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 98: The days slipped past with little to tell them apart as she moved continuously towards her destination.
The days slipped past with little to tell them apart as she moved continuously towards her destination. Sometimes Kasca had to go a little further out of her way to avoid people. Occasionally, as she neared the bigger cities, she had to step off the road and wait until a small group moved past.
This was rare.
It was however a relief to see that people were still traveling to the larger cities. She also noticed that the towns closer to the city had fewer posted notices banning travelers and there were fewer and fewer cages. In fact the last few villages she passed had only posted signage stating travelers must have a pass of some sort. She didn’t see anyone entering these villages so she didn’t know what the pass entailed, but she took it as a good sign.
‘They are at least willing to consider accepting visitors instead of killing them.’
She decided that was a positive sign. Two days away from the city she chose as her destination, Kasca found a small cave in an outcropping. Thanks to her rationing she was still doing well with food but she knew it wouldn’t last too much longer. She was also growing tired of the trail rations and began having fantasies about warm meals cooked over a hearth.
Just before she stopped for the night Kasca filled up all of her waterskins so that she could have extra to hand. Once secure in the cave, hidden and shielded from view, she began to think about her entry into the city. It was a thought that danced through her mind the entire time she travelled. Occasionally she looked ahead, but she was more interested in her immediate surrounds as she moved.
Now, safe and secure, with only a short way to travel, Kasca knew she needed more definite plans. Her slip into the city and find a place idea needed more specifics. She thought about the different components of the plan.
‘The first is to get into the city.’
To that end, Kasca used her bowl to scry to the city ahead, paying special attention to the city gates. Unlike the palisaded towns, the city gates opened during the day. She imagined that as spring was here the city was in need of the first early gatherings of crops. There was only so much the city could store over the winter.
‘I imagine with illness sweeping the kingdom supplies are low,’ Kasca thought. On her way in she saw some farmers tending their fields but they were few and far between. She suspected that even if the produce grew, there would be fewer to tend and harvest. ‘Also fewer to eat,’ she thought wondering if thee would be some sort of balance.
‘Look at the market after the gatehouse,’ she reminded herself.
She studied the signage, most of which conveyed meaning through pictures with a few words to back up the painted images. Reading wasn’t as forbidden here as it was in the Overlord’s domain but it was usually restricted to the wealthy and the priesthood. All the signs she passed had been images showing the death that awaited travelers. Rarely were there words added.
‘But they were graphic enough not to need words, especially with the dead on display.’
Kasca looked at the images and read the signs. Nowhere was mentioned the travel passes some of the smaller towns and villages required.
Ten til Midnight 