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Three Word Thursday #35

Welcome to Three Word Thursday #35. This week our perspicacious and eloquent writers were free to choose whatever words they wished from the October word list.  If you enjoy reading my story, leave a comment then click on the names of the other players and go see how they used these bygone words. You’ll be entertained (and possibly educated) all at once.

The Words:

tenebrous — dark, gloomy, obscure
tragematopolist — confectioner; candy-maker; sweet shop owner
utible — useful; usable
vacivity — vacant, unoccupied

previous episodes here

The 12th Knight of Strawberry Fife

Missing Persons

Evaard stashed a piece of the dragon shell in his cloak pocket, and banged upon the back door of the Patisserie cottage. It was more than apparent that somebody had desecrated the dragon caves. Evaard glanced nervously at the garden and cast his gaze toward the skies. The dragons would come soon and demand justice. He could only hope that when the time came, he would have justice to give them.

He pounded upon the door again. No sounds issued forth from inside. Even a house in mourning would assign a servant to answer the door – especially the back door where discreet deliveries would be made. Evaard grabbed the door handle and pulled the latch.

After the bright light of day, the tenebrous entry hall appeared sinister. Evaard unsheathed his sword and stepped inside. He proceeded slowly, his back pressed to the wall. The first door on the right opened to reveal the kitchen, which had obviously been deserted in the midst of meal preparation.

Evaard approached the table. It bore a platter of cheese, dried and crumbled around the edges. An ewer of milk, warm and yellowing, sat alongside a plate of sliced and drying bread.

The stove was cold to the touch. A pot of stew with puddles of congealed grease waited beside a kettle which had been left to boil dry. Apparently the kitchen help left in a bit of a hurry.

Evaard searched the rest of the house. Madam Patisserie and her servants were not at home and it seemed doubtful they’d planned their outing. Madame Patisserie’s cloak and reticule remained in the front hall.

The vacivity of the house posed a puzzle. Olaf Patisserie’s body posed a puzzle. The fact that he couldn’t find Chevall’s body posed a puzzle. Evaard patted his cloak. The dragon’s eggs posed a puzzle as well. He had far too many questions and no answers.

First Evaard wanted to speak to the tragematopolist and his servant boy – possibly the last one to see the Patisseries alive. Then he planned to re-question Fencil about the alley fight. And then, whether he had any utible evidence or not, Evaard knew he’d have to report to the King.

~*~

The 3WT #36 words will be: confabulation; pudify; & rimestock.
Got it? Good! In that case: Your story is due on: November 12th, 2009

24 Comments

  2. Hmmm, Not to be mean or anything, but it seems to be lacking, well, something but I am not sure just what yet. You have the story-it will be a good one I am sure, it’s just that this part doesn’t seem to draw the reader (me) in. I will go back and re-read it again. Maybe because it is so late, I am just not getting it. I will come back and revisit the commit page. I am sure it is great. Like always.
    OJM

      1. Yes I know where it starts, and I have read it. It was great and engaging. I stand by my earlier point, that something is missing. It is not bad at all-sorry if I gave you that impression. I was just saying that it seems like it is missing something…

  3. Wow! With so many unanswered questions I can hardly wait until next week. You are writing such a wonderful, story. It has everything, suspense, mystery, dragons, and a hero that is just becoming a hero.

  5. I love the description of the hastily abandoned kitchen. You did a great job conveying the urgency and surprise to the inhabitants. Now…where did they go? Hm.m.m.

    And boy, do I feel sorry for Evaard when he goes to tell the King. Kind of like Alice having to see the judge in chambers…

    1. Kelley — I was hoping it would be clear that this boy, barely a knight for a day and a half, was bewildered and feeling woefully inadequate — on top of that, he has to tell the king about the possibility of angry dragons — and that all of this happened on his watch! Gulp.

  8. Oh my! I agree with poor Evaard… too many UNanswered questions! I bet the answers will start popping up soon… Oh no! Wait! Answers never POP! They have to be dug for… only problems POP! I hope there is no more popping in Evaards life… he has his hands quite full enough now!!! Someone needs to give him a shovel!

  9. It’s funny, with dragon eggs and a dead body a terrified household having fled—I expected something horrifying to crash through the door by the end of this scene. When that horror appears as a single thought: telling the king, and still having no answers, and dealing with another dead body… suddenly the quiet is filled with mystery and menace, the tension is even higher, and I want to turn that page.

    Now if only I didn’t have to wait a whole week…!
    LOL
    I’m learning to sympathise with Dickens’ original readers!

    1. Susan — if this whole thing comes out well, I may spruce it up, tighten the words, and try to find it a home in the publishing world.

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