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 83: The trio was affected first, followed shortly by both the council and those who worked in the laundry.
The trio was affected first, followed shortly by both the council and those who worked in the laundry. Kasca watched the disease spread. This time those who managed to avoid the disease the first round were hit first and hardest. She watched Jascon take ill. She wondered if it was their age that caused the disease to hit so hard with them or if there was another factor. She didn’t know.
Kasca tried not to feel as though she was imitating the Overlord as she watched the disease spread though the Sanctuary once more. The cure was not effective on those who took it before. And all turned to Jascon. There was no divine vision this time and a team was put together to look at the components. While Kasca watched them as they played with the elements and looked for a further cure, she looked into it herself.
She reviewed what she learned from the overlord and tried to figure out why the cure would only work once. The team Jascon put together was faster. She was not surprised as there were more of them and they had more resources than she did. She watched as they identified the elements. She listened as they came up with some advanced spell work to enhance the cure to make certain that it could be taken to prevent the disease from ever taking hold.
It was an interesting formula but it’s strength was in preventing someone from contracting the disease even if they came in contact with it. They tested it out on one of the few who had not been contaminated. They gave him the advanced cure and then sent him into the sick room. His health was studied and he proved immune. The regular cure helped the others who suffered for the first time and it was effective as a second dose, but only those who had never been affected were helped by the first.
Many died and the Sanctuary had to once again be cleansed as the risk of reinfection was a major concern. Jascon survived his bout but was weak. Many of his supporters gone and Kasca saw that many were no longer as enamored of his leadership as before.
Kasca looked around and decided that using the advanced magic on the cure and taking it for herself was a good idea. While she watched the Sanctuary, Kasca was still watching the flood waters. Soon she would have to head north and risk the crossing. She chose the Hetaca crossing as it seemed her best option.
While she would travel with her shield on as much as possible, she knew the risk of contamination was great and if the modified cure gave her an advantage, taking it now was her best option. She worked to perfect it, taking time now and again to peer in on the test subject the Sanctuary used. When it was ready, Kasca took the cure,
She swallowed it back and aside from a sharp medicinal taste, she felt no different. She gave the cure a few days to settle into her system and made certain the two original cures were still in her bag. Knowing her time was running short, Kasca packed as many rations into her bag as she could, using magic to enhance her carrying capacity. She did not know how far she would need to travel before she would be able to restock.
Ten til Midnight 