Crypt of the Blood Jewel

With a final swing, Kieren punctured through the crumbling stone wall with his pickaxe. A burst of stale air rushed out. He wiped the sweat off his brow and put his full brimmed hat back on. Kieren chipped away at the hole until it was big enough for him to fit the width of his broad shoulders.

He tumbled through the hole, picked himself up, and brushed off the stone dust. Kieren clicked and smacked the torch until it flickered to life and revealed a sea of golden treasures. A faint red glint caught the light at the top of a worn stone staircase at the far end of the room.

‘The Blood Jewel.’ Kieren gasped. ‘Finally.’

Heart pounding, he clambered his way through the treasures, eyes fixed on the jewel. He set foot on the first stair and started his ascent. Halfway up, a goblet hidden in the shadows shifted under his boot. He stumbled, flung out his hand, and caught a dead vine that was growing around a pillar.

‘Ouch!’

He pulled his hand away as soon as he’d planted his feet. He plucked a small thorn out of his thumb with his teeth and spat it away, leaving a metallic taste on his tongue. He shone the torch on the jewel and kept closing in on it.

Kieren made it to the top of the stairs. The jewel was mounted in the chest of a towering statue. He reached out and gripped the jewel, wincing as he tried to pull it out. But it didn’t budge.

The jewel brightened and pulsed from where his blood had touched it. Soft at first. Then glowing a rich red. Kieren leaned in closer.

A groan echoed through the crypt. Kieren looked up. The statue was staring back at him with glowing red eyes. Kieren leapt back as it tried to grab him. He tumbled down the stairs, losing grip on his torch on his way down. The torch clattered and cracked as it hit the ground. It flickered a couple of times before it died, plunging the crypt back into darkness.

The awakened statue began its descent. Its blood red eyes and pulsing jewel inched closer with each booming step.