This is an entry for a flash fiction challenge put on at The Latinum Vault called Monday Mixer. There are quite a few rules but the important ones for you to know are I had to use exactly 150 words and had to choose a setting, object and adjective to use in the story. So, here it is:

Horvak, prince-regent of the Iron Cliffs, watched the beach grow larger as they approached, and nearly cried. At that moment it was the most beautiful bit of seashore imaginable. “Thank the gods,” he said.

“Indeed,” Atan, the albatross King, said. “Now, name the eight types of cloud we have passed through on our journey.”

Horvak owed a great debt to Atan for carrying him across the Ocean of Sorrows, but he would not be sorry to leave his pedantic ally. Still, as a matter of honor, he answered all Atan’s questions during their descent.

As Horvak faced the evil grotto, drew his broadsword, and prepared to enter, Atan tried to cheer him, “I can go no further, but I will await your return and bear you home.”

Horvak’s back stiffened, and he couldn’t help wondering if death at the hands of the titan Grokmah would really be so bad.

The End

Note: This story used 5 of the prompt words, instead of only 3, and qualifies for consideration in the the Overachiever category. The words used were: grotto, seashore, broadsword, albatross, pedantic