! He had even promised Buck when he left for this fatal adventure he would return home! Buck pulled himself together before getting to his feet. The only way he could honor his father’s memory was to find this treasure inside.

With new determination, Buck sprinted through the halls, dodging and ducking and even diving. However, only one hour later, he found a problem. Buck was standing in front of a river. A river full of piranhas and caimans. A river with currents up to 100km/h! The Amazon River.

Buck couldn’t do anything but take a leap of faith. And with that thought, he dived in. He swam furiously as he fought the current, but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t get past. Worse yet, a caiman had chosen him as a target. The 500 pound creature was slicing through the water towards him!

Pausing for a moment, Buck figured out a solution! As the caiman swam towards him, he burst out of the water and landed on its back. The caiman began to thrash, finally throwing him off its back and onto the other side. Buck landed on the other side to find the treasure. His eyes opened wide as he let out a gasp.

Lucifer’s Ring! Made out of obsidian, adorned with a large ruby and full of powerful magic, it was one of the rarest artifacts in the world! And Buck, a measly 11 year old, had found it!

He took a breath as he realized. There was no one who would believe or even get him an audience with the RLE. He was an orphan, the bullies always seemed to try and want to hurt him and he had no real friends. He was completely alone. He closed his eyes and sighed before falling backwards into the Amazon River. One last thought escaped his head as he fell. At least he would see his parents again.