WEBVTT

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Speaker 1: [gentle music]

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Speaker 1: The Stillness, Chapter One: For Light
and Life.

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Speaker 1: Captain Amelia Sunder stood on the
prow of the Mighty Current, looking at impending

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Speaker 1: doom. The ship was at rest. Seawater
lapped playfully against the hull

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Speaker 1: far below. She squinted her eyes,
trying to find the exact place where the

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Speaker 1: choppy blue ocean withered and died.
She looked for the line where the world ended

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Speaker 1: and the Stillness began. "Ahem."
"Something on your

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Speaker 1: mind, First Mate?" She gave up her
search and turned around to face the man.

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Speaker 1: Orestes was competent, polite, and
stood almost a foot shorter than her. Now that

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Speaker 1: they were away from port, his uniform
was untucked, wrinkled, and somehow already

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Speaker 1: dingy. Perhaps he had simply put away
the clean one. "Yes, sir. Our guest

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Speaker 1: wishes to express his displeasure at
your delay." Then, with that chore

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Speaker 1: done, he spun on his heels and
started to walk off. Sunder smiled at his back.

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Speaker 1: "Hold, Orestes." The shorter man
turned to regard

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Speaker 1: her. Captain Sunder's smile fell from
her face. She nodded back over her shoulder

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Speaker 1: toward their destination. "I know
what Ortevos thinks, but what about you?

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Speaker 1: Is this stupid? More stupid than
usual, I mean."

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Speaker 1: Orestes scratched at his beard that
wasn't there yet. "I think the Order's coin

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Speaker 1: felt heavy in my pockets a few days
ago." He followed the direction of the captain's

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Speaker 1: nod and swallowed. "But not quite so
heavy today."

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Speaker 1: She searched the man's face. She had
no idea what she was looking for. Anything,

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Speaker 1: really. Some reason to delay the
inevitable. "Shall I bring

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Speaker 1: Ortevos on deck, sir?" Captain Sunder
cringed. The less time she spent with that

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Speaker 1: man, the better. The voyage ahead
would be dreary enough without him up top. She
was

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Speaker 1: liable to sink the ship herself if he
started preaching. "No, Orestes, I'd hate to

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Speaker 1: have to clean up after he left."
Orestes grinned. "I'll make final

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Speaker 1: preparations then. At your word,
Captain." He nodded, then

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Speaker 1: walked off. It was as close as he
could come to telling her to get on with it.

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Speaker 1: She sighed and turned back to the
sight before her. No one could compel ships into

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Speaker 1: the Stillness. She could refuse. It
was her ship, her crew. They still

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Speaker 1: worked on coin in Azaleas. Of course,
if every captain refused to enter the

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Speaker 1: Stillness, then what was left of
humanity would quickly perish. Then they would

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Speaker 1: compel her at sword point. Her heart
beat a little faster, but she could refuse

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Speaker 1: today. She could still refuse today.
Sunder pulled her sword

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Speaker 1: partway out of the scabbard and
checked the white crystal in its hilt. She
tapped

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Speaker 1: it. Little gray clouds swirled around
inside. Not enough to worry her. Not yet.

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Speaker 1: "Fine."

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Speaker 1: She could read the scout's reports
again. She could wrestle words with Ortevos, or

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Speaker 1: she could simply get the hell on with
it. Captain Sunder spun to face the crew

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Speaker 1: idling on deck, talking nervously
amongst themselves. "Raise the anchor and kiss

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Speaker 1: your beacon. We're crossing over." A
few of the sailors moved to kiss the old woman

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Speaker 1: in white robes. She batted them away
playfully, and they pretended to be hurt by her

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Speaker 1: rejections. She raised her sword into
the air. "For Light and Life." "For

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Speaker 1: Light and Life." She watched as her
crew got to work. Then Captain Sunder turned

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Speaker 1: around, placing one foot on the
railing. As the Mighty Current lurched forward,
she

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Speaker 1: found it, the place where the frothy
ocean fell still and placid, the line

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Speaker 1: between the dying light of the world
and everything else the Stillness had already

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Speaker 1: consumed.

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Speaker 1: The first few days of the voyage were
easy sailing. The sailing was always easy. The

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Speaker 1: days, if you could call them that,
were not. The sun was a shriveled dot in the
sky.

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Speaker 1: Even at midday, its feeble light only
barely reached a world she didn't want to see.

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Speaker 1: The Stillness didn't only dim the
light. It seemed to take all the life from the

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Speaker 1: world. It made the water smooth as
glass. Sounds seemed to carry forever

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Speaker 1: across the pristine surface. There
were no sounds out here except the ones you

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Speaker 1: brought with you, and it dulled even
the spirits of the most joyful people. The most

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Speaker 1: dangerous thing out here was your own
mind. That was what the

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Speaker 1: Beacons were for, masters of Light
and Life itself, one and the same out

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Speaker 1: here. Even within their protection,
the journeys were hard on the spirit. Just three

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Speaker 1: days in, and there was already an
edge to every human interaction. Captain
Sunder's

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Speaker 1: beleaguered crew was pressed down,
but like a spring, she thought, they would come

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Speaker 1: right back. They always did.

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Speaker 1: [gentle music]

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Speaker 1: It was night, night so dark it was
like looking into tar. Nothing existed

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Speaker 1: beyond the light their Beacon cast.
The sun would rise soon, though, and with

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Speaker 1: any luck, they would be close to
their destination. Sleep was impossible now.
She'd

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Speaker 1: tossed around in her bed for a few
hours, but real sleep wouldn't come until they

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Speaker 1: were back within the Queen's light,
back home. With nothing to do now but

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Speaker 1: wait, Captain Sunder made her way
back up to the top deck. The deck was empty save

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Speaker 1: for their beacon. The old woman sat
in her cushioned chair, head bowed, eyes

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Speaker 1: closed. Her hands were folded over
the staff that lay across her lap. She looked to

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Speaker 1: be asleep. Amelia? [laughs] Can never
seem to sneak up on you,

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Speaker 1: Yama. And you never will. Silence
fell between them. Sunder spoke again,

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Speaker 1: mostly just to fill it. So feel
anything out there tonight?

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Speaker 1: Yama shook her head softly. No,
nothing tonight. She

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Speaker 1: didn't add, I would have told you so.
Yama knew that she was there to talk

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Speaker 1: and that there was nothing to talk
about. It was an old habit every sailor

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Speaker 1: understood. If someone wanted to
talk, you let them talk. That little shared

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Speaker 1: humanity was all you could cling to
out here. So how's, uh, Ermia's

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Speaker 1: training going? Ah.

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Speaker 1: The backup beacon, Ermia, was a sore
topic. She would be fast

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Speaker 1: asleep in her bunk somewhere below
decks. Which bunk was anyone's guess.

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Speaker 1: She's stronger than I ever was.
Strong and stupid. That's how they come

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Speaker 1: out of the orders these days, Amelia.
Sunder knew the old woman was being humble.

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Speaker 1: There was a lot more to being a good
beacon than being strong. It was about control

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Speaker 1: and efficiency. That's why Ermia was
sound asleep after three hours of work, but

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Speaker 1: Yama could hold the veil for days if
she had to. If she made the veil too large, it

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Speaker 1: would spread far beyond the ship,
wasting both their crystal and her endurance.
Too

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Speaker 1: small and parts of the ship would dip
into the stillness. The trick then was to hold

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Speaker 1: the light veil at just the right size
to cover the ship and no more, all without

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Speaker 1: interfering with the light engines
and while keeping an eye out for disturbances in

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Speaker 1: the gloom beyond the veil. Put
simply, it wasn't just an important job, it was

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Speaker 1: survival itself. If the crew had to
choose between their beacon and their captain,

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Speaker 1: they would throw Sunder over the rail
without a moment's deliberation. Think she'll

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Speaker 1: make it? Hmm. She won't quit. Sunder
caught the old woman's meaning.

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Speaker 1: Saying she wouldn't quit wasn't the
same as saying she was actually qualified. No

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Speaker 1: one wanted to gamble everything on
some upstart beacon. There was a reason she was

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Speaker 1: the backup. Age had brought many
gifts to Yama, but it wasn't all good. She

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Speaker 1: was old. There was a reason beyond
common sense to bring another light mage with

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Speaker 1: them, even one in training. Oh, I
think in time... Hush, Amelia.

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Speaker 1: We're being chased. Captain Sunder
looked from the old woman's alarmed

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Speaker 1: face out to the edge of the veil, but
there was only darkness beyond the ship.

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Speaker 1: She closed her eyes to listen, but
could only hear the sounds of the light engines

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Speaker 1: pushing the boat. She looked back to
the old woman who still had her eyes closed.

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Speaker 1: Hide or fight? Don't know. That's
your call,

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Speaker 1: Captain, but you get one look. One,
you hear me? Get

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Speaker 1: ready. Sunder nodded sharply and
watched the black behind her ship. The beacon

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Speaker 1: lifted the steel staff from her lap
and set it vertical on the deck. The white

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Speaker 1: crystal at its tip raised into the
air. The crystal flared white and the

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Speaker 1: visibility swelled from near paces to
cannon range in a heartbeat, then a moment

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Speaker 1: later fell back to just the ship
again. In the moment of visibility, she'd seen a

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Speaker 1: slash of sapphire water churned white
with foam from their passing ship, and a

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Speaker 1: long dark shape had recoiled from the
light, returning from the shadows from which

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Speaker 1: it was born, a small part of
something much larger. A

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Speaker 1: denizen. Big, but not too big.
Probably. We keep going for

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Speaker 1: now, but, uh, keep an eye on it for
me, Yama. Yama

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Speaker 1: nodded. She was breathing quickly.
Clearly that last pulse had taken a lot out of

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Speaker 1: her. Not long ago, she could have
done a dozen of those without breaking sweat.
Not

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Speaker 1: long ago, but by whose measure? By
the Queen's light, she'd been sailing

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Speaker 1: for nearly twenty-five years. Yama
wasn't the only one getting old.

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Speaker 1: Want me to call for Ermia? Give you a
break, maybe? Yama shot the captain an angry

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Speaker 1: look. She's enough trouble on a full
night's sleep. Let her rest.

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Speaker 1: Sunder watched the old woman's
shaking arms. Was that fear,

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Speaker 1: exhaustion, or mere age? She
hesitated until Yama opened her eyes to give

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Speaker 1: her a proper glare. The captain
nodded but made no comment for now. She wouldn't

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Speaker 1: gamble everything on an old woman's
pride. Technically speaking, the beacons were

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Speaker 1: not part of her crew. She couldn't
order them around. They were gifted from the

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Speaker 1: Order of Light to serve on ships that
did work for all humankind. Now, whether

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Speaker 1: that free labor was a gift or a way
for the Order to control the otherwise free

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Speaker 1: ships was purely a matter of
perspective. Go sleep. I'll fry it if

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Speaker 1: it gets close. Sunder rested a hand
on the other woman's arm, then walked back to

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Speaker 1: her room. Despite the older woman's
bravado, it was bad that they had been noticed

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Speaker 1: so soon. It was worse that their
beacon was already fraying. She could turn

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Speaker 1: away this one, but that light would
only attract more, like predators to the scent

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Speaker 1: of blood. An unpromising start to an
unpromising venture.

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Speaker 1: Hopefully, Erastus would have some
good news for her soon.

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Speaker 1: Erastus looked longingly at the
captain's fine liquor collection. Bad news, sir.

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Speaker 1: [sighs] She waved for him to
continue. She tried

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Speaker 1: to kick her boots onto the cabin's
desk, but there wasn't room beneath the clutter

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Speaker 1: of papers and instruments. So she
pushed some of the less fragile looking junk off

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Speaker 1: the desk with one foot, and then
rested her feet. Some of the, uh, additional

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Speaker 1: crew is showing early signs of
downturn. Winster caught one of them looking

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Speaker 1: over the rail last night. She pulled
the poor bastard back before he could do it.

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Speaker 1: Sunder pressed her fingers to the
bridge of her nose. By additional crew, her
first

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Speaker 1: mate meant the hired muscle that
Ortevos had brought with him for the landing

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Speaker 1: portion of their expedition. Despite
his appearance, Erastus was a very devout man.

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Speaker 1: Fortunately, he was not fond of
Ortevos or the rough looking men and women he'd

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Speaker 1: brought with him on board. The
Order's footmen were somewhere between thugs and

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Speaker 1: zealots, haggard people pulled from
the street on the promise of food and shelter.

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Speaker 1: Those poor souls had simply not
realized they would eventually trade their minds
for

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Speaker 1: stuffing in return. [sighs] Double
their wine ration. [clears throat]

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Speaker 1: The, uh, ze footmen don't drink, sir.
Well, there's your problem.

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Speaker 1: Who would go into the Stillness
sober, Erastus? It is an interpretation

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Speaker 1: of the books I never understood, sir.
Sunder nodded enthusiastically at that,

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Speaker 1: eyeing the liquor collection herself.
Maybe now was the time to pop the

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Speaker 1: 1033 red. No, not yet. It was 200
years old.

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Speaker 1: It deserves something special. Hmm,
the 1083 cedar whiskey then.

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Speaker 1: No, no, no, no, no, not yet. Then
double their food rations.

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Speaker 1: [clears throat] Ze footmen are on
fast, sir.

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Speaker 1: Then double their prayers, damn it.
Why did we even let them on board? She had let

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Speaker 1: them on board because 12 people she
didn't know were eager to march off the ship

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Speaker 1: into the deadly unknown instead of
the people she'd known and loved for years.

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Speaker 1: Any trouble they caused was worth
that price. If the fools wanted to die for

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Speaker 1: Ortevos, then let them. Hmm. We
should have disarmed them,

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Speaker 1: Erastus. It would be unwise to try
now, Captain.

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Speaker 1: Indeed. What were they doing in their
rooms then all this time?

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Speaker 1: Talking to Ortevos? No wonder they
were going mad. And what did they think of her

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Speaker 1: crew, who were probably taking turns
drinking, gambling, and bedding each other?

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Speaker 1: No, they weren't sailors. They didn't
understand what the downturn did to people.

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Speaker 1: A beacon's veil wasn't the queen's
light. The Stillness bled through like sickness

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Speaker 1: into a wound. It would seep into a
person's soul and erode it. Being sick

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Speaker 1: with downturn killed more sailors
than anything else. It was a half step from
going

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Speaker 1: still, from becoming a wretch. All
hands, all hands

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Speaker 1: on deck. Sunder barely had time to
register the alarm before she and everything
else

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Speaker 1: in the room was lifted a foot into
the air and slammed back down. A deep thud

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Speaker 1: reverberated through the ship's old
steel skeleton. Everything not tied down was now

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Speaker 1: rolling around on the floor,
including Erastus and Sunder. Everything except
the

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Speaker 1: furniture and alcohol, really.
Captain Sunder scrambled to her feet, buckled on
her

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Speaker 1: bright sword, and strode to the top
deck, trying to keep the fear from her face.

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Speaker 1: Madame Beacon, please step away from
the rail. One of the Order footmen was trying

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00:17:02.424 --> 00:17:07.164
Speaker 1: to keep Yama away from the side of
the ship, uncertain how to respectfully hold the

181
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Speaker 1: holy woman back. The old woman, for
her part, was completely ignoring the man's

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Speaker 1: pleas, trying to get back to the
railing. Try again, you shadowy bastard.

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Speaker 1: Come see what an old woman's faith is
made of. Spit flew from her lips as she

184
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Speaker 1: wrestled against the younger man
trying to restrain her. Madam, please. Captain

185
00:17:29.104 --> 00:17:33.824
Speaker 1: Sunder walked past the crew who'd
already assembled. They weren't exactly battle

186
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Speaker 1: ready, but they were armed and mostly
clothed. She heard Ortevos calling from his

187
00:17:39.084 --> 00:17:44.744
Speaker 1: rooms below, demanding to know what
was happening. She ignored him. When the beacon

188
00:17:44.784 --> 00:17:48.824
Speaker 1: noticed her on the top deck, she
stopped struggling against the footman and
walked

189
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Speaker 1: over. Captain, my apologies. That
monster caught me

190
00:17:55.124 --> 00:18:00.864
Speaker 1: unprepared. The Order footman
followed her over, apparently unconvinced that
she

191
00:18:00.904 --> 00:18:05.824
Speaker 1: wouldn't make another run at the
railing. She was asleep, uh, sir.

192
00:18:07.224 --> 00:18:12.924
Speaker 1: Sunder noted the belated honorific.
He, too, was technically not compelled to follow

193
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Speaker 1: her orders. There were a lot of
people on her ship like that. If they made it

194
00:18:18.716 --> 00:18:24.396
Speaker 1: back, she resolved not to do that
again, no matter how tempting the offer of free

195
00:18:24.496 --> 00:18:29.676
Speaker 1: soldiers. The beacon looked like she
might incinerate the poor footman before

196
00:18:29.736 --> 00:18:35.656
Speaker 1: turning her attention back to the
shadow denizen in the water. Footman, go fetch
her

197
00:18:35.736 --> 00:18:41.196
Speaker 1: a hot meal. The footman hesitated at
the captain's orders. She didn't know whether

198
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Speaker 1: it was because he wasn't sure if he
should take her orders, or if he was afraid to

199
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Speaker 1: leave the beacon unguarded, lest she
throw herself into the sea like his order

200
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Speaker 1: brother had almost done last night.
This man must not know that beacons were the

201
00:18:55.576 --> 00:19:01.016
Speaker 1: least affected by downturn. Our
beacon knows her business. Go on.

202
00:19:01.896 --> 00:19:06.756
Speaker 1: Sunder wasn't afraid to call the
woman out, but she wouldn't do it in front of a

203
00:19:06.796 --> 00:19:11.336
Speaker 1: whelp like this. It often appeared
that she was asleep to people who were not used

204
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Speaker 1: to traveling with her. The footman
didn't leave, however. I could find Beacon

205
00:19:15.956 --> 00:19:21.136
Speaker 1: Ormaya. She's asleep. The footman
looked at her perplexed.

206
00:19:22.175 --> 00:19:27.736
Speaker 1: Who could sleep through that? Ahem.
Everyone turned to look at

207
00:19:27.796 --> 00:19:33.756
Speaker 1: Errestus, and he blushed. I believe
she was, uh, heavily involved

208
00:19:33.816 --> 00:19:39.536
Speaker 1: in last night's, uh, ritual to ward
off the downturn. The captain

209
00:19:39.616 --> 00:19:45.596
Speaker 1: turned to the footman with
half-lidded eyes. Her temper flared. She's
plastered

210
00:19:45.676 --> 00:19:50.136
Speaker 1: drunk. Don't worry, there's probably
a sailor in her bed to guard her if things get

211
00:19:50.196 --> 00:19:52.256
Speaker 1: dicey. Maybe two.

212
00:19:53.796 --> 00:19:59.036
Speaker 1: She took a little too much pleasure
in the footman's reaction. The man's worldview

213
00:19:59.096 --> 00:20:04.256
Speaker 1: had just been splintered into a
thousand pieces, and now those pieces were
falling

214
00:20:04.316 --> 00:20:10.056
Speaker 1: out his ears. He made the sign of
light and stumbled downstairs, presumably to
find

215
00:20:10.156 --> 00:20:15.096
Speaker 1: food for the beacon. She had no idea
what condition Ormaya was in after last night.

216
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Speaker 1: It was none of her business. She
could do whatever she wanted to to ward off the

217
00:20:21.116 --> 00:20:25.736
Speaker 1: downturn. It certainly wasn't this
lightsick footman's business either.

218
00:20:26.696 --> 00:20:32.556
Speaker 1: Errestus gave her a sour look,
practically a slap coming from him. He had it
coming.

219
00:20:33.476 --> 00:20:34.116
Speaker 1: Aye.

220
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Speaker 1: You don't agree?

221
00:20:38.776 --> 00:20:39.396
Speaker 1: Aye.

222
00:20:41.456 --> 00:20:47.236
Speaker 1: Fine. With respect, Captain, we are
asking that man to die

223
00:20:47.296 --> 00:20:53.056
Speaker 1: tomorrow. I didn't ask him to die,
Ortevos did. Errestus swallowed. He

224
00:20:53.116 --> 00:20:57.456
Speaker 1: wasn't comfortable with conflict like
this. He'd put a sword through a wretch

225
00:20:57.496 --> 00:21:02.916
Speaker 1: without blinking, but this kind of
trouble just went against his nature. Aye, sir.

226
00:21:03.996 --> 00:21:09.756
Speaker 1: Another rebuke for those who knew the
man. Sunder compressed the bridge of her nose

227
00:21:09.836 --> 00:21:10.176
Speaker 1: again.

228
00:21:11.716 --> 00:21:17.176
Speaker 1: I promise not to torment the Order
people more than they already torment
themselves.

229
00:21:18.336 --> 00:21:23.756
Speaker 1: Now, go wake Ormaya. The kid was
right about that much. We're going to need her.

230
00:21:24.316 --> 00:21:28.696
Speaker 1: The first mate nodded, seeming to
appreciate her words, then hustled downstairs.

231
00:21:29.396 --> 00:21:34.816
Speaker 1: Yama began to protest once he was
gone. Sunder spun on her with stern words, but
not

232
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Speaker 1: so loud that the rest of the crew
could hear their close conversation. I can't

233
00:21:40.296 --> 00:21:46.176
Speaker 1: relieve you of duty, but I trust you
to keep us safe. I trust you

234
00:21:46.236 --> 00:21:51.396
Speaker 1: to use the humility the Queen gave
you, to know when you're merely

235
00:21:51.476 --> 00:21:57.316
Speaker 1: tired and when you're through. Yama
recoiled from the harsh words, but she

236
00:21:57.396 --> 00:22:02.756
Speaker 1: needed to hear them. Sunder let them
sink in for a moment before dulling the blow

237
00:22:02.856 --> 00:22:03.536
Speaker 1: just a little.

238
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Speaker 1: We will not survive without your
strength. Please, Yama, don't waste it showing

239
00:22:11.476 --> 00:22:17.296
Speaker 1: us who we already know you to be.
Tears ran down the beacon's face. It

240
00:22:17.496 --> 00:22:23.236
Speaker 1: stunned Sunder into silence. She
hadn't meant to make her cry. She didn't realize

241
00:22:23.316 --> 00:22:28.956
Speaker 1: she could. I see the way they look at
me, the people from the Order. They

242
00:22:29.216 --> 00:22:34.976
Speaker 1: look at me like I'm the Queen herself
walking around half-naked. I'm

243
00:22:35.056 --> 00:22:36.815
Speaker 1: just a person, Amelia.

244
00:22:39.056 --> 00:22:43.836
Speaker 1: I'm not like them. When I'm all used
up, they'll send me back there.

245
00:22:45.436 --> 00:22:50.036
Speaker 1: She waved at the deck roughly where
their Order members were bunked, as if they were

246
00:22:50.056 --> 00:22:55.456
Speaker 1: the ones who would send her back. I
won't do it. I'll turn wretch before I go back

247
00:22:55.516 --> 00:23:01.436
Speaker 1: to the Order. And there it was. She
saw the old woman's fear clearly

248
00:23:01.496 --> 00:23:07.296
Speaker 1: now. Sunder had seen Yama stare down
monsters of pure darkness. She'd seen her

249
00:23:07.376 --> 00:23:12.156
Speaker 1: fight off wretches like she was a
soldier and drink crew half her age under the

250
00:23:12.216 --> 00:23:18.016
Speaker 1: table. Even age itself had only
seemed to make her tougher, if not exactly

251
00:23:18.136 --> 00:23:23.636
Speaker 1: stronger. Yama collapsed into her
padded chair, the burdens of the soul

252
00:23:23.716 --> 00:23:29.336
Speaker 1: piling on top of the burdens of the
body. Captain Sunder placed a hand tenderly on

253
00:23:29.396 --> 00:23:35.116
Speaker 1: her arm. You will always have a home
here, whether you're our beacon or not.

254
00:23:35.816 --> 00:23:40.956
Speaker 1: Let the Order of Light demand you
back. They won't lose a ship over it. Hope

255
00:23:41.056 --> 00:23:46.996
Speaker 1: flickered in the beacon's eyes. What
will I do if I'm not beacon? The captain

256
00:23:47.136 --> 00:23:53.016
Speaker 1: smiled. Someone will have to iron
Errestus' shirts. It's a job for

257
00:23:53.076 --> 00:23:57.796
Speaker 1: three, I'm sure. I don't think you
can manage it. He has more than one.

258
00:23:59.636 --> 00:24:04.956
Speaker 1: I just assumed he wore it constantly.
Someone came up the stairs from below decks,

259
00:24:05.196 --> 00:24:11.036
Speaker 1: right behind Sunder. Errestus, you
have two shirts, right? One... It

260
00:24:11.096 --> 00:24:17.036
Speaker 1: wasn't Errestus. The man turned away
from Sunder and walked toward the rail. Then

261
00:24:17.116 --> 00:24:22.848
Speaker 1: he leaned forward and tipped over.
Disappearing over the edge before she'd even

262
00:24:22.908 --> 00:24:27.748
Speaker 1: realized what happened. Belatedly,
she reached out a hand towards the spot where
the

263
00:24:27.788 --> 00:24:32.968
Speaker 1: man had stood. Javies, a mechanic
from her crew, ran to the edge and looked down

264
00:24:33.048 --> 00:24:38.888
Speaker 1: into the sea, then back at his
captain, his face pale. By the Queen,

265
00:24:39.168 --> 00:24:44.608
Speaker 1: he didn't, he didn't even speak.
Javies looked back down at the ocean and back

266
00:24:44.668 --> 00:24:50.608
Speaker 1: again. She knew instinctively that it
had been one of Ortevos' men. Which one,

267
00:24:50.988 --> 00:24:56.268
Speaker 1: she wasn't sure. He didn't, he didn't
say a damn word. Just walked right off. The

268
00:24:56.348 --> 00:25:01.788
Speaker 1: crew still on deck started making the
signs of light. Sunder didn't relish what

269
00:25:01.848 --> 00:25:07.848
Speaker 1: would come next. Someone had to tell
Ortevos the Stillness had taken its

270
00:25:07.948 --> 00:25:08.808
Speaker 1: first victim.

271
00:25:08.888 --> 00:25:23.228
Speaker 1: [gentle music]

272
00:25:23.288 --> 00:25:28.548
Speaker 1: Ortevos' cabin was spartan. There
were so few belongings besides his holy books
that

273
00:25:28.608 --> 00:25:33.488
Speaker 1: she had to believe it was
intentional. Each thing he brought besides those
visible

274
00:25:33.568 --> 00:25:38.968
Speaker 1: tokens of faith would water down the
image he'd crafted of himself. Naturally, that

275
00:25:39.048 --> 00:25:44.008
Speaker 1: asceticism only went so far. The 12
footmen he'd brought along all shared a single

276
00:25:44.088 --> 00:25:49.348
Speaker 1: cabin, only slightly larger than the
one he kept to himself. Currently, he was

277
00:25:49.428 --> 00:25:53.768
Speaker 1: pacing back and forth, purposefully
ignoring the chair right in front of the seated

278
00:25:53.848 --> 00:25:59.568
Speaker 1: captain. He was a tall man in
billowing yellow and white robes, tall and

279
00:25:59.668 --> 00:26:04.328
Speaker 1: angular, with the build of a person
who had only ever observed hard labor from a

280
00:26:04.368 --> 00:26:09.968
Speaker 1: distance. Watchful eyes hovered in
the doorway to the adjoining cabin. Sunder

281
00:26:10.048 --> 00:26:15.508
Speaker 1: ignored the watching footmen and
tried to focus on the conversation at hand. And
you

282
00:26:15.568 --> 00:26:21.328
Speaker 1: didn't turn back for him? Keep your
voice down. There was no

283
00:26:21.408 --> 00:26:26.848
Speaker 1: reason to make a show of this. Was he
pushed? Who was there? Apparently, he'd

284
00:26:26.908 --> 00:26:32.688
Speaker 1: already given up on his original
question. My mechanic, Javies, was closest, but
we

285
00:26:32.788 --> 00:26:38.768
Speaker 1: all saw it happen, Ortevos. He just
walked off. It happens. He

286
00:26:38.828 --> 00:26:44.788
Speaker 1: won't be the first. What's that
supposed to mean? It means the Stillness can
kill

287
00:26:44.848 --> 00:26:50.648
Speaker 1: by eating a person's soul as surely
as any monster it harbors. I

288
00:26:50.968 --> 00:26:56.768
Speaker 1: know the Scripture. She believed he
knew every word of the Scripture, but she

289
00:26:56.828 --> 00:27:00.988
Speaker 1: doubted he really understood the
warnings written there as anything more than

290
00:27:01.048 --> 00:27:06.848
Speaker 1: phrases to be memorized and
regurgitated to his peers. He was sick.

291
00:27:07.308 --> 00:27:13.248
Speaker 1: The signs were there. Keep an eye on
your people, or there will be more. Keep

292
00:27:13.288 --> 00:27:18.768
Speaker 1: an eye on your people. Sunder told
herself not to take the bait.

293
00:27:19.408 --> 00:27:24.888
Speaker 1: Don't do it. The faithful have
nothing to fear in the Queen's light.

294
00:27:25.768 --> 00:27:31.528
Speaker 1: This wasn't the Queen's light. Did he
hear anything they'd discussed when making

295
00:27:31.608 --> 00:27:37.208
Speaker 1: plans? How could anyone be so naive?
Sunder tried to

296
00:27:37.268 --> 00:27:43.128
Speaker 1: collect herself. By first light, we
will be at the foundry you're looking

297
00:27:43.248 --> 00:27:49.028
Speaker 1: for. Just try to stay calm and
remember why we're here. The

298
00:27:49.088 --> 00:27:54.268
Speaker 1: veins on the man's neck bulged
visibly. He was sweating far more than seemed

299
00:27:54.368 --> 00:27:58.528
Speaker 1: reasonable. If he were anyone else,
she'd have the medic run him through the eight

300
00:27:58.588 --> 00:28:03.848
Speaker 1: questions. But she knew Ortevos would
refuse to be diagnosed. Don't worry,

301
00:28:04.048 --> 00:28:07.508
Speaker 1: Captain. We know who our enemies are.

302
00:28:09.568 --> 00:28:14.888
Speaker 1: Sunder glanced at the door where his
footmen looked into the room. Suddenly, she

303
00:28:14.968 --> 00:28:20.708
Speaker 1: felt very trapped by their hard
stares. She was glad she'd left Erastus

304
00:28:20.788 --> 00:28:26.148
Speaker 1: just outside the cabin door, just in
case. Stupid.

305
00:28:26.708 --> 00:28:32.228
Speaker 1: She'd been so stupid to let these
fanatics on her ship. You're confined to

306
00:28:32.308 --> 00:28:37.788
Speaker 1: quarters until we make first
sighting. Then you and your footmen can go

307
00:28:37.968 --> 00:28:43.808
Speaker 1: searching for what you came for. She
thought he'd be outraged at the order. Instead,

308
00:28:44.168 --> 00:28:50.128
Speaker 1: Ortevos said nothing, raising his
chin and looking down his angular nose at her. A

309
00:28:50.208 --> 00:28:56.148
Speaker 1: thousand calculations played in the
mind behind those dark eyes. Sunder didn't wait

310
00:28:56.188 --> 00:29:01.988
Speaker 1: to find out what they might be. She
stood and left the room. See you

311
00:29:02.048 --> 00:29:08.008
Speaker 1: at first light. [door slamming] And
though she didn't say it out loud, part of her

312
00:29:08.088 --> 00:29:10.168
Speaker 1: hoped he wouldn't come back

313
00:29:10.228 --> 00:30:01.888
Speaker 1: tomorrow.

314
00:30:01.908 --> 00:30:02.208
Speaker 1: [gentle music]