zzambrosius_02

I've jumped ahead in "Working.doc", the untitled sequel to SALTARAE. I'm working on a chapter where Mr. Rothakis and company attend an event that is very much like the Egil Skallagrimson Memorial Tournament.
This is fun. Some of the characters they meet are based, vaguely, on real people. Some are entirely made-up.
Anyway, the chapter is 3,355 words so far, with 1985 today; and Viscount Ambros' man-at-arms has a successful first tourney.
I think this chapter happens about halfway through the book, as a kind of 'vacation' from rising tension for the characters.
It may well be that the reader will welcome that vacation by then. We'll see.
Gotta go. See ya.

A short Egil’s Report:

So first I’d like to say how proud I am of our household’s fighters. Gabriel was second in the Holmgang, yours truly was fourth. Of the four semi-finalists in the Double Elimination Tourney, three were from Caer Lutris: me, Vesta and Miklos. Vesta beat Miklos, I eliminated Vesta, though only after a double-kill. Then I met the other finalist, Duke Tjorkil, who eliminated me. Oh, well. Second place is honorable, I demonstrated my prowess and chivalry, most of those reading this know how that speech goes.

Then Vesta won the Zombie tournament!

Although we had a few sun breaks (including during the entire Holmgang), it rained an awful lot. Our camp was one of the least affected, since we’re up a bit and on a hard, rocky base. House Oldenmoor, the royal camp, was a pit. The McPhersons camp looked like “Mud Wrestlers From Outer Space Meet the Mexican Mole Women”. Some of the camps in the wooded areas looked even worse. I daresay everyone had a good time, though it is hard to be sure, since the rain put a damper on the usual roaming: most parties had few visitors. See hrothgar1’s post for more about that.

I will refrain from commenting on the parking lot, other than to say that Miklos and I each pulled our trailers out without getting stuck. Then again, we did not drive directly into knee-deep mud and then gun the engine when we started to slide. Yes, I saw two truck-and-trailer rigs where the driver did just that. One guy did it while the guy in front of him was still stuck. URRgh!

On the other hand, the sun came out on Monday and almost all our canvas came down dry. Rained like hell while I was unloading the last trips worth, but no harm done. Another good weekend in the memory bank.