James' Expedition

You are standing at the start of a storytelling journey. Your responses will contribute to a story that will tell itself. The story will be made by many minds...woven into a pattern that no-one can foresee...the unthought tale…

There will be questions and challenges.

Let them echo in your memory. Use that memory as your starting point.

Please answer the following questions:

Day-time or Night-time? < James chose Night-Time

Ice or Fire? <James chose Ice

Gifts or Party? <James chose Gift

You are woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of laughter outside your window. You lie there listening. Then you get up and open the window. Who is outside and what have they brought?

James wrote

A one-eyed monk with shaggy, grey hair falling from below a pale, dome-like bald patch. He is holding a lantern.

The monk’s weather beaten face breaks into a toothless grin. His one eye is twinkling with merriment. He says ‘I hope I have not disturbed your slumbers. But I have a message for you…’

Suddenly he pushes the lantern into your hands. You are wide awake now and hold it up while he produces three scrolls from the folds of his robe. You can’t help laughing at the comical way in which he brandishes these scrolls before your eyes.

But suddenly, he becomes serious and says ‘you have been called, it is time to begin, your adventure awaits. Choose one of these scrolls…’

You look at the scrolls and see that each one has a fabulous wax seal with an image on it. You reach out and select one. Which one do you choose?

James wrote:

"Of the ancient temple of the fire god Ifrit.

"I hereby record my discovery for posterity. I have tried a thousand ways to make use of this secret myself, but have failed every time. It can't be done. But I firmly believe that knowledge should be used, and if it can't be used by the bearer, they must pass it on.

"There is an ancient temple in the mountains of Arabia dedicated to the god of fire, Ifrit. Only a handful of people have seen inside since the fall of Rome, and I am one of them. But, curse me, I never laid hands on the treasure within. And I accept that now I never will. An enchantment has been placed on the doors, the only entrance, by my arch nemesis, Dr Montague Blacklaw, which will hold in place for two-hundred years. It is unbreakable. I have tried for years to break it, but it simply can't be done without the one who placed it, and Blacklaw immolated himself the same day he put the spell on the doors. His final victory over me...

"I, of course, will not live long enough to since the spell lifted. And so I record my discovery here, so that in future generations, someone will be able to enter and recover the hidden vial.

"Contained in this vial is the Elixir of Fire, a potion that will grant the power to cure burns of any kind! I sought this for my son, who has suffered greatly from his wounds after our house burnt down. But I now know I can't help him. I hope someone in the future will be able to make use of this power...

"Professor Albert Quaintance, 1 January 1821"

'Incredible!' I think, once I've read the scroll. "Two hundred years have passed. The spell must have lifted by now!'

I turn to the Eyeless Monk. 'I must recover this Elixir,' I say. 'It may be able to save a life! It such a shame that it is too late for my wife, who died in a house fire a few years ago... But because I know the pain of loss, I know how much good this Elixir can do for someone else.'

'Very good' says the monk, smiling. 'My masters will be pleased you have taken up the task with such enthusiasm! Oh, and sorry to hear about your wife...'

The monk bows low with a ceremonial air, his one eye fixed on the scroll you are holding. The scroll snaps shut in your hands and the monk’s lantern glows brightly, making you close your eyes.

You have a sensation of rising up, going higher. When you open your eyes you realise that you are gripping onto the edge of a large basket, and above you there is a colourful silk canopy. You are floating through the sky in an old air balloon! You look around in the basket and see a backpack. You snatch it up, feeling a little bit queasy as the basket sways. You unbuckle the rucksack and find a small pickaxe, an old flask, a map and a compass. There’s a label stitched inside. It says ‘property of Professor Albert Quaintance. Do not remove without owner’s express permission’.

Now you dare to stand up and look down. A landscape is spread out far below. You can see trees, a river, a desert….and mountains. Unfolding the map you can pick out all these landmarks and read the spidery handwriting scrawled across the mountains that says ’The T. of I.’

The balloon is rising higher over the mountains but you must find a way of landing on them. You take the pickaxe and swipe desperately at the balloon. You manage to make a rip in it….the balloon begins to descend. The mountains come nearer...quickly....you’re going to crash. You crouch down, heart racing and BANG, the balloon lands, strikes the ground, turns over.

You crawl out, half dazed. You roll over onto your back, the world spins around you. The wind blows and whines, you are alone on a high mountain. But there’s something else in the air, a sound, a sort of chuckle, getting nearer. It’s rather familiar and there’s a footstep to go with it. Now there’s someone bending over you...wait a moment, how did he get here? It’s the monk.

‘Congratulations, you have made good progress, it’s very heartening to see such utter recklessness. But reckless willingness to endanger your life is exactly what you need...now….please….take one of these…’

The monk holds out three worn and dog-eared playing cards. They all look the same. You look into his twinkling humorous eye, then you look down at the cards. Which one should you choose?

You take a card, turn it over and at that moment a vision rises up in front of you. Which vision is it?

James chose the card in the middle

'Come back!' I yell into the mountain air. 'Come back!' But the one-eyed monk does not return. He must know something about my wife though, or how else would he have shown me that vision?

I sit on the grass of the mountain slope, my mind buzzing. My wife must still be alive. But where is she now? Why did she destroy our home and leave me alone like that? Or, was that vision even real?

I must track the one-eyed monk down and get answers. Suddenly I feel like I'm being led on a journey of his making. Is any of this even real? I hope, at least, that my wife is alive. But I still dread meeting her and finding out why she did this. Would she even tell me? I wonder if I know who she really is...

In time, I turn back to more practical matters. How will I track the monk down? I turn to the bag. Only one path from here is laid out clearly for me, I realise. I take out the map and find 'T of I' marked on it, just south of where I am now. With a great effort, I pull myself up and head in that direction over the rolling shoulders of the mountain.

As I walk, I think back to the three cards that the one-eyed monk offered me. What did the other two show? What if I had picked one of them, and not the one I did? Would I have never discovered the truth about the night of the fire? What other secrets about me does the monk possess? As I think, my stride becomes more purposeful.

I follow the map to a valley, and then a narrow corridor between two vast cliff faces. Eventually, the space opens out, but there's only one way to go. A large stone double door sits in the rockface. I thought I'd be excited to find the Temple of Ifrit, but now I dread what I'll see inside. What if it's a trap? I think of my wife, then I push the great doors open.

I see nothing but darkness- but then I realise a staircase is leading down into the earth. Taking one last look at daylight, I turn on my torch and descend.

Before long, the staircase stops and I find myself in a vast entrance hall. Enormous statues of forgotten gods loom over me, and between them many tall passageways lead into darkness. A much smaller statue stands in the centre of the room, of a figure wearing robes- then I see, it's not a statue at all! It's the monk! He smiles.

'Where's my wife?!' I yell, striding forward, oblivious to cacophony of echoes my voice creates. 'Where is she? What else are you hiding? Why have you led me here?!'

A deep laugh emerges from the monk, his one eye staring at me. A deeper, darker laugh seems to roll from the depths of the temple, from every direction, from beyond each of the shadowy passageways. I hear the doors behind me close with a bang.

I shine the torch into the monk’s face as the laughter rumbles and slowly falls silent around me.

The monk speaks softly : "I turn up in front of a lot of windows….and set a lot of challenges….you know that Albert Quaintance was one of my very first customers shall we say…"

I wonder at the absurdity of all this "That was a hundred years ago, how old are you…?"

The monk shrugs

"....but very few people accept the challenge and make it here….so….congratulations"

His smile is the smile of a crocodile...admittedly a crocodile with one eye….

I look around the temple, and wonder at the statues there. They are not of gods but of people...I see young and old, men and women, each taking a pose, striking an attitude...and each...with burn marks over their faces…

The monk is waiting for me to complete my inspection. "For every victim there is a rescuer and if you can find the one you know from among all these then it might be possible that you can leave with her….alive…."

Once again, the murmurs and laughter echo in the temple. Now I begin to understand the sardonic grin of the monk. He is playing with me.

I ask him: "So you are promising me that if I can find...my wife...here among all these statues...she will...will come back to life?"

The monk is grinning delightedly but has something else to add: "Well, that would be a little too easy...let’s just say that if you can find her she will return with you alive and well...but if you can’t then you will find yourself remaining here too….and …..there is the small matter of a time limit…"

The monk produces from nowhere a large sand timer and holds it up for me to see: "If you agree, then you will have thirty minutes to find your wife from among all these good people…"

I hear a rumbling sound from above and all around me. The doors must have opened again. The monk is watching me closely and now he nods approvingly

"You are determined...and you are quite correct, the doors have opened...so you can leave at any time...but…."

He holds the sand timer horizontally

"...if you forget the time, and do not complete the task, then you will become an extra statue in my collection…."

I look around again, and now I see that among the various statues there are ones whose expressions are filled with horror, with their heads turned towards the steps that lead to the outside world. These are the ones who failed…

I look back at the monk. A feeling of desperate determination fills me. I am unwilling to give him the pleasure of watching me retreat in the face of this daunting challenge.

I say: "Set the timer running, and I’ll see you outside…."

The monk, with his usual irritating flourish, puts the sandtimer down on a stone plinth. The sands glitter and gleam and a thin trickle begins to fall.

He says: "Begin!!!!!"

And so the challenge begins. I start to move around the great hall. I point my torch at all those faces of stone. I am desperately seeking the face of my wife….I must not...I cannot fail...

What happens? Does he find his wife? What happens then?