Welcome to The Heart Pyre. This is episode 26, The rush.
[SFX background: city noises, faint ocean and seagull noises, calm footsteps]
Rena walked calmly through the streets of Hrevim, as if she was simply out for a stroll on a beautiful, sunny day. On the inside, however, she was anything but calm. She needed to find her way back to her companions but she wasn’t even sure where most of them were. Asha was roaming the docks, Logan and Finn were supposed to be at the palace – but what if Logan had never shown up? – and Kalani was somewhere in the city. The only one she knew where to find was Rodrick, as long as he hadn’t left the library in the last hour.
For a second, she considered going back to the Broken Mast Inn and waiting for her companions there, but how could she know if Deacon was following her or not? He hadn’t seemed to trust her in the teashop and he probably wasn’t all too happy that everyone had kept dismissing his inquiries. If he was truly so desperate to find Logan again, would he simply let Rena leave when she might lead him to Logan? The only hope Rena had was that Aldara would keep him busy with some errands, but she couldn’t fully rely on it.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She felt observed but was it simply her imagination or was someone actually following her? She wanted to turn around and check but she knew she shouldn’t do so. It would draw too much attention to her. She needed to keep her gaze fixed ahead and her steps slow and orderly, as if this was just another uneventful day. If Deacon was truly following her, she couldn’t look like she was in a hurry to get back to someone. She breathed with the rhythm of her footsteps even though her lungs felt cramped and every breath shot a spike of pain through her chest.
She wanted to run to Logan and warn him, tell him that he might be in danger and that it was all her fault again, but that was probably the stupidest thing she could do at that moment. No, she would need to find her way back to the library. She would be safe there and Rodrick would be able to help her figure out what to do next. She just wasn’t sure how to navigate Hrevim’s maze of streets.
Around her, the city was alive with the preparations of some festivities. A shock ran through Rena as she realized that she had completely forgotten that Tide-bringings was in a few days. The shops on each side of the road were busy building stalls in front of their establishments to celebrate the return of the fire mackerel to their seas after the cold winter months. Blue, white and red ribbons were hung between houses, shading the streets and flowing in the wind, imitating the scarlet fishes’ journey on the ocean waves. A knife twisted through Rena’s heart as she remembered that her uncle had promised her siblings and her that he would take them to Hollowtooth for the festival and suddenly breathing became impossible. She stopped, her eyes glazing over, the knot in her lungs spreading to her throat and threatening to make her vomit. She had loved the celebrations in Hollowtooth, had loved seeing the smiles on her siblings’ faces. Tide-bringings had been the first time she had learned how to fish. The first time she had cooked fire mackerel she had caught herself.
Each of the southern regions had its own traditions for the return of the prized fish. While in eastern Vellashta a lot of the traditions revolved around cooking, western Vellashta had a strong focus on liquors – although the only time Rena had had the chance to taste the honey liquor that was kept with a dried fire mackerel in the bottle she had questioned why anyone had ever considered sharing their ghastly idea with another human being. But Vellashta wasn’t the only province to celebrate Tide-bringings. Rena had heard that cities in Baedan had long parades where people dressed up in elaborate costumes and danced in the streets. She’d always dreamed of seeing these processions, had spent endless nights with Maya imagining what these costumes might look like when they should have been fast asleep. It felt wrong that she might see them without her sister, that she might walk these decorated streets without her family.
She closed her eyes, pressing her eyelids shut tight until her face hurt. Her nails dug into the flesh of her palms, sending spikes of pain up her arms. It wasn’t fair that she would get to see another Tide-bringings celebration when her parents and her siblings and her uncle’s family and the rest of her village would never get to experience it ever again. Why was she the only one with such terrible luck? What had she done in her life to deserve this?
Someone bumped into her from behind, dragging her out of her spiral as she almost fell forward.
A burly man walked past her in a hurry, barely regarding her.
STRANGER (mumbling): Excuse me.
RENA: [gasp]
Rena gasped and looked around in confusion, remembering that she had stopped in the middle of the street with no regard for her surroundings. She hurried to the side where she wouldn’t bother anyone and leaned against a house, her hand coming to worry at the ring and pendant around her neck. She pressed her other hand against the façade until its rough surface buried itself in her flesh and the pain made it impossible for her mind to wander again.
She didn’t want to look up, didn’t want to see the streamers above her, but she had to keep going. She might not be able to get her parents or her brothers back but she could save Maya and experience Hrevim’s parade with her. Despairing wasn’t going to help her at all.
She slowly lifted her eyes, glancing back to where she’d come from but she couldn’t see Deacon or anyone else observing her. But that didn’t mean no one was following her. She still needed to be careful.
She pushed herself away from the façade and brushed her dress down before resuming her walk. She kept her gaze close to the ground and advanced quickly. Her break would have alarmed anyone following her anyway, there was no point in pretending she was simply strolling down the street anymore.
It took her a while till she found her way back to the library but she had never had a problem with asking for directions.
[SFX city noises fade out, library crowd noises fade in, rhythmic mechanical noises in background getting louder as she gets closer]
She hurried inside, past the reception desks and stepped into the moving boxes at the end of the hall without hesitation. She was too preoccupied to still be afraid of them. She leaned her back against the back wall of the box, keeping her gaze fixed on the library’s entrance, but no one seemed to hurry inside after her. She allowed herself to relax at least a little bit, taking a deep breath as the box was momentarily plunged into darkness.
[SFX crowd noises fade out, mechanical noises fade into background, occasional page turning and scribbling in background]
She re-emerged on the first floor and even though she wanted to run towards Rodrick she walked slowly so that her footsteps didn’t break the silence of the room. She was in luck, Rodrick was still sitting at the same table, hunched over an ever-growing pile of books. He had somehow acquired a piece of parchment, a quill and an ink pot and had filled the page with notes in a barely legible script.
RENA (hissed whisper): Rodrick!
[SFX chair scraping against wooden floor]
RODRICK (astonished whisper): Rena? You’re back already? I hadn’t expected you for another couple of hours. Or did time fly by so quickly?
RENA: No, no. I didn’t go back to the inn. Something happened.
RODRICK: Something happened?
RENA (erratic whispers): Yes, I ran into someone. An old friend of my father’s. Jesper. He survived the fire! Ocassian already mentioned that someone else might have survived but I didn’t expect to run into him here. He’s travelling with someone from the Historical Academy and Deacon.
RODRICK: Deacon? Logan’s Deacon?
RENA: Yes! Deacon’s looking for Logan. I don’t know why he’s with Jesper though, maybe he thought if he could meet me he could get closer to Logan. I don’t know. But I went to a tea shop with them because they wanted to talk to me.
RODRICK: On your own? Oh Rena, I don’t think that was a smart idea.
RENA: I didn’t know what else to do! I couldn’t just let them leave. I might have never seen Jesper again. I had to find out where he’s staying so we can talk to him and maybe convince him to join us. I told them I would meet them tonight. They’re staying at an inn near the palace.
RODRICK (hesitant): Maybe we could try to talk to them together.
RENA: Maybe. I don’t know. The lady from the Historical Academy insisted that the fire was just an accident. And I had to pretend like I would go with her to Napahrit and abandon you lot so I could continue my life as normal. She said she could get me into a school there. But I would never stop searching for Maya! I had to tell Jesper about her and about the Crow. I don’t think he knew anything about it yet.
RODRICK (disappointed): Rena, we shouldn’t tell them too much about what we’ve found out.
RENA: I know. I didn’t! I only told Jesper about it. He deserves to know!
RODRICK (hesitant): He does, yes. I just hope he is as trustworthy as you think he is.
RENA: He is! I’ve known him all my life. Maybe he won’t believe me right away but I’m certain we can convince him.
RODRICK: I don’t doubt that he doesn’t wish you any harm, Rena, but situations like these often make people act in strange ways. I just think we should be careful no matter what. We can always tell him more once we’ve figured out what’s going on.
RENA (slightly defeated): [sigh] I know, but… I don’t like the thought that he might believe that the fire was an accident when there’s someone responsible for it just because the Historical Academy is lying about what happened. He deserves to know the truth.
RODRICK: I know, my child. I know. And he will know the truth soon enough. We just need to play our cards right.
Rena slumped against the back of her chair, her body sacking in on itself. She looked up and noticed that one of the librarians standing at the other end of the room was staring at them in annoyance. They placed a finger in front of their lips before clasping their hands behind their back again and looking out over the reading room. Heat flushed into Rena’s cheeks and she quickly looked away.
Rodrick patted her shoulder and turned his attention back to his books. He closed the one in front of him and carefully placed it on another one, creating two neat piles with the books on the table.
[SFX page rustle]
He pulled the piece of parchment closer to him and squinted at it, brushing his finger over the neatly written rows as he reread his notes. From close up, Rena could see that they were written in the same script she had found in Rodrick’s notebook a week ago, the one she couldn’t read.
RENA (whisper): What did you find out?
RODRICK: It is quite fascinating. I couldn’t find much at first because the manuscripts I read, in the beginning, kept their information quite broad, talking about the history of the old faith without going into much detail, but I found one that discussed its place in this region more specifically and that lead me down a rabbit hole. I hadn’t expected to find much about any body-controlling abilities or other such strange talents, or even about any rituals, but there’s actually quite a lot of information on both if you know where to look. How trustworthy that information is, however, I still haven’t fully decided. One of the resources I found talked about the Gods of the old faith and which miracles they could enact. As far as I know, this belief in miracles and influences that the Gods had wasn’t universal. Some regions believed in it, others didn’t. But the southern provinces seemed to be quite fond of the belief. But how ahistorical or metaphorical these beliefs are is quite difficult to parse.
RENA: So, there is a God who can… control people’s bodies?
RODRICK: In a sense. It is described more as guiding but you could interpret it as taking over someone’s body and mind. I’m sure I mentioned her before. Kaepi’Pari. Tavuu’Moda’s twin sister. Which, I supposed, if the Crow is so focused on Tavuu’Moda, it makes sense that they’d also be interested in his sister.
RENA (confused): But, what does that have to do with Captain Silac?
RODRICK: I’m not fully certain about that. Captain Silac’s connection to the Crow and what he told us certainly suggests that they did something to give him those frightening abilities. There seem to have existed some obscure rituals that either tried to imitate the Gods’ powers or turn someone into a God. The sources I found weren’t very clear about it, they mostly talked about how these practices were heretical and should be shunned. I would have to spend more time researching the subject to be able to come up with legitimate theories. The premise that someone could become a God or God-like, is quite fascinating. Even more fascinating that people might have truly believed in it. It implies a lot about how they viewed the Gods of the old faith.
[small pause]
RENA: Does that mean they’re trying to make Silac a God?
RODRICK: I don’t want to draw any hasty conclusions, but it could be a possibility. Or at least to give him the powers of Kaepi’Pari. Well, potentially Kaepi’Pari. I haven’t had the chance to analyse all of the beliefs about the Gods’ supposed powers. Besides Tavuu’Moda and his sister, the rest of his so-called family seemed to be quite popular in this part of the kingdom too. But it seems quite preposterous that they would ever achieve such a thing. I find it hard to believe in these Gods in the first place, I just can’t bring myself to accept that a regular human could ever be turned into one.
Rena suddenly froze, a cold shudder running down her back.
RENA (quietly, in shock): What if they want to do the same to Maya?
[pause]
RODRICK: Why would they do that?
RENA: I don’t know. But why else would they have taken her?
[pause]
RODRICK: Well… I’m not sure. It might have simply been an accident or this is how they gain new recruits. She might not be the only person they took from Oceansthrow.
RENA (panicked): What do these rituals look like? What are they gonna do to her?
RODRICK: Rena, we can’t draw conclusions like this. There is no evidence that they would want to enact this upon your sister. We aren’t even sure they truly have her. I don’t want to sound harsh or hurt you, Rena, but I don’t want you to cling to this notion too much that she might be alive.
RENA (hasty, hissed whisper): But she might be, and if she is we have to act quickly or they might turn her into someone like Silac. I don’t want her to have those ugly green veins all over her face.
RODRICK (calmly): Yes, she might be, but she also might not be. And I know that we can only find out if we confront the Crow but I want you to consider the possibility that she might not be there.
Rena opened her mouth to reply but the way Rodrick was looking at her made her stop. His eyes were filled with concern, as if he was genuinely worried she wouldn’t be able to survive the news that her sister wasn’t alive anymore, and maybe he was right to worry. Deep down, Rena knew that it could be a possibility that Maya hadn’t survived the fire, that she had died with the rest of their family and Rena was all alone, but anytime she started to seriously consider it, a wave of panic washed over her. Her heartbeat started racing, her fingers turned ice cold, sweat ran down her back, and her mind went blank, as if her body refused to even acknowledge it. Maya had to be alive, and they had to save her, or nothing they had done had any meaning at all.
RODRICK (concerned whisper): I’m sorry, Rena. I didn’t mean to make you feel like this. I do hope we can find her but it isn’t a guarantee. Of course, we’ll do everything to figure out if she is still alive and to keep the Crow from continuing on their wretched path but it might all lead to more heartache. Can you promise me to keep this in mind? I don’t want you to obsess over something that might only devastate you.
[pause]
RENA (deflated): Okay.
Rena stared out into the nothingness in front of her, her eyes unable to focus anymore. All energy had been drained out of her. He was right, she knew that, but what was the point of discussing it? Why did she have to consider that Maya might be dead when it was the only thing keeping her going? Stopping the Crow and bringing justice to the dead was a noble endeavour but if she was fully truthful with herself, she didn’t care about it, not really, not as much as she cared about saving Maya.
After a few minutes of silence, Rodrick pulled a book closer to him and opened it part-way through.
[SFX page turning]
She observed him as he rifled through the pages, stopped, then picked up the quill, dipped it in the ink, and started writing.
[SFX quill against glass of ink pot, faint scratching of writing]
Rena still couldn’t fully wrap her mind around this concept of a ritual that might turn someone into a God, but whether the Crow was actually using it or not, she couldn’t deny the existence of Silac’s strange abilities. And whether any of them believed that Maya was still alive, even the slightest possibility that she was, meant that they’d have to act quickly. They didn’t have the luxury of finding out every little detail about these practices, not when that time could instead be used to get closer to the Crow.
[SFX page turning]
They didn’t know what they were planning, but the possibility existed that they might turn Maya into someone like Silac, and Rena would never forgive herself if she was too late to prevent it.
[SFX , chair creeking, clothes shuffling]
RENA (whisper): We should try to find Kalani. She’ll know what to do next.
[SFX writing continues]
RODRICK (distracted, whispering): Yes, certainly… We should talk about these developments as a group. The others might have discovered something important as well. [pause] But maybe they aren’t done with their investigations yet… We might need to give them some more time… We’re meant to meet up tonight anyway, we might as well stay here a bit longer.
[pause]
RENA (nervous whisper): I don’t think we should wait. We’re just giving the Crow more time to act. Even if they don’t have Maya, they’re certainly planning something, right?
RODRICK (distracted): They might be. But rushing our actions would not be beneficial. We should know what awaits us before we proceed. I don’t think I’ve exhausted all of the resources the library has to offer yet. All I have for now are speculations and vague theories about these practices, which we aren’t even certain have anything to do with the Crow. If I had more time, I could give us a clearer picture of the whole situation and maybe we might even learn how to prevent it.
RENA: Right, but… if we don’t know if these rituals are connected to the Crow, aren’t we wasting time? Shouldn’t we make sure we’re researching the correct thing before investing a lot of time into it?
RODRICK: Research needs its time, my child. Sometimes you head down the wrong path, but that time is never wasted. You always learn something of value and that something will help you comprehend what you were actually after. But I understand that a young mind like yours might not have the patience for it yet. My son certainly never had it. [small pause] Do you think you might find your way back to Kalani or Asha on your own?
RENA (hesitant): On my own? I-I don’t know. I’m not sure I can find the way to the docks, although, I suppose I could simply ask someone on the streets. But, Deacon might have followed me back from the tea shop. I’m not sure. I don’t think he was too fond of me. I did get back to the library safely, though, so I’ll probably be fine.
RODRICK (heavy hearted): [small sigh] No, no, you’re right. It was foolish of me to consider sending you out on your own under these circumstances. I can always come back to the library at a later time. Maybe tonight once we’ve had a chance to catch up with the others.
Rodrick gave the books back to a very annoyed-looking librarian. Rena couldn’t help herself from apologizing for the noise they’d made, which the librarian very reluctantly accepted, clearly having been trained to avoid any sort of confrontation with patrons.
[SFX library crowd noises, rhythmic mechanical noises in background]
They swiftly left the library but the closer they got to the entrance, the more Rena’s muscles tensed. She kept her gaze low but analysed every pair of shoes and trousers that passed her, hoping she would be able to recognise Deacon’s. They had been brown. Or maybe a dark green. Or blue? They certainly had looked old, but he was in no way the only person walking around in old shoes.
Rena wanted to run, to get to Kalani as quickly as possible. Her skin itched with every slow step she took as if it was about to burst open and let her skeleton escape. She couldn’t keep her mind from imagining what the Crow was doing to her sister. What the rituals Rodrick had mentioned could look like. The hair at the back of her neck stood up as she remembered what Silac had looked like with the green veins spreading from his eyes to his face. Was the same fate awaiting Maya? Or would the Crow change her in a different way?
[SFX fade into city crowd noises, faint ocean and seagull noises in background]
As they left the library, something to her right caught her eyes and Rena’s head whipped up before she could think better of it. She thought she had seen something orange, something fleeting, but as she scanned the street she noticed that it was simply a stray dog – not too dissimilar to Vincent, just stockier and more orange – scurrying from one side of the road to the other in search of food.
RODRICK: Rena?
RENA (distracted): It’s nothing.
She let her eyes wander over the rest of the street, looking out for any other animals, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She hadn’t thought about the fox since they’d entered Hrevim, but considering the first she had seen it was in the Plains, it wouldn’t have been strange to find it here too. She wondered where it was now. If it had followed her since they’d seen it in the forest or if it was finally going its own way.
Rena shook her head, admonishing herself for seeing shadows where there weren’t any. There was no time to waste, she could wonder about such trivial things later.
RENA: Sorry. We can go. I just thought I saw something.
[SFX footsteps]
As they walked through the streets of Hrevim, the feeling that someone was observing her, never left Rena’s mind. She didn’t dare look back, but even as they walked through winding side streets it was as if a shadow loomed over her. The narrower the streets got, the more the feeling twisted into something sinister. From the echoes of the footsteps alone, she could tell how many people were near them, and even though the feeling never vanished, she was certain that Rodrick and her were the only people walking down some of these streets. At one point she even looked up to make sure no one was following them on the roofs of the houses – throwing all caution to not look suspicious overboard – but all she saw were sea birds perching on the rain gutters. She momentarily considered that one of the seagulls was following them the way the fox did, then quickly dismissed that thought.
They weren’t sure where to find Kalani, so they decided to go find Asha first, since she might be able to point them in the right direction. They mostly followed the sound of the ocean and industry to find the docks but found themselves in the most northern part of the city, only a few metres away from the city walls that jutted out onto the beach and almost into the water.
Rena stayed close to Rodrick as they searched for Asha, having lost the security of the narrow streets now that they’d reached the open spaces of the docks. They felt entirely out of place between the fishers sorting their catch of the day and the workers bringing material into the big hangars. Rena felt observed from each side, but at least this time around the feeling was warranted.
[SFX ocean and seagull sounds get louder, dock working sounds fade in]
They found Asha a short while later, sitting on a low stool, surrounded by a group of older men. In the middle of their circle, on another low stool, sat a bowl filled with small balls wrapped in vine leaves, still steaming hot.
[SFX footsteps running for a short moment]
RENA (excited): Asha!
ASHA (confused): Rena?
Asha turned to her and looked at her in confusion before her eyes wandered over to Rodrick.
ASHA: What are you doing here? I thought you were going to the library. Did something happen?
RENA (unsure): In a sense.
Rena looked over at the men beside Asha who eyed her in bewilderment. The one to Asha’s left had clearly lived a life out at sea, his dark skin weathered by the salty winds. The other two looked a bit younger with lighter skin. The man to Rena’s left wore similar jewellery as Asha and her uncle, although his clothing wasn’t much different than the other two men’s.
RENA (unsure): Uhm, we need to talk to you.
[small pause]
ASHA: Sure.
Before Asha could stand up, the old man to Asha’s right smiled widely at Rena and offered her one of the wrapped balls.
OLD MAN (jovial): Don’t you want to sit down and eat with us first? It’s not the time of day to be discussing serious matters.
Rena considered refusing the food but then her stomach decided for her by grumbling loudly.
RENA (embarrassed): Thank you.
Rena felt the heat rise to her cheeks as she placed one hand on her stomach and accepted the ball with the other. The man stood up and gestured to his stool.
OLD MAN: Sit, sit.
RENA (mortified): Oh, no! I’m fine with standing. You really don’t have to get up because of me.
OLD MAN (jovial): Come on. I insist. Sit.
RENA: No, no, I really couldn’t.
The man waved her rejection away, then smiled at Rodrick, offering the same hospitality to him. Rodrick considered the offer, only refusing half-heartedly, but then Asha stood up and grabbed a handful of the balls.
ASHA: Let’s go somewhere quieter.
OLD MAN: Let your friends eat first, Asha. There’s plenty of time to talk later.
ASHA: How are we supposed to eat on a worried stomach? We’ll talk first, eat later.
Before the man could protest more, Asha grabbed Rena’s arm and led them away to the backside of a hangar where they could talk without being interrupted.
ASHA: What’s going on? Should I worry.
Asha turned to them and held the balls of food out to them. Rodrick happily picked up two of them and unwrapped one to reveal a white-ish ball of fish flecked with red spices. Rena considered the one she was still holding in her own hand and unwrapped it, biting into it before responding to Asha.
RENA: Well… Maybe? I’m not sure.
As Rena recounted all that had happened between bites of food, Asha’s face went from confusion to concern to anger and back to confusion, as if she wasn’t truly certain what to settle on.
ASHA: And you think Deacon’s after you?
RENA (nervous): I-I’m not sure. It didn’t seem like my answers satisfied him but I don’t know if that means he’d try talking to me alone. Or following me to get to Logan. I-I’ve been kinda feeling like someone’s been watching me ever since I left the tea shop but it’s probably just my nerves. I’m sure I would have noticed by now if someone was actually following me.
Asha glanced up and looked around, scanning the space around them. They were alone except for a handful of workers on their lunch break a few metres away, but they were far enough that they wouldn’t be able to overhear their conversation.
ASHA: He’s smart enough not to harm you but you’re right that he might be following you to find Logan, or at least keeping an eye on you. (under her breath) For fuck’s sake, what’s he gotten himself into this time? [sigh] (hesitant) Deacon’s… a particular man. It’s difficult to know how he’ll react to things. Sometimes he’ll forgive you for ratting him out to the guards, other times you knock over his drink and it’s as if you’d stabbed his mother in the tit. But I’m sure Logan did everything in his power to royally piss Deacon off.
RENA: It can’t be that bad, right? They probably just need to talk it through? Logan might be making it worse by dragging it out.
ASHA: Who knows, depends on what the situation’s actually about, but it’s definitely not the best time for Deacon to have found you.
RODRICK: I’m sure it can’t be that bad. I think Rena’s right that a thorough conversation could solve this situation.
RENA: It would also be the quickest solution.
ASHA: If it’s a solution at all. [pause] We’ll need to see what Kalani thinks of it. She probably knows what this dispute’s about.
EERIE VOICE [otherworldly]: Rena.
Rena spun around, panic suddenly rushing through her, unsure if she had actually heard something or not. It had sounded like someone was calling her name but she might have just imagined it. Her heart was beating frantically, the sound resonating at the back of her mind. She looked from one side to the other, then up at the roofs. She was sure now that someone’s eyes were fixed on her, she just couldn’t find where they were.
ASHA: Rena?
She wasn’t even sure who to look out for. Was it Deacon or had Silac caught up to them? Had Inkra healed from her injury and was looking for revenge? Was the Historical Academy trying to silence her?
RODRICK: What is it?
[small pause]
As her gaze drifted back to her companions something orange caught her eye and this time it wasn’t simply a stray dog. The fox was sitting calmly at the entrance of a small street behind the workers, staring right at her. Rena froze as if any movement from her could scare the fox away. The workers were heeding it no mind as if they hadn’t noticed it.
EERIE VOICE [otherworldly]: Follow me.
Three paths lay in front of us, on which the story could continue.
- On the first path, Rena runs towards the fox without notifying Asha and Rodrick
- On the second path, Rena tells Asha and Rodrick about the fox and approaches slowly
- On the third path, Rena decides not to pursue the fox
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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 