Welcome to The Heart Pyre. This is episode 27, Winding Roads. As a warning, this episode contains some scenes in confined spaces.
[SFX ocean and seagull sounds, dock working sounds]
An ice-cold shudder ran down Rena’s back as she realized she hadn’t just imagined the eerie voice; that the fox must have truly spoken to her. She didn’t dare breathe, her eyes fixed on the animal as it slowly stood up, its tail waving calmly from side to side.
But what kind of fox could speak? And had it truly spoken, or had she simply heard the voice in her mind? Not that it made a big difference, either option wasn’t natural, but after what Silac had done to Rena and her companions, anything seemed possible.
RENA [murmur]: Did you hear that?
ASHA [concerned]: Hear what?
Asha and Rodrick followed her gaze, their confusion growing as their eyes stumbled upon the strange animal.
RODRICK [confused]: Is that…. a fox?
RENA [dazed]: The same one.
[small pause]
RODRICK: The same one as what?
FOX [otherworldly, commanding]: Come!
The fox leapt up and turned around, disappearing into the small street it had been standing in front of. Rena’s body jerked forward as if it meant to follow the animal, but Asha grabbed her arm, her fingers digging into Rena’s flesh until it hurt.
ASHA [mistrustful]: What is that?
Rena stopped despite every cell in her body screaming at her to follow the fox. And even though Asha’s grip shot pain up her arm, she didn’t dare wrench herself free, afraid that if she wasn’t held back, she’d simply run ahead.
RENA [scared]: I’ve been seeing the same fox over and over again. It was in the Plains, and the archives, and the forest near Oceansthrow, and I even saw it when Captain Silac attacked us. It’s been following me and I think it just spoke to me.
Her legs felt restless, her skin itching all over. If she couldn’t move soon, she’d lose the fox once more.
RENA [scared, restless]: I-I need to follow it.
ASHA [mistrustful]: It spoke to you? From that far away?
RENA [unsure]: Yes! [small pause] I-I don’t know. It told me to follow it. I need to know what it wants.
RODRICK [calm, mistrustful]: Now, Rena, are you sure that you heard it? I’ve never known of a fox, or any other animal for that matter, capable of human speech. I think if such a thing was possible, everyone would be aware of it, don’t you think? I certainly didn’t hear it speak just now. Did you, Asha?
ASHA: No.
RODRICK (concerned, calm): I’m sorry to tell you this, but you might simply be tired, Rena. Sometimes our mind plays tricks on us if we didn’t get enough sleep and then we can start believing that we hear sounds that were probably just the wind. And there must be a lot of foxes in big cities – they’re opportunists after all, and it’s much easier for them to live off humans’ leftovers than it is to hunt – I highly doubt that you saw the same animal twice, especially if you saw it in the Plains. Foxes don’t typically travel that far.
It felt so belittling. She knew she was young, and she knew she was tired from their journey, but that didn’t mean she was making it up! How had Rodrick experienced Silac’s strange ability but couldn’t believe her on this? After everything they went through, didn’t he trust her? Or might he be right and she was genuinely that exhausted? No, the fox had to exist. She’d seen it too often. If she’d heard the voice however, she wasn’t all too certain about, but she knew that she hadn’t made up the fox.
RENA [determined]: It is the same one! I’m sure of it. And it isn’t just the markings. It’s the way it’s staring at me. I’ve seen plenty of wild foxes in my life, this isn’t one of them. It doesn’t act like one. I-It’s like it’s seeking me out, like it wants something from me, but I don’t know what!
The longer they waited, the more restless Rena became, as if something was pulling at her, and she didn’t like that feeling at all. She’d never felt like this before when she’d seen the fox but it had never spoken to her before either. It scared her, reminding her of what Silac’s commands had felt like, even though it wasn’t completely the same. Silac’s control had felt wrong. This feeling almost had a sweet undercurrent to it, like it was trying to tell her she’d be safe if she followed.
She needed to know what the fox wanted. Why it kept following her. Even if she didn’t fully trust this feeling, she couldn’t keep living her life afraid the fox might appear at any moment, not knowing what it might do next, and that meant she’d have to follow it. It had to have something to do with their whole situation, with the Crow and the destruction of Oceansthrow and the disappearance of her sister, even if she didn’t know what yet. And it had helped her once before, it might help her again. Maybe even show her how to get to her sister. How to save her.
She turned to Asha, who was still holding onto Rena’s arm.
RENA [desperate]: I need to go after it. Please.
RODRICK: I don’t know if that’s the wisest use of our time. We need to find Kalani, after all.
RENA [whisper]: Please.
Asha looked at her, deep concern clouding her dark eyes before she looked up and stared at the passage the fox had disappeared into. For a long time, she didn’t say anything at all. A tightness formed around Rena’s heart, the urge to slip her arm out of Asha’s grasp and just run away rising, but then Asha nodded once and let go of Rena.
RENA [murmur]: Thank you.
Rena couldn’t let Rodrick and Asha know about the feeling pulling at her. They certainly wouldn’t let her follow the fox if they knew about it. She focused on her breathing, clasping her hands in front of her and digging her nails into the flesh of her palm so that the pain would overshadow this strange urge.
ASHA [determined]: But we have to be careful, you hear me?
RENA: I promise.
She smiled at Asha, then at Rodrick, trying to reassure them as best as she could. Rodrick didn’t look too convinced at first but soon he sighed and reciprocated her smile.
RODRICK: I suppose we can spend a bit of time figuring out this mystery instead of our usual ones, as long as it isn’t going to take up our entire afternoon.
RENA (excited): It won’t!
[SFX multiple sets of footsteps]
Rena whirled around and almost leapt forward, but then stopped herself and forced her feet into a more regular stride. They walked past the dock workers on their lunch, murmuring a quick greeting in passing, before entering the narrow passage between two buildings the fox had stood before. Rena craned her neck in the hopes she could still see a flash of orange but the road bent to the right a few meters ahead. She picked up her pace, dread rising in her that the fox might already be gone. She dashed around the corner and almost ran into a worker coming from the other side.
RENA (murmur): Sorry.
[SFX footsteps jogging closer, then stopping]
ASHA (hiss): Didn’t I say to be careful?
RENA (embarrassed): Yes, I know, I’m sorry. I just don’t want to lose its trail.
[SFX footsteps pick up again]
Heat rose to her cheeks but luckily Asha didn’t say anything more. Rena forced her steps to stay in line with her companions’, mentally cursing Rodrick for walking so slowly, then admonishing herself for the thoughts. She knew that Asha was right, that she couldn’t simply run ahead without knowing where she was going, but that didn’t mean Asha had to talk to her like a child. They would never catch up to the fox at this pace and then they’d have truly wasted their time for nothing. Rena hated that the others didn’t feel the same urgency as she did, that everything had to be approached slowly. The fox’s appearances had to mean something, they couldn’t simply be a coincidence, not with how often she’d seen it, not considering it had spoken to her. She had to find out what it wanted, for Maya’s sake.
The afternoon sun illuminated their way but the high buildings surrounding them cast the narrow street in shadows. The roads in this part of the city had clearly been built a long time ago, with carts having carved grooves into the stones underneath their feet over the centuries. The walls around them had once been white but had long since acquired a brown and green tint. The salt of the ocean still lay heavy on the air, while the cacophony of the docks faded slowly into the background.
[SFX dock working noise getting dimmer]
They walked for a bit, then turned another corner, to the left this time, only to see that the passage curved right again a few metres ahead. Rena stopped after having rounded the second corner, a flash of orange dashing away from her.
She leapt forward, her body moving before she could even consider waiting for her companions.
RENA: Quickly!
[SFX footsteps quicken]
Luckily, no one told her to slow down this time. The fox disappeared between two buildings, into a passage that was barely wide enough for one person to fit through. Rena didn’t wait, quickening her step so she wouldn’t lose sight of it.
[SFX ocean and seagull sounds getting dimmer]
The fox was always just a few metres ahead even though it seemed much faster and nimbler than Rena. Maybe it was waiting for her behind each corner? Rena couldn’t explain it any other way. Especially after she had to turn sideways to fit through some of the passages.
ASHA (dim in background): Rena!
She wasn’t sure anymore where in Hrevim she was, or if she was even still in Hrevim. The walls around her grew higher, casting her path in shadows. She didn’t have time to think about what a strange route the fox was weaving, that these passages shouldn’t have existed. In the back of her mind, she knew that something wasn’t right, that there was no reason for a city to have been built like this, but if she stopped to reconsider her actions she would lose the fox’s trail and that wasn’t an option.
ASHA (dim in background): Rena! Wait!
[SFX Rena’s footsteps getting louder, faster and more echo-y]
She rounded another corner and was faced with a long and narrow street. The fox had disappeared but there weren’t many options where it could have gone to. The end of the street looked like a luminous dot as if the dark passage led to a wide road that basked in sunlight. But first Rena needed to get to it. She ran ahead until the walls almost grazed her shoulders. A few metres further and she had to turn sideways to fit through the narrow space.
[SFX background noises dim and faded; Rena’s footsteps stop; all you can hear is her breathing]
She advanced quickly until she realized that she couldn’t turn her head anymore. She paused, her eyes fixed on the dot of light in front of her, the dot that never seemed to come closer. She knew with certainty now that the fox had led her somewhere that wasn’t truly in Hrevim. Where she actually was, she couldn’t even begin to imagine. She listened for her companions’ footsteps, unable to turn her head to look for them, but there were no sounds besides her breathing. She tried not to panic even though her fingers felt ice cold and her lungs started to cramp. She didn’t have much space to expand her lungs but she tried to take as deep breaths as possible, knowing that if she’d started to hyperventilate she wouldn’t be able to think of how to get out of the situation. She only had two options, either marching on or going back. She didn’t know what awaited her further but would she be able to find her way back to the docks? If she wasn’t truly in Hrevim, there was no guarantee that the way she’d come from would lead back into Hrevim. She couldn’t assume that this new space worked rationally, not after everything that had happened over the last few days. Everything she’d known before had turned out to be wrong in some form, she couldn’t fully trust in logic anymore. No, she needed to continue ahead. The fox had led her to safety before, she needed to trust it once more.
[SFX breathing stops]
She closed her eyes, breathed out as far as she could and pushed her shoulder forward. The rough surface of the walls scratched against her back and chest, tearing at her dress. She took small steps, having to force her body forward, her hair tangling against the stucco of the walls. Her lungs started to cramp but she had to keep going. There was no going back. Her vision started to blur, white dots appearing before her eyes, joining the one she was trying to reach.
[SFX ocean and seagull sounds become more present, crowd sounds appear faint in background]
With her last strength, Rena pushed ahead and stumbled to the ground. She’d reached the end of the narrow passage. The glistening sunlight blinded her and only after blinking a few times could she see that she was in a new street, one that looked like it should – wide enough for two carts to pass through with houses to either side. She breathed heavily and looked up in astonishment. Across from her was an old tavern, with festive ribbons hung in front of its windows, but it didn’t seem open yet.
Rena looked around, relieved that there were no other people around her. Her head turned to the left and she held her breath. A few houses down the street, sat the fox, its shining orange eyes fixed on her. She slowly stood up, brushing down the dirt from her dress, all while keeping her gaze on the fox. It didn’t move this time, even when Rena took a careful step towards it.
RENA (shaky): What do you want?
[small pause]
FOX: You have to hurry.
Rena: Why?
FOX: Your time is running out.
RENA (confused): What? What does that mean? [small pause] Is it about Maya? Is she in danger?
FOX: That’s not for me to tell you.
RENA (confused, getting slightly angry): Why?
FOX: You’ll have to figure it out on your own.
RENA (angry): Then what was all of this about? Why did you make me chase you through all of these streets?! Why are you following me?! Just to tell me that I have to hurry? I know that I have to hurry! But how is telling me that helpful at all when you can’t even tell me why?! Is it about the Historical Academy? Or about Silac? Is it about Maya? If you can’t tell me then why are you here?
FOX: I have my reasons.
RENA (angry): You’re no help at all! All you did was make me waste more time! Was that your plan? Do you actually work for the Crow?
FOX: I don’t work for anyone.
RENA (angry, getting shouty): Then why are you here?!
A knot tightened in her stomach, twisting until she couldn’t breathe anymore. She couldn’t understand it. There had to be a reason for the fox to seek her out besides telling her that her time was running out. She knew that. She knew that if she didn’t find Maya soon, something bad might happen to her. But she didn’t know what. Why couldn’t the fox simply tell her how to save her sister? Why did it insist on being so enigmatic?
But maybe she simply had to think about it differently. Put what the fox had told her into a different light. Was it trying to tell her that she shouldn’t get distracted? That Silac and Deacon and the Historical Academy didn’t matter? That they were just a distraction from her actual goal? But what about Jesper? Now that she knew he was still alive, she couldn’t just let him believe that the destruction of Oceansthrow was an accident. She needed him to know the truth, to know that she was trying to right the wrong.
[SFX footsteps running closer]
Someone grabbed her arm and turned her around.
ASHA (angry): Rena! Have you lost your mind?!
Rena whirled back, panicked, and saw that the fox had already vanished. A few metres ahead, an old church split the street. The fox could have disappeared either down the right or left side of it. Rena slipped out of Asha’s grip and ran ahead, stopping when she’d reached the church, frantically looking from side to side, unable to decide which path was the right. The church had boarded-up windows, its façade full of carved symbols and words. Rena dashed to the right, then thought better of it and headed left, but there was no sign of the fox.
ASHA (angry, yelling): Rena!
[SFX footsteps running closer]
ASHA (under her breath): I should have never agreed to this.
Asha grabbed her arm again, her fingers digging into Rena’s flesh until it hurt.
ASHA: Why are you just running ahead? You don’t even know where you’re going! Did your parents never warn you how dangerous cities can be?
RENA (angry): Stop treating me like a child!
ASHA (angry): Then stop acting like one!
RENA: Why don’t you trust me? I know it’s dangerous but you can’t coddle me like an infant! How are we supposed to figure anything out if we’re always too cautious to progress? Was I supposed to just let the fox escape?
ASHA (annoyed): Ok, fine. You want to be treated like an adult? Then don’t come crawling back to me when things get messy.
RENA: I’m not asking you not to help me at all. I just want your trust! I know that I can’t do everything on my own, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t make my own decisions.
ASHA (growling): Trust is earned.
RENA: And until then you’re going to keep me locked up in a box so that I can never get hurt or lost, is that it?
ASHA: Maybe I should.
Rena opened her mouth to reply but no words came to her.
RENA [heavy sigh]
Her eyes drifted past Asha, unable to withstand the furious gaze in the other woman’s eyes. She saw Rodrick emerge from the narrow passage between two houses, but he didn’t struggle at all. In fact, the street looked just as wide as any other street, even wide enough for a cart to pass through. Rena frowned and looked at the other side of the street. The tavern was right there, which meant it had to be the same passage she had forced her way out of. She looked down at her dress, expecting it to be ripped from when she brushed against the wall, but besides some dirt around the hem, it looked untouched.
Asha finally let go of her, took a step back and crossed her arms.
ASHA (calmer tone, still slightly bitter): Did you at least catch up to the fox?
[small pause]
RENA: Yes. It spoke again.
ASHA: Hmm. What did it say?
RENA: That I needed to hurry.
ASHA: Why would you need to hurry?
RENA (unsure, annoyed): I-I don’t know. I think it has something to do with Maya. But it wasn’t very clear. It said I had to figure it out on my own.
[small pause]
[SFX footstep coming closer]
ASHA: So, all of this was for nothing?
RENA: No! I don’t know why the fox is acting like this, but it has to mean something! Maybe Maya is in danger. Maybe the Crow is planning something big soon. A-at least it told me that it isn’t working for the Crow.
ASHA (bitter): Or it’s playing tricks on you.
[SFX footsteps stop]
RODRICK (heavy breathing): Rena, I have to say, I’m a bit worried about you today.
A bitter taste formed at the back of Rena’s throat as heat rose to her cheeks. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked out towards the other end of the street.
RENA (muttering): You don’t have to be.
RODRICK: This behaviour truly isn’t like you. To chase a wild animal through the narrow streets of a city you barely know is extremely dangerous.
RENA (muttering): So I’ve heard.
RODRICK: And this talk of the fox speaking to you… Rena, I just can’t condone it.
RENA (angry, snappy): Then don’t but don’t tell me you wouldn’t have done the same if you were in my shoes! The Crow has had Maya for over a week.
RODRICK (murmur): We can’t be sure of that.
RENA (angry, snappy): Stop it. I’m well aware that she might be dead, but what’s the point of dwelling on it? She’d still be dead in a week or month or year. But if she is alive, then we don’t know how much time we have, because we don’t know what they’re planning. What if they want to use her in that ritual you found? What if she was the last component they needed?
RODRICK: I don’t see what that has to do with the fox.
RENA: I don’t know either! But how are we supposed to find out if we don’t follow it? Wouldn’t you have done anything to save your son if you could have? Asha, I know you would have done the same for your brother!
ASHA (grumbly): Careful where you’re going with this.
The intensity of the anger in Asha’s eyes knocked the breath out of Rena’s lungs and the zeal that had coursed through her just a moment ago evaporated just as quickly as it had appeared.
RENA (hesitant, develops into desperation): I… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I just… I know the fox has something to do with all of this. A-and maybe it’s just playing with me but maybe it isn’t! And we can’t find out if we don’t meet it where it wants us to meet.
RODRICK: Alright, alright. I understand where you’re coming from. But I agree with Asha that we should be careful.
RENA (defeated): I know, I’m sorry.
ASHA: [heavy sigh] I would have done the same. But just because I would do something doesn’t mean it’s a good idea, understood? [mutter] It’s annoying how much you remind me of my brother. [louder] We’ve wasted enough time blabbering on. Let’s try to find Kalani. You can consider yourself lucky that the fox led us somewhere that I actually know. There’s a broader street not far away, let’s go there first.
______
[SFX market crowd noises]
They passed the church and soon emerged onto a wider road, as Asha had mentioned, one bustling with activity. In front of almost every building stood a decorated stall selling a myriad of different foods, drinks and trinkets. Even though no large banners and ribbons hung above their heads like the rest of the city had, the stalls and houses were still adorned in the same blue, white and red colours. A thin line of gold had been added to the mix, waving around the other colours as if it was tying them together.
After her initial astonishment, Rena soon noticed two things: the stalls were giving away their wares for free – like she had seen happen in the city of Rancor – and the majority of the stalls had some sort of mechanical apparatuses on their table. Most of them looked old and rudimentary – ranging from turning plates displaying a variety of drinks to an undulating fish with red, flaking paint – but seeing just how many existed shocked Rena. She would have never expected to find such wonders in even the most regular of streets in Hrevim. She had been to cities before, why had she never noticed such devices? What made Hrevim so different from all the cities in Vellashta that she’d never gotten the privilege to experience such a delight before?
With a wide smile, Rena let her eyes wander over each and every stall but then a question made her pause. Wasn’t Tide-bringings still a few days away? Or had she truly lost all sense of time? Did they celebrate earlier in Hrevim than what was usual in Vellashta? That seemed like a strange change to Rena, especially if it was only a few days. The rest of the city had only started decorating, so why was the festival already in full swing on this street? Had the fox made her lose a whole week when it’d led her through those strange streets?
RENA (confused): Isn’t it too early for Tide-bringings?
ASHA: This isn’t Tide-bringings.
RENA (confused): Then what is it then?
ASHA: It’s what existed before Tide-bringings. Zaeuun. The southern islands have been celebrating it for centuries, the mainland only adopted it recently.
RODRICK: I wouldn’t call two hundred years recently.
ASHA: Compared to the age of the dirt we’re standing on, it’s definitely recently. And this travesty that the Royal Council has turned it into is even younger than that.
RODRICK: Oh, no, no, no, Asha, that’s not a nice word. Traditions change naturally with the people celebrating it.
ASHA (bitter): Only if it’s the change the Historical Academy wants to see.
RENA (suddenly) Wait! Over there!
Rena pointed at the other side of the street where a group of three people had just exited a house next to a stall selling intricately carved, wooden fish.
ASHA (confused): Is that…?
RENA (excited): (shouting) Kalani! (regular) See, I told you the fox was going to help us!
RODRICK: What did I tell you about drawing hasty conclusions?
Kalani turned around, scanning the street with furrowed brows until her gaze landed on Rena who was eagerly waving at her. She tilted her head, her eyebrows relaxing for just a moment before drawing back into a frown. She turned back to her companions, spoke a quick word with them, then jogged across the street to join Rena and the others.
KALANI: What are you doing here?
RENA (excited): We were looking for you!
KALANI (concerned): Why? Did something happen?
Rena opened her mouth, but then paused, not sure where to start.
RENA: Yes, well, a lot actually. I ran into an old friend of my father’s who also survived the fire in Oceansthrow! He was with Deacon and a lady from the Historical Academy.
KALANI (shocked): What? Deacon’s here?
RENA: Yes, uhm, he’s looking for Logan. But Jesper, my father’s friend, he doesn’t know that the Crow set the fire! He thinks it was all just an accident.
Before she could say anything more a hand grabbed her arm and jerked her back.
ASHA (under breath): Silac.
RENA (shocked hiss): What?
As Asha dragged her back into the street they’d come from, Rena’s eyes frantically scanned the space around them, until they landed on Silac, and her heart froze. He was standing with his back to them in front of the undulating fish, only the side of his face visible to Rena, but that was enough to see the look of disgust on his face and the faint traces of the yellow-green veins, giving his complexion a sickly tint. Next to him stood another man in dire condition, a man Rena had barely thought about over the last few days. Michael looked paler than she’d remembered, with dark shadows under his eyes – although whether it was from a lack of sleep or an injury, she couldn’t tell.
Asha (hushed): I know where it’s safe.
Asha led the back past the abandoned church, down the street with the tavern, until she stopped at a small house, its façade a dull, greyish white with faded red window and door trims. As they got closer, Rena noticed a symbol carved into the door, a simple flower pattern in a circle. She wasn’t sure why it had grabbed her attention, she was sure she’d seen it on other buildings before, until it struck her that she’d also noticed it in Rodrick’s notebook the first morning they’d spent in Halvint. She grabbed Rodrick’s sleeve and tugged at it, then nodded at the symbol.
RENA (hushed): Do you know what the flower means?
RODRICK: The flower? It’s beautiful, right? As far as I could gather from my journeys, it’s a symbol of luck.
Kalani stepped up beside Rena and leaned closer.
KALANI (hushed): It welcomes spring. Every year, people carve it anew to hope for a bountiful harvest.
RENA: The same way Rodrick mentioned the symbols of the old Gods being carved into stone over and over to pray, right?
KALANI: Less frantically. People only carved it once a year. Otherwise, you’d soon have a hole in your door.
Asha knocked on the door once, then opened it and walked in. Rena felt a bit uncomfortable just entering a stranger’s house without being invited in first but she also didn’t want to stay out in the open where Silac could find her at any moment. They stepped into a room that held a cast-iron stove and cooking utensils to the left and a large table with a dozen chairs of varying styles to the right. A short, older woman stood near the stove, staring at them in astonishment, absentmindedly stirring in the large pot in front of her.
MANIALA (astonished): Asha! Look at how much you’ve grown! I haven’t seen you in so long.
The woman’s face lit up as Asha stepped closer. She had even darker skin than Asha and short-cropped, tightly-curled, white hair. She was dressed in an elegant tunic, with different layers of dark red and orange, tightly fit around the chest and loose from the hips down. It looked quite similar to Asha’s tunic, although the woman’s had long sleeves. Thickly-rimmed glasses adorned her nose, although they seemed too big for her slender face.
ASHA: You saw me five years ago, I haven’t grown since then.
MANIALA: Has it already been five years since Nura’s funeral? Oh, how time flies. And who are your lovely friends? Did you come to introduce me to your new spouse?
ASHA: I’d rather skin myself alive than get married. Maniala, everyone. Everyone, Maniala. My aunt’s cousin.
Asha walked over to the table and sat down on one of the chairs.
MANIALA (happy): Are you all hungry? You surely must be. Sit down, I’ll bring you some stew. Asha, your cousin should be arriving soon too, he’ll be delighted to see you again!
ASHA: I doubt it, he never liked me in the first place.
As much as Rena tried to protest, there was no dissuading Maniala from feeding the whole group. Rena didn’t actually feel all that hungry, not after the balls of fish they’d already been offered earlier, but the stew smelled delicious and she was curious to know what it tasted like. The smell didn’t disappoint, the taste was just as good. It was a hardy stew – with roasted eel, olives and garlic – and Rena felt right at home with it.
While Maniala dotted on them and brought them drinks and cakes, Rena explained everything that had happened that day to Kalani – at least as much as she dared say in front of a stranger.
ASHA: And then she made us follow a fox through half the city.
RENA (mumble): It definitely wasn’t half the city.
KALANI: A fox? The one you saw after our encounter with Silac?
RENA: Yes! Exactly!
Asha (dismissive, almost mocking): Apparently it spoke to her.
[small pause]
KALANI: What did it say?
RENA: That we needed to hurry!
KALANI: Hurry with what?
RENA: It didn’t want to tell me.
KALANI: Hmm.
Kalani looked at her stew pensively, spooning a bit of the liquid before letting it trickle down again.
RODRICK (careful): Certainly, we can all agree that there are no such things as speaking foxes.
KALANI: There is so much in this life that you know nothing about, Rodrick, even with your fifty years of research.
RODRICK: But not animals with cryptic messages.
Rena wasn’t sure if she should also mention the ever-narrowing passage. She knew that Rodrick would only dismiss her again, but Kalani seemed open to the reality of the fox. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, keeping an eye on Maniala who was at the other end of the room riffling through her cupboards for something more she could offer them. Only then did Rena notice a sort of bird in the corner of the room, a device similar to the fish she’d seen outside, just much smaller and probably older. It didn’t have much of a distinct form and most of the colour had already faded away but every few minutes it jerked into a new position in an imitation of life.
KALANI: Rodrick, I think your head would melt off your shoulders if you learned of all of the things I’ve encountered before. I’ll have to think about whether this fox is a good or bad sign.
RENA: It has helped me before! When I was lost in the forest near Oceansthrow, it showed me the way out. And I led us to you today!
ASHA: Or it led us to Silac.
Rena opened her mouth to protest but she had to admit that Asha was right, that they’d seen Silac only moments after finding Kalani. Their afternoon could have gone very differently if Silac had been facing the other direction.
KALANI: It’s just another piece of the puzzle we need to keep in mind. But let’s circle back to the other thing you told me. Your father’s friend is still alive? That sounds like good news, at least. Not too sure I can say the same about Deacon being here.
RENA: Can’t Logan simply speak to him? I’m sure the dispute could be resolved if they talked it through.
KALANI: I’m not too sure about that. Logan doesn’t always like to admit fault and Deacon isn’t the calmest conversationalist either, especially not when he’s angry.
RENA: Is … Logan at fault?
KALANI: Partially. You’d have to ask him for the details, I just know that they’d planned on getting some documents from some noble’s house and it ended with Deacon in a cell for five days.
RENA: Oh…
KALANI: Logan claims that he warned Deacon that his plan wouldn’t work out, but who knows what truly happened. We should meet up with Logan and Finn again. I don’t think we have much time to collect more information, not if Silac’s already here. We’ll need to act quickly from here on out. If what I gathered is correct, I might know where the Crow is staying. And I sent a letter to Cass. If luck is on our side, they’ll be able to send us some help.
Rena nodded solemnly, her eyes drifting down towards her empty bowl. Emotions warred against each other in her chest. On the one hand, she was happy that Kalani agreed with her, that she wasn’t simply the young, anxious girl making things up, but on the other hand, it only served to feed her fear and worry. If even Kalani said that they had to hurry, then there was no denying it, and they’d soon have to confront the Crow.
Maniala stepped closer with a smile, having found a tin box with candied fruit that she sat on the table next to all the other food she’d already offered them. Rena looked up at her and reciprocated the smile, even if it was with a heavy heart.
RENA: I really like your bird.
MANIALA: Oh, that old thing? They’re everywhere on Boerom.
RENA: Boerom? Where’s that?
Rena welcomed the change in topic. With how much had already happened that morning, she could feel the exhaustion settle in her bones.
ASHA: The most western of the Grey Isles. And they’re not everywhere. Not anymore.
RENA: Why not? They seem lovely. I’d be delighted to have one in my home.
[small pause]
ASHA: They were outlawed after the takeover.
RENA: Oh… Why?
ASHA: I don’t know. I’m sure they found some fitting justification. Too dangerous for children or something stupid like that. They don’t quite like that we have our own way of living, especially not the new warden.
MANIALA: Oluvad never signed off on any of these new rules. He’s a good man! It’s all this Royal Council meddling in our affairs.
ASHA (annoyed): Oluvad also hasn’t been the warden of the Grey Isles in over a decade, Maniala. You can’t tell me that you forgot that Dardec Prabec stole the isles away from him.
RENA: Stole?
RODRICK: I’m quite certain that it was a voluntary abdication on Horec Oluvad’s part. There’s no reason to call it stealing.
ASHA (annoyed): [heavy sigh] You can think whatever you want, old man.
[SFX chair moving, footsteps walking away]
Asha got up and stepped away from the table, walking to the door that led into the rest of the house. Rena glanced at Rodrick but he only met her eyes shortly, Asha’s brusqueness clear having wounded him. Maniala, not having noticed the shift in mood in the room, started a pleasant conversation with Kalani, who indulged her politely.
Three paths lay in front of us, on which the story could continue.
- On the first path, Rena and her companions go directly to the palace to find Logan and Finn
- On the second path, Rena and her companions go back to the Broken Mast Inn to wait for Logan and Finn
- On the third path, Rena and her companions stay at Maniala’s home and send Asha’s cousin to go look for Logan and Finn
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You can find transcripts for each episode, character art, and a map of the kingdom on theheartpyre.com.
The intro music is Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone.
The Heart Pyre is written and produced by me, Audrey Martin.
Thank you for listening.
The Heart Pyre 