Excerpt: The Azutherian Gambit

It would have been pretty neat if it had been a dark and stormy night. Or even if it had been an unusually quiet moonlit-night which vibrated with magic from ancient times...
But as it had turned out, it was a perfectly ordinary night, with perfectly ordinary weather and perfectly ordinary sounds of night animals going about their perfectly ordinary business.
He sighed.
So much for the suspense the bards always managed to weave into the beginning of their legends…
The only thing that was not ordinary about this night, was his companion standing a little ways away, and even then, the man looked awfully normal for a murderer. He wore decent clothes, like any sensible traveler, unlike the dark torn clothes and bulky armour such men were supposed to wear. If he had a weapon, it was well-hidden under his tunic and not the giant axe or broadsword stories dictated he should be fiddling with proudly. His face was pleasant enough to look at, a well-trimmed beard and intelligent eyes… Whatever had happened to the trademark perpetual grim and unkempt look?
And not even the slightest scar in sight…
He yawned widely, half-heartedly fighting the urge to turn on his heels and hurry back to his cosy house.
Here he was, standing a mere 10 feet away from what could very well be the most dangerous man in the kingdom, waiting for a rendez-vous that would in all likelihood change the course of history forever… being bored out of his mind…

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AN

Okay, just a quick word for those wondering why my word count has dropped spectacularly. I happend to come (accidentily) across a tiny little something called 'the rules' and found out that (very cleverly and very much too late) one is NOT supposed to write a direct sequel and dare to let it count as a nanowrimo novel!
Oops...
Right, fair enough. This year's project is what the Two Towers is to the Fellowship of the Ring: a direct sequel that cannot (really) be read on its own. And no, the quality isn't anywhere near Prof. Tolkien's masterpiece (I wish!). However, I've decided not to start all over again. I'd go mad seeing I also have a PhD thesis to write in the upcoming weeks, unless *that* counts, nano-wise ;-)
So, I'm sticking to my project. I can't leave those characters in the middle of the desert for another year, now, can I?
In other words: I'm dropping out of nanowrimo this year and I'm doing nasewrimo on my own instead (yes, the se stands for sequel and 50.000 is still the goal).

Have fun, I surely will!
- C.