Episode 2.a
>The Divine Hearth, mythic time, before the theft<
The thread of light leads you down. As you follow it, the crack in the mountain widens into a passage, and the bitter cold of the heights slowly gives way to warmth. The rock changes around you, too, from rough grey stone to smooth, pale limestone, until the passage feels less like a cave and more like the hallway of a house.
At the end of it is a round room.
A low fire burns in the middle of the room, in a hearth of pale stone. Everything here is quiet and still except the flame. It leans to one side, though there is no wind to push it, then sinks low and rises again, never quite coming to rest.
A woman stands beside the hearth. She is small and very still, and she doesn't greet you. All of her attention is on the flame.
Quintus leans close and keeps his voice low. "This place matters. I'm not sure yet what it is, but I can feel that much." He glances at the woman. "She knows we're here. I think she's been waiting for someone."
The woman speaks without looking away from the fire. "The flame has not been right for some time. I have felt it shifting." She is quiet for a moment. "You are welcome here. But the hearth needs tending before I can help you with anything else."
Then she looks at you, and her eyes are calm and very old.
"My name is Vesta. This fire is mine to keep. One day mortals will keep a fire like it in the heart of their city, and priestesses will guard it for them, day and night. It will burn for as long as Rome stands." She turns back to the flame. "But first it has to be steady, and today my hands are not enough. Will you help me?"
Quintus looks at you. "I think this is what we came to do," he says quietly. "Or the start of it, anyway."
Prompt: Vesta has asked for your help. Tell her what you will do. How does your Recentius come to the hearth, and what do you offer: your hands, your breath, wood for the fire, a few words? While you work, ask her about the flame and about the mortals who will one day guard a fire like this one.
