This is the content from 2002, the year I actually completed NaNoWriMo.
Bonus Material: The Unrelated Short Story and Part 2
Excerpt Special: The Interview
... "Okay, Thom. You've heard the rumors and you know the task we face. What do we do?"
Without hesitation Thom answered, "We request sanctuary for the night, talk to the holy men and try to determine which among them the Prophecy speaks of. If evil magicks are present we shall deal with them as circumstances dictate."
"Not bad, my boy, not bad at all," I praised.
"Not good, but not bad either," a new voice added. Shimmering into view came a gangly, mop-haired young man, levitating casually before us just a few feet above the road.
"You are the cause of those rumors we've heard of dark magicks at play around this Temple, are you not?" Thom accused.
The floating lad snickered, "No."
"Hmm?"
"You said 'are you not' and that's untrue. I am." More snickering followed this clever rejoinder. "Has anybody ever told you that you look like a poor man's Fabio? All that golden hair, sheesh. The chicks must really dig you." To the Princess he added, "I'll bet I could show you a better time than this poster boy, chickie. Why don't ya take a walk on the wild side, baby?"
I rolled my eyes toward the darkening heavens. "This is not the time or place for games, bucko. State your name, your affiliation and your business here. Better yet, leave while you still can."
"Aaah, the great and mighty Andrew Kirkpatrick Wolfe. The voice that strikes fear into my brothers and sisters throughout the known cosmos. From all I've heard, you should be one of us, you know."
"I've heard that before. If you live long enough, some day you'll understand why I'm not. Then again, the longer you stay here the shorter your life expectancy becomes." I gave this annoying young turk my best intimidating glare.
Apparently the brat was glare-proof. "Oooo, so angry. You can't touch me, Mr. Big Bad. I've called out one of your brothers. Even though he's hiding in that ugly old church over there, you cannot interfere in single combat between any two of our number. Them's the rules, don't you know? So if he won't come out, I'm not about to let you go in. If you push me aside you'll have the Prime himself on your ass so fast it'll feel like atmospheric reentry."
"Let me see if I have this straight. You're a Chaos Lordling." He didn't like that, but instead of saying anything he just clamped down harder on his smirk. "In there," I pointed at the Temple, "is one of my fellows in The Order. Who, for some unfathomable reason, has chosen not to come out and and kick your sorry ass from here to oblivion. Do I have the facts right so far?"
"You're soooo smart! Did you figure that out all on your very own lonesome, huh?"
"And you are obviously very, very new at this. My so-called brother within the Temple is my concern now. You can leave. I highly recommend that you do so."
"Not a chance, sailor," he smirked. "Didn't you hear me? I challenged him to a duel. Until the duel is finished nobody can interfere. Not even you, Mr. Tall Dark and Boring. He's a pathetic little weasel, so think of it as a favor."
I dismounted and stepped forward, indicating to Thom that he and the Princess should move back a short distance. You don't want to engage in sorcerous combat from the back of an untrained horse. Believe me, it's a mistake you only make once. Out of what was probably a misplaced sense of fairness, I gave Mr. Nuisance one more chance to get out of my life. "This is my offer, Lordling. You leave this world, never to return, and I won't kill you the very next time we meet. Not right away, at least."
He floated closer. "You. Can't. Touch. Me. So. Bugger. Off."
I whispered back, "Carl didn't accept your challenge, did he?"
The expression of pure horror was almost worth the annoyance he'd caused. It was too late, of course. I wrapped him in three layers of shield so he couldn't escape, then I obliterated him. A wisp of smoke in the afterglow was the only remains of what was probably a very short career with the Chaos Lords.
Thom rode forward. "He was so sure of the rules. What was his mistake?" You'll note his confidence that I hadn't simply acted on rogue impulse. He's such a polite young man.
"A challenge, once accepted, cannot be interfered with. It's a custom shamelessly ripped off from a society of swordsmen that's been around almost as long as The Order."
Again the squinting, followed by, "The challenge was not accepted. This left you free to take whatever action you deemed appropriate, correct?"
"Got it in one, Thom."
"It seems that you don't actually enjoy killing. You gave him several opportunities to leave peacefully, so the end result was his own fault."
I grinned my happiest, meanest grin. "Hell no. Sending the likes of that upstart to oblivion is one of the greatest joys of my work. When you get right down to it, I really am as mean and ruthless as people say. Other than that I'm the nicest guy you'll ever meet. Now let's go have a chat with a former archivist named Carl Hicks. He's got some answering to do."
With that I mounted and rode to the Temple.
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