Hi folks! If you’re new here, this is the 200 Word Novel, where I’m writing a book 200 words at a time, Monday through Friday. Each week I post the last week’s progress, raw and largely unedited, along with some reflections on the past week’s writing. If you’re here primarily to read the story, you can find the start of the novel here.
Ari frowned. “You still should have checked in with me first.”
“You told me it was unlikely anyone would even know you’re here,” Basil retorted. “And I noticed you and Benji did nothing in that fight.”
Ari’s eyes narrowed. “The most important thing is that Benji was not discovered, nor harmed,” she said. “And I said in the best case scenario, no one would even know of our presence. This… was clearly not the best case scenario.”
“And now half my crew is dead,” Basil said plainly.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t know the risks,” Ari snarled.
“She has not,” Gruber interjected, holding up a placating palm to both. “Calm, please. We have no time for needless provocations.”
Silence greeted him in response, but raised hackles and a flicking tail spoke volumes.
“I’m sorry,” said a small voice.
All heads turned towards Benji, who looked miserable.
“I knew this journey could be dangerous,” he said. “I never wanted others to shoulder the danger for me. Nothing feels worse than being able to help and not being allowed to do so.”
“Being dead feels a little worse,” Gruber said.
Ari’s hackles bristled. Benji shrank even further.
“What happened to ‘no needless provocations’?” Basil muttered.
“Um, excuse me?” Orion stepped in between the fuming animals. “Can we get back to the topic at hand?”
“Ill omens when the wolf is the one speaking reason,” Basil said, eliciting an affirmative grunt from Ari.
“I get it. I’m a lot. You’re welcome,” Orion said with a flourish and bow. “And the frog hasn’t heard of any news from within a thousand miles of Everden, and doesn’t seem to care about what civilized society is up to. But he sure can put a bolt between the eyes of a field mouse five span away and sink an entire warband’s worth of would-be assassins largely by himself. We all have our charms,” Orion said. “So. What you need to know,” he said, looking at Gruber while pointing at Benji, “is that the Arcanists have discovered how to open portals between any two points in the world.” Orion paused for dramatic effect.
“Okay,” Gruber said.
Orion shook his head with violence. “No, not okay. Really let that sink in for a minute. This isn’t a singular mage blinking across a fixed distance, or even an impressively far distance. This is tearing a gate through physical space. No limits on distance. Stable. Permanent. Going from the heart of Everden to the most remote reaches of the Unknown Woods as easily as though you were strolling on a lovely walk in the woods.”
“I see,” Gruber said after a moment.
“Do you?” Orion asked. “Because that kind of magic is the kind of discovery that changes the world. And makes those who hold that knowledge” (aggressive pointing and gesticulations) “incredibly powerful.”
“And also a target,” Ari said. “You can stop pointing now.”
“Imagine, Gruber!” Orion leaned in, eyes wild with excitement. “Ships, obsolete! The guilds that control commerce, undermined! A new world order, powered by new magics—and those smart enough and powerful enough to back them and protect them!”
“That kind of talk,” Basil said, “is exactly why Arcanists are getting targeted. You’re making no friends telling every powerful guild and trader that you’re out to undercut and destroy their lives and means.”
“It’s the future,” Orion said. “My father was smart enough to invest in it. Even deployed his genius son to see it through,” he said without a shred of irony. “You either see the future and get on board, or you’re gonna left behind.”
“Or you deploy assassins to kill them all before the knowledge spreads,” Gruber said. “I understand now.”
🐸
Astute readers might notice that this week’s excerpt is a bit short. I missed two days of writing last week—breaking my streak of zero misses so far. If this was Duolingo, the owl would probably show up at night to shame (and maybe murder) me.
The good news: missing not one but two days of the lowest writing goal known to humankind has already spurred me to write more this week.
The other good news: I’ve been trying to internalize the life lesson that “commitments to good habits is not about punishing yourself if you mess up once, but rather a commitment to keep trying every day.” Or, as Bojack Horseman told us years ago:
Looking back at where I started, I have a more and more real number of words and progress on this story that’s been stewing in my head. And I’m getting more excited about some of the upcoming ideas and things where things are headed. And that’s a pretty dang cool feeling.
That’s all for this week. Here’s hoping something you’ve been working on is getting a little easier everyday. 💙