Episode 23 – A New Horizon
Welcome to The Heart Pyre. This is episode 23, A New Horizon.
[SFX caravan sounds]
At some point during the next few hours they crossed the border into Baedan, although Rena didn’t notice when from the back of the caravan. As luck would have it, Silac didn’t show up again and no one else stopped them either. Rodrick had transferred the coal remaining in his crashed vehicle to the guards’ caravan, which meant they could drive several hours before the wagon refused to move any further.
[SFX caravan sounds stop, ocean sounds appear, with maritime birds]
Rena and her companions spilled out of the caravan and stretched, most of them having spent the journey dozing as no one seemed too keen on discussing their current circumstances. Rena hadn’t minded the silence. She herself had needed some time to think about what had happened but it was difficult for her to truly wrap her mind around it. She kept circling back to the fact that what Silac had done to them simply shouldn’t be possible. Theorising about how and why was nearly impossible if she couldn’t truly believe that it had actually happened, as if every second that passed convinced her further that it must simply have been another one of her strange nightmares.
They had stopped near the sea, on the edge of where the forest ended, only a few trees still sparsely surrounding them. Baedan’s coast wasn’t like Vellashta’s. Instead of cliffs separating the land from the ocean-except for the occasional coastal town like Hollowtooth-Baedan had flat, narrow beaches made of coarse sand that led to a verdant, hilly landscape in the centre of the province. What Rena had learned about the province while at school was that it was more densely populated than Vellashta, with bigger cities and a long-lasting history of maritime trading. Before the lands had been unified into the Kingdom of Kal-Hemma, the southern region had been its own kingdom, with most of its activities taking place in Baedan, although mostly only along the coastline. A lot of the central parts of the province were said to be uninhabited as the hills made it difficult to settle beyond the few valleys wide enough to accommodate human settlements.
But how much of that was actually true? Rena wasn’t sure anymore if she could fully trust anything she’d learned at school. It seemed innocent enough to trust them about the history of the lands they lived in but what if they’d simply not mentioned some part of it. What if Baedan had been a tyrannical state before the kingdom had been formed but it was now being portrayed as a valuable past to be proud of? What if all the contact they’d had with other nations hadn’t only been peaceful trade agreements as her teacher had told her? How much was Rena supposed to trust and how much of it did she have to question? But how to know what to question in the first place? Thinking about it all gave her such a headache.
Rena stepped away from the caravan and her group and approached the ocean slowly. They were still too far away for her to feel the beach underneath her feet, but the ocean air calmed her. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, feeling the salty breeze fill her lungs, and listened to the wind and far away birds.
[SFX footsteps approach]
LOGAN: You alright?
Logan jogged up beside her and slung an arm over her shoulders. Rena opened her eyes and took another deep breath.
RENA: Yeah.
LOGAN (excited): Ready to stretch your legs a bit?
Rena looked to her left where a city stretched out over the horizon, connecting the ocean to the hills to their left.
RENA: Is that where we’re going?
LOGAN: Yep. Good old Hrevim. Have you ever been?
RENA: No, my mother didn’t like me going too far away. I think my father’s been a few times though. Don’t think he liked it much.
LOGAN: Yeah, it’s definitely not the same as Oceansthrow. Slightly bigger.
RENA: [chuckle] Slightly. It’s probably bigger than the Plains.
LOGAN: Oh, definitely. And it’s not even the biggest city in Baedan.
He winked at her and turned around, walking them back to the rest of their group.
RENA: Are you sure you can walk that far with your wound?
LOGAN (dismissive): Yeah, yeah, I’ve lived through worse.
RENA: If you’re struggling you’ll tell me, right?
LOGAN (smiling): And then what? You’ll carry me the rest of the way.
RENA (chuckle): Not me, but maybe someone else. Asha’s probably strong enough, but I’m not sure she’d agree to it.
LOGAN (dismissive): She would. She only pretends to hate me. Deep down, she cares a whole lot. See, she’s like a chestnut. All spikey on the outside but a delicious treat on the inside.
RENA (laughing): That makes no sense.
~~~~~
[SFX ocean sounds fade into the background, crowd and city noises more prominent]
It took them another hour until they reached the edge of the city. What was different about Hrevim from the cities she knew in Vellashta, was that it was surrounded by walls. They were made of a beige stone and every few metres a rectangular tower jutted out, dotted with tiny windows. It was apparent that these walls had been standing there for a very long time, although, if Rena looked to the left, she could see in the distance that some parts had been added later on, probably to try to expand the city towards the centre of the province.
The road they had travelled on led them to a gate, flanked by two larger, round towers, and even though the massive doors were wide open to let anyone through, a pair of guards stood in front of each tower, looking straight ahead. Their uniform was reminiscent of the one she was familiar with from Vellashta, with only a difference in insignia and some of the stripes running over the shoulders and chest.
Rena and her companions were far from the only people entering the city. A steady crowd streamed in and out of the gate, although never so cramped that Rena would have feared losing her group.
[SFX ocean sounds a bit more prominent over time, working sounds more prominent over time]
Kalani marched them to the eastern edge of Hrevim, the one that was closest to the ocean as if she knew the city’s layout by heart. She led them past bustling markets and artisans’ districts, through gates belonging to even older city walls, past streets with extravagant houses that had been built high instead of wide to fit into the limit space the city granted them, and all the while, on a hill in the distance, stood what looked like a shimmering, white palace.
Their journey led them near the docks, where the sailors and fishers gathered. The district had the same giant hangars as Hollowtooth, only more of them. This time around, it was easier for Rena to look inside and see more precisely what the workers were building. Most of it looked like regular ships, although bigger than the ones she was used to, but one, standing in a hangar protected by guards, looked different, with bronze pipes running over its hull and two chimneys sticking out of it. As if someone had seen one of the coal-powered vehicles and decided to apply the same logic to a ship.
Rena wondered if a ship like that could actually move. While travelling with Rodrick’s caravan and later the military one they’d stolen, the vehicles had only been able to drive for a few hours before stopping. How often would such a giant contraption need to be refilled to travel on water for significant distances? And how much coal would they need? Would most of the ship’s hold simply be filled with piles of coal just so it could travel for a few hours? Then what was the point of such an invention if it needed to be bigger than most buildings Rena had ever seen but could only transport a handful of people or a few crates of cargo at a time? Someone had to have found it a significant improvement over sailing ships if they’d found it necessary to station guards near it.
Kalani led Rena and the others past the hangars and their workers and past the ships unloading their cargo at the docks and the fisher boats bringing in the catch of the day until they reached a square with taverns and inns that were clearly mainly frequented by those working in the district.
Rena wanted to stop and look around, astonished by the size of even these simple buildings, but Kalani’s step never wavered and she led them straight to the Broken Mast inn, a strangely shaped building with one side taller than the other as if the initial plan had been to build two towers, but they had run out of money halfway through.
[SFX ocean and working sounds fade into background and sounding far away, crowd noises rise to foreground]
KALANI: Wait here. I’ll get us a room.
Kalani barely looked at them before marching off, leaving the rest of their group to awkwardly stand in a corner of the entrance. Vincent laid down in the middle of their circle, head resting on his outstretched front legs, clearly exhausted from their long journey.
RENA (unsure): Does she… know someone here?
LOGAN: Kalani knows someone everywhere.
RENA (unsure): Right. [pause] I suppose we need somewhere to sleep for the night.
ASHA: Probably more than one night.
Asha shifted uncomfortably, her arms crossed in front of her chest. She eyed the other patrons of the inn wearily. Some, standing to the left of the entrance hall, looked like merchants, with their colourful coats and tights and shiny black shoes, as if they’d barely ever even thought of the ocean. The other side of the room had a different clientele, one who had clearly stepped foot on a ship before and whose clothing reflected that fact.
ASHA: Hrevim is as good as any place to settle until we’ve figured out what we need to do next. Baedan is a big province, even if we know that the monastery the Crow’s apparently staying in isn’t too far from the border, we can’t just walk around until we stumble upon it somehow. We can’t exactly just walk up to it without a plan anyway, no matter how much we’d want to.
RODRICK: And Hrevim has quite an extensive library! Of course it might not be as helpful as the archives in Mellahen but I do think a visit would be quite beneficial.
ASHA (slightly annoyed): Not everything can be solved through books.
RODRICK: I disagree, my dear friend. I think a great many problems can be solved with the help of the knowledge found in books.
FINN: There’s also the palace’s archive. We might not find any information about what’s going on in the entire province, but Hrevim has always held quite a bit of power and influence in the region.
Finn kept his eyes fixed on Vincent, standing a step further from the dog than everyone else, mistrust written plainly on his face even though Vincent wasn’t even turned in his direction.
FINN: Of course, those documents are in a private collection and we wouldn’t be able to access them easily, but I’m certain they hold some interesting information.
LOGAN (cheeky): Oh Finn, are you suggesting we break into a noble’s home?
FINN: I am not suggesting anything at all. I’m simply stating that these documents exist.
LOGAN: How mischievous of you, to put such dangerous ideas into other people’s minds and then wash your hands of any responsibility.
[SFX footsteps coming closer]
KALANI: I got us two rooms. You’d all best keep in mind not to scheme in public. You never know who might be listening.
A cold shudder ran down Rena’s back. She craned her neck to look at the people surrounding them, then thought better of it, realising that that might look much too suspicious. As Kalani led them past the crowd in the entrance hall, Rena tried to catch a glimpse at any questionable-looking people, but none of the other guests seemed to mind them any heed. The workers looked like people she knew, with skin tanned by labouring in the sun, clothes with stains that couldn’t be washed out no matter how much one scrubbed, and deep calluses on their hands. Rena thought that her own group must stand out the most with how different they all were. And if she had learned anything over the last weeks, then it was that anyone could harbour nefarious thoughts and it could never be visible on their face.
[SFX sound of crowd slowly vanishes, almost silence, faint sounds of people living in the background, faint hissing sound]
Kalani led them to the right, past multiple corridors, up and down stairs, until Rena wasn’t sure anymore if they were truly still in the same building. They walked through a long, narrow corridor with no doors and emerged through a hatch in a square room. The walls to Rena’s left and right had two doors, the other two walls only one, and a wooden staircase led to an upper floor. The room was sparsely furnished, with only a few, old seats and a massive wooden chest placed along the walls. The room was illuminated with a similar system than the one in the archives-a cluster of milky bulbs emitting a dull yellow light. Even though there were no other people in the room, Rena could hear the faint noises of existence emitting from some of the rooms.
Kalani walked up to one of the doors to their left and opened it with a key she pulled out of her pocket. Before opening the door she tossed a second key to Logan and pointed to the other door on the wall.
KALANI: We’ve also got that one. There’s three beds per room, divide yourself up however you want.
She turned around and opened the door. Without hesitation, Asha followed her into the room. Rena looked around at the rest of her companions, unsure if there were conventions she had to consider of who wanted to stay in which room. She knew that with her younger siblings a situation like this could end up in tears and tantrums but certainly with adults it wouldn’t matter as much. While Logan stepped forward to unlock the second door, Finn looked apprehensively between the room Kalani and Asha had disappeared in and Vincent. Rena decided to save him from an uncomfortable decision and hooked her arm through his before following Logan into the second room. She smiled softly at him and although at first he looked utterly baffled, his confusion quickly dissipated and he nodded once in gratitude.
The room they stepped into was small and sparsely decorated, with one bed against the wall next to the door and the two other beds on the opposite wall with barely enough space between them to walk. The only other furniture in the room was an old wash basin in the corner opposite the door with a simple, ceramic chamber pot placed underneath. There were no windows in this room either and only the faint light from the other room trickling in revealed the outlines of the furniture. Rena looked around in confusion, wondering how they were supposed to stay in a room with no light, if they would need to leave the door open at all times or if they would have to bring their own candles in, until Logan turned a valve on the wall next to the door and a bulb started glowing above them. She looked up at the faint light, certain that the hissing that accompanied it would keep her from sleeping during the night.
Finn slipped out of her grip and paced the room, inspecting it with a deepening air of scepticism.
FINN (unsure): There are no windows. [pause] I don’t suppose one of the other doors leads outside.
LOGAN: Nope. All rooms.
FINN (mistrustful): Is it safe to stay somewhere with no exits?
LOGAN: There are exits, they’re just hidden. These are supposed to be hiding rooms that people can’t easily access from the outside. There’s a system with bells that get rung when something bad’s happening.
Logan pointed up to one of the corners of the room where a small bell hung from the ceiling, attached to a string.
LOGAN: Kalani and I know where the exits are, so just stay near us. Asha might know too, but I’m not actually sure how often she’s been here before.
Logan’s explanation didn’t seem to ease Finn’s apprehension and Rena had to admit that, as much as she trusted her friends, she wasn’t too sure about these lodgings either. She looked around at the bare walls, the room seeming smaller and smaller by the second. She noticed the damp mustiness of the air and momentarily felt like she could suffocate if she stayed in these rooms for too long. Her eyes wandered up to the bulb again, the light inside dancing around like fire.
RENA (apprehensive): Is that lamp safe?
Logan shrugged and sat down on one of the beds, scooting up so he could lean his back against the wall.
LOGAN (nonchalant): These rooms have been here for years, so they can’t be that dangerous.
Rena thought that just because something hadn’t gone wrong for years, it didn’t mean that something horrible couldn’t happen after all.
Kalani stepped into the room, followed by Asha and Rodrick, Vincent strolling in behind them as if he’d rather stayed in the other room to nap. Before Rodrick could even close the door, the dog had already laid down on the ground again and curled up into a ball.
KALANI: We need to talk about how to proceed.
Kalani came to stand in the middle of the room, feet shoulder wide apart, arms crossed over her chest. She had braided her smaller braids into a bigger one and slung it over one shoulder, tying the end together with a piece of string.
KALANI: There’s a lot we don’t know which means, there’s a lot we have to figure out.
Rena dragged her eyes away from the light and stepped closer to Logan, sitting down on the bed next to him. Her hand came up to idly play with her sister’s ring which she had attached like a necklace with a string, her other arm wrapped tightly around her middle.
Finn followed her, although he didn’t sit down on the bed, opting instead to lean against the wall so he could keep an eye on Vincent. Rodrick and Asha stayed on the other side of the room, Rodrick sitting down on the bed against the wall while Asha mirrored Finn and leaned against the opposite wall.
KALANI: We need to figure out where the Crow is, who the Crow is, and what is going on with Silac. I think he needs to be our priority, actually. We can’t go against the Crow without knowing what caused Silac to be able to… control other people, and whether there could be others like him.
LOGAN: How do we find out though?
KALANI: [small pause] I’m not sure. Figure out how he’s connected to the Crow. See if anyone’s heard any strange rumours about him. Maybe people have heard about other such occurrences. If he’s strong-arming his way through the ranks he might have used his little trick on others before.
RENA (unsure): So we should talk to people?
KALANI: To the ones we trust. I know a few people I could talk to. I need to send a message to Cas anyway to let them know I’m alright. I’ll also ask them to keep an eye out for anything that could help us. But there’s people in this city who might be able to help us too, I just need to verify who’s still trustworthy enough. We should split up tomorrow. I can’t drag a whole group of strangers with me and we can cover more ground if we aren’t together.
LOGAN (cheeky): Finn and I can break into the palace to steal some documents.
FINN (mumble): I never said anything about stealing.
RODRICK: I’m sure I can find plenty of useful information in the library. Maybe not about Silac himself, but definitely about the old legends and such that he might be trying to replicate. If there is a ritual to give a person such strange abilities, there certainly must be documentation about it.
ASHA: I know some folks among the dock workers myself. People from the Grey Isles. They might know a thing or two. If I keep my questions vague enough they probably won’t suspect anything.
KALANI: Good. As long as none of you get into any trouble, we’ll be fine, right, Logan?
LOGAN: I was only joking about the stealing part. There’s plenty else we can learn from the palace through a day of honest work.
KALANI: Finn, I count on you to keep him in check. But I’m serious. We can’t afford to draw too much attention to ourselves, not until we know who else is connected to the Crow. If they’ve got their talons into Silac, they might be working with others too. They’re most likely working with others too. So stay prudent. Not everyone you talk to will be on our side.
Rena stood up and stepped into the middle of the room, the others falling silent. She took a deep breath and made an effort to look all of her companions in the eyes.
RENA (serious): I wanted to thank you all for still being here. I’m not taking your help for granted. I realise that this whole situation with the Crow and now Silac goes beyond what just affects me, but I still feel responsible for dragging you all into such dangerous circumstances. I’m well aware that you left family and friends behind and put your life on hold to help me figure out what happened to Oceansthrow and save my sister, so from the deepest corners of my heart, thank you. A-and if anyone decides that they want to leave after all, I promise I won’t be upset! I-I barely know enough about everyone’s life to know what they abandoned to be here, and I regret that we haven’t taken the time yet to get to know each other better. Kalani, I didn’t even know that you were married to Cas until two days ago! And I don’t know anything about Logan’s or Rodrick’s or Finn’s family! And yet you’re all here to help me. I wish I could express how much I’m truly grateful. I promise I’ll repay you all once I have the opportunity for it.
LOGAN (cheeky): Nah, don’t worry about it. Someone has to save the kingdom after all, so might as well be us, right?
ASHA: I know what it’s like to lose family, but I still have my uncle. If I can help you get your sister back, it’ll make the next few years more bearable for you. If there’d been a way to get one of my brothers back, I wouldn’t have stopped at anything for it. I know I warned you against it before, that chasing the trails of dead people would just prolong your pain, but I have to admit that it’s strange that the Crow kept her clothes and no one else’s from Oceansthrow. So I’ll stay with you until we’ve figured out what’s going on with that, and hopefully we can actually save her.
RENA (softly): Thank you.
KALANI (seriously): I don’t want to diminish your pain and getting retribution for what the Crow did to Oceansthrow is enough in and of itself, but you’re right, this whole situation goes beyond what happened to your hometown. Especially now with whatever’s going on with Silac. It pains me that I didn’t take the Crow more seriously earlier. They never struck me as being capable of something so heinous and who knows what else they have planned. We might not be able to stop them just the six of us, but we can at least be the ones uncovering their plans, and we can think of the next step later.
FINN (unsure): I’m not sure why you’d need to know about our families. They really aren’t important to any of this.
RENA: I just mean, I want to know more about you all as people since we’re already spending so much time together. And I hope none of you think that I doubt you or your motives. I just needed to make sure that you all knew how grateful I am. I know life would have been easier if I’d simply gone to live with my aunt, but I don’t think I could have slept at night if I’d never even tried to figure out what happened. And my aunt isn’t the most pleasant person to live with anyway. So, thank you, again. [pause] If anyone’s hungry, I think there should still be some bread and dried sausages in one of the bags.
Three paths lay in front of us, on which the story could continue.
- On the first path, Rena accompanies Logan and Finn to the palace
- On the second path, Rena accompanies Rodrick to the library
- On the third path, Rena accompanies Asha to the docks
You can cast your vote by going to the show’s twitter page, the tumblr page, or on theheartpyre.com. You have until the January 25th to cast your vote.
If you like this podcast, consider leaving a review or supporting it on Ko-Fi or Patreon. One of the tiers on Patreon lets you vote for the alternative timeline, in which you can make Rena take a different path. You can also get the novelization of the first season as an ebook and paperback from most major retailers.
You can find transcripts for each episode, character art, and a map of the kingdom on theheartpyre.com.
The intro music is Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone.
The Heart Pyre is written and produced by me, Audrey Martin.
Thank you for listening.
The Heart Pyre 