Dawn Natelle

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Stone

Chapter 44 – Back to Sea

The first voyage of the ship went well, although it took 22 days instead of two weeks. Stone was not terribly upset that it was late. He had told the captain to take three weeks if needed. The extra time would allow the crew to learn how to effectively use the jib sails. The extra day was also not a worry as the Blue Point lighthouse had sent a runner to Stone to say that the ship had been sighted, and was expected on the following day.

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Chapter 42 – The School

The next morning Stone woke up and remembered to go to the other house to use the boy’s bathroom. If nothing else, this morning rush would encourage him to get a new school built. His breakfast was ready for him when he got back to the kitchen, and he ate it slowly, watching the kitchen staff doling out oatmeal to the morning students.

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Chapter 41 – Waiting

Stone woke early the next morning, hearing a buzz of noise from outside the house. Looking out the window, he saw that the street was clogged with people. There was a steady stream of children in front of the new house, standing in a queue and slowly coming into that house to get a bowl of oatmeal. Stone went to the washroom, and opening the door, heard squeals of outrage from the three young girls inside.

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Chapter 40 – Dragons, part 2

Stone rode Doug out to the site where his dragon dreams had occurred, and pulled up, feeling more than a little trepidation. This caused him to pull out Pate, even though he had felt no imminent danger. He immediately went into battle mode, where everything appeared slow motion with wire frame shapes.

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We finally get the family safely into Westport: Dawn.

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Chapter 36 – Arriving at Westport

Stone returned to the camp, set up a mile outside of Westport. He had decided to camp for one more night, because he didn’t want to take all the wagons loaded with gold into town in the evening. He climbed into the caravan, where the rest of the family was eating. He took his bowl of stew. There were still-fresh rolls from the Three Rivers bakery.

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Let’s see if I can get the next chapter out a little sooner: Dawn.

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Chapter 30 – Finally, on the road

Stone had planned to leave at first light, but the sun was already fairly high in the sky when the wagons finally started to pull out. There were the two caravans, 12 wagons chartered by Stone, mainly filled with bags of coal, and five other wagons joining the train to take advantage of the 8 soldiers Stone had hired.

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Another episode: Dawn.

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Chapter 29 – Jason’s moment

It was two days later, at story time before bed, when the dogs alerted again. “Keep them from barking,” Stone ordered, and Rayla started to massage Daisy’s muzzle. Jason, seeing what his mother did, imitated her with Steel. The dogs growled, but did not bark. Stone lifted Emily from his lap and stood, reaching for Pate in her hiding nook.

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That was a nice little break for me. There will be another Chapter tomorrow; it is almost done. I am aiming for four this week: Dawn.

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Chapter 23 – Dragons

“Dragons,” Granger spat out when Stone and Rayla approached him after his storytelling session. “There are no dragons in the Green valley.”

“Anywhere else?” Stone prodded.

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One more chapter tomorrow, I hope, then I will break for a few days to let everyone catch up: Dawn.

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Stone 21 – Coming Home

The trip north was slower than the one south, thanks to the two wagons carrying the millstones. Larger as well: there were many emigrants from Sarn heading north, and they were quite willing to travel at a slow pace, in return for protection against the bandits.

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Not such a long wait for this chapter. I felt I owed it to my readers: Dawn.

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Chapter 19. The Battle

Stone realized that he was in battle mode. He looked around as he pulled Pate, and saw a wireframe in the distance. It was red, a sign that it was an imminent danger to him. He soon realized that it was a dragon, breathing fire as it swooped around the fields of the farm they were passing. A gust of fire hit the thatch of the barn, and it caught fire.

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Ahead of schedule this time: Dawn.

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16. Preparing to travel

Stone slowly drifted into the half-sleep that comes with morning, and cuddled the small body next to him. Suddenly enough brain cells started working for him to realize that the body was not Rayla. It was Emily, who had somehow wormed into the space between them, and as Stone stood up, he saw Jason at the door between the rooms.

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Another bloody chapter, as they say in Britain: Dawn.

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13. Off to Battle

The next morning the armed forces started out at sunup. The biggest problem was that they needed to go west, which meant crossing the river. Going down to Greenford was out of the question. Some of the men said it would be possible to ford the river a few miles south of town, since it was quite narrow and shallow there, especially if the dam was not opened at the usual time.

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9.

The wagon ride was very slow, barely more than walking speed, but they made it to a camping spot just as dusk was falling. A mile or so before the spot, identified by Arthur, Rayla rode off to the east and a grove of trees. Stone noticed and called two nearby guards.

“Follow her,” he commanded.

“Keep her safe?” the older guard suggested.

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This is the last of the chapters in the queue, so it will probably be a few days until the next one. Enjoy: Dawn.

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7.

“The Duke is a fool,” Sir Mowath said with a curse. Captain Mitchell gasped at the sacrilege. He had been brought up to believe that the nobility were appointed by God. But Mowath was his patron, and he said nothing.

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Another short chapter. I promise there will be some longer ones soon: Dawn.

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Mick woke up in early dawn from his spot under the wagon. It was a relief not to have had to sleep in chains and shackles, and finding himself a spot under the wagon meant that the morning dew had not soaked him. But another seven men had the same idea, and there was a snoring mass of bodies that he had to crawl over before hurrying off to the latrines.

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Another short chapter that gets us further into the story: Dawn.

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3

Kepler sat on the wagon, while his eight guards patrolled the train. There were four other wagons as well, containing food for the train, and other trade goods. The most valuable goods were the human sort, he thought to himself. Sarn was apparently short of slaves and the auction he hoped to reach on time should result in a good profit.

A Second Chance -- Chapter 71

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It’s been a while since my last posting, so I will recap a bit. The girls are in high school now, and Rachael and Lullana are both trying out for the basketball team. (Lullana is the African exchange student and lives with the Barrons). As well, Rachael was nominated for the class representative in the student council: Dawn

Chapter 71 – Speeches

Thursday, Sept 6, 2016

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