Transcript – Cut Strings

[The Pensive Tower theme plays]

ANNOUNCER
Scroll & Dagger presents
The Pensive Tower
Episode Forty: Cut Strings

[A click, and the strange whirring of the venoscribe begins]

PAXTON
There we go.

EDUBARRUS
I’m sure that we don’t need to do this now!

SZELIA
He’s right, Paxton. You should go to the hospital!

PAXTON
We have to get this down. The longer we leave it, the more chance there is of misremembering or getting something wrong.

SZELIA
You were stabbed!

PAXTON
Yes, Szelia, I know, I was there. And you bandaged the wound quite nicely. I am in no immediate danger.

SZELIA
And you know that with all your years of medical training?

EDUBARRUS
You should listen to Szelia, Ferox.

PAXTON
High Librarian, you know I’m right about this. What happened here, I don’t know why yet but it was important. She… that thing… Alayne. It mentioned the Night Queen. I know that’s probably nothing, but… well, the Tower Code does say that any mention of Lil’esh must be out into the records immediately.

EDUBARRUS
That code was written centuries ago, it’s hardly still relevant.

PAXTON
I’m not so sure. We all think vampires are extinct but I’ve seen an alarming number of accounts from the past five years that claim confirmed sightings.

EDUBARRUS
And there was undeniable evidence of all of them, hm?

PAXTON
… Well… not as such.

SZELIA
[sighing] Paxton…

PAXTON
Alright no. There was no evidence of a sighting besides the donated memory. But surely-

EDUBARRUS
Paxton. I can see you’ve been upset by all this but try to examine this logically. Vampires? There hasn’t been a confirmed sighting of one of them in nearly a thousand years. And the Night Queen? Do you really think that this is something we should be concerned about?

PAXTON
Our visitor certainly seemed convinced.

EDUBARRUS
It was probably lying to you.

PAXTON
I don’t think so. It said that it was possible to make it through the Maelstrom.

EDUBARRUS
That should be proof enough for you that it was talking nonsense.

PAXTON
Well, even so. I still think we should get these details down now.

SZELIA
There’s no point in trying to argue with you about this, is there?

PAXTON
No. No there is not.

SZELIA
[exhausted] Alright, fine. But take it easy. You did get stabbed.

PAXTON
It’s just a flesh wound.

SZELIA
You need to keep the weight off your leg.

PAXTON
I will.

EDUBARRUS
I’ll go and call for an ambulance. As soon as we’ve done this, you’re going to the hospital.

PAXTON
Fine.

[Edubarrus leaves, his heavy footsteps cut off by the opening and closing of the office door.]

PAXTON
This is the memory of Szelia T’Fari. Memory regards the attack on the Pensive Tower by the creature that called itself Alayne SinDreda. Inscribed direct from subject on the 16th of Kalla, 730. Now, tell me what happened.

SZELIA
Fine. It all started just around midday. You were busy reading through some correspondences so I thought I’d go ahead and get an early lunch.

So, I began heading towards the canteen. On the way, I couldn’t help but notice how nervous everyone was. I know everyone’s been on edge for a while now, talking about weird dreams and funny feelings when they’re alone. But it was more than that.

There was actual fear in the faces of the people I walked past. At their desks, the under-librarians kept starting in their seats as if they were hearing noises. One who was carrying a big stack of books suddenly screamed and dropped them.

I and a couple of others ran over to her to make sure she was alright. Her eyes were wide and staring. She looked like she’d seen something horrific. I turned around, trying to see what she was looking at, but there was nothing there.

I turned back to the under-librarian but she was already running away down a side corridor. Then she disappeared from sight.

And I mean that literally. One second she was there, the next… it was… it was like she’d just been snatched out of existence.

My hand went to my knife. I started carrying it not long after my first encounter with the thing. I didn’t know if a knife would even do anything against it but it made me feel better.

I looked around, trying to see something, anything, that might point to an explanation. A lot of people were still looking freaked out but there wasn’t anything I could see.

Then, suddenly, everyone was screaming.

At first I thought more people were disappearing like the under-librarian but then I saw they were being pulled down and dragged across the floor by what looked like metal wires.

I didn’t have much time to take this in as I felt a wire wrap around my ankles. There was a sharp tug and I was down, on my back, being dragged across the floor. I tried to grab onto something, anything, but I was being pulled too fast. I looked back and saw I was being dragged towards a dark corner. Another of the under-librarians was being dragged into that same corner and I watched as they disappeared into the shadows. The last thing to go was his petrified face and then he was gone.

Completely disappeared.

I didn’t know what would happen if I was dragged into that darkness and I didn’t want to wait around to find out.

Fortunately I was able to not panic long enough to grab my knife. I’m not sure what good I thought it was going to do on a metal wire, it was just a simple knife, but I just acted on instinct.

I was able to reach down and grab onto the wire that was wrapped around my ankles. I then swiped at it with the knife.

The wire hissed and, suddenly, I came to a stop.

The wire carried on snaking back into the corner, leaving behind the piece I had just cut off. I pulled it away from my ankles but before I threw it away, I quickly inspected it.

One end of it, the end I had cut, was melted.

I got to my feet. Everyone else who had been there had been dragged off but I could still hear their screams.

Then I saw her. Alayne, the marionette. I felt my blood go cold. She was walking through the library. Well, not walking. You’ve seen her yourself now so I’m guessing you know what I mean. She was drifting along while her legs moved, though her feet barely touched the floor.

I ducked down behind one of the desks. I was sure she would see me. The wires that had grabbed everyone and me must have come from her, I thought, so she must know that I had cut one of them.

But she didn’t see me. She didn’t even glance in my direction. I peeked over the desk. She was looking straight ahead, a weird smile on her face.

I waited until she was gone and then I made my move.

I began running in the direction of the High Librarian’s office. I figured that would be the best bet. The apovox is in there and I thought, from there, we might be able to mobilise some kind of resistance.

I was sure she’d gone in the other direction. I heard her footsteps go out of the the room, off towards the west wing.

But when I turned the corner, out into the corridor, she was there. Just standing still, right in the middle of the corridor, staring straight at me. The candles guttered and died in their sconces.

But, unfortunately, I was still able to see her.

She smiled. And it wasn’t just an uncanny smile this time. It was unnaturally wide. I heard the cracking of bone and her mouth unhinged.

I hadn’t noticed when I met her the first time just how many teeth she had.

I heard her laughing. Her snake-like jaw did nothing to affect the sound which, to be honest, just made the whole thing creepier.

I still had my little knife. Didn’t really think it would do any good but it had cut the wires that had been holding me. So, I lifted it and pointed it towards the thing in front of me.

I think I was probably shaking. I didn’t notice at the time but thinking about it I was that scared I was definitely shaking.

The sight of the knife did get a reaction out of her… the marionette. It screamed. Like, properly shrieked at me. It was deafening, I had to force myself not to cover my ears. I knew, if I got distracted, this thing would take the opportunity and I’d likely end up dead. So I blinked back the tears of pain and kept the knife up.

The marionette charged at me with incredible speed. I thought I’d been wrong and she wasn’t scared of the knife at all. But, then, suddenly, she was gone. Just gone. And the corridor was empty.

I whirled around, keeping the knife out in front of me, in case she tried to get me from behind. But she was definitely gone this time.

So I started running again, towards the High Librarian’s office.

PAXTON
I imagine that was when she made her way to my office.

SZELIA
Yes, that’s what I was thinking.

PAXTON
I’m amazed I didn’t hear any of this happen. You said there was a lot of screaming, how did I miss that?

SZELIA
Well, the mnimigraphy department is quite a way from the library. And you do tend to get oblivious when you’re focussing on a project.

PAXTON
Alright, fair enough. So what happens next?

SZELIA
Honestly, not much. I got out into the East Wing and began climbing the stairs. It was… eerie. Everything was so quiet. There was nobody else around, no librarians or under-librarians or security guards, no-one. I guessed they’d all been grabbed by those wires. It was only halfway up the steps that I realised the High Librarian might have been grabbed too. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me, I guess I think of him as being so strong and smart that it’s hard to imagine anything actually hurting him.

But, I had to wonder, was I going to find nobody at the office? Was it going to be me all alone? I had no idea what to do. I knew my knife could hurt that thing but apart from that, I had no clue.

Thankfully, I did not need to think that far ahead. Lord Edubarrus was in his office. He was bustling around the place as if he was looking for something. He had an apovox speaker in his hand and was talking rapidly into it. I didn’t catch most of it but I remember he used the words “Black Fang,” and he said something like “forces moving faster than expected.”

He turned as he heard the door opening. He slammed the speaker down and pulled something out of his pocket, something pale. It looked like a game piece or something like that. But when he saw it was me he lowered his arm, put whatever it was back in his pocket before I could get a decent look.

I started telling him what was happening but he already knew. He said he’d seen some of the wires snatch Theranya before he could help her. I asked how he’d been able to keep safe. He didn’t give me an answer, just asked if I’d seen you. I briefly considered calling him out on it but… well, it’s not like I could make him tell me. So I just told him I hadn’t seen you.

He looked concerned when I said that, asked if I knew which way the creature had gone. That’s what he called it, The Creature. I don’t know why but the way he said that unnerved me a little.

Anyway, I told him that I didn’t, that I’d only just been able to get away from it myself.

Lord Edubarrus nodded and told me to follow him.

I did and he led me back to the main part of the library. Everything was dead quiet now. I didn’t know what had happened to the others. For all I knew, the High Librarian and I were the only ones left alive.

I tried asking him about it, what might have happened to the others I mean, but he just said that we should deal with the matter at hand first.

I was going to ask him just how we were going to deal with things when I heard voices. I recognised both of them.

The one doing most of the talking was female and I knew it was her, the creature. But I also heard your voice. I couldn’t hear what you were saying but Lord Edubarrus began moving faster.

That’s when I heard you scream so I started running. I saw you and, well, you know the rest.

PAXTON
Yes. Alright, thank you Szelia. Could you ask the High Librarian to come in?

SZELIA
Sure thing.

[Szelia gets up and leaves. The door opens and closes.]

PAXTON
Alright. Let’s get to the bottom of this.

[Venoscribe turns off, then back on.]

EDUBARRUS
If you’re going to insist on this then we should be brief. The ambulance is on its way and you’re looking pale.

PAXTON
Well I am part gellish.

EDUBARRUS
Don’t joke about this, Ferox.

PAXTON
Fine, we will be brief. This is the memory of Lord Edubarrus duSell Jostellarte, High Librarian of the Pensive Tower, regarding the attack by the creature that called itself Alayne SinDreda. So what happened?

EDUBARRUS
I was working in my office when the screaming started. I am not so far removed from the library proper as you are in your office so I was still able to hear it. I called Theranya in to ask her what was going on. She opened my door looking like she had just woken from a nightmare and began babbling about wires coming from the shadows to snatch people and dead eyed smiling people hanging in the air.

Before I could say anything in response, something shot out and wrapped around her waist, dragging her, screaming, out of sight.

As quickly as I could, I slammed the office door shut. I got to the apovox and called for the lawkeepers. I knew we’d need some kind of backup.

I was able to get through. I didn’t tell them the whole truth of what was happening, I barely understood it myself, but I made it clear that the Tower was under attack and we were in danger and the lawkeepers promised to send a detachment right away.

It was about that time that Szelia came into the room, talking about seeing that thing you’ve been talking about these past few weeks, uh, the um… the marionette.

In truth, I hadn’t given the matter much consideration. I didn’t doubt Szelia was being harassed by someone, which is why I brought in the extra security, but I didn’t really believe it was anything more than that.

PAXTON
Well, yes I must admit I wasn’t wholly convinced of Szelia’s story when she first told it. In the following weeks though…

EDUBARRUS
Yes, indeed, the miasma that descended on the Tower did make me start to realise the potential seriousness of the situation. And when I started to research the subject myself, that’s when I made some very concerning discoveries.

PAXTON
Like what?

EDUBARRUS
Like that there have been similar cases in the past. You remember the memory of Doctor SinTengar?

PAXTON
… Yes. There was a boy, Olvar Creek. Szelia said the way he was described reminded her of Alayne SinDreda.

EDUBARRUS
The similarity was far too much of a coincidence. So, I began preparing. I knew if such a creature came to the Tower, there would be forces in play that we would not be able to match, no matter how much security staff we had. And I had no doubt they would come to the Tower. They had already made it clear they wanted one of the memories.

PAXTON
Yes, the memory of Mallen Gorwyn. I still don’t understand why.

EDUBARRUS
Neither do I. But there could be any number of reasons why a creature like that would want some information on someone who hunts monsters.

PAXTON
You think she wanted to track down the group Mister Gorwyn was with?

EDUBARRUS
I think it’s a possibility.

PAXTON
Alright. So… Szelia came and found you. She’s told me much of the next bit. There is only one thing I am unclear on.

EDUBARRUS
And what is that?

PAXTON
How you killed Alayne.

EDUBARRUS
I think you already know.

PAXTON
I saw you use a glass candle. A candle made of clear glass. And I saw Alayne SinDreda burn in white fire.

EDUBARRUS
So you do already know.

PAXTON
How did you get it?

EDUBARRUS
That, I’m afraid, is a question with a very long answer and we do not have time for that now. You need to go to the hospital.

PAXTON
My leg is fine.

EDUBARRUS
Even so, I think it will make Szelia feel better if you went. And after all she went through to make sure you were safe, I think you owe her that much.

PAXTON
[sigh] Very well.

EDUBARRUS
I promise we shall speak more on this subject. There is much that you will need to know for what lies ahead.

PAXTON
What? What lies ahead?

EDUBARRUS
That… [small chuckle] Is a question with an even longer answer.

[The Pensive Tower theme begins]

ANNOUNCER
The Pensive Tower will return.

[The Announcer recites the credits.]