Jamie Davis's Blog, page 17

Chapter 6 – Cori Meets the Legion Recruits

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

Start with Chapter 1 here.

Chapter 6

The next several days of travel through the forest gave Cori a chance to think about her plans more. She had not liked lying to the farmer and his wife, and it settled poorly with her that they had realized that she was lying to them almost immediately. They were kind people and did not deserve to be lied to. She thought on this and determined that she would not lie about who she was if directly asked but she would only share information that was necessary to achieve her goals. She knew that this was still a lie of omission and wrong, but there was no way around it if she was to achieve success in her plans.

On the morning of the third day after the stay on the farm, Cori arrived at the great northern road that led from the Kingdoms of Rhodes to Padon. Padon lay to the northeast of Rhodes, and its borders also touched the barbarian lands held by the Krator tribes. It was said that the Rangers of Padon were almost as good as those of Rhodes at securing the frontiers of their kingdom. Once on the great road, Cori should be within a day’s walk of Gladestown. That was if she was correct in her reckoning. She had been supremely confident in her forestry skills when she set out. That enthusiasm had dimmed some as she learned how much she didn’t know on this journey. Cori realized that much of her traveling needs had been supplied by those who traveled with her. While her tracking and stalking skills were strong, she had not known much about setting up camp, seeking shelter or other essential skills. But, she was learning. Once she joined the Legion, they would teach her even more, and she would be a strong student and learn everything they had to teach her.

There were a few wagons that passed her on the road during that morning and afternoon on the road and when she asked one farmer with a load of hay how far off Gladestown was, he told her it was only a half day’s travel further. He offered her a ride in the wagon as that was where he was headed with his load of fodder. His name was Burton, and he told her he traveled to Gladestown once a month with a load of hay cut from the mountain meadows near his farm, bound for the inn’s stable in Gladestown. He asked her about her reasons for being on the road alone and she told him of her desire to join the muster of the Legion for the coming war. Burton had not heard of the war but admitted that he had not ventured off his farm since the last trip to town the previous month. He was glad he had not brought his two sons along. They might have gotten it in their heads to enlist in this war, too, which he thought was a foolish thing that didn’t have anything to do with them. Cori listened to this and realized that the people of the northern part of the province were a very independent sort who did not feel much allegiance to treaties and kingdoms not their own. Burton was loyal to the King in Rhodes, and to the Lord in Westgate, who kept the borders secure against barbarian incursions, but he didn’t see the need to help other kingdoms with their problems. She didn’t argue his point. It would serve no point to refute his beliefs and she didn’t think he’d care much for the opinion of a young girl he was offering a free ride to on the road to Gladestown.

The farm cart rumbled into the town near sundown and Cori got the first look at her final destination. The village of about fifteen houses and buildings was set in a valley with a backdrop of forested mountain peaks highlighted by the light of the westerly setting sun. The buildings were mostly made of stone and timber with steeply pitched thatched roofs suggesting a goodly amount of snowfall each winter. People here seemed friendly, and several called out to Burton as he drove his cartload of hay though the single road between the houses and shops. Cori saw a smithy, an outfitters, and dry goods mercantile along with a mill set next to a swiftly flowing stream with a slowly turning mill wheel. The inn called the Ranger’s Rest, sat at the edge of town and consisted of a large two-story inn built of the same stone and timber construction as the other buildings in Gladestown. It also had several out buildings including and stable, and storehouse and its courtyard seemed to serve as a sort of market square for the town. Cori saw several tables occupied by farmers selling vegetables and crafted wares from tables set around the courtyard. More greetings were called to Burton as he finally settled the cart next to the inn’s stable. A boy came up to hold the cart horse’s harness as old farmer climbed down from his perch on the bench. Cori climbed out of the back of the cart and gathered her belongings. She offered a silver coin to the farmer for the ride into town, but he looked at the coin and laughed.

“Save your coin for the innkeeper,” he laughed. “I was glad of your company on the long road, and the news you had about the world outside served as payment enough. I’ll have much to tell my family and friends when I return home. I wish you luck and safe travels, Cori. Don’t you get yourself killed on this quest for war, you hear?”

“Thank you, sir,” Cori said. “I will endeavor to keep myself safe in the coming conflict. I wish you a good harvest and a long life.” She picked up her bow last and strolled off across the courtyard to the inn’s entrance. The interior was a large common room with tables and benches set about the large stone fireplace set on one wall. The room was full and bustling with people and noise. Cori pushed her way through the room up to the bar set against the far wall. There were stairs up to the second floor to the left of the bar. She was looking forward to getting a room and a bed for the night. She leaned up against the bar and waited patiently as the portly woman working there worked her way down the patrons clustered there, filling their drink orders and bantering with them in a friendly tone. She arrived down at the end where Cori stood waiting after a few minutes and stared appraisingly at her before speaking.

“What’ll it be that you want little missy?” The innkeeper said looking Cori over.

“I’d like something for dinner and a room for the night, please, Ma’am,” Cori requested.

The Innkeeper laughed, not in a mean tone but a loud, joyful laugh as if Cori had told her a good joke. “Look around you missy. I can certainly feed you, but with all this talk of war and the summer trader caravan being in town, I don’t have any rooms. I assume you’re here to enlist with that Legion sergeant who is in town?”

“How did you know?” Cori asked.

“You have the look the same as the others. Eager and ready for anything, though I don’t think you know what anything means,” the woman said. “I have put the lot of you up in the stable’s loft. I’m charging five copper pennies for the loft and two meals, supper, and breakfast, take it or leave it.”

Cori was disappointed with not being able to get a room. She suspected if her father were here, they would find a room for him and his family, but she was not about to play that card. Besides, she was excited to meet other recruits in town for the Legion muster. “I’ll take it, thank you. May I take my supper meal now?”

“You may,” the woman said with a smile. “Take a seat on that bench and table over there. You’ll find a few others like yourself there. I’ll have one of the girls bring your stew and bread over. Is ale alright for the meal or would you like to purchase something stronger?”

“Ale’s fine, thank you,” Cori replied, and she headed over to the table and benches in the corner.

There were several other young people there sitting and eating their meals. There were two women and three men seated at the table. She eyed them up as she approached. One of the women was in her mid-twenties and had a nasty scar down one cheek. She was attractive otherwise, with dark, tanned skin and dressed in black leather pants and a black cotton top, she wore a sword and dirk on her belt. He long black hair hung down to the small of her back. The other woman seemed a complete opposite to the first. She was younger than the first woman, perhaps only a year or two older than Cori’s sixteen. Her fair complexion and red hair along with her rich clothing with fur-trimmed cloak and embroidered dress showing she came from a wealthier family. She too had a sword and dirk at her belt, but those were the only similarities. The three men were each different, as well. One boy had to be close to her in age, his dark brown hair pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck with a tied kerchief covering his head a rough white cotton tunic shirt belted at the waist and buckskin pants. He had no weapons she could see. Another boy, also close to her age was extremely broad shouldered, had sandy blond curls close-cropped atop his head. He laughed aloud as she watched him interact with the group. He wore a black leather vest tied at the front with leather thongs. His arms were bare, perhaps because they showed off his muscular build. She was certainly impressed by his size. The final man had to be near thirty in age. He had the look of a farmer but a poor one. His hair was shoulder length and brown. He wore a simple cotton shirt with long sleeves and a v-neck, laced up to a broad collar at the top. His pants were simple brown woolen leggings that she might have seen on any of the farmer back home at Westgate.

Their conversation stopped, and they looked up as she approached. They looked her over much as she had already done for them on the approach. The red-haired girl smiled and slid over, offering Cori a spot.

“I’m Erin, Erin Sparrow. You must be here for the Legion muster, too.” The red-haired girl said as Cori leaned her bow and backpack up against the wall nearby and sat down.

“I am, I guess,” Cori said. She was a little uncertain now that she was here. “I’m Cori, uh, just Cori.”

“Well Cori Just Cori, our other lady friend here is Katina Carlisle,” Erin said. She gestured to the others and introduced them as well. “These other prospective Legionnaires are Kieran Peal, Declan Hymers, and our elder member Gebhard Hawken. There are a few others around, but these are the ones staying in the loft over the stable. I assume that is where you’ll be staying as well?”

“Yes, I guess so, hello all,” Cori said. A tavern girl of about eighteen came over with a large bowl of stew and a generous hunk of bread along with a flagon of ale. She set it down in front of Cori.

“I’m Shelby,” she said. “Let me know if you need anything else. Mistress said you wanted to stay in the loft with the others and include breakfast. That will be five copper pennies.”

Cori counted out the coins carefully and added another copper for the waitress. Shelby nodded her thanks and turned back to the busy roomful of customers. Cori was surprised how hungry she was, and she dug into the stew right away. While she ate her dinner, the others went back to their conversation. As she listened and ate, she learned a lot about her new companions. Katina, the girl with the scar on her face, was a caravan guard who had left the service of the caravansary to join the Legion. Erin was a merchant’s daughter who didn’t want to spend her life figuring accounts for her father. She had left him when he refused to take her on his travels and teach her his business. The boy with the kerchief was Keiran, and he was a local farm boy who had heard of the war and the muster and wanted to go out and see more of the world than just this tiny village. He talked of the big city of Westgate which made Cori smile. Westgate was hardly a city when compared to Rhodes or the sprawling cities of the eastern empire. Declan in the black leather vest was a former blacksmith’s apprentice. He, too, wanted to see more of the world and knew that he would eventually have to strike out on his own since there was only room for one blacksmith in town who had sons of his own to take over that business. Gebhard, or Geb as he preferred, was indeed a farmer as she had suspected. His farm was having trouble, and he figured he could make enough coin with the enlistment bonus to help support his wife and two small children while he went off to find a better fortune on the road to war. Cori was doubtful of the wisdom of that plan, but she knew that the Legion paid a silver piece to each who mustered for the war. That money would go a long way in these parts to help support a small farm.

Her new companions seemed all nice enough. Erin was the chattiest of the group and seemed to lead the conversation as she learned everything she possibly could about each of them. Cori suspected she was frustrated by her refusal to tell them much about herself. She merely told them she was from the south and sought to join the Legion and serve in the war that was coming. Interestingly, they all leaned in when she provided them details of the war, what little she knew. Apparently, they didn’t even know of the invasion of Verona, or the treaty between the four Free Kingdoms to mutually defend each other in the event of war. They only knew that a war had been declared, and the famed Legion of Solon was seeking recruits. Cori found it unusual that none of them knew of the history of the kingdom or the previous war a hundred years before that had formed the Free Kingdoms from the Empire’s western provinces and frontier. They ate up her knowledge like she was a bard telling them an epic tale. Each kept peppering her with questions about what she knew, and she found herself describing her father, without letting on who she was, as Lord Westgate in his leadership of the Legion to put down the barbarian incursion to the north a generation before. They were fascinated to hear what she knew of the man they all called “Lord Logan” who was to lead the Legion off to war. Cori chucked to herself at the thought of “Lord Logan.” He would not like the moniker, but she supposed it fit him well enough since he was the lead captain of the Legion of Solon now.

Cori asked them about the muster here in Gladestown. Erin told her that a ranger sergeant had come to the village a week before and nailed a proclamation from the King and Queen in Rhodes that the muster of the northern reaches would begin as the kingdom was at war. He was supposed to return here in a few days to gather those who wished to try and join the Legion. He was traveling across this part of the province and was picking up recruits for his company commander. When he returned, he was going to test each of them in turn. If they passed the tests, they would be allowed to sign their mark, take the silver crown and take up arms as a Legion recruit. Cori noticed, Shelby, their waitress standing nearby listening to them whenever she could. It made her wonder if there were others around the town who would decide to enlist in the Legion when the sergeant returned to town.

When the meal was done, she followed the others out to the stables, and they showed her where they were settling to sleep each night. The stalls were all full with the caravan in town, so they had taken to the hay loft above on the second story of the building. Cori shouldered her pack and bow and climbed the ladder to the loft. The prospective recruits had turned one corner of it into a little slice of home, and the innkeeper had sent out some spare blankets. Cori was able to gather some of the hay and create a makeshift mattress with one of the blankets. Using her pack as a pillow, she lay down on the lumpy pile that was her bed for the night and settled in to go to sleep. It was welcome despite the lumps after spending the last two nights on the trail sleeping on the ground. The others settled into their spots and soon Geb was snoring away in the corner. It was another new experience for her. She had never shared a room with anyone before, and here she was sleeping in a loft with five other people. She heard some other noises and shifted in her blankets a little to see in the dim light what it was. She realized it was Katina and Kieran together under their blankets at the far side of the loft. She was horrified when she realized what was going on. She stuck her fingers in her ears as she struggled to think about other things while she fell asleep. Eventually, her exhaustion took over, and she drifted off to sleep thinking about what the testing would be like when the sergeant returned to check out the prospective recruits.

—-

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

The post Chapter 6 – Cori Meets the Legion Recruits appeared first on Jamie Davis Books Author Page.

Chapter 5 – Cori Treks North

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

Start with Chapter 1 here.

Chapter 5

It took three days at the convent Chapter House of the Sisters of the Lake before Cori had gathered what she needed to continue with her plan. She had needed some supplies of food for the first day or so of travel, and she needed the information about the comings and goings of people around the Chapter House and surrounding community. On the third night, she was ready to move forward and not a moment too soon. She knew Logan’s plans were to start recruiting for the Legion right away. He planned to send out Legion sergeants to all the frontier villages to gather and train recruits, eventually meeting up with all of them on the road south to the capital city. There the Legion would travel by ship to the shores of Verona and begin the campaign to defend the Free Kingdoms from the Imperial invasion. She was going to have to travel on foot to reach the northern village she had selected. The journey would take at least five days. She had chosen Gladestown because it was a village on the northeastern frontier she had never visited and it would be unlikely that anyone there would recognize her.

She had other things in mind to make sure no one recognized her who might have seen her once or twice on a trip with her father. She’d complete that process on the trip there, but it began here in her chambers at the Chapter House in the late hours after the evening prayers. Cori stood before the mirror in her room and looked at the scissors in her hand. She loved her long curly locks of hair. Now, however, it was time for a change. She gripped a lock of hair in one hand and brought the scissors up to it. She paused for only a second and began to cut through the thick tresses, leaving a pile of brown hair on the floor around her. When she was finished, she looked at herself in the mirror and assessed the work she had done. Her hair hung just above her shoulders now, and she thought she already looked like a different person. When she donned her hunting leathers, cloak, and weapons, she doubted anyone hereabouts would recognize her as the young noblewoman who’d arrived in and wore nothing but fancy court attire.

Cori turned away from her hair styling efforts and looked over the things she had laid out on the bed. Her hunting gear, her weapons, her bow and quiver of arrows were all there. There was also a small leather backpack she had converted from one of her saddlebags. In that, she had a few other items of clothing and the bread, cheese and small ham she had squirreled away from the kitchen in her days in the Chapter House. Her cloak hung from a peg by the door and her soft leather hunting boots sat on the floor beneath it. She stood with her hands on her hips, assessing the assembled gear. She didn’t think she’d need anything else. She had a small purse of coins that she could use to purchase anything else she might need. Other than that, she was not sure what else to take.

Cori had never traveled without a group of traveling servants and companions before. There were tents when there were no inns and cooks who prepared and served the meals. She would have to avoid any inns at least for the first few days because she was sure they would begin searching for her right away when she was discovered missing. That meant that they had to look for signs of her passage, and she would have to avoid the roads and common paths. She was confident of her skills in the forest to move without a trace and avoid detection but to do that meant staying out in the open, which she had never done before. She looked around and decided to roll up an extra woolen blanket and tie it to the top of her pack. There, she thought. That was a suitable pack for a lone hunter traveling in the forest. If she showed up with too much gear, any who met her would know she wasn’t what or who she claimed to be.

She decided that everything was as ready as it could be. All she could do now was wait for the middle of the night to come and the night mistress to doze off. She was the sister set on duty to answer the door for weary travelers who might come calling. Cori had crept downstairs each night and seen the sister assigned there by the courtyard door, dozing in a large rocking chair. She was the only real obstacle to her escape. Once she had passed the night mistress, it would be simple to slip out the back kitchen entrance and through the gate by the stables. She considered again whether she should take her horse, but there was too much risk for a number of reasons. Horses were too easy to track, and she might wake one of the stable boys were she to retrieve her horse from the Chapter House stables. No, this quest began with her on foot. The Legion traditionally traveled on foot, being trackers and scouts. That would be fitting for her to begin this journey on foot as well.

Cori settled down to wait for the appointed hour. She took her long knife from its sheath and the whetstone from its pouch on her belt and settled on the corner of the bed to hone the edge. Uncle Vernon often talked about the importance of a person’s weapons being well-kept. When she was done that, she retrieved the tomahawk from its loop on the weapons belt and began to sharpen its ax edge, too. By the time she had checked all her weapons and sharpened the blades, several hours had passed, and Cori deemed it late enough to begin her escape. She donned her hunting leathers and boots, buckled on her belt with weapons attached, and shouldered her backpack. She slipped the quiver of arrows over her other shoulder and picked up her bow. She looked around the room, her gaze falling on the note left on the bed for whoever came looking for her in the morning. It detailed her plans to travel south and enlist in the King’s Guards in the capital of Rhodes to serve with her older brother Rad there. She hoped it would misdirect the search for her they would launch once she was discovered to be gone. She gave it a day. If she could make it away for 24 hours without discovery, Cori believed her plan would work. There were too many variables to make a search successful if she made it a full day’s travel away, especially if she stayed off the roads and trading routes. It would have to be good enough, there was nothing else she could do to prepare. Grabbing her dark forest green hunting cloak, she paused by the door, listening for sounds of anyone up and about this late in the evening. When she was sure she heard no one outside in the hallway, she opened the door and slipped outside and away.

———

This was hard. Cori pulled the wet wool blanket tighter about her shivering shoulders as she hunched down beneath the tree branches where she had taken shelter. It had been about 24 hours, and she had made her escape. The night mistress had been sound asleep in the rocking chair by the front entrance. It had been easy to creep past her and out of the building through the kitchen entrance. She had almost been discovered by a stable boy up late and relieving himself in the outhouse in the Chapter House courtyard. When he opened the door to return to the stables where he slept, Cori had been in the middle of the courtyard. She dropped to the ground and prayed the darkness and shadows were enough to hide her. He had walked within a yard of her but never saw the dark form on the ground at his feet. She waited until he had closed the stable door before rising and continuing to the back gate and out into the surrounding countryside.

That had been what seemed an eternity ago. She had trekked all through the night into the northern forest, guiding herself northward using the glimpses of starlight she caught between the trees. She had learned the constellations and how to navigate by them from Uncle Vernon and the Master Huntsman on one of their many trips with her father. Once dawn had arrived, she had stopped and eaten some of her food. Then she continued traveling. The clouds above darkened in mid-afternoon and the rain began before nightfall. She had tried to find shelter in an overhang of rock next to the game trail she was following. It had proved to be a poor choice. The increasing rain began to channel down the rock face and through her makeshift encampment. She was forced to move out into the forest where she finally settled under a thick growing fir tree. The needles above her helped to shed the worst of the rain, but she was already soaked through and freezing. The stories she had heard growing up never talked about cold camps in the rain, or blisters or any of that.

The thought arose that she should turn back, give up and return to the life her mother wished her to lead. The thought of it turned her stomach, and her characteristic Westgate stubbornness kicked in. If she gave up now, her brothers would know she could not do what they were doing. Logan was likely camping out in this same rainstorm right now with his companions. He was probably cold and wet, but he would never complain. She needed to remember that and soldier on. That was the way to think about this. It was going to be hard work, and the rain was just the beginning of the challenges she would face. If a little rain were enough to knock out her desire to complete this journey, then she’d never survive as a member of the Legion. So she pulled her cloak’s hood tighter around her face and clutched the blanket over her shoulders closer and stared out into the night’s darkness, resolute in her determination to succeed.

Morning arrived, and the rain abated some. Cori rose from where she sat against the tree and stretched. The cold dampness of the night remained in her bones and everything in her ached. It had been the most miserable night of her life, and she had survived it. That was something to be proud of, not that she had any choice. There was nowhere to go but forward at this point, and that meant staying on the trail north. She figured that she could search out a remote farmstead this evening and trade for some fresh food. She might even be able to do some hunting while she traveled and bring some meat to the table when she stopped. She tied the wet blanket and cloak across her pack so they dangled down. She hoped they might air dry some as she walked today. She shouldered her pack and quiver, picked up her bow. She removed the bowstring from her belt pouch where she had kept it dry through the night and restrung the bow. Then she looked up to gauge the sun’s position in the sky behind the clouds and started northward again. She knew that she would eventually meet the great north road that led to the Kingdom of Padon to the north east if she continued in that direction. Once she reached that road, she’d head east and should reach Gladestown within a day or so from there. But the great north road was still several days’ walk from here. Hopefully, the rain had stopped and would not return for the remainder of her journey.

Traveling got a little easier as the day progressed and the sun warmed the air. Cori dried out and began to enjoy the forest again. She was working hard to travel as silently as possible, leaving little trace on the ground of her passage that someone might use to follow her. She didn’t think that anyone was on her trail yet. They should be looking to the south first based on her note. It wouldn’t be until they sent word back to Westgate that her parents would suspect the truth. By then she would have a three-day head start on any pursuit. Of course, they would be on horseback, which was why she was avoiding the roads until the very end of her journey. She thought about this as she walked the forest path, taking the time to think about her parents’ reaction to her rebellion. She hoped they would eventually be proud of her determination, but her mother would never fully understand. Father would see her reasoning, though, maybe not right away but some day.

It was mid-afternoon when she spotted the farmstead in the valley below the tree line where she walked. There was smoke curling up from the chimney, and Cori thought about the warmth that would provide. She had shot two rabbits while on the trail earlier that day and hoped that the farmer and his family might appreciate the donation of some fresh meat to their pot. She started down towards the valley floor through the forest until the small clearing and farm fields opened up in the valley proper. She waved to the farmer who was plowing his field as she emerged from the forest. He took one look at her and ran for the house. Peculiar, she thought. Perhaps he was fetching his wife and would like to greet her properly. But then he emerged with his bow and an arrow nocked. He looked around, checking the trees around his farm before he settled his gaze on her as she approached.

“Hello the farm,” she called out raising her free hand in a wave. She watched as the farmer’s wife emerged behind him with a pitchfork in had. Two small children huddled behind her. Why would these people be acting so afraid of her? It was strange.

“That’s far enough,” the farmer called out. He didn’t draw his bow but waved the tip of the arrow in her direction. “What is it you want?”

Cori stopped, puzzled. “I am just a weary hunter traveling through and wished to find a warm, dry place for the night.” She slowly reached behind her and pulled the two rabbits loose from where they hung from her pack. She held them up for the farmer and his wife to see. “I brought some fresh game I shot on the trail.”

“Are you alone,” the farmer asked, again scanning the trees behind her.

Cori turned to see what he was looking at but saw nothing. She turned back. “Yes, I’m alone. I merely wanted to trade for some fresh food and perhaps stay in your barn this night. I was caught out in last night’s rain and would like a dry bed for a change.” She didn’t think she looked menacing to anyone, but this farmer was frightened of something.

“Okay, you can come on in,”  the farmer said, lowering his bow. He continued to watch the trees behind her. Cori stepped forward slowly and wondered if this stop was a good idea. These people were not the open and friendly folk she was used to seeing on the farms around Westgate.

“If you are not open to having a guest this evening I will continue on my way,” Cori offered as she approached the man and his wife. “I mean no intrusion.”

The farmer’s wife softened her look and swatted her husband’s shoulder with the back of her hand. “Put your bow down, Clem. Sorry, deary,” she said to Cori. “There have been a few rumors from our distant neighbors of bandit about, one group led by a woman. We thought it might be you.”

“I’m no bandit I assure you.” Cori smiled and held up the rabbits. “I just didn’t want to have these all to myself. I thought I would share.”

“The game is welcome for our stew tonight. It is good to see a King’s Ranger in these parts, although you look a bit young to be one.” The woman gestured to Cori’s cloak hanging from the back of her bag. “We didn’t see the crest until you came closer.”

Cori realized it was the Westgate family crest embroidered into her cloak to which the woman referred. She winced inside. She had missed that detail. It would identify her as either a member of the household troops, a ranger or a member of the Westgate family. While it had been helpful here, it was going to cause trouble later on unless she did something about it.

“I’m just in training, Ma’am,” Cori said. “I’m on my way north to enlist in the Legion. There’s a war to the east and we have been called up.”

“War, huh?” Clem said. “Well, that’s news we hadn’t heard. I’m sure all the youngsters about the frontier are going to be running off to join up instead of staying home and tending to their chores. It’s a good thing our little ones are so young, eh, Mary? They won’t be running off to join some war we’ve never heard of.”

“There will be a blessing in that, I suppose, Clem,” the woman replied. She looked at Cori and at the two large rabbits she held. “Well, you can bring those in here and we’ll finish skinning them and get the meat into the stew pot for tonight’s dinner. It’ll be a nice addition to our leeks, potato, and turnips that usually go in there.”

Cori followed her inside the house as Clem returned to his field work. The small farmhouse had one large room and a small loft up above reached by a ladder. She saw a single bed in the corner and figured the boys slept on pallets up in the loft while the parents slept down here.

“I’m Mary. You’ve met Clem, my husband. The two little ones are Jared and Dean. What’s your name, dear?”

“Cor-, Corinda,” Cori stammered. She didn’t want to give her real name, but she hadn’t thought of something before being asked here and now.

Mary looked at her askance for a moment. Cori knew she didn’t believe it for a moment. “Corinda will do, I suppose. Come over here and help me skin those rabbits you brought us. You can tell me more about this war you are off to fight.”

Cori spent the next few hours helping the woman prepare the evening meal. She had to ask a lot of questions about what to do. She had seen the cooks work in the kitchen but had never done any of the work herself. Mary was patient with her and gave her the tasks that were easiest to master. She peeled the potatoes and turnips, cutting them into cubes and adding them to the pot next to the hearth. Cori found it especially pleasant to knead the coarse-grained bread dough that would be baked on the hearth for dinner that evening. The feel of the warm, sticky dough under her flour-covered hands was new to her and when she was finished and had shaped the loaf to rise she felt a sense of accomplishment at her work.

“It’s good to work with your hands, isn’t it, Corinda?”

“Yes, it is. I’m not used to doing this kind of kitchen work and haven’t made bread before. Thank you for teaching me.”

“You’re welcome, dear,” Mary said.

“Why did you think I was a bandit?” Cori asked. “Is there really a female bandit wandering about terrorizing the farmsteads?”

“There have been tales around these parts and to the north of a woman named Lissa or something like that,” Mary explained. “She has struck a few times at some of the traveling merchants, taking their coin and more valuable wares before leaving them on the side of the road. She’s never struck a farm that we’ve heard of, but it’s made the folk nervous round about these parts, nonetheless.”

“She sounds fierce,” Cori said. She had never heard of a female bandit before. It was an interesting tale.

“Farming is hard work for simple folk to do in these parts,” Mary said. “I suspect that she was raised on a farm and didn’t take to the hard work of farming or another honest trade. She decided to go outlaw instead, I guess though that hardly seems and easier life.”

“No, I don’t suppose it is an easier life,” Cori mused. “It might look that way from afar but living on the run would be a hard life for any long period of time.”

“Yes, I think that is true,” Mary said, eying Cori from the side. “Why don’t you go out to the trough and clean up. I’ll finish up here. You can get your belongings settled in the barn’s hay loft. It will be the best we can offer for the night, I’m afraid.”

“Thank you, I will do that.” Cori gathered up her things from where she had set them down in the corner by the door. She went outside and crossed the farmyard to the barn where there was a milk cow and a calf in the small fenced in enclosure. She lowered the bucket into the well for some fresh water and carried it back to the barn to wash up before dinner. She was startled by a voice from inside the barn.

“Mary will be happy to have a guest to dinner tonight.” Clem was standing in the barn’s loft with a pitchfork. He tossed down a forkful of hay to the animals below. She had not known he was up there.

“Yes it will be nice to have some other people to talk to besides me,” Cori said.

Clem climbed down the ladder from the loft in the barn and looked at her appraisingly. “Mary thinks your a Ranger recruit, but I think you’re something else. I don’t know what and I don’t care to know. If there’s trouble following you, I’d just as soon you move on without involving us in it if you get my meaning.”

“I understand,” Cori said. “I assure you that no trouble will come your way for sheltering me. I can pay for my lodging if that is what you’d like?”

“I don’t need your pay,” Clem said. “The two rabbits are enough for a night in the barn. I just think you should be on your way in the morning. I think you need to be on your way without lingering here with us.”

“That is my intention,” Cori said. “I have to get to Gladestown to make the enlistment group assembling there. I was serious when I said I wished to enlist in the Legion.”

Clem shook his head. “I don’t know why you’d want to do that. You’re wearing the cloak of the house guard of the Westgate family. I’ve seen that sigil on a trip to the provincial capital when I was a lad with my Da. Why are you all the way out here on your own when you could just join up with the soldiers there, I’m wondering?”

Cori paused and then started to answer but Clem forestalled that by raising his hand and shaking his head.

“I don’t need to know,” Clem said. “I’m just pointing out that if you’re going to have a lie to tell when you enlist in Gladestown, you might want to come up with one that makes some sense based on your attire and gear. Like I said, I don’t know what you’re running from but you need to get your story straight before it catches up with you. Either way, I think you should be on your way early in the morning before Mary decides to invite you to stay longer.”

“I understand,” Cori said. “Thank you.”

She finished cleaning up as Clem headed back to the house. Then she sat on a bench in the barn and, using her pocket knife, carefully picked out the embroidery of her cloak, pulling the threads that had nearly identified her as a member of the Westgate family. She was just finishing up when Mary called her from the house that dinner was ready. Cori rolled up her cloak and tied it to the top of her pack, leaving it in the barn with her bow and other gear and went to dinner.

The stew was delicious and with the bread, was a filling meal for her hungry stomach. Cori thanked her host and hostess for their hospitality and took the candle Mary offered her and headed out to the barn to sleep. She set the candle holder carefully on a board and laid her cloak down on the hay in the loft. Settling on top of her makeshift bed, she blew out the candle. Cori listened then to the sounds of the night, the chirp and whir of insects lulling her into a peaceful sleep.

———

Cori awoke early the next morning. She climbed down from the loft and saw that Mary was down in the lower part of the barn, humming to herself as she milked the cow.

“Did you have a nice night’s sleep, dear?” the farmer’s wife asked.

“I did, thank you. It was nice to have a dry place to sleep.” Cori gathered her things and prepared them for getting back to her journey.

“I put aside the bread we didn’t eat last night for you to take with you,” Mary said, glancing up from her work. “There’s also some vegetables that you can roast in a campfire if you have the time. They’re tied up in a bundle on the porch. Clem said you’d be on your way early, and I wanted to make sure you didn’t leave us empty-handed.” Mary looked back at the milk pail continuing her morning chore. “Don’t go getting yourself killed in this war you’re off to, Corinda. I think your mother would like to see you home and safe again someday.”

“I thank you,” Cori said. “I wish you and Clem a good and rich harvest.” She left the barn. There was no sign of Clem and boys. She stopped by the porch and saw he cloth-wrapped bundle of food there. Picking it up and stuffing it into her pack, Cori dug in her belt pouch, pulling out a few coins. Father always said to pay her way, and she knew that these folk didn’t have much. The few silvers she left for them would likely be more than they’d see in a year. It would pay them back for the hospitality and kindness shown to her on this journey. She picked up her pack, settled it on her back and continued her journey northward.

—-

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

The post Chapter 5 – Cori Treks North appeared first on Jamie Davis Books Author Page.

Chapter 4 – Cori Hatches a Plan

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

Start with Chapter 1 here.

Chapter 4

Cori stayed up much of the night formulating her plan to run off and join the Legion. She knew the law and knew that if she took the oath of enlistment, at sixteen she could not be forced to renounce that oath. She did not think her father would overrule that part of the law and tradition. The Legion of Solon had long been a place of redemption on the northern frontiers of the Kingdom of Rhodes. It had long been held that anyone who completed their enlistment in good standing would be pardoned for any but the most serious of crimes. The Legion was a haven for those who wished to prove themselves in the harsh northern forests and mountains where the Krator tribes of barbarians threatened the settlers who pushed out into the frontier to scratch out a living. If she could make it to an enlistment point during the coming weeks and take the oath, she must be allowed to complete her service and then she would show all of them what she was made of.

The challenge for her was to get out from under the watchful eyes of her parents and the guardsmen of the castle. She would never be allowed just to leave the castle and run away. Too many people in the surrounding town of Westgate and the farm holds nearby knew her on sight and would report it as unusual to see her traveling unattended. She thought about her options because many of the soldiers and rangers of the north might recognize her as well because of her travels with Lord Radnor, her father, on his many excursions around the province to inspect the land and meet the people of his demesne. That would be something she would have to consider later, but first she must escape the constricting confines of Castle Westgate. She must get them to let her travel to somewhere safe that would allow her to leave unwatched once she was there. Cori thought she had the perfect solution after a bit of thought and put that part of the plan into action with her breakfast with the family the next morning.

———

“Mother, Father,” Cori said over the breakfast table around which sat the assembled members of the Westgate family. “I wished to apologize for my outburst last night. I was petulant and selfish, and I should have kept the best interests of the family and the Kingdom in mind.” She hoped she wasn’t overdoing it, but she had to get this just right for them to let her go on with the rest of her plan. Cori continued as her parents smiled and looked up at her from their plates. “I still feel the need to do something in the coming war. I don’t feel that it is right that my brothers serve openly where all can see them, and I am kept here safe and protected from the ravages that will face others.”

Lady Elena started to object, but Lord Radner cut her off. “Let Cori finish what she has to say, Elena. She has apologized for last night’s words. Let us listen to what our nearly grown daughter wants to tell us.”

“Thank you, Father,” Cori said. “As I said, I don’t wish to be seen as staying here protected from the war’s effects. I think that the people deserve to see all of us serving the Kingdom in some way during the coming conflict. I think that is very important to maintaining peace and stability here at home.”

“I agree, Cori,” her father said. “Service from the Nobility to the land and the people is something that sets us apart from the rulers of places like the Empire. What did you have in mind?”

“Well, Father, Mother, with your blessing, I would like to travel to learn the healing arts from the Sisters of the Lake. That way I may care for our wounded when they return from the conflict abroad and help them as they come back to their families.” This was an important part of the plan because the Sisters of the Lake were renowned for their healing arts and magic, second only to the monks of Llorenc like her brother, Jonathan. They were also situated on a lake in the northern half of the province that would take her closer to her ultimate goal of getting to an enlistment party traveling the outer villages and towns where she might not be instantly recognized. Cori looked from her father to her mother and then around to her brothers Logan and Jonathan, also seated at the table. They all stared back at her for a moment.

“Corinne, dear, I am so glad you see that we don’t want you to go off to war,” her mother said with tears in her eyes. “It was never our intention to hold you back from your potential, only to see you kept safe. This is just the type of thing I hoped you would embrace. While it is not what I envisioned when I saw you and I working together her on the home front in Westgate, I believe it is exactly what our family needs to be seen doing and sets a fine example for other daughters of noble and high birth.”

Her father spoke up as well. “I’m proud of you, daughter. You have embraced the things we have taught you about service and selflessness to the people we lead. This is not what we thought you would say, but it also shows you have considered things to determine your own path in the world and that is important.”

“The Sisters of the Lake are excellent healers, Cori,” Jonathan added. “You will learn much from them. We will have to compare notes once your training with them is completed. There are things they do that we at the monastery don’t fully understand, but their results speak for themselves.”

“When did you think of leaving to undertake this calling, Corinne?” Lady Elena asked.

“Logan and Jonathan head out on their journeys tomorrow,” Cori replied. “I thought I could join them on their way north. It is only a short diversion to the Sisters’ chapter house. I know it is very soon, but I wish to begin this journey and start my learning as quickly as possible.”

“I see,” Lady Elena responded. “Well, we have much to do to prepare you for your trip. I hope you will let me help you pack and prepare?”

“So it is ‘yes?’” Cori said, hope shining in her eyes.

“Yes,” her father, Lord Radnor said. He smiled at her as he continued. “You make us very proud of your wish to serve in this way. I will think of you helping the wounded and broken soldiers I send back here to heal from the battlefield. It will bring me warmth and happiness to know you are both safe and taking care of our people at home.”

Cori’s heart swelled with joy and hope that her plans were starting off so successfully, and yet there was a sadness lurking in the background that she was forced to deceive her father and mother in such a way. It bothered her a little to lie to them, but she knew they would see how right she was when the time came that her ultimate plans were revealed, and they couldn’t make her turn back. She must be allowed to join her brothers in their march to war. It was her right and duty to do so, just as it was with them.

———

The rest of the day was spent packing her things and gathering the additional necessary items her mother thought should be sent along as donations to the Sisters from the manor to help them in the coming war. Since Cori was representing the family there, it was important that the Lord and Lady of the province support them in an open way and prepare them for the return of the wounded for whom they would care. The biggest challenge for Cori was finding a way to pack her hunting leathers, cloak, and weapons in the travel trunk without her mother noticing. The opportunity presented itself when a servant from the kitchen found them in Cori’s chambers and needed assistance with some matter of accounting for purchase of food stuffs for the pantry. While her mother left to attend to that, Cori wrapped her weapons belt with her long knife and tomahawk in her forest riding cloak and placed it in the bottom of the chest under some dresses already packed. Her hunting leathers went in there as well. Then she resumed packing while she tried to think of a way she could take her recurve bow and arrows as well. They would not fit in the trunk, and her mother would notice if she tried to hide them somewhere. She decided to add them to the pile of things she would leave out openly to travel. If asked, she would say that she wished to continue to practice with the bow while at the chapter house. She hoped that request would not give away her ultimate intention. She didn’t know of another way to bring the bow along, and she needed the bow for the second half of her journey when she ultimately slipped away from the convent’s chapter house.

Cori’s mother returned from handling the kitchen situation as Cori had almost finished packing the trunk. She noticed Lady Elena notice the bow and quiver set out on the bed next to her riding dress and the outfit planned for the beginning of the trip the next day. “Mother, I thought that I could have them with me on the trip.”

Lady Elena smiled at her daughter. “Corinne, dear, I know how important it is for you to practice with the bow. Perhaps you and your brothers can have one last hunt on the trip to the chapter house.” She held her hands out for an embrace, and Cori rushed in to return the hug in relief that she had overcome another hurdle in her plans. It was all going so well, she was nearly ecstatic and wanted to dance around the room in joy. She had to maintain a level of decorum at the seriousness of her false undertaking for her mother’s sake. They held the embrace for a moment longer as her mother stroked her long brown locks of hair. That too would be part of the change to come, a further rebellion against her mother’s control over her.

With the packing finished and the plans for her to accompany her brothers on their journey north from the provincial seat in Westgate completed, the family had one last dinner together. They talked over their supper about the wish that their missing brothers, Rad, and Hartwell could be there, too. Being in the direct service of the King in the capital, both of them had their own duties to attend to. Letters had arrived from both of them talking about the preparations for war in the city of Rhodes and the surrounding countryside. They had a few weeks advanced notice, being among the first to find out of the invasion of Verona to the east. They also reminisced about times in the past when they were all present, and the children were younger.  It was a time of melancholy sweetness for them all. Each knew that it might be the last such dinner for some of them. Lady Elena kept them focusing on happier times, though, and the dinner wrapped up with a rare dessert of iced cream, berries, and fresh chocolate cake. While ice was never in short supply here in the north, chocolate came from the lands of the Empire. It would be one of the last times they had the opportunity to enjoy the delicacy for some time to come. The time came to retire for the night, and they all went off to their chambers. They each would say their goodbyes in the morning as the party prepared to leave on the journey. Cori went to her bed filled with anticipation and excitement as her plans continued to bear fruit.

———

The following morning, after saying goodbye to their parents and the other well-wishers who came to see them off, Cori, Logan, Jonathan and a small group of the Westgate Guard left to begin the journey north. They would angle a bit to the east first to drop Cori off at the Chapter House of the Sisters of the Lake, and then Logan and Jonathan would head north to begin assembling the Legion platoons from the individual towns on the frontier. The journey to the Sisters’ Chapter House would take a day and a half, during which time, Cori sorely wished she could be more comfortable, but it was all part of the plan. She was traveling in a noblewoman’s riding dress with divided skirts for riding on horseback. She wore an appropriate headdress that made her hairline itch but would keep up appearances of a young noblewoman traveling. Her mother was pleased with her choice of travel gear and commented several times on how grown up she looked. Cori had to show up at the convent holding all appearances of being a woman of high birth intent on training. They must see the outfit and not the girl underneath. It was essential to her plan to slip away unseen by the members of the cloister there. So she put up with the uncomfortable attire and gave thanks that her mother had not been suspicious of her failing to argue about the clothes she set out for her daughter to wear.

The early part of the trip as they left the confines of the valley near the coast where the town and castle of Westgate lay was uneventful, and her brothers kept up the casual banter she expected from them when they traveled. As they stopped for a luncheon on the side of the road through the eastern forest, Logan looked up from his bread and cheese to stare at his sister. He had a puzzled look on his face. She noticed the attention and finally stopped her eating to ask him why he was looking at her.

“I’m just puzzled, little sister, that’s all.” He continued as he took a bite of cheese. “I’ve never seen you give in to Mother so quickly about anything. You two never see eye to eye on things and when you stormed off after dinner, we all expected you to try and run off and join the army on your own. Father set an extra guard that night and gave them an extra silver crown each to watch carefully for you, in particular, trying to get out of the castle.”

“You’ve been away for months, Logan,” She answered. “I’ve grown up in that time and now is not the time to be a frivolous girl. The Kingdom is at war, and I must do my part, as each of you do. You did not decide on where you were assigned to serve and neither should I. I will learn to heal and be ready to serve as the opportunity presents itself.”

“I’ve been home and close by the whole time, Cori,” Jonathan chimed in. “Your ‘growing-up’ happened awfully quickly from what I could see.” He chuckled. “I’m not complaining, mind you. No one likes it when you and Mother fight. We all steer clear of that storm when we can.”

“I just decided to do what you all wanted, and that’s all,” she said. She didn’t like the attention, and she was afraid she would lose her temper or say something that would give away her plan. “I thought you’d be happy for me that I wanted to contribute and do something so close to what you chose as your calling.”

“Oh, I’m pleased, and the Sisters will teach you so much,” Jonathan replied. “I’m just joining Logan in voicing my surprise.”

They became quiet again for a time while they finished eating, and then the group continued their journey. They stopped at a roadside inn near later afternoon and took rooms while the rest of the troop of guards stayed in the stables. Early the next day, after a nice breakfast supplied by the innkeeper, overjoyed at the prospect of hosting members of the noble family. The three Westgates gave their thanks for the kind hospitality and then continued their journey. They arrived at the Sisters of the Lake Chapter House just after noon. It sat situated above a small village with a mill, a smithy, and a small tavern. There were several farms that could be seen dotting the hillsides around the community. The Abbess came down to greet them personally on their arrival. She had received word the day before of Cori’s intention of studying there and assured them that everything was ready for their guest to join their cloister and learn their ways.

“Corinne, dear,” the Abbess said. “Your mother’s message arrived yesterday, and we are so pleased that you seek to become a healer in this time of war. We will endeavor to make your studies with us as fruitful as possible so that you may continue your service to the Kingdom in years to come.”

Cori curtsied and offered her greeting and thanks. “I’m glad of the hospitality you offer, Abbess. I look forward to learning all you and your fellow Sisters of the Lake have to teach me.”

The Abbess offered the hospitality of the Chapter House to her brothers and the accompanying guardsmen, but Logan begged off politely. “I thank you for the offer, Madame, but I have been long enough from my duties to the north and must try and make up ground now that my sister is in your care. Perhaps my brother and I can take you up on that offer again in the future.”

“Certainly,” the Abbess replied. “I understand. The Chapter House is at your service whenever you return from your journeying. We will add you, your brother and your men to our evening prayers tonight so that you may be kept safe in the coming conflict. It will be our continuing wish that you do not need our services in the future.”

“We’ll have my brother and some of his brothers of Llorenc along to tend to us but is heartens both my men and me that you and the Sisters are here at home waiting to tend to us should we need it on our return.” Logan bowed and returned to his mount, climbing into the saddle as his brother and the rest of the group did the same. He looked at Cori. “Stay safe, little sister. I will make sure that we send word to you and Mother as often as we can so that you may know that we are well.” He waved to the men and the small column of soldiers turned and headed up the northern road, away from the small farming community and the Chapter House of the Sisters of the Lake. Cori watched them go until a touch on her arm caused to turn and look at the Abbess.

“They will be safe, young Corinne,” she said to Cori. The older woman took Cori by the hand and led her through the Chapter’s gate into the courtyard. “Let’s see to getting you settled into your rooms here. Your mother sent a nice donation of supplies according to the list your brother gave me. After you’re settled, you may help us unpack those and put them away. It will be a good way to learn a little more about what we do here and will also serve to keep your mind off of worrying about your brothers.” She smiled at Cori and took her inside, joined by the other Sisters who had come outside to greet the visitors.

Cori was nervous as the porter started to unload her chest from the pack horse, along with her other bundles. Now she was on her own. She had never been without a family member close by in her entire life. There were no guardsmen, no brothers, no parents. Her plan had worked, and she was apprehensive about taking the next steps in her plan. It would take a day or two to get the lay of the land and to understand the routine here at the Chapter House. She could not hope to slip away unseen until she had that routine in her mind. Cori settled into playing the part of the dutiful nobleman’s daughter on a quest for learning. Her real quest would have to wait just a few more days.

—-

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

Start with Chapter 1 here.

The post Chapter 4 – Cori Hatches a Plan appeared first on Jamie Davis Books Author Page.

Chapter 3 – Westgate Family Dinner

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

Start with Chapter 1 here.

Chapter 3

“Absolutely not,” Lady Elena Westgate said to Cori. Her mother’s level gaze to the other assembled members of the family was one they all knew too well. Lord Radnor sighed as his daughter looked to him in protest, but she got no support there either. Logan, who had arrived yesterday, five days after the announcement of the impending war, just stared in his cup of mulled wine. Jonathan was present from the monastery, but Cori knew he would be of no help. If Logan or her father, who both knew of her skill with the bow and in the forest hunting, would not come to her aid, she had no hope of winning over her mother.

“Corinne,” her mother continued. “Marching off to war is no pursuit for a noble lady of our caliber.”

“But mother, half the castle staff, men, and women, have enlisted in the cause,” Cori protested. “Even my own maid, Cecily, has joined the local Westgate militia levy. If she can go off to war, certainly I can as well?”

“You will stay here, by my side, Corinne.” Her mother continued as if not hearing her argument. “You will help me run the province in your father’s and brother’s absence. That is a noble pursuit as well. Without the support from home, the armies on the march would quickly fade and lose hope. We must continue to gather the harvest and send what we can to the troops in the field. We must defend the Western reaches against incursion while your father and brothers are far from home with the troops.”

Cori turned again to her father, pleading with her eyes. “Father, will you please tell Mother that it is as much my right to go to war, to defend this land, as it is my brothers’ right?”

“Cori, my fierce Corinne, huntress of the western marches,” he continued using the amusing moniker he had bestowed on her when she first took up the bow as a young child and terrorized the rats that lived in any town and castle. “You know that your mother and I rule here together in Solon. I try not to ‘tell’ her anything.” He chuckled which infuriated Cori in some ways more than her mother’s flat denial.

That her father was so condescending as to think her wish to go to war was cute in some way made her angry and hurt. She had known that her mother would be against her plan to join the Legion and fight with her brother. She had never approved of Cori’s venturing into the forests and learning the bow, knife and tomahawk from the huntsmen who supplied the castle with meat. It was a bone of contention between her parents that Lord Radnor had allowed it. But now Cori saw that his acquiescence to allow her to play in the forest was just that. He would allow her to play in the forest here where it was safe, but he would never allow her to venture off to war. That was where his defiance of her mother’s wishes ended.

Logan took the opportunity to speak up during the pause in the argument. “Sister, you are many things and an accomplished hunter is one of them but going off to war and killing other men and women in battle is something I would not have for you, either. It changes you, inside and out. That doesn’t even count that you may not survive the coming war. None of us may return.”

“Don’t say that, Logan,” Lady Elena interrupted him. “I’ll not consider that you or your brothers won’t return safely.”

“Mother, I have every intent on returning, if it lies within my ability,” Logan said. “But fate, war, and combat are fickle mistresses. They truly hold no love for any one man and are just as likely to turn their back on me as on one of my companions.” He turned back to his sister. “I will lose companions in this upcoming war. Good and close friends. I would not put your life at risk among them. That would be something I could not bear, were something to happen to you. Do as mother says. Stay here and help her run the province while father and I are away. You can be a force for good here at home just as much or more than you could ever be on the march with the Legion or any of our forces.”

“But even Jonathan is going. He doesn’t even like war and fighting,” Cori protested.

“I don’t wish to go to war, it’s true, sister,” Jonathan said from where he stood, apart from the rest of the family in the private dining quarters. “But father wishes to send a contingent of us with each of the units fielded from Solon. I will be joining Logan with the Legion not because I want to go to war or see men and women kill each other, but because I wish to do what I can to heal those who are injured and to prevent disease and sickness on the march. Do not envy me that task. Logan is correct. There will be much sorrow in the coming war. No one wants that for you.”

“So I must stay here and play the dutiful daughter while you and Father go off to war and glory?”

“There is no glory in war, Cori,” her father said. His voice was somber. “There is only death and dying and thankfulness that you are still alive at the end of a battle. The glory is what is perceived by those who did not fight or watched from afar. Those who are in the fight, on either side, spend the entire conflict in terror and near-panic.”

“You were never afraid, Father,” she countered. “When you tell of your time with the Legion in the northern border war, you speak of the friends you made. I’ve seen you in the reunions you have held here at the castle. I’ve heard you speak to your old companions and their families.”

“Those were the words of an old soldier remembering comrades from long ago. I speak of the fond memories of shared hardship and bonds that go beyond friendship at those events,” Lord Radnor said. He held her gaze as he continued. “You also should remember when, at the end of each of those reunions, I hold up a goblet of wine to toast our fallen comrades lost in battle many years before. Think on that moment and remember the silent reverence that each of the old soldiers holds in that moment. Each is remembering a lost companion, someone who will never marry, never watch their children grow up, never grow old as the rest of us do. That moment still strikes each of us with a cold chill even not, many years later. I would not have that for you, Cori.”

Cori knew she had lost all hope of turning things around at that moment. She looked at each of her assembled family members, from Logan’s sad smile to her mother’s satisfied smirk, and she knew that they would never understand why she needed to do this. They would never understand that this was something she had been practicing for all her life. Each of the hunting trips in the forest, learning to track and stalk prey, all had been because she wanted to join the Legion should it ever be called to re-form in a time of war. She had heard the stories of her father and the ballads of the visiting musicians. She wanted that to be part of her legacy as well. Now that hope was dashed by the selfish demands of her family. All her older brothers would be part of the coming conflict, and she would be stuck here at home, learning to keep accounts and books and whatever else her mother did in the household of a lordly manor.  It was all so unfair.

She set her jaw, deciding to keep her thoughts to herself. Saying anything else at this point would only serve to anger her parents, and her Father wouldn’t allow her to say what she really wanted to say to her mother. She hated her mother at that moment. This was the final straw in her controlling influence over Cori’s life. She wanted nothing to do with staying at home with her mother during the war, and the spark of a plan began to hatch in her mind as she thought of that prospect.

“By your leave, Mother, Father,” Cori said in a respectful tone. “I think that I must retire to my chambers. I think that I have said all that I may at this time and wish to be excused.”

Her mother and father considered her for a moment, and then her father, Lord Radnor spoke. “Cori, you may retire if that is what you wish to do. Know that we do what we do because of our love for you, and to protect you from things that you don’t understand yet.” She just inclined her head and gave a small curtsy before turning and leaving the room.

———

Cori’s sad walk back to her rooms soon became a determined march. The hint of the idea she had thought of during the confrontation with her parents grew into a solid plan for her to achieve her goals. She would do what she desired despite the wishes of her family. She would need a day to assemble the things she needed to enact the plan. Then she could finally show them all that she was right and that she deserved to help in the coming war. She would prove them all wrong.

—-

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

Start with Chapter 1 here.

The post Chapter 3 – Westgate Family Dinner appeared first on Jamie Davis Books Author Page.

Chapter 2 – Kingdom at War

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

Start with Chapter 1 here.

Chapter 2

Cori descended the north tower stairs holding the hem of her dress high in order to move as quickly as possible. She knew she had taken too long getting to the dinner with her parents and newly arrived guests. She vaulted down the last two stone steps, a most unladylike move and then ran into the main hall where her parents were holding a dinner for the guests. She turned the corner, her chest heaving, out of breath as her parents looked up and spotted her. She skidded to a stop and tried to calm her breathing. Her father failed to hide his smile while her mother did nothing to hide her scowl. Taking her time and holding the hem of her dress up just slightly, she stepped down the wide stairs into the Westgate great hall. Looking around the room, she saw the onlooking guests and visitors watching her approach the head table. Cori curtsied to her parents who returned her curtsy with a nod of their heads and then she rounded the head table and took her seat at the end.

Her brother Jonathan leaned over to her from his seat next to Cori. “Nicely done, sister. You managed to not only make an entrance but also to embarrass mother in front of the King’s emissary.”

“Oh, hush,” she whispered back to him as she settled the cloth napkin in her lap. “You know how I hate dressing in court attire. You have it easy. You have that robe and a bare rope to tie it at your waist. I have nearly one hundred buttons running up the back of this thing. It took Cecily ten minutes to do them all.”

“You should not mock a man of God, little sister,” Jonathan said as he passed her the plate of sliced beef.

“You should not tease your little sister,” she shot back. “Isn’t that a sin or something?”

“Failing to honor your mother is a sin as well, sister. I’ll ask for forgiveness for both of us in my evening prayers.” He took the plate of beef back from her when she had served herself and passed her the roasted potatoes. “How was your hunt? Was it worth it?”

“I brought down a mountain cat with two shots,” Cori announced.

Her brother, the monk, almost choked on a mouthful of beef. “Don’t let mother hear you were hunting mountain cats. She’ll never let you go out on a hunt again.”

“I wasn’t hunting the cat,” she said, getting excited. “We were both hunting the same prey. I had stalked a doe and fawn to a clearing and then saw the cat. Besides, Dad would be glad I rid the farm holds of a dangerous predator. I passed two flocks of sheep, not a mile from where I shot the big cat.”

“Cori the huntress does it again, eh?” Jonathan said with a smile. “Saving the farmers, one rogue predator at a time.” He raised his goblet to her.

Cori smiled at her older brother’s praise. All four of her older brothers teased her, but she knew they were proud of her as well. She was a better shot with a bow than all except, perhaps, Logan. The second eldest of her brothers, he lived in the forests of the northern reaches most of the time in his capacity as a ranger and border guardian. Her eldest brother, Rad, was a member of the King’s Heavy Horse Guards and rarely home, but when he was, he enjoyed telling Cori of his time in the forces of the King at the capital with all the pomp and circumstance that accompanied it. Jonathan was the only brother close to home now as his monastery overlooked the bay across the harbor from the Westgate Castle. Hartwell, the youngest of her older brothers, was now a squire in the king’s service and also at the capital with Rad. He had been gone for just over a year and a half, and she missed him as the closest in age to her at seventeen years.

She continued her meal, talking with Jonathan about his studies in the monastery while she looked out over the manor hall. The tables were set in a U-shape with the head table set as the base of the U and the two parallel rows of tables extending outward from it towards the broad double doors through which she had made her entrance earlier. In the center was an open area with a place for occasional dancers and other entertainers who traveled the kingdom. There was now a small group of musicians with a lively jig of fiddle, guitar and drum music that had her tapping her toe under the table as she ate. Her father liked to support the entertainers who traveled through here, a fact that was well known to them. It kept a lively group of musicians and acrobats staying within the town below the castle in hopes of getting the chance to perform for the Lord of the castle above.

She looked to her right from her spot at the end of the head table past Jonathan and the several merchants who were lucky enough to sit up here with the family and tried to see the guests and emissaries from the king in Rhodes. It must be something important to justify more than just a courier. To send a formal representative all the way to Westgate meant that the king wanted more than a response to a written note from Lord Radnor, her father. Her father and mother sat at the center of the head table. Her mother looked regal as she ever did. There was not a hair out of place, and she looked as lovely and stately as ever. Cori secretly envied her mother’s way of always appearing perfect in whatever outfit she showed up in. She knew it was because of her mother’s hard work maintaining appearances even here in the outlying lands of the kingdom. She had married Lord Radnor after meeting him in the capital on one of his many trips there many years before and since moving here, had striven to bring a taste of the capital’s elegance and beauty to the western provincial seat.

Next to her mother sat her father, who wore his customary fur-trimmed cloak and the golden chain of office around his neck that marked him as Lord of the Northern Reaches of the Kingdom of Rhodes. Rhodes was the western-most of the four free kingdoms of the west. To the east were Padon, Theron, and Verona. To the east of the Verona was the Phutan Empire, from which the Free Kingdoms had won their freedom one hundred years before. There was still tension on the borders of Verona where it met the Empire. The war, however, was largely a thing of the past as merchants from the Empire now freely traveled the lands of the Free Kingdoms. Some of them coming even as far west as Westgate to show their silks, jewelry, spices and other wares from the distant eastern lands.

She craned her neck, leaning forward to catch a glimpse of the emissaries seated to her father’s right. She might recognize them, and that might tell her what the news might be that her father had received. Usually, it was the trade minister of one faction or another when an emissary was required, discussing the fur trade or the maritime protection for traders up the coast and to the western islands. She gasped when she saw who it was seated next to her father. Lord Radnor laughed and leaned back in his seat revealing Lord Dunbar, the king’s minister of war. She had met him only once before on a trip to the city of Rhodes to see the capital on one of her father’s state visits there. Lord Dunbar had never traveled out this far before, and it was unusual to see him here in the western reaches. She knew of no trouble with the northern tribes closest to the province of Solon that would warrant the war minister to come all the way out here. It must be trouble on one of the other frontiers. Now she wished she had been around the castle earlier today, instead of out on the hunt. Had she been home, she might have caught some of the gossip from the servants who always seemed to know what was going on before anyone other than her father and mother.

She knew her mother would never allow her father to interrupt a good feast with business before the meal was completed, so Cori resigned herself to speculation in her mind of what the arrival of the war minister meant here on the frontier. She considered asking Jonathan, but he wouldn’t know anything. He had likely come over for the feast from the monastery right before the meal, interrupting his studies only when he had to leave. The monks of the Westgate Monastery were of the order of Llorenc and studied the mystical healing arts and spells that had made their order famous across the lands. There was a chapter in nearly every large city, and it was a thing of pride to her father that a Llorencian monastery graced the town of Westgate. Indeed, it was the monks of the monastery that kept diseases under control with their lessons on cleanliness and public health. Cori couldn’t understand what drew Jonathan to such pursuits, but she also knew that as a younger brother of a noble family, he would not inherit, and it was not uncommon for others like him to seek out holy orders. She knew her brother had become a proficient healer in his own right, and his studies of the mystical arts of Llorenc were only interrupted by their mother’s demands that he join the family several times a week for a meal so she could see him. The Abbot allowed the frequent visitation to continue the family’s support of the order in Westgate and Cori also believed because he hated leaving the monastery himself. She had met the Abbot on several occasions when he had been required to attend in person, and she knew from his ink-stained hands that he preferred his life behind the cloistered doors of the monastery away from others where he could concentrate on his studies.

Cori was taken away from her speculations on why Lord Dunbar was here by the arrival of the pudding. The arrival of dessert meant that the time was almost here for the announcement of the news from the King. Whatever it was, Cori could hardly wait. News from the capital was always greatly anticipated by the residents of the outlying regions because that was also how they learned of the goings on in the rest of the world, the four kingdoms and beyond to the great Empire of the East. As she dug into her pudding, sweetened with honey and a hint of vanilla and nutmeg, she knew that the news must be important indeed. Her mother had gotten the cook to pull out the precious Eastern spices from the Empire. She rarely tasted vanilla or nutmeg or anything of the western spices except when special guests arrived and the sweet, spiced dessert was a treat.

Finally, her father set his empty goblet down with an audible thump and then rapped the base of it against the table several times like a magistrate’s gavel. He stood and looked around the room for a moment before continuing. Cori sat on the edge of her seat, prepared to catch every single word from her father.

“My lords and ladies, esteemed merchants and noble guests,” Lord Radnor began. “I have called this feast on short notice today based on the arrival this afternoon of Lord Dunbar, emissary from King Edgard and Queen Adelaida in Rhodes. As many of you know, Lord Dunbar is the minister of war and a close advisor to the King. His travel here to the western provinces is both welcomed and long awaited. Unfortunately, he does not come on a mere review of the defenses of the northern and western marches. His arrival signals the news of an impending war.”

A murmur of voices passed through the hall while Lord Radnor paused to let that news sink in with his audience. Cori looked at Jonathan and their eyes met. She saw worry in his eyes but knew that hers held only excitement at the prospect of war. This would be amazing news indeed. But war with whom and why? She returned her attention to her father as he continued as the rest of the hall calmed down again to listen to his announcement.

“Imperial forces from the east have invaded our sister kingdom of Verona,” Lord Radnor continued. “The emperor wishes to force us to join his empire as his grandfather once did. He tried to do so through marriage of his son with Princess Kalila of Verona. When King Aran and Queen Christina of Verona refuse the offer of the hand in marriage of an imperial prince, the emperor took offense and decided to force the issue. Imperial cavalry swept around and cut off the capital city, Veron. Other military units including pike regiments from the Empire have now marched into Verona and are capturing and enslaving the populace of the countryside. We have received no word from Veron for several weeks, but merchants reported that the city still held out against the siege a few weeks ago.” Again Lord Radnor paused to let the news of the invasion sink in before continuing. “The King and Queen in Rhodes, in recognition of our mutual defense treaty with all of the Free Kingdoms, have issued the order to mobilize our kingdom’s levies. That includes the militia and levies here in Solon. Lord Dunbar also wishes to raise the Legion of Solon again to act as the scouts and rangers for the forces deployed in the field by the kingdom. I have sent for my son Logan in the north, to take up the role I once held as the commander of the Legion. He will gather recruits from among the foresters and rangers of the borderlands and bring them here before marching to join the king’s forces in Rhodes. I will be forming our remaining militia of pikemen along with our own Westgate mounted men-at-arms to join the king as well. I urge all able-bodied young men and women to consider joining the militia levies as we march to defend our cousins to the east from this unprovoked imperial aggression. We will, of course, maintain a force on the northern border to keep the tribes of the north at bay, but all others who can be spared will be sent east to the defense of Verona.” Cori watched as her father raised his goblet to the assembled guests and toasted to the coming war. “To the King, the Queen, and to victory!”

The guests at the lower and head table stood on their feet with a cheer and repeated the toast, raising their own drinking vessels and downing the contents. There was a lot of activity then as Cori heard those nearest her talking of their plans to join the militia or, for the lesser nobles, to gather their own mounted men-at-arms to join their Lord on the march. She felt the tingle of excitement deep inside. She knew that she must join the cause as well and knew what it was that she wanted to do. She would join her brother Logan in the Legion of Solon and march to war with her brothers and father.

—-

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

Start with Chapter 1 here.

The post Chapter 2 – Kingdom at War appeared first on Jamie Davis Books Author Page.

Chapter 1 – Cori Westgate, Forest Girl

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

Chapter 1

Cori stepped carefully. She glanced down and made sure of each step, avoiding leaves and twigs that would announce her progress through the thick forest undergrowth. Looking up again, the sixteen-year-old girl shifted her upper body to move her bow around the branch in front of her, keeping her knocked arrow pointed downrange. She could see her target now. The doe and fawn moved through the brush 15 yards ahead of her. They stopped, lifting their heads, the mother looking left and right. Cori froze. The deer’s eyes scanned past her but did not stop and then the forest creature went back to grazing with her child. Cori took another step, then another. Closer and closer. It was a game to her. She could have taken the shot yards back on the path when she first spotted the pair after tracking them for an hour. Her hunting leathers shrugged off the thorns and pickers as she moved through the brush, towards the deer grazing in the small clearing ahead of her.

She was at the edge of the undergrowth now and could see the two magnificent creatures in the dappled sunlight leaking through the tall trees surrounding the forest glade. The spotted fawn was young and still dependent on its mother for milk but testing the glade’s grass with a few tentative nibbles. Cori stopped where she was and marveled at the beauty of the scene. She kept her arrow nocked, as she had been taught by Uncle Vernon, but kept the shaft pointed at the ground. She was prepared for the shot but was not to aim until she was ready to take it and kill her target. At this range, it would be an easy kill. Then her eyes refocused and locked on a target. Without thought her bow snapped into position, the arrow’s fletchings tickling her cheek as she drew the bowstring back to her ear. The sudden motion caused the doe to lift its head and look directly at her. She released. The arrow flew true, and a snarling cry sounded from the other side of the glade as it struck home. The doe and fawn, alerted now to danger, bounded into the brush away from the sound, their passage close enough, it nearly knocked her down.

Cori was not phased by the nearness of the animals. She had already nocked another arrow from her quiver and sent it on its way as the mountain cat launched from its stalking point on the other side of the small meadow. She could see her first arrow standing out from the big cat’s shoulder even as she released her second shot. It must be the one that stopped the predator. She would not have time for a third before it reached her. She realized that it was no longer after the doe and faun. It had shifted its yellow-eyed gaze on her as it bounded across the clearing. She drew a breath, released halfway to steady her aim and released. The young huntress didn’t wait for the shot to strike home. She dropped her bow, drawing her long knife and tomahawk from her belt for the close quarters fight that would follow if she had missed. But she didn’t miss. She rarely missed when given the chance to aim true. Her arrow struck the cat’s chest in mid-bound, and when it’s clawed front paws landed on the turf ten feet in front of her, they failed to hold the massive creature’s weight. The shaft had struck home in the animal’s heart. It tumbled and rolled with its forward momentum, sliding to a halt only a foot from where Cori stood, prepared to fight for her life. Its chest heaved a few times and then the massive mountain cat was still.

A sigh from behind her brought a smile to her lips. She turned to see Uncle Vernon lowering the large crossbow as he saw the danger had passed. She liked to think she was was all alone in the woods hunting on her own as one of the forest girls of the northern reaches of the province, but of course, that would be out of the question for the provincial governor’s only daughter. Despite her desire to go out on her own, she could only pretend to do so. The guardsman with his crossbow and the hunt master behind him would always be close by to protect her. If she needed protection. She looked down at the body of the large predator that had nearly taken the faun from the doe. Her position across the glade had been perfect, and she had seen the cat’s intent as it stalked from the other side, angling toward the younger, more vulnerable target.

“Girl, ye’ll be the death of me yet,” Uncle Vernon, her grizzled guardsman grumbled. He wasn’t her real uncle, but she had called him that all her life since that was what her older brothers called him. He had been her father’s companion and guardsman during the war many years earlier, and now he was just like a member of the family. “If I don’t die of a stroke during one of these hunts, your father will kill me himself when I bring your body back tied across the back of a horse. Ye should have let the beast take its dinner. Shooting it only made it angry and gave it a new target.”

The hunt master stepped forward past the guardsman and looked at the kill at her feet. “Lady Corrine,” he said, pointing at the two arrows. “You should have made the first shot count as the kill shot. You might not always be lucky enough to have a second chance like you did here. Your guardsman is right.”

“But I didn’t see it until it was ready to strike at the deer,” Cori explained. “I had to take the quick shot.”

The huntsman shook his head. “Take a half-second and draw the breath to steady your shot. It could be the difference between a wounding shot and a kill. It likely was that difference here.” He pulled a horn from his belt and blew a few clear notes alerting his assistants of their location. They would bring the horses up so they wouldn’t have to trek all the way back to Westgate castle on foot. “Still a good kill for the Lady. I’d be mighty proud were you my own daughter. She went off to marry that baker’s son in the village. She never wanted to hunt with me in the woods.”

“Don’t ye go filling her head with all that nonsense,” Uncle Vernon said with a chuckle. “She’s a good huntress but doesn’t need us heaping praise upon her for a foolish, dangerous act.” He turned from looking at the big cat and looked at his charge. “Lady Corinne, Cori, ye cannot take chances like that. I’m serious. If your mother or even your father hears about how close a thing this was, you’ll never be allowed to lead a hunt again.”

“I don’t think you’d talk to my brothers like that, Uncle,” she quipped. Cori was annoyed. She was tired of being treated like a delicate princess. She was as tough as her older brothers. If any of them had done what she had done, they would have been praised for their selfless bravery.

“That may be, but none of your brothers are the lord’s only daughter, either,” the old guardsman said. “Yer mother barely tolerates your little excursions into the forest as it is. She still hopes to send you off to the capital in Rhodes to serve as a lady for one of the princesses until you are old enough to marry.”

“I’ll not be shuffled off to some becomes some flibberty-gibbet lady in waiting to the princesses,” she responded. “I happen to know that Princess Alvina wishes she could come up here and hunt with me. She has told me as much when we’ve made our court visits.”

“Princess Alvina will someday lead this kingdom,” the guardsman returned. “She and her twin brother must prepare to be the Queen and her guard captain. That means that a certain amount of martial training is necessary.”

“Well, if she can train with the sword, why cannot I train with the weapons of Solon,” Cori complained. She picked sheathed her long knife, slid the haft of her tomahawk into her belt at the small of her back and knelt to pick up her bow. “I’m as good a shot as any of my brothers with a bow, and you’ve said yourself that I’m a dangerous foe with knife and tomahawk. The weapons of the Legion should be my right as a Westgate.”

“You’ve trained well enough on all of them, my Lady,” Vernon said with a sigh. “But you are not your older brothers. They are enough to lead the forces of the province. Lord Rad is with the King’s Heavy Horse Guards, your brother Lord Logan has command of the Legion should they need to be called up. You should settle yourself on a quieter career path like your brother, Jonathan.”

“Oh, so now you want to shuffle me off to join the holy orders in some convent or monastery?” She laughed aloud. Her guardsman and the hunt master laughed along with her which assuaged her rising anger a bit. They knew how ill-suited she’d be stuck in a monastic cell, contemplating her navel while in prayer. Jonny had always been a quiet sort and talked of studying in the libraries of the monastery for years before he joined the order. He was suited to that life of quiet and contemplation.

Cori, on the other hand, wanted adventure. She hung on the stories her father told of the Legion of Solon in the last war. How he had saved the King’s life and been awarded the Barony of Solon when the old Baron died without a son. She listened to every word when he talked of leading expeditions to quell the barbarian uprisings to the north and secure the northern borders of the kingdom. Now her older brother, Logan, got to go on those expeditions. She had asked once to join him, but her mother and father had laughed at her request. She knew her parents laughed for different reasons, but it hurt no less. Her mother laughed because she never thought it proper for a noble-born woman to engage in unwholesome pursuits like hunting and war. Her father had laughed because, while he admired his daughter’s spirit, he had always held out hope for her to marry into the capital’s nobility and carry the family name there.

She shook herself back to the present and tended to the chores of the hunt alongside her warders as the hunt master’s apprentices brought up the horses. She unstrung her bow and settled it in the straps that held her horse’s saddle quiver. Then she helped as the hunt master gutted and cleaned the big cat for transport back to the castle. He grinned at her as she stooped down to help him with the grisly task and she was proud that she never saw herself too highborn to undertake a task that needed doing. Her father had taught her that, and she liked that it brought her close to the people she might lead someday. She knew her brothers felt the same way, and she saw it in the way that Logan led the Legion companies when they were mustered. He took on the training of raw recruits alongside the sergeants and captains.

Once the monstrous cat was gutted and much of the blood was drained, the hunt apprentices loaded it on the back of a pack horse. The animal rolled its eyes at the smell of the big cat and the blood, but Cori stroked it’s nose and spoke quietly to calm it as the load was tied down. Her father would want to see the prize his daughter brought back from the hunt that day. She knew her mother, Lady Elena would frown, but her father would be pleased with his daughter’s skill in the hunt. He might hide his pride, but she knew it would be there.

Cori mounted her horse as the rest of the hunting party gathered their reins and did the same. The hunt master led the way back to the main path, followed by Cori, Uncle Vernon, and the two huntsman apprentices bringing up the rear with the pack horse and its cargo. The winding passage through the woods was peaceful, and Cori listened to the sounds of the forest around her amidst the clop-clop of the horses’ hooves on the packed earth of the path. This might be one of her last hunting trips for a while. The caravan to the capital in Rhodes would leave soon, and she knew he mother’s intention was to send her off in that caravan to take her position as an attendant to Princess Alvina in the palace. Cori knew Alvina, and she knew the princess would like to see her friend again. But this was different from the occasional visits with her in the capital when her father was summoned there, or the even rarer court trips where Alvina, Prince Kyle, and young Princess Joan and their parents, the King and Queen, had traveled out to see the outlying lands of the kingdom. King Edgard and Queen Adelaida were good rulers and made it a point to visit part of their kingdom each year to meet the people on their ground and show benevolent rulership over the whole of the kingdom. It was something about which her father often commented. He believed it was one reason there was so little unrest in the kingdom. He strived to be the same type of leader in Solon and traveled the province with his children frequently to see the people and how they lived. It had impressed upon Cori and her brothers the importance of knowing your subjects and she had stopped and shared bread with more than one farm family on such trips. She watched the admiration and loyalty it built in the subjects her father met and sat with at their table.

She continued her random thoughts as she followed the hunt master out of the forest and onto the rolling farmland surrounding Castle Westgate. From her vantage point, she could see the sea beyond the castle where it sat on the cliffs above Westgate town. On the far side of the town, she could see the tops of the ships’ masts in the harbor, bringing goods to the marketplace and taking the furs from the mountain trappers as well as the harvest foods from the rich farmland of Solon Province. She brushed away a stray wisp of her long brown hair that had blown across her eyes. It had escaped the leather band that held her hair back at the nape of her neck when she hunted. A shepherd was tending his flock at the forest’s edge and raised his hat to the hunting party as they passed. Cori waved in reply. The big cat across the pack animal at the back of the party would have eventually started worrying at the farmers’ flocks and herds. It was good that she had killed it before it decided that skittish deer were too difficult a prey and started after the slow-moving and stupid sheep of the valley.

As they progressed further down into the valley, she continued to be recognized by the passing folk on the road and more than one praised her on her trophy as they passed. It was getting dark when they entered the town and started up the winding road leading to the castle gates. The quiet creak of the saddle leather and clip-clop of the horses hooves was replaced by the bustle of a busy port town. Merchants and farmers with carts on the streets hawked their wares to all who passed. The constant murmur of voices seemed oppressive after the relative quiet of the forest all day. She knew which of the two she preferred.

They neared the gates and passed through them under the raised portcullis in the gatehouse. The two guardsman with their spears and shields bowed to her and nodded to Vernon when they passed by. Once in the castle courtyard, the grooms came and took her horse’s reins while she dismounted. She was slipping her bow and quiver of arrows from the saddle’s straps when a desperate voice made her turn around.

“Ooh, young lady, your mother is going to have your hide.”

Cori turned to see Maddie, the head of the house, and now Cori’s personal keeper it seemed. “Maddie, I said I’d be home by nightfall. Surely it’s not yet time for supper?”

“There’s been a courier and emissary from the King arrived, and your mother wants you cleaned up and presentable before dinner so you might meet them,” the woman said as she fussed over Cori. “Oh, dear lord, is that blood on your cheek?” She wet a thumb in her mouth and, before Cori could pull away, was scrubbing at her face with it.

“Maddie,” Cori said, flustered. She brushed the woman’s hand aside. “I can clean up myself. I will go straight to my rooms and change. I suppose mother wants me in full courtly attire?”

“Of course she does, Corinne, dear,” Maddie said. “No off with you and don’t skimp with the soap and water. You’re a mess, and you smell of horse, sweat, and blood.”

Cori shouldered her bow and slung her quiver over her other shoulder as she headed up to the keep and her rooms. Mother would not like to be kept waiting, she knew. It wasn’t just the arrival of the guests. Lady Elena didn’t care for her outdoor activities and wished her daughter would stay home and learn needlepoint and embroidery with the other ladies of the castle. Her room and antechamber lay at the top of the north tower staircase. She knew that Maddie would have a bathtub filled there for her there, although the water was probably no longer hot. It would feel good to have a soak after sweating in her hunting leathers all day. Then she could change into whatever the maid had laid out for her at her mother’s suggestion. She would be in the hall to greet their guest within the hour.

—-

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You are reading the work product of a first draft writing session and not a finished product. Comments are welcome, but bear the first draft nature of the work in mind. Thank you and enjoy!

The post Chapter 1 – Cori Westgate, Forest Girl appeared first on Jamie Davis Books Author Page.

Building a World Map From Scratch for NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) kicks off tomorrow and I think I’m finally ready. The final piece that I needed, but didn’t realize it, was a solid vision of the world map for my series. I kind-of-sort-of knew where things were in a vague way. If I was going to have the characters like Cori travel in this world, however, I needed to have a real world map from which to work. So great, what do I know about map-making?

Start With What You Know

So I started from what I knew. I needed a large land mass that I could work with in the beginning. A short google search, and looking at real world maps gave me the idea of chopping off part of Central Asia. The challenge was that I still needed a map that wouldn’t be instantly recognizable to people who knew their geography. India is a pretty recognizable peninsula.

I decided to do something daring and do some image manipulation. I flipped the continent upside-down. Voila! Instant fantasy world map of the continent. I spent some time drawing in the country borders based on my vague world view of things and the result is a world I can work with.

We’ll discover it together as the writing starts tomorrow morning, first thing. I’ll eventually get a clean version of this map from a designer to place in the books. You get to see my world with my chicken scratch lines and notes first. Just look here below. You can also check out the story with daily (usually) updates as I complete chapters of the first draft of “Legion On The March.”

The post Building a World Map From Scratch for NaNoWriMo appeared first on Jamie Davis Books Author Page.

Three Characters from the “Legion of Solon” Project

With NaNoWriMo less than a week away, I thought I would share with you a few folks from my cast of characters for the project this November. I call it a “cast” because fixing a character’s look, habits and attitudes in my head can be a big help when it comes to writing about what that character would do. I plan on putting them in some unusual situations. How they react in those situations is based on how I cast them. The story in “Legion on the March” focuses on the Westgate family and their preparations as their kingdom of Rhodes prepares for war.

Cori Westgate

The novel’s primary character is Corinne Westgate or “Cori” as she’s known to her family and friends. She’s a sixteen-year-old young woman who doesn’t understand why she can’t march to war with her older brothers. Women and men both enlist in the military and militia levies in this world, so her request to go along is not that strange.

When told “no,” Cori does what any rebellious teenager does, she hatches a plan to get her way in spite of her parent’s wishes. The story of “Legion on the March” will revolve around her struggle with her decision to defy her parents and with the hard life of a soldier on the march.

Logan Westgate

The Legion of Solon is a small, elite unit of scouts and trackers who operate on the flanks of the main army. It is commanded by Cori’s brother, Logan Westgate, who now has to cope with his headstrong sister as a raw recruit in his unit. He can’t show favoritism. There are other men’s sisters in the Legion, too. They don’t get special treatment and neither will Cori, no matter what his personal feelings are.

Jonathan Westgate

Each company in the Legion has a few support personnel assigned to help with the mundane and magical aspects of an army on the march. Jonathan Westgate, as is common for a younger brother in a noble family, went into the holy orders. Now his monastery has assigned him to a company in the Legion as a scribe, healer, and spiritual guide. He has led a rather sheltered life in his family’s castle and then in the monastery. Life on the road with a lively group of young men, and especially young women, offers him a look at a world he thought he had put behind him.

Legion on the March

The story will follow Cori, and to a lesser extent her brothers, on their travels and challenges on the march. They’ll discover new things about themselves both with the war and with each other. Stay tuned to the blog here for frequent updates.

I will post each first draft chapter as it’s written, roughly every day or so. I look forward to your comments. Just remember, it’s a draft. There will be mistakes. There will be spelling errors and grammatical problems. But bear with me and by the end of November, we’ll have a finished story. It’ll need work and polish, but the bones of the story will be there. Join me on the journey!

The post Three Characters from the “Legion of Solon” Project appeared first on Jamie Davis Books Author Page.

Daily NaNoWriMo Writing Updates for “Legion on the March”

We are two weeks out from NaNoWriMo and my latest project “Legion On The March.” This is going to be the first book in my new “Legion of Solon” series. The most exciting thing for you, my readers, is that I plan to live blog the writing of this book.

What does this mean? It means I will post daily (usually) chapter updates as I write them for the NaNoWriMo contest. This is kind of scary for me since it means you get to see my crappy firs drafts. I know, “Everyone’s first draft is crappy,” you say. Still it will show you the beginnings of this story in all its raw glory. You will see some things that will not make it into the final edit of the book and you’ll see some things that might move or change later on.

I’ll publish the whole month long as I complete each chapter. I usually write a chapter a day when I write first drafts. This translates to about one blog post each day. I’ll publish a disclaimer with it so you know that it’s not a finished work and will be full of errors and other raw writing issues.

Stay tuned for more as we get closer to the 1st of the November! If you want to join the adventure and start your own novel, visit NaNoWriMo.org and we can become writing buddies!

The post Daily NaNoWriMo Writing Updates for “Legion on the March” appeared first on Jamie Davis Books Author Page.

Prepping for NaNoWriMo in November

I published my first novel this year with the “Extreme Medical Services” book. That book started as a challenge to complete the NaNoWriMo contest in November 2014. Since then I’ve published that novel, written a prequel novella (The Vampire and the Paramedic) and the first draft of the second “Extreme Medical Services” book (Paramedic’s Folly). The series will consist of at least three full-length novels and at least one prequel novella. I plan to publish and release that second ExMS novel in December around the holidays.

New Fantasy Project In The Works

So, with that under my belt and NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) approaching, I decided to start a new project series called the “Legion of Solon Trilogy.” It will follow the story of a teenage girl of noble birth who enlists and goes off to war with her brothers when their kingdom is invaded. The first novel in the series will be entitled “Legion On The March.”

“Legion On The March” will track the conflict between the primary character, Cori Westgate, and her family on her decision to enlist. The legion of elite scouts and archers has a history of allowing both men and women to join. It will take her through this challenge from enlistment to training, to the legion’s first battle in the war.

Why Start A New Fantasy Project?

My family questions starting a new project before the other project is completed. The ExMS series is not going away. I have plans to start writing the first draft of the third book in that series starting in mid-December. In fact, I have plans to continue both projects side-by-side throughout 2016 with both reaching their culmination by the end of the year.

As a reader, I appreciate the angst of having to wait a year or more to get the next book in a series. Because I am sensitive to that, I have focused on turning out books every three months or so through the end of 2016 to keep my fans happy. I hope you are enjoying my efforts so leave a comment below on what you like and what you don’t like. Everything makes me a better writer!

The post Prepping for NaNoWriMo in November appeared first on Jamie Davis Books Author Page.