(Eli) 10:29 am, and it turns out that MCM’s short break involved something he called Screech:

(Note: picture not taken from MCM)

From the trusty old Internet resource, Wikipedia:

Newfoundland Screech is a particularly strong liquor, sold in Newfoundland and originally imported from Jamaica, which enjoys fame in many parts of Canada.

Cultural learnings for make benefit glorious nation of Web Fiction(!):

Screeching someone visiting Newfoundland for the first time is a longtime custom of many older bars in Newfoundland, in which the person is to drink a shot of screech, kiss a codfish on the mouth, and answer the question “Is ye an honourary Newfoundlander?” with the phrase “‘deed I is me old trout, and long may your big jib draw.” After completing these tasks, they receive an official ‘Screecher’ certificate.

I’m grinning like an idiot right now.

IMPORTANT UPDATE 10:43 pm: MCM’s struggling with chapter 15. He says “The biggest issue I’m having now is forgetting to read the last few lines of my chapter outlines, and missing out on key twists when I write the full version. So when I write the follow-up chapter, I’ve left out key information, and have to work extra hard to bridge the gap …”

Case in point: at the end of Chapter 14, Kani is supposed to tell Kaso that the real Tundra’s been abducted. But that didn’t happen, and now both Rook and Kaso have no idea what’s really going on with Kani, and most of the planned Chapter 15 isn’t making sense. MCM is currently struggling to make the two chapters meld.

He’s not allowed to edit Chapter 14.

More on this as we wait for Chapter 15 to be finished …

Minor update, 11:00 pm: Merrilee has figured out what a random poster in MCM’s blog, posted about a month back, really means! Brilliant catch:

If you still don’t get it: that’s the poster from Chapter 5, the one on board the train!