GoCorral

This entry highlights one of the weird parts of National Novel Writing Month. While the intention is to write constantly to get to 50,000 words, that writing is not always linear within the story’s chronology or in how the story is presented. I realized I should add a scene about Blendegad’s romance to the end of his chat with the town elders from my Day 8 writing. While I’ve done some editing on previous posts and adjusted word counts slightly, it felt inappropriate to insert an entire scene into a previous post and create a false impression of how much I wrote that day. So I decided to present that scene in this post even if its out of order for the intended presentation.

Chapter 3 – Blendegad (Inserted Scene)

“I know you’ll do what’s right,” Cheery Goma said. She put her wrinkled hand on Blendegad’s shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze. “I should be getting one though.” Cheery Goma stood and toddled off to her house in the village.

Blendegad looked at the setting sun towards his home. The kids playing in the square were being called to their houses for dinner. He heard a noise behind him as someone approached the stumps and benches. He turned to see Claudia settling onto bench next to his stump.

Claudia was… special to Blendegad. It didn’t feel so much like love to him. More like inevitability. They were the only unmarried ones of similar age in the village. The others had been paired up already or passed for one reason or another.

Claudia had brown curly hair. Her face was simple and freckled. Blendegad enjoyed looking at her eyes. They were slightly lopsided. A small droop on the left from a childhood polio infection. She wore a dun dress under a leather jerkin. Her lower legs were covered by knitted socks and simple leather shoes.

“Glad to see you back,” she said.

“Were you worried about me?” asked Blendegad.

“I…” Claudia paused. Her mouth was half-open. Blendegad stared at her teeth between her lips. “Yes, I was.”

“Well, I’m fine. Just hungry.”

“You shouldn’t have to help Allan like that. He should get a dog.”

“There were four wolves out there. I don’t think a dog would’ve helped.”

“Four dogs then,” Claudia folded her arms and smirked.

Blendegad said, “Allan can barely afford two kids without Jessiah anymore. There’s no way he could feed four dogs.”

“Hmm.”

Blendegad tapped his gloved fingers on his leg. “It’s good to see you.”

“Did you get bored watching the sheep before the wolves came?”

“A bit.”

“Did you think about me?”

“Yes,” Blendegad lied.

Claudia blushed and leaned towards Blendegad. He leaned towards her as well. Their shoulders touched. She turned her head towards him. He turned towards her. Her lips pursed. He kissed her. Claudia went stiff for a moment, then relaxed. Blendegad brought his hand to her cheek and held it as their lips remained together.

Claudia sighed and pulled back as she lightly pushed Blendegad away. She smiled and moved the hair that had fallen in front of her face. She stood and gave Blendegad another peck on the forehead.

“Goodnight Blendegad,” she giggled. She turned to walk away.

Blendegad said, “Goodnight Claudia.”

Chapter 3 Blendegad (Continued)

Sandra wiped her mouth with her sleeve and put her hands in her lap. She said, “Have you thought about the responsibilities you’d be leaving behind here?”

“I have. The village will be fine for a few days while I’m gone. There shouldn’t be any other monsters or beasts in the area for months.”

“And what… What if you don’t return?”

“I… I will. I wouldn’t stay in Shalerton.”

“That’s not…” Sandra choked slightly, “…what I meant.”

“Oh.”

“I will come back, Mom. I promise.”

“So you have made up your mind.”

Blendegad stopped for a moment. He hadn’t realized it but, “I suppose I have.”

Sandra sighed. She crossed her ankles below her and folded her arms. “When will you leave?”

“Tomorrow.” Blendegad nodded. “They’re in trouble. The sooner I get there the better.”

Sandra stood. “Best you leave in the morning then. I’ll make you a bag.” She left into the front room again.

Blendegad looked down at his empty bowl. He heard his mother collecting ingredients and vials. Were her orange eyes watering when she walked past him?

He stood and went into the front room. The large leather satchel Sandra used to collect reagents in the wild was out on the counter near the door to the back room. Sandra was grabbing vials, sniffing them, and replacing them on the shelves around the walls of the room or placing them in a leather satchel. Blendegad thought she seemed stiff compared to her usual fluid movements.

“Mom?”

Sandra continued to fly around the room. She opened drawers to retrieve dried steams, leaves, roots, and flowers to stow in the satchel’s pockets.

“Mom?”

“Yes? Just making you a satchel with some things.” Sandra did not look at Blendegad as she spoke. She kept up her pace going through the shelves, cabinets, and drawers of the front room.

Blendegad walked around the counter and stood in front of the satchel. Sandra whirled away from a drawer with a handful of dahlia roots. She bumped into Blendegad as she did so, but stayed pressed against him. Her face stayed buried in Blendegad’s sweater. He heard her sobbing and felt his sweater dampen. Sandra dropped the roots and pulled Blendegad towards her. Blendegad hugged her back, firmly and lovingly. They stayed like that for what felt like hours.

Eventually Sandra pushed back from Blendegad. She looked him in the eyes and took a deep breath in through her nose. “You promise me… You promise me you’ll come back.”

“Mother, I promise I will return. By Zeus or by Hecate I will return.”

The name of the Dark Mother made Sandra break eye contact with Blendegad. “Yes, we should read your fortune…”

Sandra separated from Blendegad to go behind the counter. She pulled out the bag of knuckle bones from the shelves below the counter top. Sandra handed the bag to Blendegad. He knew what to do. He focused his energy into the bones within the bag. It only took him a moment. He handed the bag back to Sandra.

She retrieved the bones and shook them between both of her hands. Sandra asked them, “How can Blendegad return safely to our home after his journey?” With one final shake, Sandra released the bones onto the counter top by the satchel.

Sandra counted the bones, “Four chains and one S. Then you must go… But you will find two companions on your way that will help you.”

“I think I already have everything I need.”

“And what would that be? This is serious!”

“My hex magic and my blade.”

Chapter 4 – Meeting in Shalerton

Galandir arrived with his traveling companions at Shalerton. The outlying fields were filled with sheep and goats. The shepherds stoically watched their group walk by to the village center. Some of the friends and family of those shepherds were among those kidnapped by the monsters. And here was help at last! Galandir was excited to put his skills to the test.

He’d fallen in with some humans on the way to Shalerton. Galandir liked walking later into the evening. His elf eyes could see well in the twilight hours and decently under starlight and moonlight. While humans were restricted by their sight, Galandir could appreciate the secret beauty of dusk. His new friends had set up camp an hour or more before Galandir came upon them in his journey. A fortunate encounter due to the extra hour of traveling that his elven traits made possible.

There were five of them. Godrick was the lead of their band, a large man with a bald head and a thick, black beard. He wore leather armor and carried a large ax as his weapon of choice. There were the blonde twins Stuart and Locklin who both used a shield and sword for their combat styles. There was Tokint. She was dull in Galandir’s opinion. Barely said a word or cracked a smile. Finally, there was Alyssa. She was Tokint’s opposite, talkative and boisterous. Alyssa was also not fully human. There was some elf blood in her. Galandir was a poor judge of these things, but at least her ears were too pointy for Alyssa to be a plain human woman.

Galandir passed across the river ford by Shalemstead on the day he ran into Godrick’s band. They’d made camp and had a fire going, making it easy for Galandir to navigate to their location. He hadn’t expected how lonely he’d felt on the road, even only a few days into his journey. Having others to share the time with was a welcome thought.

Galandir called out to them as he approached, “Ho! I am Galandir of Valor’s Forest. May I share your food and fire?”

Godrick had shouted back in his gruff voice, “If you bring food of your own and stories to tell, you have a place among us.”

Galandir entered the circle of light around the fire. He offered a sausage as his food and Icarus’s flight as his tale. The sausage was acceptable and it didn’t matter what they thought of the tale. This was the way of guests in Cimmeria. Ask for food and comfort, offer food and stories in return. These customs were practiced in the human cities, the elven forests, the dwarven halls, and even the orkin caves.