Excerpt Number five and last of my '18 NaNo Novel

Dec 8. Coming closer to the day we celebrate God is with us and how God the Creator showed off His love for us in a very demonstrative way.

This is the last excerpt of my ’18 Nano novel. Next week I will post four or five mini stories. I haven’t done that for a while. The week after will be a Christmas tale or two written by me. After that I will continue with the serial Airship Battle.

This is from chapter ten-there are twelve and starts with in the middle of a battle. They have to get to the house-temple of the wargod off to one side of a city under siege. It is suppose to be deserted but maybe not after all.

This has 3,375 words-a tiny bit long-and has been spell checked and a little bit revised. More complete revising and probably a new chapter when I get it ready for publishing.


They swung at each other, with some of the blows non-threatening for they missed. Jar’s managed to impact the man though. The other joined in. Jar had to increase the speed of his blows as he went back and forth to block the incoming blows.
Both men looked for openings and either would find one soon. His arm absorbed the hard blows but soon even he would get warn down. He concentrated on magic, drew in energy, it rushed in and filled his inner self, and just shoot it out in the form of colored lights, an easy sending.
Both men backed up, not to escape the lights but to make sure he couldn’t come in with a cut or stab. But he had figured they would do that. He spun around to one side so that when their sight cleared he was no longer in front of them. By the time they found him he had hit one of them.
He had pulled his dagger out and now charged at the man who first attacked him. He came in from the side and used a full body blow. The man stumbled sideways and knocked the other man’s sword arm. The first man missed his step again when he realized that his chest had been sliced open right above where his cuirass ended. It wasn’t bad for Jar hadn’t had good leverage but it went across his upper chest and hurt.
Both guards recovered very quickly, faster than Jar had hoped, but the one still had to untangle his arm. Jar went in and the second man with his dagger, It went into the side of his arm instead of the side of the man’s chest but it made a hole almost all the way through that arm, damaging the muscle. Jar pulled it out, spun in time to raise his sword to block a blow for he had seen a shadow move and knew what was coming.
Jar managed to recover traded two swings and somehow ended up almost side by side with the guy. He reached out and because he couldn’t get his blade against the man Jar swung back to hit the just under the top of the cuirass with the pommel of his sword. The man grunted and stood there for a moment like he was stunned. Jar reached back of the man grabbed his far shoulder and spun him into the second man who managed to switch hands and came at Jar. Both men fell, Jar kicked one sword away. A bit of sending and the other sword stuck to the ground.
He moved over to where the strong man was having problems. His opponent now had dented armor, which included a streak down the side of his helm. But he was still awake and active. Jar moved slowly behind him, he picked up a helmet that had fallen and put it on. The soldier tried to get by the strong man’s swings which were slowing. Jar tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Its me.”
The man said, “Not now,” through what sounded like gritted teeth.
“I bet you can’t take him in ten heartbeats.”
“What?”
“I bet you cannot beat him in ten heartbeats.”
“Go away.”
“Sorry can’t do that.”
“Why not, I am busy.”
“Not any more.”
At that he sent and flicked his wrist. The man helmet flew of. He spun around faster than Jar thought he could but Jar still managed to punch him in the chin hard. The soldier stepped backwards and fall. Jar knelt fast and punched him again.
Jar said, “I win the beat, you lost.”
He went through the man’s pockets quickly and found a coin purse. A glance inside showed gold and silver.
“I will take this as my winnings.”
The man cursed and struggled to get up. Jar moved and said, “You lost.”
The strongman brought down his club. The soldier grunt and his eyes closed. Jar didn’t know if he was dead or would wake with a very bad headache and he didn’t care to find out.
He stood. The others had won, Rosa had helped John after she killed her third appoint. He had been afraid someone would die. He waved for them to move on. He could hear clashes of fighting some in the far distance echoing through the city and some near by. Those last might be just guards fighting hoodlums but better not to find out.
Again they stayed to the shadows. Two houses further and they all dropped to the street when a large rock crashed down nearby. Jar heard it roll down a street and wreck another house. They continued on.
They came to the correct house. Jar hadn’t noticed it at the time but this was the largest house in the area. He had seen the other buildings he took to be guest or servant houses but now he wondered if they were actually storehouses for weapons and maybe soldiers who wanted to work for the wargod. They had tricked everyone into thinking there were just a few when it reality it had been thousands more from what Juan had said. How they found the ritual to make a key like they did he didn’t know. It sounded like there had been very few who knew you could make a skeleton key for that much less how to.
The gate was closed and looked to be in better shape than most of the other houses. It had been shined and looked new. Taller than the walls by a man’s height and wide enough for three horses to go through at the same time, without touching their sides. Black and brown, thick wood with a dozen iron bands around it. He new they were thicker than his little finger was long. The pastor door seemed part way open. Nice of them to leave it unlocked for them, but just to be on the save side they would go in another way. Not the same way as before though.
After a search he found a small gate along one side. A tiny thing he must have missed in his searchers, so he corrected himself by looking closer at it. There may be or may not be alarms on it. Jar’s stomach let him know with a loud rumble that sounded like a storm at sea that he had reached a point where he needed food.
No time for that but he needed, they all did, energy and it would embarrassing not to say unhealthy if his stomach sounded like that while trying to sneak into the house. With a movement of his head showing resignation he waved everyone back.
The wife and daughter had searched the bodies back there and had found some food, untouched by blood or inner body parts. That included some squashed bread and cheese, and of all things nuts. They all ate fast, and talked while eating. Jar thought they should go up over the gate. That would be the lease likely to have strong wards and alarm spells. The strong man thought they should just bash through the gate fast, there were broken columns and trees to use to batter it down.
Jar said, “Yes we could, but you are still hurt and are tired, we may need your strength later. The elf might be able to open it with his sendings but that would alert anyone in there too. Best make it as easy and less noisy as possible.”
The daughter said, “They may know you are out here already and it won’t matter what we do or how we get in.”
He nodded, “Yes that is true. I have considered that already but even if they know I am out here, the less time they know that I am inside the better.”
They all nodded with that.
A moment later he thought about adding, and it would be better in there than being caught out here by his troops. He could hear fighting and rocks being thrown about inside the city. They would be here very soon.
They hurried to the small gate and while helping each other up-they were show people after all-he finished his beard and cheese together.
Up on the wall top they soon jumped down the other side. All quiet and fast. He thought about leaving the wife and daughter but not with the troops coming. No where would be safe for them.
Rosa surprised everyone including Jar by jumping the wall. She had hurried down the street than galloped down it fast then sailed over the gate, wall and wards. She landed lightly as Jar expected. They made their way to a side door that servants had used. He thought about climbing up the outside wall like last time but they might be expecting that. Besides more than likely the temple would be in the basement.
The place smelled of bad magic, and old air. He heard nothing but their breathing. The guards and dogs had probably joined the soldiers but he didn’t trust that. There would be someone here to guard this place especially after they realized he would be headed this way with that first paper key.
On the way to the side door though he had a thought. If they went inside and headed for the basement and he tied his pack with the letter in it Rosa’s back, they might not know he was going up the outside. He hated to part with it but if he failed they would still have a chance of closing the gate that allowed the wargod out.
Or better yet they would think he still had it and would follow him and think the troupe were worthless. He nodded and he touched Rosa’s horn. He explained the plan. The unicorn could close the gate or as the case might be, reopen it and let the wargod be pulled back in. She would know what to do. From what she said, unicorns stayed out of opening and closing gates but they could since they worked magic.
She agreed for the warlord meant to either control unicorns or kill them. Any of the rest of the team could place the letter on the correct lock. He figured it could be any type of box, or plate or flat surface which might hold the key by magic, long enough to unlock and wake the wargod. Of course that had already been done but the altar, or whatever one called it, should still be handy.
He would help them open the front door but then he would just jump up and climb up the front of the building. They could react like they didn’t know what he was up to. They could go inside and just sit a spell, if nothing happened or was there to stop them, but after a few minutes take off for the basement.
Not much of a plan but it was the least complicated which might help the other side fall for it.
Jar looked around the door and he could smell old blood mostly human but also something else he wasn’t sure about. Maybe they had used blood deaths to enhance the wards on the door, or maybe it was the blood of one of the adherents of the god that he had pretended to be at the beginning of this. The two of them may not have taken no for an answer and so were shut up. Maybe a traitor to them they had made an example of. It didn’t matter that much, even though some.
The wards on the door were not as powerful or as hard a he figured they would be. After a long moment he found one ward and joined it. He found the basic spell under all of the extras, reshaped and twisted his sending energy until it fit even with that basic ingredient. He held out his hand palm out and concentrated. His sending eased itself in and hitched onto the basic one that Jar had found.
The unicorn let him use some of her magic so that he had what he needed. The door’s wards let him move closer and he used a tiny branch-harden by a sending fire. In no time he had the main lock undone. He pulled out as easy as if he had used the right key. Next he eased into the ward that notified someone that the door had opened. This time he stayed in long enough to tie two sections of that ward together so that when the door opened it would seem to be fine to the ward because the two parts would still be touching.
His legs started to complain and he knew that last bit had taken too long. Sweat rolled down his back and even though no one voiced any thoughts he suspect all of them wanted him to get a move on. With the possible except of the daughter.
Jar pulled his essence back toward his body. It stopped at one point. He blinked and pulled. Nothing: he didn’t move back to his body. Sweat formed on his forehead and threatened to get in his eyes while he checked out what held him.
There two sharp points made of magical energy. Not everyone would be able to see them. He concentrated more. Then he sent out two bits of energy. One hook pulled back but the other one stayed. He shook his head, He just wanted to go in a corner and stare at a wall. Memories came up from his childhood, his first failures at sending and more. He missed his mother even though he had barely met her. He remembered discovering his ears were like hers. But she went away anyway.
Even when he blocked those thoughts he wanted to give up and cry. He tried to back off then to slide sideways through it but this wasn’t a physical hook grabbing his clothes or even skin. It had a hold of his psychic. It had to be made to let go.
He moved closer and studied it. It should let go.
Oh, there a tiny part had gone in deeper. That could be why his thoughts and emotions had taken the turn they had. He traced the near invisible, even to him, line and saw where it ended. Once there however he found it easy to unhook it. Maybe because he knew these thoughts mind pictures that made his emotions so heavy. He had fought with them for a lot of his life even when things went well.
The hook fought him but he managed to send it back to the larger hook and to unhook it. Once free he spent to more time there, but was back where he belonged in less time than took to think it. His muscles relaxed, by that he knew they all had tensed, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Even though somewhat easy that was the hardest those heavy emotions had hit in years.
He opened the door just wide enough to allow everyone in. He didn’t want to take any chances. Once each member of the troupe was in he closed it and made sure it would stay closed.
John said, “Hey, you’re not in here.”
“Sorry,” at that he flexed his knees and leapt up to grab hold on the shelf like ornamentation above the door. The only way he could make it was because he had elven like strength.
He pulled his body up all the way, stood on that shelf that was only half of one of his feet wide. He found a copy of that head again-he assumed it was the original head the wargod had. He may still have it but Jar hadn’t seen the base of that dark cloud to be able to tell.
The stone was rough, and warmed by the sun. The troupe had spoken longer but now had given up since they could not shout.
Up higher and he smelled fresh bird poop. With no one living there birds could perch here, or they had a, probably, large bird guard. He better keep an eye out for one.
The third story had more dust and accumulated bird droppings and bat guano. Evidently the staff didn’t get this far with their cleaning. He really should tell the mansion’s owners about their sloven ways. Except they may know about it and not care. This was further up than most people would be able to see or smell after all.
What they left behind, even the dried very old crap, made the stones more slippery then they would normally be. Not to mention he wanted to say yecch every time he reached for the next hand hold. He had his hands in worse messes a time or two, but not recently.
The rough stones up here were hard on his hands but at least it helped to negate the slippery surfaces. His feet were another matter, however. They tended to slip on any surface. Maybe he should take off his boots and socks.
He shook his head, for when he licked his upper lip, he got sweat on his tongue. He continued anyway: there was no other option. He couldn’t let the average citizen down, not even the rich deserved the wargod-well, most of them didn’t.
When he reached the fifth floor, the one he wanted, he reached for the next ledge, grabbed it and tested it to make sure it would not come apart when he pulled on it. The builders could have used more stronger stones instead of porous ones. Too many of course and the house would fall down not too long ago. Out here though no one know what had been used. Someone hired to fix and maintain things here would probably notice if they came up here. The staff didn’t but a repair man might. But they may not care what someone on the economic level thought of their house. Might not care how the staff thought of them either, as long as they did their jobs.
His thoughts continued, and distracted him from exactly how dangerous this was. One slip and he would fall four stories. He might hit the hard marble walkway or the little softer grass on dirt or a taller bush that might break his fall in a good way depending on how strong their branches were. He had a better chance here in the front though than he had when he climbed the side of the house.
He reached for the next level’s decoration pocket and pulled up. Just as his head cleared the level a huge black shape came at him and a heavy guano stink filled his sinuses. Some auto defense?
Jar reared back and one arm jerked.
His fingers on that hand slipped. He reached forward with the other even as the shape came at him. That hand slipped on fresh dung as he realized the shape belonged to a bat, twice as large as his head. It had fangs and probably sharp, pointed teeth.
Even while the fingers of both hands slipped, he thought this could be the reason the staff were lazy out here. He reached out with each hand but both set of fingers slipped again. His head went back in the beginning of a fall.
Wind went by his head, the weight of his body pulled his hands from even the slippery hold they had caught.
He felt his fingers leave the stone, now air lay beneath them. His body dropped at the same time the bat flew over him. Its out wings touched his face and the wind of its passage seem to send him down even faster.
Jar tasted bile but couldn’t spit it out,
Out of instinct, for his mind had gone blank, he reached out again; any port of safety would do. His hands grabbed stone, his body jerked. Almost hard to enough to pull him loose again, but he had fallen only about a foot.
He still heard a crack of stone.


end excerpt

Excerpt two of my '18 NaNo Novel Paper Key

It is the beginning of chapter three. I am skipping chapters because I am only going to be doing four, possibly five, excerpts. I think I am doing well. The tale is flowing and I know where my hero is going even not all of the specifics. This is my sixth year-maybe seventh all together-and even though I may not do it next year this is fun. And it gets a novel done much faster than usual, even though I will have to revise and lengthen the novel afterwards.
Oh, I didn't use a lot of names here-called one guy the strongman-because even though I named them in the first chapter I forgot what name I used in some cases. One of the revising things I need to do.


Begin excerpt
The troupe arrived at the next town with injuries. The caravan they had chosen had been attacked twice. Once at night after everyone had settled in for bed and sleep. The elf had heard something so the attack had not been the surprise the gang of raiders thought it would be.
Jar had been the first to be up. He grabbed the crossbow and three bolts then headed out in the direction the attack seemed to come from. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes, while the chilly night woke him more. Clouds covered the stars and moon, even though gaps allowed the moon to shine down every so often.
He shook his head at the brazenness of the robbers. This area was kept cleared of all raiders by two neighboring cities who worked together, so it was usually avoided by gangs. Of course something could have happened to one or both of those cities.
Jar saw five riders come his way. Something funny there but he shot one anyway. When the rider fell from his horse, the one next to him reigned in and the other three slowed. Not for long, however. Jar shot a second one, but he didn’t fall. It looked like the bolt had only winged him.
When he breathed in he smelled horse droppings and clean air-a contradiction but it was what his mind said. The wind shifted. He gauged it and shot the third bolt. Another of the riders fell but he cried out when he hit so he may still be alive, Jar thought.
He spun around and ran back toward the troupe’s location for the night when he realized that there had to be other riders. Before he reached the camp he heard horse hoofs just before another five riders over ran the perimeter-which wasn’t that hard really-and rode into the encampment very close to where he ran.
Jar changed directions slightly to go for the closest robber. However, just as he reached for the rider, the robber fell off his horse. No blood and when moon shine shone on his face, he looked asleep.
Magic traces floated up. Hmm, someone else can do magic here. And they do not like to kill.
He switched target but this time the horse tipped over. The rider sprang away before the horse could touch the ground. Jar ran his way and punched the man hard, before he knew anyone was there. He turned on Jar but Jar got in another punch that threw the robber’s head back. The man recovered though and pulled out a knife. Jar shrugged and in a heartbeat had his knife out. The robber looked surprised but also determined.
They circled each other and both feinted. Another circle and again Jar pretended to attack. This time though the robber went with it, swung around, came toward Jar with more speed. Jar had to jump back to avoid the blade. They went back and forth. Jar swung but the robber used his knife as a block. Jar copied him two heartbeats later.
At one point Jar swung out too far and the robber was there with a quick stab to Jar’s middle. He reverse the direction his arm moved in and scored a slice of the top side of the robber’s arm. Blood scent filled Jar’s nose. The robber ignored the blood and probably the pain.
So the robber must use a dreamer to block any pain and to make himself faster. Jar thought about using his magic to rid the robber’s system of the dreamer. But he was a bit slow and the robber nicked his side twice.
Jar back handed the robber hard but he only staggered back three steps, then came at Jar again. Just then the robber looked surprise than fell asleep. Jar stepped back to make sure he was really asleep. The spell must work through the dreamer.
Three other attackers lay on the ground. Two looked dead with blood all over them. That may not mean much though if some of the blood belonged to someone else. A thruak noise sounded: a robber, with a mail vest, went down with an arrow in his chest.
A cross rain of wood began as a few of the raiders started to show bows and crossbows.
Jar turned to send a shield spell toward a family with four children. He turned back when a shadow reached for him. More torches and lanterns were lit and the new light showed a curved sword in the middle of a swing toward his shoulder. Jar willed his body to flip and to move sideways. It did faster than he thought possible but something sharp dug into one shoulder even as he spun out of the way.
Blood flowed down his arm and back. His leather and chain shirt had hindered the blade’s course into his shoulder but it still bit him. He landed on the ground to avoid another swing, but the horse’s hoofs danced his way. The shiny black hoofs with muscles that could move hundreds of pounds of meat faster than a man could run, came his way.
A burst of air escaped his mouth as he wanted to shrink into a ground squirrel hole. The bottom of one hoof cane at his face. He managed to scoot sideways so that it pounded the soil next to his ear. Dirt particulars blasted his ear and side of his face. Dirt got into one eye.
He rolled away and drew his longest knife. In a feat of panic he lifted his torso up enough to knick the horse with the knife. He hadn’t wanted to kill the animal when a knick should cause it to back off.
The knife went in almost too easy but when the cutting edge started to break through its skin the horse whined and reared. The hoofs came back down fast but on top of another area of ground.
It jerked back and reared again with a high pitched whiny. This time its hoofs landed a few feet away from Jar’s face. He took that to mean he had chased it away for now and rolled sideways and up. He got all the way up to his feet, which stretched some of his leg muscles more than it should have. He ran toward their camp.
Half way to it he ran by a raider on horseback. The man had an arrow nocked and ready to let fly. He must have been concentrating on his target for he didn’t seem to notice Jar. A mistake Jar decided to use. He reached up, snaked his arm through the space between the man’s arm and his wrist, grabbed the raider’s waist from the inside and pulled down.
The sudden movement caused the man to let go of the string and the arrow shot outward, but his aim had been knocked off which sent the arrow off to one side. It must have nicked a horse for one reared almost hitting its rider who had to duck and weave.
Jar’s man slipped off of his saddle headed for the ground. He hit hard powered by Jar who punched him in the chest once, then straightened and ran again. It took him four more heartbeats to reach the space around the troupe’s camp.
Four robbers had them under a sort of siege. He sent a throwing star into the back of one of the. He threw it extra hard and fast but his clothes most have partially block the star, for the robber arched his back in pain but then ignored it.
Jar picked up a half fist sized rock and threw it at the head of the same robber. The throw had been off a bit for the rock only crazed the side of the robber’s head. It bounced off the man’s ear.
He turned around this time. Good it got his attention away from the camp.
The robber snarled, spat and said something, Jar just shook his head and ran toward the man. The robbed looked surprised but brought up his sword. Before Jar could reach him however, something hit him and spun him around.
Jar panted hard, wiped sweat off of his forehead and looked down. Arrow stuck out of the robber’s side.
Jar could smell split blood and his own sweat as he looked at the man. He may not by dead so Jar ran up to him, punched him in the back of the head then ran toward the camp. He turned when a noise sounded from the right side. A robber came their way on horseback but before he could reach the camp he collapsed and fell off his horse. Seeing no arrow shaft he thought the man had fallen asleep.
So the wizard was still at it, good.
Jar continued to run toward another robber, he jumped high than came down on the man’s back. Both fell forward and Jar hit him on the head. Then, though, his head connected with the robber’s. Pain shot through his head and he saw stars. Even through the pain and nausea, he managed to shove his hands against the robber’s back to shove himself backwards; and the robber forward.
Jar hoped the man had the same pain and sight problems as he did. He landed on the grass on his face. His nose felt squashed and grass got in his mouth. He spat it back out. His sight cleared and he stood, even though he wobbled. The robber stayed down, Jar studied him, then checked closer. The man was dead. Jar blinked he hadn’t done anything to kill him that fast. Unless his neck had gotten broke.
No time to check on that. He started to run again even though he was almost at the wagon. One robber must have heard his footsteps for he turned and ran toward Jar. But it had been a mistake to witch his attention. The strong man came out from the wagon and swung his long handles club. The tip connected hard with the robber’s head. The man’s helm went flying and he fell.
An arrow flew at he strong man, he swung his club up but it only deflected the arrow. It sliced through his tunic and cut his shoulder a nice long slice. The strong man cried out but he kept on the move.
Soon though the surviving raiders rode off. Two on one horse. Jar shook his head, and wondered if they had gotten anything to remotely make it worth their time and loses. Jar went through the robber’s pockets and such seeing if he could find anything of interest.
Nothing but a few coins, three sliver, two smaller gold and four larger copper which hadn’t seen in ages, which he kept. He found a blue crystal on a chain around the robber’s neck, but it wasn’t worth much. The next robber was the same: a few coins with small gold, silver and those larger copper ones, and a blue crystal. The third one was still alive, Jar could smell more blood on him but the injuries didn’t seem life threatening, if the bleeding wasn’t stopped that is and no infection formed.
Jar found the blue crystal and when he grabbed it, the robber fought him-as much as possible that is. The man, growled and jerked then tried to smash in the side of Jar’s face but he had been able to use less than half the strength needed for that. He thought for a moment that a metallic taste formed in his mouth but it could be only residue from earlier when he bit his lip. He moved Jar’s head but not enough to do any damage. Jar let go of the crystal though. As he had thought already it wasn’t worth much and he now figured it was used as an identifying. It could also be a key to the gang’s hideout. Some have used a certain word to open a side of a mountain but usually it was a key: a piece of something that had a magical force embedded in it. It didn’t usually amount to much but it was attuned to the magic that open a secret door, when they touched the door would open. Sometimes it depended on a simple spell to for the key, at times it took a moderately tough spell and there are times it took a very specific ritual, with lots of hard to do parts. Sometimes the last could take days with exhausting actions and spells. You had to know just the right ones, done in the correct order with absolutely no slip ups.
This one he thought would have been very simple but maybe not. When the robber gasped, jerked upright then fell back dead, Jar pulled off the cord that had kept the key around the robber’s throat. One never knew when something like this could come in handy.
Once he had the crystal in his pocket, then checked over the robber’s body. He found his throwing star still in the man’s clothes and he found three medium gold coins, six sliver and a mixture of the large copper coins with small ones and a medium one, than the other had. Once he finished he hurried on to the camp. John greeted him with a smile.
“How is everyone?”
“Fine, the strong man was injured but he will heal okay. No one else got hurt.” John looked closer though then said, “No one except for you that is. We are save now, take off that guard jerkin and let us treat that shoulder. It most hurt.”
Jar shock his head but then decided that it did hurt a lot. He had blocked out most of the pain but it did need some help plus his padding and leather shirt needed cleaning and fixing.
He let them help him off with it and let loose a short yell only at the last when it pulled away from his arm. He smelled his own blood, not for the first time. And in the torch and lantern light saw it. The color was off, more red than an elf’s would be but not quite as red as human’s. He didn’t know if anyone noticed, except for the full elf that is. He would be able to smell the difference anyway. The elf didn’t say anything though when he saw Jar look at him, he gave a very short shoulder shrug.
Jar wiped his face and his head jerked back. There must have been some of his blood on the back of his hand. Yecch, he hated it when any blood but especially his, got in his mouth.
A sudden sensation of hot and pain at his would caused him to cry out again and to jerk forward away from it. He heard a feminine cry and turned. There stood the daughter with a wet rag in her hand which was raised. She looked surprised and maybe frightened.
He said, “I’m sorry, I should have seen you there.”
Jar turned back around and backed up a bit.
He said, “Go ahead I am ready this time.”
She must have thought about it or saw her mother nod at her, for a few seconds later he felt the heat and pain again when she pressed the rag against it.
He held in the next yip, and gritted his teeth while she cleaned around the wound, being as careful as she could.
Next the mother wrapped it twice securing the bandage with a couple of thin vines she had collected during their journeys. He flexed his left arm. The bandages and wound made it stiff but he could still use it. He thanked them both.
Later, after the bodies were cleared out, he found that no one in the caravan had been killed, three had been wounded like him and the strong man though. The robbers who had been put to sleep woke suddenly and found themselves surrounded by armed men while their weapons had disappeared. They let themselves by taken captive. One tall, skinny man though kept yelling insults to them all. They were placed in cages one member of the caravan carried along with empty barrels and wood boxes. They would be turned over the city guard or high sheriff to this county when they reached the next town.
The rest of the night and the next day went well. The cloths that doubled as bandages were changed two but kept on after the second time because the bleeding had stopped and he seemed to be healing fine. He always healed faster than most humans probably because of his elven father.
Seven days later they were two days outside of the next town: Cobalt, which was known for a quarter that had been colored blue probably during a much earlier wizard war. The buildings, trees, ground all wore the same shade of blue. New bushes, trees and grassed that grew from old ones were all blue. A couple of people have tried to transplant the blue trees but they lost their strange color a few months after the transplant, if they survived at all. Cobalt also had a wide and tall wall, a large church and political buildings even though it was considered a town. A further ride on the mule cart, and they would be there.
However, another robber band had other ideas.



End excerpt.

Revised first segment of chapter one of Journey of Mystery

All along I planned on Indie publishing this novel so I thought it wouldn't hurt to do a serial on Google+ as I wrote the first draft. Actually I posted version 1.5 since I revised some of it each segment before I posted it.

Anyway, I have finally started the next and hopefully final revision of the whole novel. So this is a preview of Chapter one. It will be months before I get the whole book revised but a couple of previews are in order. I may do some touch ups here and there-I am still not completely comfortable with the first line-but this is basically it.

The novel is a genre I made up as I began the book: preindustrial steampunk-fantasy. It has elves, dragons, werewolves, airships, fairies, the first steam cars and aether devices and weapons. No gunpowder and just the beginning of anything like trains.

The first chapter will be split up into three segments of over 2,000 words each. This one is 2,500 and some.

I am working on a different title, for I think this one is too cliche-ish, and I will throw in a couple of alternates as I post these segments

Journey of Mystery:

A Weapon: one reason I led this journey was to be a weapon to defend the men who went with me. 

       My thoughts drifted in that direction when I stared at the horizon over the sea. At the moment I had little to do—at worse I would be in the way if I tried, at best I was a supercargo unneeded at the moment. My time of importance would come.

      The airship, The Seagull Storm readied to rise. We were headed out to find something I couldn’t describe. I didn’t have anything to do at the moment so my mind went off in dark directions on its own. We carried weapons and would buy more, but one of my purposes was to protect the crew.

          My name is Roger Twowinds and I am a native of this part of the American continent. I stand taller than average with a light build, perhaps because I have a training routine I carry out every day. I am also a wizard and for the first time in command of an expedition. 

         Hawsers dropped off as the crew untied them. Some plopped onto the hard, beaten ground while others dragged for a moment before members of the crew drew them back aboard the airship. Once up members of the crew looped them up in The Seagull Storm’s riggings. I stood on the low quarter deck near the wheel, which enabled me to see almost everything as I watched the crew, while I stayed out of their way. The pillions and masts that held up the large gasbag blocked my view in places but I knew what the airship looked like. It had the appearance much like an ocean going schooner with balloons instead of main sails. The Muser accelerators or aether drives hummed and sparked with colors only I could see, for they were ready to lift us. The Seagull was fast which was one reason I wanted it. It would have to fly and maneuver very quickly as a defense from ariel beasts. I didn’t know if the screaming part of the name was to invoke thoughts of a seagull about to attack, a fear yell, or just an expression of frustration over the exploits of its thirty man crew.  It could be all three.

         Many of my journals and scrolls contained short references to something very powerful that had been lost—someplace—with no description of what it looked like. The writers may have thought everyone knew, or they may have decided that it was too dangerous for anyone to know what it looked like. I read many old journals, scrolls and even books. A few months ago, while I again read certain texts, a new thought formed in my mind. It grew into a desire and lodged in my heart. I knew the artifact needed to be hidden where no one could find it, or something bad would happen. Why Me? I had no idea except that I knew of it. It had been lost so many centuries ago that no one knew of it anymore. I had asked some subtle questions. Only two older mages had even an idea of what it was. So my knowledge may have left me the only one able to find it and secrete it. 

         The Captain yelled orders, but the crew knew what needed to be done by long practice and they worked hard. A ground crew, which included young boys, gathered the ropes on the ground. They did so while running with joyous yells, as if in the middle of a contest to see who got the most ropes. They took them to one of the three short, long buildings to one side. Many of the children had the same reddish color of skin as I did for they, as well as I, were natives to this land. Most of the remainders wore pale skin, while a couple had olive skin. These were first or second generation of colonists.

          A mixture of sea, fresh and rotten fish, of men working hard, pine, and left over baking bread odors drifted around me. Pine trees, with a few apple and maple trees mixed in, bordered on three sides the dirt landing field we lifted from, which lay not many yards from the sea. There a small beach and tiny wharf slipped into the water. A few fishing boats and canoes sat tied up or on the sand. That is where the fish smells came from. That was why workers here ate seafood at most meals. It was cheap enough and obviously plentiful which made it cheap. They had bread and different types of mush also. Sometimes that odor would be so strong I could taste it, but that may have been my memory of last night’s seafood stew, since I love seafood. 

          I put away that memory and stared outward considered my quest. My thoughts boarded on dark ones. I didn’t know what we looked for and this was the first time I have led an expedition like this. I have been in charge of two and three men while with my tribe and later while I trained at the MAGE school, but this was larger than any group I have led. I didn’t know if I had what it took to search for what my research had found, or to order a crew and especially the fighters around. We would no doubt participate in battles against dangerous beasts and men, so Captain Teil suggested I hire a band of mercenaries who were used to hard work, and the supernatural. I found a group of fifteen which included two sergeants and two lieutenants. The airship was very crowded, but the holds were only half filled which gave the mercs room to sleep and to do some easy training. Captain Teil, his officers and the unit’s head people would give the actual orders in most cases, but I would need to direct them and to give the command to fight or not, and where. I shook my head once to dispel those thoughts and emotions. I would rise to the occasion because I needed to for I have been trained well and had experience on quests .

              Teil shouted my name from the other side of the wheel, and gave my a thumbs up. Roger isn’t my birth name, but I have used it for so long it is comfortable. Twowinds is a shorten version of my surname, I use it because of familiarity. Besides there are aspects of wizardry that can use a person’s or thing’s real name for mischief. 

            The cool wind picked up speed as we moved. It blew open my wizard robe to show the buckskin pants and tan cotton tunic that I wore under it. My shoulder length black hair flipped around. I like that feeling, so I didn’t tie or cover it. 

       The Seagull was the fastest airship of its type and size, from anywhere. I have seen it outrace pirates and outmaneuver warships of most sizes. It showed that speed when its crew stumbled upon a nest of warships from Northern Newhampshire. That was over a year ago and he may have been smuggling or just trying to set down for the night. That was a bad few minutes from what I understand but they made it. Its speed and ability to turn fast, or to pivot under the right conditions is why many think of Teil is a pirate. I know he isn’t. He may smuggle now and then depending on the item and other circumstances, but he never raided another airship, sea ship or a town. 

       For a moment I looked back over the land we had risen from. Three small barn-like buildings had been built here which now were used for airships—a few upside down U shaped frames for the tie done ropes, decorated the area. They looked much like the hitching posts horse riders use to tie their mounts to. Most were wood even though five larger ones had been made of thick metal. This wasn’t a proper airship field, but it worked for the traffic my village and the school had. I made out a few holes in the  hard dirt where large airships had used steam powered huge crossbows or gearguns to send a long bolt deep into the soil. They used the bolts to tie the ships down. Then somehow pulled the bolts back out to take them with them. 

       I turned back to study the Seagull. The steering wheel sat toward the aft end even though on an airship it didn’t matter where it was located. The gears and lines it operated pulled at the steering sails and smaller balloons. Toward the front a low shack like structure graced the deck. It sat with space on both sides to walk. It housed a galley, the Captain’s cabin, along with a dinning area for special dinners. There were storage closets in there too. As the one who hired the ship my cabin was in there too. It was a bit smaller than the Captain’s, but had more room than my usual cabin. A head was down a short passageway. The Captain had his own. 

      When the Seagull floated over a large pit full of fish heads, tails and bones a rotten stink filled my nose.  As bad as that smelled it still reminded me of the clam, mussel, trout stew we had last night. A little burnt but still I had seconds. I liked seafood which was fortunate for where I choose to live. Near but not in where my ancestors have lived for two hundred year, at least. 

        I looked up. The wooden hull hung from a cigar shaped gasbag, longer in both directions than the boat. Its shape and design also helped to make the Seagull move as fast as it did. Four smaller balloons graced each side of the large one, for extra lift and for protection of the main gasbag. The airship’s flat bottom looked black while the gasbag was grey and blue. The coloring had been designed to make it harder to see once in the air, especially at night. Another reason some had the mistaken thought he was a pirate. 

      The sound of many feet on the wood deck meant the crew finished the hurried preparations even as we lifted. It had taken what seemed like an extraordinary amount of time—months—to get ready. We had to plan for many conditions since I had only a hunch of where to start the search. We needed special supplies and provisions for the cold we headed for. And we had needed to wait for the mercs. I knew of some who might go, who were well trained and trustworthy but we had to contact them and to negotiate the price. I had also had to plan on some weapons we needed to have made to fight half-dragons, heaven forbid full dragons and anyone we met that were hostile to us. Both me and Captain Teil had made enemies over the years.   

      I looked upward at the men in the riggings. The Seagull carried sails but smaller ones, much like a fore topsail on seagoing schooners. They sat along each side of the railing toward the bow along while two that looked twice the size of the others flapped on either side of the forecastle deck. Each of those along with four on aft end were steering sails. They all helped to angle the ship when it turned or Captain Teil wanted to adjust the angle the wind hit the balloon. Gears clashed and air pumps ran. Grease stinks joined the others. The three aether drives lay in front of the quarter deck, almost touching it. Each was a box half the length of horse and as tall as the knees of the same animal. Each one had been covered with a black lacquer. Brass filigree, hollow frames Criss crossed over each one. The frame also served as pipes to move aethery gas around the box with more inside each box. Two sat on the outside with the third larger one rested just a little forward of the other two and in-between them. That one looked one third larger than the other two. All three helped to produce the Seagull’s speed. I didn’t know exactly how they worked but I did have some idea. It took a person with at least a some wizardry ability to activate one. On the Seagull there was an aether man whose job it was to operate the drives and to handle any repairs that might be needed. The second mate could operate them in an emergency and rumor had it that so could Captain Teil. He would not admit that though. I could make them produce lift, but that was a given since I am a full wizard. The drives produce more lift making the Seagull lighter even though their main purpose was propulsion. They could move an airship forward, or backwards if desired. They could push the airship against the wind even though they had to work harder and it could be slow going depending on the wind. They moved the ship at a pretty good clip with the wind or even becalmed.

       The first mate, a tall man from one of the African nations who went by the name of Jaclyn, also yelled orders to the crew. No matter how experienced and hardworking the men were someone or a piece of equipment would fumble, ropes could catch on something and last second irregularities. And sometimes the men needed encouragement to move faster.     

     The first part of our journey, which would be the easiest and one of only two legs that could be planned, would take us to Sweden. Sweden had businesses that built excellent weapons and watches for that matter. I had ideas of what we might need and the unusual weapons we would have built. There should be few chances of anyone attacking us or so I thought, for no one knew of my vision. 

        My tribe has hunted, trained and played in cold, snow and ice all winter, so the idea of going to extreme cold didn’t bother me as much as it many of the crew.     

      I watched the buildings recede behind us. They were each made from logs, complete with bark, with metal roofs. Two were the length of three cargo wagons and double the width of a farmhouse. The third was half a house wider and twice as long as the other two. I could still make out one set of gray-white lean-tos set along the sides of the larger building. Most of the children employed here slept in those lean-tos. They used old sails as roofs which they nailed to the thicker logs of the dormitory. Adults workers and sometimes passengers slept in there too. 

       The creak of the six steering balloons indicated the ship turned already, even before it reached cruising altitude. A bit unusual, but Captain Teil knew his stuff, his ship and that we needed to hurry. When we turned I spotted two large ships in the water near the beach. I suspected they were fast cargo ships; they would pick up the fish, and other seafood, caught by the fishermen here. The ships would have mages who kept the fish cold on the journey.

New idea

I had been kinda of thinking of doing a UF Elf story for a while. But thought there were too many of them but tonight I wondered about that. There are stories with elves but not usually as the Main Character. I remembered one series I hadn't thought about for quite some time maybe because I haven't seen any of the books in that series for a long while. But this series was around even before the Dresden Files. Other than that I'm not sure of any with the MC is one. I'm probably forgetting a couple or ten but right now I can't recall any.

So I spent a few minutes thinking about my idea. Maybe a half elf... halfies seem to be the in thing these days. But as I thought more maybe he's a quarter each of two types of elves. Or more than a quarter so he might end up being three fourths elf instead of half. But still two types.

So he's tall, skinny, kind of narrow faced and maybe handsome. Or very close to handsome. I was thinking of large pointed ears, almost to the tope of his head, but how would he hide them?