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Thread: TotW 201: The Merchant - Submissions

  1. #1

    Default TotW 201: The Merchant - Submissions

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    The Merchant



    5 Keywords:

    Extravagance
    Quality
    Good
    Number
    Tax



    Rules and awards
    - 5 keywords that have to be used in the story (please place these words in bold so they can easily be seen by the moderators)
    - Word limitation of minimum 200 but maximum 500 words INCLUDING all titles, footnotes or any other part deemed part of the submission, in a spoiler
    - Deadline is Monday, October 14, 2013
    - Minimum 3 submissions to start the competition
    - If you are a contestant you are honour bound to not read other contestants' writings until you have submitted yours.


    Please note that all rules including word count and key words will be strictly enforced. Rule breakers will be disqualified from the vote.
    When using the keywords you may change nouns into plurals and the tenses of verbs only.

    Check your WORD COUNT here.
    Advertising
    Contestants are not allowed to do direct advertisement of there story or asking for votes.

    Example

    Please vote for my story in ToTW.

    Please vote for your favourite story. (allowed)

    Awards
    Each winning story will receive 1 point, if you compete in the other Writers' Study competitions this point will be combined with the ones you have won already won.

    6 points - bronze medal
    12 points - silver medal
    24 points - golden medal

    Last edited by Dance; October 07, 2013 at 07:38 AM.

  2. #2

    Default Re: TotW 201: The Merchant - Submissions

    I've decided I would make a terrible songwriter.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    The Merchant's Daughter - A Song

    The Merchant's coffers are full of gold,
    Cascades of wealth so fine to see,
    Yet better by far than metal so cold
    Are his daughter's eyes so bright and lively.

    As he dickers and haggles on every tax
    His daughter so lonely is wasting away,
    This merchant so fine is a parent so lax
    He may find her long gone on some bright autumn's day.

    O ye who sail far o'er the seas,
    Bringing costly goods across the brine,
    I'll wager ye've never seen aught so fair
    As the face of the Merchant's daughter fine!

    A quality rare in a woman so rich,
    The kindness you see when you look in her eye,
    I can't understand the reasoning which
    Makes her fond of such a poor sailor as I.

    'Tis not long now 'til I sail away,
    Borne by wind and by wave far from my love,
    Yet I shan't forget her, come what may,
    I'll still see her blue eyes in the blue sky above.

    O ye who sail far o'er the seas,
    Bringing costly goods ​across the brine,
    I'll wager ye've never seen aught so fair
    As the face of the Merchant's daughter fine!

    That merchant so bold, he numbers his coin,
    Dreams of extravagance filling his head,
    His daughter so beautiful soon I will join,
    Across the deep ocean he'll find we have fled.

    Her auburn hair it is wonderfully bright,
    But her father prefers the chink of his gold,
    She'll run off with me like a thief in the night,
    And her beauty will ever be mine to behold.

    O ye who sail far o'er the seas,
    Bringing costly goods ​across the brine,
    I'll wager ye've never seen aught so fair
    As the face of the Merchant's daughter fine!
    Last edited by William the Marshal; October 09, 2013 at 08:09 PM.
    Author of Wanderers, Far from Home and Standing Between Titans
    Do you like to write? Do you like to read things other people write? Why not pop over to Creative Writing or Tale of the Week?

  3. #3

    Default Re: TotW 201: The Merchant - Submissions

    Well, here is my first TOTW entry, its probably pretty bad but hey someone's gotta get this competition close to being open to a vote

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    The Mistakes of a Merchant


    Francesco lay almost lifeless on the floor of his cell, his chest pressing hard against the cold, unforgiving stone. His eyes lay wide open, yet they gazed at nothing, almost as if they were not connected to his mind. He lay there, silently praying for a miracle he knew would never come, yet hoped would. Death lurked around the corner, waiting for him, the Devil next to him, waiting to take Francesco to his torture pits.


    A long, single ray of light shone into the cell, through the crudely constructed window, providing Francesco with his only warmth, yet this tiny speckle of warmth did nothing but magnify the coldness. He could still almost touch the gold in his hand, almost smell the sheer delight of him and his co-conspirators. He could still remember that feeling, that thought that nothing could be better.


    How wrong they were. How wrong they were to doubt the Republic, to doubt its ability to track down frauds. How wrong they were to think that they could live in the extravagance reserved for kings, how wrong they were to let their greed and lust for power take over. They hoped they had covered their tracks, hid their profits to escape the taxes.


    But the council always found out. A co-conspirator would sell out or a poor beggar would over hear and earn himself a nice pile of cash. To Francesco, it mattered little how they found out, all that he knew was that they had and that was that.


    And so, Francesco lay on the cold, damp floor of his prison cell, the knowledge that his fate was sealed imprinted firmly in his brain. His wife would weep, his children even more so, his friends would shout and yell, yet nothing could change his fate. In his pursuit of wealth and money, he had fallen at the last gauntlet, failed the last test. He swore he had got the numbers right, he was sure the bribes had all been paid. It was his punishment though, it was his punishment for relying on the qualities of men who had been so easily bribed in the first place. Men, who had surely been the first target for the authorities.


    In retrospect, he had lived a good life, albeit cut too short. His one and only wish was that it would be quick, painless and hopefully bloodless, more so for his family than for himself. He had never meant to involve them, yet he had, and they would pay the price of his greed. He may of been the one who was facing death, yet it would be them who would feel the greater impact. He would be remembered as the greedy merchant, the man who had ruined his family, ruined his reputation. It could be worse.



    Word Count:475

  4. #4
    ImperialAquila's Avatar Domesticus
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    Default Re: TotW 201: The Merchant - Submissions

    I ran out of ideas but I was able to cook something up to help start the competition. Hope you guys will enjoy reading it. 500 words.

    Spoiler for TotW Submission 3
    Everlasting life, youth, and glory. Tales of a spring that lies hidden somewhere in the New World has compelled me to embark on this expedition. Myth, legend or truth, I cared not for greed and dreams of extravagance have blinded me. I was a merchant on the brink of bankruptcy and upon discovering some fragments of Ponce De Leon's journals, I decided to gamble what was left of my fortune to find this so-called Fountain of Youth.

    I set out at the head of the expedition with two ships: the Santa Maria and the San Mateo. Another ship the San Juan, would follow after the tax and tariff issues were resolved. The ships were laden with quality goods from Arabia and the Far East, and a number of paid Venetian and Portuguese mercenaries accompanied by a small contingent of conquistadors. Our journey was fraught with perils. I lost the San Mateo in a great storm and I had to deal with a mutiny on board the Santa Maria. After weeks of hardships we finally arrived and made port at the settlement of San Augustin, La Florida. The settlement was a small one but I decided to make it our base of operations. I began to reread Ponce De Leon's writings and consulted some of the local maps in an attempt to plot a course for our initial exploration. Isla de Bimini seemed to be the first place to look. At dawn, I hastily gathered up a few of my men and set out for the island.

    The exploration of Isla de Bimini gained nothing and was fruitless. Disappointed but not disheartened, I returned to San Augustin with hopes that the next one will be much more successful and with the arrival of the San Juan, I knew the expedition was far from over. That night I conversed with a native who heard stories of a magical spring somewhere in the swamps and knew someone who claimed to have seen it. Emboldened by what I was hearing, I decided to follow this lead for it was the only lead I had since Ponce De Leon. The next morning, I set out sometime at midday with thirty armed men and traveled further inland in search of the Fountain. Navigating the swamps was dangerous even with the help of a guide and I lost five men and a mule carrying supplies trying to traverse through it. We arrived at a spring but it turned out to be an ordinary one. The local tales were proven to be just tales and nothing more.

    After months of failed explorations and conflicts with some native tribes that resulted in the loss of many men, I was forced to conclude that the expedition was a wasted one and I decided to leave and return to Spain. The Fountain of Youth. Myth, legend, or truth? No one knows and if there ever was truth in it, I had a feeling that God never intended mortals to find it.

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