22 December 2022
There’s a lot going on in these scenes. It’s pretty tricky to balance, actually; the piper’s song seems like it should be fun, and joyous, all that. But at the same time, Naomi’s losing her only “friend”, and the piper has gathered a ridiculously massive swarm of rats to follow behind him. Which is terrifying. Doubly so if you’ve played either of the A Plague Tale games (I’ve still only played Innocence; Requiem is on my list, though). I may play with different iterations of this scene to figure out what fits the story best… after I have enough of the rest of the story to have an idea what that means, exactly.
The other concern I have is with Father Monroe. Who is he exactly? How much of an influence has he had on Naomi’s life? I think at this point I’ve decided he is not her guardian, but he does seem to have it out for her for whatever reason. I don’t know why yet; maybe she was born out of wedlock? I don’t really like that, for various reasons. I’ll think on it more.
…unnerved her.
Barton seemed fascinated by it, however. He even squirmed out of her grasp and ran out into the street. Naomi cried out and chased after him, but froze when she saw what was happening.
Pietr danced and sang his way down the street, playing his pipes all the while. How he could sing while playing the pipes, Naomi didn’t know; none of it made sense. But that’s what was happening.
That wasn’t what had caught Naomi’s breath, though. Behind him scurried a whole horde of rats, so think it almost looked like a river of fur flowing down the street. Rats sprouted from under doors and through cracks to join the throng.
Naomi snapped to her senses and found Barton a little ways ahead, rushing to join the horde. She yelped and chased after him. She’d nearly caught up to him, at the edge of the horde, when a strong pair of arms caught her and pulled her away.
“You don’t want to get caught up in that, little Naomi,” Baker Malcolm said.
Naomi squirmed and struggled to get free, but the baker’s grip on her was too strong. “Barton! BARTON!”
But the piper and the rats paid her no heed, if indeed the piper could even hear her over his own playing and the noise of the rats. He danced on his merry way until he was out of sight, and it wasn’t long before the last of the rats soon followed.
Malcolm finally let Naomi go, and she sank to her knees, too stunned to cry as she stared vacantly down the street where the piper had disappeared.
Around her, the other villagers began cautiously opening their doors. They looked around with pale faces before they slowly filtered out into the street. All of them huddled together, like they thought they’d just seen the devil himself.
As Naomi watched them, she saw a lot of the other kids clinging to their parents or siblings. Johan. Grace. Emma and Ruth. It struck at the hole inside her heart, and she squeezed her arms around her chest, as if she were hugging Barton close.
Only, now Barton was gone, too. And he wouldn’t be coming back. Once that sank in, the tears finally came, and the sound of her cries and sobs echoed throughout the village.
Perhaps an hour later, Father Monroe had gathered any willing to an impromptu, outdoor sermon. “Rats are unclean, the very spawn of the devil himself,” he said. “And any who can command them like that must be his servants. Indeed, eve those who merely consort with them are suspect!”
He glared across the square at Naomi. Ordinarily, she might quip back or at least return his glare, but today she couldn’t bring herself to care.
One of the other villagers, Robert, chimed in. “Yeah! If he can do that, how do we know he wasn’t the one as sent the rats in the first place?”
“Precisely.” Father Monroe nodded. “And it would be the gravest of sins to support one of the devil’s servants!” The crowd roared in approval, and he continued. “Therefore, we will not pay this foppish wretch so much as a single cent! We will not condone any witchcrafts or sorceries here. Instead, we must drive him from the village! If he will not, then worst comes to worst, we may be called upon to hoist this warlock on the pyre!”
Once again, the crowd roared, stirred up in a fervor of self-righteous zeal. Some part of Naomi thought she ought to go and warn Pietr, but the bigger part of her couldn’t be bothered. Besides, he was the one who sent Barton away.
Hamelin Next->
Compiled version (potentially including unposted content)