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Source: collected/030-everhouse-episode-1.mp3
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00:00:00.080 Speaker 1 [gentle music]
00:00:50.360 Speaker 1 Everhouse.
00:00:52.680 Speaker 1 Prologue. SRO Central Mail Office.
00:00:58.340 Speaker 1 The Sewing Room Outskirts Central Mail Office was barely controlled chaos.
00:01:04.760 Speaker 1 The operation had outgrown this three-room area a decade ago. Now it unofficially
00:01:10.880 Speaker 1 stretched across 200 rooms. The rooms' official occupants had mostly
00:01:16.480 Speaker 1 vacated. There were a few holdouts, though, people who ate breakfast and read books
00:01:22.060 Speaker 1 while the business of mail was done around them. One old man continued, despite
00:01:27.820 Speaker 1 every insistence from their people, to use the toilet of one of the mail receiving
00:01:32.680 Speaker 1 rooms. The room was officially allotted to him, after all. That could be fixed with
00:01:38.500 Speaker 1 the stroke of a pen. The people of Inner House couldn't even be bothered to lift a
00:01:42.960 Speaker 1 pen to help them, though. How hard was it to lift a pen? Well, things didn't
00:01:48.760 Speaker 1 stop in the Outskirts just because of that. If there was a problem, they either
00:01:53.420 Speaker 1 worked around it, or if they could, they flat out ignored it. Yes, things kept
00:01:59.440 Speaker 1 moving in the Outskirts, one way or another. It was wild here, but it was alive.
00:02:05.700 Speaker 1 Ebenezer Credence pulled the next crate of letters off the stack and onto his desk.
00:02:10.900 Speaker 1 The heavy crate thumped against the desk. Ebenezer prepared his mind for the mental
00:02:15.720 Speaker 1 load. You had to warm up for things like this.
00:02:20.340 Speaker 1 Other people with similar-looking crates in their arms raced around through the
00:02:24.140 Speaker 1 routing office. A look of fragile panic accompanied each of them. One slip-up and
00:02:29.480 Speaker 1 the mountain of mail they'd failed to deliver might come crashing down on them.
00:02:34.780 Speaker 1 Ebenezer pulled the first letter out of the crate and examined it. It was written in
00:02:39.520 Speaker 1 a beautiful flowing script. The envelope itself read, "From Maple Rooms,
00:02:45.580 Speaker 1 Sitting Room District South, Courtyards. To Office of Outskirt
00:02:51.140 Speaker 1 Protection, Governance District, The Emerald Halls."
00:02:55.540 Speaker 1 [whistles] Must be an important letter.
00:03:01.900 Speaker 1 Jonas sat down at the desk next to Ebenezer, shaking the room. The sound of his
00:03:06.840 Speaker 1 breathing pulled him away from the letter. "Another day in paradise, right?"
00:03:13.000 Speaker 1 "Yeah. Grace quit. You heard that, right?" "Of course I heard that. You could hear
00:03:18.760 Speaker 1 that a dozen rooms away. They wanted her to work the replenishment. I would have
00:03:23.300 Speaker 1 quit, too." "When's that?" "Replenishment? Tomorrow, Eb. Maker's
00:03:29.180 Speaker 1 hand, how many shifts have you worked?" His vision drifted to the hallway beside
00:03:34.820 Speaker 1 him. The crates of mail were stacked so high that there was little room to walk
00:03:39.380 Speaker 1 anymore. The tightening maze of crates only added to the hum of anxiety around them.
00:03:44.660 Speaker 1 "A couple. [sighs] I'll catch the next replenishment." But
00:03:50.520 Speaker 1 Jonas was already in his own world. He'd pulled his own letters out of a crate and
00:03:54.840 Speaker 1 started haphazardly sorting them into slots, only slowing to actually read the
00:03:59.720 Speaker 1 destinations when somebody wandered by their desks. Hopefully none of those letters
00:04:05.260 Speaker 1 were important. Ebenezer looked down at the letter in his hands again. It was a
00:04:11.100 Speaker 1 shame about that pretty handwriting. This was as far as that letter would go in the
00:04:15.940 Speaker 1 envelope they'd used. Nothing reached The Emerald Halls without his supervisor's
00:04:20.820 Speaker 1 personal stamp. It would get vetted like that through two more routing offices. So
00:04:27.160 Speaker 1 naturally, he tore it open and read the contents. "To the
00:04:32.660 Speaker 1 bureaucrat ignoring our letters. It has been six months since my first letter, and
00:04:38.460 Speaker 1 you still haven't responded. We're desperate. Is anyone even reading these?
00:04:44.540 Speaker 1 If you are, know this: 65 people still live here. That's
00:04:50.360 Speaker 1 65 people's blood on your hands. Whoever you are, please send
00:04:56.700 Speaker 1 help. Lightslingers. We need lightslingers. The infection is out of
00:05:02.200 Speaker 1 control. We have the children barricaded at night. The Sprawl are starting to
00:05:08.240 Speaker 1 walk." "Hey, Eb." Ebenezer looked up from his letter. Jonas was
00:05:14.180 Speaker 1 pointing at a pen on the ground. "Hey, can you get that for me?" Ebenezer bent
00:05:20.160 Speaker 1 over and picked up the pen, then went back to reading his letter. "The Sprawl are
00:05:26.220 Speaker 1 starting to walk. Nothing bigger than an end table, yet. We can't solve this
00:05:32.200 Speaker 1 with perimeter lamps. They eat the damn lamps. That's what kind of infestation we're
00:05:37.360 Speaker 1 talking about here. It's not just the Maple Rooms either. Every neighborhood around
00:05:43.220 Speaker 1 here is overwhelmed. Last week, we got more lamps. We don't need more lamps. We
00:05:49.240 Speaker 1 need lightslingers. Nothing else will help. If you even pretend to care about the
00:05:55.160 Speaker 1 Courtyards, you'll send help. Marcy Felt Chair."
00:06:01.392 Speaker 1 Ebenezer set the letter down and scratched his chin. This letter wasn't going
00:06:06.332 Speaker 1 anywhere. It wasn't even stamped by a local mail office. By all rights, he should
00:06:11.812 Speaker 1 throw it straight into the trash can.
00:06:15.192 Speaker 1 Then Heather walked by and handed each routing clerk a little card of their work
00:06:19.452 Speaker 1 schedule on it. Ebenezer originally had tomorrow off. Looked like that plan had
00:06:24.652 Speaker 1 changed. Crushed beneath the ever-growing mountain of mail from the Outskirts,
00:06:30.492 Speaker 1 just like everything else. Next to him, Jonas pounded his desk
00:06:36.032 Speaker 1 furiously. "Replenishment. Eb, they've got me working replenishment now." "The
00:06:41.932 Speaker 1 food'll still be there when you get off." "It's not about the food. It's about the
00:06:47.472 Speaker 1 principle of it. Don't you get that?" "You just wanna read all day." "And
00:06:53.392 Speaker 1 what's wrong with that? I'd love to read all day." "Then pick up a letter and get to
00:06:58.572 Speaker 1 work." "No. No, I'm done with this." With effort,
00:07:04.852 Speaker 1 Jonas got up and started to walk away. He started to walk down the narrow hallway to
00:07:09.992 Speaker 1 their left, then realizing he wouldn't fit, began to turn around. Then a grin
00:07:16.152 Speaker 1 spread across his face. "Oh, no." He turned back around and
00:07:22.292 Speaker 1 pushed his way down the hallway lined with crates of mail, holding one arm out and
00:07:28.292 Speaker 1 knocking down the towers of boxes as he passed. "Oh, no, no, no, no."
00:07:35.012 Speaker 1 The mountain came crashing down, and Jonas kept walking. Eventually, the
00:07:40.652 Speaker 1 cascade of mail grew too thick, and the big man was left flailing in the river of
00:07:44.972 Speaker 1 boxes and letters. People rushed out with hands on their heads. Tears were already
00:07:50.192 Speaker 1 flowing. Someone started screaming at Jonas, hitting him with a rolled up piece of
00:07:54.592 Speaker 1 paper. It was their supervisor, Maryanne. The man squirmed around on the ground,
00:07:59.952 Speaker 1 unable to extract himself from the mess, shielding his face. And Ebenezer just
00:08:05.732 Speaker 1 stood there, watching it all in shock. It would take them a month to clean that up.
00:08:12.192 Speaker 1 Forget about cleaning it up. It would take three more months to organize it all
00:08:16.272 Speaker 1 again. Nothing was going out until they finished. Then he glanced down at
00:08:22.232 Speaker 1 the letter on his desk. Maryanne continued to swat at the helpless Jonas with her
00:08:27.032 Speaker 1 paper club. Her office was left open, though. The supervisor's stamp would be in the
00:08:32.492 Speaker 1 top desk drawer. Ebenezer supposed that one more letter might make it out,
00:08:39.132 Speaker 1 if he hurried. While everyone was distracted, he readdressed and sealed the letter,
00:08:44.852 Speaker 1 stamping it with the supervisor's stamp and a few other stamps that looked pretty
00:08:49.032 Speaker 1 important. Ebenezer personally dropped the letter into the mail runner's bag before
00:08:54.252 Speaker 1 returning to his desk. Jonas had finally made it out. In his wake, only a
00:09:00.292 Speaker 1 few mail workers with stunned looks on their face stood on the now literal mountain
00:09:05.352 Speaker 1 of mail, picking up letters and putting them back into crates, one at a time,
00:09:10.732 Speaker 1 without much zeal. Ebenezer sat down and picked up another letter out of his crate
00:09:16.312 Speaker 1 and got back to work. Things kept moving in the Outskirts, one way or another.
00:09:22.112 Speaker 1 [gentle music]
00:09:35.592 Speaker 1 Chapter One: Maple Rooms, Population 65.
00:09:43.292 Speaker 1 Marcy reached out to grab Trent. She missed the grab, but he stopped anyway, took
00:09:48.112 Speaker 1 off his hat, and squinted at her. "Let someone else join the patrol tonight. You've
00:09:54.032 Speaker 1 done more than your fair share. Elias could stand to lose a few more rooms. You're
00:09:59.692 Speaker 1 doing the man a favor." "I know that, Marce, but you know I can't turn my back on a
00:10:05.652 Speaker 1 neighbor." "You can when that neighbor is Elias."
00:10:11.692 Speaker 1 Elias had the allotment for almost 300 rooms. It made up more than half of
00:10:17.612 Speaker 1 tonight's patrol route. A dozen of those rooms were larders. Never mind that most of
00:10:23.151 Speaker 1 them were cobbed over at the moment. That wasn't anyone's fault, and it certainly
00:10:27.732 Speaker 1 wasn't their problem. Trent placed one hand on her growing belly and flashed those
00:10:33.132 Speaker 1 brilliant white teeth. Marcy fought her own smile. This man was
00:10:38.552 Speaker 1 insufferable. He was going to get his way. Somehow, he always did.
00:10:44.512 Speaker 1 And rot him. He always managed to make it look like the right thing to do, too.
00:10:50.512 Speaker 1 Trent Murdoch stepped closer and pulled Marcy into a gentle hug. "I keep my
00:10:56.372 Speaker 1 promises, which is why I'm going." "You promised me a Maker's pie
00:11:02.452 Speaker 1 tomorrow. Can't get it if you're dead." "One magic pie by tomorrow
00:11:08.352 Speaker 1 morning. Nothing in all of Everhouse could stop me. I promise."
00:11:14.952 Speaker 1 The pie was not actually magic. It was a silly tradition, but tradition
00:11:20.332 Speaker 1 nonetheless. There was nothing special about it, an old wives' tale. It was no more
00:11:26.092 Speaker 1 special than any other food that appeared in the replenishment. But Grace had eaten
00:11:31.272 Speaker 1 that pie and gone straight into labor the next evening. Maker knew she wanted to be
00:11:36.712 Speaker 1 done with this pregnancy, so he'd better go find that pie, and he'd better not do
00:11:41.592 Speaker 1 anything stupid in the meantime. Trent had a tendency to find trouble and
00:11:46.932 Speaker 1 deliberately place himself in the center of it. There were reasons they lived in the
00:11:51.892 Speaker 1 middle of nowhere. Some of that trouble had followed Trent home. Their little family
00:11:57.892 Speaker 1 was still whole, though, for now. What would she do out here,
00:12:04.512 Speaker 1 all alone? Well, it didn't matter. He just needed to come back.
00:12:09.832 Speaker 1 "But seriously, be careful. You're more important than Elias
00:12:15.732 Speaker 1 losing a few more rooms." She kissed him, and then her fool of a husband finally
00:12:21.712 Speaker 1 left. [door closing] Trent closed the door to their bedroom,
00:12:27.952 Speaker 1 leaving Marcy alone. He wiggled the doorknob just to make sure it was actually
00:12:32.192 Speaker 1 closed. It wasn't locked. A person could just turn the knob to open it, but it
00:12:37.952 Speaker 1 wasn't people he was worried about. [door creaking] Trent checked the door again,
00:12:42.712 Speaker 1 shaking it in the frame. It was solid. You could always tell which doors the maker
00:12:47.832 Speaker 1 had placed themself. They had a permanence to them.
00:12:51.432 Speaker 1 [footsteps] Trent moved from room to room, closing doors as he went,
00:12:57.372 Speaker 1 until he got to the outermost door of their allotment. The front door was painted a
00:13:01.992 Speaker 1 cerulean blue, Marcy's choice. He wanted an amber color to mark their rooms, but
00:13:07.832 Speaker 1 marriage was all about compromise, so he'd been told. Funny how he was always the
00:13:13.752 Speaker 1 one to compromise on matters of the home.
00:13:17.572 Speaker 1 It wasn't because he didn't have an opinion on colors or furniture or art.
00:13:23.652 Speaker 1 It was because it was not really a compromise at all. Trent Murdock already had
00:13:28.892 Speaker 1 everything he needed, his own little corner of Everhouse and a wonderful,
00:13:34.812 Speaker 1 patient, kind-hearted wife, and soon a baby.
00:13:42.052 Speaker 1 He checked the cerulean front door again. [door creaking] It didn't matter that it
00:13:45.832 Speaker 1 was cerulean and not amber. It only mattered that it was theirs. Trent looked down
00:13:51.372 Speaker 1 the long hallway. It was dotted here and there with unpainted doors, signifying that
00:13:56.512 Speaker 1 no person lived there. Those rooms didn't belong to Trent and Marcy. All 23
00:14:02.292 Speaker 1 rooms in their allotment were behind this blue door. One way in, one way out.
00:14:08.372 Speaker 1 That was how he liked it.
00:14:11.092 Speaker 1 Some people, like Elias, thought more rooms was always better. Trent thought
00:14:17.052 Speaker 1 the value of an allotment was not in how many rooms it had, but how many rooms were
00:14:21.652 Speaker 1 between you and everyone else. [footsteps] It was a 10-minute walk to their nearest
00:14:26.312 Speaker 1 neighbor, and that felt just right to him. The hallway outside their allotment was
00:14:31.552 Speaker 1 lit up like a courtyard bonfire. Lanterns hung above every doorway. Not the
00:14:37.492 Speaker 1 giant gloom banes, but still pretty big. Trent started making his
00:14:43.372 Speaker 1 way to the meetup point. He ran his hand along the hallway as he walked. He admired
00:14:48.972 Speaker 1 the smooth maple paneling for which the maple rooms had been named. There had been
00:14:53.752 Speaker 1 1,000 outskirt neighborhoods they could have settled, but the description of this
00:14:57.812 Speaker 1 place and its ubiquitous paneling in a newspaper ad had won him over. He still
00:15:03.392 Speaker 1 remembered the ad. "Like being replenished every time I step outside my
00:15:09.192 Speaker 1 front door. I feel free here." It hadn't felt like that
00:15:14.732 Speaker 1 lately. Trent looked at each hanging lantern as he passed. [door creaking] He had to
00:15:20.492 Speaker 1 fight the urge not to check their oil levels, to make sure the doors beneath them
00:15:25.112 Speaker 1 were closed tight. He had to fight that terrible fear of leaving Marcy alone, so
00:15:31.012 Speaker 1 far away from anyone. Isolation had its downsides.
00:15:37.732 Speaker 1 Trent followed the cerulean line painted on the floor. The path lines were mostly
00:15:43.172 Speaker 1 for children and guests to find their way around the new neighborhood. Not that
00:15:47.972 Speaker 1 they'd had a guest in a long time, but Trent often found himself using them just to
00:15:53.512 Speaker 1 free up his mind to wander. As he walked, a thin yellow line joined the cerulean
00:15:58.852 Speaker 1 line at an intersection. His nearest neighbors, the Iron Basins, lived in that
00:16:03.612 Speaker 1 direction. If you followed the line, it would take you straight to their front door.
00:16:07.692 Speaker 1 [door creaking] At the next intersection, three more lines of color joined the
00:16:11.692 Speaker 1 others. He kept following the rainbow of path lines until he reached a door leading
00:16:17.212 Speaker 1 to the neighborhood's central courtyard, the patrol meeting place. He stepped out
00:16:22.712 Speaker 1 into the night air and lifted his head to bask in it. The smell of withering plants
00:16:27.732 Speaker 1 hit his nose. They would pop back up to life in tomorrow's replenishment, though. He
00:16:33.312 Speaker 1 loved that potent, fragrant smell right after a replenishment.
00:16:39.512 Speaker 1 Trent looked around. Central Courtyard was the largest and most impressive in the
00:16:43.972 Speaker 1 area. Elias had actually tried to include this in his allotment, but fortunately,
00:16:48.992 Speaker 1 the government had made the right call for once and made this a common space
00:16:53.232 Speaker 1 instead. There were three tiers of manicured gardens connected by winding stone
00:16:59.092 Speaker 1 paths dotted by cozy little seating areas. A large brass bell stood on wooden
00:17:04.552 Speaker 1 supports in the middle of the courtyard. [door creaking] It was totally dark.
00:17:09.052 Speaker 1 Besides the faint burbling of a water fixture, it was silent as well.
00:17:14.372 Speaker 1 So was he going on patrol solo? That seemed like
00:17:19.972 Speaker 1 exactly the kind of thing Marcy had warned him not to do. A door opened across the
00:17:26.012 Speaker 1 courtyard. Lantern light cast a red-orange semicircle on the dark stone. A man with
00:17:31.872 Speaker 1 thick spectacles peeked out, glanced up at the open dark sky, and then ducked back
00:17:36.972 Speaker 1 into the room quickly. Murdock smiled to himself and started walking. He knew
00:17:42.952 Speaker 1 the man, and he could do worse for a patrol partner. Eh, could do better too,
00:17:48.092 Speaker 1 actually. He pulled open the door, and the spectacled man scrambled backwards,
00:17:52.572 Speaker 1 nearly dropping his lantern on the ground. "Maker's jewels, Trent.
00:17:58.632 Speaker 1 You scared me."
00:18:01.152 Speaker 1 Frederick Tilemaster, Freddy to people who knew him, squinted up at Trent,
00:18:07.292 Speaker 1 then looked around. "No one else? There were 10 of us on the patrol schedule."
00:18:13.676 Speaker 1 Trent just slapped him jovially on the back. "Then that means we'll do the work of
00:18:18.236 Speaker 1 10 and give 'em a hard time tomorrow, right, Freddy?" "Oh, that's gonna take all
00:18:23.596 Speaker 1 night." "Well, I guess we could split up and do it in half the time."
00:18:29.056 Speaker 1 "Yeah, right. It's already late. I guess the two of us will have to do."
00:18:36.636 Speaker 1 Freddy waited for Trent to lead the way. Trent just smiled and tipped his hat,
00:18:41.516 Speaker 1 though. Freddy had to know he wouldn't go first. Trent sometimes did
00:18:47.096 Speaker 1 things he didn't bother to explain to others. "Never be the first into a room,
00:18:52.956 Speaker 1 and always be the last out," he remembered his father saying. His father had been
00:18:58.676 Speaker 1 part of the last generation of wanderers, and there was a knowledge there. And while
00:19:04.416 Speaker 1 Trent had spent most of his life in the very civilized parts of Everhouse, he had
00:19:09.136 Speaker 1 inherited his father's cautious nature. It had given him a code to live by.
00:19:15.116 Speaker 1 It wasn't his cleverness or his bravery that kept Marcy and him alive way out here,
00:19:20.116 Speaker 1 and soon their baby. It was diligence, the willingness to do the critical
00:19:26.096 Speaker 1 but mundane and frankly boring work that made life in the outskirts possible,
00:19:32.736 Speaker 1 like participating in a neighborhood patrol, a joyous community affair in civilized
00:19:38.476 Speaker 1 parts, little more than a gossipy tour of allotments. Out here in the outskirts,
00:19:44.556 Speaker 1 though, the tradition meant something, at least if you didn't want your feet eaten
00:19:49.876 Speaker 1 off in your sleep.
00:19:52.516 Speaker 1 With any luck, it would be a quiet night for patrol. They followed the dotted gray
00:19:58.316 Speaker 1 path line out of the central courtyard and down a hallway in the direction of the
00:20:03.416 Speaker 1 neighborhood limits. Normally, a larger patrol party could just split up and cover
00:20:08.296 Speaker 1 the entire perimeter in a few hours. When they got to the end of the dotted line, it
00:20:13.996 Speaker 1 split off in two directions, two dark hallways reaching into the abyss of
00:20:19.356 Speaker 1 Everhouse. "What do you think? Counterclockwise?" "Sure. Hope you
00:20:25.376 Speaker 1 brought coffee, though. It's gonna be a late night."
00:20:29.136 Speaker 1 "Coffee? I wish. I haven't had coffee in months. It's always gone from the one
00:20:34.036 Speaker 1 pantry I go to." "Shame. I know where the good stuff is." "Wait,
00:20:39.816 Speaker 1 seriously? Tell me." [laughs] "Give up my secret spot? I don't
00:20:45.836 Speaker 1 think so." "Is it that powdered stuff?" "No, sir. Whole
00:20:51.496 Speaker 1 bean. Guatemalan." "What does that mean?" "No
00:20:57.216 Speaker 1 idea, but it tastes divine." Trent tipped his hat back, letting it fall
00:21:03.196 Speaker 1 off his head and be caught by the string around his neck. There was no reason to
00:21:07.296 Speaker 1 wear a hat at night, but it seemed wrong not to have one. It was courtyards, after
00:21:12.196 Speaker 1 all. It was practically uniform out here. He took a sip of water from his canteen
00:21:18.196 Speaker 1 and listened to the yawning creaks of Everhouse around him. "I'll trade you for it."
00:21:23.596 Speaker 1 "Hmm, another gathering spot?" "No, no, not information. Something
00:21:29.356 Speaker 1 way cooler."
00:21:32.236 Speaker 1 They both squatted down, and Freddy looked around to make sure no one was watching.
00:21:37.496 Speaker 1 Trent couldn't help but crack a smile. He was always showing off some new piece of
00:21:42.496 Speaker 1 his collection to anyone who'd listen. It was always some incredible prize to
00:21:47.296 Speaker 1 Freddy, but just junk to everyone else. Between him and Phil, there was enough junk
00:21:52.236 Speaker 1 to fill 100 rooms, maybe more. "I think we're alone." Freddy pulled the pack off his
00:21:58.136 Speaker 1 shoulders and rummaged around inside. Then he pulled out something heavy, metal, and
00:22:04.196 Speaker 1 wrapped in cloth. He set it down with a clunk on the wooden floor. Trent let
00:22:10.096 Speaker 1 his hand hover over the thing for a second, then he pulled the handkerchief back,
00:22:14.876 Speaker 1 and his jaw dropped. A long silver gun with cherry paneling on the
00:22:20.576 Speaker 1 grip. Intricate etchings along the barrel spelled out one of the codes,
00:22:26.756 Speaker 1 the lightslinger's codes. The etchings on this one read, "Hope for
00:22:32.696 Speaker 1 the hopeless."
00:22:35.236 Speaker 1 It was beautiful and terrible. Trent
00:22:40.856 Speaker 1 exhaled slowly, reverently. "Frederick
00:22:45.716 Speaker 1 Dialmaster." "Yeah?" "They could kill you for touching
00:22:51.456 Speaker 1 this, for stealing it." "What? No way. It doesn't even work. No one even knows
00:22:57.396 Speaker 1 it's here." "Where'd you get it?" "I traded for it, just like I'm
00:23:03.316 Speaker 1 doing now." "There's no way I'm trading for that." "Come on, it's a piece of
00:23:09.296 Speaker 1 history, even if it doesn't work." "I know what they are, and I know
00:23:15.156 Speaker 1 what Innerhouse does to people who shouldn't have one."
00:23:20.236 Speaker 1 Freddy just shrugged and wrapped up the big silver gun and put it back in his bag.
00:23:25.356 Speaker 1 Trent put away his canteen and put the hat back on his head. "Now, you don't share
00:23:31.176 Speaker 1 this, you hear? But check the top cupboards in the blue sitting room next to the
00:23:35.896 Speaker 1 central courtyard. There's two tins of Guatemalan in there." "Seriously?"
00:23:42.456 Speaker 1 "Eh, the best-kept secrets are hidden in plain sight, aren't they?"
00:23:47.036 Speaker 1 Freddy pulled his pack on, adjusted his spectacles, and smiled. "Thanks, Trent.
00:23:52.116 Speaker 1 You're telling me for free?" "No, there's a price." "Yeah? What's that?"
00:23:58.176 Speaker 1 "You're gonna get rid of that thing." "The light revolver? It's an artifact."
00:24:03.756 Speaker 1 "It's bad news. Trash it and forget about it." "
00:24:08.136 Speaker 1 [sighs] Fine. It's not like it works anyway."
00:24:14.436 Speaker 1 They started their patrol and made small talk about their favorite gathering spots,
00:24:19.756 Speaker 1 following the path line of the neighborhood limits. They had standard, if slightly
00:24:25.706 Speaker 1 more robust, defenses. Each room with more than one exit was fitted with a giant
00:24:31.506 Speaker 1 gloom bane, huge oil lanterns that stood sentry against the sprawl. They were
00:24:37.426 Speaker 1 their best and only defense. These lanterns were what made life
00:24:42.866 Speaker 1 possible at the edge of the civilized world.
00:24:47.386 Speaker 1 For 30 minutes they walked, their conversation low, smelling the air, looking
00:24:53.386 Speaker 1 down dark hallways and into empty rooms. And then their
00:24:58.806 Speaker 1 conversation died when they found a large, dark room.
00:25:06.266 Speaker 1 The two of them stood at the doorway, staring into the black, then shared a
00:25:11.126 Speaker 1 concerned look. Trent took the small oil lantern off Freddy's pack and lit it with a
00:25:16.706 Speaker 1 match, then lifted the light into the room. The gloom bane in the center of the room
00:25:21.806 Speaker 1 was on its side, a large pool of dark liquid spread across the floor next to it.
00:25:28.406 Speaker 1 It's just a little darkness, Trent. Nothing to be afraid of. Just a little darkness.
00:25:34.586 Speaker 1 He set his jaw and stepped into the room. It wasn't that large, with only three
00:25:39.906 Speaker 1 exits. Sloppy black X's had been painted across two of the doors. The gray
00:25:45.846 Speaker 1 line marking the Maple Room neighborhood limits ran under one of those crossed-out
00:25:50.366 Speaker 1 doors.
00:25:52.386 Speaker 1 The night had been going so well, too. Trent looked at the turned-over
00:25:58.166 Speaker 1 gloom bane, careful not to bring his lit lantern too close to the spreading pool of
00:26:02.686 Speaker 1 oil that gushed out of it. He found the mortal wound on the thing, a long, serrated
00:26:08.406 Speaker 1 gash in the oil well. They were lucky it hadn't caught fire. He shuddered. He
00:26:14.186 Speaker 1 imagined the Maple Rooms burning. His dreams, his life,
00:26:20.026 Speaker 1 his family, up in flames. He shook the dark vision
00:26:26.006 Speaker 1 and shot a forced grin at Freddy. Come on, best not to linger here.
00:26:31.826 Speaker 1 Freddy nodded slowly, shock creeping onto his face. The man was shaking.
00:26:38.426 Speaker 1 He was staring at the broken gloom bane, probably running through the short list of
00:26:43.746 Speaker 1 things that could knock that over. Nothing on that list was good.
00:26:49.626 Speaker 1 Don't think too much, Freddy. It's not good for anything except a rough night's
00:26:53.686 Speaker 1 sleep. Yeah, you're right. It could have been anything.
00:27:01.586 Speaker 1 Trent turned away so the other man couldn't see his face, couldn't see the terror
00:27:07.046 Speaker 1 fighting its way onto his expression. This was a small part of something
00:27:12.646 Speaker 1 bigger. He just knew it. He had a sense for trouble. Trent looked at the
00:27:18.466 Speaker 1 crossed-out doors marking the northeastern exclusion zone, the place they'd trapped
00:27:24.286 Speaker 1 a growing infestation. A hungry, intelligent, growing
00:27:30.066 Speaker 1 infestation. Unless some lightslinger showed up, it was only a matter of time
00:27:36.066 Speaker 1 until the sprawl finally claimed the rest of the neighborhood. Eating
00:27:41.866 Speaker 1 everything inside. Everyone inside. Trent Murdock stared
00:27:47.686 Speaker 1 deep into the flame of his lantern, thinking dark, difficult thoughts.
00:27:53.626 Speaker 1 Thoughts of wildfire in the Maple Rooms. And whether he was prepared to
00:27:59.646 Speaker 1 burn it all, if it came to that. Not so deep down, he knew he
00:28:05.646 Speaker 1 would. He was that kind of man. And it terrified him.