0:02

It was perhaps needlessly cruel, dear

0:04

listener, to end the last chapter

0:06

on such an open -ended conclusion.

0:09

But the fact of the matter

0:11

is, in this particular area of

0:13

the Kingmaker's history, establishing the facts

0:15

is nearly impossible, and the process

0:17

of research often leaves one with

0:19

more questions than answers. But after

0:21

two weeks spent in the archives

0:23

of Kristallstadt University's Zeno Anthropology Department,

0:26

a month building a timeline, and

0:28

four days arguing with my editor,

0:30

I believe I have the most

0:32

concise possible account of what happened

0:34

next. To start though, I would

0:36

like to do something which was

0:38

previously impossible, give a reasonably detailed

0:40

and accurate profile on Telosfor Winterlich. Telosfor,

0:44

like most of the good neighbours

0:46

who traded in the former Kingdom of

0:48

Valor, hailed from a country called

0:50

the Blazing Isles, a volcanic archipelago to

0:52

the far north of the Kersight

0:54

realm, which served as the seat of

0:56

a powerful interdimensional empire. It's impossible

0:58

to tell exactly when he was born,

1:00

but given that most of the

1:02

people who knew him in the 1910s

1:05

described him as in his 30s,

1:07

we can assume that it was sometime

1:09

between the years 1570 and 1610.

1:11

He had what could be charitably described

1:13

as a typical upbringing, with two

1:15

mothers, one father and no siblings.

1:18

But what exactly led him to join

1:20

in the Queen's Eye and becoming

1:22

an intelligentser is still, unfortunately, a

1:24

mystery. Sorry, did you

1:26

just see Spy? Yes.

1:30

That's... Oh, that

1:32

actually kind of makes

1:34

sense. In hindsight. Oh, really?

1:36

Because I sure as hell didn't see

1:38

it coming. I mean, you never thought

1:40

that that was worth bringing up. No. At

1:43

first, I didn't know if I could

1:45

trust you. And then after a

1:47

long enough time, there just wasn't a

1:49

way to bring it up without risking

1:51

you... reacting poorly.

1:57

Damn it. So you just thought

1:59

you'd better hold on to it until you were

2:01

dying, is that right, aye? Aw,

2:03

well that's very fucking mature of

2:05

you. I assure you. This is

2:07

not at all how I planned on letting you

2:09

know. Aisin, come on. Save

2:12

getting mad at him until after

2:14

we've saved his life. Thank you.

2:17

Our priority now has got to be

2:19

figuring out where we're going to

2:21

get 500 francs in six hours. Fine.

2:25

But before we do anything else, I don't

2:27

think we'll be able to get anywhere

2:29

unless we all agree to be completely honest

2:31

with each other. Of

2:34

course. Colette? Could

2:37

you go put on a pot of tea? When

3:08

I joined the Queen's Eye, there

3:10

had already been a careside foothold

3:12

in Valor for a while. We

3:14

were split into small groups and

3:17

sent out to, without disturbing the

3:19

peace or drawing attention to ourselves,

3:21

keep watch over all the outer

3:23

realms that the Empire trades with.

3:25

And by sheer luck of the draw,

3:27

I got sent to Earth. Wait,

3:30

realms? Plural? Oh,

3:32

you've got other neighbors, Khaled. My

3:34

people are just the only ones who've

3:36

bothered to introduce ourselves. So when

3:38

did you first get here? 1761.

3:42

My first assignment was as a footman

3:44

for the Duke of Montburg. So

3:46

all that stuff about shipping textiles with

3:48

the CD are something that was

3:50

a lie? Yes and no. What do

3:52

you mean yes and no? Are

3:55

they spies too or are they

3:57

not? Finn was. Well, Katie's

3:59

in Peregrinewood. How much do they

4:01

know about you and Finn then? Enough. Oh,

4:04

you're not making this fucking

4:06

easy, are you? Enough hasn't actually

4:08

enough, or enough hasn't nothing.

4:10

Enough hasn't enough. So

4:12

where does Saga fit into all of

4:14

this? She was the third

4:16

member of the group with me in Finn.

4:18

All this time I assumed she'd made

4:20

it home before the portals closed, but I

4:23

suppose not. What does a stranded Kersite

4:25

spy want with Swiss money? To start a

4:27

new life in South America, apparently. I

4:29

imagine she wants to be as far from Europe

4:31

as she can get. She

4:34

kept calling you Fox, so what was

4:36

all that about? It was my

4:38

codename, for written correspondence. Oh,

4:41

we all had them. I was Fox

4:43

because I have red hair, Saga

4:45

was Raven because they're her favourite

4:47

bird, and Finn was Shrike because...

4:49

Well, it's a long story, but

4:51

it's honestly not that interesting. You

4:53

had to be there. And

4:55

you said you didn't work together at

4:57

the castle. Oh, not in

4:59

the kitchen, no. Sometimes we were

5:01

together and other times the agency

5:03

split us up. So

5:05

you've actually been

5:08

on earth for... 150

5:10

years? Not continuously.

5:13

I tend to stick around for a bit,

5:15

then leave and return when enough people

5:17

who remember my face have either retired or

5:19

died. And what exactly was the point

5:21

of all that? I mean, what

5:23

was the purpose of all the information

5:26

you were collecting? I don't

5:28

know. I never ask questions. Good

5:30

spies tend not to. So

5:32

is this part of it? What

5:35

do you mean? I mean this! You

5:38

and me, the van, this whole enterprise, are

5:41

you still spying now? I mean, has it

5:43

been gone this whole time? No, of course

5:45

not. I swear to God you had better

5:47

not be lying to me. I

5:49

don't think he is. I mean

5:51

he wouldn't. You...

5:53

Wouldn't, right? Aw, don't be so

5:55

sure, Hen. I mean, you've had a pretty bad

5:57

fucking track record with trusting good neighbours lately. Right.

6:00

Well, frankly, I don't

6:03

care if you believe me right now. Presently,

6:05

my main concerns are getting the ransom

6:07

money together so I can live long

6:09

enough to regret having this conversation. Now,

6:12

there's got to be something in

6:14

here that's worth 500 francs. Tell

6:17

us four! I'm fine. Just

6:20

give me a moment. The

6:23

first symptom of mage's ruin

6:25

poisoning is vertigo. Ah,

6:31

you should probably sit back down. Come

6:33

on big man, let's get you onto

6:36

this sofa. Come on now. I'm

6:40

really quite serious about not

6:42

touching any of my blood with your bare

6:44

skin. And why not? The compound she

6:46

injected me with was mage's ruin.

6:48

It's derived from a chemical found

6:51

in Oberlo's bile ducts. It's very potent,

6:53

very fatal in large doses, and

6:55

even in small amounts it can

6:57

hinder spellcasting in humans. You probably

6:59

shouldn't kiss me anytime soon either. I

7:01

wasn't planning on it, trust me. Is

7:04

there anything we can get you to make

7:06

you more comfortable? A damp cloth

7:09

for my forehead. And

7:11

maybe some cocaine. And

7:14

with that, Eisen and Colette headed to

7:16

the nearest apothecary. They managed to get

7:18

in just before closing and hand in

7:20

their forged prescription, all the while being

7:22

roofily stared down by the shelf -stocker and

7:24

cashier, who really did not appreciate being

7:26

made to keep the shop open an

7:28

extra 10 minutes. All the

7:30

while, Telesfor's potential fate weighed

7:32

heavily on them. Nonetheless, Eisen tried

7:34

his best to stay optimistic. 500

7:38

francs? Well, that makes out to

7:40

be about 1700 marks. So, it's

7:42

hard, but not impossible. Here,

7:45

let me try something. Oh,

7:47

sorry about that. My bad. Ha

7:51

Ha ha, done in style.

7:53

See, it's a piece of piss.

7:55

We can do this easy. Thirteen,

8:01

fourteen, fifteen.

8:04

Ah, was it too much to expect that

8:06

someone would be walking around with a hundred

8:08

francs in their wallet? Come on, I'd even

8:10

sell for fifteen. That's all loud! Aisin,

8:17

are you okay? What do

8:19

you think? Sorry,

8:23

I'm... He never gets sick, you know,

8:25

like, and all the time I've lived with

8:27

him, I've never had measles, never had

8:29

fever, never had influenza, and now

8:31

if I don't find a way to somehow

8:33

pull 500 francs out of my arse, he's

8:35

just gonna, you know... You know what I

8:37

mean? It's just gonna be difficult and he's

8:39

not gonna be with that. I

8:43

don't think you should waste your

8:45

effort. What do you mean, waste my

8:47

effort? No, sorry, I said that wrong. What

8:50

I mean is... I don't think

8:52

Saga's going to hold up her end

8:54

of the deal. I

8:56

mean, I've been really thinking it over

8:58

and it doesn't add up. If

9:01

she's trying to get off the continent

9:03

and start a new life, that would be

9:05

easier if everyone she used to know

9:07

is dead. Tell

9:10

us, do you think we could get the

9:13

antidote from anywhere else on short notice? Not

9:15

likely. Could we make it

9:17

ourselves then? Only if we went back to

9:19

the VSR, and only if we were able

9:21

to both shoot an obelisk and get in

9:23

contact with an organic chemist in the next

9:26

five and a half hours. Well,

9:28

there has to be some other option.

9:31

Collect a knelt beside the sofa and put

9:33

a hand on Talasfor's arm, careful to

9:35

avoid the blood stains. Listen

9:38

to me. I

10:05

should Saga go through with the

10:08

deal. That'll

10:10

help. Give me a shot of that

10:12

cocaine and I'll be able to get on my feet

10:14

again. Oh, here, have some of this.

10:17

Oh, well. That's

10:19

a no -one sitting up. Eisen,

10:22

would you do the honors? Your gloves

10:24

are less permeable. Alright, but this is a

10:26

steel needle. Was that gonna be an

10:28

issue? If my blood goes septic,

10:30

it will be the least of my

10:32

problems. Just do it. So...

10:38

Tell us for. Yes.

10:41

Did you ever poison anyone while

10:43

you were a spy? You

10:46

must have, right? You

10:48

worked in a kitchen, cooking for

10:50

a lot of high -profile guests. Did

10:53

you ever... you know,

10:56

slip a bit of cyanide into

10:58

the French ambassador's streusel after dinner?

11:00

I could never bring myself to

11:02

disrespect a dish like that, Colette.

11:04

Especially not with cyanide. would totally

11:06

ruin the flavour profile. Not if

11:09

it was an almond streusel though. While

11:12

Colette quizzed Telosfor on the intricacies

11:14

of poisoning, Ison was carefully removing the

11:16

needle from his companion's arm. As

11:18

he pressed a ball of cotton wool

11:21

over the injection site, he was

11:23

hit with a sudden bolt of inspiration.

11:25

Saga does a lot with poisons though,

11:27

aye? Yes, she lacks

11:30

any of my reservations around cuisine. In

11:32

fact, she always told me that being

11:34

a snob was holding me back. So,

11:36

if you're someone who works with a

11:38

lot of boysons, you've got to have

11:40

contingencies in place in case of emergencies,

11:42

am I right? Of course. You

11:44

have to be prepared for anything. Interesting.

11:47

Can you sit up, by the way? Yes. The

11:49

drug should keep me upright for an hour

11:51

or two, at least. Right, get

11:53

that stone thing out. Call her.

11:55

Why? Because we're going to arrange

11:57

a swap. 500 francs,

11:59

as agreed upon. You have the

12:01

money? Well, technically

12:04

no, but don't worry. If all

12:06

goes well, it won't matter. Telesphore

12:09

retrieved the sightstone from inside his

12:11

cigar case. As with all

12:13

care site technology, the way Telesphore

12:15

interfaced with it is unclear. Nonetheless, he

12:17

made the call and passed the

12:19

device to Eisen. I'm gonna

12:21

do the talking, right? You two

12:23

stay quiet. Now, how

12:26

the fuck do I hold this thing? Oh,

12:28

shit! Hello again, Fox. He's

12:31

not in at the minute,

12:33

but you can call me

12:35

Timber Wolf. I'm

12:37

speaking to Eisenhower, aren't

12:39

I? Yes. So he

12:41

told you. I must

12:44

say, this is a surprising turn

12:46

of events. Why

12:48

can't he speak to me himself? Oh, I

12:50

don't know, let me take a guess.

12:52

Maybe it's because you're fucking poisoned and that's

12:54

why the poor bastard can barely sit

12:56

up. That's why guys and I are gonna

12:58

be doing the swap in his place.

13:00

Guy says the little crystal hybrid, right? Just

13:02

give us a location so we can

13:04

be done here. Alright, to

13:07

business then. Do you like

13:09

movies, Eisen? Aye, they're

13:11

alright. Why? Meet

13:13

me at the Teatro Varieta at

13:15

8pm. Buy two tickets for

13:17

the Kingdom of Ferries. Sit close

13:19

to the back. I'll meet you there.

13:22

Are you gonna compensate us for those tickets or

13:24

do we have to fork up for those as

13:26

well? Don't be a smartass. Do

13:28

we have a deal or not? Eizen

13:31

looked over to tell us for who

13:33

was nodding emphatically. Yes, we have

13:35

a deal. Make it official

13:37

then. Eizen's eyes

13:39

again went to tell us for who is

13:41

now mouthing the words, thank her. Thank

13:43

you for making the time to see

13:46

us. Thank you for

13:48

calling me back He handed the

13:50

sight stone back to tell

13:52

us for who switched it off

13:54

and put it back in

13:56

the cigar case Can she still

13:58

hear me no Excellent, so

14:00

we've got her exactly where we

14:02

want her now in the

14:04

meantime I'm gonna need a rifle

14:06

a leather strap medicinal spirits

14:08

a drill a bicycle bump and

14:10

a map of the town While

14:13

Colette gathered these components, Eisen gathered

14:15

the ransom money, which was cobbled

14:17

together from his pickpocketing efforts and

14:20

the last few days of sales,

14:22

which added up to just over

14:24

450 Swiss francs, about £1 ,000

14:26

in today's money. He cast

14:28

a replicator charm on one of the banknotes

14:30

and put the money into a briefcase. Meanwhile,

14:33

TELUS4 was managing to keep it

14:35

together, despite the onset of the

14:37

second symptom, a persistent and irritating

14:39

ringing in the ears. Come

14:43

again Christ I said how are

14:45

you holding up as well as

14:47

I could be under the circumstances

14:49

Do you think I should go

14:52

help collect choose a gun? No,

14:54

no way you're gonna sit right

14:56

back down save your energy. You'll

14:58

bloody need it Okay, I've got

15:00

the stuff you asked for even

15:02

though I'm not sure this is

15:05

the right kind of rifle Eh,

15:12

it's alright Hen, I can work this.

15:23

Right, now hand over the spirit.

15:25

Sure. Alright, come on big

15:27

guy, give us your arm. Me? No,

15:29

the other big guy whose blood is full

15:31

of poison right now. Yes you, you

15:33

numpty. See this, I've modified it

15:35

into an air powered dart gun like

15:38

the kind you used to knock out fucking

15:40

escaped circus animals. So

15:42

all I need now is a fucking dart. I

15:44

see. Telessful

15:47

rolled the sleeve of his shirt back up

15:49

and wrapped the leather strap around his arm. Do

15:51

you know what you're doing? Ah,

15:54

more or less. As long as

15:56

Telessful trusts me not to kill him.

15:58

You know I do. And

16:00

I don't appreciate the attitude, thank you very

16:02

much. Oh, calm down. I'm just fucking with

16:04

you. I needed you to tense up a

16:06

bit so I could find a vein. So

16:13

I've been doing some thinking. I

16:15

decided I'm not going to hold it against you.

16:17

I mean, a man should be entitled to a

16:19

few secrets now and then. I was just upset

16:21

by the shock of it, you know, more than

16:23

anything. And I understand why you never told me.

16:25

I mean, hell, I did some things back in

16:27

the war that I hope you never find out

16:30

about too. I hope I never

16:32

find out about them either. Well,

16:34

this should be enough. Collect.

16:36

Time check. Seven thirty. Thirty minutes.

16:38

That's plenty of time. And

16:41

so they set off to Mendricio's

16:43

Teatro Varieta. The venue was relatively

16:45

new at the time, as it

16:47

was built in 1908. Though

16:49

its name has been changed many times

16:51

in the years since, its art nouveau

16:54

façade is largely the same today as

16:56

it was on the night in 1912,

16:58

when Eisen, Colette and Telesfor arrived at

17:00

the ticket booth. Yeah,

17:02

hello there. 3 for the 8pm

17:04

show and off, er... What

17:06

movie did you say again? Kingdom

17:09

of the Fairies. That

17:11

is the one we're playing at

17:13

eight. Yes. Thirty

17:15

centines, please. Here

17:18

you go. Thank

17:21

you. Is he gonna

17:23

be okay? Like, you

17:25

know, not like, contagious or

17:27

anything, right? What,

17:29

him? Oh, no. He, yeah.

17:32

You know, it's a funny story, you know, but he

17:34

just lost a bet and had a drink. The

17:36

drink, the dirty water of a mop

17:38

bucket. I told him not to, you

17:40

know, he's an idiot. What

17:43

can I see? He'll

17:45

be fine. Well, luckily

17:48

it's not a crowded screening. Enjoy

17:51

your night. I

17:56

don't look that bad,

17:58

do I? No! No,

18:01

not at all. You're

18:05

a little paler and sweatier than

18:07

normal. But you mostly look fine! A

18:09

little? Oh, then you try and

18:11

spare his feelings, Collette. He's turning the same colour

18:13

as you. I only say it

18:15

because I love you. Thank you so much.

18:18

Oh, the vertigo's coming back with a

18:20

vengeance. Oh, stay strong, big guy.

18:22

Stay strong. You just need to make it

18:25

upstairs to the projection booth. Come

18:27

on now. Help me

18:29

get in line of sight of the stairs. Collette,

18:33

help us out. Okay,

18:35

all right. Tell, give me

18:37

your arm. I'm really

18:39

hoping we're wrong, and Saga has

18:41

the antidote. She hands it

18:43

over for the money with very little fuss.

18:46

But I know we aren't that lucky. Well,

18:51

all of our... Telesphor was

18:53

only able to get about

18:55

halfway up the stairs due

18:57

to the third symptom of

18:59

Major's ruined poisoning, blurring vision. No!

19:02

Damn it! I

19:07

can do this. I can

19:09

make it up a flight of stairs. I'm

19:12

not going to die for at least another

19:14

couple of hours. Poisoning

19:16

and blood loss had rendered Telus Force somewhat

19:18

weaker than normal, but he was still a good

19:20

deal stronger than most humans. So after a

19:23

few attempts, he was able to break the lock

19:25

on the door with the butt of his

19:27

dart gun. The projectionist,

19:29

one Liberato Totsi, made attempts

19:31

to protest the intrusion, but since

19:33

Telesfor's tinnitus had returned by

19:35

that point, his words very literally

19:37

fell on deaf ears. Hey,

19:40

hey, you can't be in here, right? Good

19:42

evening. As you can

19:44

likely see, I'm very sick at the

19:46

moment, and my survival hinges on

19:49

shooting a dart into one of your

19:51

cinema patrons. If you help me,

19:53

I will allow you to leave this

19:55

booth with your life. Are we

19:57

agreed? Give

19:59

me a clear thumbs up if

20:01

you agree. My vision is blurring

20:03

and I've got horrific tinnitus at

20:05

the moment. Now,

20:08

come stand next to me.

20:11

Towards the back of the room you should be

20:13

able to see a young lady with glasses sitting

20:15

next to an Indian gentleman with a white streak

20:17

in his hair. When

20:21

you see a blonde woman

20:23

in dark suits sit down near

20:25

them, tap me firmly on

20:27

the shoulder. Okay. Is

20:31

Telus for imposition? Hopefully.

20:34

Don't look up, you look

20:36

suspicious. I

20:44

want to go back to the van. I'll

20:47

give it a minute. You

20:49

should stay. You haven't

20:51

even gotten to the part with the whale yet.

20:54

Took your bloody long enough. Before

20:57

we continue, stand up.

21:00

I'm going to check both of you for weapons. That's

21:02

fine by me, but you know Collette exactly

21:05

drop her weapon, right? Just do what

21:07

you're told. It's

21:09

fine. Just get it

21:12

over with. She's

21:28

here. She's here. The

21:30

target. The target's here. I

21:32

mean... Where should I be

21:34

aiming? Move my head.

21:37

There. Excellent.

21:41

All right. Telus form. Follow

21:44

the scent. So

21:50

now you have the

21:52

cash. Aren't you going

21:54

to give us the antidote? That is

21:56

what we agreed on. Ow!

22:02

What was that? That,

22:05

my friend, was a dart full of

22:07

Wintelich's blood. Just a bit of

22:09

insurance, I guess it turns out you're full of

22:11

shite. Saga turned

22:13

around and, squinting, looked through the

22:15

shaft of white light coming from

22:17

the projector to see the shape

22:19

a telescope, gun still in hand.

22:22

She pulled the dart... long

22:24

as it went in, that's fine.

22:26

She's waving at you. Do you want

22:28

to wave back? No,

22:30

I don't think I will.

22:33

Oh, I see. You

22:35

think you're smart. Let's see how

22:37

far that gets you. Aw,

22:39

didn't he be too hasty with that

22:41

knife sweetheart? See, if you do

22:44

anything to me... It might make Colette hear

22:46

a wee bit angry and she's already quite

22:48

pissed off the poor wee things been up

22:50

since 5. She had to open the shop

22:52

today. You took advantage of her trust in

22:54

nature and poison one of her dearest friends

22:56

and on top of all that, she's probably

22:58

not even had a cigarette since about 4pm.

23:00

Isn't that right, Colette? Yep.

23:03

I'm at my limit. Fine.

23:08

But don't look so smug. You

23:10

don't have the high ground you seem to think you do.

23:13

Enjoy the film. Come

23:19

on, let's get after her, the fucking

23:21

wee prick. And

23:32

of course, she's already bloody

23:34

gone. Here,

23:36

take a look at the map. Cheers. Oh,

23:40

Telsy, come on! We need to get

23:42

to the van! Certainly! What was

23:44

your name again? Liberato!

23:46

Liberato! Thank

23:48

you, you've been a great help! Either

23:50

my associates or I will come back

23:52

and pay for the door repairs tomorrow.

23:54

Ciao, darling. Smell

23:58

this for me. Did

24:02

Saga give you these?

24:04

Yeah. Rose water. Totally useless.

24:07

Well, well, well, just as I fucking

24:09

expected. He'd collect. He made some

24:11

more of those police disguises, didn't he?

24:14

Of course. They're some of the

24:16

best work I've done recently. Excellent

24:18

hen. Can I borrow a brooch when we're back

24:20

in the van? As Telesfores' condition

24:22

continued to worsen, he was in no

24:24

state to dry. So, after a brief visit

24:26

back to the van to change clothes,

24:28

they set off in a taxi, carrying a

24:30

map of the city which allowed them

24:32

to track the replicator charm on the money.

24:34

This took them to an inn on

24:36

the Via San Martino, where Saga had been

24:38

hiding for the past day and a

24:40

half. Welcome to the

24:42

hotel to Sino, unfortunately we are booked

24:44

out for the night. I no

24:46

need sunshine, my name is Inspector Zanetti.

24:48

This is my partner Inspector Travers

24:50

with the Volodian Police. We're

24:52

here on official business. Eisen,

24:55

who was dressed in a police officer's

24:57

uniform, briefly flashed a badge, which was

24:59

really just a piece of scrap leather

25:01

with Colette's cameo brooch clipped to the

25:03

inside. We came

25:05

here from Crystal City, tracking

25:08

a dangerous fugitive. See

25:10

this man? The one who

25:12

looks like he's late to his own funeral. I don't

25:14

think I could miss him. Is he

25:16

the fugitive? This man

25:18

is a key witness in a

25:20

very important case. He was

25:22

poisoned. Oh, dear lord. Sorry

25:25

for insulting you, sir. No

25:27

offense taken. The woman

25:29

who poisoned him is wandered in connection

25:31

to a number of anarchist plots in the

25:33

VSR, you see. Possible ties with

25:35

the Silverclaw Society might even have

25:37

something to do with the recent attempt

25:40

on President Holtzman's life. It's

25:42

absolutely imperative we stop her from

25:44

crossing the border into Italy. Absolutely,

25:46

Inspector. I'll help you out in that

25:48

case. Just let me check the guestbook. She

25:50

wouldn't have used her real name. We'll

25:52

just tell you what she looked like and

25:54

you can let us know if you

25:56

remember her. She's about two metres tall. Blonde.

25:58

Aye, and pretty. in an unsettling sort

26:00

of way. Would have been wearing dark sunglasses

26:02

too. Yes, I think I

26:04

do remember someone like that coming in

26:07

yesterday. She took our last

26:09

room. Let me see if I can find her. Aha!

26:15

Booked into room 105. It's just up

26:17

the stairs and to the left.

26:19

You've been very helpful. Good

26:21

work. If there were more people like

26:23

you, it'd be a safer world. As you

26:25

were. Now

26:39

what's wrong? My

26:42

fingers have gone numb. You're

26:45

gonna be okay. He's gonna

26:47

be okay, right Kale? He's gonna be

26:50

okay. The final symptom

26:52

of mage's ruin, numbing of the

26:54

extremities. It starts at

26:56

the tips of the digits, then

26:58

it's the hands and the feet, then

27:00

the legs, then it gets to your

27:02

torso, and eventually your lungs

27:04

give out and your heart stops. Aw,

27:08

it hasn't been six hours yet. Just

27:10

take a deep breath. But what if she

27:12

doesn't have it on her? What if

27:14

it's at some other location? What if she

27:16

already left? It's alright, big

27:18

man. It's only 10 .30. We've got time.

27:20

Here, here, look at me. Tellsie, look at

27:23

me. You're going to be fine.

27:25

Do you hear me? I

27:27

don't feel fine, Eisen. I

27:29

really don't feel fine. Do

27:33

you need us to take a break? I

27:35

just wanted to be over with. Sit

27:37

down for a second. In

27:42

the absence of any chairs in the

27:44

hotel's hallway, Telesfor sat down on the

27:46

floor. Colette sat next to him, and

27:48

the two spent a moment in silence

27:50

as Telesfor composed himself. Eventually,

27:53

Eisen took a seat too and

27:55

put a reassuring hand on Telesfor's

27:57

shoulder. I need to tell you

27:59

something before we go. What's

28:01

that? The reason Saga is so

28:03

keen to leave Europe. She said someone's

28:05

trying to open the portals again.

28:08

The results could be disastrous and the

28:10

government is extremely worried. That's

28:12

what Ariadne's been doing in England.

28:15

And that's why she's cosying up

28:17

with Crowley! He's a conjurer! I

28:19

just thought I'd bring it up

28:21

in case... Don't! You

28:28

take my walk and stick take it. You

28:30

need it more than I do. Why

28:33

are you putting your goggles on? Trust

28:35

me, you'll see. Shit.

28:41

Hello Raven. Replicator

28:44

charm in the money? Of

28:46

course. Well, this is

28:48

why I made sure to get a room with

28:50

a window. Ta -ta. That

28:55

should have worked. Why can't

28:57

I teleport? Because my eyes are

28:59

still open! These are welding goggles,

29:01

sweetheart! Now you're stuck here, so

29:03

fucking hand it over! I

29:06

don't know what you're talking about. Yes,

29:08

you do! Oh, easy, easy, collect, cut

29:10

it out. If you blow her up,

29:12

we don't get to find out where

29:14

it is. And we do not have

29:16

the time to search the whole room.

29:20

Okay. Okay.

29:22

For once, you actually know what

29:25

you're talking about, Iyer. I don't appreciate

29:27

you talking to him like that. Oh,

29:30

Fox, look at the

29:32

state of you. How

29:35

long has it been since first

29:37

exposure? That was sunset,

29:40

and it's 10 .30 now, so we're

29:42

at about five and a half

29:44

hours. Are your hands

29:46

starting to feel like you've fallen asleep

29:48

on top of them? Can

29:50

you even see straight? How

29:52

much medication did you have to take

29:55

to keep yourself standing? That's none

29:57

of your business. Even

29:59

if I give you the antidote now,

30:01

you'll probably permanently lose feeling in some

30:03

of your digits. Maybe

30:05

if I stall long enough, you'll lose

30:07

your sense of taste, too. You

30:09

wouldn't. No, I

30:11

won't. As fun

30:14

as that would be, I don't want to

30:16

prolong either of our suffering. That

30:18

verdict goes really nasty, isn't it?

30:22

Saga stumbled to the trunk at the

30:24

end of her bed, and with

30:26

some difficulty, she opened a secret compartment

30:28

in the side. Inside, she had

30:30

hidden a small, intricately decorated vial full

30:32

of glowing blue liquid. Here.

30:37

The real antidote. That's

30:39

not nearly enough for both of us. Isn't

30:43

it? Silly

30:45

me. Oh well. Aw,

30:47

for fuck's sake, man! It

30:51

goes down smooth. Tastes

30:53

a little like rendiment.

30:56

You can't do that! You

30:58

just watched me do it. That

31:02

was my

31:04

only chance. Sorry,

31:08

Fox. I just

31:10

can't have any loose ends left before

31:12

I head for Brazil. Now,

31:14

why don't you do the decent thing

31:17

and go outside to the garden before

31:19

you die? Dare

31:21

talk to me about doing the decent

31:23

thing! You've never done a decent thing in

31:25

your life! At

31:27

that final insult, Telesfor lunged

31:29

at Saga with frightening speed

31:31

and considerable strength. It's hard

31:34

to say where exactly this reserve of

31:36

energy came from. Perhaps it was

31:38

the primal fear of death causing a surge

31:40

of adrenaline. Perhaps, as some

31:42

scholars have suggested, it was

31:44

simply the result of residual cocaine in

31:46

his system. I am not dying

31:48

in Switzerland, do you hear me? You

31:50

don't have much choice in the

31:52

matter. But maybe I can put

31:54

you out of your misery. Not

31:57

before I put you out of yours.

32:01

Fuck you. Never change,

32:03

darling. After

32:06

slitting Sargo's throat with her own knife,

32:08

what TELUS4 did next is something that

32:10

I feel the need to tell you

32:12

is not the recommended way to treat

32:14

mage's ruin poisoning. Holy

32:21

shit. Oh,

32:29

it really does taste like creme de min. Do

32:33

I have blood on my face? Yeah,

32:37

you do. No?

32:44

No, you all need to go to

32:46

the basin. Well,

32:53

that's one way to get the antidote,

32:55

I guess. Is it even

32:57

going to work? We'll see when

32:59

the clock strikes eleven, I suppose.

33:02

Here's our money, Burke. Oh,

33:06

uh, thanks. Well,

33:09

let's get Saga's body outside, shall

33:11

we? Alonzi? Evening

33:18

again, inspectors. Is that the...

33:20

She was, uh, resisting arrest. Like

33:24

most humans, Colette had never

33:26

seen an intact, unexploded, good

33:28

neighbour corpse before. This

33:30

is because very few neighbours have died while in

33:32

our world. They

33:34

do not keep headstones, or have

33:37

funeral pyres, or anything we on

33:39

earth might recognise as a memorial. This

33:41

does not mean, as was once thought, that

33:43

they don't mourn their dead. It's

33:45

simply as a result of the

33:47

way that their bodies decompose. The process

33:50

happens quite fast, and is, to

33:52

many, strangely beautiful. Rest

34:09

in peace, Saga Moonspear.

34:12

Pity it ended like this since you

34:14

were a friend to me once,

34:16

a long time ago. Not

34:18

that that seemed to mean anything to

34:20

you, but I suppose

34:22

the business we worked in

34:24

doesn't exactly foster moral behavior

34:26

or loyalty to anyone but

34:28

the Empire. Makes

34:30

me wonder about myself, honestly. I

34:33

can only take comfort in knowing that you probably

34:35

would have done the same thing in my shoes. As

34:38

Telesfor gave his brief eulogy, Colette

34:40

and Eisen could see Saga's body melt

34:42

and soak into the earth. From

34:44

the dark violet ooze left behind, they

34:47

saw the grass get longer and

34:49

the beginnings of other plants starting to

34:51

spring up and bloom, despite the

34:53

lack of sunlight. In a

34:55

spot just above where Saga's clothes

34:57

lay in the grass, a trumpet

34:59

-shaped flower sprouted up, with luminous

35:02

green veins decorating its petals and

35:04

wispy light blue leaves growing from

35:06

its stem. Telesvore leaned over, plucked

35:08

it from the ground, and threaded

35:10

it through the buttonhole of his

35:12

lapel. It's

35:18

customary where I come from to

35:20

wear blood lilies like this as a

35:22

sign of mourning. Should we take

35:24

flowers as well? I wouldn't

35:26

expect you to. You didn't

35:28

know her. Six

35:39

hours. How are you feeling?

35:42

My ears have finally stopped ringing. And

35:45

I haven't lost any more feeling in

35:47

my hands. So I might live yet. Let's

35:49

go home. And

35:53

how about you, Diamondheed? You alright,

35:55

aye? I think

35:58

I need to spend

36:00

three days in a dark

36:02

room in complete silence. The

36:06

blood sucking was very...

36:19

The Hotel Ticino in Mendrisio,

36:21

Switzerland is no longer

36:23

standing. The plot of land

36:26

it once occupied currently sits empty and

36:28

abandoned. But if you, dear

36:30

listener, were to visit it for

36:32

whatever reason, you would still be

36:34

able to find a patch of

36:36

strange and otherworldly flora growing. where

36:38

the hotel's garden once was. The

37:06

Kingmaker Histories is a production

37:08

of We Are Not Alive. This

37:10

episode was written and audio

37:12

engineered by Meg Malloy -Tutten, with

37:14

fully designed by Jam Wright and

37:16

executive production by Henry Galley

37:19

and Ashley Kraft. Our

37:21

theme was written and performed by

37:23

Professor Shy Guy. A full

37:25

list of other music used can be

37:27

found in the show notes, as can

37:29

our social media links. This

37:31

episode featured In order of

37:33

appearance, David Ault as the

37:35

historian, T 'Kain Azir as

37:37

Eisen, Josh Rabino as

37:40

Telosfor, Blythranay as

37:42

Colette, Yohanna Ariskalite

37:44

as Saga, and

37:46

Zooey LaFou as Liberado, with

37:48

additional voices by Henry

37:50

Galli, Zooey LaFou, and Meg

37:52

Malloy Tudin. If you'd

37:54

like to support the show,

37:57

go to patreon .com slash

37:59

kingmakercast. Thanks for listening

38:01

and we'll see you when we return

38:03

for Season 4.