feat: drafted thirty one as a short chapter

.tool-versions

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+nodejs 15.0.1
+yarn 1.22.10
+dotnet-core 3.1.403

chapters/chapter-30.md

@@ -8,33 +8,33 @@ summary: >
 
 > When it became obvious that machines of war were the future, very few expected the Glasscoaster to be one of the first vehicles purposed for battle. Agile and resilient and cheap to build, it would become the new calvary in the coming age. --- Gustail Makim-Koril, *Weapons of War*
 
-Early the next morning, Linsan and Brook were back in the Glasscoaster and driving along the rutted trail between Fanasis Village and Little Rock. She decided the villagers calling it a road was being generous, the path ahead of her looked more like a game trail that happened to have two ruts instead of one. It also disappear more than once and they had to stop and search through the tall grasses for it to resume.
+Early the next morning, Linsan and Brook were back in the Glasscoaster and driving along the rutted trail between Fanasis Village and Little Rock. She decided the villagers calling it a road was being generous, the path ahead of her looked more like a game trail that happened to have two ruts instead of one. It also disappeared more than once and they had to stop and search through the tall grasses for it to resume.
 
-Brook's dress was, according to her, the most functional one she possessed. The yellow-green fabric had less ruffles than her other dresses, only a few pleats along the right side. The ruffles were a richer green and looked almost the same color as her boots. Her finger-less gloves were lemon-colored silk.
+Brook's dress was, according to her, the most functional one she possessed. The yellow-green fabric had less ruffles and pleats than her others. The material was a richer green and looked almost the same color as her boots. Her finger-less gloves were lemon-colored silk.
 
-Linsan shook her head and looked away to hide her smile. Brook's idea of functional was still more appropriate for the stage. A Kormar stage at that since the colors were closely related instead of Gepaul's fondness for triads and jarring tones.
+Linsan shook her head and looked away to hide her smile. Brook's idea of functional was still more appropriate for the stage. A Kormar stage at that since the colors were closely related to that country instead of Gepaul's fondness for triads and jarring tones.
 
 "I'm glad my sister insisted on getting the Glasscoaster."
 
-The buggy lurched in the opposite side. Linsan braced her knee against the center console. One of the covered mugs tilted dangerously close to her knee. Brook alternated holding the other one in place and grabbing the steering wheel. Her hand didn't stop moving with the rough terrain.
+The buggy lurched violently. Linsan braced her knee against the center console. One of the covered mugs tilted dangerously close to her knee. Brook alternated holding the other mug in place and grabbing the steering wheel with both hands. She didn't stop moving as she continued to race the vehicle along the dangerous terrain.
 
 "What?"
 
-"When Daddy bought us all cars, she and I fought over this one." She nodded down to the wheel. "I lost which is why I drove the Klaston-Garis."
+"When Daddy bought us all cars, she and I fought over this one." She nodded down to the wheel. "She was the apple in his eye which is why I got the Klaston-Garis. It would have been... during...."
 
 Her jaw tightened and she grabbed the wheel tightly.
 
 Reflexively, Linsan slammed her feet against the floorboard and her arm against the door.
 
-The vehicle lurched twice before launching itself into the air. It was only a few feet, but the sensation of floating in air was sickening right before they landed with a loud crunch. The buggy bounced twice and veered dangerously toward a muddy field.
+The vehicle bounced twice before launching itself into the air. It was only a few feet, but the sensation of floating in air sickened her before they landed with a loud crunch. The buggy bounced twice and veered dangerously toward a muddy field.
 
 Linsan whimpered.
 
-"There's going to be another." Brook's voice's had the tense, controlled quality that Linsan only heard when she was driving. "You probably want to stay braced."
+"There's going to be another lurch in a few seconds." Brook's voice's had the tense, controlled quality that Linsan only heard when she was driving. "You probably want to stay braced."
 
 Linsan tightened her muscles and gripped her violin tightly. The hard case dug into her breast and ribs but she couldn't afford to lose it.
 
-Know it was coming, the next lurch felt like only a small, violent bump.
+Know it was coming, the next surge felt like only a small, violent bump.
 
 Unwilling to relax her grip, Linsan blew the hair out of her face. "It is possible to drive slower, you know."
 
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ Linsan shook the hot tea from her hand. She wiped it on her trousers before rest
 
 Brook suddenly smiled. "Cars are like music. You just have to know the beats and rhythm."
 
-"What beat?" Linsan cocked her ear but all she could hear was the roar of the engine and the patter of grasses striking the undercarriage. "It isn't any song I know. Or instruments."
+"What beat?" Linsan cocked her ear but all she could hear was the roar of the engine and the patter of grasses striking the undercarriage. "It isn't any song I know. Or instrument that I have heard."
 
 "Oh, there are instruments: engine, gears, the wheels. If you drive fast enough, you have the smack of insects on the windshield. Even the road makes different sounds based on where you drive and how fast." Brook's voice grew quiet.
 
@@ -94,13 +94,13 @@ When Brook looked over, there was a sad smile on her face and a tear running dow
 
 "And Palisis too."
 
-"Even if I never see that again, if we get the men who killed your daddy, then this will all be worth it."
+Hearing the name of the violin hurt her chest. Linsan shook her head. "Even if I never see that again, if we get the men who killed your daddy, then this will all be worth it."
 
 Brook sniffed and nodded. Her eyes flickered to the road.
 
 Linsan pulled her hand back.
 
-They drove in silence for a few minutes, with the rumble of the engine speeding up. With Brook's words in her head, Linsan listened to the noises and started to hear a hint of the music that Brook mentioned.
+They drove in silence for a few minutes, with the rumble of the engine speeding up. With Brook's words in her head, Linsan listened to the noises and started to hear a hint of the music that Brook had mentioned.
 
 They passed a mile marker.
 

chapters/chapter-31.md

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+---
+title: One More Question
+teaser: >
+  Linsan and Brook finally arrived at Little Rock, the home of the murderers. They only have a little time before they confront them and doubt begins to haunt them.
+summary: >
+  Linsan and Brook finally arrived at Little Rock, the home of the murderers. They only have a little time before they confront them and doubt begins to haunt them.
+access: private
+---
+
+> Most villagers never travel more than twenty leagues from their home. Their entire outlook comes from those who venture out once in their youth and then return to become adults. --- Landris Jib, *The Silver King's Proclamation*
+
+Little Rock was similar to all the other villages and hamlets that Linsan had passed through in the first few days of her trip. There were only two businesses, a public house and a general store. A smattering of houses surrounded the two with narrow trails wandering between every building.
+
+In the noon sun, Linsan didn't see anyone out in the bright light. From her experience, most people spent their days in the public house to get away from the heat, boredom, and to enjoy company. The others were at work, toiling away on farms and duties.
+
+Brook pulled the Glasscoaster in front of the store. The engine rumbled before settling down with a plume of white smoke. She frowned for a moment at the hood and then let out a little sigh of disapproval.
+
+"Problem?"
+
+"I'm going to need to find a mechanic soon myself. That smoke means some of the joints are cracking again. After we find these guys, I need to get the Glasscoaster into a garage for repairs." Unsaid was that Brook had no intent of relenting until they had caught up with the murderers.
+
+Linsan smirked. "I heard there is an unaffiliated mechanic in town."
+
+Brook glared at her. Lifting one hand from her mug, she clenched her hand and before flicking her thumb toward Linsan.
+
+Linsan cringed. "Sorry."
+
+With a frown, Brook started to say something but then shook her head again. "I don't know how to do this. How do we ask? What do we do?" She looked down at her hands.
+
+Linsan's mood darkened.
+
+"W-What if we make a mistake? What if one of us gets hurt?" Tears started to shimmer in Brook's eyes. She gripped the steering wheel tightly. "I-I don't know what to do."
+
+Linsan reached over and clasped her hand on top of Brook's.
+
+Brook stared at their hands.
+
+"I don't know either. All I know is that we are both here. I also know---that of all the people in the world---you are probably the only one who can work with me."
+
+Brook ducked her head. "I hated you, you know."
+
+"I wasn't really fond of you either. I think neither of us are entirely to blame."
+
+"Well, maybe. You were always so independent. You never needed anyone when we were growing up. And you always had the prettiest mother." Brook wiped the tears from her eyes.
+
+"And you were always the pretty one in class. Everyone loved you and you had all the friends."
+
+Brook turned her hand over and clasped her fingers over Linsan's.
+
+They held each other tight for a moment. Then Brook sniffed again. "I need to get a better dress if I'm going to keep doing this, aren't I?"
+
+Linsan laughed. "Yes. I'm sorry, but fighting in that is going to get you in trouble."
+
+Brook looked at her. "Thank you."
+
+"Friends, right?"
+
+"Yes. Friends." Brook squeezed tightly.
+
+"Let me start, I've been asking villagers questions for weeks now. We'll find them."
+
+Slowly, Brook relaxed her hand. The strange look in Brook's eyes came back, it was intense as she stared at Linsan.
+
+Linsan gave her a long look and then stumbled out of the Glasscoaster. She headed straight for the public house. She could feel Brook's eyes on her as she crossed the dirt road and to the front door.
+
+Her heart pounded in her chest as she considered her options. They were in Gabaw's home village and she couldn't assume that he and his friends were hated like the previous village. She needed to be affable to find out but couldn't be as direct.
+
+At the door, she steeled herself and went inside.

chapters/chapter-32.md

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+---
+title: WIP
+teaser: >
+  WIP
+summary: >
+  WIP
+access: private
+---
+
+> WIP --- WIP
+
+Twenty minutes later, she came out with the information she needed and flushed with excitement. She hurried across the road. Her eyes scanned the road in both directions before she got inside.
+
+"Head south," she said.
+
+"Problems?"
+
+Linsan shook her head. "No, but we probably don't want to hang around too long. The older folks in there were fond of Gabaw and his friends. Apparently they spend a fair amount of money drinking every night. He also brings in a lot of outside money and spreads it around."
+
+Brook started the engine. She regarded the public house. "Doesn't look like it to me. Place must be falling apart inside."
+
+With a scoff, she gestured to the road. "Where to?"
+
+"Head south for about a mile until we get to the 'bird' tree. They said it would be obvious. Then the first right. We're looking for a pair of blue barns."
+
+Brook didn't say anything before pulling into the road. She drove sedately until they were clear of the village and then accelerated sharply.
+
+Linsan leaned into the forces that shoved her back. They were about to find the men who had murdered Duncan. She was terrified and scared but also excited. Her fingers stroked the edge of her violin case.
+
+As the people in the public house said, the bird tree was impossible to miss. Hundreds of birds fluttered on the leafless branches. It looked as if the entire tree would launch into the sky for all the fluttering of wings.
+
+"Blessed Couple," whispered Brook as she careened to look at it. "That's creepy."
+
+Linsan frowned. "Why aren't they making any noise?"
+
+Brook released the accelerator and the car grew quieter but no sounds of the birds rose up. They rolled past and tried not to think about the eerily silent birds.
+
+As soon as the vehicle passed, Brook revved the engine and shot out down bumping road.
+
+Linsan braced herself and watched for the turn-off. She spotted it after only a few minutes. "There!"
+
+Brook barely slowed down as she spun the buggy. The back end fish-tailed violently for a moment and the wheels kicked up a cloud of dirt. Linsan barely had enough time to brace herself for the new pressure before it shot foward.
+
+The vehicle bounced on the road, jumping back and forth. Linsan wanted to ask Brook to slow down, but she knew it would be pointless. They had to get to Tilbin and Mayforn at Gabaw's barn.
+
+
+---
+
+In the back of her mind, she knew they were taking an incredible risk.
+
+ For the countless time, her imagine
+
+She pulled into the road and accelerated rapidly. "Where are we go?"
+
+""
+
+"
+
+
+
+
+ She thought about one of her mother's earlier roles in an obscure play called *Keeper of the Towers Twinned*. Tisin's character was the niece of a mage who died and given her his tower. She was a mage on her own right, but no one would believe her unless she pretended to not know anything about the tower she had inherited. That was the attitude she needed, to be naive
+
+Inspired, Linsan looked inside the open door. Three men and a woman were arranged around a square table. They had cards laid out and mostly empty glasses on the corners. They all looked at her with looks ranging from annoyance to curiosity.
+
+She put on a worried look on her face before she knocked on the door frame. "Excuse me, sirs and lady? Can you help me?"
+
+One of the men turned around, scraping his chair against the floor. "Is there a problem, Girl?"
+
+Linsan gestured back. She took a deep breath before pitching her voice up. "Me and my friend were borrowing her daddy's car and then it started rattling around and there were clouds of smoke and then we started bouncing around the road..." It was getting hard to breath, but she could see two of their expressions soften. "... and I'm worried we can't get home," she finished with a gasp.
+
+Inching into the room, she held out her hands. "Do you know where the closest stable is... wait, blacksmith?" She held her breath, straining not to let her nervousness show.
+
+The woman scoffed. "Just send them to Gab's and get back to the game."
+
+Another of the men snickered and looked at his cards.
+
+The first speaker shrugged and turned around. "Hope you have a lot of money. Head down the road to the south, then take the second right at the bird tree. Drive until you see the blue barn. Gab will take care of you."
+
+The snickering man muttered in a low voice. "You mean, take care of your money."
+
+She ducked her head. "Thank you so much!"
+
+Linsan headed out. There was more snickering and chuckled. The sound left her
+
+Linsan cringed
+
+Linsan gestured wildly. "We were just playing around with me brother's car and it started making a terrible noise! Something in the front with all the pipes and g---" She caught herself. If she was going to pretend to be innocent, she couldn't use the right name. "---the spinning things with all the teeth."
+
+The speaker grunted. "What makes you think we could do anything about that?"
+
+Linsan
+
+ Reaching up, she knocked on the door. "Excuse me?"
+
+
+
+
+
+ her face relaxed. She waved one gloved hand and said haughtily, "I've heard that his service record is poor---"
+
+Surprised, Linsan couldn't help but to smile.
+
+"---and I would only consider his business over his dead body."