🇹🇷 Jack and the Fire Below Cappadocia

The morning air over Cappadocia was cool and crisp. Hot-air balloons drifted across the sky like colourful marbles themselves. Jack watched them from the balcony of their small inn, the pouch at his side glowing softly.

“We’re not flying today, are we?” Ollie asked nervously, eyes on the sky.

Bernard chuckled. “No flying. We’re going underground.”

They travelled to the edge of Derinkuyu, one of the oldest underground cities in the world. A maze of tunnels and chambers carved deep beneath the earth by ancient hands.

“People used to live down there?” Lenny asked, peering into the stone entrance.

“For centuries,” Imogen replied. “And some say… they still do.”

The pouch tugged again.

As they descended into the darkness, lit only by lanterns, the silence grew deeper. At the third level down, Jack paused. Symbols etched into the walls began to shimmer faintly — as if recognizing him.

A stone tablet glowed to life, displaying a riddle:

“Where fire sleeps and shadows dance,
A marble lies within the trance.
Speak no flame, but bring the heat,
And light the heart beneath your feet.”

Bernard barked once. “It’s a test of warmth, not fire.”

They reached a circular chamber with a fire pit long extinguished. In the centre was a sealed stone plate — no keyhole, no handle. Just… cold.

Jack reached into the pouch.

A marble emerged — pulsing with a deep, flickering glow.

🔥 DRAGON FIRE

It was crimson with swirling orange and black veins, like lava caged in glass. It throbbed with heat, though Jack felt no burn.

“Dragon Fire,” Bernard whispered. “A marble of protection, power, and controlled fury. Used by the ancient guardians of the Marble Kingdom.”

Jack lowered the marble to the stone plate.

Nothing.

Until he spoke, softly. “I won’t use you to destroy. Only to protect.”

BOOM!

The plate split apart, revealing a glowing symbol carved into the ground — a fire rune from a lost language.

Pop!
Dragon Fire slipped into the pouch with a burst of warm light.

The walls of the chamber pulsed, then faded to darkness again.

As they emerged from the tunnels, the wind picked up and the sky shimmered.

“That one felt… alive,” said Jack.

“It was,” Bernard replied. “And now it’s yours.”

Imogen unfolded the map. “Next destination?”

Bernard wagged his tail. “Somewhere ancient. Somewhere blue. We’re going to Morocco’s northern neighbour — Spain.”