Chapter 10: A Light Among Shadows (Part 1 of 2) Transcript
OPENING
[Music: "Main Title" (triumphant orchestral music) starts.]
NARRATOR The Call of the Flame: An Audio Play. Chapter Ten: A Light Among Shadows. Part One of Two.
[Music: "Main Title" ends.]
SCENE ONE: LOOK KINDLY
[SFX: Crickets singing, muffled movement on wooden floor, distant cow moo, muffled crowd chatter.]
NARRATOR (Voiceover) It is years past, in Bri's memory as a young girl in Gathland. Already, she spends far too much time in taverns, trying not to get underfoot of barmaids with their trays and rowdy drinkers not looking where they're stumbling.
[SFX: Footsteps on grass, wooden door creaking open, crowd chatter intensifies, footsteps on wood, hands rubbing together, tankards clinking.]
YOUNG BRI Where is he?
BARMAN Out the other door.
[SFX: More footsteps on wood.]
BAR FLY #1 Aye, went outside to look at the stars.
BAR FLY #2 Probably went to collect them to sell for drinks!
[SFX: Crowd laughs, footsteps fade out.]
[SFX: Crickets singing.]
DESMOND (Groans)
[SFX: Footsteps on dirt.]
YOUNG BRI Really, dad? In the mud?
[SFX: Footsteps in mud.]
DESMOND Mara?
[Music: "Bri’s Theme" (soft, plaintive music) starts.]
YOUNG BRI She's gone, dad. It's just us. Come on.
[SFX: More footsteps in mud, fading out.]
YOUNG BRI (Muffled) Steady there.
[Music: "Bri’s Theme" ends.]
[SFX: Crickets grow distant.]
[SFX: Wooden door creaking open, footsteps on wood.]
DESMOND (Coughs, then gags)
YOUNG BRI Oh, for—! (Groans)
[SFX: Vomit splashing.]
YOUNG BRI Just keep going, I'll clean it up. Get into your bed.
[SFX: Bed creaking.]
DESMOND But Bri, what…what about your birthday?
[SFX: Sheets rustling.]
YOUNG BRI You missed it. You went to the market and stayed in the tavern all day, and most of the night. Just like last year.
[SFX: More footsteps on wood.]
DESMOND I will get better.
YOUNG BRI You said that last year, too.
[SFX: Cloth splashing in water.]
DESMOND I'm sorry, love, I'm—
YOUNG BRI Hold still.
[SFX: Washcloth wringing out.]
YOUNG BRI I have a washcloth.
[SFX: Washcloth wiping.]
DESMOND You, girl…are my light, the only thing keeping me from stumblin' about in the dark.
[SFX: Muffled wind whistling.]
DESMOND (Slight gag) I failed you, and your mother…
YOUNG BRI You haven't failed me yet. I'm not dead, am I? Um…you just need to keep your head out of a tankard for a little while.
[SFX: Cloth rustling, footsteps on wood.]
[Music: "Bri Runs" (soft, wistful music) starts.]
DESMOND (Slowly beginning to echo) I hope when you're older, you look as kindly on me as you do now. Once you understand…
SCENE TWO: THE MOUNTAINS
[Music: "Bri Runs" starts.]
NARRATOR (Voiceover) Through the mountains of Workingar, led only by the light of her hand—
[SFX: Flame ignites, footsteps through gravel.]
NARRATOR (Voiceover) —Bri trudges through shadow, over snow and stone. With Danal's hammer in hand, and her fire in the other, she follows the faded prints of the Master Sorseer Ultovín, marking where she's been with scorches along the stone.
[Music: "Bri Runs" ends.]
[SFX: Fire whooshing, more footsteps]
BRI (Groaning and straining)
ORACLE (Voice echoing)
[SFX: Crow caws.]
BRI (Groaning fades out)
SCENE THREE: BRIEF
[Music: "Judgement" (tragic choral music) starts.]
[SFX: Waves lapping, wind blowing, footsteps through dirt.]
JENQUO He's gone.
IRIKLAS I know.
JENQUO I cannot believe it! I will not!
IRIKLAS I know!
JENQUO We cannot stand here, idle.
IRIKLAS (Almost sobbing) I KNOW.
[Music: "Judgement" ends.]
JENQUO He's been under for too long, and we have searched. If he is alive, he is not here. If he is dead…we must…
[SFX: Footsteps on dirt.]
JENQUO We must—
IRIKLAS He's DEAD, Jenquo! You saw the Kraken, same as me! It took him! I know our time was brief, and I feel your pain, too. But we have to go.
JENQUO Why do you think it's so hard for me to move on!? Because…moving on will make…
IRIKLAS Will make it true.
JENQUO (Sigh)
IRIKLAS (Sigh)
[SFX: More footsteps.]
JENQUO Brief—Bri and Grief put together.
IRIKLAS That sums our experience with the girl pretty well, if you ask me. But then again, why should we find her? We'll just find more ways to get hurt. More friends to grieve over.
JENQUO So that Tarúk will not have died for nothing.
IRIKLAS (Spluttering) …Fine. Fine! We're already here anyway so we just—find the girls, finish her quest, and move on. Someplace warm, like Oros or Naraja. Ditch the boats and just…stay still for once.
JENQUO If what the wizard said is true, and the Dark Bride and her empire are coming, there will be no place to stand still against the coming tide.
[SFX: Waves lapping, fading out.]
SCENE FOUR: THE BONE WEARER
[SFX: Wind whistling, footsteps on gravel, dust falling.]
BRI Wait, I left my mark here. I've been here.
[SFX: More footsteps.]
BRI And here. Damn it all.
[SFX: Pebbles shuffling and falling.]
BRI (Groans) Well, I'm lost…
[SFX: Wings flapping, crow cawing.]
BRI What? Waiting for your next meal?
[SFX: Crow caws.]
BRI You may end up as my meal, after you're roasted and plucked.
[SFX: Crow caws again.]
BRI That's it, hold still…
[SFX: Wings flap, more cawing]
BRI Where are you off to?
[SFX: Footsteps on gravel.]
BRI Someplace new. That's good. But then again, who am I kidding? I'll just stay trapped here! Ugh. What in the hells was I thinking?
ORACLE Will be late.
BRI HUH!?
[SFX: Hollow bones rattling, more flapping and cawing.]
[SFX: Footsteps on gravel.]
[Music: "The Bone Wearer" (wistful, mysterious, ringing music) starts.]
BRI Who are ye? Or…WHAT are ye?
ORACLE Old.
BRI I see that! I see quite a lot more of you than I'd like. You should be dead, walking half naked in this weather. Eugh!
ORACLE Waiting. Was waiting.
BRI I take it you're not Human?
ORACLE I was.
BRI I just hope those bones you're wearing aren't, either. Who do you serve? Not the Deep God?
ORACLE Older.
BRI Duinna? Rhuadu?
ORACLE Much older. Girl lack knowledge to know.
BRI The girl is about to kick you in the frozen bollocks.
ORACLE Oh, those bits it gives away long time ago, for what spell or potion, this one not remember, nor it care. It gave life in other ways. And takes.
BRI I assume the ‘it’ is you? That explains why you can't seem to pick past or present speech.
ORACLE Blood of the old God is time. Flow through the new Gods, flows through their children, and in it.
BRI What does that even mean?
ORACLE Past, present, future—this old one cannot see difference. See ice, or see water. See village, see graveyard. See girl…see destroyer.
BRI Do you see me kicking you in the lack of bollocks in your future?
ORACLE Maybe. It see many futures, shifting like water along a stream. Path is certain, shape…is not.
BRI You said you were waiting. For me? Does that mean I'm going the right way?
[Music: "The Bone Wearer" ends.]
ORACLE Right, wrong, mean nothing to it. Only forward, or back, or now.
BRI You couldn't have picked someplace sunny, where you could get a decent drink? Or do many people get lost here, and desperate enough to deal with a frosty-skinned bone-wearer?
ORACLE I can spare girl certain future.
BRI Everyone wants something from me. What do you want?
ORACLE Your power.
BRI Oh, for Gods' sakes. Well, at least you're upfront about it.
ORACLE Not today, not tomorrow, and not before girl journey upstream.
BRI Then when? I thought I lost my fire once already. I didn't expect to miss it, but…
[Music: "See Girl, See Destroyer" (foreboding, ringing, choral music) starts.]
ORACLE Before she fall, it come. It take her power before girl dying breath.
BRI And then I won't become…a destroyer?
ORACLE No. Girl will destroy. How many, it cannot say for sure. Future fixed, unless it broken. I saw…see a girl, with a sword raised high. What happened after it came down? This one cannot see. This one cannot see anything after. Only dark. Cold dark that go on and on and on and on. But can stop it, can stop girl. If girl surrender her fire, when time is right. When girl fall.
[Music: "See Girl, See Destroyer" ends.]
BRI …I'm not about to stay lost and starve to death right here in the mountains, am I? So you could claim your bounty right away?
ORACLE Girl path was made of many circles…but not end here.
BRI Will you show me the way out, then? And then, as long as I'm alive, I don't have to worry about you.
ORACLE It done. That way. Way that feels downhill.
BRI But…that will lead me deeper into the mountains!
ORACLE To go up, girl must go down. To rise, girl must fall. Girl can keep falling, if she wish.
BRI But I don't have a wish. I'm in a prophecy now. I thought that was the point?
ORACLE That beauty of prophecy. Think you have no choice, but is girl's will that make prophecy happen. Gently, quickly, or fighting against current. longer destiny waits…worse it will be for girl.
BRI So…that way?
ORACLE Yes.
[SFX: Footsteps on gravel, bone rattling fades.]
BRI Prophecy. Bollocks. I'll probably get lost down here and starve to death, that'll be the way to—
[SFX: Water laps.]
BRI A boat? (Bitter laugh) Hmm! He could've just told me that.
[SFX: Footfall on wood.]
BRI (Sighs) Home.
[SFX: Oars creak and row.]
SCENE FIVE: THE CHILD
[SFX: Footsteps crunching on snow.]
IRIKLAS This is a bad idea.
[SFX: Distant pig squealing.]
JENQUO Passing through the mountains? No, I say. We Dwarves can navigate stone like a fish in water.
IRIKLAS Great, but how's your luck swimming against the stream?
[SFX: Distant water splashing.]
IRIKLAS Because Tarúk…Tarúk is…well, what I mean is—
[SFX: Goats bleating, bell ringing.]
IRIKLAS —We have no one to help us if we run into—
JENQUO Wait, look. There's a boy. A little Orcish boy. Hello!
[SFX: Hurried footsteps crunching snow.]
IRIKLAS Why—why is he wearing a bell?
[SFX: Bell rings frantically.]
ORC CHILD MOOOOOOM! There's an ELVAN!
JENQUO Wait, wait, wait! Be silent!
IRIKLAS Wait! There's no need for alarm! We're just looking for our friends, Bri and Myrtle.
JENQUO A Human and a Halflin? One tall, pale, the other small and oak-coloured?
IRIKLAS Yes, we want to find them and get them out of here.
[SFX: Bell rings.]
IRIKLAS Hey, hey—argh!
JENQUO We have gold! We have gold to spare.
[SFX: Purse clinks.]
[SFX: Bell rings again.]
JENQUO Okay, okay! Oh, you don't care for gold. Okay, um…I have…uh, well…what do we have?
IRIKLAS I-I-I-I don't, I don’t know—I, uh—
ORC CHILD Knife.
IRIKLAS I'm sorry, what?
ORC CHILD Knife!
[SFX: Dual daggers ring.]
IRIKLAS One of these!?
[SFX: Dagger sheathe.]
IRIKLAS Oh, no, no, I couldn't part with them, they were a gift.
ORC CHILD One.
IRIKLAS One?
ORC CHILD One.
IRIKLAS …Absolutely not!
[SFX: Bell rings.]
ORC CHILD MOOOOM!
IRIKLAS Okay, okay! Here you go.
[SFX: Footsteps on snow, dagger drawn.]
IRIKLAS Shiny and specially forged. You should definitely run with it…little criminal.
JENQUO What? Don't give in!
[SFX: Bell jingling slightly, light footsteps in snow.]
IRIKLAS Ah, ah, ah, ah! First, my friends. Then you get the dagger.
[SFX: Brief bell ring.]
IRIKLAS Go on, ring it, and you'll never see this metal again. Now, try me, you little runt.
[SFX: Bell jingling slightly, running footsteps in snow.]
JENQUO I take that as a yes.
IRIKLAS By the Tribe of Gods, I hope that wasn't Tarúk's boy.
JENQUO Or girl.
SCENE SIX: REUNITED
[SFX: Wind blowing, wood creaking, sheets rustling, knock on door.]
MYRTLE OH!? AAH!
[SFX: Bed creaking, body thudding to floor, more knocking.]
MYRTLE Ooooh, my poor head…
[SFX: Footsteps on wood.]
MYRTLE This land isn't built for people of my size…
[SFX: Wooden door creaks open.]
MYRTLE Iriklas? Jenquo?
JENQUO Myrtle! Praise the Weaver you are all right!
[SFX: Rushed footsteps, cloth rustling in an embrace.]
MYRTLE Whoa! (Spluttering) Oh, well…it's good to see you both, too!
IRIKLAS Where—where's Bri? And what—what's with your bandage?
JENQUO Who dare hurt you!?
MYRTLE I suppose that's an invitation to go first. Wait, where's Tarúk?
JENQUO (Sighs) He…
IRIKLAS He's… (Choked up) Oh, endalan, having to say it…
MYRTLE (Gasps) It can't be…
SCENE SEVEN: BACK HOME
[Music: "Gathland" (wistful, pastoral percussion and string music) starts.]
[SFX: Creaking footsteps on wood, distant dog bark, waves lapping, pigs squealing, seagulls calling, sailor chatter, wooden clatter, horse neighing.]
NARRATOR (Voiceover) Day and night of endless rowing—all that parts the land of the Orcs from the green country west. And soon Bri finds herself home in Gathland, in the Eastwyn harbour.
FARMER Need transport somewhere, miss?
[SFX: Horse snorts.]
[SFX: Wagon wheels rolling, horse hooves on dirt, birdsong, horse snorting, water splashing, distant townsfolk chatter.]
FARMER Here you are, miss.
[SFX: Footfall on dirt.]
FARMER This is my stop, I'm afraid.
BRI Thank you.
[SFX: Footsteps on dirt.]
BRI (Sighs) Home…I thought I’d be happier to see it.
[SFX: More footsteps.]
[SFX: Wooden door creaking open, tavern crowd chatter, tankards clinking, fireplace crackling.]
Bar Patron #1 Hey, lass, another!
[SFX: Footsteps on wood.]
[Music: "Gathland" ends.]
BARTENDER Hullo, love, can I help you?
BRI Have you, uh—have you seen a Sorseer. He's half-Elvan, blue robed, a bit tall?
BARTENDER We've seen no one of the sort, I'm afraid, lass.
BRI Then no, you can't help me. I'm helpless.
[Music*]
BARTENDER Well then, you've wound up in the right place.
BRI Another tavern, as always.
BARTENDER Well, what can I get you?
BRI An ale for starters.
BARTENDER Aye, I'll get one right up, but how exactly you planning on paying for that drink, miss?
BRI Oh…damn. Um…my friend will be able to pay. Once he gets here. Shouldn't be long now.
BARTENDER Oh, aye. Are promises currency where you come from, lass?
BRI But I'm from—hmm, no. I guess I can't pay, then.
BARTENDER It's a big village. Do you have a trade?
BRI Well…
BARMAID Aye, here you are.
BRI Does your village have a smith?
[Music ends]*
SCENE SEVEN: APPRENTICING
[Music*]
[SFX: Hammer ringing, water splashing, distant farm animals, muffled townsfolk chatter.]
[SFX: Hammer clatters down.]
SMITH What do you want, lassie?
BRI I…need you take me on as your apprentice.
SMITH You!? (Laughs) I've got nothing against women in the trade. My own mother taught me. But she was built like an ox, not a calf.
[SFX: Footsteps on dirt.]
BRI Come on now, I'm stronger than I look. I've had to carry trays of tankards back and forth in my inn. I don't need a lot of room, I brought my own hammer, and I—
SMITH Do you know anything about smithing, girl? I'll tell ye, if I had a copper for every boy that came to my shop wantin' to apprentice, in hopes of running things one day, but who can't stand the smoke of the forge and swelter of molten fire, well…then I wouldn't need to be smithing.
BRI Smoke and heat don't bother me. Far from it.
SMITH (Laughs) Well, I'd like to see ya try.
[SFX: More footsteps, metal scraping.]
SMITH Come, pump the bellows, just try not to flinch.
[SFX: Bellows pumping, fire roaring and crackling.]
BRI It's rather pretty.
SMITH Not so bad. Here, put on these gloves.
BRI I don't need them.
SMITH If you're that simple, I definitely won't be taking you on.
BRI Very well. All right, now, what are you forging?
SMITH That's not ready! You'll burn—
[SFX: Metal scraping.]
SMITH Huh?
[SFX: Metal hissing and plinking.]
BRI It feels like a warm summer breeze.
SMITH You must have hands of ice, girl!
BRI Something like that. Hand me my hammer.
[Music* ends]
[SFX: Hammering on metal.]
SCENE EIGHT: SPLIT
[SFX: Muffled wind howling, wood creaking, footsteps on wood.]
IRIKLAS So Bri followed him?
MYRTLE Aye.
JENQUO What about the scary Orc woman? Tarúk's adopted sister?
MYRTLE She's got a lot of friends here, watching out for the hut and me. Rök took her crew and sailed away, before Talog could try wreaking any vengeance.
JENQUO That might be for the best. If we had to tell her about Tarúk, she might have killed us.
MYRTLE Oh aye, Tarúk's definitely the mellow one of the litter.
IRIKLAS Perfect. Just…just perfect! Gone for a few weeks from each other, and we lost our founding members. Tarúk was our eyes and our cunning, Calan was—was—eh, never mind him—and Bri was our quest and our guiding light. We were coming back for you two. But without them…
JENQUO We are lost.
IRIKLAS We've failed. We're more split than when we started.
[SFX: Chair scraping, footsteps on wood.]
MYRTLE No, no, no, we can't give up now, we have to stop him!
JENQUO Ultovín?
IRIKLAS The Chimera?
MYRTLE Exactly!
IRIKLAS But if Bri couldn't, what can we do?
MYRTLE We need to go to Wynhold! To warn them! Ultovín is behind it, behind it all!
JENQUO Behind what, Halfin?
[SFX: More footsteps.]
MYRTLE Come with me.
[SFX: Footsteps fade out.]
SCENE NINE: HOLD YOUR BREATH
[Music: "The Deep God" (dark, majestic, gloomy choral music) starts.]
[SFX: Distant murder of crows cawing, ice cracking, footsteps crunching in snow.]
NARRATOR (Voiceover) Along the edge of Stoneshield, the natural mountain walls of Workingar, Myrtle leads Iriklas and Jenquo up the ice shelf, overlooking a great pit. Endless protrusions of black, brown, and white from the earth point to the grey sky, reeking of decay.
MYRTLE You might want to hold your breath.
JENQUO (Coughs) Achi-wo!
MYRTLE This is just one of many.
IRIKLAS What? A pit full of charred logs and—
MYRTLE …Not logs.
[SFX: Ice cracking.]
IRIKLAS (Sniffs, then coughs) Oh, endalan. How many?
JENQUO Corpses.
MYRTLE Fifty. At least. It's an old pit, must've been late summer. Before we even met.
JENQUO Tuachwo kwo. I never thought I would see this work this far from home. A powerful blood magic, the work of a dark Sorseer.
IRIKLAS Why?
MYRTLE For power. He used an Incanter to create this plague, the Grave Pestilence. Rats and birds carried it around for miles and miles, infecting other lands and their people, so he could come and be their saviour.
IRIKLAS Well, that's just silly, why would…uh…oh, no.
JENQUO And the lords and kings of these lands will grant him use of their people. Prisoners, slaves. To make the practice of blood magic, of the worship of the Deep God, legitimate. Weaken the belief in the Chieftan of Gods.
IRIKLAS And once free of his shackles, he will perform ritual sacrifice in every city, every capitol. They'll have to accept the Deep God in place of Rhuadu.
MYRTLE And if they don't, they'll die of the plague.
IRIKLAS If enough lands worship the Deep God, Neradial and her invaders will have allies when she comes. And the lands that don't will be too weak.
MYRTLE Either way, Ultovín wins.
[Music: "The Deep God" ends.]
CLOSING CREDITS
[Music: "Main Title" starts.]
[Music: "Main Title" ends.]
[Music: "End Credits" (rustic percussive music) starts.]
NARRATOR The Call of the Flame: An Audio Play. Starring Bonnie Bogovich, Stephen Cumberworth, Jacob Williamson, Corey Borchers, Hayden Ashley, Abigail Turner, Xathian, Gary Gibbs the Second and Sarah Ruth Thomas as Nurang. For the full cast list, please visit thecalloftheflame.com. This chapter was co-written with Nadi Reed Perez. Sanavran speech by Megan Watson. This podcast was written and produced by Kurt Cañez. With music by Adam Halpin, with additional tracks by Stephen Cumberworth, both can be found on Bandcamp. Editing by Kurt Cañez and Sasha Blore. Read the podcast description and follow us on our pages of media. Send a bird bearing the hashtag COTF Podcast and follow us on Twitter @calloftheflame. Leave us a review on iTunes. Although the greatest way to support the show is to become a patron of ours on our Patreon page so that we may maintain our production. Five dollar and above listeners get exclusive content such as music tracks by Adam Halpin and extended episodes. Special thank you to our patrons: Ben Blair, Cassie M, Cloudy Evalage, John Doyle, Jon Winstead, Ryan Cushman, Zane Simmon. To ask us about sponsorship, send an electronic letter to thecalloftheflamepodcast@gmail.com. This has been a Magnir Production. I am your narrator, George Hoctor. We thank you all for listening.
KURT Hi everyone, it’s Kurt, creator and writer of The Call of The Flame. I wanted to move the soapbox just a little bit earlier in the episode to cover, you know, where we’ve been for the past several months. A small part of it was just the holidays, but a much bigger part of it is that since November, we’ve actually had a pilot commissioned from us, based on a pitch we did around that time. I can’t share many details, only that if you like The Call of The Flame, you’re gonna love this. And the more you share us and follow us, the better our chances will be at getting picked up for a series. Follow us on Twitter, become a patron, check out our redone Youtube channel. Youtube.com/rubbishlog. We’ve already updated a few episodes of The Call of the Flame with graphics and art work, including the extended Patreon version of Chapter One Part One. Lately, I’ve been trying to populate it, add some more things. But let me know on Twitter if you wanna see some behind the scenes, some making of, maybe like update videos in the form of me playing Dark Souls, Hbomberguy style. I don’t know if anyone would be into that, or if it would just be me. But yeah, now without further ado, here’s Chapter Ten of The Call of The Flame, take it away.