Weekend Writing Warriors – Magic Milkshakes 1

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

Okay, I’m going to start sharing snippets from a short story draft I wrote back in June, mostly after I got back from the Young Gunns workshop in Kansas. It was based on a story idea I shared back in the A-Z April challenge: Magic Milkshakes.

“Drink your milkshake, honey.”

Danielle looked up from her vegetables and caught her mom’s eye. At first she didn’t say anything, just let her eyes track from Mom to the tall glass full of rich chocolate bubbles, topped off with a mound of whipped creamy foam that was dribbling down the sides. At least she didn’t put a maraschino cherry on top this time, she thought as she stirred the straw, letting a bit more of the cream escape.

“Mom, don’t you think you’ve been making me too many milkshakes lately?”

“How can you have too many milkshakes? Besides, you’re too thin honey.”

Danielle sighed and sucked a little of the thick shake up through the straw, letting the bittersweet concoction flood her mouth before swallowing it.

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Weekend Writing Warriors – The Gnomes are Missing 12

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

I think this may be the last snippet I share from “The Gnomes are Missing,” so I’ll skip ahead and introduce a few characters I love, the dwarf champions.

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“Bloven, Nalfor, here are your companions for the quest, Kinwer the human child and Trish the pixie.”

Kinwer looked at Trish, but Trish was flying ahead to greet the two dwarfs approaching the alcove.

“So pleased to meet you,” Trish said, dipping respectfully in the air. “Trish of the Ruby Gardens, at your service.”

“Kinwer Barroley, at your service.”

“Thank you very much, for bringing us such an excellent quest to join,” Bloven said. “The clan has been at peace for decades. Some of our friends earned their pips by going high into the mountains and provoking trolls, but the trolls aren’t really so bad if you give them a chance, and Nalfor’s father is trying to make a treaty with them.”

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Weekend Writing Warriors – The Gnomes are Missing 11

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’ll switch to a new story soon, but here’s more sentences the first draft of “The Gnomes are Missing.” I hope you enjoy them. Last time, Kinwer and Trish were still in the Dwarf Clan-Hold, preparing for their quest.

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“Have any young dwarfs agreed to join our quest?”

“Yes, certainly, madam Pixie. They’re still saying goodbye to their families at the moment, but you’ll meet them presently. Until then, let’s go over the maps. I don’t suppose you have practice reading in underground perspective?”

“No, I’ve heard of it, but never spent much time under the mountains until now,” Trish said.

“Okay, you’ve seen maps made for the surface, right? They all draw the land as if you were looking at it from above. with the top to the north and the bottom to the south.”

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Weekend Writing Warriors – The Gnomes are Missing 10

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

Well, I take a week off from WWW for TNEO stuff, but here’s more sentences the first draft of “The Gnomes are Missing.” I hope you enjoy them. Last time, two weeks ago, Kinwer and Trish preparing for their quest.

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The dwarf handed him a light wooden stick, maybe five feet long.

“Don’t try to use this stick as a club or staff in a fight unless there’s no other choice; it’ll snap into pieces on the first solid hit. Have you any experience with arms, human child? I imagine you’ll have a chance to learn with the goblins, before you’re done, hmm.”

He went to a rack of weapons in the corner and pulled off a sword, holding it with both hands.

“I suppose this would do as a short sword for you. It doesn’t look like much, but it’ll hold an edge; needs some sharpening, but that’ll give you a chance to get familiar with her.”

The dwarf immediately started in on a long lecture about how to care for swords; not just sharpening, but how to clean it when you got blood or other gore on the blade, how to oil it and so on.

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Weekend Writing Warriors – The Gnomes are Missing 9

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’ve decided to switch to something new and share snippets that I wrote during April for Camp Nanowrimo, from the first draft of “The Gnomes are Missing.” I hope you enjoy them. I’m skipping ahead a little bit, out of the Clan Hall scene, to show Kinwer and Trish preparing for their quest.

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The porter pounded on their door much too early, but that was probably because no morning light made it into the Clanhold. “If you’re going on a quest, you have to get used to early starts in the darkness,” he grunted, and led them to an alcove off a large round stone cavern. Somewhere out of sight, Kinwer could hear and smell a bustling kitchen, but as the porter left them, another dwarf gestured to some pieces of flat bread on the stone table. Kinwer picked one up, bit off a piece, and regretted it; the thing was stale and almost tasteless.

“On his majesties orders’, I’ve done my best to anticipate the needs of your quest,” the dwarf official said slowly. “If there’s anything else you think makes sense, please let me know. ” He briefly ran over the supplies, all standard sounding stuff to begin with. The water flask Kinwer had taken up into the mountains was empty, but the dwarf filled it up from a large tank and told him that there would be underground rivers on the way to the goblin’s lair, so there was no need to carry any more.

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Weekend Writing Warriors – The Gnomes are Missing 8

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’ve decided to switch to something new and share snippets that I wrote during April for Camp Nanowrimo, from the first draft of “The Gnomes are Missing.” I hope you enjoy them. Kinwer and his pixie friend Trish are in the feast hall of the dwarfs’ Clan King.

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“Patience, sire,” another of the advisers said. “All may not be as it seems–perhaps some other enemy has taken these simple mound folk from near the Morwi river, and left the badge to cover their crimes. You know that such things have happened in the tales.”

“Yes,” the king grumbled. “And even if they were not the perpetrators, the goblins would not likely be polite if we sent them a message. It will take cunning to discover the truth without mis-stepping.”

“I realize that, your Majesty,” Trish said. “I had hoped to travel the tunnels fashioned by your people until I found the goblins, and scout out their lairs to discover if they were indeed holding prisoners.”

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Weekend Writing Warriors – The Gnomes are Missing 7

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’ve decided to switch to something new and share snippets that I wrote during April for Camp Nanowrimo, from the first draft of “The Gnomes are Missing.” I hope you enjoy them. Kinwer and his pixie friend Trish are in the feast hall of the dwarfs’ Clan King.

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“None saw the villains who attacked the mound,” Trish declaired, “and no living gnomes, nor even dead bodies, were left within the mound by morning. In the signs of the struggle, there was only one token left to show who had perpetrated such an act.”

An expectant hush fell on the Great Hall, and Trish buzzed close to his head. “Kinwer, show them the badge.”

Oh right. Kinwer fetched the black armband out of his pocket and held it high, with the red insignia facing the Clan King.

“Yes, I know that mark,” the King rumbled, legs kicking against the air. For a second Kinwer thought he would sit up, but he kicked out his fury for a moment.

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Weekend Writing Warriors – The Gnomes are Missing 6

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’ve decided to switch to something new and share snippets that I wrote during April for Camp Nanowrimo, from the first draft of “The Gnomes are Missing.” I hope you enjoy them. Kinwer and his pixie friend Trish are in the feast hall of the dwarfs’ Clan King.

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Kinwer let Trish lead the way to the foot of the dais. and did his best to bow respectfully to the Clan King.

“Thank you very much for your kind hospitality to a wandering pixie and a poor farmer’s son, your gracious majesty,” Trish said. “I have wandered far from my home in the Ruby Gardens, but half a moon ago I came to visit with a mound of gnomes, built in the lowlands next to a stream which they called the Morwi River.”

“Gnomes!” one of the dwarfs standing next to the King exclaimed, and was about to spit, except that the dwarf next to him, (who was about to be spit upon,) smacked him in the side.

“I know that there is not often harmony between the dwarfs and the gnomes,” Trish continued. “You are both good-hearted sons of the earth, but quarrel among each other like jealous brothers. But these gnomes never quarreled with anybody that I know of, or took ores or gems that a dwarf would bother to claim.”

“Three nights ago, disaster struck.”

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Weekend Writing Warriors – The Gnomes are Missing 5

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’ve decided to switch to something new and share snippets that I wrote during April for Camp Nanowrimo, from the first draft of “The Gnomes are Missing.” I hope you enjoy them. Kinwer and his pixie friend Trish are in the feast hall of the dwarfs’ Clan King.

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Now that Kinwer knew what was in store, (and couldn’t focus all of his attention on the food,) the big stone men appeared to spend a long time in conversation with the Clan King and the dozen other dwarfs that stood in a wide semi-circle around his throne. Eventually the the stone men strode out of the hall, laughing with big voices that boomed around the hall, and some of the dwarfs began to sing softly, a song that Kinwer couldn’t hear under the laughter.

“I guess that went well,” he whispered to Trish as the kobolds dithered over what order they should go in.

“Don’t let the high spirits fool you,” Trish said. “Those were trolls; they demanded a tribute from the dwarfs, and the Clan King refused to pay. There might be war with the mountain trolls.”

“Uh-oh,” Kinwer muttered. “If the dwarfs have trolls to worry about, they won’t help us against the goblins, will they?”

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Weekend Writing Warriors – The Gnomes are Missing 4

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’ve decided to switch to something new and share snippets that I wrote during April for Camp Nanowrimo, from the first draft of “The Gnomes are Missing.” I hope you enjoy them. Kinwer and his pixie friend Trish are in the feast hall of the dwarfs’ Clan King.

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“Oh, he’s hearing people already?” Kinwer said, craning his head to get a look. Sure enough, the throne up on the dais was full of an extravagantly bearded dwarf.

“We didn’t get long,” one of the fairies said, flying close across the table, and Kinwer realized that he’d forgotten to mumble properly. “Though I suppose I can’t complain, as we got the trade deal we asked for. But this Dwarf King isn’t much for long talk.”

“So we’d better make every word count,” Trish said. “I’m Trish, originally of the Ruby Garden Pixies.”

“You’ve wandered far, cousin.”

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