Presenting: Welcome to the Brass Eagle

0:00[SPEAKER_11]: Hey, absolutely no adventurers listeners. [SPEAKER_11]: My name is Connor Buschauvin, but you may know me better as... [SPEAKER_11]: Prince Kazimir! [SPEAKER_11]: You're about to listen to Episode 1 of Welcome to the Brass Eagle. [SPEAKER_11]: A 10 episode fantasy audio drama written and directed by me, featuring a voice cast of over 50 actors and editing by an incredible team of sound designers. [SPEAKER_11]: The show is about a teleporting tavern and three people who find themselves there through circumstance.

0:21[SPEAKER_11]: It's a story of adventure, found family, and the idea that no one is an island, sometimes despite our own best efforts to the contrary. [SPEAKER_11]: If you like what you hear, you can find episode 2 on our feed now, and the remaining episodes will be posted by weekly on Mondays into 2027. [SPEAKER_11]: Transcripts will be linked in the show notes and on our website at brassyglepod.com. [SPEAKER_11]: You can also follow us on social media at brassyglepod for updates.

0:43[SPEAKER_11]: Thank you so much for listening, and thanks to Destiny for sharing our show. [SPEAKER_11]: Hope you enjoy! [SPEAKER_01]: A small sitting room is warmed by the mid-day sun. [SPEAKER_01]: The mellow afternoon light filtered through rustling with stearias blooming around the open shutters. [SPEAKER_01]: Dustmote's dance and swirl in the glow illuminated and chasing each other as they're carried in an urban flow of the summer air. [SPEAKER_01]: The sounds of city life waft in from outside.

1:09[SPEAKER_01]: The rumble of horse-drawn carts, the clatter of the smits hammer, the laps of children, and the distant noisy dim of the vibrant market all speak to the bustling life here in the city of Tamaria. [SPEAKER_01]: People from all walks of life amble along, going about their chores and errands with baskets and bundles and buggy stacked high with goods. [SPEAKER_01]: Within the home, however, things are uncomfortably silent. [SPEAKER_01]: A young woman stands at the door, shouldering an over-stuff backpack in a well-worn leather guitar case.

1:43[SPEAKER_01]: Her garb that of an entertainer is comfortable, but a tad impractical. [SPEAKER_01]: and small bells jingle merrily as she moves. [SPEAKER_01]: She stands with her arms outstretched in a pleading gesture, turned towards her mother and younger sister who have gathered to see her off. [SPEAKER_01]: Tears glimmer in the young girl's eye as her older sister looks at her employingly. [SPEAKER_07]: I'm sorry Lily. [SPEAKER_07]: If you're sorry then why don't you stay?

2:13[SPEAKER_07]: Can't stay, kiddo. [SPEAKER_07]: Joining the band is my dream. [SPEAKER_07]: I've got to follow it. [SPEAKER_07]: But who's gonna play with me when you're gone? [SPEAKER_07]: Mom will? [SPEAKER_07]: Lily, I won't be gone forever. [SPEAKER_07]: I'll be back to visit soon. [SPEAKER_07]: They promise. [SPEAKER_08]: It's not fair! [SPEAKER_08]: You can't leave! [SPEAKER_08]: Mom, tell us you can't leave! [SPEAKER_05]: Lily, it's okay. [SPEAKER_05]: Your sister has her own life to live.

2:39[SPEAKER_05]: We both need to try and understand. [SPEAKER_05]: Honey, are you certain? [SPEAKER_05]: This is what you want. [SPEAKER_07]: Mum, we've been over this a hundred times. [SPEAKER_07]: Yes! [SPEAKER_07]: I just think... What? [SPEAKER_07]: Then I should stay here and just do some job that I'll hate. [SPEAKER_07]: Watch Lily until she's an adult. [SPEAKER_07]: I've been practicing nonstop for years. [SPEAKER_07]: And I finally made it into the band.

3:05[SPEAKER_07]: Are you happy for me? [SPEAKER_05]: Mara, of course I'm happy for you. [SPEAKER_05]: We're happy for you, right Lily? [SPEAKER_05]: No! [SPEAKER_03]: I hate her! [SPEAKER_05]: Oh, I'm sorry, Mara. [SPEAKER_05]: She loves you. [SPEAKER_05]: You just... No, how she gets. [SPEAKER_05]: I know. [SPEAKER_07]: But really, mum, I'm sure this is what I want. [SPEAKER_07]: Well, I'm glad you're certain. [SPEAKER_07]: Well, that's supposed to mean.

3:38[SPEAKER_05]: Nothing. [SPEAKER_05]: It would just be nice to have an extra set of hands to help take care of your sister is all. [SPEAKER_05]: Really? [SPEAKER_07]: You can't expect me to put everything on hold just to watch her. [SPEAKER_05]: Amara, it's dangerous out there. [SPEAKER_05]: Besides, living in wagons, never knowing where your next pay is coming. [SPEAKER_05]: I honestly can't see the appeal of it. [SPEAKER_05]: Don't you believe in me?

4:07[SPEAKER_05]: Even a little bit. [SPEAKER_05]: Oh, of course I do. [SPEAKER_05]: I've seen how hard you've worked for this, but Amara, I can't help but... No! [SPEAKER_07]: I can't deal with this right now. [SPEAKER_07]: You're concerned. [SPEAKER_07]: I get it. [SPEAKER_07]: But you can't even pretend to be happy. [SPEAKER_07]: Not even a little bit. [SPEAKER_07]: I'm leaving. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara's cheerily bright clothing clashes with the angered look, darkening her brow as she leaves the front porch, passing the blooming flowers and wooden toys strewn across the grassy slope, leading to the cobbled street.

4:47[SPEAKER_01]: The bright yellow and blue paint of a childhood home disappears behind her as she stops off. [SPEAKER_01]: She ignores her mother's calls, vanishing into the midday crowd of passes by each busy with their own errands. [SPEAKER_01]: She marches away, leaving her mother and sister behind. [SPEAKER_01]: Her feet carry her through town past the vendors at their booths, past the small school past the temples and their holy people. [SPEAKER_01]: The clergyman in their starch-white vestments nod at her and smile, but she glows at them and hurries on.

5:18[SPEAKER_01]: The brilliant gold emblem of the sun in set in the stone of the bell tower weeks at her as it catches the light. [SPEAKER_01]: She is a simmering storm of emotion of anger and hurt an embarrassment barely contained beneath a strained facade and a jaw clenched shut through sheer force of will. [SPEAKER_01]: She pauses as she passes beneath the shade of a willow, her breath hitching in a throat, her face flushes red and her eyes [SPEAKER_07]: Damn it.

5:49[SPEAKER_07]: I really thought they'd understand. [SPEAKER_07]: We've talked about it so many times. [SPEAKER_04]: Amara, you made it. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara fumbles with a bunched up sleeve as she struggles to wipe away the tears streaking her reddened face. [SPEAKER_01]: She turns away from the familiar voice hiding her face in embarrassment. [SPEAKER_01]: The newcomer, Vega, is tall and spots a closely shone head of hair dyed a vivid shade of purple.

6:17[SPEAKER_01]: She has an easy demeanor about her and laugh lines crease her face and brow. [SPEAKER_01]: She cradles a fiddle case in one slender arm. [SPEAKER_01]: Her features soften and a sympathetic look crosses her face as she sees her new bandmate hunched on the street corner. [SPEAKER_07]: Yeah, yeah, I'm here. [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, sorry. [SPEAKER_04]: I take it things didn't go well. [SPEAKER_04]: About as well as, could be expected. [SPEAKER_04]: I'm sorry, kid.

6:47[SPEAKER_04]: It does take some getting used to, leaving home and all for everyone. [SPEAKER_04]: Do you, um, do you need any help loading up? [SPEAKER_04]: No, we're all good. [SPEAKER_04]: I just came to find you. [SPEAKER_04]: Are you ready to roll? [SPEAKER_04]: You need a minute. [SPEAKER_07]: No, no, no. [SPEAKER_07]: Yeah, I'm ready. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara follows Vega around a street corner finding a bustling crew in the midst of preparing a caravan of colorful wagons.

7:16[SPEAKER_01]: The car's are stacked with crates and boxes of all sizes, while their forces stamp and chomp anxiously at their bridles. [SPEAKER_01]: Performers and workers mill around fratinizing and filled with anticipation at the long journey ahead. [SPEAKER_01]: She passes them by, many exchanging waves, handshakes, and congratulatory welcomes. [SPEAKER_01]: Her chest unconscious somewhat of these eager faces, and she dares to allow a slight smile to cross her own features.

7:42[SPEAKER_01]: Vega pauses at the last car in the road, gesturing theatrically to the words, the travelling troubadores, emblazoned large and bold upon its painted side. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara stifles a laugh as the older musician opens the door and clambers inside. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara glances over her shoulder, drinking in the sights of the hometown she has known all her life. [SPEAKER_01]: She closes her eyes, taking in a deep breath to inhale the familiar smells one last time.

8:12[SPEAKER_01]: She exhales, opens her eyes, and climbs in as Vega closes the door behind her. [UNKNOWN]: Thank you very much. [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to the Brass Eagle, episode 1, The Performed. [SPEAKER_01]: Miles Pass is the caravan travels day and night away from the city of Tabria. [SPEAKER_01]: One night, ahead of the wagons, the road stretches ever on, and as the wheel of her car catches on a road, the aroma is shaken awake. [SPEAKER_01]: She mutters a curse and tries to regain her position on the thin mattress, but falls silent when she glances over her vagus bunk.

9:19[SPEAKER_01]: The other performers still asleep, invisible beneath the messy pile of quilts and blankets [SPEAKER_01]: With no one to talk to, she turns to her thoughts. [SPEAKER_01]: The first week on the road has been hard on her. [SPEAKER_01]: Her fingers ache from long hours of rehearsal, her muscles saw from the rigorous training of unfamiliar dance routines. [SPEAKER_01]: Compounding on that, the cramped interior, uncomfortable bedding, and the ever present rocking of the wagon have slowly chipped away at her resolve and left her feeling ragged and hollow.

9:51[SPEAKER_01]: Her mind races, and her heart pounds as she thinks of the night's upcoming performance, her thoughts tidaged with dread. [SPEAKER_01]: She is roused from her wallowing by the sound of a whistle, and the wittying of horses as the caravan begins to slow. [SPEAKER_01]: The wagon train rumbles to a stop, and she hears movement as Vegas stirs to life. [SPEAKER_04]: We're finally stopping! [SPEAKER_04]: Oh good! [SPEAKER_04]: Are you rested up, kid?

10:21[SPEAKER_04]: Big night ahead. [SPEAKER_07]: Yeah, I am good. [SPEAKER_04]: Doesn't sound like it. [SPEAKER_07]: What's on your mind? [SPEAKER_07]: I've been thinking a lot about things, my family. [SPEAKER_07]: I don't know if I'm actually supposed to be here. [SPEAKER_07]: What makes you say that? [SPEAKER_07]: I just... [SPEAKER_07]: I don't feel good enough. [SPEAKER_07]: I've been practicing non-stop, but I haven't gotten any better. [SPEAKER_04]: I know the feeling, kid.

10:57[SPEAKER_04]: I felt the same when I first joined up with the troop. [SPEAKER_04]: We all go through it. [SPEAKER_04]: But it's only been a week. [SPEAKER_04]: Cut yourself some slack. [SPEAKER_04]: You made it through the auditions. [SPEAKER_04]: I've heard you play. [SPEAKER_04]: You're more than good enough. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara smiles weekly as Vega swings open the door, letting in fresh air and golden sunlight. [SPEAKER_01]: They both shield their eyes as they survey the bright surroundings.

11:22[SPEAKER_01]: The wagons have stopped on the edge of a small town square, nestled between a cluster of outbuildings in the only tavern house for miles around. [SPEAKER_01]: Twenty-one else, this would be a humble venue, a stopover on the way to bigger and better things. [SPEAKER_01]: To Amara's anxious mind however, [SPEAKER_01]: The band stand may as well be the execution as platform. [SPEAKER_04]: Oh yeah, we're here. [SPEAKER_04]: We've got a while before we start yet, so come find me when you've got your bearings.

11:50[SPEAKER_04]: Gotta get warmed up. [SPEAKER_01]: With a wave, Vega leaves Amara behind and joins the gathering throng of musicians unloading their equipment and heading inside to set up. [SPEAKER_01]: It is quiet, beautiful day, but the air thrones with anticipation. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara shoulders her guitar and assists the band in preparing for the night show, eager to put her idle hands to use. [SPEAKER_01]: Dusk settles quickly. [SPEAKER_01]: And as the stage is set in rehearsals run through time and time again, Amara finds her mind drifting to her family.

12:23[SPEAKER_01]: She thinks of that last conversation with them. [SPEAKER_01]: Of the tears in Louise Eyes and the betrayal on her face. [SPEAKER_01]: Of her mother's concern for her and the finality of the slamming door. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara feels her chest clenched as she thinks about the miles that now separate them. [SPEAKER_01]: She reaches up an absent-mindedly fumbles with the pendant around her neck. [SPEAKER_01]: A family gift from long ago.

12:49[SPEAKER_01]: She's startled by a gentle hand on her shoulder, and as she looks up, she sees Vega with another musician in tow, a bearded man with whom Amara isn't familiar. [SPEAKER_04]: Still worried? [SPEAKER_04]: Just feeling homesick? [SPEAKER_04]: Ah, the woes of leaving family behind. [SPEAKER_04]: You think you've got it tough? [SPEAKER_04]: Whittle, you hear Drew's sob story. [SPEAKER_04]: Drew! [SPEAKER_15]: What do you want? [SPEAKER_04]: Tell Amara why you're on the run.

13:18[SPEAKER_15]: Ah, I wish you wouldn't bring her up so often. [SPEAKER_04]: Come on, she's missing home. [SPEAKER_15]: Oh, right. [SPEAKER_15]: I'm on the run from a pair of demons that've been chasing me for years. [SPEAKER_04]: He means his kids. [SPEAKER_15]: I mean the kids. [SPEAKER_07]: You're running from your own kids? [SPEAKER_15]: No, not really. [SPEAKER_15]: They're both growing now. [SPEAKER_15]: But how do you go in there, I don't know.

13:45[SPEAKER_15]: I'll see. [SPEAKER_04]: Look, all I'm trying to say is that leaving home isn't the end of the world. [SPEAKER_04]: We'll be back your way soon enough. [SPEAKER_04]: And in the meantime, you can always write. [SPEAKER_15]: And, you should be relieved you don't have your own little demon stir-on from. [SPEAKER_07]: I'll take your word for it. [SPEAKER_01]: Vega and Drew beam back at her, and the three turn their attention to the final preparations before the show.

14:13[SPEAKER_01]: As night falls and the stage curtain is lowered, Amara waits backstage with the ensemble. [SPEAKER_01]: The growing murmur of the crowd and the clinking of silver wear alerts them to the sizable audience already seated in the hall. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara clenches the neck of her guitar with a sweaty hand, and looks to her bandmates for reassurance. [SPEAKER_01]: Vega meets her gaze with a resolute nod and a smile, and the bearded countenance of Drew breaks out into a toothy grin as he offers two over eager thumbs up.

14:42[SPEAKER_01]: Amara feels her fluttering heart fall back into a staccato rhythm, and she takes a deep breath as she hears the crowd's murmuring give way to the hushed silence, as the voice of the MC wafts through the curtain. [SPEAKER_02]: quite people of the valley. [SPEAKER_02]: The performance you are about to witness needs no introduction. [SPEAKER_02]: We have traveled far to be here with you tonight, and it is our wish that you are odd, amazed, and positively delighted by the show that awaits.

15:12[SPEAKER_02]: It is my pleasure to introduce without further ado, the traveling True Minors! [SPEAKER_01]: The curtains peel away to reveal the bright lamplight of the spacious tavern hall. [SPEAKER_01]: Faces of all ages look up at the musicians in their cheerfully colored costumes. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara gulps as the band begins to play, and she joins them. [SPEAKER_01]: Her fingers pluck at the strings, and certain at first, but gaining momentum and confidence.

15:41[SPEAKER_01]: She studies herself as she allows muscle memory to take over. [SPEAKER_01]: The long hours of rehearsal flooding back to her, and washing away thoughts of anything but the performance, and the present. [SPEAKER_01]: She sweeps too when fro bobbing and weaving amidst the other pirouetting musicians. [SPEAKER_01]: The flickering light glinting off the brilliant beads and bells affixed to their costumes. [SPEAKER_01]: Feet tapped the floor as they keep tying with the song, the audience beginning to sway in response to the rhythm.

16:10[SPEAKER_01]: Smiles flash up from the dark crowd and Amara feels her own sense of self dissolve as she pause herself fully into her art. [SPEAKER_01]: She closes her eyes and strums playing with a passion and intensity that dwarfs her other performances, busking on street corners, playing for disinterested crowds. [SPEAKER_01]: She knows that none of those times can hold a candle to the brilliant flame of a show she is putting on now. [SPEAKER_01]: She opens her eyes to see Vegas broad grin as she winks before twirling away, her fiddle joining the crescendo of a song.

16:46[SPEAKER_01]: The band plays on throughout the night, their instruments filling the room with their presence and filling the hearts of those in the audience with song. [SPEAKER_01]: As the final strum of her guitar rings out through the inn, [SPEAKER_01]: The tavern crowd, most of whom now pleasantly inebriated, erupt into rocker's applause. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara joins her band in a sweeping bow before the curtain finally falls. [SPEAKER_07]: I think I think that went well.

17:18[SPEAKER_04]: Oh, you think that went well. [SPEAKER_04]: Amara, you were incredible! [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, well, it wasn't. [SPEAKER_04]: Don't be humble, you killed it! [SPEAKER_04]: Come on, let's go get some drinks and you can meet your adoring fans! [SPEAKER_01]: Amara lets herself be led out and into the bustling tavern where patrons talk and laugh about the show. [SPEAKER_01]: She mingles with them eagerly, and one drink blends into another until she feels her cheeks flush, and she becomes dimly aware that her laugh is a bit louder than usual.

17:49[SPEAKER_01]: Meronant fills the air, but as she chats, a stray conversation catches her in. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm telling ya, I know what I saw! [SPEAKER_16]: Yeah, sure thing, Barry. [SPEAKER_16]: I think he's had enough. [SPEAKER_16]: Why don't you go tell someone else that story away from the bar, you know? [SPEAKER_07]: Hold on, I want to hear what he has to say. [SPEAKER_07]: Ugh. [SPEAKER_10]: Thank you. [SPEAKER_10]: You all right. [SPEAKER_10]: Do you want to hear my story?

18:15[SPEAKER_10]: So, I was walking home the other night. [SPEAKER_10]: Quiet, wrote. [SPEAKER_10]: I know the area. [SPEAKER_10]: They'd lovely place. [SPEAKER_10]: Well, as I'm walking, what do I see? [SPEAKER_10]: I look off to the left and there's a building building! [SPEAKER_10]: a building. [SPEAKER_10]: Yes, a building, but there ain't ever been one there before. [SPEAKER_10]: I swear, playing as the nose on my face, that was an empty field not one day before, but explained to me how I'm looking at a big old thing, I wouldn't, that's with huge dark windows and swinging above the door, a sign, red div, the bronze hockey under something like that.

18:56[SPEAKER_07]: Well, did you go inside? [SPEAKER_10]: Like hell I did. [SPEAKER_10]: I turned and got out of there as fast as I could. [SPEAKER_10]: We had to storm that night. [SPEAKER_10]: Some kind of supernatural omen I tell you. [SPEAKER_10]: It back home is unlandin' bed. [SPEAKER_10]: I swear I heard a thunder clap like nothing else along with some kind of horrible, harpy or bird, screamin' bloody murder. [SPEAKER_10]: By the time I worked up enough nerve and got back the next morning with some more folks, the field was empty.

19:26[SPEAKER_10]: Yeah, he's real. [SPEAKER_07]: So, what do you think it was? [SPEAKER_07]: A ghost? [SPEAKER_10]: I don't rightly know. [SPEAKER_10]: But I know what I felt in my gut. [SPEAKER_10]: And my gut felt, it weren't right. [SPEAKER_10]: If you really want to know what I think, I think it were witches. [SPEAKER_01]: As the man's words hang in the air, the bustling tavern seems to grow a bit quieter, a palpable sense of unease settles upon the room, dampening the night's celebration.

19:59[SPEAKER_04]: Oh please, a magical tavern, how could you shake and you get? [SPEAKER_07]: Oh come on Vega, did anyone else see the tavern or was it just you? [SPEAKER_10]: Sure, I was the only one, but the folks I was with, ask any of them that something strange was going on, and they'll say the same. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara leaves the man to his own devices, as he slumped backwards in his chair, and the bartender rolls her eyes roofily. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara drifts away from him and finds herself back at her own circle, Vega, bobbing along beside her.

20:35[SPEAKER_04]: I'd love to have some of whatever that guy was having. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: I wonder what his deal was? [SPEAKER_04]: Oh no, I've never heard of a ghost building before. [SPEAKER_04]: That could make for a fun idea for a song. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I suppose it would. [SPEAKER_01]: Something about the man's account sticks with her. [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe it was the conviction in his voice. [SPEAKER_01]: Or perhaps it was the sheer oddity of the tale.

21:00[SPEAKER_01]: She finds her mind wandering back to the story time and time again, even as she sips her drink in the company of others. [SPEAKER_01]: The night passes in a blur, and she awakens the next morning with a pounding headache. [SPEAKER_01]: To her adult mind, the previous night feels like a haze of revelry, and a pastiche of smeared lights and colours. [SPEAKER_01]: Her head throbs just thinking about it. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara fumbles around through a piece of paper, managing to locate a quill as well.

21:29[SPEAKER_01]: As she blinks back the spots that swim in front of her eyes, she begins to write a letter home. [SPEAKER_07]: I hope you're both well. [SPEAKER_07]: I owe you an apology for the way I left things. [SPEAKER_07]: Mum, I understand your concern for me, but please believe I'm pursuing my dreams with passion. [SPEAKER_07]: And responsibility. [SPEAKER_07]: I miss you both, and the conversations we'd have. [SPEAKER_07]: I'm hoping to visit soon.

22:00[SPEAKER_07]: Looking forward to seeing you again. [SPEAKER_07]: Love. [SPEAKER_07]: Amara. [SPEAKER_01]: She sends out the letter and time creeps past. [SPEAKER_01]: The day is turning to weeks before she finally receives a reply. [SPEAKER_01]: She takes it from the courier and returns to her wagon both eager and anxious to find what awaits. [SPEAKER_01]: She feels a pang of emotion as she recognises her sister's large, innocent writing. [SPEAKER_08]: Dear big sis, mum helped me write this letter, but it's from me.

22:33[SPEAKER_08]: I still feel sad you're not here, but mom says we can see you soon, and that makes me feel better. [SPEAKER_08]: I'm happy you're having fun with your band. [SPEAKER_08]: I drew some pictures for you. [SPEAKER_08]: There's one of you playing guitar, and there's one of you fighting a giant! [SPEAKER_08]: I made that one up, but don't tell me. [SPEAKER_08]: You have to come back and see them. [SPEAKER_08]: Remember, I love you lots. [SPEAKER_08]: Lily.

23:01[SPEAKER_05]: P.S. [SPEAKER_05]: Amara, I want you to know that despite my worries, I'm proud of you. [SPEAKER_05]: Take care of yourself, my love, and know that your family supports and misses you. [SPEAKER_05]: We'll see each other again before long. [SPEAKER_04]: What you got there Amara? [SPEAKER_04]: A doring fan mail? [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, no. [SPEAKER_04]: It's for my family. [SPEAKER_04]: Everything good, judging from your smile. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.

23:32[SPEAKER_04]: It's good. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara's life on the road continues, her days filled with song and laughter. [SPEAKER_01]: She meets all sorts of people from all walks of life, and finds herself in awe of just how many different ways of being, there are. [SPEAKER_01]: On one street corner, a she and her bandmates carry their instruments from venue to venue. [SPEAKER_01]: She pauses to listen to the cries of a man in a dark hooded robe. [SPEAKER_01]: Arms out stretched as he addresses a half-interested crowd.

24:00[SPEAKER_01]: He gestures wildly, arms flailing as he speaks, spittle, flicking his lips and beard as he calls out in a voice quivering with conviction. [SPEAKER_14]: Phelous citizens, open your eyes. [SPEAKER_14]: There is danger that looks in our world, over, but meet and through all things. [SPEAKER_14]: It is the risk of temptation. [SPEAKER_14]: It offers promises of grandeur. [SPEAKER_14]: Control that the result is chaos, destruction. [SPEAKER_14]: What is this danger you ask?

24:31[SPEAKER_14]: It is the siren song of the arcane of magic. [SPEAKER_04]: I've heard about these nuts before. [SPEAKER_04]: Um, who are they? [SPEAKER_04]: They're clowns, scaring people by talking about the evils of magic. [SPEAKER_04]: Ooh! [SPEAKER_04]: They're all over nowadays. [SPEAKER_14]: Still your hearts do not let yourselves be swayed. [SPEAKER_14]: I have seen the havoc of wreaks. [SPEAKER_14]: Lives shattered, villages, cities reduced to crumbling ash by fire expelled from the burning fingertips of a crazed mage.

25:11[SPEAKER_14]: You're just the very reason the gods have shunned us, turn their backs on this wicked world, and they evil we have brought upon ourselves. [SPEAKER_14]: Each of you guard yourselves and go, walk with the light. [SPEAKER_01]: The man's hooded heads swivels in their direction, and Amara notices a perturbed look across Vegas face as she gently urges the other two onward. [SPEAKER_01]: They continue through the streets, a shadow cast over their day, and head towards the night's performance.

25:46[SPEAKER_01]: The following days roll by, and letters become something of a rarity for Amara. [SPEAKER_01]: In the few fortunate moments when the male does make its way to her, she finds it increasingly difficult to carve out the time needed to respond. [SPEAKER_01]: When the band's travels finally allow her to make her first visit home, she spends those precious few days swapping stories with her mother and making up for lost time with Lily. [SPEAKER_01]: As the months then burn away to years, her visits home are in frequent and brief, but they are always filled with joy.

26:18[SPEAKER_06]: She develops a deep ache in her chest whenever she comes home to find her little sister that much older and her mother that much more gray And then they almost tore the door down It's been fun meeting all the fans, but I swear sometimes it's like common sense goes right out the window [SPEAKER_08]: I've got people really that crazy out there. [SPEAKER_07]: Err, sometimes it's not all bad. [SPEAKER_07]: What is amazing is the adrenaline connecting with the crowd.

26:51[SPEAKER_07]: Nothing like it. [SPEAKER_07]: But enough about me. [SPEAKER_07]: How are you? [SPEAKER_07]: How's school been, Lily? [SPEAKER_07]: Fine. [SPEAKER_08]: I guess I've got some friends. [SPEAKER_08]: But it feels like I'm always way behind. [SPEAKER_06]: I remember when I was there, I do not envy you. [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_06]: It's just a lot, you know? [SPEAKER_08]: I'm always tired. [SPEAKER_08]: Are you? [SPEAKER_08]: I'm getting enough sleep.

27:19[SPEAKER_08]: I'm trying. [SPEAKER_07]: I just... [SPEAKER_07]: I don't know. [SPEAKER_07]: You gotta remember to give yourself breaks, kid. [SPEAKER_07]: Okay? [SPEAKER_07]: Okay. [SPEAKER_06]: And don't think for a moment I've forgotten you out there. [SPEAKER_08]: I know. [SPEAKER_08]: Make sure you bring that more stories for us next time. [SPEAKER_08]: That I can do. [SPEAKER_01]: While on the road, Amara becomes a master of her art, enthralling crowds across the continent with her band and her guitar.

27:49[SPEAKER_01]: From the western port of Yarin to the mountain city of Balota, in the eastern March, the traveling troubadours follow the merchants and the traders to the concert halls and venues where pockets are deeper and tankots are deeper. [SPEAKER_01]: On one particular day, Amara is handed a letter from her sister. [SPEAKER_01]: She takes it from the courier, intent on opening it right away, but her bandmates call out to her. [SPEAKER_01]: She pauses, sighs, and places the letter on a pile of other papers in her wagon.

28:22[SPEAKER_01]: Time marches on, and the band's reputation continues to grow, as the crowds swell ever larger and more eager, [SPEAKER_01]: She entertains with a flare unmatched even among her peers, and she spends her nights engaged in revelry with her friends and colleagues. [SPEAKER_01]: One night, in a bustling inn, far from her hometown, she laughs as she recalls a story she overheard some time ago. [SPEAKER_07]: And get this, this guy swears to me.

28:57[SPEAKER_07]: The building just vanished. [UNKNOWN]: Poof! [SPEAKER_07]: Gone! [SPEAKER_07]: And you believe him? [SPEAKER_07]: Eh? [SPEAKER_07]: No. [SPEAKER_07]: Not really. [SPEAKER_07]: Kind of had to humor him. [SPEAKER_00]: That's, uh... That reminds me of something my cousin told me once. [SPEAKER_07]: And what's that? [SPEAKER_07]: Ah, this again. [SPEAKER_00]: Right, quiet. [SPEAKER_00]: You? [SPEAKER_00]: So, my cousin, he's a rancher out of the badlands of the south, harsh, dry area, nothing around except the farms.

29:30[SPEAKER_00]: But, one night, right around midnight, swears a huge sort of thing to some kind of bird screech and a gong, or thunder or something. [SPEAKER_00]: Spooked him in his cattle pretty bad. [SPEAKER_07]: Did he see anything? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, kind of, he said he saw some kind of big dark shape when a canyon lead joys out. [SPEAKER_00]: Thought I might've been some kind of huts or something. [SPEAKER_00]: But it was in a place, no. [SPEAKER_00]: Building could reasonably be narrow rock shelf.

30:06[SPEAKER_00]: Hundreds of feet up, sheer canyon wall. [SPEAKER_00]: He got a real bad feeling in his gut. [SPEAKER_07]: odd. [SPEAKER_00]: He was shaken up for a while, and, what's more, he came back the following night with his horse in his flint lock, said he got about a mile out from the place, and sure enough, it was still there. [SPEAKER_00]: Suddenly, he hears the same god-off of noise, and his nearly thrown off his horse. [SPEAKER_00]: When he calmed her down, he looked, and the whole damn place was gone.

30:46[SPEAKER_04]: This guy, don't listen to him, he'll believe anything. [SPEAKER_04]: Hey, Barkeep, good I get another. [SPEAKER_00]: Uh, next day all you want, but I believe him. [SPEAKER_00]: You would, too, if you'd have heard him tell it. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara ponders this interaction over the following days, and as the wagons wind their way through the countryside she begins to take an active interest in the stories of this mysterious, magically-apparating building.

31:15[SPEAKER_01]: Could it be, she wonders, that these stories are referring to the same phenomenon? [SPEAKER_01]: And what's more, could the tales contain some kernel of truth? [SPEAKER_01]: Her bandmates take note of this new obsession, teasing her for it, but listening in all the same. [SPEAKER_01]: At each inn, each bar, each restaurant, Amara asked anyone who will listen about this mysterious building. [SPEAKER_01]: Although she's most often met with confused stairs and arched eyebrows, a few people have a bit more to say.

31:49[SPEAKER_13]: Reminds me of a story passed down in my family. [SPEAKER_13]: I think he is my grandfather's grandfather. [SPEAKER_13]: He was a sailor. [SPEAKER_13]: He lived nowhere, miles from land. [SPEAKER_13]: He found a tiny rocky outrope with a building on top of it. [SPEAKER_13]: He sailed past. [SPEAKER_13]: And by the time he got back, it was empty. [SPEAKER_13]: Like you said. [SPEAKER_08]: My aunt talked about a brass eagle once. [SPEAKER_08]: When I was really little, she said there was a troll who lived in a hut with a big metal bird and if we stayed out too late, the bird would swoop down and eat us.

32:36[SPEAKER_17]: I've heard that the place is filled with gold. [SPEAKER_17]: Bursting with riches. [SPEAKER_17]: But the second you enter. [SPEAKER_17]: Oof! [SPEAKER_17]: It vanishes. [SPEAKER_17]: Taking you with it. [SPEAKER_11]: You know, they say if you go inside, you'll never be seen again. [SPEAKER_11]: When my brother and I were kids, we went looking for it once, but a treasure map and everything. [SPEAKER_09]: And of course, no luck. [SPEAKER_01]: In hindsight, I'm certain the guy who sold us the map was a con man looking to scam a couple of kids.

33:05[SPEAKER_01]: The stories lead this way and that's pointing in every direction, but to straight line. [SPEAKER_01]: At one night, after a long day on the road, she and her bandmates are sharing a bottle by the fire side when the topic of the tavern comes up once again. [SPEAKER_07]: But what if it is real? [SPEAKER_07]: It's a bit of a coincidence that so many people claim to have heard something about it. [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not convinced, still just sounds like they made up stories to me.

33:32[SPEAKER_15]: I don't know, I think I could be something to them. [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not you, too. [SPEAKER_15]: I'm not saying it's real. [SPEAKER_15]: Let's just think it'd be interesting to pull an ashore there. [SPEAKER_15]: If it's an end, they've probably got the space when you agree. [SPEAKER_07]: How give you that? [SPEAKER_07]: Well, if either of you end up finding it without me. [SPEAKER_07]: Do me a favor and speak up. [SPEAKER_07]: Okay.

34:02[SPEAKER_07]: You got it. [SPEAKER_01]: Sure thing. [SPEAKER_01]: The night wraps up, and Amara returns the bunk in her wagon. [SPEAKER_01]: As she passes the mess of papers nestled amidst her bags, she pauses, as she spots Lily's crumpled letter, neglected amongst the eclectic accruetrements she has accumulated over her travels. [SPEAKER_01]: She picks it up, and finally opens the parcel. [SPEAKER_08]: Hi, sis. [SPEAKER_08]: It's been a bit since we've heard from you.

34:31[SPEAKER_08]: I hear your name every once in a while, you know? [SPEAKER_08]: It sounds like you finally made it! [SPEAKER_08]: Mam and I are both really proud of you. [SPEAKER_08]: But that's not really why I'm writing. [SPEAKER_08]: I'm sick, Amara. [SPEAKER_08]: We don't know from what. [SPEAKER_08]: It's been weeks now and it's not getting better. [SPEAKER_08]: Mom hasn't said much about it, but the doctors have seen it in their eyes. [SPEAKER_08]: They aren't optimistic.

35:11[SPEAKER_08]: Can you come home soon? [SPEAKER_08]: I'd like to catch up and to hear your guitar again. [SPEAKER_08]: See you soon. [SPEAKER_08]: Love, Lily. [SPEAKER_01]: The world seems to shrink around her as the breath catches in her throat. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara's hands, so proficient and dexterous at creating song tremble as they clutch the letter. [SPEAKER_01]: She reads it again, and again, until she places it down and tries to steady her racing heart, bracing herself against the side of her wagon.

35:44[SPEAKER_01]: She stumbles back out into the cool of the morning air where Vega awaits her by the now cold fire pit. [SPEAKER_04]: Well, are you all right? [SPEAKER_04]: No. [SPEAKER_04]: What's the matter? [SPEAKER_04]: Can we? [SPEAKER_07]: Can we go back to Tapria, home? [SPEAKER_04]: Ah, sudden paying of home sickness. [SPEAKER_04]: Please, my sister. [SPEAKER_04]: She's sick. [SPEAKER_04]: Oh. [SPEAKER_04]: Oh honey, I'm so sorry. [SPEAKER_04]: We're not scheduled to head that way for another few months.

36:18[SPEAKER_04]: I'll talk to the band and see what I can do. [SPEAKER_01]: With an impassioned plea from Vega, the troop reluctantly makes a decision to divert their tour and return to Amara's hometown. [SPEAKER_01]: The day's pass achingly slowly for her, and her heart seems to clutch tighter and tighter each time they stop even for a moment. [SPEAKER_01]: Her bandmates used to seeing the vibrant and headstrong women they've come to know, watch with worry as she grows pale and ragged from the lack of sleep.

36:47[SPEAKER_01]: She spends hours each day staring at the road, saying nothing, clutching the crumpled letter from her sister in a white, knuckleed hand. [SPEAKER_01]: The rest of her time is spent writing letters in her journal. [SPEAKER_01]: Whenever they stop for the night in a town, or anywhere with any semblance of civilization, she tears the pages loose and sends them out by the handfall, hoping against hope that they will find their way home before she does.

37:12[SPEAKER_07]: Please. [SPEAKER_01]: She thinks. [SPEAKER_07]: Please, Lily. [SPEAKER_07]: Be okay. [SPEAKER_01]: It is a sunny day sometime later when Vega first spots the gleaming temple root for the early morning haze. [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, I'm Mara, I think we're nearly there. [SPEAKER_07]: Yeah, this is it. [SPEAKER_04]: Just know that whatever happens will be here for you. [SPEAKER_04]: All right? [SPEAKER_04]: Okay. [SPEAKER_04]: Good. [SPEAKER_04]: We'll be at the Leaping Lamin.

37:46[SPEAKER_04]: You know the place? [SPEAKER_04]: It's on the north side of town. [SPEAKER_04]: We'll see you later. [SPEAKER_01]: As the cart trundles into town, the bustling streets feel to Amara like an elaborate set made for the stage. [SPEAKER_01]: Everyone mere actors just pantomiming their silly little jobs and trivial tasks while her world teeters on an eye-fetch. [SPEAKER_01]: She parts ways with the band and turns towards home. [SPEAKER_01]: She struggles against herself as she walks, feeling as if each leg is shackled to an iron weight.

38:17[SPEAKER_01]: Her colorful performers ensemble belies the numbness she feels inside, and she feels a wave of self-loving as she walks and the bells jingle. [SPEAKER_01]: How stupid, how inappropriate for such a somber homecoming? [SPEAKER_01]: And yet, she's giving a performance all the same, one of toughness and composure. [SPEAKER_01]: Desperate as she is to not let the passes by see beyond her porcelain mask and into the swirling knot of dread that's displaced her heart.

38:49[SPEAKER_01]: When she finally arrives, she looks up at the dark windows. [SPEAKER_01]: The house is much as she remembered it. [SPEAKER_01]: A bit more faded, perhaps, with a few more flakes in the colourful yellow and blue paint. [SPEAKER_01]: But much the same. [SPEAKER_01]: She knocks on the door. [SPEAKER_01]: Some part of her mind far removed from the immediacy of the moment reflects on how odd it is that she feels like a stranger here. [SPEAKER_01]: Her mother opens, she too is much the same as before, but her hair is thinner, streaked with grey, and she seems smaller somehow, more tired, and far, far sadder.

39:31[SPEAKER_01]: She looks up at her daughter, gasps, and pulls her in for a hug. [SPEAKER_01]: After a spell, she holds Amara Arms' length, an unspoken question passes between them, her mother's eyes well with fresh tears, and she gives the faintest of shakes of her head in reply. [SPEAKER_01]: She's not here. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara doesn't respond as her mother takes her by the hand, and the two walk the early afternoon streets of the town. [SPEAKER_01]: She feels numb, a dull ringing in her ears as she has led this way in that.

40:09[SPEAKER_01]: The streets give way to fields, as they reach the town's edge, and Amara is dimly aware that they are in a churchyard. [SPEAKER_01]: The temple's gleaming golden sun sparkles at her, incent with the dark grey stones of its tower. [SPEAKER_01]: Her mother pauses in the shade of a tall willow. [SPEAKER_01]: With one arm wrapped around her eldest daughter, she gently motions to a small, white stone, bearing her youngest's name. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara collapses to her knees.

40:50[SPEAKER_05]: gone? [SPEAKER_05]: Yes, love. [SPEAKER_05]: She's gone. [SPEAKER_05]: I should have been here. [SPEAKER_05]: Amara, listen to me. [SPEAKER_05]: She loved you. [SPEAKER_05]: Deeply, I know, but I should have been here. [SPEAKER_06]: I got her letter. [SPEAKER_06]: I just ignored it. [SPEAKER_06]: How long has she been gone? [SPEAKER_05]: About a year, sweetie. [SPEAKER_06]: A year! [SPEAKER_06]: I let her down, mum. [SPEAKER_06]: How could I do that?

41:29[SPEAKER_06]: She was my sister! [SPEAKER_05]: Amara, you couldn't have known it would happen. [SPEAKER_05]: None of us could. [SPEAKER_05]: You can't carry the weight of this on your shoulders. [SPEAKER_06]: But I should have been here. [SPEAKER_06]: I should have held her hand. [SPEAKER_06]: comforted her, told her, it was all right. [SPEAKER_06]: Now she's gone. [SPEAKER_06]: Every breath I take feels like a betrayal. [SPEAKER_06]: How am I supposed to go on?

42:01[SPEAKER_05]: Amara, don't you say that, please. [SPEAKER_05]: It's not your fault. [SPEAKER_06]: I miss her so much, Mom. [SPEAKER_06]: It hurts too much. [SPEAKER_06]: I don't know if I can keep going. [SPEAKER_05]: I said the same. [SPEAKER_05]: And here I am. [SPEAKER_05]: She would have wanted us to persist, to walk with the light one day at a time. [SPEAKER_05]: OK. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara just nods feebly, her breath catching in her throat as her mother holds her.

42:42[SPEAKER_01]: The day creeps on, as she is finally coaxed away from the grave and led back to town. [SPEAKER_01]: At the foot of the stairs to her home, Amara looks up at the dark windows. [SPEAKER_01]: Echoes flood her mind, Echoes of laughter, of her and Libby sitting on the porch swing, of her chasing her younger sister [SPEAKER_06]: Mum, I, I can't be here right now. [SPEAKER_06]: I'mora, I can't, I'm sorry! [SPEAKER_06]: I'mora! [SPEAKER_01]: Her feet carry her swiftly.

43:18[SPEAKER_01]: Her mind clouded with despair. [SPEAKER_01]: She finds herself at the threshold of the leaping lamb in, and as she slowly pushes the door open, Vega turns to see her enter. [SPEAKER_04]: I'mora, how did it go? [SPEAKER_04]: Oh honey, I'm so sorry. [SPEAKER_07]: I don't know what to do with myself. [SPEAKER_04]: I... [SPEAKER_04]: I can't pretend I know what you're going through. [SPEAKER_04]: My heart is breaking for you, kid. [SPEAKER_04]: Is there anything we can do?

43:51[SPEAKER_07]: I don't know. [SPEAKER_15]: I'm on a... Maybe going home for a little while could help. [SPEAKER_15]: Just to take your mind off things, even if it's just for a little bit. [SPEAKER_04]: I don't know if I can. [SPEAKER_04]: Honey, we're here for you. [SPEAKER_04]: What does help you? [SPEAKER_04]: Even if it's only by distracting you. [SPEAKER_04]: Just for tonight? [SPEAKER_07]: Maybe, maybe you're right. [SPEAKER_07]: Maybe a distraction would be good.

44:24[SPEAKER_15]: That's the spirit. [SPEAKER_01]: We'll take care of you. [SPEAKER_01]: The trio take its slow, meandering through the streets as night descends upon the town and stars wink to life overhead. [SPEAKER_01]: As they walk along the avenue, Amara finds herself distracted by the conspiratorial chatter of two passes by. [SPEAKER_09]: What's this you're saying? [SPEAKER_09]: I'm telling ya, they say it just popped up overnight. [SPEAKER_09]: A whole building, certain booze and everything.

44:54[SPEAKER_09]: Just like that. [SPEAKER_09]: I got ball. [SPEAKER_09]: Oh, you'll see. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara follows them with her gaze, the numbness giving way to a sliver of curiosity. [SPEAKER_07]: I know where we can go. [SPEAKER_01]: That's the spirit. [SPEAKER_15]: Where to? [SPEAKER_07]: Those two that just walk by, they mention the place. [SPEAKER_07]: Can we follow them? [SPEAKER_04]: A bit odd, Amara, but sure. [SPEAKER_04]: You're in charge tonight.

45:22[SPEAKER_01]: The three musicians follow the townies who stop at the edge of an out-of-the-way square in a little frequented part of town. [SPEAKER_01]: Sure enough, and anomaly greets them. [SPEAKER_01]: A large wood-framed building with tall stained glass windows squats on the edge of the plaza. [SPEAKER_01]: At an angle too, an overlapping the street, as if dropped there, haphazardly. [SPEAKER_01]: The foundation is lopsided where it rests on the uneven flagstones.

45:49[SPEAKER_01]: A crowd of townsfolk of all persuasion stand outside, peering curiously at this bizarre new interloper. [SPEAKER_01]: It's roof is attached, and the wood appears worn and weathered. [SPEAKER_01]: Despite this, and despite spending her entire life in this town and being intimately familiar with each back alley in Side Street, Amara swears that this site is new to her. [SPEAKER_01]: She stares mouth the gap, as she wonders if this is what she thinks it could be.

46:19[SPEAKER_01]: loud thudding from the other side of the door sends gasps rippling through the spectators who jostle each other as they back away from the entrance. [SPEAKER_01]: A second bang rings out and then a third before the door bursts open with a jingle. [SPEAKER_01]: As a tired-looking man with a neat-based tunic and messy hair, tied back in a ponytail, trundles out. [SPEAKER_01]: Carrying a step ladder in one arm, and a wooden sign in the other.

46:43[SPEAKER_01]: Amara squints at him, trying to discern his age. [SPEAKER_01]: His eyes are tired, his face etched from what looks to be a permanent frown. [SPEAKER_01]: But his hair isn't grain, and he seems to otherwise be spray. [SPEAKER_01]: The man glances up at the uneven doorframe and shakes his head tiredly, muttering to himself as he unfolds the ladder, climbs up and attaches the sign above the door. [SPEAKER_01]: Amarazized widen as she reads the tall, gilded letters, the brass eagle tavern.

47:21[SPEAKER_04]: It's real, no way! [SPEAKER_01]: The man on the ladder descends, folds it up, and addresses the crowd with a flourish. [SPEAKER_12]: Hello, my friends. [SPEAKER_12]: I am the keeper of this finest ablishment. [SPEAKER_12]: I apologize for my intrusion into your fine city of... ...Tabria? [SPEAKER_12]: of that, yes. [SPEAKER_12]: Thank you. [SPEAKER_12]: But one night and one night only, I welcome you all to the illustrious brass eagle tavern.

47:52[SPEAKER_12]: Do you fancy exotic liquors, the rarerist of wines and ails from distant lands? [SPEAKER_12]: Then look no further, and to you, find men and women of the guard. [SPEAKER_12]: I welcome you as guests as well. [SPEAKER_01]: As the man gestures to the audience, Amara notices the presence of some of the town's guards into mingled with the crowd, appearing just as all struck in illities as the rest of them. [SPEAKER_01]: At the mention of food and drink, however, she notices their postures slacken, and glances being exchanged as the man continues.

48:23[SPEAKER_12]: There's room for all, so long as your coin is good. [SPEAKER_12]: But, kindly note the sign. [SPEAKER_12]: Those of you who are literate, we close it to end them in night, no exceptions. [SPEAKER_01]: As he flings the door open, the people closest to the entrance inch closer to peer inside, curiosity driving them forward. [SPEAKER_01]: They're greeted by lofty ceilings, flickering lamplight, and a crackling half and a spectacular bar.

48:48[SPEAKER_01]: With bottles of all the colours shapes and sizes lining the wall behind it. [SPEAKER_01]: The first person, one of the guardsmen, glances over his shoulder, gives a slight shrug to the others and crosses the threshold. [SPEAKER_01]: Then, it is as if a tap has been turned on. [SPEAKER_01]: The rest of the passes by flood into the tavern, all the while marveling at the intricately carved decorations covering the walls. [SPEAKER_01]: The delicious smells wafting from the kitchen, and the strange humanoid statues of fearsome creatures carved into the very structure of the bar itself.

49:22[SPEAKER_01]: The wood throughout the tavern is polychromatic. [SPEAKER_01]: of all different grain sizes and colours worn smooth in some places from the passage of many feet and polished to a high gleam in others. [SPEAKER_01]: The ambience is at once both eclectic and refined. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara filters in Drew and Vega trailing behind and ogling the buildings in Syria. [SPEAKER_01]: They find a small table near the fireplace in an out-of-the-way corner.

49:49[SPEAKER_01]: The purely [SPEAKER_01]: Busy is himself with seating the strangers and taking their orders. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara notices that he seems to be the only one working here. [SPEAKER_01]: But he moves with a practiced ease that borders on the uncanny. [SPEAKER_01]: As she watches him, she realizes that each language movement fills rehearsed, calculated, as if he's done this hundreds, none. [SPEAKER_01]: thousands of times before. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara thinks of her time with the band.

50:17[SPEAKER_01]: Of the long hours spent practicing and repeating the same songs and dances. [SPEAKER_01]: She thinks of how long it's taken her to hone her skills, become what she is today. [SPEAKER_01]: But this, she feels that this is on another level entirely. [SPEAKER_01]: She can't imagine how long it must have taken him to get this good at his job. [SPEAKER_01]: The man is fulfilling the roles of a dozen people at once, taking orders and manning the bar single-handedly staffing the kitchen without even breaking a sweat.

50:50[SPEAKER_01]: Vega calls for a round of drinks, and with in moments they are delivered. [SPEAKER_01]: As she steps, Amara takes in the surroundings. [SPEAKER_01]: Behind her, above the fireplace, a massive clock adorns the wall. [SPEAKER_01]: an eerily realistic brass eagle, stoic, and unmoving sits top it. [SPEAKER_01]: The bird's talons gripped the sculpted lip of the clock face, its wings folded and head turned in a noble pose. [SPEAKER_01]: While intricately crafted, the statue is tarnished.

51:23[SPEAKER_01]: The surface is discolored and dull, splouched with patches of brown-green patina. [SPEAKER_01]: She wonders how the eagle [SPEAKER_01]: which must be the name sake of the tavern. [SPEAKER_01]: Could be allowed to become so unsightly. [SPEAKER_01]: As she gazes up, she feels almost as if it gazes back at her. [SPEAKER_01]: It's vacant stare sending a shiver down her spine. [SPEAKER_01]: With a shuttling, she has the thought that, if it were one chain, which, surely it isn't, its perch would be the perfect vantage point to stand visual over the tavern.

51:56[SPEAKER_01]: Suddenly grateful for having picked a table off to the side, she turns away, keeping her back to the bird. [SPEAKER_01]: One drink blends into another as the night wears on. [SPEAKER_01]: The ticking of the clock fading into a din of the increasingly boisterous crowd. [SPEAKER_01]: Amara feels her cheeks flush, as she teeters in her seat, the generous amount of alcohol working its way through her system. [SPEAKER_01]: While her friends prattle on about one thing or another, she watches the strange man as he tends tirelessly to the crammed.

52:27[SPEAKER_01]: Definitely exchanging money for liquor and bantering effortlessly with the various customers. [SPEAKER_01]: Our was, paths. [SPEAKER_01]: As the sun disappears and the night creeps in, the man stands atop a chair and calls for the attention of the tavern goes. [SPEAKER_12]: Hello! [SPEAKER_12]: This is your reminder that the tavern will be closing shortly. [SPEAKER_12]: I ask that you kindly finish your drinks and begin making your way out of the building at your earliest convenience.

52:54[SPEAKER_09]: Ah, come on! [SPEAKER_09]: It's not even midnight! [SPEAKER_12]: Precisely, but it's the establishment's rules. [SPEAKER_12]: Sorry. [SPEAKER_12]: I'm aware this is not how anyone wants to end their night. [SPEAKER_12]: But your last round will be on the house. [SPEAKER_12]: Enjoy! [SPEAKER_12]: And once again, please begin making your way out. [SPEAKER_12]: It's nearly 10 to midnight. [SPEAKER_01]: With a cluster of empty glasses next to her, Amara feels the all-too familiar introspection of what comes with an e-briation.

53:25[SPEAKER_01]: As she sits back in her chair, her vision swims and she exhales a shaky breath. [SPEAKER_01]: The stories were true. [SPEAKER_01]: This place, this bizarre place with its strange keeper, is real. [SPEAKER_01]: A thought strikes her. [SPEAKER_01]: She glances at her bandmates. [SPEAKER_01]: Glances at the keeper, definitely clearing glasses from the tables and ushering, disgruntled patrons out, and staggers to her feet, pushing back her chair.

53:52[SPEAKER_07]: I'll be right back. [SPEAKER_01]: This seems like the closing soon. [SPEAKER_01]: Me also? [SPEAKER_07]: Okay. [SPEAKER_01]: Wavering slightly, she makes for the rest room at the back of the establishment, stealing fertive glances at the keeper. [SPEAKER_01]: He seems to not notice her as she draws a meandering path across the tavern. [SPEAKER_01]: Through the closed door, she hears the dinn of the grumbling rabble fading away as they filter out, ushered into the night by the sole employee of the brass eagle.

54:22[SPEAKER_01]: Now by herself, the memory of just what awaits her outside the tavern comes bubbling back up. [SPEAKER_01]: No more sister, no more laughing with her, no more embarrassing her in front of her friends, just nothing, no more Lily. [SPEAKER_01]: Just that small, smooth, white stone bearing her name, and the knowledge that Amara had failed her when she needed her most. [SPEAKER_01]: Her head swirls, and she's drowned with grief once again, choking back sombs.

54:56[SPEAKER_01]: What's the point? [SPEAKER_01]: There isn't one. [SPEAKER_01]: She slumps against the wall, wrapping her arms around her legs as she pulls herself into a ball. [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe she should just sit for a moment or two. [SPEAKER_01]: Or maybe. [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe there's something to all the stories about this place. [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe the art just half-baked myths spun from the ramblings of drunken revelas like Vegas seems to think.

55:22[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe, if she stays, she can get away. [SPEAKER_01]: Follow the tavern, find somewhere far, far from here, and get away from the hurt and the grief and the memories bearing down on her. [SPEAKER_01]: and if not, then she would rejoin Vega and Drew in a few minutes, mumble in a apology for making them wait, and have to face life without her sister. [SPEAKER_01]: So she sits. [SPEAKER_01]: The noise finally dies down, and she assumed she must be the last one left.

55:55[SPEAKER_01]: She pears through the crack in the door, seeing the form of the man rushing back and forth from table to table. [SPEAKER_01]: She stares in puzzlement as she sees him scoop glasses off of the table's flip chairs upside down and drop bottles of liquor into storage cabinets. [SPEAKER_01]: He slots each one into what looks like moulded padded compartments before closing and locking each door. [SPEAKER_01]: He's like a machine, an automaton, dedicated solely to the completion of his strange post-miramant rituals.

56:25[SPEAKER_01]: As the clock ticks ever closer to midnight, he sighs his work evidently done. [SPEAKER_01]: He rubs his hands on his apron and awkwardly stupes to the ground, before he lays himself flat on his stomach, his hands folded over his ears. [SPEAKER_01]: He waits there for a long moment, as she [SPEAKER_01]: The clock chimes as it finally strikes midnight. [SPEAKER_01]: The sound reverberates almost a naturally filling the tavern with its resonations.

56:55[SPEAKER_01]: She inches closer to the door cursing as she feels needles pricking her sleeping leg. [SPEAKER_01]: She gasps and she locks eyes with the keeper, his head turned and his stair-wide and wild as he gays his straight at her, incredulous. [SPEAKER_10]: What? [SPEAKER_12]: You can't be here! [SPEAKER_01]: With the worrying of gears, the bird atop the clock animates, spreading its metallic wings and calling its shrill call as a marigasps.

57:21[SPEAKER_01]: The tavern shakes, a supernatural wind held in the distant pier with thunder, causes the earth below them to tremble. [SPEAKER_01]: As the very air around her crackles with energy, Amara is sent tumbling forwards her body slamming into the door and flinging its open. [SPEAKER_01]: With tears in her eyes she looks pleadingly to the keeper, fury evident in his clenched jaw and furrowed brow. [SPEAKER_01]: And then the tavern is simply gone.

57:49[SPEAKER_01]: taking her, the keeper, and all the empty glasses with it. [SPEAKER_01]: Meanwhile, Vega and Drew trapped quietly amidst the drunken happy throng slowly leaving the plaza. [SPEAKER_01]: They're startled by a sudden peel of thunder, and with a flash the tavern has disappeared. [SPEAKER_01]: They both stare at the vacant [SPEAKER_01]: Amara's mother calls out as she enters the plaza, a woolen cloak thrown over her narrow shoulders to keep the chill at bay.

58:25[SPEAKER_01]: She catches sight of the two brightly dressed minstrels staring dumbly at the empty space before them. [SPEAKER_01]: Her eyes light up in recognition at the sight of Amara's bandmates. [SPEAKER_05]: Oh, you two, have you seen Amara? [SPEAKER_05]: I'm looking for her. [SPEAKER_05]: Please, I'm very worried. [SPEAKER_01]: Vega turns, her jaw still hanging open, and stares at Amara's mother. [SPEAKER_01]: Behind her, Drew weakly clears his throat, struggling to find the words.

59:13[SPEAKER_11]: written and directed by Connor Bushovan, and produced by Connor Bushovan and Michael tomorrow. [SPEAKER_11]: With sound designed by Candice Mortier, Marcus Sinnis Kelke, Amanda Peaches Bennett, and Eme Convey. [SPEAKER_11]: This episode features the voice talents of Michael Abou as the narrator, E.R. [SPEAKER_11]: Hollands as Amara, Abigail Turner, as Lily, Madeline Norton, as Amara's mother, Meredith Nudo, [SPEAKER_11]: Also featuring Diana Helen Kennedy, as the MC in the female storyteller, Brian Jefford's is the drunk tavern gore, Candice Mortier as the bartender, Brandon Ames as the hooded clergyman, Mae Sheenbeer's in-skie and Tim Winters as the bar patrons.

59:57[SPEAKER_11]: Grasante Greck, Maya Harlapp, and Michael Mishkin as the storytellers, and Swan Gray and Ty Wilkins as the Townies. [SPEAKER_11]: The theme song for our show, a new form, was written and [SPEAKER_11]: The ending song for this episode is Living the Dream, written and performed by Alyssa Gaser, as the Dreadhalla Taver. [SPEAKER_11]: You can find her on Instagram and TikTok at Dreadhalla Tavering. [SPEAKER_11]: You can follow our show for outtakes, extras, and more on all platforms at Brass Eagle Pot.

1:00:27[SPEAKER_11]: A five-star review on the podcast platform of your choice will go a long way towards helping us spread the word and reach new listeners. [SPEAKER_11]: Thank you for joining us, and we will see you next time in episode 2, The Runaway. [SPEAKER_03]: I'm living, dream, but everything I have from one tip isn't quite enough to me And the same half of what I thought it'd be And I'm not half the girl I ought to be [SPEAKER_03]: Gather round one and all Hear my story, watch me sing Come up a lot, the full performer While the gods laughed down at me [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm not half the girl, I thought it'd be [SPEAKER_03]: Half my home is lost forever, half my heart is gone for me, half my life is spent regretting, I had no choice, I had to leave, but I have seen all the world, but she lost the world to me, to for granted that my home still be waiting there for me, and I'm not half the girl you thought I'd be.

1:02:26[SPEAKER_03]: But I'm living, I am living At least I am living, living the dream. [UNKNOWN]: you