Swords Made of Letters
Swords Made of Letters - A new project, something fresh, which happens to be a novel.
It's a novel, which I will write bit by bit, a novel set in December 1938, just before the war. It starts with a Prologue set in Eastern Europe, but the main action will be in Western Europe - right on the borders, and right in that period just before the war. You will hopefully enjoy a window into that tumultuous period which I will try and evoke as richly and as accurately as possible. You will recognise some parts, such as the stories from Night Train and Clouds of Smoke, which are part of the novel. The entire novel will focus on the period before the war so expect some interesting twists and turns throughout the way!
1938 was a very turbulent period, the project aims to capture that completely.
Please enjoy it, read it, share it and feedback as always is very much appreciated.
You can also find the novel on Wattpad, if you're a frequent visitor of the website - https://www.wattpad.com/story/210140...ade-of-letters
Happy reading!
Book Chapter - Index
Chapter I - Night Train - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053747987
Chapter II - Swords Made of Letters - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053749358
Chapter III - The White Club - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053751113
Chapter IV - Letters from Across
Chapter V - Others
Chapter VI - Night Train II - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053755963
Chapter VII - Elbe - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053756516
Chapter VIII - Clouds of Smoke - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053756629
Chapter IX - Police Stations - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053756958
Chapter X - Crackles and Roars - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053757670
Chapter XI - House of Cards - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053772298
Chapter XII - Paris Briefing - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053772412
Chapter XIII - Secret Briefing - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053772746
Chapter XIV - Carry It Out, Officer - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053772886
Chapter XV - A Den of Spies - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053777005
Chapter XVI - Shadow of Aachen - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053780104
Chapter XVII - Heavy Scents - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053780267
Chapter XVIII - Battle Plans - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053787310
Chapter XIX - Silence of the Forest - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053788668
Chapter XX - Dossiers and Letters - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053788902
Chapter XXI - First Escape - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053798542
Chapter XXII - Sabotage - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053801993
Cahppter XXIII - Surprise, Surprise - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053802046
Chapter XXIV - Evaluations of No Laughing Matter - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053802134
Chapter XXV - A Walk in the Park - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053802951
Chapter XXVI - Quellenhof Ball - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053803630
Chapter XXVII - A Bureau - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053803833
Chapter XXVIII - Linking the Puzzle - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053804037
Chapter XXIX - Report your Findings - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053804277
Chapter XXX - Papers, Plans and Projections - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053804818
Chapter XXXI - Rolling Towards the line of Battle - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053806173
Chapter XXXII - Take Up Your Arms- https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053806316
Chapter XXXIII - Overzealous - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053806344
Chapter XXXIV - Shadows - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053806365
Chapter XXXV - Masquerade for Me, Please - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053806390
Chapter XXXVI - Enchante, Monsieur - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053806429
Chapter XXVII - Need a Hand? - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053806546
Chapter XXXVIII - No News is Good News - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053806569
Chapter XXXIX - Escape - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053806714
Chapter XL - Where do We Stand? - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053806736
Chapter XLI - Drive, And Keep Driving - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053806905
Chapter XLII - You? - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053807131
Chapter XLIII - Ciphers, Rotors, Jumbled & Foreign - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053807165
Chapter XLIV - Foreshadowing - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053807270
Chapter XLV - Pensive on a New Year - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053807594
Epilogue I - Rescue - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053808359
Epilogue II - Reminiscing - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053809687
Swords Made of Letters
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Prologue - Part I
12:45 AM, 2nd of December 1938
Athenee Palace Hotel
Bucharest
Romania
They never listened to her.
And she told them countless times. Time and time again she told the shift manager, but they never listened to her. The cheap detergent the hotel kept buying caused Helen's skin to crack whenever she had to wash the dishes and cutlery for the patrons who came to the English Bar. They never listened and her skin always looked more than her twenty eight years of age. And it was the same endless story tonight as well. The water gushed from the tap onto the white dishes inscribed with the AP initials of the hotel, breaking off the relative silence of the bar.
Tucked in the corner of the lobby, the English bar was made as a retreat for the patrons of the hotel, and the ladies who would often wait for them. Cosy, with dim lights and somehow reeking of a combination of musk and heavy tobacco, the bar was heavily populated at all times. But tonight it was empty. The 1st of December always brought empty cosy bars - and rather houses full of people partying a national holiday. The holiday left Helen alone in the bar with four men huddled at a low table in the opposite corner of the room, chatting and laughing between hushed tones. They never raised their voice, they never raised their eyesight to her and they spoke as little as possible when she went to take their order. She found that odd but Helen had seen her fair share of oddities so she only delivered their order and went about her business.
But even so, it was too quiet. It was as if the men were never there.
She gave them a quick glance and returned to her duties, satisfied they were there and not causing any trouble. But the four men, all dressed in black uniforms with odd white patches on the side, were different than any other guests she had encountered. No other guest kept their silence, and neither of them would speak in hushed tones or laugh as quietly as possible. Helen's back arched slightly at the implications. She was warned about foreign elements within the country and perhaps they were some of those elements. Helen sighed. The water kept gushing from the tap until she slammed it shut and waited for the dishes to dry. As the sudden silence beckoned, a couple of words trailed off before the guests realised they were no longer covered by the sound of the water.
Helen recognised the language.
Three weeks before, a rather charming Englishman came up to her while she was at the bar and paid her a generous tip. The man specifically asked for her to report whenever she heard this language, and she was promised a hefty reward every time she would call him. Somewhere in her pocket she had his room number - the man after all was a legate at the embassy and lived often in the hotel - but she decided to listen to the conversation in order to get an even heftier reward. Helen picked up three glasses and opened the tap again, letting the water slide gently in the glasses as she pretended to clean them. Her ears were honed on their conversation, picking up bits and bobs from the words that she understood of that language. Despite her being a bartender, Helen spoke five languages, courtesy of a very ambitious mother. She finished her washing about two minutes later, gently easing the tap until she could hear and decipher some parts of phrases the men spoke between them. Helen had no more dishes or glasses, and there were no other patrons, so she glided gently out of the bar and left for the lobby to excuse herself from a potentially awkward situation.
She returned to the bar four minutes later, only to find it empty.
On the table the men left a considerable amount of money, including a hefty tip, despite them not knowing exactly the price of the food and drinks they ordered because Helen never even got them the check. She shrugged, counted the money and returned to the bar. She glanced around, looking from the place at the bar out into the lobby, but the men were not there either. SOmewhat confused, Helen smirked and counted the money. She kept what was hers and put everything into the books. Satisified, she closed the ledger and beckoned to the receptionist. It was the end of the shift and she wanted to go home. With the tip in her pocket and five minutes later her uniform exchanged for more confortable clothing, she bid goodbye to the coworker taking her place and exited the hotel.
The night was cold and cloudy - it was December after all - forcing Helen to button her overcoat up to the last top button. With the silk scarf huddled around her neck, she turned left from the Athenee Palace hotel and reached for the side streets behind the imposing Atheneum. In her desire to reach her house she did not notice the three men casually resting against a black Mercedes limousine parked beside the hotel. Helen beckoned even faster, oblivious to the men eyeing her behind, hoping to reach her house before it started raining. As she turned into the street behind the conservatory, a hand gently slid between her and her torso, pinning her to a halt.
"Good evening, Mrs. Helen."
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Keep a close eye on this thread, regular updates will come as the story develops and unfolds.
Website coming soon - www.swordsmadeofletters.com !
As always, feedback appreciated!
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