Uncorrected Scribe v2 machine transcript. Neutral speaker labels are specific to this recording. Review flags: 2.
TXT · SRT · VTT · Untouched JSON · Review flags
Source: collected/046-allegiance-episode-2-raw.mp3
SHA-256: 81f493699ee9ede892fefc040fd16cbdea9e484ce3a8de44f0ab2fab59e141a0
00:00:00.260 Speaker 1 Allegiance.
00:00:16.740 Speaker 1 Chapter Three. Storm at the Edge of Civilization.
00:00:22.340 Speaker 1 Maria Felter, mayor of Far Reach, stood on her balcony watching the two storms race
00:00:27.860 Speaker 1 toward each other. The first storm, a deep, dark blue, had come creeping up the
00:00:33.860 Speaker 1 foothills over the past day. Its thunder was the slow, plodding steps of an ancient
00:00:39.540 Speaker 1 monster.
00:00:41.480 Speaker 1 The second storm formed in the northwest in just the last few hours. This one seemed
00:00:46.620 Speaker 1 to race toward them. Already she could feel the winter winds whipping about before
00:00:51.320 Speaker 1 the approaching storms. The clouds of the second storm were red, a writhing
00:00:57.120 Speaker 1 red-gray mass, like a tumor in the sky. Neither storm was supposed to exist
00:01:03.080 Speaker 1 anymore. The storm riders themselves were a thing of legend. Only the meek, broken
00:01:08.860 Speaker 1 descendants of the highland giants remained, scraping out a living on a miserable
00:01:13.380 Speaker 1 little plateau far to the south. Of course, that didn't help explain what she was
00:01:18.420 Speaker 1 seeing today.
00:01:22.160 Speaker 1 Maria herself had spent most of the last day denying that the approaching storm was
00:01:26.740 Speaker 1 actually tinted blue, and it wasn't just some trick of the eye. That lie had died on
00:01:32.600 Speaker 1 her lips when the second storm had formed, sliding over the neighboring mountains
00:01:36.800 Speaker 1 like a blood clot in the sky. They had sent word to the capital city, New Terrace,
00:01:42.520 Speaker 1 then. They sent word to everyone. Someone was supposed to be fetching an ambassador
00:01:47.860 Speaker 1 of the Highlanders. Someone was supposed to be explaining why storybook monsters
00:01:53.240 Speaker 1 were at her doorstep. There's a telegram, sir. And the chief of security, Rilfrid,
00:01:57.960 Speaker 1 sat in the nearby chair. The electric telegram operator waved her into the office.
00:02:02.460 Speaker 1 Maria tore herself away from the spectacle in the sky and stepped back inside. If
00:02:07.760 Speaker 1 her guess was right, the two storms would actually collide just before reaching her
00:02:12.560 Speaker 1 city nestled in the mountains. She'd passed that bit of information along and was
00:02:17.580 Speaker 1 hoping that this was their reply. The telegram operator sat at a little desk
00:02:22.740 Speaker 1 listening to the chirping beeps of the telegram codes, writing down the words on an
00:02:27.120 Speaker 1 unrolling sheet of paper as she deciphered them. I'll read them as they come.
00:02:32.220 Speaker 1 Ambassador here. Rebel factions.
00:02:38.240 Speaker 1 Not Highlander. Well, of course they would say that. Their ambassador wasn't going
00:02:43.660 Speaker 1 to admit to treachery. Storms colliding.
00:02:49.480 Speaker 1 Infighting probable. Maria lost her patience. There was a
00:02:55.360 Speaker 1 treaty against this kind of thing. It was dangerously close to looking like an
00:02:59.660 Speaker 1 attack on a human city. Just ask them why they're fighting outside my damn city.
00:03:06.380 Speaker 1 The telegram operator jumped in alarm. I, I have to wait until the wire's clear,
00:03:10.820 Speaker 1 sir.
00:03:13.820 Speaker 1 There's more. Arm yourselves. Okay, that's the
00:03:19.840 Speaker 1 end of the message. How should I respond? The mayor just stood there, stupefied.
00:03:26.420 Speaker 1 Arm themselves? Against giants? Surely that couldn't be right.
00:03:32.240 Speaker 1 She'd made a mistake. She was about to tell the operator so when the chief of
00:03:36.420 Speaker 1 finance spoke first. It's a bluff. Attacking a human city would be the last thing
00:03:42.340 Speaker 1 the Highlanders would ever do. They know it. We know it. Maria
00:03:48.320 Speaker 1 pointed out the open balcony doors. It was cold, growing colder by the second, but
00:03:54.380 Speaker 1 she didn't want to turn her back on this threat. Better to leave the doors wide open
00:03:59.780 Speaker 1 for everyone to see. Then how do you explain that, Eric? They're coming right at us.
00:04:06.520 Speaker 1 You said it yourself. The storms will stop well before the city. They'll rumble
00:04:12.140 Speaker 1 around a little, and the snakes in New Terrace will concede some minor resource to
00:04:17.860 Speaker 1 the Highlanders. It's politics, dear. I know you're new at this. And you?
00:04:24.820 Speaker 1 She spun on the chief of security. Where's the militia? What's your plan for
00:04:30.300 Speaker 1 defense? The man squirmed under the sudden attention. He had been content to remain
00:04:36.260 Speaker 1 in the background until now. He probably wouldn't have even come into her office if
00:04:41.440 Speaker 1 she hadn't caught him sneaking out of the building. The council had appointed these
00:04:46.100 Speaker 1 people. She hadn't chosen them. It was a check on her power, even though she was an
00:04:51.460 Speaker 1 elected official. This was a republic working correctly, supposedly.
00:04:57.240 Speaker 1 Lords above help them if that was true. I, I have my lieutenants going door to door,
00:05:03.400 Speaker 1 asking for volunteers. We'll have a good count of fighting men by sundown. Uh,
00:05:09.940 Speaker 1 you're asking for volunteers to fight giants? How many takers so far,
00:05:15.780 Speaker 1 Rilfrid? With some luck, you might have enough soldiers to lower the front gates so
00:05:20.480 Speaker 1 they can walk right in. I'll make sure you're there to greet them, by the way. I
00:05:24.640 Speaker 1 think I have that much power.
00:05:27.660 Speaker 1 Rilfrid paled at the threat. The, the giants, Maria. If they want to fight,
00:05:33.720 Speaker 1 I don't think we can stop them. Perhaps we should simply surrender.
00:05:42.980 Speaker 1 She had to admit he was right about that much. What was she supposed to do?
00:05:49.580 Speaker 1 The mayor looked outside at the approaching storms. So unnatural in the way they
00:05:54.540 Speaker 1 moved. What was happening here? It didn't feel like a political play, and it
00:06:00.160 Speaker 1 certainly wasn't a coincidence. It seemed like the entire republic was under siege
00:06:05.420 Speaker 1 these days. Droughts in the east squeezed the grain supply. The wild shapers that
00:06:11.008 Speaker 1 lived there swore they had no hand in the weather. They abided by the same treaties
00:06:16.408 Speaker 1 that were supposed to bind the Highlanders. The old magic that made their ancestors
00:06:21.008 Speaker 1 so fearsome was just a part of history now. Lords, they were part of the
00:06:26.348 Speaker 1 Republic, if in name, not always in spirit.
00:06:31.828 Speaker 1 Worse, there was a plague in New Terrace itself. The disease ravaged the densely
00:06:36.708 Speaker 1 populated city, putting great cracks through the country's industrial might. Now
00:06:41.528 Speaker 1 magical storms from her childhood stories were rolling towards her city. It was one
00:06:47.148 Speaker 1 coincidence too many.
00:06:51.828 Speaker 1 Something bigger was at play here, but she couldn't see what it was. She could only
00:06:56.808 Speaker 1 glimpse the shape of a design larger and more frightening than she would have
00:07:01.288 Speaker 1 believed until today. Thunder shook the building and her eyes snapped up to the
00:07:06.488 Speaker 1 clouds. The storms were approaching each other in the sky.
00:07:11.728 Speaker 1 A tendril of red clouds spun out from the mass and swirled into the blue clouds.
00:07:17.048 Speaker 1 Instead of slamming into each other, the two storms slowed, swirling around each
00:07:22.248 Speaker 1 other like dancers at a ball. They didn't look like they were fighting at all.
00:07:28.488 Speaker 1 They looked like they were... Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
00:07:34.968 Speaker 1 A bolt of purple lightning shot across the sky. The storm swelled and grew,
00:07:40.908 Speaker 1 mixing until only a single mass of deep purple clouds remained where
00:07:46.928 Speaker 1 two storms once churned. Tell New Terrace. Tell them. I, I
00:07:53.008 Speaker 1 can't. There's, there's static on the line. Why?
00:07:58.568 Speaker 1 I don't know. Interference, maybe. I don't know. It was hard to hear her over the
00:08:04.168 Speaker 1 sound of the approaching storm. The room grew dark as the shadow fell over Far
00:08:09.428 Speaker 1 Reach, the most western city, the pinnacle of human ambition.
00:08:15.807 Speaker 1 They had cut a tunnel through the very stones of this mountain range to get here. It
00:08:20.708 Speaker 1 was meant to be the beginning of a new era of prosperity. As Maria stared into the
00:08:26.648 Speaker 1 sea of darkness swirling above her, she knew they'd been wrong. It was actually the
00:08:32.688 Speaker 1 end. Another bolt of purple lightning leapt from the clouds, striking the streets of
00:08:38.368 Speaker 1 the city below. She blinked away the spots of light from her eyes and saw a man
00:08:43.248 Speaker 1 standing where the bolt had struck. A man more than three times taller than any man
00:08:48.928 Speaker 1 should stand. He wore dark purple gleaming armor. Little lines of electric power
00:08:54.908 Speaker 1 still arced off his skin. More lightning struck, and everywhere it struck, another
00:09:00.748 Speaker 1 giant burst into existence, as if they had ridden the very bolt itself to the
00:09:05.868 Speaker 1 ground. Snow fell in a great white sheet until Maria could see nothing but white,
00:09:11.848 Speaker 1 occasionally punctuated by a flash of purple. The raging storm swallowed her
00:09:16.708 Speaker 1 building entirely. The snow drifts were already piling up inside. The other three
00:09:22.288 Speaker 1 people helped her push the heavy doors closed. Unfortunately, they had been too
00:09:27.668 Speaker 1 slow. She had already heard the first screams rise from the city. Her
00:09:33.588 Speaker 1 city. She sank to the floor. Belatedly, she hoped that the
00:09:39.268 Speaker 1 logging towns on the other side of the mountains would hear her telegram messages.
00:09:43.828 Speaker 1 Not all of them had wires, but maybe they were listening. It was the last hope
00:09:49.708 Speaker 1 she clung to as she heard the doors downstairs explode inward. If they were
00:09:55.428 Speaker 1 listening, maybe they still had time to run.
00:10:00.408 Speaker 1 Chapter four. Useful. Elm leapt out of bed, then
00:10:06.028 Speaker 1 immediately regretted it. His body felt like it was made of wood. Muscles he didn't
00:10:11.148 Speaker 1 even know he had were sore, and yet it only made him happier. He
00:10:17.108 Speaker 1 hobbled downstairs and found the house empty. A note was on the kitchen table,
00:10:21.488 Speaker 1 written in his father's hand. Had to work late. So proud of you. He read it
00:10:27.187 Speaker 1 again, just to make sure it was real. His father was
00:10:32.648 Speaker 1 proud? So he'd done it. He'd actually done something right? Well, that was a
00:10:38.708 Speaker 1 strange feeling. He still felt a pang of anxiety when he stepped out the front door
00:10:43.988 Speaker 1 into the winter chill, though. What if he couldn't keep it up?
00:10:49.128 Speaker 1 Anyone could do three days. The man who'd taken bets on Elm had told him so.
00:10:55.008 Speaker 1 Well, if that were true, he'd just have to do four, then five. Take it one day at a
00:11:00.848 Speaker 1 time. If he could get his saw to do whatever it did again, and if he got a
00:11:06.808 Speaker 1 little bit stronger, well, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be useless.
00:11:14.308 Speaker 1 Elm had walked right up to the old trader's wagon without even realizing it. He
00:11:18.668 Speaker 1 would have taken another route if he'd been paying attention. The sliding window to
00:11:23.328 Speaker 1 the wagon was slightly ajar. The smell of pipe smoke drifted out. He ducked his head
00:11:29.088 Speaker 1 under the height of the window and walked as softly as he could. Excuse me. Elm
00:11:34.928 Speaker 1 leapt forward, stumbled, and looked backward over his shoulder. The junk trader
00:11:39.248 Speaker 1 stepped out from behind her wagon, smiling warmly. He looked down at her clothes.
00:11:44.608 Speaker 1 The corpses of things hung off her. He didn't wait for her to speak. He started
00:11:50.008 Speaker 1 running. But then something strange happened to his feet. His shoes tugged at odd
00:11:54.708 Speaker 1 angles like the ground had become uneven. He tried to keep running, but his right
00:11:59.208 Speaker 1 foot stuck to the ground as if glued there. Elm was slammed to the earth by his own
00:12:03.928 Speaker 1 momentum, his ankle twisting painfully in the frozen shoe. He cried out in pain, and
00:12:09.188 Speaker 1 when he tried to lift his foot, it resisted the move- He pulled harder and then it
00:12:14.352 Speaker 1 unstuck from the ground with a jerk. His shoes were not particularly alive, but he
00:12:20.012 Speaker 1 sensed their confusion. This was not how they wanted to be treated, whatever he'd
00:12:25.032 Speaker 1 just done. Elm became aware of the old trader walking toward him. She was
00:12:30.212 Speaker 1 responsible for this somehow. Did she trip him? Did she have some kind of shoe
00:12:35.992 Speaker 1 magic? No, that was dumb. When he stood, the pain was incredible. His ankle
00:12:42.012 Speaker 1 was already swelling. Sensing his unease, the right sock stiffened to brace the
00:12:47.252 Speaker 1 wavering joint. It still hurt, but the makeshift brace let him hobble away. The junk
00:12:52.832 Speaker 1 trader didn't follow him as he half stumbled, half ran down the street. Tears flowed
00:12:58.612 Speaker 1 freely from his eyes. Every other step sent electric jolts of pain that went all the
00:13:03.612 Speaker 1 way up through his thigh. Could he work? Could he still work? When he rounded the
00:13:09.372 Speaker 1 corner to the sawmill entrance, he forced himself to walk normally, gritted his
00:13:14.932 Speaker 1 teeth against the pain. He nodded at the foreman, willing the man to ignore his
00:13:20.292 Speaker 1 injury. Maybe he could just take it slow. It would feel better later.
00:13:26.072 Speaker 1 Except a voice in the back of his mind told him that wasn't true. He ignored it.
00:13:31.872 Speaker 1 "Mornin', Elm. Listen, we, uh,
00:13:38.172 Speaker 1 we need to talk." "I'm ready to get to work. I'll do even better today."
00:13:44.112 Speaker 1 Elm tried to walk right past the older man. "Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down
00:13:49.052 Speaker 1 there. How about that? Lords above, boy, your pants are on backwards."
00:13:54.152 Speaker 1 "What?" "Look down." Elm looked
00:13:59.872 Speaker 1 down. His work jeans were indeed on backward. Maybe that was why he'd fallen.
00:14:06.072 Speaker 1 "Oh." The foreman signed in two other men who walked past him, exchanging
00:14:12.152 Speaker 1 pleasantries with them. "Hey, listen. I appreciate your hard work yesterday, and
00:14:17.272 Speaker 1 I'll see that you get paid for it." "I really should get to work, sir." He knew what
00:14:21.692 Speaker 1 Wilton would say, and he didn't want to hear it. He couldn't hear it, so he started
00:14:27.412 Speaker 1 walking away instead. Wilton put a hand on his shoulder, gentle but firm. "You're
00:14:33.172 Speaker 1 just not cut out for this. I probably shouldn't have humored you yesterday, and I'm
00:14:38.552 Speaker 1 sorry for that. You're a great kid, but..."
00:14:43.172 Speaker 1 Wilton's voice faded away, and Elm couldn't hear the words anymore. It didn't matter
00:14:49.592 Speaker 1 because he already knew what they meant. They confirmed what he'd known all along.
00:14:56.392 Speaker 1 Part of him knew he was being unfair. He really wasn't cut out for this kind of
00:15:00.652 Speaker 1 work. It w- it wasn't clear why his father thought he would be. Maybe he hadn't
00:15:05.592 Speaker 1 known it was heavy labor. But still, he'd wanted so bad to prove
00:15:11.112 Speaker 1 himself. Maybe he still could. Maybe he could move as many pieces as Gus,
00:15:17.192 Speaker 1 work twice as long as everyone else. Perhaps if he promised that, Wilton would let
00:15:21.812 Speaker 1 him stay. Someone came up to Wilton with an urgent question, and he stepped away to
00:15:26.232 Speaker 1 help. Seeing the foreman's back turned, Elm hobbled off into the outer yard as fast
00:15:31.232 Speaker 1 as he could. He, he hid behind the newly delivered mountain of logs and watched the
00:15:36.272 Speaker 1 foreman turn around, looking for him. Elm waited until the foreman gave up and
00:15:41.272 Speaker 1 closed the front gate to leave. Wilton had barely visited the outer yard the day
00:15:46.832 Speaker 1 before, only stopping by every now and then to check on the tallies. Perhaps if Elm
00:15:51.692 Speaker 1 could get a great deal of work done before he came back... He took one step and
00:15:57.312 Speaker 1 collapsed to the ground. His sock had finally gone limp. It seemed sorry but
00:16:03.212 Speaker 1 exhausted. His ankle screamed in pain. It f- it felt as large as a melon.
00:16:10.112 Speaker 1 Elm rolled over and looked up at the pre-dawn sky. He knew it was over.
00:16:16.712 Speaker 1 He should just stumble out before anyone noticed him. But he was just
00:16:22.432 Speaker 1 so tired of being useless. So he gritted his teeth and
00:16:28.492 Speaker 1 pulled himself onto his hands and knees. He looked around. The other workers weren't
00:16:33.371 Speaker 1 out here yet, but they would be here soon. Elm looked at the front gate. If he was
00:16:38.472 Speaker 1 going to leave unnoticed, now was his last chance. Then he turned and looked at the
00:16:43.712 Speaker 1 equipment shed. Gus' saw was in there, probably humming with that same excitement,
00:16:49.992 Speaker 1 the thrill of being useful, vibrating with a thirst for purpose. He...
00:16:56.352 Speaker 1 So he turned his back on the front gate and started crawling towards the equipment
00:17:00.912 Speaker 1 shed. He managed to pull open the locker and get out the saw. It seemed brighter,
00:17:07.352 Speaker 1 cleaner, stronger than it did yesterday. It didn't speak to him with words. It
00:17:13.152 Speaker 1 sang to him with feelings. It sang of a hard sweat on a cold morning.
00:17:19.152 Speaker 1 It sang of the smell of sawdust. It sang of the firm grip of a calloused
00:17:24.932 Speaker 1 hand. "I'm sorry, Gus' saw. I can't use you anymore.
00:17:31.312 Speaker 1 I think, I think this is it."
00:17:34.752 Speaker 1 But the saw didn't understand his words. It only understood work.
00:17:40.612 Speaker 1 So Elm spoke to it in a way that it would understand. He dragged himself back out to
00:17:46.472 Speaker 1 the log pile. The rest of the crew was walking out of the main warehouse now,
00:17:50.632 Speaker 1 laughing with each other. Elm didn't wait for them to notice him. Instead, he used
00:17:55.652 Speaker 1 his entire body weight to roll a big log away from the stack and started cutting. He
00:18:00.772 Speaker 1 cut into the log, and, and the saw sang. Once that was done, he rolled
00:18:06.512 Speaker 1 another one out, ignoring the concerned questions of the others. He cut this one
00:18:11.412 Speaker 1 even faster. Sawdust showered him with each stroke. He barely noticed. When he
00:18:17.212 Speaker 1 tried to roll out another log, someone stopped him. "Let me try."
00:18:23.642 Speaker 1 It was Renfro. He took his hand off Elm, but still looked deeply concerned. Then
00:18:29.902 Speaker 1 something amazing happened. Instead of picking him up like a sulking child, Renfro
00:18:35.982 Speaker 1 rolled over another log. Elm got to work. He cut this log even
00:18:41.482 Speaker 1 faster, the splinters of wood flying out with such force that some of them stuck
00:18:46.322 Speaker 1 into his skin. Another log rolled out. Elm sang a song of
00:18:51.862 Speaker 1 sawdust. He sang a song of hard sweat on a cold morning. He sang a
00:18:57.842 Speaker 1 song of calloused hands. He sang a song of purpose. When he was
00:19:03.722 Speaker 1 done, he couldn't even sit upright anymore. He was vaguely aware that people were
00:19:08.562 Speaker 1 watching him. His entire body was caked with sawdust. He coughed heavily as someone
00:19:14.222 Speaker 1 poured water in his mouth. Something was wrong with the saw in his hands. It had
00:19:20.242 Speaker 1 been glowing, actually glowing for hours while he worked. It had
00:19:26.102 Speaker 1 been hours? Yes, it had been. Now it was dull,
00:19:32.442 Speaker 1 brittle, and somehow lighter in his hand, and he could tell it was lifeless.
00:19:39.482 Speaker 1 Elm wiped away the dust from his face and looked around, slowly coming back to
00:19:43.382 Speaker 1 himself. Nearly forty people stood around the outer yard. They took turns staring at
00:19:49.322 Speaker 1 him and staring at something else. No one talked to him. Even the person who'd
00:19:55.202 Speaker 1 given him water backed away once he was sitting on his own. Elm looked through the
00:19:59.582 Speaker 1 gaps in the standing people, trying to see what they were looking at. Where are all
00:20:04.302 Speaker 1 the logs?
00:20:06.782 Speaker 1 Giant's beard, Elm. You cut them all. You cut them
00:20:12.382 Speaker 1 all.
00:20:14.382 Speaker 1 Elm tried to stand, but couldn't move. He was so tired.
00:20:20.482 Speaker 1 He didn't realize someone could be this tired. I did?
00:20:27.042 Speaker 1 People mumbled in assent, but nobody seemed eager to talk to him. For some reason,
00:20:32.561 Speaker 1 they didn't seem all that pleased. Hadn't he done most of the week's work for them,
00:20:37.882 Speaker 1 and in a single day? He looked down at Gus's old saw. Thank you.
00:20:45.402 Speaker 1 He had spoken to it in the only language it understood. All right, all right. Get
00:20:51.262 Speaker 1 back to work. Get back to work. The foreman dispersed the assembled crowd. The
00:20:57.082 Speaker 1 man walked up to Elm, but like the others, didn't come any closer than he needed to
00:21:01.722 Speaker 1 be heard. Lords above. I almost stopped you a dozen times, you know that?
00:21:08.522 Speaker 1 It looks like you're about to faint. I, uh, I've never seen a saw
00:21:14.262 Speaker 1 glow like that before.
00:21:17.362 Speaker 1 Then he simply stared at Elm. Elm looked away, then forced himself to
00:21:23.022 Speaker 1 stand. Most people had returned to work, or at least pretended to return to work. He
00:21:29.022 Speaker 1 didn't like the fearful looks they gave him, though. He didn't like the hushed
00:21:34.082 Speaker 1 whispers they gave him when he passed. The foreman followed him all the way to the
00:21:39.102 Speaker 1 front gate. What? What happened? Elm sagged against
00:21:45.082 Speaker 1 the gate, worried he wouldn't be able to get moving again. And he thought about it.
00:21:51.682 Speaker 1 He couldn't have just put the saw back. When Gus left, he'd left it behind, a living
00:21:57.142 Speaker 1 thing without a purpose.
00:22:00.102 Speaker 1 Elm might be through, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the saw there to rust,
00:22:06.402 Speaker 1 alone, always wondering when it would sing again. I had to say
00:22:13.082 Speaker 1 goodbye. Then he dropped the saw to the ground. It was just
00:22:19.002 Speaker 1 metal and wood now.
00:22:22.402 Speaker 1 Elm's walk back was slow and painful. As much as his body ached, his soul ached
00:22:27.802 Speaker 1 more. This is what it was to be useless. Even the impressive things he'd
00:22:33.622 Speaker 1 done were only borrowed, and for a short time at that. The old woman stood
00:22:39.582 Speaker 1 outside her wagon, smoking her pipe.
00:22:43.582 Speaker 1 Elm groaned, but made no effort to avoid her. That was impossible now.
00:22:49.482 Speaker 1 Hello, Elm. Hi.
00:22:54.042 Speaker 1 Are you ready now?
00:22:57.762 Speaker 1 He was tired of these games. Just tell me what you want, then leave me alone. She
00:23:03.822 Speaker 1 tapped more ash out of her pipe, then replaced it in her mouth. If she was bothered
00:23:08.482 Speaker 1 by his tone, it didn't show. I want a legacy. He stopped walking,
00:23:14.522 Speaker 1 and for a moment, was afraid he might fall over. He was so tired.
00:23:20.282 Speaker 1 Too tired. What?
00:23:24.162 Speaker 1 You asked me what I want, and I told you. Now, what do you want?
00:23:31.002 Speaker 1 He stared at her through half-lidded eyes. He was about to fall asleep right here.
00:23:37.402 Speaker 1 I want He wanted what everything wanted, of
00:23:43.162 Speaker 1 course. I want to be useful. The old woman smiled at that.
00:23:49.842 Speaker 1 Her teeth were stained yellow. Her drab, lifeless clothes hung off her tiny frame,
00:23:55.662 Speaker 1 making her look even more disheveled. Clothes shouldn't do that. They should at
00:24:00.922 Speaker 1 least try to fit you. Who would even want clothes that didn't help out, at least a
00:24:05.982 Speaker 1 little? He couldn't imagine how long it must take to find clothes that fit you like
00:24:11.522 Speaker 1 that. Good. Our time is short, so let's get out of the cold.
00:24:18.182 Speaker 1 I'll make you some lunch, brew some tea. Then let me tell you
00:24:23.962 Speaker 1 about allegiance. Let me tell you about your mother.