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| Drawings by Kehlee the Troll of Nordrassil |
“Crasten, report!”
“Yes, sir! The scouts saw
Hammond’s cavalry circling around back to the south, about a thousand in all
and I don’t know where they came from. General Jackson’s fallen and it looks
like the Shix’ton found out. They’re gonna aim for the south flank next.”
“And our numbers?”
“Hard to say, sir. The south was
scattered on the pull and without Jackson to lead a regroup before the cavalry
gets there, they’re gonna have quite the battle without question.”
“Anything else?”
“They’ll need help if we’ve got
it.”
“What about you, Reems?”
“I’ve lost about a fourth of the
pike and two–”
“Shields up, boys! Arrows above!
Get ready!”
“…fourth of the pike and two
thirds sword, sir.”
“What about the Shix’?”
“At least double that. But the
ghouls keep swarming out of the castle gates and reinforcing. Hell, some of
them are jumping off the battlements and crashing down on us. It’s madness up
there, sir!”
“Do we know who’s summoning
them?”
“There’s wizards inside, we know
that, but that’s a lot of power being put into this horde they’re creating;
they’ve got to be draining by now.”
“Sir!”
“Sarah! My, it’s about time you
got here! What can you tell me? What did you find out?”
“There’s two wizards in all. I
didn’t see either of them while I was scrying, but I could feel their power throughout the castle.”
“Any word from the Aerials?”
“The riders managed to get their
dragons healed in Caer and they should be in the air by now, but I haven’t seen
them on the skies.”
“Alright boys, we’re up against a
wall. We need to get through those gates, and now! Reems, those ghouls have got
to stop coming at some time; two wizards can’t keep up that level of channeling
for much longer. Try to batter them down; get as close as you can get to the
gates in preparation for the Aerials when they get here. Sarah, get word to
their riders that I want another hole torn through that god-dammed castle wall.
Have them do it right next to the gate, out of reach of the ghouls but still
close enough to our forces. Reems, as soon as you see that wall open up, I want
you to peel off the main gate and charge the opening. Crasten, you and I are
going to go save the south flank. Grab Charles’ pikeman and whatever swords you
can find along the way. Go around the left, I’ll take the right with half of
our main and we’ll meet up on the other side, hopefully right as Hammond
attacks. We’ll flank him and end it once and for all. The rest of the main are
with you Reems, get inside those walls! Let’s go!”
"D is for Dialogue"
(And sort of for dragons 'cause they're cool.)
I agree...dragons ARE cool! Lol! I like the dialogue exercise...have done it myself a couple of times...great practice for building believable back and forth conversations...that said I really wanted some narration to flesh out the scene...don't suppose you'll be doing another post with narrative detail? Might be interesting to compare. Happy writing! :-)
ReplyDeleteI really want to explore the Aerials. They have really piqued my interest and if I can fit them into another letter along the way, I surely will.
DeleteI had to laugh, Jason, because I was thinking "nice dialogue" then I got to the end and read: "D is for Dialogue." I like the names you're using. Thanks. xoA
ReplyDeleteYou build tension and excitement with that dialogue, too. Nicely done. Dragons are cool-especially Smaug. One thing that makes them cool is their historical track record. It's interesting how many cultures have dragons in their legends. I've always supposed that dragons come from ancients trying to rationalize the bones and skulls of dinosaurs with their imaginations; that slim connection to truth (the bones) gave their stories power and resonance beyond most fantastical creatures.
ReplyDeleteI loved the dialogue. I'm pretty terrible at coming up with believable-sounding back and forth conversations between characters, but you did a wonderful job with it. Great post!
ReplyDeleteLove the dialogue. Even though there is no real description of setting, I could picture everything in my mind based on the conversations.
ReplyDeleteThe worlds you create are full of imagination and never-ending action.
I feel each time I read one of your posts, I'm on a journey, but without a map. But, by the end you've taken us somewhere amazing while engaging the reader again and again.