Novel - Day 4 - 0 / 4879

** Merry Christmas **
I didn't write anything on the novel, too busy running around and playing with toys.

Novel - Day 3 - 1628 / 4879

“Who was the man you were talking to outside?” Lexa asked.

“My ticket outta here, but no, I have to be stuck here. Cleaning this stinking place and having strangers live in my house again, because the mayor needed help.” Kiri complained, punctuating her frustration by throwing a log onto the woodpile by the fireplace.

Kiri placed a few more logs on the pile while Lexa swept the floor.

“What about you” Kiri asked.

“Huh?” Lexa replied

“How did you end up here?”

“I was traveling with a group from the port to the capital city. We stopped here to replenish supplies and spend the night. The next thing I know, I wake up in the morning and my group is gone.” Lexa explained, “I tried for a while to connect up with another group but, nobody would take me on and all my money and belongings were with the first group.

So I ended up staying here and I’ve started to like the town so, I just figured I’d stay and try to start new and then I ended up here working for you.”

“Where do you come from?” Kiri asked.

“What? Uh, umm. Shouldn’t I get washing the linens? They are quite dirty and may take some time.” Lexa stalled.

“Here, I can help you with those.” Kiri said.

“No, no, that’s ok, I’ve got them” Lexa said as she pushed her way towards the kitchen.

Kiri shook her head and finished straitening the room. She grabbed the broom Lexa left behind and looked around; it had been sometime since she was up here. She liked the view from this room; it overlooked the main street and looked out to the woods beyond. It was the room she had shared with her Father when he was still here. After he was gone, she moved into the storeroom off of the kitchen, to have another room to rent. When it became too much for one person to handle, she had to quit renting rooms. Kiri grabbed the broom and headed downstairs.

Kiri walked through the kitchen doors and Lexa was at work washing the linens.

Kiri pointed out, “You never did say – “

“Do you think this is clean enough?” Lexa interrupted.

“Yes, fine. Where did you –“

“Because if there not, I can wash them again.”

“WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? I was just trying to ask where you came from and you interrupt me and try to avoid the question. I was just trying to find out a little more about you.” Kiri said.

Flustered, Lexa stared at her. “I, I don’t like to talk about it” Lexa said quietly. “I walked to town from the capital city looking for a new home. Can’t that just be enough?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s fine but, I thought you said you road with a caravan from the port town.” Kiri questioned

“Ah yeah I did, Isn’t that what I said? That’s what I meant. That’s right, I rode here with a caravan from the port city, I meant we were heading for the capital city.”

Kiri looked at her for a few seconds, grabbed a tray of mugs and carried them to the bar.

Kiri filled one of the mugs with beer and took a drink. “Still tasted good”, she thought, “But nothing like it used to.”

She now had beer delivered from the port town or made by local brewers. It was too time consuming for her to brew the beer herself. “But, she thought, if business really picks up and get even more help, I could start brewing again using the old recipes.”

Kiri stacked the mugs behind the bar, wiped off the bar top and went into the kitchen. Lexa was hanging the last of the linens to dry. Kiri opened the pantry, looked up and down, and opened a small crate next to the door. “Shoot, I forgot to get onions. I’ll be back.” she called as she grabbed her money bag and her sack and ran out the door.

Kiri ran down the street, headed for a local shop, as she walked through the door, the mayor was walking out.

“Kiri my dear, I’m so sorry. I haven’t forgotten about you but, I’ve been so busy, I haven’t been able to find anyone to help you. But, I will get on it as soon as I can. I’m sorry, I can’t chat; I’ve gotta run.” The mayor said as he ran off.

“But … what do you mean?” Kiri called after him.

He responded with nothing more than a wave.

Confused, Kiri got the onions she came for and made her way back to the bar. As she went, she saw a few men slip down different alleys as she passed.

Kiri walked through the back door of the bar, dropped the onions in the crate called out, “Lexa!” and walked out to the bar. As she was starting up the steps, she heard a noise come from the kitchen, she ran back just in time to see Lexa slip out the door. Kiri ran after her and followed her down the alleyway across the road, through another alley and towards the woods. Kiri slowed as she started to see a number of small groups of men heading in the same direction. Kiri looked around and realized that she had lost sight of Lexa. Intrigued, Kiri began to follow the men, walking parallel to them, trying to keep out of sight. She ducked behind a fallen tree and some brush and watched. The men began to uncover something; she realized that it was a wagon. One man approached and barked a few orders, as he turned, Kiri recognized him as the annoying man from the bar. Kiri began to stand up, unsure of what she was going to say or do. A firm hand wrapped around her mouth while another grasped her arm and pulled her to the ground.

“Mmmffpp” was all Kiri could manage as she struggled to free herself.

“Shut up” a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

It was enough to relax Kiri. The grip loosened and Kiri turned to see Lexa.

“Wha-“

“Sshh” Lexa responded, “follow me . . . quietly or you’ll end up dead!”

They crept slowly out of the wooded area. When they reached the street, Kiri ventured, “Who?”

“Shut up.” Lexa said under her breath, “and keep walking.”

They reached the bar, Kiri walked in; as Lexa came through the door, Kiri grabbed and spun her against the pantry door. “Who the hell are you and what were those people doing?”

Kiri barely got the words out before Lexa knocked her feet out from underneath her.

“I’m the one who just saved your life.” Lexa responded as she started to walk away.

“So are you going to tell me what’s going on and who you are?” Kiri called after her, “or are you just going to try and feed me some more lies?”

“What are you talking about?” Lexa asked.

“I know that the mayor didn’t send you to help me and you weren’t to clear on your story of how you came to town. So how about you try something different, like the truth?”

“I never said the mayor sent me”, Lexa said, “You just assumed. You would’ve known that had you not been too wrapped up in talking to that guy you’re never going to see again. I overheard you and the mayor talking this morning and I need a job and a place to stay, so I thought I’d take a chance and try to get to you before he could find someone.”

“Horace will be back.” Kiri responded.

“Not for you, not that it matters.”

“How did you get to town then and what was all of that going on in the woods?”

“Those stories are connected. I made it here by following those men in the woods or some of them, different ones from time to time. I traveled mostly on foot, getting food when and where I could and trying not to get caught. Those men are the ones who are trying to control the ports and trade routes so they can bring down the capital city.” Lexa said.

“Come off it. Those are just stories and gossip which are spread by drunk patrons and old women.” Kiri replied.

“Weren’t you the one who was trying to teach me to keep my ears open to listen for bits of news? Well that’s exactly what those ‘rumors’ are. I have followed these people from the port city and was barely able to leave there without being noticed.”

Kiri sat on a stool. “What was in the wagon and who was that man?”

“The wagon is where they are hiding their weapons and supplies. They have also been hiding certain items from the townspeople there.”

“The thefts!” Kiri exclaimed.

“Exactly, now you are catching on. They are storing them there and that man you noticed is the one in charge. Let me tell you; you don’t want to get on his bad side.” Lexa said.

“Too late for that; I had a small run in with him the other night.”

“They are planning on quietly shutting down the port city and taking it over without force. By the time news reaches here, this town will be taken over quietly and without force. Likewise, before news of the port city or this townbeing taken over reaches the capital city, it will already be under their control.” Lexa continued.

“Then why all of the wepons?” Kiri asked.

“Insurance.”

“We have to do something, we have to tell someone, we can’t just sit here.” Kiri said as she jumped up and began pacing back and forth.

Novel - Day 2 - 1635 / 3251

Kiri woke the next morning, more at ease than the night before. She slipped out the back door into the alley behind the bar. As she walked through the alley into the street of the town, memories came over her of when she was quite young and how her father would take her for walks through the woods that surrounded the bar. Now those woods were getting further and further away.

“Daddy always said that a town would build around us”, she thought, “and an inn would be the first thing weary travelers needed and the last to go out of business if times got bad.”

He built the bar about half way between a growing port city and the capital city. At the time, it was only a small trail between the two, the trade route had not yet been established but, he always said that it would only be a matter of time. The port city was growing and needed a more direct route to the capital city. He had discovered this path during a hunting trip. Now, not only did the main route go through here but, two other, smaller routes converged here and their bar sat right in the middle of it. When it was built, the bar was actually an inn with a bar on the bottom floor and rooms for rent on the second floor. Since her father had gone, Kiri found it difficult to handle the business of both establishments and had to stop renting rooms. Since that time, there had been a few boarding houses which opened up to house travelers but nothing the size of her place. She often wondered how she may be able to begin renting rooms to travelers again but it always came down to having to hire help and she didn’t know if she would bring in enough money to afford to hire help.

Kiri noticed the town was beginning to bustle with activity even at this early in the morning.

“Good morning”, she called as she passed assorted townsfolk. her greeting was always returned with a pleasant smile or wave.

“Kiri, Kiri!” a short, rotund man called as he crossed from the far side of the street, waving her down.

“Good morning, Kiri” he said as he reached her, “may I have a word with you?”

“And good morn’ to you Mayor Smithson, what can I do for ya?” she replied.

“Kiri, we have a problem that you may be able to help with. Could I ask you to reopen your boarding rooms? We have people sleeping in the streets and alleys, not just people but strangers. It’s beginning to be a problem and there is now talk that things are being stolen or places broken into and townspeople are blaming the ones who are sleeping outside. There’s no place for them to go, the few places which rent out rooms don’t have enough beds or have quit renting. I need your help; I don’t know what else to do.”

“Here’s all you have to do. Anyone you find sleeping outside, you arrest. Everybody’s happy.” she offered

“How’s that?”

“The traveler gets a warm place to sleep, a nice bed and a good meal. You have them off the streets and nothing gets stolen. Problem solved.”

Mayor Smithson stood there with his large jaw hanging open, “I can’t go around locking everyone up. That would just cause more problems besides, what kind of reputation would the town get. Also, with the cold season coming up, your place is needed, Kiri, the only good solution I see is for you to reopen.

“Mayor you know I can’t do that, I can’t run the whole place myself.”

“Kiri please.” he begged.

She thought for a second, “I’ll consider it, but only if you can find me some help. And, I’m raising my rates, I need to come out ahead to keep the old place running.”

“Oh thank you, thank you. It’s a deal.” he said, shaking her hand until she thought her arm would fall off. “I think I should be afraid for my job with the way you can get people to side with you. But before that happens, I will bid you good day.”

Kiri smiled at the thought. She always did have a way of getting what she wanted and she took pride in the fact that she didn’t have to use her looks to do so. She thought of the women that hung out in her bar, using their looks to get the men they were after. Kiri was pretty enough that she could resort to those tactics if she wanted to but, she felt that was beneath her.

Kiri went about her business, in and out of shops gathering or ordering the items she needed, sometimes stopping to chat with friends and other times, leaving quickly to avoid those people she had no desire to see. At one point in her travels, she saw two men leaning against a wall when all of a sudden, they stood up but what caught her eye was the man who had approached, it was the annoying man who was in the bar last night. She darted quickly to the other side of the street, trying to avoid being noticed.

Kiri noticed that it was harder to walk through town with her purchases; there were so many more people than there usually are here. It was as if the harvest holiday was taking place. But, something felt different, a few were traveling but many appeared to be staying. There seemed to be very few women and children. While it was true that many did not pass through as it was, there were even less if that was possible. Kiri looked around and noticed that everywhere she looked, there were small groups of two or three men. They were doing nothing except standing there or looking around and they weren’t going anywhere else.

“Good day Kiri.” someone called and waved.

“Good day”, she called back as the thoughts slipped from her mind.

She realized that the day was getting later and that she should get back to prepare to open, especially if she were going to be opening the rooms back up for rent, there was much to be done.

As Kiri approached the inn, a young man on horseback approached and stopped beside her. “Kiri!”

“Horace?” Kiri questioned.

Horace jumped from the horse, “I just came to say goodbye.”

“Where are you off to?”

“Capital city, Pa is letting me go now that harvest is over and I’m old enough.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I hear that they will take about anyone for the militia and if taking orders isn’t your cup of tea, there is always someone willing to pay for protection while on travels; or if you are really lucky, you may even hear tales of an adventure.” Horace explained.

“Ah, to go off on an adventure, I hear so many people in the bar talk of adventures. I wish I could be a part of their adventures, the excitement and thrill.”

“Excuse me.” a voice interrupted.

“You should come with me”, Horace suggested, “we could have our own adventure.”

Kiri’s face lit up with excitement.

“Excuse me.” the voice interrupted again, a little louder this time.

“What!” Kiri exclaimed as she spun around.

“Are you Kiri?” a young woman asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Mayor Smithson sent me, he said you would have a job for me.” she explained.

“Damn it!” Kiri looked at the young woman, glanced at the bar and turned to Horace. “Be safe and come back, you are the only available man for me in this town.”

Horace gave her a hug, kissed her on the cheek and climbed onto his horse and rode off.

“Come on” Kiri said to the young woman, “We can get in through the back.”

Kiri opened the back door and set her packages on the counter, “So Mayor Smithson sent you. You got a name?”

“Lexa. The mayor said you may even be able to put me up, is that true?” she asked timidly.

“Yeah I can do that but, it would be part of your pay and I can’t offer much.”

“I understand. I’m only looking for a decent bed and warm meal.” Lexa explained.

“You can put your stuff in there.” Kiri said pointing to a door off of the kitchen, “There’s a spare bed in there you can use. Then I’ll show you around, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done if we are going to open this place back up to rent rooms again. I hope you can cook. With renting out the rooms, comes a lot more mouths to feed and I can’t do it all myself.”

Kiri spent the rest of the morning showing Lexa how everything was going to work. They spent the afternoon sweeping and cleaning linens. Kiri also ran out to spread the news that she was beginning to rent rooms again.

“I am going to teach you Lexa, what my father taught me, to always keep your ears open and listen for any news you may hear.”

“Why?” Lexa questioned.

“Because as liquor begins to flow, people’s lips begin to get loose and often they say more than they ought. It is the best way for us to discover any news or dangers which may befall us. And as your new boss, I expect you to share anything you hear with me.”

Lexa just nodded and said, “OK, you’re the boss”.

Kiri new that Lexa hadn’t fully grasped what she was trying to tell her. She also new that as soon as she came across some surprising info, the lesson would never be forgotten.

Novel - Day 1 - 1616 words per day / 1616 words total

Chapter one

Kiri glanced up from drying a mug as the old, heavy oak door banged open and a cold wind blew up her skirt.

“Shut the door”, she called.

It was one of her pet peeves, people just couldn’t seem to simply open the door slowly, slide in and shut the door quickly and quietly. They always had to throw it open with a grand gesture, banging it against the wall. As if they were announcing to the world that they have entered.

The man just stood there.

“Are you deaf? SHUT THE DOOR!” she yelled anger welling up inside of her as she set down the glass. Reaching for her rolling pin, she was beginning to entertain the thought of marching over there and using it on the stranger. He slowly reached out and shut the door. Disappointed, Kiri set down the rolling pin as the man approached the bar. “What can I get you?”

“A beer will do”, the man replied as he tossed a few coins on the table.

Kiri filled a mug and took the man’s money. She thought of how her life might be different if her father was still alive. It was his bar after all, she only ran it because of the promise she had made to him the last time she saw him. There were many times she wished she had never made that promise. She had always wanted more out of life, more than this little town could ever offer her. She missed the company of friends and the attention of men. She had begun to accept that she would most likely become an old maid, the men who came through here; she wanted nothing to do with. She also missed the friendship of other women. The only women that ever made it in here were the barflies who would find an unsuspecting man to latch onto for the evening whether it was just for companionship or for money.

Even though she felt trapped in this town, she had grown to at least accept it if not even love it a bit. It was the bar that she loved and cared for. Everywhere she looked, she could see her father, from carvings which hung on the wall to an old apron which smelled like him that still hung in the kitchen.

Kiri looked up and saw the old miller who was sitting at a table near the bar lift an empty glass at her. Kiri filled a mug and took it to him.

“Here you are miller Johnson”, she said.

“Thank you dear. Your father would be so proud.” he said

Kiri knew that it would be the last drink for him for the evening; she knew that when he began to reminisce about ‘the old days’ he was done for the evening, any more than that and it would be an embarrassing situation for everyone. She felt that this was her town and in some way it was her duty to protect it, even if it was only from people embarrassing themselves.

Her father felt a need to protect this small town, not just from embarrassments but from larger threats. He would always say that our bar is where plans are made and battles are lost through a simple slip of the drunken tongue. He tried to teach her that a lot could be learned if you only listened and used common sense. Her father also had a store of weapons under the bar in his storeroom, but that had rarely been touched.

The town isn’t anything special or at least that’s how it appeared to Kiri mostly because there was never anything to do here and nothing exciting ever happened. It is just a small little town on a trade route between the port and the capital city.

The man, who had left the door open, pushed his mug forward and laid a few more coins on the bar. Kiri filled his mug, put the coins in her pocket and wiped the bar clean of the spilled beer.

“Do you have any food?” he asked.

“The kitchen’s closed”, she replied as she really looked for the first time into his white face, “but I’ll see if I can fetch you some bread.” as she headed through the door behind the bar.

“Thank you miss”, he said as she placed a hunk of bread in front of him.

“Are you OK?” she asked.

He looked about, “I fear that …” a glass slammed on the table with a shout. The man jumped and looked about, seeing nothing; he shoves a piece of bread in his mouth and averts his eyes.

“WENCH, bring us more beer!” the disgusting man at the corner table bellowed as he slammed his mug on the table; his friends yelling in agreement.

Kiri filled several mugs and carried them to the table. She set them down between the empty mugs and swords lying across the table.

“Be quick about it next time, or I’ll have this dump burnt to the ground.” he warned.

Anger flared up in Kiri as her hand brushed the hilt of a sword on the table. She grasped the sword and pulled it to point it at the rude man who dared to threaten to burn her place down. Kiri was shocked at how heavy the sword was as she pulled it from the table and it dropped to the ground. She just stood there with her mouth hanging open and a look of shock across her face. She could see anger well up in the face of the stranger. He leaned closer towards her, “You think you are able to use Kroc’s sword against him?”

She could smell his rotting breath and see the broken teeth in his mouth.

“Ha! You can’t even lift his sword. Now fetch us more beers, wench”, he commanded as a hand slapped across her ass, “and be quick about it or you may end up among the burning rubble of this place when I am through with it.” She ran off and got the beers they wanted. Not wanting more trouble, the rest of the night she made sure they had their beer but other than that, stayed as clear of them as she could.

She went about taking care of the other patrons in the bar. She set a cup of coffee in front of miller Johnson as she walked past his table. She felt him grab her arm with a firm but strong grip, “Don’t let them get to you dear. They’ll get their due soon enough. The clouds of change are coming.”

Angered, she tried to pull away and found she couldn’t. She looked down into his soft but gentle eyes, “I can’t afford to lose this place. It’s all I’ve got.”

“I know dear, just keep your cool and steer clear of those ones.” he said, releasing his grip on her.

She left to clean an empty table. She gathered the half filled mugs and wiped the table with her bar rag.

“It’s an invasion I tell you,” she overheard someone saying, the old lessons her dad taught her still a part of who she was.

“They’re taking over quietly. Anyone who gets wind of it or starts to make noise is silenced. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah right,” said another voice, “this is just another one a yo stories.”

“I’m tellin’ ya,” said the first man, “they quietly take over the port towns and then they control the trade routes.”

“I ain’t seen nothin’ goin’ on”

“Of course not, they’re all quiet like. They try to make it business as usual and once everything is in place, they’ll shut everything down and take over the capital city.”

“Aw you’se just had too much to drink.” replied the second man.

Kiri shook her head and carried the dirty mugs back to the kitchen, setting them into the sink, she thought, “It’s getting close to closing time, I’ll get them later.” She glanced at the apron hanging by the door. Grabbing the edge of the apron, she sniffed; she could still faintly notice his smell on the apron. She collapsed against the wall and slid to the floor, weeping.

“Why did you leave me? I can’t keep this place running all by myself.”

Slowly she got up, wiping the tears from her eyes. She walked out to the bar, rang the bell that hung at the end of bar and cried out, “Last call!” A few of the patrons raised their mugs, asking for more, while others emptied theirs and wrapping their coats around themselves headed out the door.

“Another round.” the annoying man at the corner table called, motioning to himself and his friends. As Kiri was bringing the beers to the table, she noticed the two men she overheard, pull their cloaks around them and head out the door. They looked familiar but she couldn’t place their names. As she was about to ask their names, she heard the annoying man call out, “Here, give us our beers.” She set the beers on the table and by the time she looked up, the two men were gone.

As usual, miller Johnson was the last one out, he took it upon himself to see to it that all the riff raff left before he did, to make sure that Kiri was safe for the evening.

Kiri wished miller Johnson good night and shut and locked the door behind him. She looked around and thought, “It wasn’t much but it was all she had left and her Dad left it for her.” She slowly cleaned up the bar.

What am I doing?

Every year beginning on November 1^st many ambitious (read: half-insane) people attempt a feat unlike many others; they attempt to write a novel. That is because November is National Novel Writing Month. This is so proclaimed because that is the month that has been set aside by the ones who created it at www.nanowrimo.org

I bring this up not because I joined in the festivities this year. Actually, I did try it one year and did not get very far. This year however, I did not try. But, my story does not end there. I discovered a co-worker had attempted to write a novel in 30 days this year. Sadly, he fell short by just a few thousand words. This co-worker decided on a new challenge, in which he included me.

For the next 31 days, we will attempt to write a 50,000 word novel. He chose 31 days because I guess as they say, “if you bring the ball you get to make the rules”. So for the next 31 days, I will be posting the results of my attempt at writing a novel. That works out to exactly 1613 words per day. Which is about 5 1/2 - 6 pages per day.

I'm looking forward to the adventure but, I haven't got a clue what to write about.