A Quest of my Own

Well, this is Aaron. Say hello, Aaron.


"Hello...."

There's a good boy. He's not used to me talking to him, so he may seem slightly hesitant. Why don't you tell our readers who you are, Aaron.

Aaron clears his throat. "My name is Aaron Troughton, son of the town weaponsmith in Kanterville."

Which is in Ynera, one of the kingdoms in south-central Xystia.

"Aye."

Aaron is the main character of a short story I wrote, oh, about three years ago, I believe. I can't recall for certain, but at any rate, I wrote it for a short story class my brothers and I took some time ago, and since then, I have been editing it off and on between working on the Outlander Trilogy and other writing projects. Well, finally, the time has come to actually publish it. My family -- my grandfather in particular -- has been nagging me to get something published. "Official", as they call it, and I attempt not to take offense at that. I have about a million things written that took quite some effort to get out of my head and onto paper, thank you very much. Just not as much of it is coherently edited, much to, it seems, pretty much everyone's great dismay and exasperation.

Aaron doesn't care either way, do you, Aaron?

Aaron scratches his head and shrugs.

See? Anyway. I'm posting this to say a couple things. The first thing is obvious; I'm publishing Aaron's Quest. Well, the first edition of it, at any rate.

The second thing is that I'm going to the 2013 OYAN Summer Workhop with my brother, Seph, which starts this coming Monday. That means I won't be around to post anything for at least a week. We're bringing back Ani and Dana and Wynni to stay with us for a week or so after that, so I'll probably be busy then, as well. I promise to do my best to take as many pictures as possible, as well as some video of this year's Celtic Day at the SW.

So, until I get Aaron's Quest published, that's all for now. Say goodbye, Aaron.

"Farewell." Aaron smiles and waves.

He seems such a sedate little fellow--

"I'm not little."

--but he has quite a bit in him, I assure you. He does turn up in book three of the Outlander Trilogy, at least once. Deciding that actually made finishing his story tolerable. I've been editing that dratted manuscript so much it drove me bonkers. Only near the end did I decide to set the story in Ynera, one of the kingdoms in Xystia, which is the story world for the Outlander Trilogy. Rather than medieval England. Research.... Not my favorite thing in the world.

And neither is formatting. FORMATTING. Ick.

Aaron fidgets."Should I say farewell again, or can I go?"

Say farewell again, because I'm done now. Really.

Aaron waves again. "Farewell!"

Dia duit,
~Penny

PS
Gracious, I can't believe I forgot to mention this! The illustrations in Aaron's Quest, including the one of Aaron that I included in this post, were all done by Robert Carter. He did an excellent job; the cartoon style drawings fit perfectly with the tone of the story itself. Thanks, Robert!

Overdue

So I've been sick. That's my excuse, yeah. This weekend was spent lying in bed doing little more than watching instant movies on Netflix and reading over old Skype histories. Nothing interesting or blog worthy. I was informed the other  by my cousin, and again today by one of Dana's younger brothers, that I haven't posted anything in a while.

So I'm posting this. I have no idea what I'm going to put here. Maybe I'll find a song.

It's not Christmas, but come on, the song is Scottish, and it has the tune to Loch Lomond in it. She's a good violinist, too.

Avengers. Quite the family classic in our house. I believe my father -- who read all the comics when he was growing up -- has seen it at least one hundred times. At least.

And now I will find a picture.

 

If you check my Pinterest boards with any regularity, you'll have already seen these pictures. If you don't, then I'll explain. I made those two pairs of earrings and the necklace last month using leftover beads in my beading basket. I'm quite pleased with the way they turned out. Which is good, because the purple pair of earrings were an absolute pain to try and connive together. I'm one of those people who wings her way through two thirds of any project, beading included. Did I look up how to make what I wanted to make? Of course not. I came up with my own, ridiculously tedious method, and used that for both earrings because I'm too stubborn to find a better way.

They look cute, though. I wore the purple set today with a green sweater. My silly nail polish is chipping, but the rest of me looked nice, at least.

Now something written...

The first thing that registered when my thoughts awoke was the dull ache in my muscles from having lain in the same position for so long. I winced, pushing myself up and opening my eyes. The lucid awareness of my mind surprised me.

  How long have I slept?

  It had to have been some time in order for me to feel so rested. And Dana had not woken me. He must have fallen asleep somewhere, as well. Crawling between the deftly twisted branches that hid me in my little den, I hoped he’d found somewhere out of sight in case someone showed up and—

  I lifted my gaze, and froze.

  Someone had showed up. A lot of someones.

That's your sneak peak for the next part of FtGG. Hopefully it'll get done at some point, though lately I've been focusing on the final edit for a short story of mine that I plan to publish. So y'all will just have to bear with me while I unskillfully juggle life and writing.

Well, hopefully this blog post will suffice for the time being. I have a few others in mind that I'll try to get out soon, too. Until then, if you get bored, go read a book. Rosie has a booklist on here somewhere, so search it, and get to it. I'll have her come up with another one soon. She's been doing a lot of reading lately.

Anyway.

Dia duit,
~Penny

 

For The Greatest Good -- Part XV (Penny)

Part XV – Account by Penny Kearney

  Our feet pounded against the stone floor. Puddles and mice scattered alike in our flight, but I heeded neither. My heart raced with the excitement of escape as I pushed myself as fast as I needed to in order to keep up with Dana swift pace. Not once did I think to question his course.

  Through the confusing angled labyrinth, turn after turn, given light by ever decreasing number of torches, then…

  Dana checked his pace, halting. Easing my momentum, I stopped near him at an intersection.  To our right the hall gaped into dimness, the occasional torch lighting the way, but not near as dark as the pitch black passage that lurked to the left. I watched as Dana flicked his gaze down one passageway, then the next, then back..

  “Uh…”

  Over our heavy breathing, the echoes of our pursuers pricked my ears, drawing my glance back for an instant. Undoubtedly Dana heard it, too. I looked to him.

  Urgency showed clear on his expression, but also did caution. “Maybe…” He took a hesitant step forward, then paused.

  Was Set throwing him off?

  The sounds grew louder.

  Come on, Dana…

  “Oh, hang it all…” Caution fled his demeanor.

  Reaching back, he grasped my hand, catching my gaze even as the footfalls rang out from around the bend behind us. “You trust me?”

  The flicker of hesitation that rose within me died in a heartbeat. “Yes.”

  “Then do not let go, whatever you do.”

  With that, he plunged full kelter into the black tunnel on the left, pulling me with along with him. Darkness swallowed us. I tightened my grip as bade, not loosening for a single moment in spite of the fact that Dana surged forward with seemingly no thought as to where the tunnel led. The light faded behind us in an ever shrinking point until it disappeared all together. For several minutes, the only sounds were our panted breaths and rapid footsteps. The guards chasing us must have assumed we’d gone down the lighted passage. Whatever the case was, I was grateful for it, and prayed it would remain as such long enough for us to reach the end of whatever trail Dana had picked up.

  “Nearly….there,” He said between breaths.

  The faint rumble of rushing water reached my ears, growing more and more distinct with every footfall. The air cooled, and suddenly Dana skid to a dead halt. I jerked to a stop to keep from running into him. I would have questioned him, but at that moment I could barely breathe, let alone talk. I heaved, throat constricted a little.

  “Hold on,” Dana said, releasing my hand. “Give me a moment to focus.”

  I strained to see his shadowed form in the darkness. His footfalls barely registered above the growl of water echoing from…..somewhere, as he paced carefully about the narrow passageway. I considered asking him what he was looking for, but I doubted even he knew at this point.

  “Somewhere around here….” He muttered. “Maybe the wall to… “

  A gasp and then a cry. His yell vanished downwards before ending with a resounding splash, somewhere below. And then, nothing, save the endless roar of water.

  I darted forward. “Dana!”

  The narrow passage came to an end in a gaping hole that jutted downwards into darkness even starker than that which surrounded me.

  “Dana!”

  No response.

  My thoughts tripped over themselves. Was this the way, or…

  This is it.

  It made no sense whatever. With a glance behind me, I put sanity from my mind, straightened, and stepped over the edge before I could dismiss my instinct with rational thought.

  I regretted it instantly. The falling sensation jarred through me like a snap of cold wind. A cry rose in my throat as I plummeted downwards, and landed with a splash into the inescapable embrace of a dark current. The waves engulfed me, filling my mouth with water, dragging and throwing me downwards and away. I held my breath instinctively, flailing for something – anything – to grab onto. My fingers grasped only the surging liquid tendrils. My lungs began to ache. Panic welled up inside me.

  The current suddenly hurled me helpless over a precipice. I gasped in a breath in the moment the momentum flung me into the open air, landing with another splash into a pool below. This time, however, I clawed my way to the surface as the course of the river slowed, though in my fatigued state it still kept me trapped in its clutches. I floated downstream like a bit of driftwood. By the time I forced myself to begin stroking for either side of the river, light up ahead began to illuminate the jagged tunnel walls. It shone from around a bend, and the current sped up again, whisking me around the turn and into fresh air, where I once again tumbled over a drop off.

  I landed with a wet thump in a sandy bottomed pool only about knee deep. Spluttering, I pushed myself to my knees, crawling towards the shore. All around me grew a thick copse of pine trees. Sunlight streamed down through the pointed tops, sparkling off the ripples I created with each movement, but I couldn’t see Dana.

  He had to have made it.

  Coughing, I hauled myself onto the grass. It took me several moments to regain my breath.

  There. Dana lay on his back, half out of the water a dozen yards away. Motionless.

  “Blast it….”

  I pushed myself to my feet, stumbling over to his position with water still dripping into my eyes. Dropping to my knees beside him, I yanked the straps holding his leather breastplate in place, shoved it out of the way, and pressed my ear to his chest.

  Only a faint heartbeat. No breathing.

  No…

  I slammed my fist against his chest. “Blast it, Dana! This is a stupid way to die!”

  A gurgling cough rattled from his throat, and he pitched to the side, coughing and gasping for breath.

  I nearly went limp with relief. I closed my eyes, and sat back on my heels with hands trembling as Dana regained his breath.

  Thank you, my King….

  “Penny…”

  Opening my eyes, I managed a slight smirk, too drained for anything else. “Thank you for not dying. That would have been a real downer.”

  “You..” He coughed again, rasping, “You followed?”

  “You asked me if I trusted you.”

  “That was before I fell into a dark hole.”

  I didn’t see how that mattered.

  “Wait…” He frowned. “Died? How did you find me?”

  “We both washed up here.”

  For a long moment he just stared at me. I stared back.

  “Thank you.” He said at last. “I am in your debt.”

  I blanked. He didn’t wait for a response, planting his hands and pushing himself to his feet with a groan. This I was thankful for. I didn’t even know what response I would give to anything right now. Conflict raged in my heart like the current that had brought me here, and  overwhelmed any potentially logical thought I might have been able to muster had I any energy left to do so.

  “Now,” Dana said, obviously not suffering the same affliction as myself. Which I was also thankful for. “First thing’s first.”

  I watched him stagger to the pool and stoop. He tasted the water before nodding. “Underground spring. It’s fresh.”

  “Is that significant?”

  He knelt and took several long draughts of the water before answering, “Yes. It’s drinkable. Don’t move from there, though; rest a moment.”

  “That will not be a problem.” I said. “I had more than enough to drink on the way here.”

  “Aye, but we’ll be wanting it later on more than not.” Taking a small canteen from his belt, which had somehow remained attached through the rage of the journey here, he dipped it beneath the surface to fill it with water. His hands moved with lingering clumsiness, but otherwise he didn’t appear any worse for wear from our unorthodox escape route. “Supplies especially, if we’re to be out here for much longer.”

  I scooted back a few feet to rest against the trunk of one of the pine trees. “How long before they think to search for us?”

  Returning to the bank, he sat down with a sigh a few feet away and shrugged. “I’ve no idea. That side passage was abandoned from castle use due to cave-ins many years ago.” He said. “I know for certain Set didn’t trick me; I had no idea what was down that way.”

  That at least was comforting.

  Silence began to settle, but suddenly he slapped his forehead. “Of course! That’s brilliant.”

  I frowned, glancing in his direction, and found him to be peering up at the sheer cliff face at the base of which sat the little pool with the river pouring into it from a dark, gaping cavern.

  “What?”

  “Campbell’s fortress; it’s back face is built out of a solitary mountain.” He motioned with his hand. “We’re on the other side. The watercourse must have shot us right through.”

  “Oh.” I attempted to visualize this in my head, but my mind rebelled, too tired to make it make sense.

  It must have showed, for Dana continued, “Meaning, unless they come the way we came, it would take any pursuers nearly an entire day to find us here. Even if they knew where we were.”

  I raised my brows. “Oh…” While still unable to fully visualize, the amount of time it would take any of Ross’s men to reach us eased some of my tension.

  “Even still, I don’t feel entirely like running anywhere at the moment.” He shifted with a wince, glancing about the area again. “This place looks well sheltered. My vote, we find a clump of bushes and rest for a few hours.”

  I just nodded.

  Wearily, he stumbled to his feet. “Hold on, I’ll find someplace and come back for you.”

  I didn’t even think to protest. “All right.”

  His gait grew stronger as he walked away and vanished amidst the trees.

  The moment he was out of sight, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. All I could think of was my brothers. Percy and Seph. One of them would die unless a miracle occurred. And I could do nothing. Nothing. It made me numb. Tears welled up in my heart though my eyes remained dry.

  Well. As dry as they could considering the events of the past quarter of an hour.

  I couldn’t help but wonder…. If they died…. Then what would I do?

  “Pen?” Dana’s voice broke my thoughts.

  I opened my eyes to see him walking towards me again. “There’s a dip in a clump of bushes a few yards in. Should work well enough.”

  With a nod, I pushed myself to my feet, using the tree for support. “You sure they won’t be able to find us?”

  “No.” He said frankly. A look of concern drew his brows downward, and he stepped closer. “You need help getting up?”

  “I’m okay.” To prove it, I straightened, slipping my hand off the tree. “Where’s the spot?”

  Turning, he led the way into the trees. I forced my uncooperative footsteps to remain steady to avoid worrying him any further as I followed him.

  “Once you get in, the cover is thick enough to hide you” He said, pointing to a small clump of bushes that lied within the confines of three trees. “I’ll cover any damage to it when you’re in to mask your trail.”

  I frowned sidelong at him, observing the lingering weariness in his demeanor, despite his efforts. “Are you keeping watch?”

  “I’ll do my best to, but…. I don’t think either of us are in any condition to be doing much of anything. It feels….safe here, somehow. Like…. Moving would be worse than staying, if that makes any sense.”

  “Well, wake me in an hour, and I’ll spell you.”

  “I will. If I remember to…” He nodded towards the underbrush. “Go on, in you go. You’re hardly in a state fit to stand, from all appearances.”

  “I’m not the one who almost died.” I mumbled.

  Crouching, I ducked down into the makeshift den. The earthy scent of damp pine needles filled my nostrils and sunlight dappled down from above me into my secret little hiding place. I heard Dana re-arranging the brush to make my entry undetectable as I curled into a damp heap against the ground and let myself descend rapidly into the oblivion of slumber.

For The Greatest Good -- Part XIV (Penny)

Part XV -- Account by Penny Kearney

  Every inch of me trembled. Fury, but more than that, panic. Cold fear. Each time I tried to think, my thoughts flew to my brothers.

  One of them would die. If Ross’s promise could be trusted, painfully.

  And there was nothing left for me to do about it. I tried to force myself to let go, to consider escape so I could at least rescue my other brother. But every fiber of me wanted to scream. I wanted to let loose everything I had been containing inside for the past eight hours. I wanted to stop pretending I was strong enough for this.

  But I couldn’t even do that. So I sat in the corner of my cell, thankful for the shadows that hid my distress, and the presence of the guards to prevent Dana from breaking my concentration. Right now the sound of his voice would only crack the barriers I was trying to construct for myself. It would be a time before the intensity of the emotions numbed me. I needed that time to myself.

  Minute upon minute slipped by. The shaking in my muscles ceased except for the occasional one due to the chill in the dank air. Slowly, I began to come out of my own thoughts, aware of my surroundings once more. My breath evened, and the throb from Set’s complimentary bruise on my jaw eased somewhat as I focused my gaze, flicking it towards Dana’s cell.

  He stood pacing in front of the bars of his cell, back and forth like a caged panther. I wondered how long he’d been doing that, feeling my senses return fully to the present reality, and the door click shut on my emotions. How long they would remain as such, I did not know, but I would take as much time as I could get.

  As I contemplated how to begin a conversation on the topic of escape, Dana halted his footsteps, tense. A breath of a moment passed, then he moved to the back of the cell and sat down as casually as ever. His gaze caught mine.

  “Talk.” He mouthed silently.

  I narrowed my eyes briefly, conjuring back the connection to his thoughts. “Out loud?”

  “No, like this.” He kept a blank expression, gaze wandering aimlessly. “I can sense a way. You have to be ready.”

  It took several moments for his words to sink in so soon after accepting a fate supremely less miraculous. He would not tell me of a way, though, unless he was sure of it. That much I trusted.

  “Where?”

  “Just wait for it.” His gaze flitted across my corner once more, then suddenly he frowned, clutching his stomach with a groan, and doubled against the floor.

  I started.  The echoes of his cry bounced down the hall, followed by others. The guards glanced towards him.

  I stood. “You had better be faking that…”

  “Well, I can’t say I enjoyed my breakfast after that punch.”

  How he could still think of jokes, considering our situation, I could not fathom, but for some unaccountable reason it gave me an unbidden spark of hope.

  The sound of marching steps drowned out the last of the echoes of Dana’s distress, catching my attention. A man I recognized as Ross’s captain came into view leading six soldiers in formation behind him, halting by our cells. The guards straightened in attention.

  I knew what they were here for. My muscles stiffened.

  “Ross intends to torture me until I tell the truth. Give me the name of a location – any location – so I can tell them that’s where I heard the rest of our army is.”

  Lying limp, shaking, and whimpering a muffled moan at intervals, Dana opened his eyes and flashed me a smile. “Who said that was the way?”

  I blinked, now completely thrown, and unable to think of a response.

   Trust him.

  “I don’t like taking chances.”

  “If you don’t trust me, I understand, but this is the only chance we’ll have.”

  “Unlock the door,” The lieutenant ordered one of the guards. “We’re here to transport the girl to another cell.” He nodded sharply towards Dana. “What’s wrong with him? Sick?”

  Rolling onto his back, Dana gave a cry of ‘agony’, that incited the lieutenant to bang the bars. “Silence, prisoner!”

  The guard inserted the keys into the lock on my cell door. My insides coiled tighter and tighter.

  Unable to see Dana, I whispered my thoughts in his direction.  “Alright. I trust you.”

  The hinges on the door creaked dolefully as two soldiers entered. I stepped into my place between them without need of their physical assistance, and walked out into the hall as bidden. My heartbeat fluttered in my ears.

  Trust him.

  Two more soldiers took up their positions in front of me, and the lieutenant let out a sigh.

  “You might as well take the other with us while there’s enough of us to manage them both. Lord Set wouldn’t want anything happening to him.” He muttered.

  “Aye, sir.” Along with the remaining two soldiers, the guards moved to Dana’s cell.

  My pulse jumped. The guards entered, dragged Dana to his feet, and shoved him roughly out into the hall.

  His gaze met mine for no more than a second. “Now.”

  With the speed of speed and force of an unbridled stallion, Dana tore free from the grip of his captors, and charged through the gathering of warriors into the freedom of the hall beyond. Cries erupted from those present. Two soldiers immediately grasped my arms, pulling me back in spite of my struggles, while the lieutenant ordered his other men into a line, weapons drawing with a symphony of metal blades ringing on metal scabbards. Dana stood weaponless mere yards away, daring them to advance upon him.

  I took my cue. Amidst the confused hesitation, I let every muscle go limp, causing my own captors to lose their secure hold. With a twist, I slipped free. The lieutenant shouted. I burst through the line holding its attention on Dana, stumbling, knocking one of them into his companion, and made it into the freedom Dana had already acquired.

  He caught my arm, helping me regain my balance, and pulling me alongside him until I adjusted my momentum to his as we both took off down the hall.

  “Either we’re both getting whipped for this, or you have a plan.” I glanced behind us, speaking above the lieutenant’s fury.

  Dana motioned down a side passage. “Call it a hunch.”

  At the moment, that was good enough for me. I followed him without hesitation.

NaNoWriMo -- Day 9

In regards to wrimoing, today is a fail of epic proportions. Although in my defense, I did sit down to write once. But then Dad got home.

Then there was this other event...

I'm officially twenty now. Today is my birthday. I got at least a hundred 'happy birthday's from friends and aquaintances, an adorable e-card from Siani, and a lovely afternoon out at Menchies (if you live in Florida, definitely look up Menchies) with the family.

As a result of the day's activities, and my desire to spend more time with my family rather than hermited up in my room wrimoing, I have gotten exactly 0 words written. It's also movie night tonight, so if the movie runs real late, I'm not sure I'll get to wrimoing at all today.

And you know what? I'm completely unrepentant. So ha. ^.^ I've been in a spritely good mood all day, and haven't let anything spoil it. Tomorrow I will go back to being a hermit and attempt to churn out three thousand words in order to catch up.

Dia duit,
~Penny

For The Greatest Good -- Part X (Penny)

Part X – Account by Penny Kearney

 

  The more I searched for a solution, the more hopeless the situation appeared. I paced the length and breadth of my cell.

  Trapped. Cut off completely. Helpless, useless, alone.

  No! There has to be something!

  I slammed my uninjured fist against the stone wall in pure frustration. I would not give up! My brothers, Dana…. The Order itself. If for nothing else, then just to keep from allowing Set to win. The memory of his smug expression turned my stomach, and the fear tugged me again. Fear that Set had already won. I just hadn’t accepted it yet.

  I lowered to my knees in the center of the cell.

  No. There must be something.

  Dana, please. Just…

  “Turn back.”

  I opened my eyes with a start. I thought for sure I’d said that out loud, but…I hadn’t. My mouth was closed, no voice echoed in the silence.

  My pulse skipped, and for a long moment I stared at the ground. Then, I tried it again, venturing cautiously, conjuring the same sensation in my mind as before.

  “Dana…? Can you hear me?”

  The feeling in my mind strengthened. This was no dream; something was happening. But I received no response. I rose to my feet, pressing my mouth into a line and focusing with every ounce of will I had. This was my last chance.

  “Dana!”

  A sound, like the whisper of leaves on a fall day, trickled through my mind, then a faint, familiar voice replied. “Pen?”

  I forced my thoughts not to wander, lest I should lose whatever I’d just found. “Dana, where are you?”

  His voice came stronger now, though it did not echo; more as if he were talking softly next to me. “In the catacombs, below the dungeons. But…how….what are…”

  “Just never mind that for now.” I replied, ignoring the confusion in his tone. “Listen to me, you have to stop. Don’t go—er, come any further.”

  The confusion in his tone intensified. “What? What do you mean? If I can free you and the others, we can escape and meet up with the other force.”

  “Set is waiting for you.”

  “I know.” He said. “It’s the only way I can make it in without getting trapped; my path leads to him. At least, I’m pretty sure it does…”

  My patience threatened to fray. I knew he needed to be brought up to date on a number of things, but I didn’t know how long I could hold this connection.

  “Have you stopped walking yet?”

  “No.”

  “Then do it.”

  “Give me one good reason.”

  “Please…” I whispered, both in my mind and with my mouth.

  Silence. Then, “Alright. I stopped walking. Now what?”

  I let out my breath in relief. “Now listen to me.”

  “I was already doing that, but go ahead.”

  “You can’t kill Set.” I said, emphasizing each word. “If you kill him, you will die, as well. You cannot kill him.”

  This time the silence stretched for a long moment. I frowned. “Dana?”

  He sighed. “You spoke to him.”

   “You… knew that already?”

  “Yes. Ever since he came into existence; he will only be gone when I am.”

  Seating myself again, I shook my head. “Why? Dana, why didn’t you say so? Do you know how many times we’ve almost killed him?”

  “Your point?”

  “My point is that in doing so we almost killed you!” My thoughts shouted. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “What was I supposed to say? ’Oh, sorry, but you can’t kill that genius captain the enemy has because it might affect my health?’”

  “Yes.”

  “Look, I appreciate your concern, but I can’t consider it that way. If he’s gone, Ross loses a valuable ally, and one of our strongest enemies is defeated. Besides….” He paused. “It’s my fault he’s here, and you’re all there.”

  I ran my hands over my hair. Everyone accused me of being the stubborn one…

  Blast you, Dana!

  “Dana, don’t you dare take another step. As Head of the Order, I forbid it!”I stood again, and glared down at the stones, towards the catacombs; the closest I could come to giving him that expression in person. “There has to be another way; you’re always saying so yourself, there’s always a way.”

  “And this isn’t the way?”

  “It can’t be the only way!”

  Once again, he replied with silence. My pulse pounded in my ears. If he decided to ignore me, I wouldn’t be able to stop him.

 Please, Lord…

  “Maybe…” He began. “All right, we’ll do it your way, but you have to trust me. You understand?”

  Normally, his unusually firm tone would have made me defensive, but right now I didn’t care.  Leaning my forehead against the wall, I closed my eyes.

  “And that has to be the first time I’ve seen you pull your rank before.”

  To this I gave a mirthless laugh, not knowing if he could hear it or not. “I swear I’ll do it again if I have to.”

  Footsteps in the hall slammed shut whatever mental doorway I’d found, sending a brief spurt of pain through my head. Wincing, I moved to the center of the cell again as Set came into view. A terrible expression of wrath contorted his features. He inserted the key, unlocked the door, and yanked it open, drawing his sword with a savage flash.

  “You…. What have you done!”

  I pulled back, clamping my mouth shut and meeting his gaze.

  “You have forced me to advance my plans beyond my normal accustomed speed.” He pointed his sword at me. “I was even going to spare you! But how….” He narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, his expression cleared, and he lowered his sword. “Oh well. It matters little anyway. Whatever gift you’ve found, you’re about to lose it, as well as your head.

  I fought to bring back the mental connection with Dana, steeling myself for Set’s blow.

For The Greatest Good -- Newsflash and Behind The Scenes

Newsflash

Just a heads up to all those who are following the story Dana and I are writing on this blog. I was very busy last week editing a short story -- the fourth draft of which I have completed now -- and am going to be busy this week reading various stories that several friends and aquaintances of mine have written. I'm not very good at balancing both writing and reading, which is a deficiency on my part that I'm attempting to work on. All writers really should be avid readers, as well.

So the next installment of For The Greatest Good may not come out for a little while. Certainly not this week; I'll have to see about next week.

For those who may be interested, I'll explain the process FtGG goes through before it's finally posted on my blog.

Behind the Scenes

First of all, you must understand that Dana and I are storytellers at heart. It takes only the slightest nudge to get us off on tangent involving story. And not only story, but storytelling. Dana's much better at verbal storytelling than I am, but when both of us are IMing over skype, all it takes is the right cue, and we'll begin a completely unplanned little skit. Back and forth we'll weave a tiny adventure that can last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending.

Such was the case with FtGG. What began as a casual story tangent, turned into an adventure far too intriguing to abandon. And that was even before the creation of Set, which is a story in and of itself. Beleive it or not, Set came about completely by accident, and his existance as a character -- outside of the story, mind you -- is mostly my fault.

But I digress.

One of my personality quirks, I guess you could call it, is that I have a tendency to want to share everything. Especially things I find fun or interesting, and especially with those close to me. So once FtGG started shaping into something more than just a passing tale created by two incorrigable storytellers, I ran through the skype history and copied down all the sections where Dana and I had 'told' FtGG, and printed them out for my siblings to read through. They found it just as interesting as we did. So we continued.

However, at that point, FtGG was just the copied and pasted skype transcript, far from the prose that it is here on the blog. After Dana and I had done a few sections, I got the idea of turning the whole adventure into a book someday. Later on, I started this blog, and then the idea of putting it on here came to me, and stuck. Dana liked the idea, so I went for it.

Now, taking skype transcripts and turning them into prose... It is an interesting challenge.

I had to take this...

[5/12/2012 9:58:45 PM] Sir PenSage: So sorry to have kept Rex here, I kind of bumped into his patrol.

[5/12/2012 9:59:05 PM] Lady PenWarrior: But.... We thought you.... After the battle, when....Not that we blamed you, we couldn't....

[5/12/2012 10:00:02 PM] Sir PenSage: *I raise an eyebrow* I gave the order to run for it, didn't I? I certainly hope the others payed attention, that was a nasty blow over the head I got. The other fellow got worse, though, so it's fine.

[5/12/2012 10:00:29 PM] Lady PenWarrior: We thought they'd imprisoned you.

[5/12/2012 10:01:07 PM] Sir PenSage: *I smile slightly, slightly humored as well, but serious* there is always a path, even when one cannot see it.

[5/12/2012 10:01:27 PM] Lady PenWarrior: Dana, that ENTIRE valley was overrun, how could you POSSIBLY have gotten out?

[5/12/2012 10:02:32 PM] Sir PenSage: As I said, there is always a way.

[5/12/2012 10:02:47 PM] Sir PenSage: Let's just say we ought not to overestimate their patrol patterns.

[5/12/2012 10:03:14 PM] Sir PenSage: Besides, I'm one of the order, aren't I?

[5/12/2012 10:04:48 PM] Lady PenWarrior: *I smile, and then laugh slightly* Yes... yes you are.

 

...And turn it into this.

 

It couldn’t be.

“So sorry to have kept Rex,” Dana continued. “I sort of bumped into his patrol.”

I stared, I admit, if only to convince myself this was really him.  “But… we thought you… after the battle, when… not that we blamed you, we couldn’t…”

He raised an eyebrow, his hand resting easy on the hilt of the sword hanging at his side. “I gave the order to run for it, didn’t? I certainly hoped the others paid attention, that was a nasty blow over the head I got before I was captured. The other fellow got worse, though, so it’s not so bad.”

“We thought they’d imprisoned you.”

At this he smiled, that curious mixture of soberness and humor quirking his mouth. “There is always a path, even when one cannot see it.”

  “Dana, that entire valley was overrun, how could you possibly have gotten out?”

  He merely shrugged. “As I said, there is always a way. Let’s just say… we ought not to overestimate their patrol patterns. Besides, I’m one of The Order, aren’t I?”

  “Yes…” I couldn’t help but smile, and a short laugh escaped me. He had no idea what a relief it was that he had turned up.

 

Dana has to do the same thing for the sections that are written from his perspective.

 

As I said before, it is an interesting challenge. The skype transcripts are very succinct, and not very descriptive when it comes to thoughts and feelings. It's very action based, showing the external far more than the internal. Prose, on the other hand, leaves open for thoughts, emotions, and also sensations.

On the technical side, I open both the document containing the transcript and leave it open on one side of my computer screen, then open the document containing all of my transcribed segments and place that on the other side of the screen. In this way I can write the prose version of whatever section I'm working on without having to switch back and forth between document windows constantly. I can see both of them at the same time and reference each as I need to.

One of the difficulties with transcribing is filling in the gaps while staying true to the pace of the original transcript.  I have a natural tendency to jump straight to the abstract and forget the concrete. I go to the meaning without writing the symbol, as it were. This isn't as much of a problem as it has been in the past, but it does rear its ugly head more often than I'd like. It's a conscious effort to remember the facts as well as the meanings. So when I fill in the gaps, I must keep myself from rambling on explaining emotions. At the same time, however, the goal of turning FtGG into prose is to have the freedom to present the facts in a better, more descriptive manner, not create a replica of what was in the transcript to begin with. It's a balance, and like all balances, it must be continually strived for.

I would have to ask Dana what he finds to be the most challenging aspect of trancsribing, and add onto this post later.

Not surprisingly, the prose sections are much longer than the transcript sections. As such, there have been close to eight prose parts posted on here, while there were only about five parts to begin with. Words add up. As with my other writing, I use my Writer Sense -- an author's super power -- to guess where I should cut off each prose segment. I can invariably tell where to cut a segment off just by knowing it when I come to it. However, I do attempt to keep the segments restricted to a certain length so that they'll be longer than a regular blog post, but not so long that readers will get bored before it's over. I'm not sure if I've succeeded, but I do try.

Once the prose section has been finished, I send it to Dana for him to look over. He checks it for reaction mistakes on the part of his characters. (More on character control later.) Once the proper edits have been made, viola! I post it on my blog for all to see.

Even onces it's posted, however, my wonderful best friend Siani Delaney will read through the latest section and point out any glaring errors I have inevitably missed. Most of the time its a spelling, tense, or grammar error. She's a lifesaver when it comes to the technical stuff, because that is not my area of expertise at all, but it is very much hers.

And that's how it works! The thing, I think, that makes FtGG a little more unique is that it's being written without any prior knowledge to how it's going to turn out. Neither Dana nor I know what is going to happen next until it happens. But both being storytellers, we are able to pull it all together without it becoming a chaotic, aimless mess.

I know this post is getting rather long by now, but I thought it would be interesting to list the characters in conjunction with which of us is writing him/her. Obviously, Dana and I play ourselves within the story, but here are the others.

Characters Written by Dana
Set
Campbell
Captain Wesley

Characters Written by Penny
Rex
Ross

Those are all the characters featured at the moment. I'm sure more will come in later on, but for now these have been sufficient. And now I will end this exeedingly rambling post. Hopefully it's been interesting, at least, or even helpful for those who would like to do a blog story of their own.

Dia duit,
~Penny

For The Greatest Good -- Part VIII (Penny)

Part VIII – Account by Penny Kearney

 

  The bleeding from the cut on my hand stopped. I sat in the corner of the cell, safe, for now, amongst the shadows. It was actually a relief to be left here alone, considering. I was exhausted. Here I could rest and not worry that anyone would prod me, either physically or mentally.

  The memory of Set’s distant gaze peering through me, and the sensation that accompanied it, made me shudder. Or maybe that was just the cold. None of the warmth from above ground reached the dungeon.

  And here, I could be afraid without the wrong people finding out. Even with my usually hopeful outlook, I could not deny that this situation had the likelihood of becoming very dire. What happened next would determine lives. Making the wrong move just wasn’t an option.

  I leaned my head back and stared at the ceiling. Closing my eyes meant seeing Rex’s dead face again. I couldn’t do that, so I forced them to remain open.

  How many of Percy and Seph’s troops died after we left? Had Ross allowed the wounded to be treated?

  Probably not.

  I clenched my uninjured fist. A mouse squealed outside my cell, and scurried away. I watched it go, but another shadow caught my attention. Surprise streaked down my spine.

  Set stood in the shadows, staring into my cell at me. I’d been listening for his approach, but hadn’t heard a single sound. Yet there he stood.

  Set stepped more into the dim light that filtered in from some cell window down the hall. Curiosity glinted behind his eyes. “You are so strange, Lady Kearney. A balance of warrior and peacemaker, leader and follower, mentor and friend to many.”

  Remaining in my place at the back of the cell, I let the darkness hide my frown from him. I wasn’t sure if he’d come to gloat, or do what Ross had told him to and activate my ‘gift’. As much as he seemed to be working for Ross, I couldn’t quite believe that he was doing it for Ross.

   “Should I bother asking why you seem to know me so well?”

  The corner of his mouth twitched, like one with an impish secret. “And what if I do?”

  “I don’t see how you could. I generally associate with folk far more congenial than yourself.”

  “Congenial…..” He seemed to ponder the word, then shrugged. “I have my ways. You wouldn’t understand them.” He stepped forward once more, standing not three inches from the bars. His gaze shifted from curious, to intent. “But you could.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Why don’t you believe in the gifts, Kearney?” He asked. “Your ‘friend’ seemed rather set on their existence.”

   So that’s what he’d come for. I glanced towards him, letting my gaze linger. Hearing him speak of Dana with such disdain needled the embers inside me that had just begun to go down. Guarding my hand, I rose, and walked to stand just out of his reach by the bars.

  “I believe Dana has something special.” I matched my tone to the quiet atmosphere. “But he insists on saying that all of us do. I don’t.”

  “And what makes you so sure of that? Why should you be any different?”

  I shrugged. “Why should I be the same?”

  “Ah, but there you are wrong.” The unnerving smile returned. “One can be the same, and yet different. You are human. I am human. And yet we are worlds apart in difference.”

  My gaze sharpened.  “You are not human.”

  Though I’d thought those words several times, saying them out loud confirmed this reality.

  Set’s laughter filled the hall, a desecration of the cold, somber quietude. “Ah, there you are quite right. But you get my point; you have a gift, you simply deny it.” His expression suddenly sharpened again. “Why is that?”

  I blanked. What was I meant to tell him? That I had more important things to do? That even if I could, I wouldn’t take a power, that I had enough things to figure out, to worry about, without adding some abnormal ability on top of it?

  That I wasn’t sure I could be trusted with one?

  “I don’t want it.”

  “Is that so…”  He narrowed his eyes. “What if this gift could have saved your precious soldiers?”

  My throat tightened. I forced myself to continue holding his gaze.

  “What if this gift would have been the one thing that could have won the battle against Ross. And you must admit, it came within a hair’s edge! But…you lost.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that. Just because you….didn’t want it. How selfish. All those dead….”

  “I know what you want!” I snapped, smothering my conscience. “They’re dead, for whatever reason. Whatever gift may or may not have saved them can’t save them now, and I’m not going to give it to you.”

  Set shook his head, chuckling, eyes twinkling. “You honestly think I want to use your precious power, don’t you?”

  I frowned. No, but you’re definitely up to something.

  “No. I do not. Leave that to Ross, whatever his plans are.” He waved his hand in a gesture dangerously close to scorn. The twinkle died, replaced with a glint of pure, sadistic anticipation. “What I want….is to see your friend, Dana, suffer. I want to see him fail, despair, loath life and his actions that backfire upon him! And I’m doing that quite well, thanks to you.”

  In spite of wishing I could bash his face against the stone wall, I searched his expression. “Why? What has he done to you?”

   “Nothing!” He grinned. “Nothing at all. Isn’t it splendid? That’s not to say he doesn’t deserve it, eh? But that aside, the fact that he doesn’t makes it all the more sweet.”

   This man was insane. I’d been right. He really wasn’t human. At least, not anymore. The desire to hit him returned.

  “Go on.” He said. “Become angry once more, it will serve no purpose but to tire you even more. The only thing that will help you…” His tone dropped. “Is to find your gift. Why do you thnk Campbell and Ross feared you all, tried to destroy you all? It certainly wasn’t because of your skills, I can tell you that. No…. the guardian knights are gifted. Even Ross knows that, and yet you refuse to. How interesting.”

  The recklessness that comes with the warmth of anger rose inside me, and I moved closer to the bars, giving Set a taunting look. “I’m stuck here. Whether I find my ‘gift’ or not, I’m still stuck here. So what makes you think that I am going to just hand over the one thing you’re asking me to give, just like that? Why shouldn’t I frustrate you as long as possible, since it doesn’t make any difference to my outcome anyways?”

  “Because…” Set grasped one of the bars with his hand, holding my gaze. “He is coming.”

  I narrowed my eyes. He?

  “Your end will not be at Ross’s sword.” Set said. “My twin is stronger than those fools think, and I did not kill all your forces. Even they know that. You must be ready to fight, for you will. And if you do not have an edge…. Who knows what will happen this time, hm?”

  My thoughts raced again. Set had a maddening way of seeming to know everything and telling everyone nothing. Until, that is, he saw fit. None of this made sense. Not only the appalling idea that Set had a twin, who for all I knew could be worse than he was, but also how this affected me in any way. What did my forces have to do with any of that? Was his twin opposed to Ross in some way? And if so, what gave him the idea that I would help? Unless his twin also had wicked designs on myself and the other members of The Order.

  “You’re lying.”

  “Am I?” His stare was unblinking. “That, I cannot do.”

  For some reason I believed this. Maybe because amidst so may evil traits, it seemed ironically fitting that he would have one good one that he could twist to his will.

  “Why should I fight this…..twin? Why shouldn’t I just let him destroy you all?”

  Set shook his head, like I was missing the point. “Who could possibly be my twin, Kearney? It should be obvious. How else would I know he’s coming?”

  How was I supposed to kno—

  My thoughts halted. “You don’t mean—“

  He nodded, his smile growing once more. “He will always find a way. Even I cannot alter that.”

  Of course…. Why had I not thought of this?

  No, I knew why. Because as much as Set looked, and even sounded, like Dana, he was just too evil for me to associate them with each other in any way beyond aesthetics. When Set had said ‘twin’, I’d thought he’d meant someone like him. Not his complete opposite. And perhaps I didn’t think of it because I wanted to believe that Set was nothing more than a look alike. A coincidence. I didn’t want to believe that he and Dana had anything in common besides appearance.

  But now I understood what Set meant. Dana was coming for me, and if we were to be successful in escaping – maybe even completing our original rescue mission – we would need an advantage.

  “What do you want from me, Set?” I said, gaze leveled on him. “You’re working for Ross. You should not be trying to convince me to use my ‘gift’ against him.”

  Set chuckled. “Good, you’re using your head. Now, whoever said I was working for Ross? I like to call it a ‘convenient acquaintance’. Temporary, of course.”

  I’d suspected something like this. “Then what do you want?”

  “That I’ve already told you. You have a poor memory.”

  “That cannot be it. If it is, then my ‘gift’ has nothing to do with it anyways.”

  “Then what, oh wise one, could it possibly be? I cannot lie.”

  Ugh, he was maddening. “Even if I have a gift, it’s of no use to you, so why bother.” I abandoned my position to return to the shadowed corner. I was done. I wanted him to go away so I could think.

  “Because if you die, your friends die with you.” Set said, tone ominous. “And if Dana dies, so do I.”

  I paused, frowning at the grimy stone wall.

  “You see, I am rather….” He searched for the right word. “Invested, in his survival.”

  “Do you mean to say that the only way to kill you is to kill Dana….?” I turned my head to watch his form out of the corner of my eye.

  He beamed. “Good girl, using your head!”

  “Oh, shut up!” I snapped. “You’re so childish.”

  “Now who’s being childish, the one who refuses what’s staring her in the face, or the one who is nothing but honest in speech, hm?”

  I made no reply, turning my gaze on the back wall once again. My hand throbbed.

  Set’s footstep scuffled against the ground. “As you wish, then. I’ll leave you to your pondersings, but remember: you do not have forever.”

  Just leave.

  “No….” He paused. “No, you have even less time than I thought.”

  A tingle ran down my spine, and I glanced back at him. His smile was gone, and his gaze distant, as if seeing something else. “He comes to kill me. Good…”

  My stomach twisted. “It works both ways, doesn’t it?”

  Set glanced me a smile. “Rather ironic, isn’t it?"

  Dana, you fool!

  Without another word, Set left, his footsteps fading almost the instant he vanished from sight into the darkness.

  My entire body trembled. I lowered to my knees. Thoughts spun in my head so fast they almost made me dizzy. If I couldn’t figure out what to do, Dana was going to walk right into a trap.