Dream Snippet #2: Archeology and Mythology

[alexxkay]

(from a few nights ago)

I'm part of an archeological expedition (more Indiana Jones than realistic). There's a big hole in the ground, through which we can see ancient ruins. Shining in a light, we can see thatthe floor is about 50 feet down. There are some golden vases or bowls on pedestals, and part of the floor also shines golden. "It shines like a dragon's hoard..."

The head of the expedition is worried about safety issues, but I volunteer to go down. Accompanying me (for no obvious reason) is my friend E (43duckies). We look around the big chamber for a bit. E spots an opening in one corner. We go look, and see multiple passageways, including one that slopes down deeper into the earth. I get a strong feeling of recognition (like this was somewhere I visited in a game?), and tell E that I am quite sure there are Bad Things down there, and that we had better retreat at once. E starts heading back, and I follow.

Not wanting to leave completely empty-handed, I grab one of the golden vase/bowl thingies on the way out. As I reach the surface, I am stricken by a horrible realization, and begin apologizing incoherently to the other members of the team. They don't understand why I'm so upset.

I'm upset, because I've just realized that I'm inside a myth of a particular sort. I've stolen the golden cup from the dragon. That means that I, personally, will survive the story -- but a lot of innocent people will die due to my actions, including the head of my expedition.

Comments

[pseudohistorian.livejournal.com]

There was a Canadian series about ten years ago called MythQuest with that sort of premise, where the main characters end up inside myths and have to "play them out" in each episode. It was sort of a reverse Quantum Leap in that sense--they had to preserve the mythology as it was rather than "change it for the better."

[shava23.livejournal.com]

I immediately glommed the golden cup onto the one Bilbo nicks from Smaug, but I've just been re-reading The Hobbit. I think the first recorded instance of the trope is Beowulf, that I can think of.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Yeah, those were both in my head.