Fixed by using a custom service and a custom sdl in redwood instead of using a function and having to create a custom hook for rendering.
This was recommended by the RW team from this article
https://redwoodjs.com/docs/how-to/using-a-third-party-api
And you can see my changes here https://github.com/wispyco/conundrum-quest-rw-rebuild/pull/8/commits/41637813dd50be70e2e89372606c08e39618fa07