Sangfielle 48: Dead in the Dust Pt. 1

This episode carries content warnings for death, gun violence, knives, mind control/magical compulsion, and decapitation.

It would be too simple for the Blackwick Group to have the space and time necessary to work through everything that has happened to them recently. It has been only hours since rescuing Marn, Pickman, and Bucho from Alaway (and fewer still since Lye Lychen handed over more power to the nascent deity), and yet a new threat curls its way around Blackwick. The dust swirls. The storm calls. There is a knock at the door.

This week on Sangfielle: Dead in the Dust Pt. 1

The Almanac of the Heartland Rider

Places

Blackwick County: From the mines to the lake, the hills to the flats, the town once called Eastern Folly has felt a little more expansive now that it's out of the hard grip of the old curse. It's people aren't perfect, but they've made it through some dark times, and that's more than most can say.

Sapodilla: One of, if not the, largest city inside of the walls of Concentus. Sapodilla rests on the western shore of the vast lake that takes up much of southeastern Sangfielle. Not too much is known about how things are inside of its gates since Queen Virtue rolled into town.

Facts and Figures

Dayward yon Vantzon-Estonbergh aka Dayward YVE (he/him): The moneyed scion of a minor Aldominan dynasty, Dayward YVE has traveled to the Heartland as both eager-apologist and curious explorer. Sensing opportunity, he settled in Blackwick County and has used it as a staging ground for an ever-growing industrial empire.

Maleister Price (he/him): Sherriff of Blackwick and newest member of the town council. The miners in town would all tell you that Price is the best of them and always has been, but you're not quite sure that you remember that about him.

Uno Riscano (he/him): The so-called "Count of Cards," this devil is the leader of one of the "six suits" that make up the Wrights of the Seventh Sun. Target of Hazard's ire due to an ill-handed card game.

Proctor Ekashi Wolff (he/him): Once, the good proctor helped lead the services of the Triadic Pyre in Blackwick, and spend what free time he had working with the township's council. It was that same interest in community and service which led him to stand up for his people when the Pale Magistrates blew into town. Unfortunately for Mr. Wolff, good character is not bulletproof.

The Knights of Virtue, fka The Toll Collectors: It is fair to say that thisg roup is still made up of the devil Agdeline (she/her), drakkan Ettel (he/him), and human Larch (he/him), but it isn't right to simply call them a "trio" anymore. The former miners-turned-bandits-turned-thieves-turned-bodyguards have come into the employ of Queen Virtue, and have revealed their true nature: Once per month, three more of them appear from the depths of the Blackwick Mines, and soon join with the others in search of and profit and adventure.

Dyre Ode (he/they): When an agent of the almanac pressed this mysterious, masked figure for more information about him, they only repeated their name, as if to ensure we'd print it right, adding "Dyre with Y but Ode as you'd like, a poem said in praise or a debt gone unpaid. It bothers me little, how you spell that name."

Stanislaka (she/they): Blackwick's attendent of the Boundless Conclave temple, an young ojantani whose faith to Slumbous knows no bounds. A member of the town council.

Ana Berylia (she/her): Dayward YVE's maid, a somewhat overwhelmed Carpana who has not adjusted to life in the Heartland. Her body is covered in brown/black hair with little streaks of grey at her temples. Mostly seen in uniform, a grey dress with white apron.

Mr. Kenson (he/him): Big Horn Ram Kaprak. White fur with brown and black spots. Personal valet. Copper wireframe glasses. Proper black suit.

Chantilly Scathe (she/her): The signs and barkers rarely say her name alone. She ain't Chantilly, or even Ms. Scathe, she's always "Ms. Chantilly Scathe and Her Shackled Engine." Don't let her showmanship and ringmaster garb fool you though: She seems to have done what no Shape Knight could: Make a train of the Shape, The Grand Cormorant Limited, her very own pet.

Babor Mirah (they/them): As the Trade-Medium of one of nomadic clans of the Caravan of the Coin, Babor serves as a leader, guide, and chief negotiator.

Dr. Kerr Kern (she/her): A Telluricist on loan to the Magistrates, where she works on final preparations for her Keen exam. While she's grown close to the group over the last year, their methods do trouble her. Currently holding Marn's research on Zevunzolia, nullstuff, the Wrights of the Seventh Sun, and the fundamental nature of curses.

Aterika'Kaal (it/its): An ambivalent and ancient spirit. Offers the sweet smell and sublime beauty of roses and the sturdy foundation of a root structure. In exchange: Feed it.

Alaway (currently he/him, varies historically): Was last seen as the waxy, vampiric minister of Yellowfield named Regan, whose generations-long study of technology led him to dream of (and work towards creating) "The City of Lights," a place of flameless fire, energetic implements, and the safety and freedom to live as one wants. Now, having somehow returned to the form that the Blackwick Group first met him as, he threatens to steal the very lifeblood of Blackwick itself.

The Course: There is debate about the true nature of the Heartland's Truth, the power that turned Sangfielle into what it is today. But the Cleavers call it the Course. Part river, part lesson, part direction traveled. Entirely beyond the grasp of mortal minds.

Organizations

The Boundless Conclave: Less of an individual church, more of an association between hundreds of independent faiths. Small sects, nearly forgotten cults, and unjealous gods make up this vast pantheon.

The Caravan of the Coin: Cursed by Ribbadon, Frog God of Wealth, these traveling merchant-clerics never arrive at a destination carrying what they expect.

Wrights of the Seventh Sun: A secret society dedicated to the construction of Zevunzolia, whatever the cost. Their motivations are many: Some believe that the Devils ought to have continued climbing whent hey escaped hell, that this was not the paradise earned. Otherse believe that Zevunzolia is telos of telos, the end-cause of all end-causes, and thus will inevitably bring itself into being. And given that, to do anything but aid it is to risk exclusion from it, or worse.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000), and Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry)

Produced by Ali Acampora

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

A transcription is available for this episode here.

A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!