The Black Company: Simping for The Lady (A Quarter Million Dead)

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The Black Company is on the run, and the casualty reports are getting completely unhinged. DK and Kirioth are back to break down the monstrous second half of Glen Cook's dark fantasy classic. From explosive spell-wars between Goblin and One-Eye to Soulcatcher flexing a literal magic carpet, the retreat from the North is anything but a quiet march. We are diving into massive magical sieges, the Lady unleashing two dozen war elephants on the Rebel army, and Croaker continuing to absolutely lose his mind every time he makes eye contact with a terrifying ancient sorceress. Plus, we finally start putting the pieces together on the White Rose prophecy and uncover just how deep the Taken conspiracy really goes. Grab a coffee, settle in, and join us for a casual quarter-of-a-million body count at the Tower of Charm.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Welcome everyone to another episode of the Acceptable Losses Podcast. My name is DK Diamantes, and my day is about to become a little darker, one might say a little blacker. Eh, Curios?

SPEAKER_04 0:29

Oh, lovely stuff. Lovely stuff. What a segue. We're gonna roll straight into it. In fact, the introduction for this episode is from Possum, and it simply says, in all caps, ain't no time for an introduction. Check out episode one if you haven't already. This is a monstrous episode. Let's get to it. That's that's that's what we've got. Because this is Black Radio 2, Electric Boogaloo. So we've got the second half of the first book to cover, and uh this is this is a big one. This is a big, big old ep. So if you haven't listened to the first one, you probably should, because you'll be thoroughly lost and confused if you don't. But if you have, strap in. Strap all the way in, all right?

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Strap in, lads. We're we're we're going into the chunky episode. Also, I mean, after the the first episode of the Black Cup, I was like, man, this is really cool. I should go get like the audiobooks and listen to it. And I was like, no, I can't do that. We haven't done part two yet. This is still we need part two of book one. I can't go listen to the book and spoil the whole damn episode two for myself. So I I am I am thoroughly excited for part two.

SPEAKER_04 1:39

Give it to me, Karayak.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Yeah, and then I can start I can start listening to them again. I'll probably listen to the first one over again for all the stuff I missed, and then just keep listening anyway. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:49

That is a plan that I'm also gonna be going along with. So we're gonna start at chapter four, Whisper. So when we last left the company, they were retreating from the salient. Not because of anything they did, it was because of Limpa's absolute fumbling of virtually everything in the north. So the defenses started to collapse left and right, the north was no longer safe. The uh the captain views time as being a bit of an important factor here, especially since a rebel battalion is like a day or so behind them, so he opts to take the company off road. Instead of following the normal routes out of the north to the city of Lords, they were to cut through the forest of cloud. Oddly wholesome name for this series, frankly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Um I I was expecting like the forest of death, the forest of night, the forest of I don't know, seeing suffering or something. Yeah. I wasn't like I'm like, oh, they'll probably get through that, no problem. For us to cloud, whatever, no big deal. Actually pleasant. First time, first time for everything for this.

SPEAKER_04 2:47

Yeah, in the black company. So the speedy way is a good idea in Kroker's eyes because frankly, the fighting has been doing a number on not only their men, but also those seeking protection with the company. There's been so much death that Kroker has been unable to treat people, resulting in even more death. So yeah. Woods it is.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Yeah. There's so much death the doctor just can't do anything anymore. It's just oh man.

SPEAKER_04 3:16

I love us straight back into Kroger having a terrible time. It's just a big hit like, oh god, everyone's dying and I can't do anything about it.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

I mean, this is chapter four, so you know, things are gonna get worse before they get better, I assume. Oh yes. I'm afraid yes. Kira's like better? That doesn't exist in the series, it seems.

SPEAKER_03 3:41

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_04 3:43

Yeah. Soulcatcher then gave the captain a task. Seek out Nightcrawler in the city of Lords. Obviously, with a name like that, Nightcrawler is one of the ten, and they need to be prepared for an inevitable rebel attack on Lords, so it's best to give them a heads up. During their cut through the forest, they stumble across a rebel training camp, and the black company, you know, they they let loose a bit. And by let loose, uh I of course mean eradicated them.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Yeah, I I was gonna say the black company letting loose, I'm probably like it's I'm assuming you don't mean they had a couple of beers, played some darts, a little shuffleboard, shots, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_04 4:28

Yeah, they uh they just went right through them, and the rebels didn't even put up much of a fight because frankly, they thought they were safe in the woods. They hadn't even like put up stockades or reinforced the camp. At the end of it, Croker walks through the carnage and makes a bit of an admission regarding the company and his portrayal of them. Raven reads some of the accounts Croaker has written and calls them sugar and spice while also threatening to write what actually happens. Wow. I love that direct call out of you, you're you're leaving out details here. You're not doing the thing.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

Don't make me write the truth, and it's like, oh, it was already bad with the whole like, yeah, we killed them to the last man because they didn't set up shop because you know, they thought they were safe here, and they're like, oh. Okay, cool.

SPEAKER_04 5:18

A direct call out is it's fun. Um Croker remarks how ironic this is, considering how he's breaking up all the torture games while protecting a child in the form of a darling that we met last time. Now, before we go any further, let's check in on One Eye and Goblin. Well, one eye Yes, let's they're the best. I love 'em. Uh One Eye decided to chalk a burning brand through the doorway of the barracks of this training ground, causing the building to explode. One eye walks out of said building. Um It's just a prank, bro. Explodes the building. It is so ridiculous every time. Jesus. And that he he accuses Goblin of setting him up, which uh unfortunately begins a spell war between the two that's kind of indistinguishable from the hooting and hollering of the company, like destroying this encampment. Croker does enjoy the antics of One Eye and Goblin because it's clear that despite the terrifying spellcasting abilities and horrific spells, they are actually friends, and they are sort of able to control themselves, unlike the ten who were taken, who have so far been absolute nightmares to work for, uh, with, around, just in the general vicinity of. They've all been pretty rough. They don't wish to be anything like the taken. In fact, they are deeply paranoid about them. One eye has even devised an amulet that's able to detect when taken are nearby, just in case, which is a good job. We'll get we'll get to that. Uh we'll get to that later.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Also, how bad do the taken and the ten have to be where Croker looks at one eye and gums like, yeah, that seems like a that's self-control at its finest indeed. He just exploded a building, they're chucking around mind-bending spells at each other, they're trying to get that's why that's just the the the very that's the very image of self-control. Like Jesus.

SPEAKER_04 7:18

Just a bit of high spirits. Just a bit of high spirit. That's all it is, nothing to worry about. It's like all the things.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

Just a little just a little hijinks and tomfoolery.

unknown 7:27

God.

SPEAKER_04 7:29

How how bad are your bosses? Oh well, okay, yeah. We'll get to that. Yeah, yeah, I don't know. In the uh in the midst of the carnage in the encampment, Elmo ushers Croker to the building he believes is the headquarters and presents Kroker with a pile of papers, all written in a northern script. Croker grabs a paper at random and sees that it's an order directing a battalion of rebels to stow away into the homes of local sympathizers in lords before a call is made for them to strike from within. The document is signed Whisper and also contains a list of contracts that have been like appended to it. All of the documents here are strategies, secrets, and more. They have hit the absolute mother load when it comes to quite literally anything the rebels plan to do. I'm just saying you've got to take better care of those documents.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Yeah, you really do. You can't you can't be letting the the the your secret plan of attack. I mean, man, that's like letting the Death Star plans get out, and it's like, hooray, they put a vet in the Death Star.

SPEAKER_04 8:34

Absolutely drop the ball on just leaving those out in the open. You can't you can't be letting those float around. You really can't. Whisper is the best known of the Rebels generals. She is a stubborn genius that is exceptionally dangerous and has held the eastern front of the ward despite even the strongest efforts of the ten who were taken. Her cunning and planning has resulted in her being marked as one of the most dangerous of the eighteen, so being able to get the upper hand on her is potentially a gigantic win on the part of the company. The movement of Whisper indicates that the rebels are likely shifting their strategies from holding the east to advancing on the north, which is notably a weak flank for the lady. The captain orders Goblin to contact Soulcatcher and get them to come here, and Goblin responds by making an awful face. He agrees though, and uh and begins to mutter in the corner. And he does make contact with Soulcatcher, but in a really horrific way. Uh and so we have our first quote for you here, DK.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Oh man, I love it. It's like, oh yeah, they make contact with Soulcatcher in just the most horrific way. Here's a quote, DK. Wow, my morning is made. You've really made my morning, Kiriya. Thanks for that. We do our best round it, you know. Goblin let out a long, shrill screech, as chilling as an owl's when you're alone in the woods at midnight. One eye charged the sound. Such moments make me doubt the sincerity of their animosity. Goblin moaned, he's in the tower. He's with the lady. I see her through his eyes, his eyes, his eyes, the darkness. Oh god, the darkness, no, oh god, no, no. His words twisted into a shriek of pure terror. Goblin sounded like he was regressing towards childhood. Make it stop looking at me. Make it stop. I've been good. Make it go away. One eye was on his knees besides Goblin. It's all right, it's alright. It's not real. It's gonna be alright. Goblin screamed for a while, then got quiet as death. I jerked around. One eye lifted a hand to tell me I was not needed. Goblin had finished delivering his message. The terror left his face. His color improved. One eye dropped Goblin's hand. We'd better not put in we we'd we'd better not put it on him next time. Yeah, that sucks.

SPEAKER_04 10:58

That's uh that's literally just delivering a message. That's not even soulcatcher like doing anything evil. Yeah. It's just it's just existence. Existence. This is just how we communicate.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Worst game of telephone ever, dude.

SPEAKER_04 11:19

I always hated WhatsApp. What the hell is this?

SPEAKER_01 11:23

Absolutely awful. Yeah. You thought Discord was was going after your privacy. Look at this shit. Woof.

SPEAKER_04 11:33

Oh, proper cosmic horror telephone call. Love it. Now, when he came to, Goblin said that Soulcatcher has a message. Get the fuck out of there right now, and they will be met on the way to Lords. But before they leave, Croker finds something. Something terrible that he does not tell anyone else about. He doesn't know what to do about this thing, so he asks someone he can trust to keep a secret. So he goes to Silent. He asks Silent if he can speak to him privately, and Silent creates a zone of total silence so that Croker can talk candidly. He explains what he found to him. Now, Silent is not an easy man to shock, but the information on what Kroker found caused him to look astonished and terrified. Croker asks him if he should tell anyone, and Silent silently advises that this news is too big to keep, but he must tell Soulcatcher immediately. So obviously, uh Croaker immediately goes to tell Raven what he found just straight off the bat.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Sure. Here's my advice. Allow me to do the opposite. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:44

Just cool story, bro. Anyway, Raven. Uh we need to have a chat. Yeah. Jesus, alright. So among the documents that were found were some that were written by Bowman's, which is the wizard that awoke the lady and her minions. And among those documents were some papers written in the language known as Telkur, which is a language spoken only by the ten. Ancient texts that may reveal something truly powerful about them. Raven, already pale in complexion, goes white with fear. But at least they'll meet up with Soulcatcher soon, right? That's that's good. That's that's okay, that's fine. Um Well, Soulcatcher arrives sort of sooner than they thought, without being noticed. Just shows up dressed in standard black company clothes. Soulcatcher is kind of hard to pick out. Once noticed by Kroker, he whisks Soulcatcher away to a private wagon to show them the documents. In almost an instant, Soulcatcher reads every single paper, and the documents are truly exciting. Some can only be deciphered by the lady herself, of course, and Soulcatcher says as an aside that the lady wishes to see Croker personally to learn all about him. Ooh, getting cheeky.

SPEAKER_01 14:05

Okay, okay. Sure. I d I don't know if I would want to meet the lady, uh but Absolutely. You know, maybe it'll end well. Who knows?

SPEAKER_04 14:16

He's done a good thing, so well, but also like just care the hell away from me. Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

Um boy, I get to see the boss of the black company and the ten.

SPEAKER_04 14:34

I I'm I'm sorry, I'm busy, I've just got so much to do.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Uh yeah, I'm yeah, catch me later. I have things to do. Uh grandma's in the hospital, and I just uh gotta gotta take care of that.

SPEAKER_04 14:48

Now, the other documents that uh that are there have something insanely powerful that Soulcatcher explains, and that is true names. So the true name of a sorcerer is selfishly guarded by any sorcerer as if their life depends on it, which it does. Being armed with a wizard's true name is a weapon that can pierce through the heart of even the strongest one. The fact that Whisper had this document means that she is second in power like only to the lady, as the lady knows the name of all the ten. Whisper has to die, but that's kind of a shame in Soulcatcher's eyes. If Whisper were alive back when the Dominator was around, there's a chance she would be a taken as opposed to Soulcatcher, because Whisper has a heart as black as night and is a true loner. Everyone's got foibbles, all right.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Look, she might might be a good general, but heart black as night. Great. Oh man, if only you had been alive sooner, I totally would have corrupted you.

unknown 15:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:50

All right, that's got the right attitude for it. I mean, at least for this particular uh instance, Whisper seems to be on the the right side of things. You know? That's that's something using the using the uh the evil powers for good, s sort of.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Uh yeah. Why do I feel like this is a very for now situation we're we're running into? I mean she's on the right side of history. For now.

SPEAKER_04 16:18

I'm just going to remind you of what you said when we get to the relevant point. Okay. Okay. So that so whispered, like it's kind of a plus that she's a loner, as the chances of her telling any of the other 18 the true names of the ten is slim to none. Also, Soulcatcher thanks Kroker for the names as they will become a surprise tool that will help Soulcatcher later. I mean, we've already established at this point that the ten basically spend half their time trying to work out creative ways to royally fuck each other over. So it's not uh it's not shocking that Soulcatcher's like, oh, true names.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Good. Oh, the biggest secret everyone in the ten has, and you give me leverage over all of them. Wow, handy.

SPEAKER_04 17:05

It's honestly amazing that the lady gets anything done with this lot, isn't it? Yeah. It's amazing they haven't all just killed each other already. Yeah. So the company make their way to Lords expecting a fight, but instead they experience what is likely the sort the shortest sub chapter in the history of the Black Company. And uh I I'm gonna give it to you in full to read. Um It's when we say short, it is pretty short.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Oh yeah, then wow, that is that is short. Um It was all over in Lourdes when we got there. Nightcrawler had moved fast and hit hard. You could not go anywhere without finding rebels hanging from the trees and lampposts. The company went into barracks expecting a quiet, boring winter and a spring spent chasing rebel leftovers back to the great northern forests. Ah, it was a sweet illusion while it lasted. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_04 18:06

That is that is how you put down a rebellion, it turns out. You just hit fast and hard, you know. It's the it's the trees and lampposts that's just that right kind of detail that I don't like, but do like just uh Is is this I'm assuming this is Nightcrawler that I'm seeing that Chai put up in the chat?

SPEAKER_01 18:29

Yeah, that's the one. And uh yeah, that's a freak. Yep. That is properly scary. Will not make the X-Men joke. I will not. I simply won't. I won't do it. Is his armor blue by any chance?

SPEAKER_04 18:47

Sorry, I anyway, go ahead. I was about to congratulate you on the self-control. It went out of the window of meat. I didn't even have the time to say it. So a knight of cards in the massacred town is interrupted when Soulcatcher says that they have new orders. An attempt was made to catch Whisper, but she was one step ahead. She's hiding somewhere, and the lady is sending in forces from all sides. But Whisper has a bit of a unique weapon that was recently acquired by her. Whisper was able to successfully suborn Limpa. The collapse of the majority of the Northern Front was not because of his incompetence, but because it was actually treason. Oh, Limper, you useless son of a bitch. Not even useless, he did it all on purpose. That's true, man. It's an absolute menace. Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

I mean, he was thoroughly embarrassed last time, so I mean, I I I I jeez. What a fucker.

SPEAKER_04 19:51

He's just like, fuck you guys. Yeah. I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna go and I'm gonna go and join the other side. I'm not having this. It's fine. We know your name. Yeah. Oh god, yeah. The Limpa knows that his days are numbered and Soulcatcher has intel that Whisper and Limpa are going to be meeting tomorrow so that he can likely work out a deal for his life. The lady wants them to strike this meeting so that it would seem like it was Whisper who was selling out, not the Limper, and that would hopefully break the trust of the circle of eighteen. Soulcatcher wants Raven and Kroker to take them out with bows, but without Soulcatcher's presence being there, as the aura would be a dead giveaway. Raven not happy about this, um understandably so, and Croker is a bit rusty, so he needs to practice. As he does so, he once again fantasizes about the lady, and uh Croker's fantasies allow him to focus a bit better, but Soulcatcher throws him off his groove by revealing that the lady killed her twin sister when she was fourteen. On a wake-up call. Yeah, what a what a what a way to break the fantasy, right?

SPEAKER_01 21:00

And look, I know you got the hots for her, but uh child murderer? Just saying he's he's just having he's having a little uh session thinking about the lady, and then suddenly, by the by killed her 14-year-old sister. Just I didn't need to know that. Why did you why did you tell me that? Kroger's like, I was this close, you ruined it. Oh my god. Jesus. I was right there. Soul catcher, what the fuck? Why are you even in my tent?

SPEAKER_04 21:35

Get out of here. This is a private affair.

SPEAKER_00 21:39

Um not see the sock on the door, Jesus.

SPEAKER_04 21:47

Just velcro to the tent flap. Uh now we'd learn a bit of an interesting thing about the company here. Once each month in the evening, the entire company assembles so that the analyst can tell them a story. Written from the past analysts. They're to put the men of the company in touch with their histories and traditions, which stretch back for thousands of miles. Croker gets himself ready each month, props a book up, and reads the story with vigour and passion. This month he does so with so much passion that the company gave him an ovation when he was done. The praise and the completion of this monthly duty makes Croker feel like his life has been fulfilled. Raven, who is still adjusting to the company after being accepted in, compliments Croker and tells him that it made him feel like he was part of the company. He also says that it makes him feel something else. Got another quote for you here. This is uh Oh no. This is an interesting one.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

Alright. Don't worry too much. You made me feel something for the first time since my wife and her lovers tried to murder me and steal my rights and titles. He rose, closed one eye, looked down the length of his arrow. Thanks, Croaker. For a while, I felt human again. He stalked out. I collapsed on the bunk and closed my eyes. He had revealed more in that one rapid fire sentence than since the day we had met. Strange. That's boy, that's a that is a that is a loaded quote.

SPEAKER_04 23:20

What what what a statement. Yeah, that's nice. Like a plural plural lovers tried to murder him. Absolutely crazy. God.

SPEAKER_01 23:34

Yeah. She's having a harem uh without him. That's crazy, dude.

SPEAKER_04 23:39

Look, look, if you if you're into the whole polyamory thing, that's fine. But you know, everyone's gotta be everyone's gotta be on board, and you've got to have the boundaries. It did not sound like he was on board, and it did not sound like he was having his boundaries respected in any way. That's rough.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

Also, this this quote implies that uh his wife and lovers were not successful and he probably killed them all.

SPEAKER_03 24:05

I would assume Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

Since he is telling you that they tried to kill him and he is not dead. He's he's still around. I mean, I guess he could have just escaped their wrath, too. They could still be around. I don't know, but you know, given this lovely band, uh anyway.

SPEAKER_04 24:31

Yeah, give given the uh the overall the overall uh state of the series, my assumption is he he murdered at least one of the the wife's gonna be dead.

SPEAKER_01 24:39

Probably if it's just the wife, I feel like I feel maybe one of the lovers got away, but yeah. Yes, I don't know, he's not the escaping kind. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:51

Might be rather than bad. Oh god. In the morning, then the group steps out and Soulcatcher leads them to a carpet. Like an actual carpet. Soulcatcher has Raven sit on the right corner, Croker on the left, and then Soulcatcher sits in the middle and tells them not to move before the carpet launches off from the ground at extreme speed. That's right, Soulcatcher shows up so fast because Soulcatcher has a magic carpet.

SPEAKER_01 25:23

Let's go! We love magic carpets. Let's go! I love a good magic carpet.

SPEAKER_04 25:29

Oh yeah, who doesn't? So good. Hell yeah. They land thirty miles out, and Soulcatcher gives them directions to a holy place in a clearing of evergreens. Before departing, they are given some arrows. Raven takes the ones to be used on the limper, and Croker is given the arrow he is to use on Whisper. But Croker realizes quite quickly that the arrowhead is blunt. Soulcatcher does not want him to kill Whisper for reasons unknown. Ah I can show you the world horrible burning red shit.

SPEAKER_01 26:07

Well, I mean it is Soulcatcher's carpet, so that's you know, that's that's probably the way the song goes in in their head, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:17

Yeah, yeah, love that. Uh the two make it to the clearing and they watch and wait. Almost like clockwork, Limper and Whisper make their way to the clearing. Once they're in range, Raven says now and they strike. Raven's first arrow hits Limper under the left arm and he makes a sound like a rat getting stomped. Which is in quotes.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

So I mean it is Limper, that is about the sound I'd expect that piece of shit to make. Yeah, pretty much. It is such a specific sound though, isn't it? Yeah. It's like, how do you know what that sound is like? Stomping a lot of rats, dude.

SPEAKER_04 26:58

What what is the sample size and should we be worried about, you know?

SPEAKER_01 27:02

Although I guess this is this is like sort of a medieval fantasy-esque era. So I imagine uh people are probably stomping on rats a lot because it's like, oh no, there's a there's a rat near the food again, stomp. There's a rat in my tent, stomp, and uh, you know. But for the author to pull on that is Yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 27:23

That's true. True. Not not that we're accusing uh uh uh Glenn of doing anything untoward, but it it is so specific. Uh Glenn's like, it's research, it's research, it's research. Hand me another one. Um We're kidding. Or are we? No, we are. Uh so the dull arrow hits Whisper against her temple, and even though she wears a leather helmet, the impact knocks her down. Raven knocks a couple more arrows into Limpa. I love that. Fuck this guy, just keep shooting him while uh while Croker drops his. Kroker rushes Whisper and kicks her in the head and turns to face Limpa. It's harsh. Alright, cool, cool. We were worried about this person?

SPEAKER_00 28:12

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 28:12

That was easy. Turns out all you need to do is kick someone in the head and you can take him out. Shooting him with a blunt arrow in the head. Yeah. Even though Limpa has three enchanted arrows sticking out of him, he is still alive. Like he attempts to mutter a spell, but the gargling of blood makes it inaudible, and he is then silenced with a swift kick to the head again by Kroker. Nice. Kroker bloody loves kicking people in the head, it turns out. Um He'd be great in the World Cup. He was just born too early, that's the thing.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

US could have used a little bit of that moxie, right?

SPEAKER_04 28:54

There's one thing the US needed more of, it was kicking people in the head. So true.

SPEAKER_01 29:01

It's our motto. It should be on our flag.

SPEAKER_04 29:06

Croker unfortunately has no bonds in which to tie Whisper, so he hacks away at her leathers and ties them up as makeshift rags while cutting off her hair to bind her hands. That is just outright disrespectful. I'm sorry. I can you know I can take kicking someone in the head to knock them out in a in a situation such as this. But, you know, shearing the hair to tie someone's hands is that is lunatic behavior. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

It just I also feel like that is just not that's not gonna make a strong like uh bond. Like hair isn't that strong. Like if she wakes up and just uses a little force, that's gonna break like that, right?

SPEAKER_04 29:50

I also feel like a big bunch of it is not gonna tie into a super tight knot, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

I've never I've never I've never tried to tie hair before, but I gotta assume it's not a great idea.

SPEAKER_04 30:04

I suppose it only needs to be for a little while, but that that just stuck out to me as like, what the hell do you do it, dude? What a weird behavior. I guess I guess I guess you gotta do something, but oh, alright. Raven uh rips Limpa's mask off and tells him that Soulcatcher has his true name, causing him to panic and wriggle. Fair, honestly. Um Soulcatcher descends from the skies and sees the mess there before telling Limpa that the lady ordered this and that Shifter is on his way to end him once and for all. Shifter appears, takes one look at Limpa before consulting with Soulcatcher, and then vanishing. Nobody, it seems, wants the final responsibility of killing him. But there is one person who uh who won't say no. An unnatural light pours into the clearing, causing Soulcatcher to drop to one knee. The lady is here and Croker swiftly follows suit. Okay, okay, okay, okay, let's go. He can't see her face due to the light, and he offers the lady Whisper's sword because he didn't know what else to do. She declines, saying, Not this time, Croker, but soon, I think. And she then told Croker that he is to witness a riot unseen for five hundred years before looking at Limpa. She says he served well for a while and even his treachery was helpful. She gives Raven a chance to kill him, which he declines. So she decides to do so in the following way. This is mental, by the way. Just throwing it out there before we Okay. I thought you were gonna be like, Oh, and here's a quote. Oh, you've you're gonna get one in a minute, but this is this is I don't even know where well, I'll start by saying what it is, but it's it is mad. So the lady screams at the sky, causing a thousand fiery snakes to streak out and swarm him. They slither into literally every orifice before eating their way out of him violently. Oh what the hell He is kept alive by his own vitality and some magic provided by the lady so that he can feel every inch of his body being consumed by the burning snakes in real time. Before he is fully consumed, the lady forces the serpents to retreat and summons a gigantic dragonfly from the cr from the clouds. The dragonfly grabs Limpa and hums away, causing the lady to say that he'll provide years of entertainment.

SPEAKER_00 32:47

Holy just mental. You like fantasy, right? Jesus Christ. Holy sh I know Limper was a son of a I was gonna say, I know Limber was a son of a bitch, but golly, all that Holy shit.

SPEAKER_04 33:11

Yeah, it's a lot.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

Like there's a lot going on there. God, like you could have stopped after forcing him to feel how it feels to be eaten alive by fiery snakes, but no, no, no, no, no. He's gonna be alive for years after that. It's mental. Yeah. Jeez. To make you feel bad for Limper is like, oh boy, you gotta be. Yep. Yep.

SPEAKER_04 33:36

You gotta be you gotta be pushing the the boundaries of what is classed as acceptable punishment on someone to make you go, no, that guy, he wasn't great, but he wasn't deserving of that.

SPEAKER_01 33:47

No, no, no. I guess you could say the lady found him to be an acceptable loss.

SPEAKER_04 34:02

I'll give that a plus two. We haven't had that many of those. You know, let's go stuff we've talked about since we started this podcast. Crazy. The lady then reiterates to Croker that what he's about to see is something that has only existed in memories before looking at Whisper. Whisper is terrified that she'll suffer the same fate as Limpa, but she is assured otherwise. She has been such an outstanding enemy that she deserves a reward, because you see, there is now a vacancy among the taken. Croker realizes that this was the plan for ages now, embarrassing and like running Limpa ragged to the point of breaking just so that the lady had a reason to replace him. And Soulcatcher believed that hiring the black company would be the perfect way to do it. Whatever the lady did to her caused time itself to flicker. Croker truly doesn't remember the specifics, but uh he tries his best to outline it. And um I'm afraid this is what you get. Arguably, I got the I got the uh less horrible one of the two punishments. Oh man.

SPEAKER_01 35:13

The the the the the snake-eating dragonfly keeping you alive for years of entertainment is the alright, let me just read this. Of the rest of it, there are only flickers of recollection, most filled with whisper screams. There was a moment when the clearing filled with dancing devils all glowing with their inner wickedness. They fought for the privilege of mounting Whisper. There was a time when Whisper faced the eye, a time when, I think, Whisper died and was resurrected, died and was resurrected till she became intimate with death. There were times when she was tortured and another time with the eye. The fragments I retained suggest that she was shattered, slain, revived, and reassembled as a devoted slave. I recall her pledge of fealty to the lady. Her voice dripped with a craven eagerness to please.

SPEAKER_03 36:05

Yuh.

SPEAKER_01 36:10

Yeah, that is absolutely horrific. That's ins God, yeah, yeah, I oh boy, I don't that's yeah, that's how a taken's made. Great. God, that that art is horrible. Like very good, but ugh. Yeah, uh that's oh man. So just seemingly an infinite amount of torture, her dying, being revived, tortured some more, dying some more, real Oh boy, that sucks. That's how you get them on side. Apparently. Apparently that's how you get them to pledge fealty. Uh, because, you know. Hooray. And this happened to all the taken, huh? Okay. Yep.

SPEAKER_04 36:57

Certainly seems like it. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:00

Somehow I gotta believe that Croaker isn't gonna have any more of those late night tent sessions thinking about the lady after seeing this or recalling any of it.

SPEAKER_04 37:09

It would it would make you question uh whether that person, you know, is the sort of person that you should have a crush on. I feel like you'd I feel like you'd maybe have a moment of I I don't know that this is healthy on my part.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

Um just yeah, you gotta be careful because uh, you know, you hope that the lady also doesn't have a crush on you because her crush is very literal.

SPEAKER_04 37:34

Yep. Yep. You don't want to hear she's taken an interest. You don't want that.

SPEAKER_01 37:39

You just you just don't. Yeah, the lady's taking an interest in you. She wants to she wants to meet you and uh do a special thing she's never done before, and it's like you didn't receive my out of office notification.

SPEAKER_04 37:53

That's a real shame. Now the lady is gone, along with Whisper and any memories that Kroger had of what actually happened. Soulcatcher, however, is still there, and Soulcatcher tells Kroker that the lady has taken Whisper to the Eastern Front, but that also Whisper had been underestimated. Whisper had spoken to the circle about what was occurring prior to this in some way, and the circle had rerouted their troops. Whisper's sacrifice today was, in fact, an intentional act on her end to buy more time. They had been played. The lady, the black company, the ten, they had been properly played by Whisper. Now that is badass. Hell yeah. What a legend.

SPEAKER_01 38:38

Yeah, what a what a legend. Unfortunately didn't she met an unfortunate end. Well, I mean she's still alive, technically.

SPEAKER_04 38:48

Tortured horrifically, died, resurrected, died, resurrected, infinite pain, but but she did get one over on him. So worth it? I don't know, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

I I guess. I mean, she's now an indentured slave to uh the lady, so there's definite downsides to the plan.

SPEAKER_04 39:07

I'll give you that.

SPEAKER_01 39:08

Pros and cons, pros and cons, pros and cons, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:12

Soulcatcher leaves then, and uh and the company attempts to return to Lords, but they can't. The rebels have already arrived and the city is under siege, but not just any old siege, a magical siege. The circle have arrived to avenge Whisper with full force, and the violent explosions in the city are magical warfare that the company just does not dare get involved with. They spend twelve days in hiding, and Croker is haunted by what happened. The screams of Limpa, the laughter of the lady, the horror of things they're involved with that should be scrubbed from this world. And uh, I've got another one for you here.

SPEAKER_01 39:51

I don't think he's gonna have any uh I don't think there's gonna be any more goon seshes to the lady after that one. I don't I somehow think that's over. Um around. Uh you start to realize maybe it's not great this whole thing. No. I am haunted by the conviction that those bent upon the lady's eradication are little better than she. I am haunted by the clear knowledge that, in the end, evil always triumphs. Oh my trouble. There is a nasty black cloud crawling over the hills to the northeast. Everybody's running around grabbing weapons and saddling horses. Raven is yelling at me to get my butt moving. Hooray.

SPEAKER_04 40:35

Bit of uh bit of existential dread from Croker there. Um, fully justified. Justifiably so, yeah, for sure. I don't think anyone can say that he hasn't, you know, toughed it out sufficiently up until this point. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Now we move on to chapter five, Harden. So the black company is in full retreat and find themselves in the windy country. Again, not a terrible name. I'm not getting, you know, we've between the forest of clouds and the windy country, this has so far been, you know, nicely lacking in terms of, you know, we haven't had like the sea of the dead or anything like that. Yeah. It's been pretty wholesome so far. Now who's getting eaten alive by snakes? Well, it's a uh a flat and barren desert wasteland that is battered by an unrelenting magical storm caused by Stormbrinker, which is one of the taken, that goes on hour after hour, day after day. The windy country is not fit for life, which means it's a great place for them to hide. And even though their enemies would have to face unrelenting elemental horror to get to them, that doesn't really provide any comfort to the company. Uh the company's numbers are huge at the moment, not because there's any new recruits, it's because the fugitives of the disasters have drawn themselves to the company, and it now serves as the kind of reign of an even larger force of what can best be described as soldiers. They are, as far as the lady is concerned, the only successful force in the north, and they need to keep it that way. They're making their way to the Stair of Tear, a winding road up a twelve hundred foot rise, which is part of a massive mountain rage. They go in there because it's something that can be easily reinforced, and any man that tries to stop them is to be plundered and left for dead under the unforgiving desert sun. As you do, as you do. Standard. At this point, standard. Um, Croaker is summoned to speak to the captain, and on his way he gets knocked down by a big ass tumbleweed. But it's not just any tumbleweed, it's Shifter, disguised as a tumbleweed, a perfect distraction for this inhospitable climate. I just I just feels like Croaker's getting trolled. Yeah. It's just like Shifter's just out here on side quests being a dickhead. Being a tumbleweed, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:00

You could turn into anything and you pick that tumbleweed just to fuck with me. Just to hell, dude, knock me over.

SPEAKER_04 43:06

What the hell is wrong with you? Son of a bitch. The uh the captain is under a magic dome established by the wizards of the company that is referred to as the Dome of Peace, which gives them shelter in the storm. The captain tells Croker that he is to take the right flank as they are close to their destination. Soulcatcher says that they'll be there tomorrow, and they'll be able to bloody the nose of the circle's wizard that's causing the most hell right now, Harden. The cousin of Whisper and the one who virtually levelled Lords. Croker laughs at the idea that they could stand a chance against Harden, even with the help of Other Taken. And the captain reminds Croker that questioning strategy is the privilege of lower ranks, to which Croker quotes an unwritten law. The lower ranks have the privilege of questioning the sanity and competence of their commanders. It's the mortar holding an army together. I mean in a high stress situation. Basically saying to the captain, Oh, are you good, bro? It's perhaps not the way to go.

SPEAKER_01 44:07

Yeah. Uh well, hey, you gotta know, right? Uh any, it's yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:16

The uh the captain snaps back and says that what keeps them actually moving is guys like him kicking the ass of guys like Croker when they start philosophizing.

SPEAKER_01 44:27

Well, that's that's that's one response. How you doing, bro? I will beat you if you keep talking to me.

SPEAKER_04 44:36

Nice bit of bickering in a fairly bad situation could only go well, right?

SPEAKER_01 44:42

Yeah, just I will kill you if you keep talking to me. Go away. I'm not sure about this, boss. Get the fuck out. Okay, well, all right. Good talk, good talk, good talk. All right. I'll see myself out. Don't worry.

SPEAKER_04 44:57

So Kroker looks to speak with some of his friends and encounters silent goblin and one-eye in the process. Their morale is turned to dirt as their energy has been sapped, keeping the dome up, and they're all about as talkative as silent. As they march onwards, Croker watches as the forces of rebels behind them are slowly taken out by storms sent down by Stormbringer, and these storms are only getting more violent. Slowly the stare of tear begins to materialise on the horizon. It's virtually impassable except for one steep pass, and the land around it is so twisted and gnarled for miles that it's almost like the weathered battlements of a giant's fortress. The company arrives and begins to reinforce it as best they can, and the captain knows the grand strategy. He knows where the Taken wish to make their stand against Harden, while also knowing where to defensively reinforce while the rest of the lady's forces make their way to this new fortress. In time, the personal guard of the lady arrives, with brilliant uniforms, alongside another member of the Taken, known as the Hanged Man. Oh now great. Love that you can probably guess why he's called that, right?

SPEAKER_01 46:04

You can Oh well, you know, there's just there's so many possibilities for why you'd be called the Hanged Man. Maybe it's his favorite pastime, perhaps. He just loves hanging people.

SPEAKER_04 46:21

Well, well, he is improbably tall, lean, and his head is twisted and bloated in a way reminiscent of the corpse of a hanging man. Well, that's not at all what I would have expected. And his is horrific.

SPEAKER_01 46:38

Oh yeah, that's awful. Oh, oh, yep, that he he does indeed look like a hanged man. I didn't realize how literal the names. I was like, oh, he's an executioner. He's the hanged man, because that's what he does. He's you know. Oh boy, that's that sucks. Um so uh hanged men is a taken, right? I yeah, yeah. The fifth one that Croak has seen in person now, and they've all been fucked up, but this one is pretty rough. I would hate to think how the lady made him like that. Oh god, don't don't yeah. That's uh you thought Whisper's fate was bad. Imagine how this poor fucker got You've got to really pull on the legs to get the neck that that stretched.

SPEAKER_04 47:30

You've got to really, you know, and dangling and Yep.

SPEAKER_01 47:35

That contorted and that dangly and that Yeah. Don't like that idea.

SPEAKER_04 47:47

The lady probably took her time with that one. It's got like this was a two-day process written all over it. Like whisper whisper. Yeah, right. Ah, yes, that's that's that is fair, yeah. So as Shai says, the original ten taken were not taken by the lady, but by her husband, who is the OG Sauron. Right, the the dominator, right? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:12

So you're saying it was probably worse.

SPEAKER_04 48:16

It feels like yes, probably worse. Given what given what the lady did to Whisper, the the lady's still not great. Yeah, but at least she didn't make this fucking guy. I mean, to be fair, yeah, you you don't get the name the dominator by being like a nice person. Like that's just I don't just don't think that's how that works.

SPEAKER_00 48:42

Hangman, how'd you become this way? Oh, Dominator gave me some tea and crumpets and we had a nice check, and then boom, I'm not ish.

SPEAKER_04 48:51

I love how you've managed to get an English accent into this. You're welcome. That's impressive, that's impressive.

SPEAKER_00 49:00

It's a condition, asshole, yeah. It's like, what has the dominator done to you? Nothing. This is just how I was born, dick one.

SPEAKER_04 49:11

I'm like a thousand years old and people are still giving me shit about my neck. Like, this isn't fucking high school, leave me alone.

SPEAKER_01 49:20

I'm really sorry, dude. I'm really sorry. Listen, we just saw what happened to the whispering, we just assumed. Sorry, like it's that's my bad, it's my bad, it won't happen again.

SPEAKER_04 49:30

If anything, you gave him a hairline back. You know, he actually was pretty generous. Um at this point we uh we get a quick update from Darling, the little girl Raven saved. According to her, Raven is making her dolls out of wood and is carving them very delicately and intricately. What a pal. But uh this is short-lived as the captain has stuff for Kroker from the lady, the makings of a hospital for him to run. The lady sends two qualified surgeons, a dozen or so trainees, and wagons of supplies. Finally, Croker is able to actually do medical stuff now. It's been a while. It's probably rusty as hell at this point. But he's kind of worried. They've got so many new followers among them that it is overwhelming. He used to see the same few men every day, and now there's men he hasn't seen in weeks. Are they like part of the crowds now or are they gone? Like have they been lost? At night, Raven points out something in the sky, a comet pointed at Charm. But it's not just any comet. This is the Great Comet. Every single event in the saga of the Dominator and the Lady has been presaged by the appearance of this great comet, and the rebels believe that her death may come while it's in the sky. But the biggest concern has to do with the prophecy we mentioned before in the first episode, the reincarnation of the white rose, likely revealing herself while the comet soars through the night sky. The circle is spending a lot of time on this theory, and it's kind of worrisome to the black company and the lady as a whole. I mean, you don't you don't want the reincarnation of some sort of holy saviour when you are going around doing the things you're doing to people like Whisper. It's just serially I mean you just don't want that period. No. No. Um this comet then appears every 37 years or so and it stays in the sky hanging low like a ghost of a god scimitar. What a solid description. Um every so often it's mentioned as being visible in the sky, so we'll presume going forward that it can be seen. The Hanged Man appears like a jump scare and informs them that Whisper has taken rust and that the East could be theirs by next summer. The stand here at the stair is going to uh it's going to be like make or break, and Croker steps away to get some rest before the battle, at which point he has a vivid dream, one of reassurance, something that feels like it was from the lady herself, but he doesn't really understand why. Goblin and One Eye have one of their nonsense magic battles including critters, ape like recreations of one eye with behinds like those female baboons in season, and a bunch of this is a direct quote, jungle nightmares. Baboons with what Behinds like those female baboons in season. I'm assuming, you know, big red, what like that is.

SPEAKER_01 52:30

Ah yes, those baboon butts that are in season. Oh well, you know. I didn't realize there was a season for baboon ass, but great, more cursed knowledge here, unacceptable losses.

SPEAKER_04 52:47

Oh god. I I just I love Goblin and One Eye. They're so they're just they're so like powerful and they just you they just usually to fuck with each other. To prank each other. Yeah. Soulcatcher is a good thing. Just a bit of comic relief, whilst being able to, we assume, casually alter reality on a whim. Um Soulcatcher even watches them and remarks that they are so talented with magic, but they're just using their powers to be whimsical buffoons. You've got this sort of ancient, ancient, extremely powerful sorcerer watching them and being like, they could do so much with this, and this is what they're doing? Are we eating?

SPEAKER_01 53:31

Chasing each other with baboons that look like each other?

SPEAKER_04 53:34

What the hell? What? Stop just trolling each other, do something, for God's sake. The uh the Taken don't do such things, and they are filled with such doom and gloom that it infects armies. I mean that's the other thing, at least one eyeing goblin having fun. Um Soulcatcher then spots a giant pink face floating over the cliff before bellowing harden. The forces are ordered to arms and an overwhelming fractal aurora based attack is stopped by the hanged man, but this seemed to be only a distraction as banners begin to appear everywhere. A full fledged attack is underway, but the strategy is strange, at least to Croker. So before long, bodies make their way to the hospital and Croker rushes to aid them. Somehow, they've been flanked, and Soulcatcher takes to the sky. Croker worked through the night to aid the wounded, but it becomes overwhelming. Soulcatcher appears completely battered and roasted, and tells Kroker to begin loading the wagons. The battle has gone sour, but they have achieved much of their goals. Shifter has done a number to the eighteen, single-handedly killing two of them, Moff and Linger. I mean, Jesus Christ, Shifters and Shifter might be a bit OP, uh, while brutally incapacitating incapacit in oh my god. Incapacitating That's the one. Incapacitating a third called Sidle. But before he can begin loading the caravans, Raven approaches him saying that they've been drafted again. Croker says he doesn't want to go, but Raven says he has to. Plus, if it's an order from the lady, he should do his best to please her, especially since she's taken a bit of a fancy towards him. Ooh. There's potential here for the most fucked up romance you could.

SPEAKER_01 55:22

The goon sessions are back on the menu.

SPEAKER_04 55:30

Nothing can stop him. Nothing can stop him, it turns out. We've talked so many times about how in especially Grimm's fairy tales, the you know, the the women characters are always fit as hell. The lady, apparently, epitome of that. Oh yeah, she has to be, right? There's no way she's not depicted as just the most fit, beautiful thing ever, right? Yeah, yeah. It's you know, even horrifically torturing people in front of him might not be enough to uh to get the desire to go away from Kroker. Crazy. The group boards Soulcatcher's carpet alongside the hanged man. They crack the sky in the carpet and make their way to a meadow, in the centre of which is Harden. He does not expect their swift arrival, and the Taken take full advantage of it. What follows is a crash landing and a violent assault from three of the Taken on the unsuspecting wizard. Stormbringer, who we get to see in non-weather form for a bit, uh, she's described as a woman with a small and unimposing frame that doesn't really match her bafflingly strong weather power. There's also Soulcatcher and the Hanged Man, and they gang up on Harden and his men, and it's an almost unintelligible bloodbath caused by a horrific volume of sorcery. Yeah, as as you do, as you do. What what a what an excellent bit of phrasing there from Possum. Caused by a horrific volume of sorcery. It's it's so like weirdly graphic.

SPEAKER_01 56:59

Um Yeah, that's not what I'd expect Stormbringer to look like at all. Relatively normal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 57:08

Relatively.

SPEAKER_01 57:09

Like like like you said, just a weirdly small frame for someone making such big old storms like that.

SPEAKER_04 57:15

Yeah. I might I'm not even freaked out by her. That's that's a first for the taking so far.

SPEAKER_01 57:21

Yeah, I was kind of expecting like an old man with a big grey beard and just kind of like arms up, big robes, kinda like Gandalf looking. For like a stormbringer. Yeah, it's a scarecrow ass getup. It sure is, shy. It's kind of cool. I kinda like it actually. It's not bad.

SPEAKER_04 57:38

Oh god. So they they they you know jump on Harden. Harden is able to take out two of the Imperial Guard that joined him on the carpets, and seems ready to rally. Raven rushes in and slashes his belly, only to be met with chainmail and a fist directly to his temple. Croaker jabs a blade through Harden's hand. Harden attempts to mount his horse, but his horse begins to melt. Oh that that's that is possum even specifies yes, you you did read that correctly. The horse begins to melt. Um alright, that's cool. Poor bastard.

SPEAKER_01 58:16

I like the horse has done nothing wrong. Come on. Yeah. Also, that's a weird picture, Shy. I I just maximized it and nothing about that picture makes any sense.

SPEAKER_04 58:27

Like it looks like the horse has like himself I can kind of I can I can get to grips with, but the horse, mind you, is the horse melting right now.

SPEAKER_01 58:35

Is that Yeah, I was I was gonna say that that looks like an unfortunate picture to use a far. But anyway, his horse has melted, eh?

SPEAKER_04 58:46

I mean, if it you know what, if it's AI and and and the horse it's just spat that horse out like that and no one prompted that the horse to be melted, it did a terrible job. I'm just saying. If it is supposed to look like a melting mangled horse, then that is that is an excellent interpretation. I suspect if it's AI, it probably it probably isn't. It probably isn't an excellent interpretation, it just fucked it up. Probably. Yeah. But yeah, that's so harden in trouble, horse is melted. You know, it's a hot day, these things happen. Uh except, except, it's not actually melting, it's transforming. And Harden finds himself situated on the back of Shifter.

SPEAKER_01 59:33

Oh wow. Oh, that sucks for you, brother. That is unfortunate.

SPEAKER_04 59:40

Once the absolute king of trolling, shifter's back, pretending to be another an enemy's horse.

SPEAKER_01 59:50

Oh boy, that's so okay. Well, it was nice knowing you, Harden.

SPEAKER_04 59:57

Shifter had the horrible staff that's a woman that's been like squished and elongated. Yeah. I hate that. I hate it. I hate it even more since one of the comments uh on uh on the previous uh black company episode was like Kirioth, I don't think you fully considered that there's a good chance that the woman is still alive and conscious and just stuck like that. And that thanks. I forget who said that, but thank you and go fuck yourself.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:23

You know, we we we usually recommend that you do comment and leave your feedback, but um don't feel like you have to. Yeah, don't feel obligated for shit like that that's gonna stay with us forever. Oh god, like, comment, and subscribe.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:43

I I distinctly remember reading that comment and being like, oh no, that's way why'd you make it worse? It was already bad. Why'd you make it worse for me?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:53

Oh no, he's right. That probably is what's going on. Oh no.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:00

There's just no need for it. There's no need. No. Um the uh the sight of uh Harden's horse turning into Shifter uh makes Kroker laugh uncontrollably to the point where he just misses the rest of the fight. He's literally just laughing his ass off all over the floor. Fair enough. Fair enough. Uh Hardin is cut to pieces while Shifter holds him down. Oh it's so rough. And uh in the corner is the Hanged Man doing the Peter Griffin pose with Hardin's blade embedded in his skull. Shifter, realizing what I like, he's gone out like a legend. He's taken one of them out by the sounds of it. Um it's crazy. Absolutely crazy.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:47

What was the hanged man's uh power? Did he have like a specific, unique thing, or was he just a strong uh sorcerer? Strong as hell, wizard. Okay. I wasn't I wasn't sure if it was it was like a speci because like shifter shape shifts, soul catcher catches souls. I was like, what the fuck does the hangman do? What does he just hang you?

SPEAKER_04 1:02:08

I think he's a limper, he's he's he's sort of a limper type, where it's yeah mostly a case of just magical as hell. He's just he's just a just a big magical boy. Yeah. From what I think. That looks weird, yeah. Yeah. That looks weird. So yeah, the hangman got a blade stuck in his skull, and Shifter wants to help, but Soulcatcher and Stormbringer don't. In fact, they think it's best that he just stays dead. This upsets Shifter a lot, and we'll discuss this more in a bit. Soulcatcher looks at Raven and Croker and basically says, You didn't see nothing, did you? Soulcatcher says he was too busy fighting Harden to see anything, especially since Harden was fighting Raven, right? And Croker's like, yeah, sure, boss. Uh before Soulcatcher has them leave on one of the carpets. Raven's brought to the carpet, but his eyes are wide. The concussion did a number on him. He actually does have no idea what happened. Convenient. The fighting is just so funny to me every time. It's just constant, like, oh no, we lost another one. Whatever, shall we?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:18

Whatever is it. Also, I feel like if if Shifter is one of the people that's like, hey, this is really making me mad, we should we should help the hangman. I feel like I feel like you should side with Shifter. He took out how many of the, what is it, 18? Didn't he take out, including Harden? He took out like three of them.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:35

Three are dead, and one has been horribly wounded by Shifter. Like Shifter's been putting in work, like absolutely insane work. Let's not upset this man.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:46

All right, let's let's let's let's let's not let's not ruin Shifter's day.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:51

Let's make sure Shifter is happy with us, okay?

SPEAKER_04 1:03:54

Yeah. Crazy. We've got a eulogy from Shy. Uh R.I.P. Harden, one of the most powerful rebel leaders and fighter for truth and justice against ladies' tyranny. Oh wait, Harden possessed a vile, volatile, unpredictable temper. He was every bit as ugly as the apparition that heard appeared during Goblin's Bout with One Eye. Harden was as big a villain as any of the taken. Oh, I see. All right.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:20

Well, that well, you know, good thing he's dead. I love, I love this book. I love it. Crazy. I I'm surprised the lady didn't show up to take him, too.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:34

I mean, oh, I wonder if they just cut him up too quick. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:39

Lady's like, oh, come on. I wanted that one. They got rid of the hang, man. We've got room for an Even she was like, nah, fuck that guy.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:54

Even I have standards. So they arrive back to the rest of the company as a retreat is about to take place. They've killed a lot of rebels, but the sheer exhaustion is running them ragged. They need to go, and the injured need to be transported elsewhere. Croker puts Raven onto a wagon heading for medical care, and responsibility of the little girl darling falls to him. They need to make their way to the home of the lady. The tower. That's it. It's just called the Tower. Ominous as hell. Croker speaks with Elmo and suggests that maybe they need to tell the captain he should break his ties with Soulcatcher. Elmo is essentially like, dude, we took out Harden and we're actually winning. Why are you upset? Croak says. So that's you know, he'll tell him when there's no taken around. Croker has one last dream, another golden dream. What seems like the voice of the lady tells him that her faithful need have no fear, and for a brief moment he sees the lady's face. And uh, I've got another one for you here.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:56

Alright. And then it was gone, and the Fear returned, not lessened in the least. The days passed, the miles wore away, the great ugly block of the tower hove hove over the horizon, and the comet grew even more brilliant in the nighttime sky. Hove over is such a weird thing to say, because I just I really wanted to say hover over. It's like the tower hove over, and it's like, you mean hover? No, I don't actually. It's like, damn it.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:29

That is that is one of those ones where the brain just isn't equipped to have that specific order of words. Like just it's just not built for it.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:37

It's really not. Hove over?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:39

Are you sure?

SPEAKER_01 1:06:41

Yes, we're sure. It's right, we're sure. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:47

Now, chapter six, Lady. Uh oh no. The company then is free from the horrific wasteland of the desert and finds themselves in a walled-in town. It's a very special occasion for two people, specifically Feather and Journey. They're on their honeymoon and celebrating a promotion because they both got promoted to the circle of eighteen, and they are resting blissfully in this citadel. This place is so far away from the lady that there's no reason to garrison or anything. This turns out to be untrue, because they do put up a fight against the company's wizards, but it's not enough to stop them, and they are now prisoners of war. Yes, of course.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:33

I was waiting for that part. I mean, I'm I'm I'm surprised they were taken prisoner. So that's that's that's great. That's it's gone better than we expected. Not exactly the honeymoon they were expecting, but uh at least you're alive, I guess. Question mark. Could be worse. Could always be worse.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:52

It could be way worse, as we've seen. Way worse. The company makes their way back to safer territory, but the trek is treacherous. At one point they look from the top of a hill and see an enemy encampment with somewhere around 30,000 well-armed men, and on the horizon they see camps of an even bigger size. However, they're not really moving. You see, the death of three circle members, including Harden, has caused a huge degree of infighting among the circle. So movement has been stalled. Everyone, everyone just sucks. Everyone's terrible. Everyone's just like, well, I should be in charge now. Like it didn't no matter what the side is, whether it's the rebels, whether it's the lady, the constant bickering and like manoeuvring is crazy.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:42

Did did we say Journey and Feather are part of the 18-2 or no? Yes. Decently promoted to be part of the French. Right, right, right, right.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:50

Okay. And then immediately kidnapped. It's like, wow. Good job, good job, guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:56

You really picked a couple of good ones there. And they and I'm assuming they were promoted because you know, Shifter killed a bunch of them. Yep. Got a few vacancies open.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:09

It's the shifter effect. He creates job opportunities all over the rebel bases. Even though the movement has been stalled though, it doesn't mean that these encampments are any less dangerous. So the company has to be careful, especially since they have two high-value prisoners with them. They need to make their way to the ladies' base of operation, which is the tower at Charm. The tower is a massive, featureless black cube that just sits ominously on the horizon. Like even at ten miles away, the cube is absolutely massive. Wait, the so the the the tower is a cube? Yep, it's just a gigantic black featureless cube.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:55

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:01

Because that's isn't that a isn't that a uh a middling sci-fi horror film? Was that the cube? I can't remember. Uh probably. I'm sure there was a sci-fi b the cube. Yeah. I mean, I d you know what, to be fair though, I don't think the cube sounds as good as the tower. I don't think anything once it's once it's tall enough, anything's a tower, right? Like a certain height.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:22

Yeah, and and and and you're right, the tower is way more menacing than the cube. Take them to the cube.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:32

It just doesn't sound great, does it? To the tower. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're gonna put you in the dungeon in the in the cube. In the cube. But it just it doesn't work.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:43

Take them to Detroit.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:46

No, anything but that. Listen. Limper got a better faith than Detroit, come on.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:58

No one no one has no one's having fun in Detroit, let's be honest. It's the same as it's the same as Warsaw in the UK. No one's having fun with that. It's just a place you don't want to go. Now, just for fun, uh Possum hasn't really managed to get into a lot of the one eye slash goblin magic stuff this episode. So uh Possum's thrown one in for good measure. Please please enjoy how perplexing this is. And this is a quote, so you you uh you get this one. Okay. This is this is pretty much we need more one eye and goblin. So here's some more one-eye and goblin because they rule and we don't Of course.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:34

I heard a rustle, turned my head, found myself eye to eye with a snake. It wore a human face. I started to yell, then recognized that silly grin. One eye, his ugly mug and miniature, but with both eyes and no floppy hat on top. The snake snickered, winked, slithered across my chest. Here they go again, I murmured and sat up to watch. There was a sudden violent thrashing in the grass. Farther on, goblin popped up wearing a shit-eating grin. The grass rustled, animals the size of rabbits trooped past me, carrying chunks of snake and bloody needle teeth. Homemade mongooses, I guess. I guessed. All right, all right.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:20

We're just we're just back to them fucking around.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:24

The mongoose and the snake. Yep, yep, yep. Very nice, very nice.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:29

I love them. I love them so much.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:31

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:32

However, unfortunately, the fun is ruined when they realize that the forces of the circle have found them and are making their way towards them. In the distance, Kroker sees a shadow flash by. A flying carpet, but with an unknown pilot. Trailing the carpet is thread like snippets that when touching skin cause grisly green wounds. The threads seem to be drifting toward the company's position intentionally, and Croker fears that Soulcatcher has turned on them. The fears are quelled when the carpet rapidly descends again, and the pilot howls like a wolf at the moon. Sitting on it is another member of the Taken, Howler, as well as the captain, who had been off doing side quests. The captain tells them to get aboard because the lady wishes to see them. Great. Again, again, which was back to back to gooning. Croaker has got a lot of thoughts about this, especially since this was a request, not a demand. It was an almost polite request from her. Croaker is assured that if the lady actually held a grudge against him, that she would simply kill him, while the captain unhelpfully does the black company equivalent of Croker and Lady sitting in a tree. Well, alright, cool, I guess. I like how the captain's getting in on it now. Even the captain's like, I'm gonna rip the piss out of this dude. Who fancies the lady? Come on. Have you seen her husband? You see just everything about what we're doing here? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:06

Did you not see what she did to Whisper? I don't remember anything.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:14

That's that's not good. Suppressing the memories due to trauma is not actually healthy. You'd realise this, right? Uh fine. Get over it. Uh the carpet drops off the prisoners of war before making its way to the lady. As the carpet flies over and lands at the top of the tower, Croker remarks at the intuitive nature of the structure as well as the field around it, as it seems that the lady is working on manufacturing the stages of battle that the rebels will encounter. Outside there are three distinct levels made of wood and excavated earth that will bottleneck the rebels and force them to fight her way if they plan on rushing the tower. As Kroker watches the workers moving and reinforcing the gigantic walls, a ballista falls from the upper tier, causing him to be launched and severing an artery in his arm. He's rushed to get treatment from a surgeon sorcerer, but Croker is convinced that this was in fact not an accident. I don't know why he'd assume that.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:17

Why would you think that, given everything you've seen? Surely it's just a freak accident, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:15:22

Must have been the wind. Per the request of the lady, Croker, who is in a wheelchair temporarily for his injuries, is wheeled into the inner tower. This is as far as locations are concerned, the most sacred place in the Empire of the Lady. Only the Lady and the Taken have entered this place, and as the door closes behind him, the wheelchair moves on its own, and he sees something in the distance that only existed in his fantasies.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:58

Of course, of course, of course. She turned and I saw what every man sees in his dreams perfection. She did not have to speak for me to know her voice, her speech rhythms, the breathiness between phrases. She did not have to move for me to know her mannerisms, the way she walked, the odd way she would lift her hand to her throat when she laughed. I had known her since adolescence. Yikes. In seconds, I understood what the old stories meant about her overwhelming presence. The Dominator himself must have swayed in her hot wind. It's a weird way to put it. I don't like that. I don't like that he essentially ended that with like, yeah, the Dominator loved her girl stink. I don't like that at all, dude. That is a wild interpretation. I don't like it, dude. The Dominator himself must have swayed in her hot wind. That's what he said.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:03

It's look, it's a it's a weird one. It's some weird statement. I'll give you that.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:09

Exactly, Shy. You get it.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:17

So Shy said, spoiler, our guy Glenn has a type. All hot girls in these books are pale, long, raven-haired beauties with dark eyes. Look, turns out, turns out he just he loved, he loved a goth girl. Yeah, he just couldn't get enough.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:34

I'm not gonna sit here judging him. I mean, that's that that's there's nothing abruptly awkward about that. That's your type. That's your type. You know, it's there's it's a it's a perfectly valid type. I'm you know, I get it.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:46

100%. 100%. Let's be let's be honest. There are plenty of authors out there who have had much more questionable preferred types than Goth Girl. Yeah. You know? Yeah. In the grand scheme of things, the least harmful, probably. I'm not sure why. I was kind of expecting the lady to be blonde. Uh yeah, I think I I think for me there's something just the name the lady, there is something kind of it's slightly elfy about the whole thing. Yeah. I'm not really sure why uh where that's come from.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:20

Or you or I was sort of getting that like uh either like princess or queen with like the long, flowy blonde hair vibe.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:27

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:29

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:30

But that's you know, that's that's super tropey. It's not gone that way. It's gone goth. So Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:36

Good for him. Glenn says she has to have black hair. Yeah, well it's fine too.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:43

It has been decided. Yeah. So the lady studies Croker and says we meet again with a voice that is everything he expected and more. Of course, seeing her is equal parts awe inspiring and terrifying, and even more terrifying is how her approach causes every single thought in his mind to spill out openly. His fears, his desires, his secrets, everything he has seen first hand since they became bound to the service of the lady. Literally everything. He then snaps awake and finds himself being pushed again by a guard. The lady has released him, and his wound is healed. Oh I mean Wow, Jesus Christ, Shy. Thankfully he's sitting, so she can't notice his hard on.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:27

Well I mean after all that, I mean he yeah, he probably is, you know, at attention, as they say.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:37

He might not be. Did say that Possum has said the lady has released him. That's true. You know.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:45

Little did you know that was just a euphemism.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:50

I feel like I feel like Possum's going to be very upset at that point.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:53

We've released yeah, we we've we've really reached the climax of the story, one might say. Wheel me to the bathroom, please. My pants are in need of changing. Exactly, Shy.

unknown 1:20:09

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:11

Possum's gonna be so bad. There's a dark company subreddit somewhere that's gonna be so mad at you you were doing so well, and then you just had to you just had to ruin it.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:24

You just had to ruin it. You just had to do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:28

I'm sorry. I have the mind of a of a of a fucking 20-year-old, I guess. This guy this guy was joking to a fantasy of that woman for half of the He has been fantasizing about her basically from chapter one, right? Like, give us a break. There's no way we're the first people to make these jokes. There's no way. These books have been around since before I was born. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:54

They've been around since before I was born. Yeah. Like that's that's you know, that's kind of like someone some of both got there first, all right? Yeah, yeah. Much like Kroker, but no, never mind. But returning to camp. Terrible. Absolute dog shit. Uh returning to camp, Kroker learns that there was an assassination attempt against Raven during the night. Presumably one of the many lovers that tried to kill him before. I don't know if that's true. I've just said it, and now I don't want people to think that that's actually what happened. It could be.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:23

You never know.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:26

Luckily, Darling hit the attacker with her doll and scared them off before they could kill the sleeping man. One eye remarks that this is very suspicious. The hyper-aware assassin slept through an attack while a child who can't speak and likely can't hear very well was able to detect an intruder. He believes that it was sorcery. The Croaker then ties things together and believes that they may have very recently stumbled across a conspiracy against the lady at the hands of the Taken. He recalls how during the battle against Harden and Whisper that the hanged man died and it genuinely upset Shifter. This, of course, is after Limpa was set up from the start. Maybe there's more to this circle than they thought. Maybe this is a conspiracy within a conspiracy. Maybe the Taken, like Soulcatcher and Stormbringer, are attempting to usurp the lady by bringing back something behind her back. The Dominator. Maybe that's already been done and his influence is already manifest in the circle. You don't want that guy back.

unknown 1:22:29

No.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:29

No one wants the dominator back. The dominator being back would not be good for anybody. Mm-mm. Nope. Especially not the lady, I feel like.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:36

Yeah, and probably not great for Croaker, who's been uh, you know, fantasizing about his uh, you know. Yeah, don't want the dominator finding out about that one.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:48

Just by name alone, I think the jealous type. You know?

SPEAKER_00 1:22:53

Yeah, you know, it does kind of lean that way, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_04 1:22:57

There's something about it that just, you know, uh I don't know what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:02

He looks friendly. He looks more friendly than I assumed he would look. Like he dominator kind of just looks like, you know, he's he's like a medieval, evil warlord. I don't know why, but when I picture like the Dominator, I pick like this I pictured like this big, larger than life, actual like monster. Like not even like a human, just like this otherworldly monstrous deal.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:25

Whereas in reality, he's just got the classic uh World of Warcraft pauldrons and helmet, which is a strong choice. Yeah, strong choice. But before before before before the uh the sp the popularity, you know. Uh in the book, his physical physical appearance is described as huge, handsome, and physical perfection.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:44

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:45

Yeah, that's not true.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:49

So so he and the lady would make some absolutely peak kiddos. There they would have the genetics of a guard. 100%.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:57

100%. Now, unfortunately, this uh this thought process when it comes to potential conspiracy has to wait because the rebels have finally reached the charm. The movement of troops is as far as the eye can see, and they march toward the battlefield that has been, unfortunately for them, preordained by the lady. The rebels begin to bridge the trenches with beams that are imbued with power to protect them from ballistic assault, and they attempt to move. But the slaughter is insurmountable. On the first day, the rebels lose at least 10,000 soldiers without even directly making contact with the lady's forces.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:39

That is major. Also, the the way we've been talking today has has has physically altered my brain. I saw that picture shy post, and I was like, damn, that's a thick button. It's like, nope, that's the that's the that's the burlap sack around there, please. That's not there. That's not just two gigantic cheeks. That's okay. Great.

SPEAKER_04 1:25:00

As soon as I saw the small version of that, whenever I even clicked it, I was like, there's the the the cheeks are gonna have to be commented on, and I'm just like Oh, you saw it too!

SPEAKER_01 1:25:11

Thank God you saw it too. Okay, cool, cool, cool. I was like, oh man. Call me croaker the way I just be seeing these things, man.

SPEAKER_04 1:25:22

Jeez. I'd like it was like a like a a two-layer like revelation of god damn. There's an there's an arse on that soldier. And then I was like that's America's ass. Kind of high up. I'm not sure what the anatomy of this is.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:40

Yeah, but and yeah, no, and then I clicked on it, it's like, oh yeah, that's the yeah, that's like the the the pack.

SPEAKER_04 1:25:46

Yeah, okay. Makes far more sense. Makes far more sense than carrying cake uh in your lower back, which is effectively what that would have to be.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:56

Uh well, I mean, we saw the hanged man, who knows what happens here, right? It's true. It's true. The hanged man, this is the packed ass. You know, what are you gonna do? God damn it. So stupid.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:12

So stupid.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:14

We've croak has really done a number on us with his own. He sure has. He sure has. That's crazy. He's he's brought the tone of this podcast right down. Holy shit. Now uh and to to segue smoothly back to the news that 10,000 soldiers are dead. Um it's no real easy way to get back to that. Segue. It only gets worse. It only gets worse because as soon as nightfall happens, the the taken go off on one as well. So Stormbringer sends nightmarish storms with rubble and serpents. It's an insane combination. Jesus. Wreaking havoc. I mean, as it would. Like you're getting pelted with stones and then a viper bites you. Like where where's the logic? What's happening? Um Fire and Brimstone coats the battlefield, and though the circle does respond, they never take an offensive stance. The Taken are far too powerful, and by midnight the battlefield was silent. By dawn on the second day, the true impact of the Taken's handiwork is evident. Corpses are everywhere and are horrifically mutilated. The captain, while observing the scene, is informed that Shifter died in the night, though the specifics are not unknown. Shifter's dead. Well, well, it's it seems like seems like he's gone, but three of the circle also died. So once again.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:44

He took out six of the eighteen.

SPEAKER_04 1:27:49

What's that? Look, look, Shifter had a hell of a a hell of a KD ratio, all right? Absolutely, absolutely Yeah. It's 250,000 rebel troops plus 18 wizards versus 21,000 of the ladies' army slash black company plus ten taken wizards. I mean that that first day, even if you got 250,000, 10,000 in day one, that's rough. And that's before making direct contact with the ladies' armies. That is crazy.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:24

Golly. And you've lost three of the uh 18 in the circle. That's and you've got two of them imprisoned, right? Yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:32

It's it's it's bad. It's bad if you're a rebel right now. So you know, overwhelming numbers. Ten to one, yeah. So rumors would begin to circle around that the members of the circle were killed by some sort of cat-like beast, something so strong and so quick that counterattacks were meaningless. To the company, this sounded an awful lot like the four valaka that we talked about in the first episode, but to Croker it didn't seem as cut and dry. Though it sounded like a four valaka, the movement and presumed stealth nature of the attack sounded more like shifter. Suddenly, one eye would slam his fist into a hanging piece of meat near the dinner tents. He'd figured it out how a four valaka could move so swiftly and strategically in a bastion while attacking specific targets, how that attack could result in not only the clean killing of the syndic's household, but also allow for the lady to take over that town. The four valaka that killed those people that killed his brother Tom Tom in Beryl wasn't real. It was Shifter. It had to be. Like that is what makes the most sense. And one eye was in mental anguish over the revelation, especially since he could never confront Shifter about it personally, because he was supposedly dead. But it's worth pointing out at this stage, no body had been found. But it makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:59

It makes sense. Yep, yep. It is Shifter. If they didn't find a body, he could he could be anyone. Anyone, anywhere.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:08

He could be a tumbleweed, yeah. Croker returns to his medical work when a member of a new member of the Taken arrives. So Bone Nasher is a gigantic man, about eight feet tall, and and this is insane, and six hundred pounds of pure muscle.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:26

Eight feet tall and six hundred pounds of muscle?

SPEAKER_04 1:30:31

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:32

Bro. He's that boy's taking his protein, his creatine. Oh golly.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:42

And yet he's st he's he's still natty. We don't really understand how. He is what Big E was talking about when he talked about big meaty men slapping meat. That is what he wanted.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:59

Oh, he absolutely is good. And look at those teeth on him. Cheapers. The sword is hilariously. So funny. Even even uh even a JRPG Protag couldn't hold that thing.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:15

Yep. He uh steps in at the behest of the lady to kind of serve as a protectorate, and while Croker works in the makeshift hospital, one eye refuses to break eye contact with this taken. Suddenly a gigantic black shadow erupts from outside and crashes into Croker. It was a four Villaca, the one on the ship. It had madness in its eyes and was dead set on killing him. Fortunately, before the beast could finish the job, Bone Nasher shows the company why he has that name. To be fair, I think we could already guess. Yeah, you know. Always nice to have it confirmed, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:55

Yeah, yeah. Oh, he's he's he's eight feet tall, six hundred pounds of muscle, covered in blood, big sword. Why is he called Bone Nasher? Because you anyway. Bone Nasher reached the man leopard's point of impact the moment it did so. One eye unleashed a spell that blinded me. The four Volaka and everyone watching, I heard the beast roar. Anger became agony. My vision returned. Bonecher had the monster in a deadly hug. Right arm crushing its windpipe left its ribs. It clawed air futily. It was supposed to have the strength of a dozen natural leopards. In Boneasher's arms, it was helpless. The Taken laughed and took a bite from its left shoulder. One eye staggered over me. Should have had that guy with us in barrel, I said. My voice quavered. Hardcore. Hardcore. Boneasher do what Boneasher do. Golly. And he just decided to take a bite out of him too. Just Yeah. Just a snack to get through the rest of the evening.

SPEAKER_04 1:32:56

Feeling a bit peckish. Don't take a point. And Andy's a wizard, yeah. Jesus. Yeah. I don't think even Shifter would want to fight Bone Asher. Oh god, yeah. I mean, I you just wouldn't want to go in near him.

SPEAKER_03 1:33:13

No, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:33:15

He looks like he would accidentally kill you if going for a handshake. Yeah. Just just, you know, just a careless like a stumble and reaching out a hand would just murder the average person if he tried to put his weight on them.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:30

Or just like a uh a a good job pat on the back and you're just your skeleton erupts out from the front of you. What is your bone asher? We warned you about this. God.

SPEAKER_04 1:33:43

You killed another one. You've you've gotta you've gotta stop doing the the like the friendly shoulder punch. Yeah. You've gotta stop. You have you have removed the torso of like eight people this week. Please.

SPEAKER_00 1:33:58

Yeah, I was being gentle.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:03

True, the last one just turned to mist, so you're slowly getting better. Yeah, you're getting a little better. Painful death.

SPEAKER_04 1:34:13

At least there's parts left, I guess. We can identify this one. That's progress. Well done. Um, as the life left the creature's eyes, Croker witnessed it turn into something vaguely female before he rushed from the hospital with one eye. They both passed Stormbringer and Soulcatcher as they rushed to the safety of the tower, because the rebels were making another assault. Uh also it's tough to throw in when it happens, but it should be noted that what happens to the four valaka is that they decide to crucify it and put it on display. But the resilience of the four valaka assures that it's very much alive while crucified, and it writhes and screams the whole time. Great. Great lovely. Just really stop through. Ugh. This time the lady decides that it's time for her to join the fray. She rides out on a gigantic horse clad in red and gold. Her white scarves are complemented by her dark hair that's kept neat under a tricorn hat. Despite being ancient, she looks no more than twenty, and on either side of her are menacing black horses with riders that have concealed faces. She summons Croker to join her so that he can see what's about to happen personally. She wants the upcoming events to be properly recorded in at least one place. So ominous. She snaps her finger, and the rider on the left raises a silver horn and reveals her identity. The former circle member, Feather. The one of the married couple that were kidnapped on the night of their honeymoon, um, is now one of the taken, it seems.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:56

Ah, right, sure. I mean, she she has shown that she is more than capable of doing that.

SPEAKER_04 1:36:02

Um is uh is is Journey also in there, or um are we uh assuming to mention that because uh 'cause Feather uh plays a like there's a there's the sound of a horn that plays a sweet note that rings out across the battlefield. And the lady snaps her finger again, and the horseman on the right, Feather's husband Journey, raises his spear. The retaining wall near the tower explodes, and rushing out from the debris are the most formidable cavalry scene yet. War elephants.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:35

Oh nice!

SPEAKER_04 1:36:36

War elephants.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:38

We love a good war elephant. Let's go! Absolutely love.

SPEAKER_04 1:36:42

Oh man. We love him.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:44

We're going to 300 territory here. They've got the hot gates and everything.

SPEAKER_04 1:36:50

I will say um I d don don't anyone don't anyone comment on the like uh the incorrect word for a number of elephants. Possum knows what the right word is, but frankly, saying that the fleet of raging elephants advance towards the rebels is way funnier than saying herd. It's it's just a fleet of elephants a fleet of war elephants is I think that should be the correct term, and I'm back in Possum all the way on that one.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:23

I'll go with you on that. They're both all right, like, oh yeah, the herd of elephants is fine, but a fleet of war elephants does sound really, really good, actually. I'm not I'm I won't fight you on this one.

SPEAKER_04 1:37:36

A herd of war elephants sounds disorganized. A fleet of war elephants sounds extremely rude.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:42

That sounds very organized and very per herd is like, oh, they were stampeding and randomly came through here. Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_04 1:37:51

Um so yeah, they they are advancing immediately towards the rebels, and uh unfortunately the rebels have no idea what the fuck a war elephant even is. They trample through the makeshift bridges and siege towers as if they're toothpicks, and countless rebels are stomped into the ground whilst running for their lives. The lady makes another gesture, resulting in whisper and soul catcher descending from the skies. They roll forward and attack the stragglers that are fleeing. The only reason they don't move fast is because the sheer volume of slaughter that they are causing is slowing them down. Like that they are they are killing too many people to act quickly. Wow. Crazy.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:30

All right, cool, cool. I wonder what the actual numbers are now, because it it it was 250k to 20k, right? I I I would be curious after the fleet of war elephants makes minced meat out of their lines. I I gotta believe it's under 200k now. It's gotta be like 150k. I'm sure they've gone through a hundred thousand people by now.

SPEAKER_04 1:38:56

If your like godlike powerful wizards are struggling to move quickly because of the sheer number of people that they're kidding. There's just too many bodies to sludge through. You gotta assume that casualties are high strophic. Yeah. Eventually, pure numbers and enough aimless shooting and stabbing does bring down the elephants one by one, but the damage has been done, and the rebels retreat again. Fair. Um The lady looks at Croker and says, Record it as you saw it, analyst, before returning to the tower. The Taken go off to fight more battles, but ultimately it's a nightw a night worth celebrating in the tower, but there wasn't going to be a celebration tonight, because one eye tells Croaker about the things he'd missed. Stormbringer and Bone Nasher got into a fight and killed one another.

SPEAKER_00 1:39:51

Oh what? But d Stormbringer killed Bone Nasher?

SPEAKER_04 1:39:57

They took each other out. Like the ten are just falling apart. It's incredible. They 1v1 and traded? Yep.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:08

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:10

Wow!

SPEAKER_00 1:40:11

Eight foot tall, six hundred pounds of muscle. Dead already?

SPEAKER_04 1:40:16

Yeah, but you gotta remember that that that that Stormbringer was throwing storms made out of rocks and snakes. That's that's true.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:24

That's that is that is true. I I guess the fact that w, you know, uh Bone Nasher managed to trade with Stormbringer is pretty impressive, considering who knows what the fuck Stormbringer threw at him.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:35

Let's be honest, a guy that big with a sword that big made of metal, that is that he is a lightning rod. You know that that's true. That yeah you summon a lightning storm above that guy, no one else is getting hit. It's only him. It's only him. Um that night, Elmo finds Kroker and delivers a message. Tower, Kroker, your girlfriend wants you. Take your bomb. We don't know whether Bo is a euphemism for something, but um he enters the inner tower, but no games were being played tonight. The lady meant business and confirms Kroker's theories immediately. And I've got another another quote for you. I guess building an empire on magically enslaved psychopaths is not a step of I mean I'm in the U any you know what?

SPEAKER_01 1:41:27

I'm not going there. I'll I'm just gonna read the damn quote. I'm just gonna read the quote. My husband isn't dead. You know that. He's behind it all. He's been awakening very slowly, but enough to have reached some of the circle. Enough to have touched the females among the taken. They'll do anything for him, the bitches. I watch them as close as I can, but I'm not infallible. They get away with things. This battle, it isn't what it seems. The rebel army was brought here by members of the circle under my husband's influence. The fools. They thought they could use him to defeat me and grab power for themselves. They're all gone now, slain. But the thing they set in motion goes on. I'm not fighting the white rose. Annalyst an analyst, though, a victory over the stillness would come from this as well. I'm fighting the old slaver, the dominator, and if I lose, I lose the world. Wah won wa.

SPEAKER_04 1:42:24

He's coming back. Yep. Coming back, and he wants what's his in the creepy way. And honestly. Yep, yep, yep, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Might have might have made a something of a mistake getting this attached to the I was gonna say lesser of two evils. Potentially. I mean still atrocious.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:46

But that's the same thing. Yeah, I uh that's that's that's that's a tough one. I I don't yeah, there's I I mean, I guess between the two the lady is the Yeah, I g I guess. Question mark. The slightly less awful. Yeah, they're still both really, really bad though.

SPEAKER_04 1:43:03

They're still both terrible. Um The lady says that tomorrow will be the end no matter what. The end of what is uncertain, but she tells him to leave for now. And as he leaves, he is again hit with confusion as to the true time and goes to rest. The comet looks even lower than before now as well. More deaths have occurred among the taken, too. The faceless man and moonbiter had killed one another, while Nightcrawler was killed by the rebels. Word reaches the camp that the rebels are claiming that they found the reincarnation of the White Rose, but the wizards of the company call bullshit. The rebels slowly make their way to the tower again, with a child on horseback that is clearly meant for both intimidation and morale boosting. But the movement of the rebels was different. They were more in lockstep and unison. They were far more organized and far more rapid with their assault. The rebels begin that assault, but the false white rose and the council surrounding her only act when a taken is nearby. The lady descends and has her freshly minted taken do numbers on the forward advancing troops, while Howler flies behind enemy lines dropping strange orbs. Something is weird about this assault and Croker cannot figure out why. Then, something baffling happens. Howler returns, flying high above in his carpet, howling like he normally does, but he is going fast, like impossibly fast. It becomes clear that he isn't truly howling, he's actually screaming. And he screams as his carpet proceeds to fly directly into the side of the tower, causing Howler to hit it so hard that he pancakes.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:38

Oh, that's sad. Howling Mooney Tunes death. Yeah, there's something really funny about that. Awful, but just something about like ah skunk. Alright, cool, cool. That is crazy.

SPEAKER_04 1:44:53

Like what the hell? Yeah, Wiley coyotied. He really did. Fully uh fully, fully splatted into the tower and then sort of crumpled down the side of the wall. Yeah. All Croker can say is, oh my god, before making eye contact with the lady. She was angry, truly angry. This was not enemy action that killed Howler, it was a taken. She demanded Croker take his bow and follow her immediately, and without even controlling his mount, they made haste. Soulcatcher was already on the run, and death surrounded them as they fled. They tore through camps, woods, people, and battlements, trying to keep pace with Soulcatcher, and all Kroker could do was pity what would happen to them when the lady caught them. The pursuit ends when both Kroker and the lady's horses die by spell based intervention and sheer exhaustion. The Crave. Even the horses don't get out okay, Jesus. No. The lady and Croker pursue on foot and Croker shoots a figure dressed as Soulcatcher. This is a decoy that bought Soulcatcher enough time to mount a carpet and ascend to the sky. The lady snaps her finger and the gigantic dragonfly reappears and slams into it, causing the pilot to fall to the ground violently. They rip the helmet off of the figure, and Croker is satisfied with the kill. But the lady is not. This is a man, and Soulcatcher is not a man, and Croker may be the last person to find this out. The lady really reinforces this for the next bit by calling Soulcatcher a bitch at least twenty times whilst they hunt for her. So I'm I'm assuming crashing out.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:39

I I'm assuming Soulcatcher has turned because of the Dominator's influence. More or less.

SPEAKER_04 1:47:09

Oh dear, oh God. So Shy is put in um so on the topic of which one is lesser evil, uh Will Shire will admit some details, but the Dominator was also reviled for his aberrant sexual proclivities. Not only did he develop a reputation as the father of ten thousand bastards ten thousand bastards for the women of the cities that resisted him. He also demanded a new adolescent virgin go in his chambers every night. Oh blanking them. If they were still alive, they were disposed of in a waste canal adjacent to Grendrift, which I'm assuming is where he lived.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:50

Oh shit. I mean, I guess with a name like that, it's oh boy. That's uh that sucks. That's not great.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:05

What's what is it? I'm not I'm not su I'm not like uh I'm not surprised, I'm just disappointed.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:10

Is that the Yeah, I you know, I I I I I I guess the name sort of gives you all the uh boy, that's uh that's that's a that's a spicy meat. Well, that's don't don't love that.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:25

So I don't think we can even read out that last statement when that without a game monetized.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:30

Yeah, he's a bad man. Very plainly but he is a bad, bad man.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:36

Horrible wronging, may he remain dead for at least another thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand years. If he does wake up, it's just to kill him again.

SPEAKER_03 1:48:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:47

I suspect that might not be how this series goes. We have yet to read the rest of them, but uh I have a bad feeling about him flat out. Just saying, I'm just throwing it out there. Um so they cut up they cut up, they cut through the forest and split up briefly. Croker finds something. Soulcatcher's hidden cash. It was the papers that Soulcatcher said she was taking back to the lady. She actually kept them for herself and was using them covertly to betray the lady. Oh I mean, we should have seen it coming, really, shouldn't we?

SPEAKER_00 1:49:19

Yeah, I suppose we should have had it off. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:49:21

Um Croker makes a note of this, but he does not tell the lady what he found. Eventually, while flying on a carpet, they find the real soul catcher on a racing horse. The lady drops the carpet down rapidly until it's roughly two feet off the ground, allowing Kroker to aim a shot directly at the ankle of the horse. But that's not really necessary as the carpet just ran directly into it anyway. Sure. All right, cool, cool. They got her. Croker yeah, they they oh they got her. Uh Croker unleashes arrow after arrow as they fall and tumble. When he regains his footing, he sees the snapped leg of Soulcatcher's horse and Soulcatcher. Soulcatcher on her hands and knees, completely stunned with an arrow sticking out of her waist. He didn't know where the sword he was carrying came from, but that wasn't going to stop him from finishing the job. With a violent swing of the blade, Croker would decapitate Soulcatcher, causing the front of her helmet to pop open. The face that he saw was that of a woman. A woman that looked just like the lady. The face would try to say something before the life left her eyes, and the lady would drag herself to the scene. And I've got another quote for you. Cool armor in that picture, though.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:34

Oh, it really is. Her breathing was shallow, rapid. For a moment I thought it was the pain. Then I saw she was looking at the head. She began to giggle. I looked at that face so like her own, then at her. She rested a hand on my shoulder, allowing me to take some of her weight. I rose carefully, slid an arm around her. Never did like that bitch, she said, even when we were children. She glanced at me warily, shut up. The life left her face. She became the ice lady once more. Ooh. That is quite the That is quite the uh the little revelation there.

SPEAKER_03 1:51:15

Mm-hmm. Woof. God.

SPEAKER_04 1:51:22

Well, that's um, power of awful.

SPEAKER_01 1:51:27

How many of them with what we're expecting? How many of the Taken 10 are still around? Because we've lost I think I think pretty much Are they all dead? OGs are dead. I think we've I think we've lost pretty much all the ones that were Bone Nasher's dead, Limper's dead, Shifter's dead, Stormbringer's dead, um I are they all dead? Hanged Man's dead, sure. God, yeah, they're like all gone, aren't they? All the OG ones are dead. I mean, we've still got Whisper, Journey, Feather, but they were newly minted. Yep. Howler howler got loony. Howler got the wily coyote treatment on the side of the damn tower, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:52:09

Bad times to be a 10, it turns out. Oh, yeah. Just absolutely. Yeah, real not great. Yeah. In that moment, uh, Croker wished he had the energy to cut her head off so it could lie next to her sisters. This deserved no allegiance. He saw what the rebels wanted to destroy, and at that moment he'd actually agreed with them. However, they would return on the carpet to charm and see bodies everywhere. A banner of the rebels sat atop the tower, but there was no movement. They'd gotten inside, but there were no true defenders there. Sure, there were some rebel troops when they landed here and there, but they were a shell at themselves, and they had a bigger issue to face. Clad in brown fighting the rebels was a familiar face. Olymp's back, baby. I was like, do I do I say anything?

SPEAKER_02 1:52:59

How is he back?

SPEAKER_04 1:53:01

He's been he's been re-educated and indoctrinated by the lady. So he's been he got swept off by the giant dragonfly having been eaten inside out by firesnakes. Look, magic is insane in this world. The lady wanted him repurposed, and so here he is. Nice.

SPEAKER_01 1:53:22

Alright. I I I I I guess I I thought they they were just gonna torture him forever, but I alright, sure, sure. Limper's back. I guess one of the OG ten is still around, actually. I'm sure it felt like forever, to be fair.

SPEAKER_04 1:53:36

Yeah. It probably did for him. Yeah, yeah. So as Croker surveyed the dead, he found that some of them did not have wounds. Then it hit him. The lady ordered the greatest massacre in history, and it was already over from the start. The orbs Howler was dropping were riddled with magic disease. He could never figure out a true number, but not one in a hundred rebels survived, and somewhere around a quarter of a million lay dead. That's a lot.

SPEAKER_01 1:54:08

That's a lot of dead people. Holy shit. A quarter of a million.

SPEAKER_04 1:54:12

Like basically just the entire rebel force. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_01 1:54:16

Yeah, they they got all of them.

SPEAKER_04 1:54:18

Oh boy. Crazy. Absolutely horrific. So Croker stands overwhelmed with everything that's occurred. The truth about Soulcatcher, the Dominator's return, and a true ultimate victory from the lady. The vision he sees is the return of the comet and the lady's fall at the hands of the true white rose. But this white rose is familiar. It's Darling, the girl saved by Raven. If this vision is to be believed, then she is the child of prophecy. He's not a religious man, but this premonition is too vivid to ignore. He's snapped out of his vision by Elmo hitting him on the back and saying, God, you look awful. I'm sure he does.

SPEAKER_01 1:54:59

He probably looks like shit.

SPEAKER_04 1:55:01

But I mean nightmare. No no one do look like shit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:55:06

I do have a little quote for you here. I could do nothing but shake my head. He dragged me off the horse and put me away somewhere, and that was the last I knew for hours. Except that my dreams were as disjointed and time loose as the vision, and I did not like them at all, and I could not escape them. The mind is resilient, though. I managed to forget the dreams within moments of awakening. Great.

SPEAKER_04 1:55:30

Again, just you know, just really shove those memories down, get that trauma deep in there.

SPEAKER_01 1:55:36

Really repress the hell out of it, you know. I'm sure nothing bad will happen when you do that, right? Famously, it's a technique that works every time.

SPEAKER_04 1:55:47

Yeah, jeez. So now we move on to chapter seven, Rose. Unlike the other chapters, this one actually starts at the same place, charm. But the attitude is very different, especially on Kroker's end. We open up in the middle of an argument that has gone on for hours between him and the captain. Croker is urging the captain to explore every single option they have so that they can break the contract with the lady. The captain, however, refuses to yield and does not accept Kroker's take, even though he has the backing of multiple men, including Silent. In the end, the shattering of the rebel army is good for the company, and they stand to make big bucks for their service to the lady so far. There is no reason to defect now, but Croker refuses to accept this. I mean I mean, given everything that's been seen, come on, Captain. Come on, man. Like you're not even gonna have a quick glance and see if there's an easy way out. Yeah, I mean, have you seen them turn on each other? Like 250,000 people died yesterday, and you're like, now, now we're good. Yeah. Come on, man. Um Goblin invites Kroker to play cards, and as Kroker settles in, he realizes what this actually is group therapy. Goblin believes being so close to the lady for so long may have unsettled his mind and wishes to help ground him, and Kroker agrees. While talking, the other soldiers talk about the events of the battle that have been missed. Raven is missing and they assume him to be dead, but something occurred that night that they can't explain. At one point, a knockout spell slammed into a platoon. It knocked everyone down, including Raven, but one person still stood, Darling. Darling acted like nothing happened, and she somehow shook everyone back to consciousness. Some believe that it might be because she's deaf, while others believe it may be something more divine. Either way, the others believe her and Raven to be dead, so it doesn't matter. But Croker knows something the others don't. He gestures to Silent and they separate themselves from the group. Croker explains to Silent that upon returning to the tower, he saw Darling and that she is very much alive. He believes that Raven fled, and Silent isn't too sure why he'd do that. He doesn't explain to Silent the dreams he had or the visions, but he says that they should pursue and see if they can find him. Silent agrees and they begin to formulate a plan to track down Raven and goes off to gather more intel before they leave. I mean all signs are pointing towards Raven knowing more than he's letting on, which I quite like. Yeah. So Silent reconvenes with Croker later on and signs that the captain knows something, likely about Darling. Croaker is unable to get the others to join him on this hunt for Raven as most demand marching orders directly from the captain, including a guy called Pickles, who is a bit bothered by the request. Also, there's, as Parson says, there's no real easy way to introduce a man named Pickles, except throwing us all into the deep end. But he's able to get some good money from Elmo, from that big pot of gold they'd left out previously and then reclaimed. They leave with weapons, four horses, money, and a gift that Croker had been saving for Darling for her birthday. As they leave, Elmo jokes about Silent and Croker going for a little ride while Pickle stands there silently. As they depart, Silent signs to Croker that Pickles actually had suspected something was up with Raven and had already provided him rations previously. His frustration and push to not come was actually him trying to protect Raven, even though they were both seeking the same thing. Pickles sounds like a solid guy, to be fair.

SPEAKER_03 1:59:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:59:25

Not like Pickles. It's like a slight conscience in this book. Hell yeah. Who would have thought? You know, we really have seen everything. So as they ride out, they pass the carnage of the battle and the fields of dead and diseased bodies before stumbling to an area where Silent is able to pick up a trail. Wherever Raven is, he's making time as opposed to fully covering his tracks. They make their way west of the tower into a region where Raven is comfortable and familiar. Raven may have the upper hand blending in around here, but the two remain determined, and they ride hard for hours through day and night, town after town, they seldom stop to take a break. If they can't catch him directly, they may as well try and get ahead of him. They ache all over, but it needs to be done. They eventually come across a wooded hill and the exhausted Croker says that he's getting far too old for this before falling asleep. I reckon this whole ordeal is probably prematurely aged by a good decade anyway.

SPEAKER_01 2:00:27

Oh yeah, at the at the very least. Ten, twenty years, yeah. After what you've seen, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:00:32

Agreed. Agreed. Yep. Silent wakes him up and Croker asks if it's because they're nearby, and Silent signs that they're not, but that Kroker should keep watch for a bit, which he did as the comet's light began to wane. After switching, Kroker gets more sleep and is awoken by a pinch from Silent. He believes that this is another shift change, but it's something better. Raven is approaching on foot and he has Darling with him. They descend and position themselves so they can approach unseen, but Darling spots Kroker. She waves very happily, and Kroker waves back. Raven is not happy. There is hatred in his eyes and he's smoldering with anger. Yeah, that sounds about right. Okay. They meet up, but no one wants to speak first. Like Kroker and Silent wanted to encounter Raven, but they didn't really have a plan on what to do when they found it. So Raven's like, What are you doing here? And Kroker says he's looking for Raven and Raven asks why. Kroker says that him and Silent have an interest in Darling and they were worried. Raven essentially points at Darling and says, Here, like you can see her, she's fine. Before Kroker asks how Raven is doing. Raven asks what he means by that, and Croker spells it out for him. And there we go, I've got you a direct a direct Kroaker here.

SPEAKER_01 2:01:52

A direct Kroaker quote. Yep. Um Fellow freezes out his buddies, treats them like shit, then he deserts, makes people wonder enough to go find out what's happening. Yeah, that is a very direct hey buddy, what the fuck are you doing? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:02:10

And fair. Fair assessment, I think. Yeah. Raven asks if the captain knows what's going on, and Kroker essentially says that they probably have an idea, but they also have an idea as to why Raven left. Raven tells Kroker not to stop him, and Croker's is basically like, who's trying to stop you? And why are you arguing with me? If they wanted to stop him, he would have been stopped at the tower. If not by the company, then by the lady herself. Ultimately they just want to know why Raven is leaving and if it matches up with their belief as to why. He wasn't held back, so he shouldn't hold back right now. Raven can't make sense of what they're getting at even though he gets the insinuation. Croker says that him and Silent figure out like figure they're going to list Raven and Darling as killed in action, and no one needs to know the truth of it. But even if they wish them well, abandoning the company is essentially like running away from home. And no matter how justified it is, it will sting for them, especially since Raven was voted into the company. He went through hell with them and they at least wanted to say goodbye. Raven, understanding the crux of it now, says that sometimes something comes up that's so important you can't even tell the best of friends as it could get them all killed. It's the the setup for the second book is right there, and uh and it just makes me very concerned about everyone involved.

SPEAKER_00 2:03:34

Yeah. But I mean, you know, darling, pretty important. Yeah. Pretty, pretty damn important.

SPEAKER_01 2:03:42

I mean, so Raven's not wrong. This is kind of a big deal.

SPEAKER_04 2:03:46

Yeah. So Kroker tells Raven how the rest of the battle went, which Raven assumed was how it went down anyway.

unknown 2:03:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:03:54

I I was I was kind I was there for a little bit and I I saw the writing on the wall.

SPEAKER_04 2:03:59

I I got I had I had a feeling.

SPEAKER_01 2:04:02

Yeah. Sneaking suspicion.

unknown 2:04:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:04:07

He mentions how the Limper is back, and that genuinely freaks Raven out. But he's less like old Limper and more like a homunculus, which is but somehow reassuring. Um anyway, Croker explains that the lady is likely going to catch on as to what happened here, particularly with Darling, and that Limpa will be used to his full potential to track Raven down, to which Raven actually agrees. He believes the prophecy as well, and believes that Darling is at risk, so he needs to do something about it. He says that his plan was to cross over to Beryl and hide there, but Croker says that the lady still has some sway there. Wherever he goes, it must be far away, someplace that has never heard of the lady. It's insinuated that he tells him of some place, but we actually don't know where this may be. So Croker takes the money, gives it to Raven, and offers him the spare horses. Raven tries to say thank you, but he's unable to, instead asking Croker if he wishes to join them. Croker says that he can't, and he has a duty within the company. He's too old to run from home, and Raven admits that Croker made him feel what it meant to be a member of the black company, and as far as he was concerned, Croker was the embodiment of the company itself. Croker thanks him, and before they depart, he leans down and gives Darling the gift. Despite its feeble nature, she loves it dearly, and the pure joy in her eyes causes him to step to the side of the road and cry. Now I will say, if you're wondering what the gift was, as I was, I went straight to Possum, I was like, what was the gift? I wonder what the gift is. We don't know. He didn't write that. He didn't say what the gift was, he only said it was a feeble gift. And then I was like, okay, okay. A feeble gift. This could have potential for future plot point stuff. Sure, sure. Do we hear of the feeble gift again in a future book? No, it never comes up again. Which is like it's fine, but I feel like I've been uh I I feel like I've been ICBM'd a second time. Like when when we when we were doing the shadow run of the episode, and it was like, oh, the this nuclear missile went missing and we don't know where it went, and then we spent the rest of that script wondering where the missile was. I was like never comes up, yeah. Well, surely, surely this is going to come up. It feels super important. No, it doesn't.

SPEAKER_00 2:06:30

Which is like a happy little gift.

SPEAKER_01 2:06:32

Maybe not quite as important as a rogue ICBM that, like, I don't know where that thing is. It's like that could cause a problem. At least it's just like, I probably gave him like, I don't know, it's a little doll, kid's excited about it, whatever. It's fine.

SPEAKER_04 2:06:44

Yeah. I did say to pass some literature, I was like, I cut what? ICBM does. That was the truth. I've I've been I've been burnt, I've been burnt. Now I want details. So Shire said, I have another thing on my mind. Darling, who seems to be the reincarnation of the White Rose, a woman who overthrew the Dominatron lady 400 years ago, is a null, a blank, you could say, who disables all magic powers around her and she just happens to be mute. Now I don't want to insinuate anything, but Black Company came out in 1984. First blanks appeared in Warhammer 40k in 1988. I would say that I'm almost entirely sure that that is exactly what happened. I the thing you're not insinuating, I'm I'm saying yes.

SPEAKER_00 2:07:36

You know, just that.

SPEAKER_01 2:07:38

Ah, GW would never take the intellectual property from some other franchise and spin it into their own device, right? That never happens.

SPEAKER_04 2:07:49

It's so there's so much of 40k that is literally just like essentially pop culture reference before pop culture reference. Yeah. You know, like with like that the whole thing of the Imperium of Imperium of Man and the Golden Throne and the and the Emperor and the like uh it's so much of it is just well this the thing I read was really cool and it had this. So we'll have it.

SPEAKER_01 2:08:14

Dune was so cool. I wish I could have my own Dune scratches beard, rubs chin.

SPEAKER_04 2:08:22

I would I would actually I'd genuinely be more surprised if it turned out that they hadn't got yeah, they hadn't got blanks from from this series and had somehow come up with the same idea in parallel.

unknown 2:08:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:08:38

If it was if all if all of GW stuff was just genuine coincidence, oh man. Can you imagine? It'd be wild to discover that.

SPEAKER_04 2:08:50

I think my head would explode. Turns out John Blanche didn't even know anything about or had never seen Gothic architecture before drawings for spaceships of the Imperium. It's just a wild coincidence. Just a wild coincidence. So Croker wipes his tears before returning and speaks to Raven privately one final time. He tells Raven that during his time with the lady, that they found the papers Soulcatcher had, and that Soulcatcher never turned them over. But he also never told the lady about these papers either. He tells Raven where they are, and Raven says he'll check in a few weeks to see if they're there. Croker also gives them both a gift from one eye, the amulet that's able to detect when taken are around. Croker says his final goodbyes and gives Darling one last hug before leaving. It's a tough goodbye, and he will think of her daily, but if his vision was true, he would see her again, and her return would mark the end of the lady if she truly was the white rose. Him and Silent mount their horses, and Croker says it's time to go home. They leave without turning back, and Croker leaves the final lines in the annals about the end of this story, which I will give to you now.

SPEAKER_01 2:10:07

It was an incident that never happened. After all, hadn't Raven and his orphan died at the gates of charm? Back to the company, back to business, back to the parade of years, back to these annals, back to fear, thirty seven years before the comet returns. The vision has to be false. I'll never survive that long. Will I?

unknown 2:10:29

Ooh.

SPEAKER_01 2:10:32

Place him. Of course Kroker's gonna be alive that long. Of course he is.

SPEAKER_04 2:10:37

Of course. Like it did. You don't get through uh that much pain and suffering without being, you know, forced to go through more by the author.

SPEAKER_01 2:10:46

He he gets through all that and then fucking pneumonia kills him, right?

SPEAKER_04 2:10:52

Gets on a on a faulty flying carpet and just absolutely blitzes into a tree. Oh well, what are you gonna do? Ah, the foreshadowing on that one was insane. Foreshadowing is a literary tool. It is. I am going to I am now we've done this, going to start the series, and I suspect it won't be long until I've read all of them because Probably yeah. They are they are they're like even just interacting with it in this way, I'm like, this is this is some solid stuff. This is some solid stuff, and the fact that it just feels like it might actually continue to get worse, despite what has been, frankly, a harrowing and horrific taste of you know torture and and uh like forced conversion to the other side and everything being manipulated by a guy called the Dominator, who you know we guessed he was a wrong one just from the name, but turns out even worse than little did we know and then you know the casual death.

SPEAKER_01 2:12:08

Is there a non-zero chance we could come back to the black company? I I would like to. I would really like to. Okay. Hell yeah. I think we we we still we we can still it's okay to read the books, but there's a there's a non-zero chance. No, if we'll do a book by books. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because there's like what twelve of them or something? I can't remember exactly what I think.

SPEAKER_04 2:12:31

Why do I feel like I don't know where twelve came from, but given that they've been going since like 1984 and it's 2026 now and one was released this year.

SPEAKER_01 2:12:41

I was gonna say there's a new one either coming or that was just released, right? So yeah, kinda hard to book by book.

SPEAKER_04 2:12:51

And also, I mean this episode like this episode and the previous episode, I think together have come out to around four hours now. It might be more than four hours. I can't remember how long the other one was. It's good content.

SPEAKER_00 2:13:09

So you you heard it here, everyone, there's a non-zero chance that the black company will return inacceptable losses.

SPEAKER_04 2:13:18

Seems like it's pretty much scope for like an overall world and major events episode. Oh. Like like less, maybe less less nitty-gritty, more kind of this is this is the sort of overview of all the horrible wars and terrific things that have happened on this world. Yeah. Where, you know, t wizards are just minor gods of the like.

SPEAKER_01 2:13:44

Also, since we're here at the end, hey, listeners, if you enjoyed this episode, maybe you want to pick up a little bit of our merch over at orchid8.com. There's a link in the description. There's probably a link on the screen. Uh, there's the new you like history right shirt. It looks great. It's that mineral washed, cool looking, and it's got the the diver on it. Oh, it looks phenomenal. There's still the you like sci-fi shirt. There's the coin, uh, there's the weeb for Lincoln, there's the wall scroll. You should check it out. Orchid8.com. Link in the description on the screen. You know where to go. Kiri off Patreon and outro this bad mamma jamma.

SPEAKER_04 2:14:23

We have a Patreon. If you go to Patreon.com slash acceptable losses, you get early access to episodes and you get access to Patreon exclusive episodes as well. There are tons of them with a regular feature being Grimm's Fairy Tales, which uh the i the the intro to the the latest one or the last one we recorded. Um somewhat questionable. So if you like a questionable intro, then I suggest you you check those series out because it's it's only going to continue to get worse as we as we like to do here. So there is are we up to like 20 something now? We're getting close to that, I think, for the uh for the exclusive episodes. And of course there will be more going up this month as well. There's also recaps going forward as to which ones we've done, which will be posted on YouTube so you can take a look at what we've done month on month. And as Shy points out, we are at 40,000 subscribers on YouTube now.

SPEAKER_01 2:15:22

Hey yo, let's go! Thanks for subscribing and watching everyone. That's cra that's crazy. Let's go! Hell yeah. Yeah. So yeah, usually that's a bad thing when when she says it happened so quick. That's usually what happens to the Croaker when he's having his little lady session.

SPEAKER_03 2:15:44

It happens so quick.

SPEAKER_04 2:15:49

Not as quick as the ending to this video, though, which is happening now.