The Blueprint Leg
Walk deep into the forest and locate the entrance to the valley. It’s hard to see because there’s a fall of boulders blocking the entrance. You’ll need to scramble over or around. Be careful not to cut yourself. The rocks are sharp, and the blood will attract…things.
Once in the valley, the tree isn’t hard to find. It’s enormous. Mother Ash. She stands sentinel over the entrance. You’ll find it at her base, beneath her craggy skirts. Shimmy through the opening there, through sucking mud and clawing rocks, deeper into the earth.
You’ll find yourself in a narrow, muddy chamber; the only sources of light are what filters through Mother Ashe’s womb and the pale green fungus on the ceiling. Take the north corridor, and you’ll come to a small chamber, in the center of which stands a large gray boulder that has no earthly business in this part of the world. Its pinnacle is stained rust-brown from unspeakable acts, and the scent of iron and shit still lingers in the air.
Retreat from the room of sacrifice and turn west. Crawl along the muddy passage until you reach the downward grade. Careful, don’t slip! The mud is slick, and what waits at the bottom, well, let’s just say that the birthing room’s water is not fit for human consumption (although it is fit for the consumption of humans).
Now, it is time for the final leg. We must venture to the horrid heart of the miasma. Leaving the birthing chamber, turn north, then take the east passage. The roots are thick and clinging here; push through them and don’t listen to the voices, or you’ll be lost forever. Travel onward for what feels like days, and you’ll come to it. Push through the iron door. Ignore the wards scribed into the metal — they’re useless now, anyway. It was always too late. You find me there, waiting for you. Welcome, my love, to the end of the world.
Instructions
Leg 12 – The Blueprint Leg: Write your microfiction as a building plan. You heard me.
A floor plan of a haunted estate, of your new house, an evacuation diagram, or a city plan. Not “once upon a time”, but “this is about the dwelling”.
The building is the plot or a part of the plot, you choose! You might check out Strange Houses by Uketsu, which inspired this prompt! His unconventional book is a horror with floor plan information. (Yes, you too can supply the plan itself.)
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