Episode description

This episode carries content warnings for discussion of bombings, insect infestation of a human body, gun use, viscera, and threatening with a knife.

For the past few months, the Blackwick County council has kept Dayward yon Vantzon-Estonbergh at arm’s reach, close enough that his Aldominan wealth can filter into town, but not so close that he could risk overturning the order of things. Now, he’s called in a favor, and eager to keep things even, the council has turned to the Blackwick Group to meet his needs. 

The problem is less “simple” than “timeless”: His home is not acting the way it should. Moonlight fails to pierce the windows. The halls twist and lead him to strange places. The very decor shifts behind him. This is, it seems, a haunted house.

So who better than the Blackwick Group to attend his needs? Before they can, however, they must cross the distance (which Mr. YVE has decided to place between himself and the town), and climb the hills north. They ought only hope they aren’t the only travelers in the hills...

This week on Sangfielle: The Secret Ledger of Roseroot Hall Pt. 1

The Almanac of the Heartland Rider

Places

Roseroot Hall: Now in the northern hills of Blackwick County, Roseroot Hall once stood mighty and imperious as a plantation house in the eastern half of the Heartland. Though the yon Vantzon-Estonbergh held it once, it fell into disrepair sometime after the panic. Details have been lost to time.

Facts and Figures

Lye “Lyke” Lychen (he/him): Tossed out of one of the many occult academies of the Unschola Republica, Lyke came to Sangfielle to continue his magical education in the most hands-on (and pockets-full) way he could.

Es (she/they): A heritrix with a penchant for the finer things in life and the perilous ventures needed to earn them.

Duvall (he/him): Born into one of the few human families who still have noble status in Aldomina, Duvall wasted his inheritance on a doomed adventure into Sangfielle. Now colonized by the insectoid servants of the Structure, Duvall searches to solve a question as old as people: What is “the self”?

Tamith “Tamm” Callaki (they/them): An aspiring young sort, 19 or 20, who works as a courier in Blackwick, their home town.

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's settled in Blackwick County.  

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. 

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.”

Agdeline (she/her), Ettel (he/him), and Larch (he/him): This devil, drakkan, and human trio once spent time mining in the hills of Blackwick. In recent time, they’ve found that poorly armed travelers make for better prospecting.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry)

Produced by Ali Acampora and Austin Walker

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.

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