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 91: She then headed away from the shore.
She then headed away from the shore. Kasca kept her shields locked tightly down, skirting the small village. She didn’t see anyone moving but didn’t want to take a chance. She eased past as quietly as she could and kept going until night had truly fallen. The land was dotted with rocky outcroppings and she knew that once the water came much further inland than it did now. She could see it in the sculpting of the rocks that were now well way from the water’s edge. The sculpting had weathered the rock but in many places it left small caves. They weren’t much, but they were large enough to provide her shelter for the night.
Kasca found one that was far from any path she could see and didn’t appear to be used for much. It wasn’t deep but it would keep her hidden in the night. She was tired and cold. She could heat herself with magic, drying her clothing as well as her skin.
After so many days in the spray of the crossing she was soaked to the bone. She knew she would be from the last crossing she made and luckily kept her spare clothing buried deep in her pack and away from the water. Once she checked that no small creatures took shelter in the same cave she featured, Kasca changed out of her wet things, toweling her skin off and using magic to heat and dry herself before putting on the fresh clothing.
Wearing clean and dry clothing did a lot for her morale and the world felt significantly less bleak. She laid out her wet things, hoping they would dry. While she still held her personal shield over her. Kasca cast a shield over the mouth of her cave. From the outside anyone looking at the rocks would see the same amount of caves as they were accustomed to seeing. Nothing would have changed, the familiar would not look odd.
If anyone were to approach the rocks, they would not be able to find this particular cave. Given the placement, no one would be happening by, they would have to leave the path and come looking. In addition, she was certain she would hear their footsteps in the scree scattered about around the outside.
For now she was as safe a she could be. Still, Kasca dare not start a fire. She was not that comfortable with her location. Instead she huddled in the back of the small cave, wrapped up in her blankets. Despite any possible danger, she fell asleep easily and slept dreamlessly, her body to exhausted for more.
When she woke, Kasca was at first confused. The sound of water was strong. She blinked and realized that it wasn’t the passage, she had made it across. Sometime in the night a storm rolled in from the sea. Kasca could see a slight bit of sun but it was quickly being swallowed by dark clouds.
The rain that was falling came in a steady rhythm and she suspected it would settle in for the day. Her cave was high enough and sloped well enough that she did not fear water’s arrival. The rain was constant enough that she knew today was not the best day for travel.
‘I could use more rest,’ she thought. ‘And scrying the way ahead would not be a bad idea.’
Her plan was general, to make her way to a larger city and blend in, maybe set up shop as a healer, offer her cure and find a place to settle. It was a good plan when she had the length of her island to cross and a difficult passage off the island. Now she needed specifics.
‘Easier to get now that I am here.’
Her scrying would be easier if she started from where she was physically and then expanded outward.
Ten til Midnight 