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carl-grimxz · 5 years ago

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Confused Feelings

Carl Grimes x Reader

PART 1

Summary: You and Carl are friends but he suddenly starts to act strangely and withdrawn like he is avoiding you. The trouble is you can’t work out why.

Word Count: 2,940

Warnings: None :)

A/N: I’ve never written one of these before... but I love Carl and miss him soooo much so felt like giving it a go. I’ll likely write a few parts to this so please enjoy!

The leaves had fallen and the air was cold. Freezing actually, much worse than it was yesterday by far. Strange that, how quickly winter seems to come. No matter how much Rick drills into us that we need to be prepared for the new conditions this season would bring us, I never do feel ready for it. Then again are we ever really prepared for anything these days? Doesn’t feel like it.

Even though we spend hours huddled round discussing plans. Strategising. We always end up here. On the road with nothing but the desire to live carrying us forward from place to place. At least we are here though. Still breathing. Surviving together. The majority of us at least. That’s the main thing. That’s what I keep thinking to myself anyway. While I’m standing here, attempting to keep my hands somewhat warm in my coat pockets, I look down at my worn boots as they scuff the frosty fallen leaves across the gravelly road. The time has come again. We’re stood around, waiting for Rick to give us our next move. We’ve been heading North for the most part. I can’t exactly remember why. I’m sure the situation is just as bad up there, but I do trust Ricks judgement, so I don’t necessarily need to understand why. I tend to zone out during these conversations. Not on purpose. I just do. Probably because I’m never involved in the decision making part of it.

A harsh gust of wind rushes past us. So bitterly cold that it actually makes me lose my breath for a second. At this point I glance up at Carl to see if he’s finding it as intense as I am. We make eye contact and his lips curl up into the faintest smile. So subtle I feel that if it were anyone else looking at him right now, I’m sure they wouldn’t even notice the smile that admittedly, is pretty microscopic, but is definitely there. His hands move to the outer edges of his oversized jacket and grips it tighter to his body, telling me he’s just as cold as I am. I feel almost relieved. Not that he’s cold but that it isn’t just me overreacting. Everyone in this group is so unfalteringly strong, except maybe Eugene, that sometimes it’s exhausting just trying to tough it out and keep pace with them. It’s moments like this that I’m thankful I have Carl. He seems to get it, I dunno.

I look away and tune into the others conversation. Almost like she’s reading my mind, Maggie speaks up. “Rick we gotta get outta the open and find some shelter. It’s already pretty nippy and it’s gon get even colder the later it gets”. Everyone glances at Rick and he pauses for a moment. He brings the free hand that isn’t holding his daughter up and drags it across his face, scratching at his beard. He has his eyebrows furrowed, deep in thought and glances around at each of us clearly coming to a decision. He sighs, “Yah you’re right. We could all do with finding somewhere to rest up and get warm”.

“There was a place I saw. Bout a couple miles back, a barn I think. Found it when I was hunting earlier. Didn’t think it would be much use to us then, but it’d do for the night. Light a fire, warm up”. Daryl half grunted. Thank god. I’ve almost forgotten what it feels like to be warm.

“Did it look clear?”, Michonne asked.

“More or less. May be a couple walkers, nothin we can’t handle”.

With that we were off walking back the way we came. Along the path, a dense layer of trees either side and what seemed like never ending road straight on, as far as we could see. Rick said it wouldn’t take too long to get there. Less than an hour apparently, even in our weakened state. While we were walking I found myself in one of my daydreams. Just zoning out. Truthfully I was pretty down today, the past few days actually. I can’t put my finger on the exact cause. A mixture of things I suppose. Low on supplies, low on energy. I mean also it may be that Carl and I haven’t spoken much since a couple days ago. Everything was fine, or so I thought but then he went off to speak with Michonne and after that it’s honestly felt like he’s been avoiding me. I don’t know what they spoke about and it could just be me going crazy, but it’s definitely been strange ever since. I dunno, he’s a boy. The other day Rosita told me that boys think girls are crazy but that it’s really the other way round. That was right after she’d had an argument with Abraham cause he’d said something that upset her, can’t remember what. She was not happy though.

I was pulled away from my thoughts when I felt someone nudge my shoulder with there’s. It was Carl. Last I looked he was walking up front with his dad but I guess he dropped back for whatever reason. “Hey” I said, trying to sound like I was in a better mood than I actually was.

“What’re you thinkin about?”

“Oh uh, nothing. Just tired you know?�� A look of understanding washed over his face. “Yeah me to”, he sighed “But I guess we can rest soon. Eat those rabbits Daryl hunted earlier. Sit round the fire. Then all our problems will seem smaller”. He half smiled, eyes meeting mine, waiting for a response. I’m just now realising how blue they actually are. Like the ocean. Funny, I’ve never noticed that before. “That’s true”. I felt the corners of my mouth raising upwards slightly as I looked up at him.

He was right. That’s why I liked Carl. He was usually right, but not in an annoying way. You can trust his thought process and judgement is all. I rely on him to make me think more rationally than perhaps I would if left to my own devices. I’m a pessimist to be truthful, but not so much with him around. Carl is my best friend actually. We’re all a family, but there’s something with Carl and I. I don’t know what it is. We just click. Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that we’re the same age, so it’s like we’re really going through this together. You know, we’ve missed out on the exact same things that kids our age are supposed to experience. So there’s an unspoken link bringing us closer together, and we are close. All we have to do is look at each other and it’s like we’re speaking a thousand words. With one look. He gets it. To be honest, our main form of communication is a simple knowing glance these days. Ever since Terminus and everything that we’ve been through since, spirits have been extremely low within the whole group. In fact, peoples moods have been almost as big a problem as the lack of food. Our energy levels and the general lack of hope amongst us means we don’t really feel like doing much talking at the moment. That’s why I appreciate Carl. He’s just as low as the rest of us but somehow he manages to do a pretty decent job of getting past that and thinking forward. Even if he is acting weird recently.

A while of strangely uncomfortable silent walking later, and just like Daryl said, five minutes through the woods and we approached a barn. Lucky for us no walkers in sight. Although we’ve all come to understand that that doesn’t mean there aren’t any there at all. As we came up close to it I realised that the area surrounding the barn was actually quite pretty. It sat in the middle of a large opening in the woods, enclosed in a field of flowers. I don’t know what kind they were but the colours were mostly indigos and violets and were so beautiful that it was verging on emotional. Probably from lack of sleep more than anything else, but there are so few things of beauty left in this world now. I really needed to see something like this. I’m sure we were all thinking the same thing because every one of us was smiling. Grinning even, and that hasn’t happened in a long time. “So beautiful” Sasha beamed,

“Right?!” Rosita added “I hope it’s clear inside”.

“Let’s find out” Rick responded with his hands firmly on his gun. “Daryl, Abraham, Sasha, Rosita with me”.

The rest of us stayed put outside, on watch for walkers, letting the others do their thing.

As I was scanning the tree line I caught Carl staring at me. That’s happened a lot lately. I’ll just so happen to glance at him and he’ll already be looking my way. He usually just pretends that he’s looking elsewhere and I let him believe that I don’t really notice, but I do. I was about to ask him what his deal was but decided not to bother when Rick and the others wandered back out of the barn.

“All clear. Looks in good shape actually, we’ll be good here for the night”. Relief washed over me. I am actually exhausted. I really don’t think I could cope if we had to spend another night on the side of the road again. A few sighs of relief could be heard from us and in through the heavy wooden doors we all went. The size of this place is actually pretty impressive. Something I had missed initially due to being distracted by the flowers. Somehow I was reminded of the poppy scene in The Wizard of Oz.

As soon as we were inside, everyone got to settling in. Organising the little supplies we had, starting a small fire. That kind of thing. Daryl went straight on watch, looking through the small window on the left of the door. This place isn’t too bad. It’s large enough to fit us all in comfortably and there’s some hay in the far corner that it looks like we’ll be sleeping on. Glenn and Maggie were already setting down blankets and the odd sleeping bag over there. It didn’t take long for me to warm up slightly. Just being under shelter and not out in the wind made a lot better. Such a relief, I really do hate being cold. Rick and Carl attempting to get a fire going in the centre of the barn. I thought for a second. Should I go help? Maybe get to talk to Carl and work out why he’s acting funny. I think I will. I’ll play it cool though.

I started walking over to them and Rick saw me coming almost immediately. We both exchanged smiles but then he nudged Carl to make him see me I guess, then left to go talk to Sasha. That’s weird. Carl looked up ever so quickly and then just carried on organising the fuel for the fire as if he didn’t even see me. “Need some help?” I asked as soon as I reached him to brake the tension that was between us all of a sudden.

“Nah, I’m good”, he mumbled, “But thanks though” he added, smiling as he looked up at me stood above him noticing that I had my eyebrows furrowed in a frown. “Ok…” I said slowly as I took a seat on the ground next to him, legs crossed. Carl said nothing, just stared at the tiny fire that his dad had just managed to start before he left. This is definitely odd now. He’s never been this quiet before. Not around me anyway. What is with him? “That was quick.” I uttered, referring to the fire “What?”, he asked, clearly confused. “The fire”, I explained, pointing to it, “You got it lit really fast. Impressive”.

“Oh, thanks. Well it was dad actually. I didn’t really do anything”. I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t seem to work. He still just sat there staring at the slowly expanding fire. I’d had enough now. I had to know what was going on inside that head of his. “What’s up with you?”. It wasn’t nearly as assertive as I had meant it to come out. My voice was soft. I just wanted him to talk to me. His head flicked up. I had his attention. “What? Nothing” he grumbled at me. A lie. I could tell he was hiding something. “Don’t lie Carl. I know something’s wrong. You’ve been acting weird the past couple days”. He watched me as I spoke. He had a guilty look on his face like he knew what I was talking about. He stayed silent as I carried on, “Except for when we spoke for like two minutes on the walk over here, you’ve been avoiding me”. I looked to him for an explanation but still silence. Whatever. “Ok fine”, I’m getting annoyed now. I got up to leave, “I’ll just leave you alone alright? That’s clearly what you wa-“, “Wait” He murmered. I turned back towards him. He had his hand around my wrist but no sooner than I had noticed it was there, he’d taken it away again, almost shocked he grabbed it in the first place. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I just feel weird. I dunno why. I just feel like stuff has changed”. He looked down again, almost ashamed. What is he talking about? “I don’t understand. What stuff?”. I really wanted to know. I stood there looking down at him.

“Ever since we had that run in with those walkers. You almost got bit. It scared me… and now it’s different” Carl sighed.

“It scared me too”, I admitted. I was trying not to think about that to be honest. It was pretty frightening, I’m not gonna lie. I was millimetres away from having my neck torn open. “Hey Y/N!” Carol called across to me. Perfect timing… not. She likely wanted help preparing the food. I usually help her. I glanced over to her and then back at Carl who was studying me closely, probably hoping for me to say something more than what I had. “Speak later, ok?” I asked him hopefully.

“Yeah sure”. It was almost a whisper.

I did a lot of thinking while Carol and I prepared the food. It was mostly quiet between us. Carol isn’t a massive talker, but I liked it that way sometimes. While I watched the squirrel get yacked apart ready to cook I over-analysed everything Carl had said to me. Replayed my near death experience with the walker over and over in my head. It was actually Carl that saved me. I had dropped my knife stupidly and was trying to hold the terrifying monster at arms length with both hands. Trying and failing. As it was seconds from ripping my neck open with it jaw when Carl sent a bullet straight through it’s skull. The walker dropped to the ground and I stepped away in shock, my eyes wide as I came to terms with what had nearly happened. Carl ran over from where he was, which wasn’t that far away to be fair and before I knew it his arms were around me. Engulfing me so tightly it was as if his life depended on it. I wondered if that was what Carl was talking about, now that I think of it. That’s the only time we’ve ever done that. Hugged. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but when we finally pulled apart after what felt like a lifetime, I looked into his eyes and I had seen something in them that I had never seen before. I can’t describe it. He just looked different. Scared. Really terrified. Not long after that was when we had managed to find somewhere to settle down and set up camp in amongst the trees, and Carl went off for that chat with Michonne. Carol brought my attention back to her with a smile. “Come on Y/N, let’s go serve up some squirrel!”.

We were all sat around the fire. There were a few conversations going on but it was pretty quiet. I was just observing everyone. I found myself watching Sasha who was chatting with Michonne over their bowls of squirrel and canned tomatoes. She must have felt me watching because she looked across at me and smiled, giving me a nod. I’ve always been super close to Sasha. She looks out for me and we get along well cause we have a lot of the same views on everything I think. She’s very straight to the point and thinks with her head. I admire her for that. Sasha has often told me if I ever need to talk to her about anything I can. She might just be able to help me work Carl out. Although I think I may need help working myself out as well. Ever since he brought up that walker encounter I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. About him. The fear and adrenaline must have caused me to block it out at first but the more I remember it, the more I understand Carl for acting oddly. Something about that hug and the look on his face has changed something. He was right. God damnit he’s always right. As soon as this food is done with, I’m heading straight to Sasha.

#carl grimes #carl grimes imagine #carl grimes fanfiction #carl grimes one shot #chandler riggs #chandler riggs imagine #the walking dead #twd #twd imagine #the walking dead imagine #carl #carl grimes x reader

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welcometothepenumbra · 5 years ago

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SECOND CITADEL – THE HALLOWED HALLS OF HELICOID (PART TWO)

SOUND: RAIN. TRAIN ARRIVES, CREAKS TO A STOP. DOOR CLANKS OPEN.

CONDUCTOR: Ah, good evening, Traveler. And welcome… to The Penumbra.

SOUND: DOOR CLANKS SHUT.

Take your seat, please, take your seat.

SOUND: TRAIN MOVING.

MUSIC: STARTS.

The junction lies ahead, so if you’ll allow me just a moment.

SOUND: TRAIN WHISTLE.

We are now approaching Fort Terminus.

SOUND: TRAIN BRAKES.

Our next stop?

The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid.

SOUND: DOOR CLANKS OPEN, RAIN.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

***

BAILIFFS (MUFFLED): (FADING IN) Nothing over here, your Horror! Nor here, your Circuitousness! Most horrible Judge Helicoid, I’ve found the hu– ah, nevermind. That’s another bit of rug!

TALFRYN: (QUIETLY) He’s not leaving! Come on, Talfryn, you have to do something, think! (DEEP BREATH) Okay. Okay, okay. Uh, what would Sir Marc say? Uh… “C’mon, Tal, you’re afraid of one measly little house-sized snail? I could slay it with Dampierre’s eyes closed!”

Ohhhh, that’s not helping!

DAMIEN (MUFFLED): (YELLS)

TALFRYN: Oh no!

ANGELO (MUFFLED): Sir Damien!

Release him from your bubbling grasp, slime-beast! If you’ve harmed my greatest friend and rival, I swear—

JUDGE (MUFFLED): I’m not doing anything. Now, tell him to stop bellyaching, would you? He’s horribly close to my ear.

DAMIEN (MUFFLED): (LAUGHS) The tapestries! Saint Damien above, I’ve made sense of them! Ha-HA! At last, the world’s returned to order!

JUDGE (MUFFLED): Your priorities are astonishing, human.

DAMIEN (MUFFLED): You are a false prophet, snail! These tapestries show Sage Helicoid clearly, and he is a human! A very old man with a ceremonial helmet and a long, flowing cloak, carrying a spiral shield.

ANGELO (MUFFLED): Hm. Where is that? I don’t see it.

TALFRYN: (OVER THE BELOW) Oh, it’s okay; Sir Damien’s okay. But I have to get out of here.

DAMIEN (MUFFLED): (OVER THE ABOVE) It’s… it’s right there, Sir Angelo, how can you not?

JUDGE (MUFFLED): (OVER THE ABOVE) That? Looks more like a snail to me.

TALFRYN: (OVER THE BELOW) Sir Marc would tell me to look at everything available to me.

DAMIEN (MUFFLED): (OVER THE ABOVE) It’s an old man!

ANGELO (MUFFLED): (OVER THE ABOVE) I could see it either way, to be honest.

TALFRYN: (OVER THE BELOW) So, I’ve got—

DAMIEN (MUFFLED): (OVER THE ABOVE) What?!

JUDGE (MUFFLED): (OVER THE BELOW) Well—

TALFRYN: (OVER THE BELOW) …my spear. And my armor is out there, and…

JUDGE (MUFFLED): (OVER THE ABOVE) —the snail’s foot is like a robe, you see.

ANGELO (MUFFLED): (OVER THE ABOVE) Oh, I like that!

TALFRYN: (OVER THE BELOW) —my pack, probably surrounded by little slimy things by now.

ANGELO (MUFFLED): (OVER THE ABOVE) And the ceremonial helm’s horns are his eye stalks! Very thick ones…

TALFRYN: (OVER THE ABOVE) (GROANS)

JUDGE (MUFFLED): (OVER THE BELOW) Mm, it takes all kinds, man, it takes all kinds.

TALFRYN: (OVER THE ABOVE) I’m so thirsty, I wish I didn’t leave my backflask…

BAILIFF (MUFFLED): Your Horror! I’ve found him!

TALFRYN: (GASPS)

JUDGE (MUFFLED): > You are pointing at me, Bailiff.

BAILIFF (MUFFLED): Is… is that not who we were lookin’ for, your Circuitousness?

JUDGE (MUFFLED): (GROWLS) The human! The human. Go and find him!

TALFRYN: Okay. I’ve got… this wall! And… these pipes in the wall. And… beyond those, some thick glass-like stuff leading to… water.

We’re underwater. We’re under the Terminus, aren’t we? Oh no, oh no…!

SOUND: HEAVY SCRAPING.

BAILIFF (MUFFLED): Your Horror! This time I’ve found him!

JUDGE (MUFFLED): Bailiff, that is not a human! It is a wall! Don’t call me until you have found a human, because I am very busy! (GRUMBLES) It’s clearly a snail!

DAMIEN (MUFFLED): The tapestries show an old man!

ANGELO (MUFFLED): I agree with you on that point, Sir Damien. They show—

BAILIFF (MUFFLED): (OVER THE BELOW) I’ll just check on my own, then.

ANGELO (MUFFLED): (OVER THE ABOVE) —both a snail and a man! It is one of those optical delusions.

SOUND: GRUNTS, SCRAPING.

JUDGE (MUFFLED): Illusions.

ANGELO (MUFFLED): Thank you! It’s one of those illusions delusions.

TALFRYN: Spear, gotta get my spear, gotta get my—

BAILIFF: Bailiffs! Bailiffs! This wall is talking!

TALFRYN: Oh no!

BAILIFF: And now it’s saying “oh no!” And— (GASPS) The human!

TAL: (YELLS)

SOUND: SQUELCH.

BAILIFF: And now it’s got a pointy stick goes right through my belly.

SOUND: RUSTLING.

TALFRYN: Give my spear back!

BAILIFF: No! You give it to me!

SOUND: GRUNTS.

BAILIFFS (MUFFLED): (OVERLAPPING) What’s that? A human? Disgusting! Ooh, that looks fun! Beat him, Bailiff! Beat him!

JUDGE (DISTANT): Hmmm? What’s that, now?

BAILIFF: I said let go! (GRUNTS)

TALFRYN: No! You let go! (GRUNTS)

SOUND: BREAKING GLASS. BUBBLING WATER.

BAILIFF: Now look what you did! Your silly stick’s stuck a hole in the… wall.

Uh-oh.

SOUND: WATER SPRAYS.

BAILIFFS: (OVERLAPPING, OVER THE BELOW) What’s that? Oh no! I don’t know how to swim! (YELLS)

JUDGE: (OVER THE ABOVE) Bailiffs! I say, my bailiffs are being washed away!

ANGELO (MUFFLED): You’ve flushed them, Talfryn! Genius! The door is clear, now; you can run back up to the surface and get the salt!

TALFRYN: (PANTING) Okay. Now I just have to… take care of the big one. And—

ANGELO (MUFFLED): And then you slay this evil snail!

TALFRYN: Yeah. That. (GULPS)

DAMIEN (MUFFLED): Where is he? What is he doing?!

ANGELO (MUFFLED): Perhaps he’s… not convinced by the salt?

DAMIEN (MUFFLED): He had better be. With all respect for the tracking profession, Talfryn, a great, great many authorities before you have agreed that salt kills snails. And at the moment I’d rather trust centuries of wisdom over one reluctant tracker!

ANGELO (MUFFLED): Talfryn, please! Strength in unity! A knight must prize all voices!

JUDGE (MUFFLED): I have grown rather tired of all these voices myself. (DEEP BREATH)

SOUND: BUBBLES.

ANGELO (MUFFLED): Oh! Ooooh! Now what is that– oh! That strange feeling?

DAMIEN (MUFFLED): Suction, Sir Angelo! The slime is sucking us in!

ANGELO (MUFFLED): Wh– whoa– whoaaaaaaa!

DAMIEN (MUFFLED): Taaaaaaalfryyyyyn!

SOUND: SCHLORP.

JUDGE: Yes, ye– hmm, well! I think that’s more like it. (CHUCKLES)

TALFRYN: (PANTING)

JUDGE: Well now, well now – without your rapscallion friends to lead the way, you aren’t nearly so bold, are you? I should say not, ha hem, hm, ha, not at all. But… mmmm.

It is my profession to lead ways, you know. To give guidance – excuse me, rather, to communicate guidance from the uuuUUuUuniverse – in situations where individuals cannot sort it for themselves. Hmm? I can speak to a power greater than us. Ask it where your place is. And then, all you need to do is: follow. Do as I tell you, and then it will be all over. So. What say you?

TALFRYN: (WHISPERING) If I run for the door, he’ll get me. If I don’t run, he’ll get them.

JUDGE: I should warn you that your friends will drown if you wait much longer.

TALFRYN: (CALLING) Alright! Alright, I’m… coming out.

JUDGE: (CHUCKLES) And you won’t try anything tricky now, mmm?

TALFRYN: N– never!

JUDGE: That’s a good lad. Come out, I say. Come out!

TALFRYN: Three, two, one!

SOUND: SCRAPE, RUNNING FOOTSTEPS, PANTING.

JUDGE: Haaa ha-ha! I knew you would run! (SNORTS, SPITS) The door is blocked, and you are trapped, you small-minded, unimpressive, dry—

Oh, well, you didn’t run for the door, did you?

TALFRYN: N-nope! I ran for this! My backflask!

SOUND: WATER SPRAYING.

JUDGE: (YELPING)

TALFRYN: Ha! I knew it! Fresh water will… uh-oh!

JUDGE: (BIG SNORT, SPITS)

TALFRYN: Wuh!

SOUND: SPRAYING WATER.

JUDGE: (YELLS)

TALFRYN: No more spitballs, or I’ll keep spraying!

JUDGE: Curse you! My divine face, I say, my divine face has been swollen!

TALFRYN: And I’m sorry I did that. But you have to let my friends breathe, or else… or else I’ll swell it up even more! And you won’t like it!

JUDGE: (GROWLS, STRAINING)

SOUND: BUBBLING. GASPS.

DAMIEN: (PANTING) The snail’s skin… is shifting! I can breathe!

ANGELO: (STRAINING) Keep at it, Talfryn! Now you just have to get the salt!

TALFRYN: Salt won’t work. We already tried it.

ANGELO: Well, have we perhaps tried more salt?

TALFRYN: We did! All that water that flooded in here was seawater from the Terminus! But the Judge here didn’t bat an eye-stalk!

Because you’re not a land snail at all! You’re a sea slug! And now you have to let my friends go, because—

JUDGE: (BIG GASP) I beg your pardon! Slander! Slander, I say! Everyone knows that the mighty Judge Helicoid is a snail. Why else would I live in this great big shell?

ANGELO: It looked more like a tower to me.

JUDGE: And—! Water, harming a sea creature! How preposterous! (LAUGHS)

TALFRYN: Not just any water! Fresh water! Because basically! It’s called osmosis! Your internal fluids are really heavily saltwater, uh, that’s, so all the water doesn’t rush out of you in the ocean, ‘cause it kind of tries to balance… but anyway, your skin just sort of lets water in and out whenever it wants, so the water on the outside filters into your skin really fast to try and dilute the salty—

JUDGE: Flim-flam! Tommyrot! Stuff and nonsense! Also, I didn’t understand a word of it.

DAMIEN: Genius, Talfryn! What incredible reasoning! Your mind has won the day.

TALFRYN: Oh! Thank you!

DAMIEN: And more importantly, you’ve proved once and for all that Sage Helicoid is not a snail!

JUDGE: Fine, then. I’m a slug. And those pictures on the tapestries are all of a slug! Me! Judge Helicoid!

ANGELO: Mmm, no, I’m afraid there we disagree, slug. That is definitely either a snail, or an old man.

DAMIEN: It is just an old man!

JUDGE: Well then, how do you account for the strange protrusions on his shield?

TALFRYN: Stop!

SOUND: WATER SPRAYS.

JUDGE: Ooooh! What was that for?

TALFRYN: Stop pretending to be our friend and distracting us and listen to me! I told you to let them go!

JUDGE: After this conversation.

TALFRYN: No! Right now, because this is what you do! You lie, and brag, and put on a big show to distract us, and then you get us when we aren’t ready! That’s why you’ve let Sir Angelo talk to me this whole time…

ANGELO: Because he respected me as an unlicensed educator!

TALFRYN: …so you could always tell what I was going to do next!

ANGELO: Oh.

DAMIEN: He’s not a sage. He isn’t even a snail! He’s just a performer. (SPITS) A second-rate performer!

JUDGE: (GASPS) Second rate! How dare you—

SOUND: WATER SPRAYS.

(GASPS) Oh, uh, please, uh, don’t spray me… with that, again, alright, h-here you go. (STRAINING)

SOUND: BUBBLING. TWO POPS, THUDS.

TALFRYN: There. You guys are free. Now we’ve just got to see what he knows and leave.

JUDGE: Ha! If you think it will be that easy to—

SOUND: WATER SPRAYS.

(YELLS, SPLUTTERS) I think you’ve grown a bit too attached to that spraying-device.

TALFRYN: Who are you? First you’re pretending to be this Spiral Sage guy, then a snail? What’s all this for?

JUDGE: Do you perhaps mean, ‘why would I impersonate a long-dead snail of near-infinite power who all monsters listen to without question?’

Because it seems to me that answer is clear, hm hm.

DAMIEN: Human.

JUDGE: Snail.

DAMIEN: Human!

TALFRYN: That’s not all! You said you had orders to guard this gate. Who gave you orders?

JUDGE: I told you, the uuuUUUuUuniverse—

SOUND: WATER SPRAYS.

(YELPS) Fine, fine! The Senate. The Senate placed me here!

TALFRYN: The monsters have… a Senate? Like the First Citadel?

DAMIEN: That’s impossible! Monsters organizing, conducting a society like– like humans? Blasphemy!

JUDGE: We speak, do we not? We think. We argue. And if we are to ensure our freedoms are protected, we must have a means of enforcing them. So, we vote. Some monsters choose to cluster in families or societies; there is a tree west of here, filled with ten thousand chipmooks, who all must unanimously agree on one vote. Then, there are the solitary beasts, like that… ugh, lizard and his house. Not that he’s voted in decades, the six-limbed scoundrel.

DAMIEN: A lizard? A six-limbed lizard?

ANGELO: Now, Sir Damien, let’s not get too excited right away. He could have four legs. Or six legs. Or five arms and no legs, if a snake’s tail is a form of leg, or—

JUDGE: Four arms, two legs.

ANGELO: Begads, that’s just the lizard we’re after!

DAMIEN: Do you know where the fiend is? Sly slug, tell us immediately!

JUDGE: Somewhere in this building, if he isn’t dead already.

DAMIEN: If he isn’t– what did you say?

JUDGE: He’s been found guilty of treason and sentenced to this fortress, from whence they’re likely to throw him over the edge of the world.

DAMIEN: Thrown over the edge… he is a monster, but… oh Saints, how grisly…

TALFRYN: Was there a woman with him? A human woman?

JUDGE: Not with him, but… (GAGS) A situation too disgusting to speak of. Her trial concludes with the dawn. She’s in our holding-cells at present, along with that pugnacious friend of hers.

ANGELO: I knew Sir Caroline would save her!

DAMIEN: Thrown over the edge of the world… down the Terminus falls… down and down and…

JUDGE: But all is not lost, gentlemen; I say, it is not too late for you to have your woman and your lizard.

ANGELO: Slay the lizard, actually.

JUDGE: Yes, well, perhaps do that before you get her, for, uh… blugh, good… reasons. You will find the monster in this very fortress, deep beneath the Terminus. You will find the woman back beneath my courthouse, where she is held.

TALFRYN: You’re being really cooperative suddenly.

JUDGE: Well, my boy, what else can I do? If I am indirect, I get the spray; if I lie, it’s the spray once more. And if I avoid the spray, well, perhaps that’s because… I would… like to survive this. I’m… well, I daresay I’m quite afraid for my life at this moment.

DAMIEN: He lies as all monsters do, Talfryn. Slay him.

TALFRYN: But—

ANGELO: I’m afraid I agree with Sir Damien, my pupil. A call for mercy is to be respected, but when its caller has proven so unrepentant…

TALFRYN: I… I…

DAMIEN: For your Citadel. This is what it means to be a knight.

ANGELO: It is not easy, my young friend. But it grows easier with time.

TALFRYN: (QUIETLY) I don’t want it to get easier.

JUDGE: What was that?

TALFRYN: I said…

You told us the truth about Rilla and the lizard? You swear?

JUDGE: I have too much at stake to lie, my boy. Far too much.

TALFRYN: Then go. Leave!

DAMIEN: Talfryn!

ANGELO: Do not act rashly now, my pupil; the monster is—

TALFRYN: My monster! I beat him! I saved you! So I get to decide!

And you can’t pretend to be the Judge anymore, okay, slug! You have to go back into the Terminus, or wherever you came from. And you just have to be a big slug again. A big slug who doesn’t hurt anybody! Okay?

JUDGE: Of course. I cannot thank you more, my boy. I will chart my own course now.

TALFRYN: You’d better, or someone will come back with even more fresh water. Seriously!

JUDGE: Thank you, thank you! I say one thousand times thank you.

SOUND: HEAVY CREAKING, SQUELCHES. CLANK.

Gentlemen.

DAMIEN & ANGELO: (GRUNT)

SOUND: CLANKS & CREAKS, THUD, CLANKS.

TALFRYN: (SIGHS) It’s over.

DAMIEN: Indeed. Failure, too, is an ending.

ANGELO: I- do hope your instincts prove true, Talfryn. We have let monsters go in recent days, but this… seems riskier.

TALFRYN: Well… if we had just killed him to start like you guys wanted, we never would have learned that Rilla and the lizard-monster are already here! We’d just be walking back into the swamp and we’d never find Rilla at all.

SOUND: SQUISHES.

DAMIEN: That noise… Does anyone else hear that?

TALFRYN: So, yeah! Maybe I can do this! Maybe I can be a-a new kind of knight—

SOUND: BUBBLING.

—one who doesn’t kill monsters, who only hunts for food or to protect the jungle, and—

JUDGE: Protect yourself first, boy.

ANGELO: Talfryn, behind you!

JUDGE: (BIG SNORT)

TALFRYN: (SCREAMS)

SOUND: WATER SPRAYS.

(PANTS)

SOUND: STRETCHING.

JUDGE: (GURGLES)

Uh oh.

SOUND: BIG POP. WET SPLAT.

ANGELO: (AFTER A PAUSE) Talfryn. That was…

DAMIEN: Disgusting. Harrowing. Rancid beyond comprehension.

ANGELO: Amazing!! (LAUGHS)

TALFRYN: (YELPS)

ANGELO: You did it! You did it, my pupil, and I couldn’t be more proud! Did you see his reflexes, Sir Damien?

DAMIEN: Very impressive.

ANGELO: And that shot! Unbelievable! You have the makings of a great knight, young Talfryn!

TALFRYN: Let go of me!

ANGELO: What?

TALFRYN: I said don’t touch me, okay?

ANGELO: Talfryn, I… I understand these jitters. But that monster broke his word and tried to kill you; he was undoubtedly evil.

DAMIEN: As they all are.

ANGELO: I can’t say that. What of the crocodile-hound?

TALFRYN: Stop.

DAMIEN: What of it? We didn’t observe what it did with its freedom, did we? Our failure to kill it has likely visited misery on many more humans already. It was a moment of weakness, Sir Angelo.

TALFRYN: I said stop.

ANGELO: The situation may have been unclear, Sir Damien, but a knight knows what’s best in his heart.

DAMIEN: Do we? In an era of heart-twisting monsters, can we?

TALFRYN: Just shut up already! You aren’t listening! You’re just waiting until everyone else is quiet and then talking about your own problems!

DAMIEN: …Oh my.

TALFRYN: I don’t care whether the Judge was a good monster or a bad monster! I said I didn’t want to kill him, and then I killed him, and I didn’t want to!

ANGELO: But you had to, friend—

TALFRYN: I’m not talking about had to! I didn’t want to! I never wanted to, and now I did and I feel like I’m gonna be sick, okay? (HEAVY BREATHING)

ANGELO: Young Talfryn, I—

TALFRYN: And another thing! I’m older than you, Sir Angelo. I have more experience than you. And you might be really, really good at killing monsters, but right now we’re just trying not to die in a monster’s den, and you don’t know what you’re talking about, so… so… so… maybe the people who talk the most shouldn’t say we should listen to everyone equally when it’s someone! Else’s! Turn!

I’m gonna go sit down over there now!

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

DAMIEN: That was… quite clear.

I’m going to see if I can make sense of those tapestries. Perhaps some quiet… contemplation is in order.

ANGELO: Still? You’ve been quietly contemplating for days, Sir Damien.

DAMIEN: Yes, well, things have become… rather complicated, haven’t they? (CHUCKLES) A government of monsters… individual interests, rights, representation? Could those be lies too, my friend? When does one concede that one has cast aside so much as falsehood that the world itself has become… a mirage? The reality not meeting what we choose to see?

ANGELO: I understood not a lick of that, Sir Damien. But I would say that if you worry you don’t understand everything, well I can’t say I do, either. But I listen when others tell me I am wrong, and I learn.

Well, I thought I did. Perhaps I don’t understand that, either.

DAMIEN: Yes… perhaps that is wisest… surround oneself with those wiser, and worry not beyond the scope they set. That is the essence of faith, is it not? To… believe. No matter what obstacles present themselves.

(SIGHS) And I must believe the real Sage Helicoid must have been human. I must believe that monsters are evil, for much wiser men than I have said so, and for hundreds of years.

ANGELO: But… what of the beasts we’ve seen on our journey, my friend? What of the evidence of your eyes? Or your heart?

DAMIEN: My heart… well, that must be because…

I don’t know, Sir Angelo. I don’t know.

But the answer must be in these halls. It must be. And then my faith will be restored, and the world will be as it always was. It has to be. It has to.

ANGELO: Very well, then. I shall talk to young– I shall talk to our compatriot.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

Talfryn. May I sit?

TALFRYN: (MOANS)

ANGELO: My friend, I owe you an apology. I was overzealous today. I just thought… well, I thought that without your brother, you might be… in need of guidance. Adrift, perhaps.

TALFRYN: Yeah, well, maybe! Maybe I do feel adrift! And maybe I wouldn’t if everyone would just let me drift for a minute until I undrift myself, okay! (SIGHS) I’m sorry, Sir Angelo, that’s not fair. I just…

ANGELO: It’s alright, my friend.

TALFRYN (MUFFLED): I don’t know if I want to be a knight.

ANGELO: What’s that?

TALFRYN: I said, (MUFFLED) I don’t know if I want to be a knight.

ANGELO: Yes, well, I heard that part, but I assumed that I must be mistake– great Saints on high, man, you don’t want to be a knight?!

TALFRYN: (MOANS)

ANGELO: I didn’t know there existed a single human being that didn’t want to be a knight.

TALFRYN: Even the Queen?

ANGELO: I thought she must have aimed for knighthood and overshot a bit.

TALFRYN: Ah.

ANGELO: Well… aha! Then I’ve got just the solution, friend. If you don’t want to be a knight, then don’t be a knight! It’s that simple. And the day is saved!

TALFRYN: No, I… don’t know if I want to be a knight. And I don’t know if I don’t want to be one, either. I just…

Marc’s been working at it so hard and so long. I don’t want to let him down. I don’t know how not to let him down. And I don’t know what I want besides that.

ANGELO: I see… a far more challenging puzzle. Well, you see, Talfryn, you might… uh, that is, you could… just give me a moment, Talfryn, and Sir Angelo the Strong will have the answer.

TALFRYN: Y’know, Sir Angelo… sometimes when people talk, they don’t want you to solve their problems. Sometimes they just want to know you’re listening.

ANGELO: Then I shall listen more attentively than ever! And I shall update you every third sentence to ensure you…

That is more difficult than it sounds, isn’t it?

TALFRYN: Yeah. Yeah.

ANGELO: Mmm. Well. I will work on that.

And though I have known you but a short time, my friend, I am thrilled to see what you will become. I have no idea what it is, but… I am certain it will be grand.

TALFRYN: Thanks—

ANGELO: And also probably outside.

TALFRYN: Yeah, that’s accurate.

Thanks, friend.

ANGELO: It is my pleasure, friend.

Hm. Do you know where Sir Damien went, by the way? I don’t see him anywhere.

TALFRYN: Uh… nope; I don’t see him.

ANGELO: Is this the sort of problem I should not solve, or…?

TALFRYN: Nope, we should do something about that.

ANGELO: I suspected so.

TALFRYN: (CALLING, OVER THE BELOW) Sir Damien? Sir Damien? Sir Damien!

ANGELO: (CALLING, OVER THE ABOVE) Damien? Best friend and rival to Sir Angelo? Damien?

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

***

CAROLINE: (FADING IN) …completely ridiculous, that’s why!

RILLA: Ridiculous? So you want me to stay out here and get smashed as soon as another set of guards comes by?

CAROLINE: Better that than being torn apart by the lizard-beast!

RILLA: He is not going to tear me apart!

QUANYII: Now, ladies, please. Why are we fighting?

No really, why are we fighting? I got bored and stopped listening.

RILLA: The monsters aren’t going to let us just hang out here. So if we want to make it out alive, someone needs to stand lookout.

CAROLINE: And someone needs to go get the lizard.

RILLA: You’re just going to kill him.

CAROLINE: And you’re going to– well I don’t know what you’re going to do, but I don’t trust it.

QUANYII: Oh, is that all? My sillies, why there’s just such an easy answer. I’ll just—

RILLA & CAROLINE: (IN UNISON) You are not going in there!

QUANYII: Rude.

CAROLINE: You’re more likely to tear the lizard to pieces than I am. Make a soup out of him or something.

QUANYII: Ugh! I am not some chef!

RILLA: A goblin that spits soup, then.

QUANYII: Oh, yes. I quite like that idea.

CAROLINE: You also have a habit of disappearing and reappearing. It would be foolish to trust you with guard duty. You’d get bored and vanish off somewhere more exciting.

QUANYII: Guilty as charged! Well, then there is one other way I can help, at least.

Hmmm, now how will we compromise?

CAROLINE: Compromise.

QUANYII: Oh, it’s all the rage with the monsters: a system by which nobody gets what they want and everybody just resents everybody else! Very diplomatic.

CAROLINE: I know what a compromise is! (SIGHS) No. I’ve already learned one lesson today, thank you, and now I think I’ll have what I want. This is my mission, and I’ve earned the right to slay that lizard.

RILLA: Well, I have unfinished business with him.

CAROLINE: What business?

RILLA: I think someone who’s so dead-set on nobody asking about her past doesn’t really get to demand I tell her mine.

CAROLINE: Hmph. Fine. Witch. What compromise did you have in mind?

QUANYII: How about… (GASPS) That’s it!

RILLA: What’s it?

QUANYII: Our compromise will be this: Rilla will go in there first, and you’ll have your talk with the lizard and learn everything you can.

CAROLINE: How is that a compro—

QUANYII: But! We’ll all decide on a time limit together first; and once that’s up, you’ll just scurry right back here and then cranky and I will go in and take what we like from your scaly friend. Does that seem fair?

CAROLINE: No.

But I’m willing to tolerate it.

QUANYII: Rilla?

RILLA: I… uh…

QUANYII: And I’d suggest you take the compromise, or we might have to go to a vote. And I think you know which side I’m voting for.

RILLA: …Fine.

CAROLINE: Good. Now, how long do we think is fair?

RILLA: An hour.

CAROLINE: Two minutes.

QUANYII: And I vote for negative two minutes, so when you average that all together you get… twenty minutes!

RILLA: (OVER THE BELOW) That’s all?

CAROLINE: (OVER THE ABOVE) That long?

QUANYII: That’s compromise for you. Twenty minutes to ask your questions, and then you come right back here.

RILLA: But I—

QUANYII: And we’re agreed, so your time starts… now!

CAROLINE: Have fun, Rilla. Don’t make me come looking for you.

RILLA: I won’t.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS. RECORDER STARTS.

Research log, entry… (SIGHS) Who am I kidding? This hasn’t been a research log in weeks.

MUSIC: STARTS.

(SIGHS) I… don’t know what I’m going to do, to be honest. I’m in the hall just before Lord Arum’s cell, and– if he’s still in it.

And if he is, what then? Twenty minutes to help him escape, when it took us the better part of a day to get down here? And even if I do help him escape, what then? Treason, and Damien, and… this feeling.

Things are so much more confusing than they used to be. I miss how simple things were, but… I can’t go back. Not knowing what I know now, knowing how much danger we’re all in, knowing how little of the world I actually understand, but…

I love my life. And, I love my Damien, and…

How are you supposed to make the huge and beautiful and terrifying new world you’ve stumbled into… play nice with your home? With everything you love? I don’t… know. I hope… I have time to find the answer.

Saints, this is a long hallway. End of—

SOUND: DISTANT GASP.

What was that?!

ARUM (DISTANT): You?

MUSIC: ENDS.

DAMIEN (DISTANT): You… I can’t believe it’s really—

ARUM (DISTANT): (SIGHS) Of course it would be you. What an end to a truly catastrophic adventure. (SNORTS) I never should have left the Keep.

RILLA: That can’t be.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

DAMIEN (DISTANT): I thought you were dead. He told me, the monster; I thought you were… and I lived it, oh I lived it a thousand times in a second’s space! And how can this moment’s truth be but a droplet in that endless, churning sea I’ve drowned in—

ARUM (DISTANT): Oh, stop it. If you plan to kill me, you’ll get no sympathy. I’m sorry if that hurts your “feelings,” tktktktktktktktk.

DAMIEN (DISTANT): Kill you? But… I…

ARUM (DISTANT): Your knife is drawn, honeysuckle.

SOUND: RUNNING FOOTSTEPS.

I’m a monster, not an idiot.

SOUND: BANG.

RILLA: Damien, stop!

DAMIEN: Rilla! My– my Rilla, it’s you! You’re really here, you’re—

You’re the reason I must kill this lizard, of– of course. Oh Saint Damien above, take no more of your tranquility from me… if the sight of those violet eyes is enough for me to forget my purpose, what chance do I have?

RILLA: Please, Damien. Don’t hurt him. We… I… (SIGHS) It’s so complicated. It’s all just… really complicated right now.

ARUM: I’ll say.

Hello, Amaryllis. I take it you know this knight who threatens my life?

RILLA: I do. He’s… my fiancé. My family.

DAMIEN: And this devil is your kidnapper. I will slay him. Were you truly Rilla, you would know that. An illusion, of course, you must be, but- then is that possible? I would know you anywhere, but I must slay him, it is my duty to my Citadel and to my love, that is the way of the world, I must—

ARUM: Oh, hurry along, will you? I can’t stand another second of this performance!

RILLA: Arum, stop egging him on!

DAMIEN: Aaarum… you know the creature’s name.

RILLA: I do. Damien—

DAMIEN: You say it like a friend.

RILLA: Damien, please…

DAMIEN: No, not friend. Perhaps the long-sought music of your voice deceives me, but is that… do I not hear…?

Oh, Saint Damien above, what hells must I endure before you will forgive me? What have I done, what have I done…?

RILLA: Damien. I’m safe; it’s okay. You have nothing to worry about.

DAMIEN: HA! Nothing to worry about!

ARUM: Amaryllis, this is not helping—!

SOUND: SCHING.

RILLA: Damien, stop!

DAMIEN: I’ve drawn no blood.

I am tranquil at last, Rilla. I am thinking clearly.

RILLA: No, you aren’t. You’re a wreck, Damien. You look like you’ve barely slept; you need to breathe, and think. You need to put down that knife.

DAMIEN: I will not.

Yes, yes, I think clearly; I am tranquil, now. I can see the challenges that have been placed before me and I can see, too, how they have led me to this moment. I can see it all for what it truly is: illusion.

ARUM: Oh, please.

DAMIEN: Those violet eyes… their magic corrupts all. They make a knight stray from his course, make him question his divine purpose. Brew the sweetest venom in the chambers of his heart. And if they can affect the heart, the very seat of the soul, then why not twist my eyes, as well?

You’ve made me see things.

RILLA: See things like what, Damien?

DAMIEN: Those tapestries. Those are your illusions, aren’t they, lizard? Lies of humans and monsters living together, lying together. Deceptions all… and so is she. You’ve used her as an illusion against me before, why not now?

ARUM: It would take a lot more than shriekweed for an illusion that convincing, honeysuckle.

RILLA: Think about it, Damien. Think about if you have any proof.

DAMIEN: I am tranquil! I think clear enough, and speak only what I know to be true: the world has order. It has always made sense, and so it must make sense. And if your arrival came just as sense began to crumble? You, monster, must be the cause. And if that is true, then you must die!

RILLA: Damien? Don’t move. I’m coming over there.

DAMIEN: No, you are not.

Sit down, please. Whether you be human or illusion, please: sit. I think clearly; I am tranquil now, and in my tranquility I trust in the revealing power of truth to place all things in their proper order.

ARUM: Oh, spare me—

SOUND: SCHING.

(CHOKES)

RILLA: Damien!

DAMIEN: Now, I am tranquil. And in my tranquility I know what I must do.

(DEEP BREATH) I will fulfill my duty – and cut this lizard’s throat.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

***

SOUND: TRAIN MOVING, MUSIC.

CONDUCTOR: If you’ve enjoyed this tale, please consider donating to The Penumbra on Patreon. Our artists work tirelessly to bring you these stories, and if you have the means, we hope you will support our efforts. Every dollar helps. You can find that page at patreon.com/thepenumbrapodcast. If you support us on Patreon at the $10 level or higher, you’ll receive access to commentary tracks like this one, from actors Leslie Drescher, Melissa Ennulat, Melissa DeJesus, and co-creator Sophie Kaner:

SOUND: TRAIN STOPS, DOOR SLIDES OPEN, RAIN.

MELISSA D: …ly like I get really anxious about, taking on new characters, who knew? Haha—

SOUNDS: GIGGLES.

LESLIE: Also why I think I’m—

MELISSA D: Yeah, one of the ways that I prep is I made myself a Spotify playlist of like—

SOPHIE: Oh my god—

MELISSA D: Y’know, get in the Quanyii headspace—

SOPHIE: Oh my—

MELISSA E: You must share this, and immediately.

SOPHIE: Yes, what is on it.

MELISSA D: Um, like a lot of of it is showtunes—

MELISSA E & SOPHIE: YAAAAAAS!

MELISSA E: My life!

SOPHIE: No it’s so good—

MELISSA D: I’m a huge Lea Salonga fan—

SOUND: GASP.

MELISSA E: YAAAAAS!

SOPHIE: Yaaaaaas!

MELISSA D: Also she’s Filipino, and I’m Filipino, and it’s like a big thing for me, emotionally—

SOPHIE: Oh she’s perfect.

MELISSA E: She’s amazing in every way…

SOUND: DOOR SLIDES SHUT.

CONDUCTOR: You can also support The Penumbra by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter @thepenumbrapod, following us on Tumblr @thepenumbrapodcast, telling your friends about us, telling your friends to tell their friends about us, and especially by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. Every rating, comment, and kind word spreads our stories further and inspires us to keep creating more and better tales to come.

We would like to give special thanks to all who support us on Patreon, but especially to Minchowski, Aurora Cyr, Demi Prince, Camille Blanton, Ota Arcana, Christine Kim, Rowan Collins, Garrett M, Jay Iannuzzelli, Karin Z-H, Fiona Parker, Regan, Ko, Kim Zeugin, Atha Lang, Charlie Spiegel, and Jaimie Gunter for their incredibly generous contributions per episode. Thank you.

Did you know that The Penumbra has merchandise for sale? It’s true! The Penumbra has partnered with DFTBA to bring you the posters, shirts, and pins your heart desires. Just go to dftba.com and search for The Penumbra Podcast.

This tale, the Hallowed Halls of Helicoid, was told by the following people: Melissa Ennulat as Rilla, Leslie Drescher as Sir Caroline, Melissa De Jesus as Quanyii, Jason Mellin as Talfryn, M Sutherland as Sir Angelo, Matthew Zahnzinger as Sir Damien, Glenn Moore as Judge Helicoid, Stuart Evan Smith as Porcus, Michael Underhill as Trotter, and Kate Jones as the Bailiff.

If you wish to know more about our ever-expanding, infinitely-creative team of artists, musicians, editors, designers, and managers, you can read about them in the show notes of this episode.

I’m afraid this is the end of the line for today, dear Traveler. We hope you will ride with The Penumbra again soon.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

#second citadel

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