Morning all and welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Here I take the start of a story idea and work on it for fifteen minutes a day. I started with an old writing prompt that interested me, cleaned it up a bit to fit the basic outline of the story I want to write and then set aside fifteen minutes each week day to see it grow. Each morning’s writing starts with the last sentence of the day before. And so now we have the story of Kasca…
Day 28: It was a chilling thought and Kasca did her best to set it to the side.
It was a chilling thought and Kasca did her best to set it to the side. It kept recurring though as she wondered how far the disease spread. That it spread all the way town the river, at least from the point where she reached the river and headed south was a given.
Kasca tried to fill her time with reading and various tasks around the cottage. There was a stockpile of cleaned wool and Kasca set up the spinning wheel turning it into yarn when she needed a break from reading. The week slipped by and again the globe of light arrived.
There was no new news. The disease was still rampaging and more were dying. Those not infected were still sequestered.
‘It starts with a fever,” he told her. “Then a small rash forms, predominantly around the mouth and nose. A sore throat and cough seem to follow.”
He walked her through the various stages of the illness he witnessed and Kasca memorized them, not only so that she could know what the disease looked like if it was encountered, but so that she could help identify what it was. He hoped that as she might have a different base of knowledge it might be familiar. It wasn’t.
Kasca tried to link it to one of the diseases she knew, but it seemed to combine elements from several. After he left, she thought about it. The following week when the globe of light again appeared, she asked the question that occurred to her.
“Do you think the Overlord created the disease?” she asked. “It sounds like several diseases put together just like his monsters are created from several different creatures.”
“This could be the case,” he admitted. He looked more exhausted than he had before. “If it did then there are two possibilities. The first is that the Overlord released it in order to weaken his enemies. That is the best case.”
“The best case?” Kasca asked.
He nodded. “If he released it, he may have an antidote. It would have let him survive the disease and it would have also allowed him to control the population by offering it to them in exchange for fealty. If he was planning to expand his empire…”
“Then it would be a useful weapon of war,” Kasca finished. She nodded. “Do you think he released it past our shores?”
“I do not know,” he said. “We have some studying scrying spells in order to extend our sight in order to find out.”
“You said that was the best case?” Kasca prompted.
“The worst case is that he created it and it escaped his control,” He said. “If that is the case, then he may not have an antidote.”
“That would be bad,” Kasca said.
“Indeed, although we do not know if he did in fact create it.”
“True,” Kasca conceded. “I have some basic scrying skill,” she told him. “Can you share with me the extended spells so that I can try to look, as I know the northlands I may have better luck.”
“He nodded. “Familiarity with the area is a plus and not many of us had experience with much beyond our island.” He turned to talk to someone next to him. “This is Drax,” he said. “He will walk you through.” He stepped to the side and Drax took his place in the globe of light.
Ten til Midnight 