This is day 59 of @mydivathings' #365daysofwriting. Every day @mydivathings invites you to write a short story based on the image she chooses. Today's image (below) is a Photo by Stephen Leonardi on Unsplash

Find out more about the challenge (you can join anytime!) here @mydivathings/day-59-365-days-of-writing-challenge

His pack was so heavy, Grivvel was sure a baby elephant must have crawled inside when he wasn’t looking. The straps were digging in. And his feet hurt. And he was thirsty. And hungry too.

“Can we take a break?” Grivvel called, stopping and leaning against a small rock.

Hev, in front of him, marched on. Seemingly without any problems at all. It was alright for him with his long legs, and muscles and fitness! No thought for the fat, short, lazy bastard behind him. Grivvel picked up a pebble and throw it, aiming for Hev’s back. It struck him on his arse.

“What the-” Hev said, rubbing his butt cheek. He stopped at least and turned round. Even from this distance Grivvel could see his large eyebrows move, as his eyes narrowed. “Did you just throw something at me?”

“No,” Grivvel called back. “But now you have stopped, perhaps we could have a short break. My legs are killing me.”

Hev grunted something Grivvel couldn’t hear, but he put his pack down, which was a good sign. Grivvel pushed himself away from the rock and staggered up the path to where Hev was standing, rummaging in his backpack. He threw his own pack down on the ground next to Hev’s, rubbing his back.

“Are we there yet?” Grivvel asked. Hev pulled out a bottle, and removed the cork with his teeth. He took a long swig and passed it to Grivvel, before replying.

“Do you see any waterfalls of fire, around here?”

‘No,” Grivvel said, taking another swig of ale.

“Well, we’re not there yet, are we?”

Grivvel sighed. How had he let Hev talk him into this ridiculous quest?

Stupid question, he thought as he swallowed more ale. The answer was in his hands. And now his stomach.

He had been drunk.

Quests always sounded like such a good idea when you are in a nice warm tavern, a nice warm whore sitting on your lap, supping a mug of nice warm ale.

“You do know that the waterfall of fire is just a myth, don’t you, Hev?” he said, passing the bottle back to the large man. “I mean, the very words don’t make sense. How can water be on fire?”

Hev grunted, again. They had been through this. On a daily basis, for the last three weeks, since Grivvel had sobered up enough to realise what was going on.

“It’s the only way I can save my boy,” Hev had said, every single day. “I’ve never known the old woman to be wrong.”

If it had been anyone else, Grivvel would have left. He’d have waited until the big oaf was snoring in his blankets and snuck off in the dead of night. Found the nearest town, with the nearest brothel and forgotten all about “magical crystals”, “waterfalls of fire”, and “riches beyond belief”.

But Hev was not “anyone else”.

Hev pushed the cork back into the bottle and shoved it deep down into his pack.

“Come on,” he said. “If we push on, I think we can be there by nightfall.”

Grivvel sighed, and heaved his heavy bag back onto his back.

Hev had said that every day, too.

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Do you want to see me putting on a phoney 'horror' style voice to read one of my spooky stories (OK, NOT very seasonal, but hey! Any day is a good day for a horror story!)? Well, click here to find me reading the story "The Restless Wandering Shade"

Some HUGE news for me!

Another one of my steemit stories has been selected to appear in the Isle of Write Anthology!

“Haunted” is a ghost story (not that the title gave that away or anything) and it currently has 7 parts to it. But it isn’t finished yet. So I had better get on with it, hadn’t I…

It joins my 8 part story “Reunion” that was selected a few weeks ago.

Please support @isleofwrite by visiting their page and checking out their post, they are doing a great job of highlighting good writing, so if you like reading you should really check them out.

You too can be curated and find your story in an @isleofwrite anthology : read the post and find out how!

…

Other stuff by @felt.buzz

Very short stories (stories told in exactly 50 words)

“Dancing Together In The Sand”
A man dances in the sand at sunset
@felt.buzz/dancing-together-in-the-sand-an-original-fictional-tale-for-365daysofwriting-challenge-told-in-precisely-fiftywords

“Holiday”
A holiday. Is it really?
@felt.buzz/holiday-an-original-work-of-fiction-for-the-365daysofwriting-told-in-exactly-fiftywords

“Why?”
There is only one winner.
@felt.buzz/why-an-original-work-of-fiction-for-365daysofwriting-told-in-exactly-fiftywords

“Raining Love" an original fictional romance told in just #fiftywords]
@felt.buzz/raining-love-an-original-fictional-romance-told-in-just-fiftywords

“Blood Bath”
She likes a bath. Horror.
@felt.buzz/blood-bath-an-original-fictional-horror-story-in-just-fiftywords

“London”
Raining? Surely not.
@felt.buzz/london-an-original-fictional-story-for-365daysofwriting-challenge-told-in-fiftywords

“Dodgy Dave”
A con artist. He also drives a Dodge.
@felt.buzz/dodgy-dave-an-original-short-story-in-exactly-fiftywords-for-365daysofwriting

“Believe in Yourself”
A man in a homemade spacecraft in search of a mythical bridge
@felt.buzz/believe-in-yourself-an-original-science-fiction-story-told-in-fiftywords-for-365daysofwriting-and-fiftywords-challenge

“Love Will Defeat Hate”
Forbidden love.
@felt.buzz/love-will-defeat-hate-an-original-fictional-love-story-in-fiftywords-for-the-365daysofwriting-challenge

Some more of my short stories

“a missed opportunity”
Two lonely people with history. An entry for @fireawaymarmot’s week 2 contest click here for his latest contest
@felt.buzz/a-missed-opportunity-an-original-work-of-fiction-for-fireawaymarmot-s-writing-contest-based-on-his-original-song

“with joy and regret”
Nightmares come from within. Perhaps a reunion can help heal.
@felt.buzz/with-both-joy-and-regret-an-original-fictional-story-for-the-weekendfreewrite-freewrite-challenge

“Camping”
She didn’t mean to kill him. Did she?
@felt.buzz/camping-an-original-work-of-fiction-for-365daysofwritingchallenge

“The Hunt”
Sci-fi: Sam is off to bag some Uglies. Horrible pests they are… (this story was curated by @muxxybot)
@felt.buzz/the-hunt-an-original-work-of-fiction-for-the-365daysofwriting-challenge