I got my 50k! I got my 50k!

Woo-hoo! Tonight's total was 1524, bringing the Grand Nano Total to 50,071. Excerpt:

Mark tried not to show his disappointment at the translations, but his expression was noticeably crestfallen. "Oh, thanks."

"Were you hoping for something rather more intriguing?" Miller said kindly.

"Yes, somewhat. If it had meant something like the Masons, or Al Qaeda, it would have seemed a lot more definite," he said.

"The East is a region thick with rumours and conspiracies," Miller said. "It's best to take most things you hear with a pinch of salt. The locals spend a lot of time chattering in the coffeehouses and the majilises. For them it's a kind of pastime, a sport. Certainly nothing to give much serious attention to."

But the story is so far from finished it is depressing and terrifying. I estimate at least another ten thousand words are needed. That's quite apart from all the structural and stylistic rewrite, plus trying to put in clues and things that I haven't even worked out yet.