The Oblate Tower

THE OBLATE TOWER

By

Tom Morris

Published by Tom Morris at Smashwords

Copyright 2013, Tom Morris

Quadesh The Forgotten City.

The road from the High Plain down through the Hills of Jarrin is long, twisting, hot and dangerous in the extreme. Spined erbs hide in the tumbled yellow rocks, ready to pounce on the unwary and drag them back to their dens, there to be consumed at leisure. Where the road descends onto the arid salt flats sand flies swarm at night. Their eggs, laid in the nostrils and ears swiftly hatch into tiny burrowing grubs which chew way deep into the mucous membranes of their victims. High overhead the dark shapes of monstrous vulpine circle effortlessly on the thermals rising from the rocky outcrops, endlessly searching for their next meal. Emerging from the twisting gulleys and ravines onto the Desert of The Lost the traveller will finally see across the shimmering heat haze the ancient city of Quadesh, its multifaceted spires and domes catching the harsh light of the sun as it beats down with a relentless intensity from morn until dusk. In its midst rises the gigantic bulk of the Oblate Tower like an enormous flattened egg, squatting in the ungainly sprawl of the surrounding buildings. As the traveller draws closer he will realise that the city is in sad need of repair, its buildings eyeless shells amidst tumbled ruins, overgrown with ivy and scabbed golden and green with lichens. As he makes his way through the debris encumbered streets dark shapes may be glimpsed at the edge of his vision, secreted amongst the shadows. When finally he has reached the tower he will search in vain for a way in, no doors, entrances or other means of access are to be found. In times passed many came seeking to enter