Sangfielle 55: Six Travelers: Es

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Episode description[edit | edit source]

When the mysterious and genteel Dyre Ode made Es the offer, it was one of the rare moments of doubt for the ancient and powerful figure. Would they accept the invitation? Could she assist them when the moment of truth came? One thing that Dyre was certain of, though, was that if they were successful, Es was uniquely suited for what would come next.

This week on Sangfielle: Six Travelers: Es

Contents[edit | edit source]

Opening[edit | edit source]

There was always something about the Lady Es and their host, Syntyche Moyle, that I never quite understood. Not that I fully do now, but I have something of a sympathetic situation. She always talked about how, as a heritrix, she was sensitive to a sort of world beyond physical sensation. And I got it, but I didn’t really get it, did I? Now, though, as I connect to all of you through this broadcast station, I do sort of get it. I can sense you listening. I know when I put on a bad cylinder, or when a story don’t quite hit. It’s literal, but it’s more than that. It’s sensin’ the other, and closing the distance between.

Plot[edit | edit source]

Es makes good on her agreement to help Dyre Ode break the wards of Concentus, and travels with them to the outer walls alongside one of Dyre’s other contacts, Gasto, a child with a connection to an angel. On their journey the group encounter a wounded delver from Vish who warns the party away from the mountains. Es does a scrying ritual to prove that they are capable fighters and she sees a tree with a polished stone embedded in it, glyphs in a language she doesn’t recognize, glistening and glowing red, and a generous length of high-quality cloth. As the man passes away, Gasto immediately starts to loot their body, finding a mysterious journal which he begins to read.

Es and Syntyche discuss leaving the Blackwick Group behind. While Syntyche is saddened, Es reassures her that they will find new people to know and places to become familiar with. Dyre reminisces about the Heartland prior to The Panic, and Es admits that she had never been hosted in those days, so she never really noticed the world in that way. A few days later Gasto passes on a warning from the angel of an approaching danger, which Dyre and Es dispatch using the polished stone from Es’s vision.

The trio approach the outskirts of Concentus and Dyre identifies their target, a large spire which contains a piece of himself far underneath it. He warns Es that while he is near it he will be vulnerable, so Es will be vital to ensuring their success. Dyre and Es stay at a teahouse overnight where Es forgoes the opportunity to pry into Dyre’s history to instead just enjoy each other's company. Dyre asks how they can repay Es for her work, which Es laughs off since she would never do this for any kind of repayment, only because she trusts Dyre and this is the right thing to do. Dyre thanks her, and Es adds that she wouldn’t mind another cloak if they happen to have another one.

The next morning Gasto arrives with a coffin that contains Dyre, that Gasto and Es bring with them as they break into the spire. Es and the Angel fight their way through while Gasto follows behind, painting unfamiliar runes from his book to reinforce their escape route. In the final basement room, they find the heart of Dyre Ode, encased in glass. As they approach, Gasto’s book drops down, and from it emerges the dying delver, now revealed to be a powerful magician of Concentus, who takes control of Gasto’s rune and Dyre Ode’s skeleton. The runes incapacitate the angel, and Es is forced to fight Dyre. Es shifts into her true form and forces Dyre’s heart back into their ribcage, which shifts Dyre into a human form in a burst of golden light. Dyre thanks Es, and leaves her a bolt of golden cloth before disappearing. Es, Gasto, and the angel flee the basement as the spire collapses around them and the Heartland surges through Concentus and further out into the Magistratum, eventually spreading its strangeness into the rest of the world.

We see Es some time later in a golden cloak traveling the land and helping people learn to prepare for the Heartland as it approaches, confiding in someone that this is what the world of Sangfielle was always meant to be.

Cast[edit | edit source]

Other Characters[edit | edit source]