[SFX faint market noises, faint ocean & seagull noises]

LOGAN (loud whisper): Rena! Hey Rena! Where are you going?

Rena turned around in a daze. Logan jogged up beside her, looking around nervously at the market surrounding them.

LOGAN (whisper, full of concern): What happened? Are they not in there?

Rena’s mouth felt dry. She had to blink a few times before she could truly see his face. His skin was paler than usual, and drops of sweat had collected at his hairline. His frown deepened with every second she didn’t respond.

LOGAN (quieter): Are you alright?

Asha calmly walked up beside them, their bag slung over her shoulder, her gaze focused on the crowd around them.

RENA (hesitant, dazed): Yes, I’m fine. Uhm, it’s just …

LOGAN (impatient): What? Are Kalani and Rodrick not in the cells? Are they hurt?

[SFX crowd gets quieter]

Logan gently pulled her away from the crowd towards the edge of the market – close enough to still blend in with the market visitors but not so close that anyone could hear their conversation.

RENA (hesitant then resolute): No, no, they are! That’s not it! I saw Finn.

LOGAN: In the cells?

RENA: No. [Pause] He was walking in when I was trying to get back out. With some guards. As if he was just… part of them.

Logan’s eyes grew wide, his hand running over his hair as he stumbled a step back. Asha threw the bag on the ground between them with more force than was needed.

[SFX bag falling to ground]

ASHA (angry): That traitorous bastard. I knew we couldn’t trust him!

Rena’s cheeks ran hot as her blood pulsed in her ears. Maybe Asha had been right all along? Maybe they should’ve never agreed to work with Finn? She had been so eager to accept him into the group, so eager to believe he could help them, if Finn had truly betrayed them, it would be her fault that Kalani and Rodrick were currently being held captive. How could she have been so careless?

LOGAN (hesitant): Asha, wait. We don’t know what’s actually going on. He might not be there by choice. Just because he wasn’t in a cell doesn’t mean he’s actually free. They treat people like him differently than lowly criminals like us.

ASHA: Oh, stop thinking with your dick, Logan. The facts are that the royalist scum disappeared right before we got attacked and now our friends are locked up and he just walks around without a care in the world? And you think he’s still on our side?

RENA (hesitant, desperate): Maybe the guards captured him when we were in Oceansthrow and he had to pretend to be on their side so they wouldn’t hurt him. We don’t know. Maybe we could talk to him. Give him a chance to explain the situation to us. [Pause] Please.

Asha’s eyes darted to Rena’s, the rage inside of them making Rena flinch for a second. Asha opened her mouth to respond, then paused. She took a deep breath, her nostrils flaring, and closed her mouth again. The muscles in her jaw clenched but the fire in her eyes died down to a simmer. She glanced away quickly before looking back at Rena.

ASHA (reluctant): I would advise against trying to talk to him. We still don’t know who he is or how he’s connected. If he finds out we’re here, he might send the entire province’s guards corps after us.

RENA (small voice): He saw me when I walked out of the station. He already knows we’re here.

LOGAN (forceful): Listen, Asha. It doesn’t make sense for him to have joined us for, what? Two days? Just to betray us in such a way that it wasn’t even guaranteed that all of us would get captured at once. What would the Royal Council have gained from that? If he had actually infiltrated our group to betray us from the start, he would have made sure to gain our trust and lure us into a trap where they’d get all of us, preferably with Cas. Yesterday’s chaos wasn’t a planned attack. That was just… the Crow pulling some strings to not let us escape.

RENA (small voice): I think Logan’s right.

Heat pulsed through her body as shame spread from the pit of her stomach to all the crevices of her being. Was she only agreeing with Logan because she didn’t want to admit that she had been wrong all along or did she genuinely believe Finn was innocent? She couldn’t tell anymore. She didn’t want to believe that Finn could have betrayed them. He had never seemed like the type to lie and weasel his way into a group just to spy on them, but she had only known him for a few days. How much could you really learn about someone in such a short amount of time? But she’d only known all of her new companions for less than a week. How could she truly trust any of them? She crossed her arms tightly in front of her chest as doubt started to warp her perception of the last few days. Her fingers turned to ice, the shame and guilt and confusion fighting inside her chest and constricting it so she could barely breathe anymore.

Asha closed her eyes, the muscles in her jaw pulsing as she breathed in deeply.

LOGAN (pleading): Let’s just try to talk to him. If we get him alone, he won’t be able to overpower all of us.

ASHA: He wouldn’t be able to overpower a 16-year-old girl who has never fought in her life and a guy who can barely stand on his own anymore?

LOGAN: Okay, okay, he wouldn’t be able to overpower you. We can just… cheer you on as you beat him up if it comes to that. But my point stands. We just need to get to him when he’s alone and we should be fine. And honestly, he’s our best bet to get Kalani and Rodrick out of there.

Asha sighed and ran a hand over her scalp – small black coils having formed on her head over the last few days as she hadn’t found the opportunity to shave.

ASHA (reluctant): We can observe him. Under no circumstances are we just walking up to him to talk! But we could figure out what he’s doing here and who he’s working with, and IF he looks like he isn’t here fully by choice, we can try to talk to him.

RENA (relieved): Thank you.

ASHA: I still think this is a horrible idea, but I don’t currently have a safer plan to get Kalani and Rodrick out, so while I try to come up with something that won’t lead us to our doom, I suppose we can try to figure out what’s going on with his royal highness.

~~~~~~

Their only clue to Finn’s whereabouts was the guards’ station, but before they could truly come up with a plan on how to shadow him, they first had to deal with the fact that Logan’s condition clearly didn’t want to get better on its own.

Even though he did his best to act like nothing was wrong, his breathing became increasingly laboured and his face completely drained of any colour. He needed rest and medicine, no matter how much he protested.

After a lot of pleading and arguing and attempts at bribing, they finally decided that the best course of action would be if Asha paid for a room at an inn with the small amount of money she still had on her. She would stay with Logan while Rena was sent off to spy on Finn, as they all found it improbable that Asha would be able to control her temper once she laid eyes on him. She would be of more help if she went to find a healer for Logan who might keep him alive without completely ruining them financially.

Rena was therefore tasked with finding Finn on her own. She wasn’t sure how she would find him, but she was determined not to repeat the chaos she had caused in the archives with the letter exchange. She just needed to take her time and think of a good plan. Something that Kalani would come up with. Something that wouldn’t get them into any more trouble.

She headed back to the guards’ station in the hopes that Finn hadn’t left the premises yet. The easiest way to confirm he hadn’t, of course, would be to simply walk back into the station. That was much too risky, however. She didn’t think the “innocent lost girl” act would work a second time. So instead, she opted for circling the station and trying to get an overview of the front room through the windows.

The building didn’t look much different from what she was used to. As Logan had mentioned, it had clearly been renovated in the last few years – the white stucco of the facade glowing in the sunlight while the trim of the door and windows had been painted a deep blue. Iron bars encased the windows, making it harder for Rena to look inside. She walked past slowly as if she were simply on a stroll enjoying the nice weather. She didn’t keep her eyes on the guards’ station, opting instead to look around as if she’d never been in the city before. The building only had two walls with windows she could actually see through. To the left, the guards’ station bordered another building, while the back of the station only had small slits about 2 metres above ground that acted as windows – probably so people wouldn’t be able to easily peer into the holding cells.

She passed the station without having seen Finn. She kept walking until she felt it wouldn’t look suspicious if she turned around. She didn’t like that her plan was taking so long, but she knew she couldn’t rush it. In the back of her mind, every second that elapsed brought Logan closer to death and Maya further away from her. If she couldn’t get to Finn quickly, couldn’t convince him to release Kalani and Rodrick right away, she might lose both of them.

She shook her head. She couldn’t think of such things. She needed to concentrate on what was right before her. Anything worth doing deserves to be done with care and patience. That’s what her grandmother always said. So she set out for another stroll past the station, and a third one after that, until she glimpsed the back of Finn’s blue coat through one of the windows.

            [SFX market noises growing louder]

Thank the stars, he hadn’t left the station yet. Rena adjusted her course and headed towards the market so she could blend into the crowd. She never stood close enough to any of the stalls for the vendors to notice her, weaving instead from side to side, strolling into the market and back out, her eyes constantly glancing over towards the station. She would have to wait until Finn exited the building. If luck was on her side, he would be alone, but she didn’t want to hold out hope for it.

About half an hour later, he finally stepped out, accompanied by three other people – a man dressed in fine clothes with a brown cape slung over his left shoulder and two guards trailing behind them.

Rena stepped closer to one of the stalls, pretending she was interested in the wooden toys on display, while the finely dressed man led Finn and the guards towards the market. Rena didn’t recognise the man next to Finn but his clothing and the intricately decorated sword attached to his hip signalled that he was a higher-ranking member of the guards’ corps. She tried to remember if he might have been part of the attack the day before, but it had all happened so quickly that she hadn’t really paid attention to the faces of their assailants. It didn’t help that her heart was hammering so loudly in her ears that it drowned out her ability to think properly. She stared at the toys, unblinking, painfully aware of Finn’s group walking past behind her. When she was certain they were a few metres away from her, she dared to look up again and instantly came face-to-face with the vendor who eyed her sceptically. She shot them a quick, warm smile before turning around and walking to the other side of the road.

She didn’t dare look at Finn and his new companions directly even though she was desperate to know how Finn was doing. Would his body language reveal that he was being held captive, or that he was plotting against the guards to regain his freedom? Maybe it would tell her that he was on the guards’ side after all and had tricked Rena and her companions since the beginning, as Asha suspected? She tried to glance at him from the corner of her eyes as she strolled from stall to stall, but she never got a good look at Finn’s face. His posture looked rigid, with his hands clasped tightly behind his back, but Rena didn’t know how to interpret that. The knuckles of his right hand were bloody and scraped, so he clearly had been in a fight, but did the tension in his shoulders come from the pain? Was he simply uncomfortable in the crowd? Or was he scared of his companions? She’d never had to read someone’s body language who she hadn’t known all her life, and she found it incredibly difficult in comparison to knowing whether one of her siblings had been mad at her.

She stayed close behind Finn’s group, flowing with the market’s crowd, always standing close enough to a group of visitors so that it looked like she belonged with them. The man in the fine clothes led his group through the market, talking to Finn with wide hand gestures, barely acknowledging the presence of the guards accompanying them. They didn’t look at any stalls, which meant that Rena had to follow them at a quicker pace than she was comfortable with.

She started to worry about how she would be able to follow them once they were out of the market. She hadn’t given it much thought earlier and now she cursed herself for not having come up with a better disguise. She started to panic, thinking back to the archives and Rodrick’s plan to exchange the decrees with the envoy from the historical academy. She needed to find an alternative. Some way to signal to Finn that she wanted to speak with him alone. Maybe she could lead him to one of the side streets and wait for him to come to her – hope that he could find an opportunity to get away from his group. She simply had to trust that he was still on their side.

They slowly approached the edge of the market. The crowd was thinning and the stalls were spaced farther apart and with each step the guards took, a knot tightened around Rena’s lungs as she desperately tried to figure out how to get Finn’s attention.

Maybe she could try to throw something at him so he would turn around and look at her? No, that would be too dangerous. She might miss and hit one of the guards. What if she caused a ruckus so they would all have to turn around? Make a stall collapse or push someone over? Who was she kidding, she would never be able to cause such chaos on purpose. She might injure an innocent bystander. But what else was there? Pretend to faint and hope they would come to her aid? She would definitely draw the attention of all of the guards but there was always the chance they might not recognise her. There was no indication that these had been the guards who had attacked them, but there was also no guarantee that they hadn’t been. No, none of those plans were safe. She couldn’t risk her safety in the hope that maybe the guards wouldn’t know who she was if they got close to her. She wouldn’t be able to run away from them or fight them. No, she somehow needed to find a way to get only Finn’s attention, and for that, she would need to be in his field of vision.

She took a deep breath and picked up her pace, weaving through the crowd as if she had a particular stall she was trying to get to. She needed to be quick enough to catch up with them before the market ended but not so quick that people would start noticing her.

She passed behind a group of older women sampling the selection of the olive vendor until something caught her eye. A flash of orange to her left. She stopped and turned, immediately searching for the fox, but of course, it wasn’t there. It had simply been a bucket of carnations from the flower vendor. She felt silly for even thinking it might have been the fox. And even if it had been a fox, it surely wouldn’t have been her fox.

Finn’s companion suddenly stopped and turned towards a stall that was selling ornamental knives and Rena sighed in relief. If luck truly was on her side, they would stay there long enough for her to get Finn’s attention. She slowed down her pace, getting back to her strategy of strolling from stall to stall. She crossed to the other side, her heart hammering in her chest as she stopped at a stall to the group’s left. She angled herself towards them, pretending she was also interested in the ornately decorated sheaths. She dared a quick peek at Finn. He had his bloodshot eyes cast to the ground, his expression blank. Now that she could actually see his face, she recognised that the tension in his body was exhaustion. A faint bruise was forming underneath his right eye, a shadow of yellow and purple spreading over his too-pale skin.

Finn looked up and their eyes met. Rena held her breath, neither of them blinking for what felt like minutes but had to have been only a handful of seconds. With her entire body rigid, she forced her head to nod slightly to the left, towards one of the side streets, before averting her gaze and turning around. She walked past the last few vendors, her stiff muscles aching with each step, then turned to the right and disappeared down the side street, never looking back to see if anyone was following her.

            [SFX market noises sounding further away, ocean & seagull noises more clear]

Once she had rounded the corner, she let go of the tension in her body and took in a deep, shaky breath. Her steps quickened to where the street bent to the right and she stopped right after the second corner. She breathed heavily, her heart hammering in her chest, her fingers worrying at the ends of her hair as she paced back and forth.

She needed Finn to follow her. Needed to be right about him. She didn’t know what she would do if he didn’t show up. If he didn’t tell her that he had been looking for a way to get away from the guards since yesterday. That he’d already come up with a plan on how to get Kalani and Rodrick out of the cells. That he had found out where the Crow had taken her sister and that they could leave for Baedan by the evening.

She waited and waited and waited, and with every passing second her heart sank further. She had stopped pacing a long time ago. She barely even looked up anymore when a person walked past. How could she have been so foolish to think that her plan would work out? She had wasted so much time waiting. Time she could have spent finding a way to get Rodrick and Kalani out without Finn’s help. Of course Finn hadn’t found an opportunity to get away from his entourage. They might not trust him enough to leave him alone at all.

She crouched down with her arms wrapped around her legs. Now that she had been standing still for a while she noticed just how cold the air flowing in from the ocean was. She let her head fall onto her knees, not caring anymore if she looked strange to anyone walking by. She should be heading back to Logan and Asha to make sure Logan was alright. His condition had probably worsened since she’d left, but how could she face them again with no news of progress? She would have to admit that her plan had failed miserably and that she hadn’t found out a single thing about Finn, besides that he looked tired and hurt. She knew they wouldn’t be mad at her, but she couldn’t stop her own disappointment from spreading through her bones. No, she would need to find Finn again. Hurry through the city until she’d figured out where he was staying, even if it would take her all night.

But not yet. She could wait a little longer. Just a few more minutes of clinging to her old plan. Anything, to show that she hadn’t just wasted hours when every second counted for them.

[SFX footsteps coming closer]

FINN: Rena.

Her head snapped up and there he stood, in his blue coat that showed what he had lived through these past few days.

RENA (desperate): Finn?

She stood up slowly, staring at him until he looked away and stepped closer to her.

FINN: What are you doing here?

RENA (dumbfounded): Ehm… I… uh… Rodrick and Kalani have been imprisoned here…. Did you not notice?

FINN: Yes, Yes. I know. Of course you’re here. [mutter] That was a stupid question. [louder, snappier] We shouldn’t stay here in the open. Are you alone?

RENA: No, Asha and Logan are with me, but Logan’s hurt.

FINN: That’s suboptimal. [pause] Where are you staying?

RENA: We’ve got a room above the Red Sardine tavern, in the western part of town. It’s nothing fancy but we couldn’t afford anything better.

FINN (hurriedly): You should go back. I’ll join you later. People are waiting for me, but I should be on my own by the evening. I’ll make sure that no one’s following me, so don’t worry about that.

RENA (forcefully): Do you know anything about Rodrick and Kalani? Are they hurt?

FINN (hesitant): It’s… complicated. I can’t explain it to you now, we don’t have the time for that.

RENA (forceful): But are they hurt?

FINN: A few scratches but nothing that wouldn’t heal on its own.

RENA (muttering): Thank the stars. (regular volume) Do you think you can get them out?

Finn looked at her for a moment, his jaw tightly clenched, before he looked away, his eyes darting over the ground and the buildings surrounding them as if he was searching for something that wasn’t there. His eyebrows knit together, almost as if he was in the middle of arguing with someone.

FINN (pensive): I’m not sure. It will be difficult, but there might be a possibility. I’ll need to think about it. Things aren’t the way they should be in this town.

RENA (stuttering): What do you mean?

FINN (confused): I’m not sure yet. I- (sigh) We shouldn’t be talking about this here. Head back to your tavern, I’ll come to you later.

[SFX footsteps, stop when Rena talks]

RENA: Wait, Finn! What happened to you? Are you hurt? Did the guards capture you in Oceansthrow?

[pause]

FINN: I’m fine. I’ll see you later.

[SFX footsteps leaving]

Before Rena could say anything more, Finn had already turned around and in a few hasty steps had rounded the corner and left Rena alone on the street again.

She stood there, staring at the house he had disappeared behind for another few minutes before she finally turned around and headed back to the Red Sardine tavern.

[SFX market & ocean sounds fade out]

~~~

            [SFX far away tavern noises]

When she arrived in their small room Logan was lying on the only bed, his eyes closed and a wet towel over his forehead, while Asha was sitting on a chair next to the bed with her elbows resting on her knees. As she saw Rena enter the room, she straightened.

ASHA (concerned): How did it go?

RENA: I talked to him. Not for long, but he said he’d come here tonight.

ASHA (concerned, angry): You told him where we were staying?

RENA (slightly annoyed): He’s not going to lead anyone here! I know you don’t trust him, but I promise you he’s on our side.

[Pause]

ASHA (defeated): If you say so.

RENA: He could have gotten me arrested on three different occasions today!

ASHA (calmly, pensive): Yeah, I know. (Pause, sigh) I don’t think we have any other choice but to trust him for now. He’s our best bet to get Kalani and Rodrick out of here before they get transferred to the military academy. I asked around a bit. Tried to come up with a plan on how to get them out. We don’t have the manpower to bust them out of the holding cells, at least not without asking Cas for help, and I don’t know if we have the time for that. Our best bet would be to intercept the transfer, but we don’t know when that’ll happen and I’ve heard the wagons they use aren’t simple horse-drawn carriages. Apparently, they resemble something more like Rodrick’s vehicle. Not as fast as a horse-drawn carriage but they can go farther and the walls are reinforced with metal bars.

RENA: Finn said he might be able to help.

ASHA: (sigh) I hope so because otherwise it might just be the two of us executing this rescue.

Asha looked over at Logan, who seemed fast asleep, his chest rising and falling slowly and rhythmically. Rena approached and sat at the foot of the bed.

            [SFX bed cloth rustling]

RENA (quietly): How is he doing?

ASHA: The idiot developed a fever.

RENA: Did you find a healer?

ASHA: Yeah. They mixed up some foul-smelling drink that knocked him right out. Hasn’t woken up since.

RENA: His skin looks better. Less pale.

ASHA (dryly): The wonders that sleep can do. Maybe one day I’ll get to experience them too.

Rena stood up and lifted the blanket from Logan’s chest. She carefully pushed his shirt up to take a look at his wound, but it had been bandaged with a fabric that ran across his entire abdomen.

ASHA (dryly): With the money I’ve had to spend on him he’d better survive.

Rena pulled the shirt down and placed the blanket back over his body before sitting at the foot of the bed again.

RENA (with faked confidence): He’ll survive.

She shot Asha a warm smile until the corner of Asha’s mouth twitched up in response.

ASHA: Or we’ll hunt him down in his next life. He owes me too much money to just let him live on peacefully.

~~~

            [SFX sounds of tavern get louder and clearer]

Rena and Asha waited for Finn in the front room of the tavern, nursing their food and drink for hours so they would spend as little money as possible.

Finn snuck into the tavern after the sun had set. He wasn’t wearing his blue coat or the rest of his fine clothes. He, instead, had donned old, worn-out worker’s clothes that he’d probably found at the back of some cupboard that hadn’t been opened in several decades. He had slung a burlap sack over one shoulder, much similar to the one Asha carried with her everywhere she went as it contained her sword and their old clothes.

            [SFX footsteps coming closer]

FINN: Let’s go to your room.

[SFX cup on table, scraping chair]

Asha downed the remaining wine from her cup and got up, barely acknowledging Finn’s presence as she walked past him. When they arrived, Logan was awake and sitting up in bed. He shot them all a tired smile as they entered until his eyes landed on Finn and his eyebrows raised in surprise.

            [SFX tavern sounds go back to background, barely audible]

LOGAN (surprised): You found him?

ASHA (annoyed): [sigh] Yeah.

[SFX footsteps, heavy bag falling on wooden floor]

Asha sat back down on the chair and let the bag fall to the ground next to her before leaning down and pulling her sword out of it. She left it in its scabbard and placed it across her lap, before leaning back and hooking one arm over the back of the chair.

[Small pause]

LOGAN: Well, Finn, you look… alive. What happened?

FINN (hesitant, slightly annoyed): I ran in the wrong direction after Oceansthrow. Stumbled right into the hands of another military troop. Captain Silac was with them, the man you saw me with at the market when you were following us, Rena. He knows me, so I had to make up a story about why I stumbled out of a forest on the other side of the province when I should have been in Mellahen.

ASHA (dryly): And they believed you? How convenient.

RENA (whispered hiss): Asha! (Normal) When we got attacked, they mentioned that name. Silac.

FINN: You got attacked?

RENA: That’s how we got separated from Rodrick and Kalani. We were on our way to Baedan when a group of guards attacked us. [Murmur] So much happened that day. [Little pause, normal volume] Well, after we got back to Halvint, we found out where the Crow was staying. Logan and I broke into the house, and it got pretty obvious that they are indeed responsible for the fire. And we found my sister’s dress among their things! That’s why we were on our way to Baedan! Because we think they might be keeping her there. But the guards caught up with us outside of Halvint.

FINN: [small pause] That’s a lot. [Pause] Silac is… acting outside of his bounds. He had no right to make that arrest. There are rules and laws in place that he’s elected to twist to his own desires. I managed to take a look at your friends’ arrest papers but they don’t look correct. He’s forged charges that I know they didn’t commit and pretends he’s got the authorization from the academy to detain them. I’m… not actually quite sure why he’s done that.

LOGAN: Do you think the Crow is putting pressure on him?

FINN: Possibly. Or the Crow has infiltrated society much deeper than we initially thought.

LOGAN: I don’t know. They don’t seem like the infiltrating kind. They seem more like the we kill you if you don’t instantly agree with us kind.

RENA (hopeful): Do you know how to get Rodrick and Kalani out?

Finn shifted uncomfortably, his eyes fixed on the floor between their feet while his left hand clenched and unclenched rhythmically.

FINN (unsure): Potentially. I-it’s risky, but I don’t see any other options. Their transfer to the academy is planned for tomorrow morning. But that’s much too early. According to the usual procedures, transfers should be organised at the earliest three days after the initial arrest. One day simply isn’t enough for the correct operations to be set in place. The paperwork can’t have been finished correctly. It has to be sent to the academy for approval before they can be filed officially. I don’t know why Silac’s trying to get them out of Hollowtooth this quickly, but I don’t see how this could be a simple, innocent mistake. I’ve got a suspicion they might never arrive at the academy if we let them leave Hollowtooth.

RENA (shocked): What?! What do you mean?

ASHA: They’d make them disappear, right? Just make them vanish during the journey somehow. Lose the paperwork with them. Make it seem like they never got arrested in the first place.

Asha leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and interlacing her fingers, the sword cradled in the nook her arms formed.

Finn glanced at Asha for a second, then nodded.

RENA (shocked): No, they can’t do that!

LOGAN: Oh, they very much can [groan]

[SFX clothes rustling]

LOGAN: Wouldn’t be the first time that happened.

RENA: But…

FINN: We’re not gonna let it happen. Like I said, I’ve got a plan, even if it’s a dangerous one. I know when the transport will be. If we arrive before Silac does, I can convince the guards on duty that the plan has been changed and I’m taking over the transfer. I’ll tell them you’re my personal guards who will replace the ones who were initially scheduled to accompany the transfer. We’d simply… not drive to the military academy. We just need to hope that Silac won’t be there in the early hours of the morning when the vehicle arrives, but I doubt he would be. He has a strange way of prioritising his duties.

RENA (hesitant but hopeful): It sounds doable, though, right? With a bit of luck, we’re guaranteed to get Kalani and Rodrick out unharmed.

FINN (apprehensive): It’s a very public stunt, however. If we go through with this, Silac will know for certain that I was involved. And I doubt he’ll be all too happy about it.

LOGAN: Don’t they all know you helped us in the archives anyway. Or at least the higher echelons know. What’s one more betrayal?

FINN: I doubt they all know. And I’m not sure how Silac will react. He’s not exactly… playing by the rules. With the administrator, I could at least predict her next moves.

Asha’s eyes had been fixed on Finn for a while as if she was trying to figure out a complicated riddle. Even the news of his plan to free their friends hadn’t brightened up her expression. Finn felt her stare on him, shuffling uncomfortably any time he dared look up at her.

ASHA (calmly): Why do you have so much authority? You’re what, twenty years old?

FINN: Twenty-one.

ASHA: I doubt you climbed up the ranks through hard work, so what is it? Nepotism? Blackmail? You’re just someone’s puppet?

LOGAN (groaning): We don’t have time for this, Asha.

ASHA (calmly): I know. That’s why I’m gonna let it slide. For now. We’ll get Kalani and Rodrick out, but then I want the two of you [pause] to think about this whole situation very hard. He’s twenty-one and pushing his weight around as if he was a grand-general.

[SFX chair scrape, metal clink, footsteps]

ASHA: That’s just not adding up for a regular military career, is it?

Asha came to stand right in front of Finn, towering over him, her left hand holding her sword by the scabbard. Finn stared up at Asha, his body rigid, his hand stopping its rhythmic motion and clenching tightly into a fist.

RENA (pleading): Can we not fight? He’s clearly here to help us, Asha. I don’t see how his career is important right now.

ASHA: I just know he’s putting a bigger target on our back than we’re realising. They’ll want to get him back, whoever he is. Probably doesn’t matter what the collateral damage will be.

FINN: [pause] I can tell you later. But first, we need to discuss our approach for tomorrow in more detail. If you want us to safely get your friends out.

~~~~

            [SFX tavern noises fade out, ocean & seagull noises fade in]

Finn had brought them guard uniforms so they could blend in for the transfer. He’d had a surprisingly accurate eye for size as they all fit well enough to not be suspicious, even though they weren’t very comfortable.

Logan had insisted Rena take half of the bed so she wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor. Rena, however, had tried to argue that Asha deserved it just as much, but, of course, Asha had protested so thoroughly that Rena almost felt bad for even suggesting she’d be the one to sleep on the floor. The bed couldn’t exactly have been called comfortable, especially not with Rena’s back pressed against Logan’s sweaty body all night, but she had to admit that the floor would have been worse. This all led to none of them being well rested in the early morning, and even though Rena was relieved that she hadn’t dreamt during the night, she still felt as exhausted and drained as after her nightmare the day before.

They snuck out of the tavern in their uniforms, the clothes Valentina had given them stuffed inside their burlap sack with the rest of their belongings, and headed towards the guards’ station. Finn had told them to wait near one of the side streets where the transport carriage was supposed to pick up Kalani and Rodrick.

[SFX wagon arriving, repeating mechanical motor sound and steam sonds]

Rena’s eyes grew wide when she saw the vehicle approach. Asha hadn’t been wrong when she’d said it was similar to Rodrick’s wagon, but its sheer magnitude distinguished it from Rodrick’s now clearly homemade carriage. The guards’ vehicle still had a few remnants of a horse-drawn carriage, but not many. It was wider and more angular, with a chimney sticking out next to the driver’s cabin, which was only a small open space to one side of the wagon’s front. The wheels were bigger and larger than the ones on a carriage, reinforced by steel to make them sturdier. The vehicle was painted red and silver, with thick metal bars running over the length of it, only leaving a small opening in the back for the door.

It stopped right in front of Rena, next to the side door of the guards’ station. At first, Rena thought only one person was accompanying the vehicle, the driver, but then the backdoor swung open and four more guards stepped out. They lined up in front of the wagon with their hands clasped behind their backs, looking straight ahead like Rena, Logan and Asha had been instructed to do.

An instant later Finn burst out of the station, wearing his blue coat again.

FINN (authoritatively): Change of plan. I’m taking over the transfer. I’ve received orders from General Mirid to personally escort the prisoners to the academy as fast as possible. You will be staying here. My troop will accompany me instead.

DRIVER: All of us, sir?

FINN: Yes!

DRIVER: Captain Liberic, may I remind you that a special authorization is needed to operate this vehicle, sir? Only I am allowed to drive it, sir.

Before Finn could reply, Kalani and Rodrick were brought out in shackles. Asha and Logan stepped forward, prompting Rena to also jump into action. She’d been so engrossed by the scene playing out in front of her, that she’d almost forgotten Finn’s instructions from the night before. Her fingers felt ice cold as she took Rodrick’s arm and led him to the vehicle. She didn’t dare to look him in the eyes, afraid she’d burst into tears out of relief. She had to focus all of her concentration on keeping her face neutral, letting Logan take the lead in guiding Rodrick into the vehicle. The back portion of the wagon was divided into two sections. The side towards the driver’s cabin had been fashioned into a holding cell with bars separating it from the other side where simple benches had been built along the walls for the accompanying guards to sit on.

Asha climbed in after them and led Kalani and Rodrick into the cell, locking the door after them with the key she’d gotten from one of the guards outside. None of them said anything or dared to acknowledge the situation. Kalani and Rodrick acted like regular prisoners, and Asha and Logan acted like regular guards. Only Rena felt like she might step out of line and expose their true identities at any moment.

FINN (from outside): Fine. You can drive. But there won’t be enough space in the back for the rest of your troop. We need to leave! We’ve already wasted too much time. General Mirid is waiting for us.

Finn stepped into the back of the vehicle and closed the door and only then did Rena dare to look at her rescued friends.

---

With only 36 percent of the votes, after a very balanced vote, our companions continue on the second path.

Rena needs to find a way to get Rodrick and Kalani out of the holding cells and her best choice is probably to somehow get into contact with Finn. But how to do it? While Logan’s wound is getting worse, Asha insists that Finn isn’t to be trusted, but what other options do they have than to ask him for help?

By the end of the episode, three choices will be presented to you.

Intro music: Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone

Logo Design: Mars Lauderbaugh

Promo in the episode: Small Victories (https://www.wgcproductions.com/shows/small-victories)

Logan pushed himself upright in bed as Rena and Asha stood up from the floor.

               [SFX clothes rustling]

Cas closed the door then leaned against it and crossed their arms.

               [SFX door closing]

They were lean, with short black hair and big green eyes. They were clad completely in black which made their skin look paler than it actually was. They were wearing a loose cotton blouse and had tucked the ends of the sleeves into a pair of black leather gloves.

A faint smile tugged at their lips but didn’t reach their eyes and with the intensity of their stare, Rena couldn’t shake the feeling that a great beast had snuck into their room.

RENA: [stammering, almost like a question] I’m sorry, I didn’t know Kalani was your wife.

CAS: [jovial, with a hint of resentment at the end] No, of course not, how would you? But the other two know.

Logan slipped his legs out from under the blanket and tried to stand up, but he quickly sat down again, clutching a hand against his wound.

LOGAN: [apprehensive, in pain] Why are you here?

CAS: Well, I was tired of waiting downstairs on my own, silly.

LOGAN: No, I mean, why are you in Halvint? Why did you leave Rancor?

ASHA: I asked them to come.

LOGAN: [exasperated] Of course you did. Listen, Cas, we can fix this ourselves. Kalani probably already got away from the guards on her own and is waiting outside town. She’s resourceful like that. There’s truly no need for you to be here. And I’m sure there are more important things that require your full attention.

Rena stepped closer to Logan, afraid that if he tried to stand up again, he would simply collapse.

RENA: I think we could use any help we can get.

LOGAN: [under his breath] You don’t want to be in their debt.

RENA: [whisper back] Why not?

Rena glanced over at Cas who was staring at her without blinking, the faint smile still on their lips.

CAS: [slower] Nonsense. [with more energy] Being in my debt is as easy as milk spoiling if you forget it in the sun. It’s just a natural state of the world. I would dare to proclaim that being in my debt is easier than not being in it, am I right, Asha? Certainly easier to be in my debt than in someone like Deacon’s.

Logan’s head snapped up as he stared at Cas with wide eyes.

LOGAN: Why? What did he say?

Rena wasn’t sure what they were talking about until it dawned on her that she’d heard the name before. In the city of Rancor, after they’d found Asha and met up with Logan again, he had acted strangely even though he’d insisted everything was fine. Hadn’t he mentioned someone called Deacon then? And something about a deal blowing up?

Rena shifted uneasily, the worry of that day creeping back into her.

CAS: [exaggerated sigh] I’m not your personal records keeper, Logan. I’m sure you know yourself whichever debt you haven’t repaid yet and why he’s so desperately looking for you. Or maybe he’s simply one of your jilted lovers. Although, I think even your standards aren’t that low.

Asha stepped forward until she stood to Rena’s left, arms crossed to mirror Cas’ stance.

ASHA: Let’s not get distracted. What Deacon does or doesn’t want isn’t relevant right now.

LOGAN: [mistrustful] No, they know something.

Logan kept his gaze focused on Cas, narrowing his eyes as if he was trying to read their thoughts. Cas shrugged and pushed away from the door, before slowly stepping closer to them.

               [SFX slow footsteps]

CAS: I know a great many things, Logan. But Asha’s right, we shouldn’t get distracted. If I recall correctly, you’ve got some people to save. But what to do, what to do? Time isn’t on your side, after all.

ASHA: We need to head back to Rancor before everyone’s left. I’ve got some ideas about who could help us, but I don’t know if they’ve already left the region or not.

LOGAN: You’re uprooting the camp?

CAS: With the ruckus you’ve been making here? Of course. The military and the historical academy have infected the region like fleas, I’m not waiting around for them to weasel their way into my city.

Rena felt something twist in her stomach. Guards were swarming the region because of her. It was her fault that people had to abandon their homes and move somewhere else. How could she still expect help from these people if she was the one putting them in danger?

RENA: [hesitant] Is it a smart idea to head back to Rancor? I mean, Ocassian’s right, we probably don’t have a lot of time. We don’t know what the guards will do to Rodrick and Kalani, the longer we wait, the further away they could take them.

ASHA: Exactly, we don’t know where they’ve taken them, we need to get to people who can get us more information.

RENA: [hesitant] What about Devon? Darian mentioned he might be able to help.

CAS: You really want to trust someone who works for the Royal Council?

Cas had stepped over to the other side of Logan’s bed and had sat down on the bed Rena had slept in. They were leaning back on their elbows and had crossed their legs at the knees, lazily swinging their right leg back and forth.

CAS: The same people who are swarming the province searching for you? Who are looking away as their kingdom burns? You really think he isn’t just going to rat you out?

Cas’ eyes were fixed on hers and it took Rena all of her strength not to look away. If she dug her nails into the palms of her hands the pain would distract her enough that she even forgot to blink. Somehow, it seemed important not to let Cas get the upper hand, that they were simply here to test her and how she persevered would dictate the course of her future.

RENA: [slow voice] I don’t think he would. He knew people from Oceansthrow, I’m sure he also wants justice for them.

CAS: Oh, I bet he knows exactly who set the fire. But loyalty to friends only goes so far. If your superior tells you to close your eyes and shut your mouth, you do it, or you won’t get far in your career.

With a grimace, Logan pushed himself up from the bed, gently manoeuvring Rena to the side so he stood between her and Cas.

LOGAN: [with some effort] There aren’t a million places they could have taken Kalani and Rodrick. They might try to get them over the border or transfer them to the military academy, but I don’t think they’ve done it yet. Not with the losses they sustained yesterday. And there’s too much paperwork involved in their whole operation, they first need to prepare their arrest records and all that nonsense.

ASHA: If they’re making an official arrest.

LOGAN: Right, but I don’t think they’d veer too far from their usual protocol. I bet they’ve put Rodrick and Kalani in some holding cells in the meantime. Not in one of the smaller towns though, they need more security than that. My bet is they brought them to Hollowtooth. And if I’m wrong, we can always gather more information later. We don’t need Rancor for that.

CAS: If you say so.

Cas got up and brushed down their pants.

               [SFX clothes rustling]

CAS: We’ll see if you won’t come crawling back to me in the end, like so often. But I suppose I’ll be so kind and keep my ear to the wind. Can’t punish Rena for your stubbornness. And maybe I’ll even find them before you. Make it a little game, see who’s more competent. I wouldn’t want to put the fate of my wife solely in your hands, after all. She’s too important for that.

               [SFX slow footsteps]

They walked over to the door, hands clasped behind their back, barely regarding them anymore.

               [SFX door creaking open]

They stopped before stepping out, turning one last time to look at Rena.

CAS: Right, before I forget, I think I heard a rumour or two that might be of interest to you. Oh, but silly me, I seem to have forgotten what it was. Something or other about another survivor from Oceansthrow. Tragic that I can’t remember who or where they are. Oh well, it can’t be helped, I’m sure it’ll come back to me eventually. I’ll see the three of you around, like a headache that just won’t leave me alone.

               [SFX knocking on wood twice, leisurely footsteps leaving]

Rena’s vision blurred. She had to sit down on the bed or she might have lost her balance. Another survivor? Were they talking about Maya, or was there someone else? If they knew where Maya was, they would have surely told her. They wouldn’t be toying with her like this if it was about someone as important as Maya. But could there be more survivors besides her and her sister? Well, of course there could, there was nothing special about her. It would be stranger if she was the only survivor. But why hadn’t she heard about it until now? Had she simply left Halvint too quickly that first day after the fire? Was it someone who had been out of town and had only returned later? Or was Cas lying to rile her up? But what could they gain from that?

RENA: [murmur]: What?

LOGAN [whisper]: That’s Cas for you.

ASHA: They’re usually friendlier.

LOGAN [whisper]: Barely. [groan]

Logan sat down next to her again, his right hand holding the wound on his stomach. He lay down, his head dangling off the other edge of the bed. He ran a hand through his hair, carting through his curls with his fingers.

RENA [stunned]: Do you think there really are more survivors?

LOGAN: Wouldn’t be that strange. They might have just landed somewhere besides Halvint.

               [SFX heavy footsteps coming closer, door closes]

Darian rushed into the room, a grim expression on his face.

DARIAN: We need to get you out of here. Someone’s looking for you in town. For now it’s just one guard, but who knows when more will arrive. Devon’s managed to lead them away from the inn but they won’t stay at the other end of town forever. Logan, Valentina wants to take a look at your wound again, and then we’ll need to smuggle you out of here. Valentina can drive you somewhere if you hide behind the crates in our wagon, people will just think she’s running some errands, but we need to act quickly.

ASHA: Can she get us to Hollowtooth?

DARIAN: Hollowtooth? That would take a couple of hours [pause, sigh] I’ll talk to her, but it should be possible.

RENA: Thank you. For everything. You’ve done so much for us. I don’t even know how to repay you, but I’ll find a way! You’ve put yourself in so much danger for us and I hope you know that we don’t take that for granted.

Darian ran a hand over his short-cropped beard, averting his eyes from Rena’s.

DARIAN: [mumble] Just trying to be helpful. [clearer] But we really need to go, Valentina’s already waiting.

               ~~~~

               [SFX nature sounds, horse walking]

Less than half an hour later they were sitting in the back of a rudimentary wagon, hiding behind a wall of empty crates with a canvas fastened above them. Valentina had cleaned and bandaged Logan’s wound and had given them all old clothes. Rena had received a dark blue dress that used to belong to Valentina’s niece and was several sizes too big for Rena but stayed on her body with the help of one of Darian’s belts. She tied her hair up and hid it underneath a head scarf in the same manner her mother used to wear in the mornings.

Asha had refused to wear a dress, stating that if a fight were to break out, she’d need her usual range of motion. She’d instead gotten Darian’s old clothes – a pair of brown linen pants that had seen better days and a thick cotton blouse that could hide her armguards. She had grumbled about the odd fit of them but did recognise that her blue tunic was too easily recognisable. She refused, however, to take off her jewellery and simply hid them under the hood of a short cape. The matter of her sword was another problem. She refused to leave it behind, and Rena had to reluctantly admit that she felt safer with the sword close by, but it was too distinct not to hide it at all, so off it went into the burlap sack with their original clothes.

Logan ended up with clothes that actually looked nicer than his own, seeing as they weren’t riddled with patched-up holes.

               [SFX nature sounds slowly turn to town sounds]

The ride to Hollowtooth was agony, they barely had any space to stretch their legs and the air grew so heavy and hot that Rena felt like she might lose consciousness at any moment. It took them a few hours to reach the other town, although Rena couldn’t tell exactly how many. Her stomach had started growling halfway through the journey and her mouth had long dried up. She couldn’t imagine that her companions were doing much better – especially Logan with his wound – but neither of them complained even once, or said anything at all for that matter, so the ride stretched out in silence – making seconds feel like hours – until Valentina finally stopped the cart.

               [SFX horse walking stops, neighing, town sounds mixed with ocean sounds]

Rena was ready to burst out from under the canvas but waited diligently for Valentina to set them free. She had stopped the cart in a small back alley between two tall buildings, the alley only illuminated dimly as the sun reflected off of the white plaster of the facades. The buildings felt oppressive as if they could bend over her and crush her at any moment. She had been to Hollowtooth a handful of times, but never in this district. By the smell of it, they were right next to the sea and probably a large fish market.

VALENTINA: I can’t get you closer to the centre of town, it would be difficult to find a street without any curious eyes. You’ll have to find your destination on your own.

Rena stepped out of the cart, followed by Asha who slung their burlap sack over her shoulder and held a hand out so Logan could step down with ease. He grimaced as he landed on the cobbled street and held his side with his free hand.

RENA: Thank you so much! I’m sorry for all of the danger we’ve put you in.

Valentina hoisted the canvas back over the empty crates with some effort, gesturing for Asha to tie it down properly.

VALENTINA: It wouldn’t feel right if we let the guards get to you. But you should leave now. These parts aren’t always safe, even if they seem empty. If you follow this road to the west and head north on the main road you’ll reach the beginning of town. [pause] Logan, are you sure you’re gonna be fine? We can still find a way to get you to Rancor.

LOGAN [with some effort]: Yeah, don’t worry about me, I’ve lived through worse.

RENA: I’ll make sure to inspect and clean his wound regularly so it doesn’t get infected.

LOGAN [mumbling]: I’ve lived without a mother for over a decade, I won’t need one now either.

Rena opened her mouth to argue with him, but Asha had already said her goodbyes to Valentina and turned around, so Rena had to hurry to catch up with her.

They barely met other people on the streets although Rena could hear people working inside the buildings. As they reached the main road, Rena finally saw what was inside the big buildings. They had been built on top of the beach, meaning that the ocean flowed into some of the buildings so that ships could be manoeuvred into them. In one building further from the ocean, she saw how a ship was being newly built, workers swarming around its giant hull like ants.

Asha admonished her for looking around too much, saying that it made them look suspicious if they seemed like they’d never been there before. Rena kept her eyes on the ground from then on, although it was difficult not to glance around out of curiosity.

[SFX less ocean, more city]

As they entered the city, the streets started filling up with people. Hollowtooth was a busy place, somewhere people from all over the kingdom came to do business and visit the ocean. The houses looked newer and bigger than what Rena was used to from Oceansthrow or even Halvint, but they didn’t come close to the splendour of the Plains’ inner sections.

They headed towards town, hiding in the mass of people on the main road so they could avoid any guards who might be looking for them. Although, Rena wondered how many of the guards actually knew what they looked like. They would probably be safe if they didn’t draw any attention to themselves.

They followed the crowd to a busy market where merchants were selling all kinds of things, worst of all, food that made Rena’s stomach grumble and turn until the pain made her dizzy.

RENA [murmur]: I’m so hungry.

[brief pause, clothes rustling]

LOGAN: [murmur] Here you go.

Logan held out two fist-sized balls of dough covered in almond pieces, biting into a third one with his other hand. Rena hadn’t even noticed him stopping to buy them but she had been so distracted by the myriad of sounds and smells surrounding her that she hadn’t been paying much attention to her companions.

RENA: [astonished] Oh, thank you! I didn’t know you had money on you.

LOGAN: Oh no, I don’t.

Rena stopped for a second, the pastry halfway to her lips, but then decided that her hunger was greater than her need for the truth. She bit into the dough ball, the crunch of the almonds giving way to the sweet softness of the honey cake. She closed her eyes for a second, letting the taste of the pastry flood her senses, feeling the dough pass down her throat and to her stomach, alleviating the dull pain she’d been feeling for the past few hours.

ASHA: You better not get us into any trouble, Logan.

LOGAN: Would be the easiest way to get into the holding cells though.

ASHA: It would also be the stupidest way.

RENA: We need to find the guard station first.

LOGAN: It’s not far from here. I’ve been inside before, they really put a lot of money into that building. Renovated all of it about five years ago after some guy blew up one of the walls. It’s not a big building but the cells don’t touch the outside walls anymore. Makes it harder to escape. There’s a spot in the entrance though where you can see who they’re keeping in the cells. We could just enter the station and try to take a peek at who’s inside. Maybe we’re lucky and Rodrick and Kalani are actually here. Would be good to know we didn’t just waste our time. I really don’t think they’ve shipped them off to the military academy though, but if the Crows are in charge they might have just booked it to Baedan.

RENA: I could pretend I’m lost and ask for directions. Maybe I’ll catch a glance at the cells.

LOGAN [pensive] We could try. If you act young and sweet they won’t get too annoyed at you. The spot is to the very left. You’ll have to lean against the wall to properly look into the other room and there’s a door. If you time it right you can look past the person walking through, you just need to make sure you don’t look too suspicious.

___________

They waited outside of the guard station for a bit, observing it, but nothing seemed much out of the ordinary. Guards and civilians walked in and out with varying degrees of urgency, sometimes together, more often separately.

Logan started to get impatient, unable to stand still to the point where Rena feared he might burst and run into the station himself. So she took all of her courage into her two hands and calmly walked in, clutching her hands together so they wouldn’t tremble too much.

[SFX people talking in a room]

The station wasn’t much different from the one in Halvint. A handful of tables were strewn across the rather small room with people sitting behind them or standing around them. The wall to her left was covered in wanted posters showing the faces of supposed criminals. She slowly approached it, feigning interest in the posters although her focus was actually on the back of the room. Behind the desks, to the very left, was a door, as Logan had mentioned. Rena stopped right in front of the posters, angled so that she could see whenever someone went through the door. It opened and closed, a guard entering the front room, long enough for Rena to see the metal bars that made up the cells but too quickly for her to see any of the people they held.

Rena slowly walked the length of the wall, letting her eyes trail the posters. She couldn’t keep her mind from imagining what her own face would look like on one of these posters, what Logan’s or Asha’s or Rodrick’s would look like. What would their charges be? What might their punishments be?

A cold shiver ran through her. She knelt down, averting her eyes from the posters, and untied the bow holding up the canvas shoes Valentina had given her. She re-tied them, taking her time to flatten the ribbon perfectly to her ankle, as her eyes glanced towards the door, but no matter how often it opened, she couldn’t get a good luck at the other room.

GUARD: Can I help you, miss?

Rena shot up and found herself face to face with an older woman, maybe in her late fourties, with a weathered guard’s uniform and a serious expression.

RENA [stammering]: Excuse me, yes, I need help. I’m lost, actually. I was trying to get to the harbour, but I couldn’t find it.

She winced. She had wanted to sound more confident but the guard had taken her by surprise. She could see the confusion turn to annoyance on the woman’s face.

RENA [embarassed giggle]: I’m truly sorry. I suppose seeing all of these hoodlums has shaken me more than I thought it would. I’ve never been to Hollowtooth before and my father asked me to meet him at the harbor to help him with his stock. I’m truly sorry, I know you probably have more important things to do, but I didn’t know where else to go. Could you tell me how to get to the harbour? I would be very grateful for your help.

Rena’s eyes darted behind the woman as the door opened once more and this time it stayed open just a moment longer. Rena didn’t want to keep looking at the other room for too long, worried the guard would notice her inattention, but something caught her eye. Her heart leapt into her throat as she saw one of the people pacing inside one of the cells. A tall woman with black skin, lighter spots peppered over her face and hands.

She couldn’t be certain that it was Kalani, she would need to get closer for that, but she thought the likelihood of it being someone else had to be slim.

GUARD [slightly annoyed]: You simply have to follow the main road to the south and you’ll stumble upon it.

Rena forced her eyes to stay fixed on the guard with a soft smile on her lips. She nodded periodically even though nothing the woman said truly registered for her. The possibility that her friends were in the other room had cemented itself into her mind, so how could she concentrate on anything else?

GUARD: Follow the smell of the ocean, you can’t really miss it.

RENA [overly friendly]: Thank you so much!

GUARD [annoyed]: Just ask someone at the market next time. We aren’t map vendors, you know.

RENA: Yes, I know, I’m truly sorry! I won’t bother you any further.

Rena smiled once more at the guard then turned around, glancing one last time at the door which was now closed.

She hurried out of the station but as she reached the door she had to step aside for a larger group of people coming in and her eyes landed on a very familiar face. Piercing blue eyes above sharp cheekbones. Finn only glanced at her for an instant, looking away as if he hadn’t recognised her. He wasn’t being escorted though, he simply walked in with an entourage of guards as if he was simply part of the establishment.

Rena stood frozen for a moment, staring at the empty spot in front of her as her blood pulsed in her ears. Mechanically she opened the door and stepped out, heading south like the guard had told her.

Had Asha been right all along? Had Finn been the one to betray them? But then why had he simply walked past her? A million questions whirled inside her mind as she walked towards the market, not remembering where Logan and Asha were waiting for her.

---

With 85 percent of the votes, our companions continue on the first path.

With time not on their side, Rena, Asha and Logan decide to go look for Kalani and Rodrick right away. But where could the guards have taken them? And is Ocassian going to be any help at all?

By the end of the episode, three choices will be presented to you.

Intro music: Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone

Logo Design: Mars Lauderbaugh

Promo in the episode: He Who Forsakes The Crown (https://www.chapter15studios.com/he-who-forsakes-the-crown)

[SFX background forest noises]

[Rena, distressed whisper] “Logan, wake up.”

Logan had collapsed on the forest floor, his face buried in the mud and underbrush. Rena slowly knelt down next to him, a trembling hand reaching out to touch his forehead. He didn’t react at all, even when she pushed his shoulder.

               [SFX clothes rustling, Rena panting]

               [Rena grunting]

With great effort she pushed him over onto his back, his head dangling to the side. His face was covered in blood and his hair caked in mud. Rena positioned his head onto her lap, stabilizing it so she could wipe the hair out of his face.

[Rena, trembling voice, starts crying] “Please.”

With the inside of her wrist, she wiped tears from her own cheeks. Blood was smeared over the right side of Logan’s face, throat and down the front of his shirt. Rena unfurled his blood-soaked scarf and pulled at the shirt until Logan’s chest was uncovered. A wide gash ran above his ribcage – blood dripping onto the forest floor. It didn’t look deep – like a sword had barely grazed him, but if she didn’t stop the bleeding soon and get the wound cleaned, Logan might still die.

               [SFX muted footsteps in background, coming closer slowly]

[Rena, muttering to herself, taking deep breaths] “It’s going to be fine. I’ll get you home safe. You don’t have to worry about anything at all, just leave it up to me.”

Rena looked around, wondering what she could do. She would need to find help, but she couldn’t just leave Logan lying unconscious in the middle of the forest. At the very least, she had to get him to the road. She knew she wouldn’t be able to drag him all the way back to Halvint but she hoped she might stumble upon Asha or Kalani or Rodrick or anyone else that might help her. On the other hand, she might also bump into the guards who had been chasing them, but what other choice did she have? If she simply left Logan and ran to Halvint, she might never find her way back to him. Or worse, if she got captured, no one would ever know that he was waiting here for her. She would simply have to take the risk of dragging him back.

[Rena, muttering a bit louder] “I’ll take you to Halvint. I think I’ll have to drag you over the ground. Don’t think that will be very comfortable for you. Really sorry for that. And I’ll probably rip your clothes on the way. You’re just too heavy for me to pick you up. [sigh] But it will be fine. We’ll get to clean your wounds really soon, and then you can rest. Maybe even in a soft bed.”

               [SFX muted footsteps in background, coming closer slowly]

Rena tied Logan’s once light-brown scarf around his waist as best she could, hoping it would stop the bleeding long enough to get him to safety. She gently moved Logan’s head from her lap, got up and picked up Maya’s dress to tie around her shoulders. She leaned down and grabbed Logan under the armpits.

               [SFX clothes and leaves rustle, dragging over forest floor, Rena slips and falls]

[Rena, muttering] “Oh stars! Sorry Logan. [sigh] Okay, let’s try again.”

[SFX same time, someone calling Logan’s name from far away, getting louder with the footsteps, until it can be heard clearly and Rena stops dragging Logan]

[Asha, calling] “Logan! Logan! You better not be dead. I swear to the three winds that if you’ve stopped breathing I’ll drag you back to this realm just to beat you up. You owe me money, remember that? Logan! Logan! Answer me you godless bastard. Logan!”

[Rena, whisper] “Wait.”

Rena dropped into a crouch, making herself as small as possible. Her eyes grew wide as they scanned the forest around them.

               [SFX second loud shout calling her name, accompanied by footsteps]

Rena shot up, her body recognising the voice before she could really register who it might be.

               [SFX shout calling Logan’s name]

[Rena, yelling back] “Asha?”

[Asha] “Rena?”

               [SFX footsteps running closer]

Asha emerged from the trees, covered in mud, her clothes dishevelled. But despite the large rip in her blue tunic, she mostly looked unharmed.

[Asha, with urgency] “Are you hurt?”

[Rena, nervous, stumbling over her words] “No, I’m okay, but Logan needs help. I don’t know what happened. He stumbled towards me and before he could say anything he just collapsed. I’ve been trying to get him back to the road but he’s just too heavy for me.”

[Asha] “[SIGH] I need him awake. The guards caught the others, we need to go after them.”

[Rena, hesitant] “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Asha knelt down next to Logan, opened one of his eyes to look at it, then laid her ear to his chest. She straightened again, looking down at Logan while running a hand over her scalp.

[Rena, still hesitant] “Maybe if we hurry we can get him to safety and you’ll still be able to catch up to the other.”

[Asha] “They’d be long gone. [pause] We need to get him to Halvint first. We’ll figure the rest out later.”

She stood back up and got under Logan’s shoulder.

[Asha] “Get the other arm.”

               [SFX clothes rustle, huffing, footsteps in forest]

[Rena, with effort] “Do you think the others will be okay?”

[Asha, mutter] “I really hope so. We’ll have to talk to Ocassian. They’ll know how to proceed. Won’t be happy to hear that they caught Kalani though.”

A tightness was starting to grip around Rena’s chest, making it hard to breathe. The thought of Rodrick and Kalani being imprisoned – or worse – because of her, because she dragged them into this mess, clawed its way into her mind, taking over her whole body, and pooled itself into her stomach. They didn’t even know where Finn was. He might be dead because of her. And what about Vincent? The guards wouldn’t be as careful with a dog as they might be with a human. Something horrible could have happened to him.

She shook her head. There was no sense in thinking such dark thoughts. They could discuss what might have happened to the others and how to proceed once they were safe, once Logan was safe.

               [SFX forest fades out]

               ______

By the time they had arrived in Halvint Rena’s feet ached andshe had lost the feeling in her arms and fingers, the weight of Logan’s body still lingering on her shoulders. A headache had nestled itself behind her eyes, making her vision blurry.

Asha had insisted they remain in the safety of the trees and shouldn’t step onto the road for fear the guards were still waiting for them. They arrived back at Darian’s inn without any incidents, but without stumbling upon Kalani and Rodrick either. They were promptly shooed into one of the rooms, away from any prying eyes.

               [SFX door creaks shut]

[Darian] “Put him on the bed.”

               [SFX clothes rustle and tearing, bed creaking]

               [SFX door opens and closes]

[Valentina] “Move, let me get to him. Bring the wash basin closer.”

A short woman, barely reaching Rena’s hips, with thick brown hair tied into a braid with silver jewellery laced into it, burst into the room. In one hand she held both a stepping stool and a bundle of rags, with a bowl of whitish-green paste in the other. Rena recognised her from her previous visits as Darian’s wife, Valentina.

She placed the stool next to the bed allowing for a better look at Logan’s wounds. Asha hurried to bring the empty wash basin closer, pouring the pitcher of fresh water into the basin – a splash of water landing on the floor instead of where it could be useful.

               [SFX water hitting ground]

Rena stepped out of the way to the other side of the bed. Without hindering Valentina’s efforts, she unwrapped Logan’s scarf from his waist and pulled the remainder of his shirt over his head, and let both garments fall to the ground.

               [SFX cloth through water, ringing out cloth, wet cloth over skin]

[Valentina] “The wound doesn’t look too deep. It should heal, as long as it doesn’t get infected.”

[Rena] “[deep sigh] Thank the stars.”

Valentina dunked one of the rags in the water before cleaning up the blood. With a different rag, she picked up some of the paste and smeared it generously on Logan’s wound.

[Valentina] “We’ll need to monitor the wou-“

[Logan] “[groggy moaning] Ow. Shit.”

[Rena] “Logan?”

[Logan] “What?”

[Rena, excited] “You’re awake!”

[Logan] “Rena? [BEAT] Where am I?”

[Rena] “We’re back in Halvint. Don’t worry, we’re safe now, you’ll be better in no time.”

[Logan] “You’re okay, right? Where are the others? Ah, fuck! What’s going on?”

[Valentina] “Hush. It’s just an Aloe Vera paste. It’s going to help your wound heal.”

[Logan] “[sigh] Thank you, kind soul, whoever you are.”

[Darian] “That’s my wife, so keep your hands to yourself.”

[Logan, slurring] “Yes, yes, yes. I’m just… going to take a little nap now.”

Logan’s head slumped unceremoniously to the side again. Rena ran a hand over his head, brushing the hair back so it wouldn’t cover his face.

[Rena, softly] “You’ll be fine.”

While Valentina placed one of the clean rags over the paste on the wound, Asha wiped the remains of blood away from Logan’s chest. There was too much of it for it to all be his own.

[Valentina] “I’m going to see if I can find a shirt that fits him.”

Valentina stepped down from the stool and picked up the basin – the water now crimson. She placed the dirty rags inside of it and left the clean ones at the foot of the bed.

After Valentina had left, the room remained silent as the others observed Logan’s sleeping body. Darian had crossed his arms and was standing at the foot of the bed, his jaw clenching and unclenching as if he were deep in thought.

[Darian, exacerbated] “So… Is anyone gonna tell me what happened?”

Rena glanced over at Darian, then to Asha, unsure of how much they should say.

[Asha] “It’s a long story.”

Darian deserved more than that. They trusted him enough for shelter and help, they could easily tell him the entire story. Besides, he knew almost everything about their investigation anyway.

[Rena, a bit hesitant] “We found where the strangers are staying, the ones that you told us about yesterday. We’re pretty sure now that they’re the ones who set fire to Oceansthrow, or at least they’re part of the organisation that did it. They’ve also taken Maya. I don’t know where though but we have a lead. We tried to confront the strangers about it. Didn’t go too well. But we were on our way to Baedan because that’s where they might be keeping Maya. But we didn’t get very far. A handful of guards attacked us. Looked like they were working with the strangers.”

[Darian, after some silence] “Which guards?”

[Asha] “Didn’t recognise them. I don’t think they were from around here.”

[Darian, swearing under breath] “Shit. I’ll have to go talk to Devon.”

[Rena, concerned] “Is that safe? What if he leads the others back to us?”

[Darian] “Don’t worry, we can trust him.”

Rena glanced over at Asha, waiting for her to challenge Darian’s statement, but she stayed quiet.

[Rena, hesitant] “Okay.”

[Asha] “I’m going back to Rancor tonight to get Ocassian. We’ll need their help. I don’t know what’s going on around here but it’s bigger than what we could handle on our own.”

[Darian] “Where’s the rest of your group?”

[Asha] “We don’t know.”

[Rena] “We haven’t seen Finn since this morning and we got separated from Rodrick and Kalani when the guards attacked.”

[Darian, pensive] “If the guards caught them Devon might have heard something about that.”

[Asha] “I’ll tell Ocassian to listen to the whispers. Maybe they were seen somewhere. As for Finn… I don’t think we’ll see him again, at least not on our side of the story.”

Rena glanced at Asha again, their eyes meeting and holding for a while. She didn’t want to mistrust Finn without any real evidence but maybe Asha was right to have her doubts about him. He had either been caught by the guards or had abandoned them. Or he might even be the one who ordered the attack – even if that didn’t truly make sense to Rena.

[Darian, more decisive] “As soon as Logan’s better we’ll have to set you up somewhere safer. If the guards come looking for you, you’ll be too easy to find. Too many people know that you’ve stayed here in the past.”

[Asha] “We’ll be safest in Rancor until Logan’s fully healed.”

[Darian] “Let’s hope he’ll be able to walk on his own by morning.”

______

               [SFX fire crackling gets louder over time, children crying]

Rena stood inside the church, surrounded by children cowering underneath their school desks. She was holding Maya’s hand, gripping her tightly so she couldn’t lose her again. Heat kept her from breathing as the walls pulsed bright white, yellow and red. She turned, noticing that her brother Valerio was now holding her hand, staring at her without blinking. Rena looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where Maya had gotten to, but she was nowhere to be found. Instead, she saw that triangles were slowly etching themselves into the walls, intertwining, a line running between them and connecting them all.

[Rena, dazed] “It’s gonna be fine. We just need to find a way out of here.”

               [SFX pounding at the door, horses neighing from far away]

[Guard] “By order of Captain Silac and the Royal Council, I command that you vacate the premises immediately.”

Rena turned round and round, searching for a way out, but the light hurt her eyes too much. Fire had engulfed the furniture around her, the only things remaining were the desks the children were hiding under. Lino, her youngest brother, was now holding her hand, silently crying as he stared at the door.

[Rena] “We’ll find a way out. They won’t get to us, don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”

               [SFX tower crashes, then fire crackling stops abruptly, replaced by Rena panting, fast at first then she calms down]

She was in bed, clothes clinging to her body, her heart pounding in her ears. With wide eyes she stared at the wooden ceiling until her breathing had calmed.

Rena: [Deep settling sigh]

It had only been a dream. She wasn’t in any danger. She was safe in Darian’s inn, or at least… as safe as she could be.

She pushed herself upright and placed her forehead against her knees. Her hand wandered down to the leaf-shaped pendant around her neck, her fingers grazing the scar underneath she had gotten a week prior.

She closed her eyes and listened to Logan’s calm breaths in the bed next to hers. Her tongue still lay heavy in her mouth, a bad taste assaulting it. She slowly opened her eyes again and looked towards Logan, who seemed to have barely moved during the night.

Rena slipped out of bed to head over to him, but as she stood dizziness flooded her senses and she stumbled back down. She took a handful of deep breaths and steadied herself before trying a second time.

               [SFX footsteps bare feet on wooden floor]

[Rena, whispering, rough voice] “Good morning, Logan. How are you doing? I hope you don’t mind if I take a look at your wounds. We should probably wash it out and get you new bandages.”

               [SFX clothes rustle]

[Rena, whispering] “That doesn’t look too bad. I don’t think it’s infested. Best to put some new paste on, though, if Valentina still has some.”

               [SFX clothes rustle]

She pulled the blanket back over Logan but avoided setting it on his wound. She turned around to head to the wash basin but they had never brought a new one back in after Valentina had taken the dirty water with her. She would have to find Darian and ask him for some fresh water.

Before she could head out the room her eyes caught on Maya’s dress she had folded and set on a chair the night before. She stopped, staring at it for a while before she carefully walked over and, with trembling hands, slowly touched the fabric. She lifted it up to her nose and took a deep breath, before burying her face in it. She knew the dress couldn’t smell of their bakery anymore, but if she closed her eyes she could believe that she did smell the fresh bread.

               [SFX metal falling on wood]

Something small fell out. Rena stepped back, searching the floor until her eyes landed on a dented, golden ring with a green gem in it. She recognized it. It was her grandmother’s old ring that Maya had tried to polish and keep as her own. She bent down, stopping just before her fingers could touch the ring. Maybe it was an illusion. Maybe she was still in her dream. What if the ring disappeared once she touched it? Would it break her?

She pushed her hand forward, forcing it through the air as if through thick mud until her fingers grazed the cold metal. It didn’t disappear. She picked it up and stood back up, holding it in the palm of her hand, its weight feeling more real than the room she was standing in as if it would fall through her flesh and onto the floor at any moment. She closed her hand tightly around it, afraid she might drop it.

She could feel her throat tightening, her eyes burning, the tears welling up and slowly rolling down her cheeks.

She took a few steps until her back hit the wall beside Logan’s bed and let her body slide down. She pulled her legs close and buried her face in her sister’s dress. She wanted her back. Wanted to hold her, and run a hand over her hair, and kiss her cheek, and laugh with her, and scold her, and talk until the small hours of the morning. It hurt so much. The memories and the longing and the uncertainty and the hope that maybe, just maybe, she was still alive and Rena could see her again. If she couldn’t ever see her parents or her brothers or her uncle and aunt ever again, at least she might be able to see Maya again. If only her luck held steady. If only the universe willed it so. She would never wish for anything else for the rest of her life.

               [SFX clothes rustling]

[Logan, mumbling awake] “Hmmm. [sigh] Fuck.”

[Rena, sniffle] “Logan?”

Rena brushed the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

[Logan, exhausted] “Yeah.”

[Rena, sniffle] “How are you feeling?”

He raised a hand into the air and waved it around before letting it fall down to the bed again.

[Rena, tired] “Yeah.”

[Logan, groaning] “Everything hurts.”

[Rena] “I could ask Valentina if she has anything that could make the pain bearable.”

[Logan] “Like a whole bottle of wine. The really deep red one from up north.”

[Rena, chuckle] “I don’t think that would be wise.”

[Logan] “I never claimed to be a wise man.”

Rena looked out over the room, her eyes idly fixed on the door in front of her. The quicker she got up, the quicker Logan would feel better, but she just couldn’t get herself to move. She was too tired. The dress and the ring felt too heavy, like they were keeping her in place.

[Logan] “How are you?”

[Rena, after a pause] “I’m okay.”

[Logan, quietly, after another pause] “Liar.”

               [SFX footsteps outside, door opens, footsteps inside, door closes]

[Asha] “You’re both awake. Good. Ocassian is waiting for you.”

Asha stepped into the room, fully dressed with her sword in its scabbard at her side, as if she’d already been awake and active for a couple of hours. She stopped when she saw Rena and frowned down at her.

Rena instinctively rubbed at her eyes again to get rid of the last remaining tears – the ring still digging into her closed fist – and forced a smile onto her lips.

Asha frown softened as she shot Rena back a small smile.

               [SFX blanket rustling, Logan grunting]

[Logan, groaning] “Nope, no, bad idea.”

Logan lowered himself back down, admitting that his plan to get up had been terrible, and draped both arms over his eyes.

[Asha] “Don’t force it.”

               [SFX footsteps]

[Logan, dismissive] “Yeah, yeah.”

Asha stepped closer, unbuckled her scabbard and placed it on Logan’s bed next to his legs. She headed to Rena and sat down next to her.

[Asha] “How are you holding up?”

Rena kept smiling, ready to say she was doing fine again, but the moment passed without any words escaping her lips and slowly her smile faded. She looked down at her sister’s dress in her lap, then opened her hand to reveal the ring, her palm pale white where it had dug into her flesh.

[Rena, quietly] “It fell out of Maya’s dress.”

               [SFX clothes rustling]

[Logan] “Did the Crow leave it in there?”

Rena shook her head calmly.

[Rena] “It used to belong to my grandmother, but Maya wanted to keep it for herself. I’ll need to take care of it until I can give it back.”

[Asha, bit of silence] “You see these arm guards? They used to belong to one of my brothers. He died a few years ago, when we were still back home.”

[Rena] “You have brothers?”

[Asha] “Had. Mostly.”

[Rena] “I’m truly sorry. You must miss them terribly.”

[Asha, a little pause] “And it never gets easier. You can only accept that your life is different now and there’s no going back. I spent months after his death bargaining and trying to figure out all the possibilities how he could still be alive, but it was all just a waste of time.”

[Logan, muttering] “Harsh.”

[Asha] “What I’m trying to say is, because those months were agony for me. Even now I still catch myself thinking that he might be out there somewhere. And I know that he isn’t. He died that day and I have to live with that knowledge. There’s nothing to be done about it. [small pause] I don’t want you to go through the same pain.”

[Rena, mutter] “But-“

[Asha] “I know that you found your sister’s dress, and I’m not telling you to abandon your quest, but we have to acknowledge the fact that this might not be the definitive proof you’re hoping for. It’s strange that they would keep her dress, I’ll give you that, but I need you to tell me that you know that finding this dress might not mean what you think it means. That … she might still be gone.”

[Logan] “There’s better ways to say that-.”

[Asha, harshly] “Stay out of this.”

Asha kept her eyes on Rena, dark and piercing, full of sorrow and desperation, something Rena had never seen on Asha’s face before.

[Rena, small voice] “I know.”

[Asha, after a small pause] “Good. [pause] You know I’m not saying this to be harsh. Clinging to the idea that she has to be alive to the point where you disregard any other possibilities will only lead to sorrows.”

[Rena, small voice] “Yeah, I know.”

[Asha] “If she is still alive, we will find her. I can promise you that. But there will be a time when we might have to give up our search.”

               [SFX quick footsteps, door flung open]

[Cass] “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the fuckers who lost my wife. Logan, lovely to see that you got what you deserved. Rena, darling, I extend my deepest condolences to you and a vow to help you in any way that I can. But now to the important questions. How exactly are you planning to get Kalani back to me?”

---

 Season 2 has finally arrived! Get ready to accompany Rena on her quest to uncover what truly happened to her hometown and to find if her sister is truly still alive. But first, she’ll have to get her group of adventurers back together, and maybe get some new companions.

CW: vague mentions of wounds and blood, fire, PTSD induced dream.

 If you are interested in getting a copy of A Searing Faith, the novelisation of season 1, while it is on sale, find it in your favourite retailer here:
https://books2read.com/A-Searing-Faith

By the end of the episode, three choices will be presented to you.

Intro music: Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone

Logo Design: Mars Lauderbaugh

Promo in the episode: Packhowl Media (https://www.packhowlmedia.com/)

A fire. A lost home. A cover-up to be unravelled. Rena knows she can’t be the only one who survived the fire in Oceansthrow, not after finding evidence that her sister might still be alive. But where is she? And what does the Crow want with her?

Who even is the Crow? All evidence points to them being responsible for setting the fire. A strange cult obsessed with the Gods people forgot about centuries ago. A cult the guards and the Royal Council seem to be working with. But Rena will soon realise that they’re not the only ones operating in shadows and that their connection to the kingdom goes deeper than she or her companions realise.

She first has to find her companions though. Logan is hurt, Finn has disappeared, and Rena doesn’t know what happened to the rest of her crew. Did the Crow kidnap them, did the guards lock them up, or did they manage to get away? New allies will join her on her quest, and one of them isn’t all too happy that Rena let the guards get to their wife. Ocassian, Sovereign Outcast of the city of Rancor, has been looking into the fire and the strange circumstances surrounding it. Most of Rena’s companions are connected to Cass, but how much should Rena really trust them? Will they actually help Rena find her sister or do they have other plans in mind? But how much can Rena trust the rest of her companions anyway? And what about the strange fox that helped her find her way out of the forest?

Help Rena get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the Crow and find out if she truly isn’t the only one who survived the fire that took her family away from her. The Heart Pyre comes back September 28^th. Episodes will be posted every 3 weeks to give listeners more time to vote for how they want the story to continue.

---

The time has finally arrived, Season 2 will start soon. On the 28th of September to be precise. Get a small taste of what’s to come in this trailer.

If you want to be informed right away anytime a new episode drops so you don’t miss your chance to vote, consider subscribing to the newsletter:

https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/371877/89157946310657076/share

Intro music: Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone

Logo Design: Mars Lauderbaugh

This is a bonus episode narrating the first three chapters of A Searing Faith, the novelization of the first season of The Heart Pyre.

If you’re interested in knowing more about the book or buying a copy, follow this link:

https://www.audreymartinbooks.com/novels

If you want to sign-up for the newsletter to be notified whenever a new episode drops, follow this link:

https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/371877/89157946310657076/share

Content Warnings: fire, death, child death, graphic depictions of wounds, vomit

Intro music: Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone

Logo Design: Mars Lauderbaugh

Intro
Welcome, to the Heart Pyre.

The novelization of the first season is out now as an ebook and paperback, so I thought I would read the first three chapters to you so you can see what changed and what stayed the same.

If you want to support the show, consider checking out the book. I’ll leave a link in the show notes.

I also wanted to say that I now have a specific newsletter for the podcast that will inform you whenever there’s a new episode, so you’ll never miss your chance to vote for how the story continues.

Chapter 1

Rena’s siblings ran around her in a whirlwind of giggles, almost knocking down the two plates she was holding.

“Sit down!” she told them, unable to hold in her laughter. She knew she had to be sterner, but how could she yell at them when their joy was so infectious?

“Stop being so loud,” her third brother, Valerio, mumbled as he sat at the table — having outgrown childish glee over the last couple of months.

“Did you wake up Mom like I told you to?” Rena asked, managing to step around her younger brothers and place the plates on the table.

“Yeah, yeah,” Valerio replied, breaking a bread roll in two and letting the steam rise up from its centre.

“I’m awake, stop worrying,” Rena’s mother called, stepping into the kitchen, her curly brown hair sticking out in every direction. “Thank you for preparing everything, my love,” she said, leaning in to kiss Rena’s cheek.

“I made you some anchovy paste,” Rena told her mother, nodding towards the bowl sitting next to the sink.

“What luck it is to have you in our lives,” her mother replied, putting the bowl on the table in front of her designated seat, before stepping out of the kitchen again.

“Maya, breakfast is ready!” Rena shouted, leaning over to glance down the corridor.

“Did you know—” Lino, the youngest of the bunch, said, arriving at the table. “—that if you feed cows nothing but carrots, they make orange milk. Or maybe purple, depending on the carrots.”

“Is that so?” Rena said with a smirk, turning towards her brothers again.

“What if you feed them both carrots?” Savio, the last of her brothers, asked. “Would the milk be orange and purple, or would it make brown?”

“You are both so stupid,” Valerio mumbled into his bread. 

“Be nice,” Rena whispered as she placed the jug of olive oil next to him.

The front door opened, and Rena’s uncle stepped into the room. He was a tall, burly man, almost filling the entirety of the doorframe. The resemblance to her father could be seen in the wide amber eyes, and the dimple in his right cheek, but his skin was much darker than her father’s — a deep golden brown from working outside in the sun most days, which also showed in the wrinkles around his eyes.

“Good morning everyone!” He bellowed with a wide smile, stepping closer to stand behind Lino’s chair. “Ready for the new week?”

“Why are you already here, Simón?” Rena’s mother asked, as she walked back into the kitchen, tying a red and purple scarf around her hair.

Rena tried to meet her mother’s eyes, to beg her to not start another argument with her uncle, but her mother simply stepped past her.

“The sun rose an hour ago. You should be happy I didn’t arrive when it was still night.”

He leaned forward and picked up the bread roll from Lino’s plate.

“Hey!” Lino cried out, turning to try to get the bread back.

“Where’s my lovely brother, then?” Simón asked, tearing a piece of bread off the roll before popping it into his mouth. He passed the roll back to Lino with a ruffle of his nephew’s hair, smudging him with flour residue.

“In the bakery,” Rena answered, placing mugs of fresh milk on the table in front of her siblings. “He’s had a new idea.”

“Hopefully something useful,” her uncle chuckled nervously.

 “Either way, it smells delicious!” Rena’s mother replied, sitting down next to her eldest son. “Valerio, put something on the bread, don’t just eat it naked like that.”

 “Doesn’t matter how delicious it smells to you if people won’t buy it, my dear Amalia.” Simón sat down on the chair that usually belonged to his brother. “We just talked about this last week. We’re not in the big cities here. People don’t buy things they’ve never heard of before, they buy what they know and can trust. They can’t afford to waste money on something their children won’t eat.”  

Rena closed her eyes for a moment, bracing herself for what was to come. She had hoped they wouldn’t have to start the week like this, but with how tense the situation in her family had become over the last couple of months, she felt stupid for ever wishing for calm.

“You take everything too seriously,” Rena’s mother replied, waving him off. “The situation is nowhere near as dire as you make it out to be. People don’t want to eat the same old food day in, day out.”

“Can we at least eat before we start fighting again?” Rena muttered.

“We’re not fighting,” Amalia said, shooting her brother-in-law a quick smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“So how many of those do you actually sell full-price?” Simón continued, ignoring his niece’s request. He stared at Rena’s mother, his smile gone, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the table. “How many do you have to put on sale at the end of the day because they didn’t sell? Excuse me if I don’t want the mill and the bakery that my great-grandfather already operated to be sold off because you couldn’t bother making the right kind of bread.”

The children had fallen silent, all pretending to be enraptured by the food. Rena put a plate in front of her uncle, and smiled at him.

“We’re not going to lose either of them,” Rena replied, forcing her voice to sound cheerful. “I’m going to help out more after school. I can bake the regular loafs, and Dad can continue making his new recipes, then people can choose which ones they like best. We’ll just reduce the amount we produce so we won’t need to throw any of them out.”

He looked up at her, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something. Instead, he sighed, and glanced down at his plate.

“I’m just saying,” he started again in a softer voice, looking up at Rena’s mother. “If you would relinquish at least one of the two to me—”

“Stop it.” Amalia pushed away from the table, standing in the same motion. “We already talked about this, the mill and the bakery can’t be separated, they operate as one. We can’t just give up one of them.”

“They only operate as one because of the way you work,” Simón snapped back. “They could very easily be separated.”

 “They have operated like this for twenty years, they will continue operating like this for twenty more. And look at us, we can’t even eat breakfast together without fighting. How do you think it would be if we had to work together?”

“I know money has been a bit tight lately,” Rena interjected, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. “But we can fix that. I’ve got a plan for the following weeks, and I made sure it was to everyone’s liking. It’s going to be fine, just give us a chance to show you.”

She stared deeply into her uncle’s eyes, pleading for him to finally relent. He held her gaze for a moment, then quickly raised his eyebrows and looked away. The tightness in his jaw, however, revealed that this would not be the last time he brought up the subject.

“She even went around and asked people which goods they liked the most,” her mother added, gesturing widely with her hands. “And then she made us a schedule of when to bake what. Never before have we baked with a schedule, but if my dear Rena thinks that’s what we need to do, then that’s what we’ll do.”

She came over to Rena and took her daughter’s face in her hands, smooshing it together before planting a big kiss on both cheeks. Rena couldn’t help herself but break out in a big grin, and the tightness in her stomach slowly unfurled.

Her uncle didn’t say anything for a while, just observed them, before getting up — the chair screeching as it pushed back.

“Don’t put too much pressure on her,” he said wearily.

“I’ll be fine,” Rena told him, the smile still on her face. “I like the work, and if I want to take over the bakery one day I need the experience anyway.”

“Really hope you can take over,” he muttered before turning to Rena’s mother. “So, what is this big plan of yours? Shouldn’t you already be baking? People are starting to get hungry.”

“Yes, yes, yes, stop pressuring me,” her mother waved him off, turning around to walk out of the kitchen. “I’m already on my way.”

Rena finally sat down, breaking open the bread roll on her plate and pouring a small trickle of olive oil and sprinkled some salt on it.

“How are you guys doing?” her uncle asked, coming to stand behind Lino again. “Everything all right with school?”

He opened the flood gates, and Rena’s younger brothers started rattling off, in minute detail, all of the events of the previous week.

“Where’s your sister, by the way?” Rena’s uncle asked when conversation had clearly moved past his initial question.

“Still in her room, like always,” Rena answered before taking a bite from her breakfast, relishing in the warmth of the fresh bread and the salty aroma of the olive oil. The last knot in her stomach loosened at the prospect of finally touching food.

“Rena, my love, come here for a second,” her mother called from the hallway.

Rena swallowed quickly and excused herself from the table. Her mother was in the big pantry, next to the entrance to the bakery, where they kept all the ingredients they needed for their products. Rena and Maya had just spent all of Saturday afternoon cleaning it and rearranging the containers, but somehow her mother had managed to undo all of their hard work. Half of the boxes were now laying on the ground, a large portion of them opened, their contents spilled onto the ground.

 “I can’t find the rosemary,” her mother told her, pulling another box off of the shelf and opening it.

“Are you sure we still have some?” Rena asked as she walked around the room, finding the empty box labelled “rosemary” and picking it up to put it back on the shelf.

“I thought we did.”

“I didn’t see any on Saturday when I was cleaning.”

Her mother chuckled, handing Rena the box she’d just opened.

“Maybe we should have checked which herbs we still had before finalising your lovely plan.”

“We’ll just have to change some things around and make another kind of bread today. We still have a lot of wild garlic and basil. We can just make what we had planned for Friday instead.”

Rena put the box back onto the shelf, and reached down to pick up the next box while her mother busied herself trying to find rosemary.

“No, no, no. I told Carmen and Irma that we would have the rosemary bread today. They’re already waiting. And I’m sure half the village knows about it by now.”

“Mother! You need to make sure we can actually bake the breads before telling everyone we’re going to sell them.”

She shut her eyes and dug her nails into her palms to calm herself before more words could tumble from her mouth. Getting angry at her mother wouldn’t help the situation either.

“Oh, don’t be like your uncle,” her mother chastised.

Rena took in a long, deep breath and opened her eyes again, reminding herself that soon she would be done with school and then she could manage the bakery full-time.

“I suppose I could go into the forest and collect some,” Rena sighed. “Miss Kaari would understand. I’ll just ask Tala if I missed anything important.”

“Oh Rena,” her mother whispered, stepping away from the shelf to take Rena’s hand. “You don’t have to miss school because of my carelessness.”

“It’s okay,” Rena said softly, smiling to hide her disappointment. “We’re only doing reading in the mornings. I’m pretty good at it already. Usually I just help out the younger pupils.”

Her mother took her face in both hands and smiled at her.

“You are such a blessing to this family, my love,” she said and kissed her slowly on both cheeks, before stepping away and picking up one of the boxes from the ground. “Take your sister with you. If it’s the two of you, you’ll be done quicker, and then you can go to school in the afternoon. She doesn’t pay attention when she’s there anyway.”

“I’ll go ask her.” Rena nodded and stepped out of the pantry.

Maya was sitting on the floor of their bedroom, a box of jewellery in front of her, the necklaces and rings strewn across her lap. She looked closer to their father’s side of the family, her skin a touch darker than Rena’s light copper colour, although her eyes were the golden hazel of their mother’s side, while Rena’s eyes had the same amber colour her father and uncle had. They had both, however, inherited their father’s thick, dark brown hair, that Rena wore in long waves beyond her shoulders, and Maya wore only to her chin.

“I’m going out to gather some rosemary in the forest, would you come with me?” Rena asked, stepping closer to her sister.

Maya held a leaf-shaped pendant up to the light, turning it from side to side, before bringing it back down to her lap and rubbing the rag she was holding in the other hand over the side of the pendant.

“Busy,” she finally mumbled, not looking up.

Rena crouched down next to her, wrapping her arms around her knees, and observed her sister.

“What are you doing?”

“Cleaning some old stuff.”

Rena tilted her head, her gaze wandering over the dirty and corroded jewellery.

“Those are grandma’s old necklaces,” Rena said, reaching out to pick up one of the necklaces.

“Mmhmm. Found them in a box in one of the cupboards.”

Rena observed her sister for a while without saying anything. She liked the spontaneity in Maya’s heart — that she could see something and decide on the spot what had to be done – even though it could be frustrating at times when she ignored her responsibilities for it. It was a refreshing contrast to their parents — who said they would remember to do something later, and then forget about it.

Rena didn’t actually need help gathering the herb from the forest. It might take her a bit longer, but she really didn’t mind. The jewellery didn’t deserve to be forgotten in an old box anyway.

“Here, for you,” Maya said, finally looking up to hand Rena the necklace she had just polished.

“Thank you.” Rena smiled and put the necklace on. The pendant made of green enamel was in the shape of an alder tree leaf — almost the outline of a heart — and hung on a simple brass chain. She picked the pendant up to look down at it, her thumb stroking its outline. “It’s so pretty.”

Maya riffled through the rest of the jewellery.

 “I’m trying to figure out which one to give to Mom. That one’s the prettiest, but I’m keeping this for me.” She picked up a golden ring with a square green gemstone that looked like it had barely been worn, and slipped it on her right middle finger, even though the ring was clearly too big.

“Maybe this one,” she added, picking up another golden ring, this one with dents and a corner of the gem chipped. “I’ll have to clean it a bit more though.”

“I remember Grandma wearing that to a wedding once,” Rena replied.

She smoothed the necklace and pulled her long hair away from it.

“Don’t forget to go to school, okay?” Rena told Maya as she rose to leave. “Miss Kaari will be cross with you if you keep missing classes.”

“I know how to read. I don’t need to waste my time waiting for the others to catch up.”

“You could help them, you know,” Rena mentioned, placing her hand on the door frame.

“That’s your job,” Maya muttered, her eyebrows knitting together in concentration as she tried to bend the links of a chain back into place.

“Right.” Rena chuckled softly, and turned away.

Chapter 2

Rena walked through the forest, avoiding the young seedlings and puddles that had formed the night before. She lifted the hem of her beige dress with one hand, an old basket filled with various herbs in the other. A chilly breeze flowed through her hair, her fringe braided back so it wouldn’t constantly fall into her face.

She couldn’t really tell how long she had been in the forest, but by the way her stomach grumbled she had probably already missed lunch. She navigated her way back to the road, taking the long way around to avoid the larger puddles. When she reached the road, however, it seemed different from how it had looked it the morning. The dirt and gravel had been stirred up, forcing Rena to walk on the thin strip where the grass started growing so she wouldn’t get stuck in the mud. She cursed whichever king or lord or margrave had decided to march their battalion through these forests instead of using the well-paved roads further north. She slipped and almost fell, but managed to catch herself without losing too many of the herbs. Why did the military have to ride on these roads when all of the big, important cities in their province were in the west — and she knew it had to have been the military, because who else travelled in such large groups without leaving wagon tracks?

It began with the smell. Something biting and acrid crawled its way down her nose, her hand automatically shooting up to cover her face. She couldn’t place the stench, but as she continued walking it grew stronger. Her frown deepened as she realised she was smelling fire. Not a cosy, wooden fire that fills your heart with warm feelings of home. It was a vile scent that brought horrible news with it. It smelled of burned wood, scorched dirt, hot metal, and behind it all was a smell that Rena’s mind didn’t dare place. Something that made her stomach tighten and turn. It tore its way past her hand and down her throat and clutched itself to her lungs so it would never leave her mind again. She tried to imagine what could emit such a smell. Maybe the butcher’s shop in town had burnt down. Maybe someone’s field had caught fire and their life stock had tragically been involved. Her mind didn’t dare wander further than that.

Next came the light. With every step she took, with every bend in the road, the horizon grew brighter. The trees were lit up by a pulsing orange glow, its heart blazing up into an engulfing white that seemed to suck any last hope out of Rena’s heart. Her lower jaw dropped open, and the stench crept its way over her tongue as vomit rose up her throat. She dropped the basket, the herbs spreading across the road in front of her. She straightened back up, pressing the heel of her hand against her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her father’s friend, Jesper, had a field with goats close to this road. If it had caught fire, it could explain the bright light and propagating smoke. She wanted to turn around and run away, to never find out where the smoke that was covering the road in front of her was coming from, but she forced herself to press on.

Last came the sound. The sound of cracking wood, falling roofs, searing haystacks, and popping bones. But in some ways, it was very silent. No wind, no birds, no mice. Like nothing dared come near this forsaken place. Maybe they were right. Maybe it was a bad idea to continue on this path. Maybe she should trust her instincts, turn around and never look back.

The heat finally reached her when she approached the last bend before her village. From this far away, the heat caressed her like the warm embrace of a campfire on an autumn evening. A speck of dust landed on her nose. Dust? She frowned, and glancing upward, realized it was ashes falling from the sky. Her eyes grew wide and she frantically tried to wipe the specks of ash away, tried to shake them out of her hair, but she couldn’t avoid their relentless descent. Her breaths came in quick and shallow, the heat and the smoke clawing at her being with every gasp. She couldn’t blink anymore, her eyes staring at the outlines of the trees in front of her, prickling and burning. She tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, fat and swollen. Her palms were sweaty, and although everything else on her felt scorching hot, her fingers were ice cold.

She pressed on, her left hand holding her dress so tightly that her fingers were going numb. Her feet were taking her faster and faster, evolving into a trot until, finally, she ran towards the fire. The end of the road came into view, and with it, the inferno where her village should have been. She came to a halt a few meters before the entrance to the village, her legs weak and buckling under her. She fell to the ground, her hands and knees hitting the mud hard. She didn’t mind the dirt getting on her clothes anymore; she was shutting out the heat that scorched her eyebrows, and completely forgot about the smell that tugged on every fibre of her being. She barely even noticed the sting on her skin as the leaf-shaped pendant Maya had given her only hours before burned its shape onto her. She looked up, taking quick, shallow breaths, her eyes wide, set on the remains of the first house beyond the path — the one that belonged to her father’s friend, Jesper. Only two thick, vertical beams remained, engulfed in smoke and flame.

Her whole existence was in that village, her whole existence was that village. And now it was standing in front of her, brighter than the sun could have ever been, and there was nothing she could do about it. Her body stood still for an instant, frozen in the heat surrounding her, and then a deafening scream escaped her, tearing at her throat, as if everything she was, everything she had ever been, and everything she would ever be tried to leave her at once.

Chapter 3

Slowly, over time, the heat and the smoke that surrounded Rena subsided, making it easier for her to breathe again. The flames that had licked their way up the church tower were slowly retreating as they found less and less material to latch onto.

Rena still sat on the ground, the cold of the muddy road finally seeping through her dress and creeping up her legs and back. Her mouth was dry, her throat throbbing from the smoke and screaming. Every time she blinked it felt like a million needles were meticulously stabbing every millimetre of her eyes.

None of this felt real. Not what her skin could feel, or her eyes could see, or her nose could smell. But she couldn’t claim it felt like a nightmare either. A nightmare would have ended by now. She would have woken up, drenched in sweat, and her mother would be comforting her. Her mother, who had surely been behind the counter at the bakery when the fire broke out. Who might still be in the bakery, unable to escape without her help.

She pushed herself up, her body shaking with the effort. Her fingers were ice cold, and moving them hurt her joints. She almost slipped and fell back down, but she managed to brace herself on her hands, the shock sending a wave of pain through her body. As she stood up she wrapped her arms around her chest, her beige dress caked in mud and falling heavily around her legs.

She looked out over the village, her breaths coming in shaky and shallow. She turned around to look at the forest around her, her arms drawing tighter. Her surroundings were getting dimmer, the sun low on the horizon. She had been sitting on the ground for so long, waiting for the fire to ease off. A tightness formed in her stomach, her eyes going blurry, thinking that if she had acted quicker, gotten up right away, she might have been able to help someone but that it might now be too late. That she might arrive at her home, her family dead, reaching out for her, waiting for her to save them.

Bile clawed its way up her throat and she vomited acid, her stomach having been empty for a while. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and forced herself to stand upright, her gaze ahead to where her home should be. Her eyes were wide open, unblinking, tears quietly streaming down her face, as she pushed ahead and started walking. From the corners of her eyes, she could see what little remained of her village. How the front of Maggie’s soap shop still stood upright even though there was only debris behind the windows and she could see the sky through them. How the produce stands in front of the ruins of the food store remained untouched, the vegetables and fruits covered in ash. How Tala’s home was nothing more than a smouldering mass.

She followed the faint outline of the streets until she reached the eastern side of the village, her uncle’s house in front of her. The roof had caved in, taking with it most of the building. What remained of the white façade had turned black around the door and windows, the green-painted wooden frames still smouldering. Her throat tightened up, making it impossible for her to breath until a long wail escaped from its hold. She folded in on herself, crouching down and putting her head between her knees, her arms wrapping over her.

She couldn’t do this, couldn’t take this anymore. She didn’t want to face her own home in this state. Didn’t want to find her family lying underneath all of the rubble. She should have left, just run away and never looked back. Start a new life and live with the belief that, somehow, her family had survived and were living a happy life somewhere.

The call of a crow broke through the silence, answered shortly after by a second crow. Rena slowly looked up, her jaw trembling uncontrollably. Another caw, this time from a different side. She glanced around herself, realising that soon the animals would dare to come closer to the village. Realising what these animals would do to the people when they found them.

She stood and turned away from her uncle’s house, walking down the row of her neighbours’ collapsed houses until she stood in front of the all too familiar light-yellow façade of her family’s home and bakery. The mill stood a few meters behind the house, still mostly intact as it was made of solid stone, only the roof and the blades having crumpled.

As she stepped closer, the pungent smell of burned flesh that she had managed to block out until now became stronger, threatening to make her vomit again, but there was nothing left in her that could escape.

The roof of her house had caved in on the left side, although it seemed mostly unharmed over the bakery. The windows had burst open, black columns running up the exterior wall. Both doors were still closed and barely damaged, as if she could open them and just step into an undamaged building. She reached a shaky hand towards the door to her house but quickly flinched back when she touched the scalding hot metal of the handle. She stopped then, unsure what to do. She tried to simply push the door open with her shoulder but it didn’t budge. She looked around herself, trying to find something that could help her, wondering for a second if she should climb through the broken windows.

She walked over to door of the bakery, touching the handle carefully with the tips of her fingers before grasping it and slowly opening the door. A wall of smoke drifted out, making her cough. She pushed the door open wider to let the smoke escape and tried to peer into the room, but the light from outside didn’t penetrate very far. She pulled the collar of her dress over her nose and stepped inside. The front of the room seemed mostly intact, but the further she got the more chaos there was. The shelves behind the counter had collapsed, spilling the loaves of bread all over the floor. The glass panes of the counter had exploded, shards mixing with the bread on the ground. She stepped forward towards the door that lead to her house, careful not to step on any shards and have the glass pierce through her canvas shoes. One of the shelves had collapsed in front of the door, although the fire didn’t seem to have touched it. With great effort she pulled it aside, just enough to be able to open the door. She wrapped the hem of her dress around her hand and pulled the door open, another wall of smoke hitting her.

She waited a bit for the smoke to calm down, then squeezed herself through the opening. The floor was littered with ash, dust and debris from the roof, a collapsed beam blocking her way to the other door. She looked up and was able to see the sky, only a few beams remaining above her.

She knew that it wasn’t safe to stay inside the house, that something might fall down on her at any moment, but she had to at least try to find her family.

“M-mom?” She croaked out, her throat aching from the effort. “Mom,” she called out a second time, louder. Her voice echoed back to her but no one answered.

She stepped over the rubble lying on the floor, almost slipping on the ashes, and made her way to the kitchen at the end of the hallway. The door wasn’t closed completely and she was able to push it open. She froze when she saw the outline of a foot lying on the ground. She stopped breathing and just stared at her mother’s shoes.

Rena’s hand slowly came up to her mouth, her jaw trembling as her breaths came in shakily, faster and faster and faster, her vision going blurry. She had to hold on to the doorframe or she would have collapsed. She pushed the door open further to reveal the rest of her mother’s body, lying face down on the ground, buried under two large beams. The fire had barely touched her but like the rest of the house she was covered in soot and ashes.

“Mom,” Rena said weakly, knowing full well that she wouldn’t get a reply.

She stepped closer until she saw a smaller body buried underneath her mother’s arm, his face buried in their mother’s chest.

“No no no no no,” she repeated under her breath as she tried to approach them.

She stepped onto one of the beams but it croaked and groaned, dust drizzling down from the ceiling. She tried to step over it, to get closer to her mother and brother, but no matter how she approached the beam, it threatened to shift and bring the rest of the roof down with it.

A large sob escaped her throat and suddenly she couldn’t stop herself from wailing, a long cry escaping her throat. She cried until her lungs burnt and her throat ached and no sound escaped her mouth anymore. She could taste the ashes on her tongue, could feel them clinging to the inside of her nose.

Somewhere in the back of the house something collapsed, the deafening thud accompanied by a wave of heat and dust. When the smoke had settled again she glanced around, panic suddenly overtaking her that she might end up buried in the house with her family. She straightened and turned around, every muscle in her body aching. She wrapped her arms tightly around her as she walked away from the lifeless bodies of her mother and brother.

She had thought she would be strong enough. That she would be able to bury them, to give them the dignity they deserved after death, but she couldn’t do it. Her heart ached too much. Never in her life had she felt this much and this little at the same time. Like her entire being was composed of grief that there was no space left for anything else. She squeezed her way through the door again, the glass on the floor of the bakery cutting through her shoes.

She turned left as she exited the bakery, her gaze fixed on the ground, unwilling to look up at the destruction that surrounded her. Something caught her eye, a glint on the ground to her right. She paused and frowned as her eyes scanned the area until they landed on something metallic. She stepped closer and reached down to pick it up. It was a dull, golden ring, its socket empty from the gemstone it once held. Her eyes grew wide as she recognised it. Her grandmother’s ring, the one Maya had said she would keep to herself.

Rena looked up, her hand automatically reaching towards her new pendant as she frantically glanced around at anything that could indicate that Maya was still around. How could the ring have ended up here, on the street outside her house? Had Maya dropped it? Had someone tried to steal it?

She noticed that what looked like drag marks lead away from her and only a few metres up ahead lay the green gemstone. Rena rushed towards it, picking it up and holding it tightly in her fist next to the ring. She followed the drag marks towards the centre of town before they vanished. She looked around desperately, trying to find where they picked up again, but the ground was so stirred up and covered in ashes that she couldn’t find them anywhere.

The church tower suddenly collapsed in on itself, sending a cloud of ashes into the sky with a loud, dull crash. A wave of heat hit Rena a heartbeat later, pain radiating over her skin. She closed her eyes tightly and turned her face away, her hand coming up to cup her nose so she wouldn’t breathe in the ashes. She drew her face towards her lap, waiting for the blast to wash over her.

After a moment, she carefully opened one eye, and peaked out at the ruins in front of her. She shot up when she saw a hand poking out of the ruins of the church. She hurried closer, careful to avoid the rubble of the tower that had spread over the streets.  Small pieces of paper floated through the air and covered the ground — some empty, some with printed letters, and some with the shaky script of children’s handwriting.

She kept her eyes fixed on the hand, determined to at least help whoever was stuck beneath the church. As she approached, her whole body started to shake and go stiff at the same time. She stopped in front of it, looking down at the red flesh the fire had exposed, flecks of ashes covering the open wounds. Whoever the hand belonged to was stuck underneath a thick wooden beam, their body hidden underneath the rubble.

“Don’t worry, I’m here to help,” she told the hand in a barely audible voice. “Everything’s going to be all right. I’ll get you out of here and then we can look for help together.”

The words failed to reassure even herself as she crouched down and reached a hand out, forcing it to advance and touch the wooden beam that trapped the body. Her hand was shaking so badly that it took her a while before her fingers made contact with the wood. Its surface was still warm. She breathed in and the stench of burnt flesh flooded her senses, forcing her to turn around and gag. She started sobbing silently, her hand covering her mouth, the other clenching down on the ground, her fingers digging through the layers of ash and debris and gravel.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered over and over as she got up. 

Slowly, stiffly, she reached down, holding her breath while both her hands came to grip the edge of the beam. She tried to lift it, but her body hurt and her muscles were too tense and the beam didn’t even creak with her effort. She stood up and turned away to breathe in, before turning back around and trying again, putting all of her remaining force into the attempt. This time she managed to lift the beam slightly, not enough for anyone to be able to crawl out, but enough that the other beams lying on top shifted, and the one she was holding onto slid back, making her lose her footing and fall on it. She tried to catch herself and push herself back up but her shoe slipped on the layer of ash and she tripped, bumping her elbow on a sharp rock.

The wooden beam had fallen onto the arm again, and because of its displaced location the arm was now sticking up towards the sky, the edge of the beam burying into the soft flesh of the forearm, cutting a wide gash into it.

“Oh stars, I’m so sorry,” Rena muttered, scrambling back towards the beam, pushing against it to try to move it backwards. But her effort caused the beam to further open the wound, revealing bone, and trickles of blood fell to the ground.

“No, no, no,” Rena murmured, her hands reaching towards the wound, but never quite touching it, unsure what she should do. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” she repeated over and over as she scrambled upright and backed away, her breath coming in quick and ragged.

Her foot stepped on something hard and Rena stopped, glancing down before she could tell herself it might not be a good idea. Her muddy shoe covered whatever it was, so she carefully stepped back, revealing what looked like a wooden figurine — a bird of some sort — the body long and pointed with the wings spread out to its side, almost like a cross. She looked out over the ruins around her, noticing that similar figurines were sticking out of the mud as if they had deliberately been placed in a circle around the old church. Her eyes grew wide in horror at what this could mean. That someone had arranged them here, willingly, while the fire was raging. That that person might be responsible for setting the fire in the first place.

She shook her head violently, reaching down to pick up the figurine, before backing away from the church, turning around, and running towards the road that would lead her to the nearest town, Halvint. There was no point in thinking such horrible thoughts. This must just have been a terrible accident. An unintended fire that spread from house to house. Luck had simply abandoned them. Once she reached Halvint she was sure to meet someone else who had escaped the fire, maybe even someone from her family. Maya might have escaped, simply dropping the ring while running away.

She stumbled over the road as the sun hung low on the horizon, barely visible above the tree tops. Her eyes had glazed over as she stared out into the endlessly repeating road in front of her. She had wrapped her arms tightly around herself, her feet aching from the gashes she had received in the bakery and the long distances she had had to walk. She felt empty inside, like her being had left her and only her body remained on this wretched road.

She heard something approaching, something that sounded like a badly made machine, with a lot of clanking and humming and buzzing. She looked at the end of the road in confusion and saw a light approach, slowly, and as her eyes adjusted, she could make out the outline of a caravan, but where there should have been horses there was nothing. A chimney jutted out of the wagon’s rear, smoke coming out of it in thick clouds. In the front, in the driver seat, sat a person, with an unruly white beard and dishevelled hair.

Rena stopped in the middle of the road, unsure what to do with this approaching contraption; afraid of this stranger but relieved that she wasn’t alone anymore.

“Oh, hello there,” the man called out to her in surprise before she could make a decision, and the wagon slowly came to a halt with a loud screech.

Outro
I hope you enjoyed this bonus episode. As mentioned, there is a link in the show notes if you’re interested in buying the book. It is called A Searing Faith, and is available as ebook and paperback from most major stores.

Season 2 should start releasing at the end of the summer, so if you don’t want to miss the release, consider subscribing to the newsletter. I also added a link to it in the show notes, but you can also simply to go theheartpyre.com and you’ll find the option to subscribe to it there.

As always, if you like this podcast, consider leaving a review, telling your friends about it, or supporting it on Ko-fi or Patreon. 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.

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