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 113: As it was spring, Kasca thought she might be able to find what she needed close by as she could not simply go into the fields or trade with a local farmer for the new hay and meadow sweet.
As it was spring, Kasca thought she might be able to find what she needed close by as she could not simply go into the fields or trade with a local farmer for the new hay and meadow sweet. She climbed the stairs after making certain everything below was locked for the night. She then locked the apartment door behind her as an extra precaution.
She would need to add more magical barriers to prevent theft and other sorts of invasions but tonight was not the night. Her footsteps were dragging and she could barely keep her eyes open. In the morning she would need to go to the market as early as she could, order what she needed and have the bulk delivered. She would also need to hire a shop assistant. She simply couldn’t manage the work room and front at the same time.
‘And while I can make some things up after hours to have them ready, there are always emergencies,’ she thought as she stripped off her clothing and prepared herself for bed. While there was no mattress and she was still using her bedroll on the floor it was a relief to be able to strip off the day’s clothing and mut on night clothes to sleep.
‘Really enjoy not sleeping in my boots.’
She lay down and covered herself with blankets, blowing out her lantern. She lay down and was asleep almost immediately.
In the morning Kasca awoke with a stiffness in her body that let her know she hadn’t moved much if at all in the night. She felt as though she closed her eyes one minute and then opened them the next. Still the early morning was teasing the sky and she knew she would need to get to the market before the day began.
‘I need local clothing soon if I am dealing with customers,’ she reminded herself as she dressed. When out it was cold enough for the cloak to be acceptable and in the shop the apron covered most of her outfit, but spring was advancing and the cloak would soon not be worn out.
‘I will have to look for second hand clothing and then later have something made up.’
Kasca knew she had several trades from various cloth merchants and could get the materials. She even had trade slips from several seamstresses so she would not have to make them up herself.
‘Which is good as I only know the patterns for Deva clothing.’ It would be something to look into later. For now the second hand clothing shop would have to do.
Dressed, Kasca didn’t stop for her travel ration, planning to pick up something at one of the stalls while she was out. Armed with her mental list of what she needed personally, Kasca went downstairs and picked up the list of items needed in the apothecary. She knew that soon she would have many of them growing in the small yard behind the shop but for now, the supplies would need to be purchased.
‘Dried this time of year instead of fresh,’ she thought as she wrapped herself in her cloak and let herself out of the apothecary. She locked the door behind herself and headed off to the nearest market. The food seller carts were already set up, many of them providing food for those setting up other market stalls. She purchased a small pastry filled with meats vegetables and cheeses from one cart put out by one of the bakeries and she began to wander the market. She had a basket slung over her arm or anything she planned to take back with her but homed that other than clothing much would be delivered.
As the market opened, Kasca was relieved to find she would be able to restock her supplies. The herbs and other plant matter were, as she expected dried or preserved in other ways this time of year. She was able to see the condition of the preservation and made note of stalls worth frequenting and others that weren’t worth her time.
There was an over abundance of product that seemed strange to her.
