What I've been working on... (Patreon)

Lately I've been pretty busy working on the Tapas 30-Day Writing Challenge, where writers submit the first bit of a prospective novel, and the top three winners get their books published on the Tapas App.

So my wife and I submitted an adventure story we've been working on, and I thought I might share the first episode with you guys!

Episode One - "The Horned Hood"

Fifteen miles from anything that resembled civilization, Elias Raines finally realized he was tired. Of course, it’s hard not to fatigue under a June sun at midday, especially so high up in the mountains. 

After wiping his forehead with an old kerchief, he peered through his brass theodolite - a surveyor’s instrument for measuring levels -  at the opposite peak. Bill Lewis stood nearby, nervously shifting his weight.

“A bit hazy today,” said Bill. 

Elias didn’t respond, angling his instrument. He liked Bill well enough. The boy was young and smart, if only marginally on both accounts. But he was also easily bored. A forgivable sin, thought Elias, but not an especially sought after trait in an assistant.

He was considering some tedious tasks to set Bill on when a figure suddenly came into view.

“What do we have here?” Elias muttered. He straightened up, removing a telescope from his satchel. 

“You see something?” asked Bill, and Elias handed him the telescope. 

“Take a look at the edge of those woods.”

Bill brought the telescope to his eye and searched the treeline. After a moment, he finally spotted the odd figure: a man in a red and black hood, holding a double-barrelled shotgun. The hood appeared to have horns sewn into the crown. 

“What’s that look like to you?” asked Elias.

“Some sorta man, I reckon. Got an odd hat, though.”

Elias fixed a scowl.

“To me, that looks like a guard.”

Bill looked puzzled, as Elias began packing up the equipment.

“Don’t a guard need something to guard?” Bill said, looking back across the valley towards the hooded man. As far as he could see, there was nothing but trees, brush and rocks. “You don’t suppose he’s just huntin’?”

“See those rocks, about ten yards from where he’s standin’? That’s the mouth of Hideaway Hole.” 

“You sure?” asked Bill. He saw the rocks, but they didn’t look much like a cave.

Elias mounted his horse, and tossed the reins of another to Bill.

“If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say there’s some trouble down in the cave. And that mask certainly don’t speak to his character.”

The pair rode down one steep hill and up another, careful to make a wide circle towards their destination as not to be spotted on the way. Although, making their way through the trees and the thickets, Bill couldn’t help but wonder if this was worth the trouble. Only Elias seemed perturbed, careful to keep low on his buckskin horse.

After twenty minute of riding, Bill had already lost his bearings and was beginning to doubt the masked man had stayed put. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Elias dismounted in a flash, gesturing for Bill to take his horse. He did as instructed, and Elias unholstered his piece, a Smith & Wesson Model 10, before resolutely marching into the brush. After a few moments, Bill clumsily slid off his saddle and hitched the horses to a nearby tree branch. He retrieved his own pistol from his saddlebag, and walked into the brush where his employer had disappeared.