The world has abandoned magic, but magic hasn’t abandoned the world.
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The Thieves Guild
An epic fantasy centered around the city-state of Ness
Some secrets are worth dying for. Some are worth killing for.
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Thursday
A cyberpunk VR Thriller
No one can be trusted when nothing is real.
https://podcastalchemy.studio/thursday
00:00:03 --> 00:00:09 [Speaker 1] Naomi still appeared amazed as she looked around. "I don't know. I never bothered testing it."
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 [Speaker 0] It's so quiet, did you ever notice that?
00:00:11 --> 00:00:30 [Speaker 1] "Yes, I don't like it. It's not natural." As I said the words, I realized that I wanted to return time to normal. The powerful influence of the staff made me nervous, and using its power made me worry that I would be less able to resist its power over me. "What's your plan?"
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 [Speaker 0] Did you notice the train tracks on our way here?
00:00:33 --> 00:00:37 [Speaker 1] I spun around and faced her. "No way."
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 [Speaker 0] Tommy, it's the only way we'll get to safety.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:54 [Speaker 1] "I am not going to use a slave to free myself." I thought of the Merids I freed in England, every one left with a scream of triumph, but echoing behind that triumph was the undeniable sound of sadness and pain.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:58 [Speaker 0] Oh, yeah? Well, think of how we left England for Persia.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 [Speaker 1] Naomi poked me in the chest with her finger.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:04 [Speaker 0] Has your pride made you forget those moments when you needed help?
00:01:04 --> 00:01:29 [Speaker 1] She looked like she was getting angry. "No, I remember," I thought back. We had taken a train from England to Persia to look for my grandfather. I had freed the Merid when we arrived, but before we left, I had argued with Naomi. She had considered magical creatures as nothing more than animals, not even slaves. I was disappointed with her and it was probably one of the reasons that led to our leaving each other on such awkward terms.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:36 [Speaker 0] You used a train then and that was after you knew that they were slaves, so don't play all high and mighty now.
00:01:36 --> 00:02:07 [Speaker 1] She put her hands on her hips. A wisp of her hair fell over her eyes, but she didn't flinch. It would've been cute if she wasn't so intimidating when angry. "Look, I know you think magical creatures are just creatures, but I don't agree with you. And just so you know, I didn't tell the Merid to take us to Persia, I asked him to. That he agreed to tell you all you need to know about them. He didn't have to help us, but he did out of gratitude." Naomi just stared at me. "What?" She shook her head.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:24 [Speaker 0] Listen, Streetlight, you cannot possibly be this oblivious. Have you not been paying attention? I said I was proud of you for freeing the Merids, or did you miss that? I agree with you. I want you to free them. I joined you on this stupid adventure so you could free them.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:47 [Speaker 1] I felt like an idiot. She had said all of those things. I had just missed them or forgot them. She had changed so much, all for the better, and I was just the same old Tommy. Heck, I was worse. I was proud of what I was doing and that probably clouded my thinking. "I could ask the Merid to take us to Paris." Naomi smiled.
00:02:47 --> 00:02:56 [Speaker 0] What a great idea, genius. Oh, and I have another idea. Why don't you free it from its slavery too? I bet it would really appreciate that.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:06 [Speaker 1] I lowered my head, turned, and started walking down the scarred and pitted road. "Yeah, that, that's a good idea." Naomi ran up to me and put her hand on my arm.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:12 [Speaker 0] Tommy, I'm sorry. I shouldn't lose my temper like that, especially with you.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:13 [Speaker 1] She looked around.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:17 [Speaker 0] Especially as we're all alone. It's just you and me.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:23 [Speaker 1] It suddenly hit me that we had lost Arcady. "Arcady, have you seen him?"
00:03:23 --> 00:03:35 [Speaker 0] He stayed behind with the old hag, but I don't know what happened. I don't think he could've survived this bombing. I mean, maybe, but he would've had to have gotten out of here pretty fast. Let's just move on.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:52 [Speaker 1] Maybe he's safe, but hiding somewhere." Naomi shrugged. "Should we go back for him?" Naomi was silent, and when I looked over at her, she appeared pale. Of course, Arcady's loss had to be hard on her, especially with her blaming herself for Mr. Ali's death.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:57 [Speaker 0] He saw me, but he left with her. You happy? Can we just leave it at that?
00:03:57 --> 00:04:22 [Speaker 1] An awkward silence followed. I remembered thinking that Arcady had been her boyfriend, but over time I had dismissed its likelihood. However, based on Naomi's behavior, it again seemed possible. Although with her pride, it could be that she just felt he had betrayed us and she blamed herself. "You know what? Illusionists just aren't right in the head." Naomi turned to me, a small smile on her face.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:26 [Speaker 0] Streetlight, sometimes you say just the right thing.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 [Speaker 1] She marched forward before I could reply.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:42 [Speaker 1] I knew we weren't far from the railroad tracks which had run parallel to the road for the bulk of our trip. The only question was whether the station the tracks led to would have a magical train or not. If not, we would be in a very tough spot.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:53 [Speaker 0] Yeah, I can't wait until you get the coat from her. Then she can go back to reminiscing about the good old days while sipping tea by the fire with some servant named Sven waiting on her.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 [Speaker 1] I don't think Sven is a Russian name.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:56 [Speaker 0] Whatever.
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 [Speaker 1] She increased the pace.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:37 [Speaker 1] Neither Naomi or I spoke much during the walk to the rail line. It almost felt wrong to be living while time was stopped. We would pass animals that were frozen mid-stride. Rather than being sources of joy, they looked like they were posed in a museum display. It all appeared cold and lifeless. We had walked for a few hours through the stillness of the world without time and I couldn't take it anymore. "On restoring time, I think we need to listen for a train whistle." I almost kicked myself for such a stupid explanation. We were heading to a rail line and then the station. There was no need to listen for a train whistle. However, Naomi quickly agreed.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 [Speaker 0] Oh, yeah, that's a good idea. You should unfreeze time.
00:05:40 --> 00:06:04 [Speaker 1] I restored time and the air felt fresher. Everything seemed just a bit more vibrant and beautiful. We stood still and listened. It was almost as quiet as when time had been stopped, but somehow the silence felt calming, not ominous. I looked at Naomi. Her eyes were closed as she took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and I quickly looked away, hoping she didn't notice me staring at her.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 [Speaker 0] Let's just find the tracks and then head toward town.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:18 [Speaker 1] I nodded and we started walking again. I looked up and watched as the clouds slowly rolled across the sky. The beauty took my breath away.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:33 [Speaker 1] We walked through a few farms where we grabbed some vegetables to eat. Again, I had to practically force Naomi to take even a single carrot. "You do know that you won't be much of a magician if you die of starvation." I handed her another carrot, which she accepted.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:37 [Speaker 0] It's not that I don't want to eat, it's just that I'm never hungry.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:48 [Speaker 1] She shrugged and took a bite. It was dark by the time we reached the station, which was in the middle of town. We had to take great care as there were people everywhere, even with it being night.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 [Speaker 0] What's with all the people? This town isn't even that big.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:57 [Speaker 1] Naomi looked around. There are a lot of soldiers. Maybe there's a base nearby.
00:06:57 --> 00:07:03 [Speaker 0] There are a lot of civilians, too, more than you would expect for a town this size. It's very strange.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:21 [Speaker 1] Well, it is wartime. Naomi nodded as we hid in the shadow of a building that was about 50 yards from the train station. The station itself was a bit bigger than the surrounding buildings. It was brick and not quite two stories high. It was certainly big enough that it looked like it handled a lot of traffic.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 [Speaker 0] Good news, Tommy. That is definitely a waystation.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:50 [Speaker 1] A waystation was the kind of train station that handled magical trains. Naomi would know as she had lived in one for almost her entire life. Yeah, but I'm not sure we can get to an engineer. We're not exactly dressed like the locals. I looked at Naomi, whose khakis and dirty white cotton blouse made her look like an archeologist portrayed in Hollywood movies. Plus, even if we find the engineer, how can I convince him to take us where we wanna go? Neither of us speak Russian.
00:07:50 --> 00:08:04 [Speaker 0] Great. So we have to sneak into the station without drawing anyone's attention where we then find an engineer, and then we convince him to take the train to Paris while you free the mayor and beg him to power the train, all the while doing so without knowing how to speak Russian.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 [Speaker 1] More or less.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 [Speaker 0] Uh, this may require you to stop time again, Tommy.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:14 [Speaker 1] I was thinking the same thing. I took a deep breath and stopped time.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 [Speaker 0] Uh, any second now.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 [Speaker 1] What do you mean?
00:08:18 --> 00:08:22 [Speaker 0] Stopping time. We're close enough to the station, you should probably stop time now.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:26 [Speaker 1] I did. Naomi looked around.
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 [Speaker 0] No, you didn't.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:35 [Speaker 1] It was true. I could hear the sounds of the town and there was activity in the distance. Oh, no.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 [Speaker 0] It didn't work?
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 [Speaker 1] I nodded.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 [Speaker 0] Do you think it has to do with the coat?
00:08:40 --> 00:08:50 [Speaker 1] I don't know what else it can be. The staff lost its power before, but it regained it when we were close to Anna. Maybe now that the coat is moving further away from me, I've lost the power again.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:59 [Speaker 0] Naomi grabbed my arm. "Do you think the staff is punishing you for not going after the coat? Maybe if you weren't staying near the coat, it will take away its own powers."
00:08:59 --> 00:09:11 [Speaker 1] I had been thinking something similar, but Naomi's explanation was clear. Yeah, the staff and coat belong together. Distance or even decisions that take them further apart appear to affect their power.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:17 [Speaker 0] So what do we do? We need to get into the station without being seen and we need to sneak up on the engineer.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:21 [Speaker 1] Could you cast an illusion to make us look like Russian peasants?
00:09:21 --> 00:09:32 [Speaker 0] Yes, but it's complicated. I'll need to maintain it while we walk, and that requires additional preparation, and it won't be perfect. You're going to have to deal with all the people and tracking down the engineer yourself.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 [Speaker 1] I can do that.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 [Speaker 0] Okay, let me get things ready.
00:09:37 --> 00:10:19 [Speaker 1] Naomi stood still and I watched as she made what appeared to be random movements. Her hands though spun and wove and elegantly twisted in a dizzying array of forms. I caught a circle, a triangle, and more intricate patterns. After about five minutes, I assumed she would be close to done. The amount of detailed movement and concentration was extraordinary. 20 minutes later, sweat started to drip down her face, but she continued her movements. At one point, I thought she was going to faint as her body swayed, but it was apparently part of the spell she was casting. After 45 minutes, she slowly lowered her hands to her side and swayed slightly. I ran up to support her, but she shook her head.
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 [Speaker 0] "I'm okay."
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 [Speaker 1] She took a deep breath and whispered through clenched teeth-
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 [Speaker 0] I'm a young peasant girl, and you're one of my girlfriends.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:31 [Speaker 1] A hint of a smile snuck onto her lips. A girl?
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 [Speaker 0] Don't worry, you look cute.
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 [Speaker 1] I looked down and couldn't see anything different about me.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:46 [Speaker 0] Now stop bothering me and guide me toward the station. We have a lot of work to do and I won't be able to help. I'm channeling the energy right now. Just moving is going to take intense concentration.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 [Speaker 1] She closed her eyes for a few minutes and then whispered-
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 [Speaker 0] "Let's go."
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 [Speaker 1] I took her elbow and led us to the station.
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