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 59: She sat in the cottage and thought about the short exchange.
She sat in the cottage and thought about the short exchange. It was clear that the man was relieved to get the information. It was also clear that he didn’t like the thought of her visiting them. After he finished taking notes there was a glint of suspicion on his face that she didn’t like.
She used the long way round and approached from the outside as she didn’t want to seem invasive. ‘Yet he still seemed suspicious.’
She shifted to sit in front of the fire and decided that perhaps it was time to learn more about the Sanctuary. ‘It would be good to see if the cure works,’ Kasca tried telling herself. The more she thought about it the more she realized that she was worried about what would happen if they did manage a cure. ‘I am still vulnerable, and if they were willing to release the disease into the world, my help might not keep me safe.’
The isolation of the Sanctuary happened in the first years of the Overlord’s reign. Those in the Sanctuary had been alone on the island for a long time. ‘And I am an outsider.’
They were polite before, but there was always the possibility they could decide they no longer wanted to be polite.
‘So I will watch them.’ She thought it over. As long as she didn’t have a cure for herself, she was essentially a prisoner here. She couldn’t lave, even if the others wanted to let her.
‘But there are transportation spells,’ she thought. She found one in the books during her first week in the cottage and she practiced moving small objects from one end of the cottage to another.
‘If I know where they keep their ingredients, I could get enough to make my own cure,’ Kasca thought. ‘And with practice I might be able to move myself to the other side of the wall, leaving the locks intact, just in case I need to flee.’
Having a means of escape, even if she didn’t need it would be a comfort. ‘Having a cure for the disease would be even better.’
Kasca decided both would be goals she would work towards and that watching those in the Sanctuary would be a good idea as well.
The next morning, she put her plan into action. She used another scrap of paper to slip into the Sanctuary. This time, there was more movement. Those who were contaminated but with less advancement of the disease were sent to find ingredients. Kasca followed them and saw where the items were stored. She also listened in to the conversation.
‘Does he know it will work,” one of them asked another as they gathered items.
“Jascon claims it came to him in a vision,’ the other said. “He gazed into the stars and saw it as clear as if it were written. He then translated it onto parchment.”
Kasca wasn’t certain how she felt about the information she provided being turned into a vision. She didn’t know if those in the Sanctuary trusted visions more than outsiders or if Jascon had plans of his own.
Ten til Midnight 