NaNoWriMo2019 - Progress Report 11/20

Wall... broken thought?

I don't want to say that so soon, but I certainly found it easier to get writing today, and I cleared 2k in one session, so I'm at 37k words and feeling good.

Fight or Flight - NaNoWriMo2019 11/20

Annice rubbed her face with a palm, wakefulness was a struggle at the moment and she rebelled against it. Her eyes fluttered closed a few times, head finding the softness of her mat, but Wilhelm shook her again and the world came crashing back. She jolted again, this time all of the blissful sleep being chased from her mind. She inhaled sharply, and pushed herself to a seated position. She yawned and looked at Wilhelm, the man looked positively grim and she saw dark bags under his eyes, she frowned.

“How much sleep did you get, Wilhelm?” She asked, tilting her head to examine the weariness etched into his features.

“Not much.” Was all he said. “I want to get started before first light, earlier we start the more distance we cover before needing to camp on Lost Road.”

“Of course.” As the last vestiges of sleep drifted away Annice was able to grasp at the severity of their situation again. She nodded to the man reassuringly. “Let me do my prayers, I imagine Syrene’s blessings will need to be upon us today.”

“Her’s and whatever other godly bein might deign fools doin something foolish. Let me know when your done, I’ll help you with your armor, need to make sure it’s secured properly.” Wilhelm was trying to be reassuring, but Annice knew that a chain shirt, a pair of bracers, and a shield would do little against the might of one ogre, let alone three.

Annice kneeled silently once Wilhelm was done and settled her breath into an even deliberate pace. She pulled from her bag some incense and a plate, placing the incense between thumb and forefinger a spark of holy light emanated and a slow stream of pleasant-smelling smoke floated into the air. The incense wasn’t necessary to the prayer, but it helped Annice in meditation. The Cleric’s daily prayer was how they gained their powers, reaching out to their deity and asking from them their daily spells. Once a connection was made a Cleric would select the spells they wished to cast that day and the magic would fill their mind, how many spells and of what variety was up to the Cleric’s strength of body and soul as well as their personal relationship with their deity, but there was always a limit to how much magic a mortal being could hold inside their mind and all but a few truly gifted casters could keep spells in their mind for more than a day. This is how magic of all practices worked Holy, Arcane, or even Druidic. Sudden bursts of spell knowledge, like what had happened to Annice, did occur on occasion to Arcane and Druidic spell crafters, especially amongst the Arcane casters known as Sorcerers, but Clerical magic like that only came in bursts in Miracles, when a God or Goddess drew their full attention on one follower alone… Annice certainly wasn’t worthy of a Miracle from Syrene, was she? The Half-Elf pushed all thought from her mind and focused on her prayer, reaching out to make connection with her holy goddess. Feeling the warmth of Syrene’s love wash over her she went about asking for the powers she would need for the day, calling for spells and abilities she never dreamt of asking for. She felt them fill her mind, slightly surprised Syrene would grant them to her. She was relieved at that but then also dreaded the idea of using them.

The two packed up the camp in a dreadful silence, there just weren’t any words that could uplift their spirits or distract from the task at hand. Slowly they trotted their horses to the barrier, Annice stared at the darkened path, the valley closing off all light in the dark hours before first light. She swallowed hard and steeled herself as Wilhelm grabbed hold of the barrier and pulled, the man strained against a rusted chain which shrieked in protest before one link, weaker than all the rest, warped and came loose, freeing the barrier and allowing enough space for their horses. The two mounted and made their way inward. It was at that moment that Annice half remembered the eyes she dreampt of the previous night, and couldn’t shake the idea of being watched.

They were more than an hour in when first light broke, not that the two could tell all that much. By now they were flanked on both sides by massive hills that elevated rapidly, the grass that had managed to grow down at this path was sparse and hardy weed grass, gray and motted in patches over the dirt. Annice turned her head at some movement and spotted a small creature with mottled fur poke it’s head out at them, a wolverine of some sort she guessed, it watched them with beady eyes and let out a warning hiss as they passed, Wilhe;ms head snapped to it. Annice had a sudden realization and moved Kasimira up next to Ale.

“You can’t see in the dark…” She stated to the man, who in turned his gaze to the woman with a perplexed and confused gaze.

“Not… as a rule, no?” He seemed confused by the assertion, like being told that water is wet. Annice shook her head.

“Half-Elf, again.” She reminded the man.  He took a moment, and then nodded in understanding.

“Right, your lot can see in darkness.” He looked up into the sky, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, another obvious sight of the Human’s inherent superiority.” He said in jest.

“Mm.” Annice said. “What I mean, is that I should take point, since I can actually see?” She started to move Kasi forward, but Wilhelm reached out to take the reigns. “Hey!” She called out in a harsh whisper.

“I don’t think that’s the best idea, Annie.” Wilhelm pleaded. “You don’t exactly know what to be on the look out for.”

“Are ogres that subtle?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at the man.

“Well, no…” He stated.

“Then I should be able to see them just fine.” She placed her hand at the man’s wrist and lifted it away. “I appreciate your concern, Wilhelm, but I must contribute to this journey when I can, otherwise what point is there to me being here?” Wilhelm obviously still had objections, but he held them back and let her go forward.

The road was long and barren, they crossed a few down turned trees, roots splayed in the air with mounds of pitted dirt where they once stood, a couple of wodden structures too splintered and rotted away to tell what they once were, and they also crossed one very humanoid skeleton. Annice gasped at the sight and held her palm over mouth to prevent herself from shouting in surprise. The bones laid against the slope, slanted forward in a death knell, the left arm lay on the ground no longer attached, a shoulder of jagged and broken bone telling the tale that the arm did not fall off after this poor soul’s demise, the jaw hung slack in a silent scream, and it’s eye sockets seemed to follow the two as they passed. Annice whispered a silent prayer for this loss of life and Wilhelm simply stared in silence at it as they passed.

The day was dragging on, there was now enough light in the valley for Wilhelm to see, not that he did. The man was pulled back onto the path no less than three times by Annice, reaching out and jerking Ale’s bridle to the center of the road, causing Wilhelm to snap back to attention. Each time Wilhelm assured Annice it would not happen again.

“Alright, enough of this.” Annice said, stopping her horse.

“What?” Wilhelm asked, pulling on the reigns and stopping a few short steps ahead of the woman.

“You are about to fall off of that beast, Wilhelm, you’re exhausted.” Annice said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’m fine, Annie.” Wilhelm assured her. “I didn’t get a good night’s rest, my fault. But I’ve gone longer without sleep before. Sides, not like we can stop now for a cat nap, we have to make it as far as we can or we’ll end up three days in this place.”

“I wasn’t suggesting we stop.” Annice reached out a hand and placed her hand on Wilhelm’s face, wrist resting against the bridge of his nose, with dingers stretching over his forehead and onto his scalp. Wilhelm tried to raise a protest to this, but Annice shushed him. Her hand flared with holy light and it seemed into Wilhelm, when she pulled her hand free the bags under Wilhelm’s eyes vanished and he looked revitalized and alert.

“Wow.” He grunted. “What was that?”

“A restoration spell.” Annice stated, starting her horse on again.

“And why didn’t you use this earlier?” He asked as he had Ale follow suit.

“Because the restoration spell only lasts for eight hours. In eight hours you will be just as tired as you were when I cast the spell. More so, even.”

“Right, that would be bad. Thank you, Annie.” He said, smiling to her.

“It was that or lash you to your horse.” She said, smiling back.

The two let the brief moment of levity hang in the air, they held to it, keeping it for as long as they could. Gods above knew that this was not a realm for levity. It passed, as they knew it would, and the two continued on ever vigilant. Two more hours passed by when Wilhelm pulled them both to a stop. Annice’s brow knitted into worry and she looked around. She couldn’t see anything, one of the few trees that wasn’t torn from the ground was to their left, a sickly and leafless birch tree that looked like it held the weight of a thousand sins. To their left an overturned wagon, by how fresh it looked it was obviously some caravan merchant who thought the detour was ridiculous and attempted the Lost Rode path on their own. Other that that? Nothing.

“Wilhelm why have we st-“ Annice began.

“Shh.” He lifted his hand to her quickly and looked around. He looked worried. “Get off your horse, follow me.” He said, offering his hand to her. He slipped off Ale and aided her off of Kasimira. They moved to the wagon, which as both a blessing and a curse was a large and sturdy make. Wilhelm grunted as he dug his fingers into the dirt to finger the lip of the wagon,  pushing breath from tightened lips as he struggled to lift it. Eventually he found some leverage and gestured with a nod for Annice to lead the horses in. She did and pressed down the sick in her stomach that threatened to make itself known. Once both horses were kneeled under the cart Wilhelm shifted under the lip and as slowly as he could lowered the mass. The cart may have been large, but with Wilhelm, Annice, and two horses one being a rather bulky Clydesdale, it was a squeeze. The world wend dark as the cart made contact with the ground again, a sliver of light coming from a cleft in the wood being the only exception.

“Annice, I need you to keep as quiet as possible, and pray to Syrene that the horse stay sile-“ Wilhelm’s lips continued to move but no sound escaped, he bewildered for a moment at this sudden muteness, but noticed that Annice held her hand aloft and seemed in thought. He didn’t know the particulars, but he understood that there would be no sound from any creature in the cart.

Annice’s Silent spell hung, and she held the spell into her mind, the weakness of this particular form of magic, she needed to keep her concentration on it for the entire duration. Though she didn’t need to keep still and her curiosity drew her to the notch in the wood, shifting herself to lean towards it. Peering out she had a moment of relief, had they taken a moment longer they would surely have been dead, the moment was quickly filled with an absolute dread as she watched not one but two of the Ogres stomp into view. Wilhelm had said they weren’t friendly but here they were, walking side by side, she would chastise him for that when they could both speak again, assuming they still had lungs to speak with. Her heart pounded giving no sound but the pressure in her ears. They were utterly hideous creatures with a washed out and dull yellow skin, bloated and swollen torsos supported by massive and muscular legs and arms. The nails on the creatures each extended half a foor from each digit and were as black as onyx. One of them sported a greasy and matted beard that stretched from ear  to collar, but both had drooling mouths filled with misshapen and extended fang like teeth, two beady yellow eyes, massive misshapen noses, and bald heads. They were mercifully both covered, one wearing a leather loincloth and the other an assortment of furs that had been fashioned to resemble trousers. But what frightened Annice the most is what they carried. One of the creatures carried what was simply an entire tree trunk, the massive girth of it slung over his shoulder like the weight of it was nothing to it. The other carried a much smaller, but equally worrying weapon. Planks of wood, all different material and lengths, lashed together to form a club, but with the swords of what Annice assumed to be a dozen victims stabbed through one end to form two foot spikes that jutted out at all angles. The color washed from her face and for a brief and harrowing second, she faltered in her concentration.

NaNoWriMo2019 - Progress Report 11/19

Just shy of 35k.

So today went in a different direction than I expected. I imagined that I would be well within the Lost Road tonight, but funny thing...

See Annice was supposed to call to Nim the night after the Bandit attack, obviously distraught from seeing a man that she could not save, and of course nearly being murdered by Breen, but then the 'they get drunk together that night' sequence just kinda came spinning out of the story, and I dropped it. I felt the drinking scene was better, it's still Annice coping with what she saw but by strengthening her bond with Wilhelm as opposed to running back to her church.

Annice was supposed to fall asleep immediately after Wilhelm's song, content, but then I realized there was an opportunity to go back to the mirror, give Annice a chance to bear her soul to her teacher and surrogate mother on the eve of what she thinks will be her death... so that's what happened.

Fight or Flight - NaNoWriMo2019 11/19

She couldn’t understand the words he sung, the lyrics were all in Dwarvish, but the melody was hauntingly beautiful. She could only imagine what it was, it sounded like a funeral dirge but it lacked any true sadness. The low slow tones intoned an awe and respect. The large man’s voice was stunning, the gruff and gravely way he spoke belied his tenor, which was a magnificent baritone. The man’s deep voice and powerful lungs caused the words he sang to reverberate through the Cleric. She stared at him, eyes wide as he sang a song of triumphant lament, completely ignorant to what any of the words meant.

Jekyem vir arbeid till virm dying solgylag niden de darkened pits, vir dig pag til virm eigen grave sah virm sons kag seh daggern's lys

Annice shivered at the words. That was the choruc, Wilhelm had repeated those words three times now. She could pick up on a few words she understood, an overlap between the Dwarvish and Common tongues. Dying, darkened pits, how could a soft so beautiful be about such horrors. She furrowed her brow and shifted closer to the man, who was lost in song and showed no sign of noticing her. His voice rose slowly, coming louder and yet deeper still. The sonorous melody cast into the winds and over the plains, the back of Annice’s mind screamed at her about the Ogres hearing, but it was drowned out by how the song caused her heart to flutter. She was so transfixed that when Wilhelm came to a low rumble and stopped, she exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Wilhelm turned to her at the exhale.

“That was… beautiful.” She said in a whisper.

“Oh, thanks.” Wilhelm smiled sheepishly, obviously not expecting the compliment. “Sorry I just got lost in a moment.”

“No need to apologize.” She smiled and shifted to sit next to the man. “What is it about?” She tilted her head and grinned. “I don’t exactly speak Dwarvish.” Wilhelm chuckled at that.

“It’s an old Miners song.” He said, shifting to lay on his back, hand cupping behind his head as he stared at the stars. “Bout doing the rotten and dirty job of digging so yer kids don’t have ta. Bout toiling to build a better future. A future where yer kids ain’t miners but Heroes and Legends.”

“I see.” Annice let the silence hang in the air for a moment. “They’re a noble people.” She finally added.

“Yeah they are.” Wilhelm smiled. “Most all of em would do anything to make sure tomorrow was better for the next of us. Even throw away their lives.”

“Thank you for the song Wilhelm.” Annice leaned forward and pecked the man on the cheek. Wilhelm turned his head and placed a hand on the cheek, somewhat surprised. “You’ve done a great deal to ease my spirit.” She stated, slowly standing. “So I’m going to make use of a settled mind and get some rest.” She smiled gently and headed into her tent.

“G’night, Annie.” Wilhelm furrowed his brow, not entirely following what happened. All he did was sing a song. He shrugged, if she was calmed that was good, now all he had to do was calm himself.

Annice sat in her tent, pulling herself free from her armor and garments. She reached to her pack to extract her bedroll and felt something slick and cold, fingering the object she withdrew the mirror Nim had given her, the Mirror of Far Speech. Annice had almost completely forgotten that she had it, which she kicked herself for. It would have done her some good to have spoken with Nim after the bandit encounter. Though spoken might have been the wrong word, helplessly blubber at? On second though maybe it was good she had not sought out the High Priestess. Though now in the morning she rode to what was almost certainly death. She held the mirror and stared at the reflection in it, Annice tilted her face back and forth seeing the exact face she always did, though feeling as though she had aged half a lifetime.

“Home.” She spoke into the mirror.

The reflective surface started to shimmer and ripple like a stone thrown into a fresh pond. Then the intensity grew and the surface roiled and twisted, spinning into a small maelstrom. Annice had half a mind to throw the thing from her tent but a moment later the surface settled, and her own refletion shifted away like smoke in a strong breeze and Nim was staring back at her. The old gnome was in her bed clothed and yawned visibly, obviously being awoken by the twin mirror she now held.Annice could hold them back no longer, and tears formed in her eyes at the sight of the old woman.

“High Priestess!” She sobbed.

“Child!” Nim called out, worry etched in her face. “Annice what is wrong?”

“Oh High Priestess, I fear I may have made a terrible mistake. This..” She stuttered and her breath hitched, “This is nothing like I imagined it would be. I watched a man die.” She let it out in a harsh whisper like it was some terrible secret, Nim’s eyes went wide at the revelation. “And what’s worse? I don’t know that think it was wrong to do.”  Annice’s lips trembled and she wiped at her tears with her palm. “I think I may have angered Syrene, I think I am being punished.”

“Annice, Annice, shhh.” Nim cooed at her, trying to settle her down. “I may not agree with this journey you are on, but I will not let you balk at your convictions so easy. You told me you believe Syrene sent you on this path, correct?”

“I did.” Annice said, taking a few deep haggard breaths to calm her urge to sob.

“And do you still believe that? Do you still believe that you are meant to protect this man you follow?” Nim asked, leaning into the mirror to lock her gaze with Annice.

“I don’t know.” The half-elf said, shaking her head. “I don’t… know.”

“Annice. You will speak your truth to me.” Nim said forcefully. “You believe that Syrene asked you to look over the Gladiator, Wilhelm the Unyielding.”

“Yes.” Annice whispered.

“Hmmm?” Nim stated flatly, turning her ear to the mirror.

“Yes!” Annice nearly shouted out, sniffling and wiping her nose immediately after.

“Holy quests are seldom easy, child.” Nim stated. “The Gods put upon us tasks that will challenge us not just physically, but spiritually, morally. Your Goddess wants this man looked after, for whatever reason that may be, you must do it. This man who died, Wilhelm killed him?”

“Yes he did.” Annice swallowed.

“And did he do this slaying in anger, malice, hatred?” Nim asked.

“No he was defending us both.” Annice said. Nim nodded solemnly.

“It is to be mourned as Peace Lost.” She shook her head. “Wilhelm is not of our faith, his god, if he has one, may not look at the loss of life as we do. You will have to steel yourself for it’s eventuality. Save who you can, and trust that Syrene loves you.” She smiled.

“Thank you, Nim. Thank you.” She whispered. There was a long moment of silence, and then another… Eventually Nim spoke up.

“Is there something else, Annice?” She inquired.

“I just wanted to say” She started, faltering over her words. “How much I appreciate you High Priestess, how you cared for me and nurtured me as a Cleric. I love you, Nim.” She said it with sadness in her eyes, Nim picked up on it.

“Annice what are you not telling me?” She looked worried.

“Nothing that would help either of us sleep, Nim.” Annice said, a somber smile appearing on her lips.

“Annice” Nim started, her brow knit into deep concern “Annice please tell me you are safe.”

“I am safe where I am now, Nim.” Annice started to put the mirror down.

“Annice I do not want these half-truths, tell me where you are right no-“ Nim’s voice broke as Annice released the mirror, breaking the spell.

If she lived through the next two days, she would call the woman and ask for forgiveness. Right now, however, Annice was very tired. There was an eerie sense of contentment in the woman, a weight lifted from her shoulders and she was easily able to slip into her bed matt and find a restful position. In her mind Wilhelm’s song was sung again for her and was joined by Nim’s words of assurance, the two carrying her to a slumber. She slept deep, deeper than she had in many days, the rest was well needed and earned. Annice dreamt of large green eyes watching over her.

“Annie wake up.” Wilhelm called, and Annice came to a startled wake as the large man shook her. As her eyes opened she could tell dawn had not come yet.

NaNoWriMo2019 - Progress Report 11/18

So I might be hitting a wall. I found it really hard to start writing today, which is not entirely unusual,  but unlike any other time where I have to push myself to write the hesitation and resistance didn't fade away when I started putting words down. I pressed through not healf-heartedly per say, but certainly with more effort than I've needed over the previous couple weeks. I still got my word count in and am over 33k, so no worries just yet. Just hope this doesn't become a trend.

Fight or Flight - NaNoWriMo2019 11/18

“So you forgave her?” Annice asked.

“Naw, not really.” Wilhelm began. “More like I just realized what I was too dumb to realize when we was together, Mareen is only focused on the goal, getting the job done, and not with what it may cost folk. Once I got that in my head, bein around her was a little easier.”

“Right.” Annice said, reaching for her underclothes, testing them for moisture. They had dried, so she began to put them on. Wilhelm did the same. Soon he was in trouser and shirt, and her robe once again draped over her shoulders. “So these ogres, then…” She began. “They’re trouble?”

“To say the absolute least.” He was pushing his head through the neck hole of his shirt.

“So what’s the plan of attack then?” She was looking over the map now, eyes peering over the valley path.

“Not to attack, mostly.” Wilhelm responded, joining her at the map. He pointed to the large series of hills to either side of the path. “The ogres ain’t friendly to each other so mostly keep themselves spread out along here, keepin to the crevasses between hills. The plan is to get through fast as we can. We’ll be forced to make camp at least once in the valley, we do so without tents or fire, and we sleep in our equipment. We get lucky, very lucky, and not a one of them sees us and we go on our way without getting our heads crushed with a tree trunk.”

“Uh. Yeah.” Annice said, eyes trailing from one end of the path to the other… It seemed a long ways.

“If you don’t think you’re up to it.” Wilhelm started.

“I didn’t say that!” She retorted, eyes snapping to the man.

“I ain’t judging you, Annie. Hells I don’t think I am up for this. But this is the only way to cut time off the journey.

Annice stood up, and paced away from the map, Wilhelm didn’t follow. The half-elf clenched her hands into fist over and over again, taking calming breaths to try and settle her churning stomach. The bandits were bad, very bad. She had in the back of her mind what she might expect on this journey and it had already paled in comparison. She eventually turned back and stalked up to Wilhelm, crossing her hands over her chest to keep them from visibly shaking.

“If we take the long route, what happens?” She asked.

“We get there on day seven, three days later than when Mareen expects us at our earliest and a day late to when she wants us there at the latest. We have less time to find Rikkard, less time to make friends with him, and chance not being taken to their gathering.” He laid it out for her, she needed to make this decision and he wasn’t going to press her into it.

“And if all that happens… people die?” She asked, brow furrowing.

“Likely they will.” He stated.

“But if we arrive late we could still do all that, right? If we were late we won’t nessisarily miss Rikkon.” She bit her lip, there was a sour taste in the back of her throat. Wilhelm nodded.

“Yes, absolutely, we don’t know when the gatherin may be so it could be even if we was late we’d have plenty of time.” He looked at her, trying to keep his face as neutral as possible.

“But if we’re late, there’s a chance, even if it is small,” Annice swallowed. “That people will die?”

“Yes.” Wilhelm said, nodding again. “A chance, that’s all.”

“Then we go the quicker way.” Annice’s heart fluttere das she said it, and the half-elf woman felt suddenly light headed. But her resolve boldened and she kept herself on her feet. She meant it, and Wilhelm could tell that just looking at her. A soft smiled krept across his face and he stood, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“You’re a brave woman, Annie.” He said, giving her a small squeeze. “Ain’t many who ride out of the Sapphire Cove and not three days later declare their intent to face off against ogres.” He took a breath. “To be honest I’m sure I ain’t one of em.” He cracked a smile, and Annice softened.

“Nonsense, you’re plenty brave Wilhelm, we both know that. Tis the fool who does not fear death.” Annice stated, placing her hand on his.

“Been called that once or twice. Alright come on then, we still got a ways to go before we reach the valley path.” He stated, turning from her and heading to round up the horses. Annice stood for a moment, rubbing her hands and arms together and truly wishing that the sense of foreboding that lay over her like a wet blanket would pass. When after a long moment it did not, she resigned herself and followed behind Wilhelm.

The rest of the days travel was a quiet affair, the two of them unable to bring forth much mirth with the knowledge of what they were riding into in the back of their minds. Because of this Annice missed out on the amazing sights she would have likely awed at. A great vista of open field and grasslands stretched out as far as the eye could see, with distant forests barely visible in the farground. The grasses swayed in waved like water in the wind, and the sky was crystal blue that rivaled the ocean. Large clouds of purest white that streaked across the sky like great vessels of the gods. It was breathtaking, but Annice could enjoy none of it, all she knew was that there was one mar in the landscape, a sloping elevation in the distance, a valley and series of hills they were fast approaching. Each clop of her horse brought them nearer and brought more bile to the back of the Cleric’s pallet. After hours of travel they came across a sign, the scratchy large font of it making her feel no better.

GO BACK

 ROAD LOST

“Welcome to the Lost Road.” Wilhelm said as they came to the base of two large sloping hills that streaked up into the sky, casting a shadow over the two travelers. Before them was a barricade of spiked wooden posts lashed in metal bars, the last warding to those who may stumble onto to this path… It didn’t look very hard to bypass. “I’m only lookin to spend one night in there, so we camp here on the outside.”

“The ogres don’t come out this far?” Annice turned her gaze away from the barricade, back to Wilhelm.

“Not normally, no. They know the folk of this land gave up on the valley, got no reason to come out of it now. We’ll be fine here, but we won’t be cookin nothin tonighy, hard tac and jerky. Just to be safe.” He slipped off of Ale and lead the beast to a nearby lone birch tree to lash to.

“And no… bandits?” She asked, glancing up to the hills now.

“Oh hells no, naw no bandit is gonna come near this place. Bandits only go after folk they think they got advantage on. Ain’t really no way to take advantage on an ogre. This will likely be our safest night of the trip to be honest.” Wilhelm let out a soft chuckle.

“Surely then I will sleep soundly.” Annice said, assuming even the beastly critters that crawled in the grass around her could feel the sarcasm.

Within the hour the tents and fire were set up for the two, though on the other side of the hill so that the fire would only casy light away from the valley. The two sat in silence as they ate. Annice’s mood for the day had left her exhausted and she was certain she was walking into her certain death on the morn… What good would that do for Syrene? She sighed and once again pondered if she had made a mistake and had lost the Goddess’ favor. The Half-Elf was just starting to get in on a truly grand round of self lothing when her attention was drawn to Wilhelm. The man was staring off into the distance, eyes unfocused, and he started doing something bewildering, something that caught Annice completely off guard. He began to sing.

NaNoWriMo2019 - Progress Report 11/17

Shorter writing session today, spent most of the day with my fiance. Which is important. If I end up writing to the point I cannot, you know, live my life then there's no point to writing at all. I made my daily count well enough and then enjoyed time with someone I love and in my mind that's a success.

Currently hanging just below 32k.