Puck leaned over to Nervina and said solemnly "It is time now for you to go up and deliver the heart."
"Can't you do it?" asked Nervina in a very strained voice.
"No, it is important that you do it. You have been the keeper ever since it came to us. I am now in two minds as to who might have sent it. We always thought it was Marsden, but now I realize, it was verily a gift from the Gods."
"I shall start my reporting soon - that is part enough to be had." He continued "you see that silver platter up there on the dais? All you have to do is go over to it, walk up the eight steps (they get bigger as you rise) and open the box, to then tip the heart carefully onto the plate. Oh, and make sure it is the one on the left and not the right that you aim for".
"Left, not right" said Nervina repeating his instructions - it was obvious to him that there was an enormous hall of beings waiting for this next part to come, and it was now down to him.
"Will this redeem me?" he asked hopefully.
Goober who had been listening in, stuck his head in front of Puck's, saying encouragingly "I'm sure it will Nervina - they all look like a really friendly crowd here."
"Well, maybe to you they do" Nervina faltered. "Goober, were you being facetious then - sometimes I really can't tell if you are having a lend?" Puck elbowed him to get going.
Awkwardly he pulled the box from his satchel, drawing a deep breath. Mumbling something, he clumsily, yet importantly, took his stride with dignity.
Speckles of silver had infiltrated his boots and had become abrasive. He took to the steps with care and once at the top, drew open the box, letting it slip from his fingers.
Later he suggested that the heart itself had leapt out of its container, as though it had a life of its own - spilling squat bang onto the centre of the great silver disk before it.
-Gabriel Brunsdon, Puck in Hell, Azlander Series
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