Barge vs. Skum

Note: This story was written in a single sitting, drunk on Mike's hard lemonade. It is essentially a scrap, submitted only because others have nevertheless enjoyed it. It has no connection to any other story and can be enjoyed on its own.

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Barge stepped from stone to algae-covered stone, cautiously making as little noise as possible so as not to alert the cavern's potential denizens. He had heard stories of a rare and mysterious plant that, if used in an alchemical elixir, doubled a man's strength. To a six and a half foot tall man with almost three hundred pounds of solid muscle, this was quite an increase. So much so, that he felt the need to risk his life to find it. According to the legends, the tiny, ghost-white plant could be found in the darkest reaches of this very cavern.

The dim light, provided by diminutive glowing fungi, facilitated his stealth. The only sounds he could hear were the near-silent dripping of water and the creaking of the heavy leather of his boots. He moved ahead, his massive, nearly naked body filling the tunnel with his presence. He wished he had better protection than his leather loincloth, but metal armor would only make his presence more obvious, and he had little knowledge of what monsters lived in the dark he found himself in. The spiked metal helmet that scraped against his shaved head, however, was a necessity in his mind.