Stream of Conscious Saturday. Grill. #SoCS

“If you are to host an inquisition then do so in a deep chamber with thick walls. There is nothing like the sounds of screaming to upset ones digestion.” Old gaoler saying in Ang Nafud.

My second offering for Linda Hill’s Stream of conscious Saturday.

Many of the participants I already know through other groups and blog connections. As a writer I thought I might use this to explore a world that began to form during April’s challenge.

I will stick to the exact purpose of SoC here. This, apart from using the WP spell checker, is rough. No planning, thought or preparation or editing. Words as they tumble out. Please take that into account before despairing critique.

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“What do you know of dungeon innards?” The dwarf spat onto the grass next to his cart.

“Only tales Nahar. I have no desire to find out first hand.”

“Typical elf.”

“Typical dwarf.”

Nahar laughed. A deep guffaw that made his beard tremble. Most conversations flirting on accusation ended up this way. It was their bond. Laughing was scarce since the gates at Ang Cahir opened to breathe creeping darkness into the world. Hordes of orcs and men marching south leaving lands barren in their wake.

Trust between species was at a low ebb. Spies were everywhere and the kingdom first bulldozed was splintered into resistance fighters or dead pacifists. Most of the former had fled further south where they encountered more hostility as intelligence reports declared those fleeing contained Nafudian moles.

Elf and dwarf met as interrogators questioned a sorceress. A huge mistake in Yish’s opinion as the griller became the grilled, consumed in flame as the thaumaturge took umbrage. They had both ended up out of sight behind the very cart by which they now rested. The witch had tagged along uninvited. Not that either challenged her. Axe, bow and magic seemed a good combination.

Night was falling. A surreal dying glow in the sky that would soon reveal an astral map and constellations defined by legends past. Bird chatter dominated the wood surrounding their camp. Dangerous territory considering outlaws, bandits and resistance groups also shared off-road routes to avoid troops.

The Witch was unperturbed. Muttering as she circled the clearing. Yish tested her bow while Nahar honed his axe. Both knew curses when they heard them. Nothing would pass through the arcane barrier now resting between them and the outside world.

“Do you trust her?” the dwarf asked several days later as they crossed a ford.

“Hard to say. She hardly speaks and when she does it’s in riddles,”replied the elf.

“Aye.” He looked back across the stream where eyes bore straight through him. He nodded it was safe for the sorceress to cross. “Something is either wrong or she is deeply troubled.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No, when I say wrong, I mean bad.”

Yish said nothing. Her right hand-held a loosely notched arrow just in case they were spotted crossing.

Nahar continued. “She has an aura of death. Remember the ease with which she fried that soldier?”

The elf nodded.

“It was like child’s play. Done it so often it’s matter of fact.”

“Or there was a reason.”

“Such as?”

“What if our comrade is being hunted.”

The dwarf turned his head, “You mean as a Nafudian infiltrator?”

They fell silent as the witch approached. “Why not just ask me dwarf?”

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Apologies if cromlechs were expected after last week. The prompt took the initiative and took Yish even further back in her timeline. Nahar is a new character, the Witch is not. Granted you won’t learn a lot here, but remember I’m using this as a note format to feel my way around the world and see what’s going on.

This exposes war and politics at play. An army marches south and has obliterated a kingdom yet to be named. Those taking flight are moving en masse as refugees. Within them are spies and saboteurs.

Any ideas what the witch will say if asked the question she knows Nahar and Yish were talking about?

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Stream of conscious Rules – Taken from Linda’s Blog

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.
3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.
4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent ping-backs will be found at the top. NOTE: Ping-backs only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

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Thank you for taking the time to read. Comments are welcome and I look forward to meeting new bloggers via the SoCS community.

 

 

 

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