NaNoWriMo excerpt

It is the end of November and I managed to write 50,000+ words this month. Hooray! Below is an excerpt from my novel. It's not a complete novel, but it's a start, and I had a blast doing it. I can't wait til next year!

Nacoma woke up before the sunrise, unable to maintain a deep sleep since taking the second watch broke up the night’s rest for her. Despite the restless night, she didn’t feel too out of sorts, nothing a hot cup of tea couldn’t help.

She sat up and squinted through the dark, trying to find Steven’s outline in the gloom. He was nowhere to be seen, though, so she got up to her feet to take a look around. Thinking that he was probably doing a perimeter watch, Nacoma started circling the outside of their camp, gradually widening the circle as she walked around and around. The trees were rather thick in this area, one of the reasons why they chose to sleep there for the night, so she couldn’t see very far in any direction, especially since it was getting to that time of day when the light was somewhere between shadow and illumination, obscuring everything more than if it were total night or day.

On her third circuit, Nacoma started to feel a tingling sensation in the middle of her back. It wasn’t actually something physical, but more of a sixth sense. As she continued walking, she examined the feeling closely, trying to determine what was causing it. Judging by the reaction she felt, it was a foreign presence that was making the alarm go off in her mind. Nacoma decided to try a little trick she had learned from having to fend off irritating boys half her life. Picking up the pace, she began to step more and more carefully, ensuring that her movements made as little sound as possible. She also watched the tracks she made, doing her best to leave no traces behind her, or to erase the ones that she couldn’t avoid making.

Once she was sure that she had obscured her progress enough, Nacoma began to circle around, trying to position herself so that she could sneak up behind whoever was following her. Even though she wasn’t pushing herself hard or quickly, the tension in her shoulders made her muscles ache painfully, threatening to break her concentration and stealth. After about fifteen minutes, her hard work paid off when she began to hear a faint rustling in the brush ahead of her. Finally, she was approaching her pursuer. The forest was still shrouded in dark despite the light coming over the horizon, so she couldn’t get a good look at who it was. All Nacoma could see was a dark form crouching in the trees, searching back and forth at the ground in front of it.
Ever so slowly, Nacoma crept even closer to the figure, carefully sliding a knife out from her boot since it was the one part of her armory that was least likely to make noise. When she was two feet away, Nacoma lunged forward suddenly but silently, bringing up her arm to catch the figure, and her knife to threaten its neck. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been careful enough because the man was ready for her attack. He quickly unsheathed the sword belted at his waist and swiftly blocked her knife thrust.

Their blades locked together tightly, Nacoma stared straight into the clear blue eyes before her and said, “Damn, how did you know I was there?”

Steven laughed, but didn’t let up the pressure on her blade. “I heard the sound of your knife against your boot leather. It was subtle, and I probably wouldn’t have heard it if I hadn’t been crouching down like that trying to listen for some movement.”

Nacoma smiled back, nodding to him in acknowledgment of his prowess. “So, who’s going to give in first here?”

“I’d say you better give in first. After all, that little blade isn’t going to hold up very long against my sword.”

Twisting her lips in frustration, Nacoma pushed off of Steven’s swords and stood back from him, granting defeat. “Why so eager to stalk me?” she asked, letting a little smile play on the edge of her lips as she bent to sheath her knife.

“Just thought I’d put your abilities to the test,” Steven said, putting his blade back in its scabbard as well, “and I must say that I’m thoroughly in awe.”

“Why’s that?” Nacoma said with a laugh.

“I completely lost you before I heard you unsheathe your knife. Whoever taught you must have been incredibly good.”

The smile slipped off Nacoma’s face as she remembered her early lessons at the monastery. “I guess they were,” she said.

Steven cocked his head to the side, his eyes silently asking if she wanted to elaborate. But Nacoma didn’t want to elaborate, so she changed the subject instead.

“Tell me where you learned how to track like that,” she said, starting to head back to the camp. “And how to fight. From the look of those scars, you’ve seen quite a lot.”

Steven followed her. “Yes, well, I wasn’t exactly sociable in my younger years, so when Clopin left for the University, I didn’t really have any friends.”

“Wasn’t Clopin sent there when he was eight? What could you have done at eight?”

“Well I didn’t do anything right away,” Steven said. “Clopin would come back home from time to time because his mother wanted him to, though by the time we were sixteen or so, he was old enough and far enough along in his studies that coming all the way back to our backwater village was more of a chore than it was worth.” He smiled in reminiscence. “We both liked to talk about the great things we’d do when we were old enough to be on our own, but I think Clopin is the only one who actually has”

“What do you mean?” Nacoma asked. “I don’t believe that whatever caused those scars was boring, or anything less than great.”

“That’s only because you’ve never been in a real fight,” Steven said, no longer smiling.

Nacoma walked next to him in silence for a few moments, but finally had to ask, “How did you become a mercenary?”

He stared up into the trees, his eyes tracking the gaps in the canopy where the early morning light shone through. “I guess it was just a sort of desperation. I wanted to get away from home, but I didn’t know how to do it. One day, I just wrapped up some clothes, grabbed my father’s old sword, put all the money I had in my pocket, and walked to the nearest town. It took me a couple days to get there, and I found a merchant who looking to hire hands to help with his caravan. Everything kind of grew from there.”

“Sounds like the life I’d like to lead,” Nacoma said wistfully.

“You’d rather travel constantly and always be in danger of attack than live comfortably at the University?”

“Yes, of course,” she said, excitement flooding her. “That’s what I was born to do. I’m supposed to be a warrior; I’ve been trained for it since I was a child. But everyone in my life has sheltered me from the moment I began that training. What’s the point of it?”

“You assume there has to be a point?”

“Yes,” Nacoma said. “There has to be a point to my life.”

They were back at the camp now, and Clopin was already up, getting breakfast ready and packing things back into the saddlebags.

“Where did you two go?” he asked when they walked out of the trees. “I thought someone was supposed to be keeping watch?”

“I thought you were a University trained Master who could take care of himself,” Steven said flippantly.

“Not when I’m asleep,” Clopin replied. “So where were you?”

“I woke up early and went looking for Steven,” Nacoma answered.

“Did you know this woman can virtually disappear in the forest?” Steven said.

Clopin grinned. “Unfortunately, I do, as I’ve had to track her down in the University grounds quite a few times.”

“And he always has to use magic to find me,” Nacoma said, chin held high.

They sat around the small fire Clopin had made and broke their fast with tea and hard biscuits. It wasn’t filling or appetizing, but Nacoma comforted herself with the thought that they would soon be in a large city where she could finally get a real meal and a bath. Her fantasies about food and cleanliness almost made her forget that they were walking into an extremely dangerous situation, but Clopin was kind enough to bring that subject back up again.

“We need a plan for when we arrive in Seaport,” he said.

“Well, we should establish our roles first,” said Steven. “I know they probably have more information on us than we think, but it could still be beneficial for us to assume certain roles and maintain them throughout.”

“Then Clopin is in charge,” Nacoma said. “He plays the leader role, and we play the followers. Everyone will be looking at him, and we can get around unnoticed.”

Clopin shook his head. “That’s only half of it. All three of us will be watched, so we need to go further.”

“Like Tiend said, Brevier is going to separate us the first chance he gets,” said Steven. “So what do we do if we’re being watched constantly?”

“We watch them in return,” Clopin said. “I’ll keep tabs on Brevier and Tiend, make sure that they can’t make a move against us without us finding out immediately.”

“But won’t the Duke be sending Tiend on any number of errands?” Nacoma asked. “I can watch him. I’m probably in the best position to do so.”

“How’s that?” Clopin said. “I know him, I know the kind of person he is. I think I’m best equipped to handle him.”

Nacoma shook her head. “You said yourself that he always resented you. He’s setting us up, I don’t care what he says about owing you. I’m best equipped to handle him because I’m a woman.”

Clopin gaped at her in astonishment. He was silent so long that Steven had to fill in for him.
“So you’re saying that you’re going to, what, seduce him?”

“I don’t think it’ll have to go that far,” Nacoma answered. “But he’s less likely to see me as a threat as opposed to the two of you.” She looked at Clopin questioningly. “Are you alright with this?”

He still seemed a little dumbfounded by her declaration, and it took him a few more minutes before he finally said, “I just worry. Tiend is dangerous in his own right. This is a risky thing to do.”

“Granted all I’ve known is the monastery and the University, but I also know everything there is to know about men. I’ve been surrounded by them my whole life after all.”

“We aren't that difficult to understand," Clopin said with a laugh. "The difficult part is knowing how to be a woman, Nacoma. You haven’t really done a lot of that.”

It was slightly amusing how naïve he thought she was, but at the same time it irked her. The University was definitely a sheltered place to live, but she had been around men and boys enough to know how to deal with them. After seeing what Tiend was like, she was confident that she could handle him. Rather than argue with Clopin, though, she changed the subject. “You’re forgetting about the Duke’s daughter, and since you were so close to her, he’s probably going to use her against you. You’ll need to concentrate all your effort on watching the both of them.”

Clopin looked to Steven, seemingly for support, but Nacoma could tell that he wasn’t getting what he wanted from his friend. Steven didn’t make any movements of assent or dissent, but Clopin seemed to find an answer. Turning back to Nacoma, he said, “Alright, you keep an eye on Tiend. Steven, I think you should concentrate on the staff. I know for a fact that the Duke abuses them in one way or another, so if you can winnow out any information or assistance, it could help us in the long run.”

“No problem,” Steven said.

“Alright, we better head out now,” Clopin said. “Our warm welcome is awaiting us.”

The Death Card - Final Part

Hey, sorry about the long wait. I just started a new job last week, and I've also decided to participate in this year's NaNoWriMo, so I've been preoccupied with that. But, I do have the end to this story, so I'm posting that before I move on to other things with this blog. I think I'll start posting excerpts from my NaNoWriMo novel soon, so keep a look out for that. Or you can check it out at the link in my profile to the left.

I know the formatting is all screwed up, but ignore it. Without further ado, we finally get to see what goes on in the wacky mind of George:

I could not believe that she handed me the Death Card. She was treating me like a ten year old. Not like she’s the only one, though. Everyone treats me like a ten year old most of the time. But I kind of expected more from Alice. Hearing her talk to me like a kid just set me off, especially the way she told me to leave, so superior, as if I couldn’t possibly understand the meaning of “please leave.”

“I told you that your boyfriend was an asshole because I would’ve treated you a thousand times better than he did. He may be my friend, but he never deserved you.”

That’s what I wanted to say.

I didn’t say that.

“Fine, whatever,” that’s all I could force out of my stupid mouth. So I just left.

After the door closed behind me, I stood on their front stoop for a while. It sucked to have Alice say stuff like that to me; I always thought she was super nice and cool. Freddie definitely didn’t deserve a girl like that. He’s my friend and all, but I know him well, and I knew from the beginning that he’d eventually mistreat Alice. Shelley trying to get rid of me made sense, I knew she didn’t like me, but I sort of thought Alice saw me differently.

The Death Card. Fuck, where the hell did she find that? I checked it out, turning the card over in my hand. It was kind of weird how it was a red Bicycle card; didn’t I give Jake the same brand? Whatever, Bicycle decks were pretty common.

Even though I knew Jake was kind of pissed, I figured he’d be able to put up with me a little better now that I was pissed too, so I left Shelley and Alice’s porch and started walking towards Jake’s place. It was kind of far, so the walk gave me plenty of time to freeze my ass off.

I was two blocks from Jake’s house when he pulled up next to me.

He rolled down the window. “Dude, what are you doing around here?”

“Looking for you, man,” I said, putting on my cheery “no worries” face.

“I thought you had shit to take care of?”

“Change of plans. How come you aren’t home? Didn’t you leave my place like an hour ago?”

“Went for a drive.”

“Well, duh, I can see that. So you gonna let me in the damn car or do I have to stand out here and risk my boys freezing up on me? I do want to have children one day.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry man.” I got in the car and started fiddling with the heater, trying to keep moving so I didn’t have to think about Alice.

Jake made a three point turn and started driving away. “We’re not going to your place?” I asked.

“No, I just feel like driving around. Don’t really want to stay in one place.”

“You gonna tell me what’s up?”

“Why don’t you tell me what’s up? Alice called and told me that you were at their place. What’s going on there?”

Crap, cover your tracks George. “Oh, nothing. Was in the neighborhood, that’s all.”

“Bullshit. You went to talk to Shelley.” Damn he knew me too well.

“Ok ok, but only because you wouldn’t tell me anything.”

He was kind of quiet for a while, and I thought for sure he was pissed at me again and getting ready to kick me out of the car. When he pulled off the road and parked in the nearest spot, I braced myself for getting shoved head-first onto the pavement. Instead, Jake turned the car off and said, “She’s a cheater, George, that’s what. And she decided to tell me about it on my birthday.”

He said it so calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. What do you say to a guy who’s so dead inside that he can’t even muster up some anger against his cheating girlfriend? I didn’t get angry for him, though, just calmly said, “Shit, that’s so low. Who else knows?”

“Just Max, apparently.”

“Max? Gross. That guy is so pompous.”

“Pompous? Have you been reading a dictionary or something?”

“I’m not stupid, man. People just think I am.”

He sighed and said, “I know, George. I’m sorry.”

He did sound sorry, and even though I felt like being a punk, I remembered that the guy was no better off than me at that moment. “No prob. Come on, dude, it’s your birthday. Let's go get trashed or something.”

“But it’s only four in the afternoon.”

“Oh come on, you know what I say whenever someone tries to tell me it’s too early.”

Jake laughed. “Yeah, I know. ‘Somewhere in the world, it’s after six.’” He started up the car again.

“When I’m drunk enough, I’ll tell you my rejection story,” I said.

“You mean you’ve got a new one? I thought I heard them all already.”

“Nope, this one’s hot off the presses. It’s pretty killer, too, though I don’t know if it rivals Shelley.”

“Whatever. We’ll wallow together.”

“Yeah, let’s go get our wallow on!”

Too bad it wasn’t after six. Then we could’ve driven off into the sunset.