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| − | [ST] Stout Oak's home is finer than many in the ghetto where the Quiet find themselves forced to live. Although it is a simple one room affair that has obviously been constructed huddling against an older brick structure, its walls are straight, its timbers good. The slanting wooden arcade above it deeps it from being crushed beneath drifts of snow. The door has been painted a deep green, which ventures on the ostentatious for the Quiet.
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| − | [ST] Around Obligatory, night is falling, and the streets are more active as the Quiet stream from their homes to do their night labor as cleaners, bartenders, servers, and prostitutes.
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| − | [ST] Even as Obligatory draws near to the house, its door opens, and Stout Oak steps forth.
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory Sunshine walks with a heavy heart, his hands clasped behind his back. He has ceased to notice the looks or the pointed not-looks. He pauses. "Stout Oak. I would have words with you." He bows sligthly. "Please pardon the distraction from your normal routine, but it is an urgent matter."
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| − | [ST] He's a short man, and, as his name suggests, rather stout, with a shock of bright chestnut-colored hair, a pair of close-set eyes, and a chin covered in stubble. His voice, as usual, is quiet, with the hesitation that gave him the nickname "Stuttering Oak."
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| − | [ST] "O-obligatory. I-" He looks up and down the street, as if afraid of who will spot the two together. "Y-you know I have my w-work. I n-n-need to be away."
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| − | [Obligatory] "I would not detain you if it were not important. Please forgive me." He hesitates. "Perhaps you will be more comfortable if we talk inside the house?"
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| − | [ST] "There really isn't the t-t-t-time." He gives Obligatory a sullen glower. "If I'm not on the docks, my w-wages will go to another man. Enough there these days, with the w-w-war." He figets, hands opening and closing. "Can it not w-wait?"
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| − | [Obligatory] "I will be happy to make up the difference. Please."
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| − | [ST] His eyes dart up and down the street again. On a corner, two Quiet women press their foreheads together, whispering urgently. "F-f-fine. Come in. P-please be quick about it." He turns and strides back into the house, not even bothering to remove his outer layer of furs. Within, the house is still warm, the fire not yet cooled in the hearth.
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory strives to keep his tone light and pleasant. He had scolded himself for it time and time again, but the fact of it remained: he had never much liked Stout Oak, though of course he strived to keep any hint of that from his face or manner.
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| − | [Obligatory] He follows Stout Oak into the house and shuts the door carefully. He glances at the walls and the door leading to the bedroom. "There is no one else here? This is a private matter."
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| − | [ST] Oak seats himself on a stool before the fire, gesturing towards a small, hard-backed wooden chair. "N-n-no one." He looks at Obligatory, an expression of unease flickering over his face. "Has something hap-happened to Rain?"
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| − | [Obligatory] His worry had made him rude. He bows again to Stout Oak. "Thank you for your hospitality, brother-to-be." He hesitates. "In a manner of speaking. Nothing you don't know about." He gives Oak a cool look. "You are spying on the Haslanti."
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| − | [ST] He does not return the greeting of hospitality. Whether that is because of Obligatory's accusation or his heresy is unclear. Oak stares at the floor, as if trying to bore a hole in it. "She t-told you, then."
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| − | [Obligatory] He nods. "Yes. It is not my place to condemn you, brother, but you must know such a thing goes against all our beliefs. How did it happen?"
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| − | [ST] His voice is almost inaudible. "It does not g-go against our b-beliefs. I have harmed no one."
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| − | [ST] "Only l-l-listened to the men of the iceships, and asked Rain to l-listen at the t-tavern. That is no c-c-crime."
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| − | [Obligatory] "Harm need not come from swords or fists, brother. Why did you do it?"
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| − | [ST] "To save our p-people. It has been promised."
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| − | [Obligatory] "It would destroy our people," Obligatory says bluntly. "It would either destroy us when the Haslanti learned and murdered us all. Or worse." Obligatory watches him narrowed-eyes.
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| − | [Obligatory] "Or worse, if you suceeded? We would walk and breath and practice trades, but we would have died and been as empty as anyone else. No longer the Quiet. Only another northern tribe with blood under its fingernails."
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory bites back the rest of his longwinded, accusatory speech. Stout Oak knew. He had to know. "They lie," he says more calmly. "You know that. Outsiders lie. You cannot buy peace over the shattered skulls of the Haslanti. Who has made this deal with you? Who else is involved?"
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| − | [ST] He looks up to meet Obligatory's gaze, his voice hardening. "You s-speak as if we do not already have blood on our hands. As if this l-life of constant service and abuse is s-something to desire."
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| − | [ST] His stutter begins to fade as anger rises, as he begins to shout.
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| − | [ST] "Inaction is also a sin. And what have we done, but practice inaction against what the Haslanti do to us? To our brothers and sisters. To your sister."
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| − | [ST] He rises to his feet, gesturing wildly.
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| − | [ST] "Should I tell you their names so you can report them like the good dog you are? Should I be lectured by a heretic who licks Haslanti boots and tells others to enjoy the taste? Should I? Who have you harmed with YOUR deeds, Brother? Who have you k-k-killed?"
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| − | [Obligatory] "No one, intentionally. Not with a knife." His eyes narrow. "Or even a whisper. But I have seen many things. I have seen a wolf-woman howl for the deaths of the Haslanti. I have seen her mutilate helpless prisoners. When I sleep, I see Haslanti skulls cracking under her feet and orphaned children her mark across their faces. Is this what you wish, brother?"
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| − | [ST] "Perhaps you should sp-spend less time amongst the wolves, brother," He steps back, shaking his head. "If you still lived here, you w-would see what I see. A People that is dying. A Quiet man or woman killed every month, and no one to care. Your own sister, beaten, abused. Do not paint me as the sinner, brother. You would have our people wither and die. You would murder us."
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| − | [ST] "Ajax only asked questions. I answered them. You... you are afraid to ask questions. You would die with your head buried in the snow."
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| − | [ST] "You are the one who wears the mark of the dead. You are the one who wields steel without hesitation. Do you think you help the People? How many have you sent astray by your very example?"
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| − | [ST] "I will not be lectured... not by you."
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| − | [Obligatory] "Not without hesitation. I would have our people remain the People. Even if it kills us. That is our way." Obligatory stares at him. "Do you wish the death of the Haslanti?"
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| − | [ST] "I wish only for them to l-l-leave us alone. If death be the only way, then it is the way they have chosen." He scowls at Obligatory. "I confess I do not love them. Not l-like you, who loves them-" A sob shakes his body, then, a moment of raw emotion. "More than you l-love your own sister."
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| − | [Obligatory] You would think he had no wit of his own, the way he thinks the Haslanti have made his choices. "I do not love the Haslanti. But I pity them, and I wish them no ill." He shakes his head gently. "Look within yourself, brother. Meditate. Seek not to make your decisions from a heart of rage."
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory reaches into his pocket and lays down five coins on the table. A week's wages. He folds his hands together and bows again.
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| − | [Obligatory] "I am sorry to have detained you. I will take my leave now. Go in Peace."
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| − | [ST] Oak winds up an arm to slap the coins from the table, stilling it with effort.
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| − | [ST] "Take them."
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| − | [ST] "I do not want the money of a d-d-dog."
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory pauses. This is only what you have brought about, he scolds himself. He stoops down and collects the coins. "If that is what you wish." He bows again and turns to leave.
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| − | [ST] Oak watches him all the way to the door, breathing heavily, face flushed.
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory slips out, closing it again behind. He had a name at least. Ajax. An outsider, he suspected. It was something. He walks a way down the street, pulling his hood over his head so that no one would recognize him. Then he slips into an alleyway with a view of Oak's door and waits.
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| − | [ST] After a few moments, the door opens, and Oak steps out, slamming the door shut behind him and locking it with a quick turn of the key. He seems too angry to look around, and immediately begins to stalk off through the light dusting of snow that has settled from the arcades above.
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory lets him go few yards, then leaves the alley, blending in with the stream of Quiet walking to work.
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| − | [ST] Oak walks like most of the other Quiet, quickly, head down, arms at his sides. It makes it easier for Obligatory to trail him. His path moves quickly out of the quiet ghetto and through the fringes of the New Market. The streets are very crowded with people, many of them in the rough furs and skins of the tribes, jostling on every side.
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| − | [ST] A Guild Merchant moves through the crowd, shouting briskly. "Charms! Health charms here! For the cough, the bloody flux, the firelung! Charms! Great Forks! Great for the little ones!"
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| − | [ST] Oak continues out of the city proper, moving with difficulty through the thick drifts. He does indeed seem to be moving towards the docks.
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory pauses now and then to contribute a coin to a beggar's bowl. He continues to follow Oak. What better place for a spy than the docks?
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| − | [ST] Even the streets here are full of refugees from the Southern Emeralds, fled in the face of war, uneasily brushing elbows with sailors and cutthroats. A few of the big Iceholt Barges loom in the distant harbor, having just arrived from the White Sea to unload their massive catches. Each carries an Emerald or three worth of people. Many of them will be in the taverns tonight.
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| − | [ST] After a while, Oak halts, standing at a crossroads.
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| − | [ST] He hesitates for a moment, then plunges away from the tarred road down to the docks, moving deeper into the slums. As night sets in, the weird glow from Dock Four illuminates the sky ahead.
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory follows him, glancing at the other street to see where it lead.
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| − | [ST] As one draws closer to the forbiddin environs of the dock, the slums thin. Lights stop guttering in windows. The streets become slick with ice, and even the inhabited homes seem to lean dangerously. This is not a safe place. Not for the Quiet, not for anyone, but Oak seems to know where he's going. At length, he stops before a house that barely seems different from another, knocking on the door.
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| − | [ST] "It's Oak," he hisses. If he's supposed to be quiet, he fails at it; the sound carries back to Obligatory.
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory continues walking, just as though he were a dockworker himself. His ears strain for any hint of conversation.
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| − | [ST] "You were told never to come here!"
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| − | [ST] "I k-k-know, but someone, I think someone suspects-"
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| − | [ST] "Get in here!"
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| − | [ST] As Obligatory passes, he sees the door slam shut bare moments after Oak is pulled within.
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory wondered if they were amateurs too. Telling someone where to go when you didn't want them there seemed foolish. Obligatory walks a little further than pauses at an apple stand. No path forward was easy.
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| − | [Obligatory] He buys a steaming hot meatpie at a leaning shack, smiling at the old woman who ran it. Sharp eyes, that one. He had given her a penny extra, and she had only snorted. "There'll be another coin for you, if you tell me who lives in that house over yonder."
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| − | [ST] "Not coin enough," the old woman says, grunting. "Not if them that lives there sees you bumbling around and traces it back to me. They're hard men, and women, an' haven't lived there long. 'Nother gang most like, but they don't wear the symbols."
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| − | [ST] The meat pie steams somehow uneasily in Obligatory's hand. It might be best not to ask what kind of meat it is.
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| − | [Obligatory] "What?" Obligatory looks astonished. "I thought my man was running out on me," he confesses. The lie trips easily from his tongue.
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| − | [ST] She snorts. "If he be, best let him run. He'll come back. If there's much left of him."
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| − | [Obligatory] Bumbling? Obligatory feels crushed. He had felt pretty smooth.
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| − | [ST] Across the street, Oak still hasn't emerged from the house. Obligatory catches a flash of movement upstairs, behind one of the shutters.
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| − | [Obligatory] A flash of uneasiness crosses Obligatory's face. What if they murdered him? It was the kind of thing they would do, he suspected.
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| − | [Obligatory] "Thank you, mistress." Only one thing to do. He was a Quiet. He crosses the street and knocks on the door of the spy's house.
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| − | [ST] As Obligatory makes his way across the street, the old woman makes herself scarce. Throwing her bulk against the cart, she moves off at surprising speed, meats swinging at the ends of their strings as she clatters down the road.
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| − | [ST] Obligatory's knock reverberates loudly.
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| − | [ST] He hears a murmur of voices behind the door, which stop at the noise. After a moment, a voice, the same woman he heard speaking to Oak earlier.
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| − | [ST] "Who is it?"
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| − | [Obligatory] "Obligatory Sunshine. I am a representative from the Quiet community. May I come in?"
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| − | [ST] There is a long, pregnant silence. The voices rise and fall within, urgent. Finally, the door opens a crack, revealing a bright blue eye. "Enter," the woman says, stepping back to open the door.
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory Sunshine enters. He glances casually around him, mostly to note the presence of windows.
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| − | [ST] The woman moves into place behind him as the door slams shut. The room he's in seems well-furnished for the slums, with a burning wood stove and a number of soft chairs. The windows are tightly shuttered and stuffed with furs and sacking, but that's hardly unusual. Obligatory barely has the time to take it all in before he feels the prick of a blade at his back. "Move. Downstairs."
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory pauses. "If you don't mind, I would prefer to remain upstairs."
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| − | [ST] "I mind." Her breath is warm on the back of his neck. She is crowding him. "I don't think you're in a position to negotiate, do you?"
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| − | [Obligatory] "Better than you realize," Obligatory assures her. "But if you would feel more comfortable discussing such matters downstairs, by all means, let us descend."
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| − | [ST] She ushers him down the stairs into a chill basement. Few of the Haslanti homes have them, Obligatory recalls. Perhaps that's why this house was chosen. The floor is rough, unfinished earth, the walls slick, frost-coated brick. A single lantern swings from a chain, illuminating the scene fitfully. Oak sits in a chair in the center of the room, ringed by four figures all of them men. They give
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| − | [ST] a terse nod as Obligatory and the woman descend.
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| − | [ST] Oak gives a grunt of surprise.
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| − | [ST] "Weren't followed, huh?" one of the men says. He's tall, over six feet, with bright red hair and an incongruous spray of freckles across his nose. These boyish features don't offset his brutish face.
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory nods politely to everyone in the room, including Oak. "Hello. I thought perhaps we should all talk this out together."
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| − | [ST] The woman behind him titters.
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| − | [ST] "Did you?" the man asks. "Well, you're either Quiet, or addled." He pokes Oak in the shoulder. "You know this one?"
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| − | [ST] "He's a member of the community," Oak confirms. "I've seen him around. I d-d-don't know his n-name."
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| − | [ST] "Maybe he's working for the one with a nose problem, Ajax." the woman suggests. The red-headed man shrugs.
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| − | [ST] "I don't give a shit who he's working for, Shel. Strip him."
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| − | [Obligatory] "I am not carrying any weapons," Obligatory says mildly. "I would not use them. There is no cause for animosity among us, after all. And anyway, I am Quiet."
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| − | [Obligatory] It is true. He is unarmed. He fishes out a knife from his pocket. "This is what I eat with. You may have it, if you wish."
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| − | [ST] Shel divests him of it, tossing it into the corner almost casually. It clatters away in the dirt.
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| − | [Obligatory] "Who has a nose problem?" He asks curiously. He envisions a terrible, terrible result of frost bite.
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| − | [ST] "I'll be asking the questions," Ajax says. "And you'll be answering them, or a dead man. Who sent you? Why are you here? Our friend here," he pats Oak's shoulder "Is telling us your people have a leak somewhere."
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| − | [Obligatory] "I am here for the People," Obligatory says politely. "In the nature of an emmisary. I am of the Stone lineage, which is ancient and much respected among us. I carry a message on behalf on the Elders."
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| − | [Obligatory] Well, if he had thought to ask his grandmother for one, she certainly would have agreed. And so would Old Man Stone, the Weaver of Grass and Shadows, and the others. They were a stern, salty group, but they held rigidly to the teachings of the Quiet, as he had cause to know.
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| − | [ST] "I haven't heard about this message from anyone else," Ajax says. "Oak here didn't breathe a word of it. So you'll understand if I'm a little... suspicious."
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| − | [Obligatory] "Of course," Obligatory nods. "I think the import of my message is the same, regardless of where it comes from. The leak concerns us, as it concerns you. We think it would be better if you left. Our People are not warriors and-" he glances at Oak for a fraction of a second before he can stop himself "-and poor spies."
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| − | [Obligatory] He meets Ajax's eyes. "Word of this will get out, through some channel. The Elders have heard of it- others, who are not of the Quiet, will as well. When that happens, the Haslanti will murder us all. We do not wish this."
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| − | [ST] "Do you?" Ajax looks at the man curiously. "That's not what I heard from your People. As recently as yesterday. Maybe you do not know their hearts." He shakes his head. The gently swaying lantern casts a pattern of light and shadow over his face. "Besides, it is far too late to stop now. This leak can be bottled. Must be. And your people must put your sympathies with us. Else you are doomed."
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| − | [ST] "Even were you to stop collaborating now, if the Haslanti win, and discover this subterfuge, it would be the end of you. Do not think it cannot happen."
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| − | [Obligatory] "It is true that some of the young and foolish have put us in a difficult position," Obligatory agrees. "But I do not think we can bottle this leak. Too many know; too many are clumsy. Even were we to permit the murder of one of our own- which we would not."
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| − | [Obligatory] "We could not prevent you, perhaps, but even the ones who most hate the Haslanti would cease to cooperate. Perhaps you could convince a few to continue with threats of exposure or violence. But you would find us a stubborn people."
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| − | [ST] "Far more of your People than you would ever want to admit are committed to this course of action. I see no reason to call it off. What will you do, expose our plot to the Haslanti? Throw yourselves upon the sword? You will thank me when all is done. You may thank me sooner, by telling me where the leak is. It will be handled."
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| − | [ST] Oak has turned pale, lips working soundlessly. He glares at Obligatory, as if to say, You caused all this.
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| − | [Obligatory] "How? Only with blood. The Quiet do not betray the Quiet. We never have. " Obligatory shrugs. "Someone will speak, or someone will hear. Perhaps it will not be intentional. It hardly matters. If you stay and seek to continue this operation, we will die. We would be of little use to you then." Obligatory smiles. "I do ask you to help us; I have ceased to look for compassion in the hearts of outsiders. I only ask
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| − | [Obligatory] you cease to harm us."
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| − | [ST] "Harm you? We seek only to help you. It is the Haslanti who have harmed you. I do not think Oak feels differently."
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| − | [ST] "Of, of, of course not."
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| − | [Obligatory] "You do, by asking the weak among us to participate in your war. So the Elders say. Discretion did not save the Sun People; it would not save us from Haslanti bloodlusst."
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| − | [Obligatory] "It would not save us from the slower death of compromise and corruption."
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| − | [ST] "All this is very interesting, if wrong," Ajax allows. He makes a gesture to the other men around him, who fan out. "But what I am wondering, beyond all these questions of harm and forthright behavior, is just who told you to come here. Just how you found this place, and why Aelos here saw you standing across the street, watching."
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| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory cocks his head. "No, I am afraid I cannot tell you those things. Forgive me, I mean no insult. But I do not trust you. If you kill me, I suppose I cannot prevent you. But I see no reason to assist your knife to the throats of any other members of my community."
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| − | [ST] A murmur rises behind Oak as the others scoff. Ajax silences them with a wave of his hand. "Then tell me why I should let you leave here alive. Expose my men, and all the rest of the Quiet community, to whatever plot you have hatched?"
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| − | [ST] "Ajax," Oak says softly. "You m-m-must not harm him."
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| − | [Obligatory] "You do not know me. But the fact that you do not, yet I am here- it means one thing. The usefulness of the Quiet is at an end." Obligatory's smile twists a little. "Do you think anyone would fool enough to deliver such a message alone? The Quiet tell a story of a thief and a tomb. The first night, he escaped with many riches, but on the second greed led him back and the wakened ghost slaughtered him. The
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| − | [Obligatory] message is simple. Know when enough is enough."
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| − | [ST] "I remain unconvinced," Ajax says, "I do not think all of your people are finished with us. But at the same time, I know that none but one of the Quiet would dare come in here as you have. And that you know to betray us is to betray your own people into bondage and death." He smiles thinly, clapping a hand on Oak's shoulder.
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| − | [ST] "I suppose I can let you live. What do you say, Oak?"
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| − | [Obligatory] "I thank you for not resorting to violence, though I regret that you have not decided to leave the People alone." He bows slightly.
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| − | [ST] Oak nods. "I d-disagree with what Obligatory has said, but I know we all want what is b-best for the People. He will not betray us."
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| − | [Obligatory] "I will not," Obligatory agrees. He avoids reacting to his name, but only just. Truly Oak made a poor spy. "The Quiet do not betray the Quiet."
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| − | [ST] "It's good to see everyone agreeing," Ajax says. "Of course, I'm curious. Why do you suddenly know this man's name?"
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| − | [ST] Obligatory can see the color drain from Oak's face like wet paint sliding down a wall. His expression of sudden horror is unmistakable.
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| − | [Obligatory] "As I said," Obligatory says quietly. "We disagree on this matter, but we are one People. We are not trained spies." He places a hand on Oak's shoulder.
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| − | [ST] "Shel." At Ajax's word, the woman springs forward to seize Obligatory's arms, pulling them around behind his back. His own hand on Oak's shoulder is a vise, pushing him down into the chair as he struggles to rise.
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| − | [ST] "The Quiet are not trained spies, no. But you..." He looks at Obligatory. "I'm no longer sure about you."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "And I'm no longer sure Oak didn't bring you here on purpose."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "Ajax!" Oak protests suddenly. "I d-d-didn't! I s-s-s-s-swuh- swuh-" A sharp slap cuts him off.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] "That was not necessary," Obligatory says quietly. He does not resist the woman. "What do you hope to achieve here? Even if you kill us, the Quiet will know. That is why you wanted our help. Do you think the People would help you once you have done that?"
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "I'm not at all sure they would know," Ajax says quietly. "This is a dangerous city for the Quiet, after all, not like Whitewall. The Quiet People vanish all the time."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] Oak retains his composure remarkably well, though he is clearly shaking.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "That won't be necessary, however," Ajax continues. "I don't want to harm the two of you. I just want to know why you're here. Really. Honestly."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "H-h-h-he found out about what I was doing through a f-friend. He followed me here. B-but he doesn't mean any harm." Oak looks truly miserable. For all his talk about how the Haslanti mistreated the People, he has never been in a situation this terrifying before.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory Sunshine smiles. "Really? Honestly? It is just as I have said. To tell you to cease involving the Quiet in this war of yours."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "What friend was this?" Ajax asks, coolly. "The name."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] Oak bites down on his own lip.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] "We are Quiet." Obligatory is stone-faced.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "Then you will die that way. And," Ajax adds helpfully, "Your families. Slowly enough that no one knows. It's a hard thing, to free a people."
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] "Generations of Quiet have died in just such a manner. Do you think your threats are new? We are Quiet because we have certain beliefs. We cannot stop you from killing anyone. But we will not be instruments of murder."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "And we cannot allow you to betray us. To betray your own people. How curious. Strange. The very thing that makes you strong is the very thing that dooms you." Ajax shakes his head. "Oak. Will you give us away?"
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory's eyes blaze as he looks at Oak.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "Of course n-not."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "And your friend? Why did they tell this man?"
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "H-he was her brother, Ajax. She thought she could t-trust him. Please, she won't do it a-a-again."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] If Oak is begging this man more abjectly than he ever begged a Haslanti for anything, he does not seem to notice.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "Very well. Go to her, caution her. We will be watching." His gaze turns back to Obligatory. "As for this one..." He yanks Oak out of the chair. "Seat him."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] Obligatory is unceremoniously pushed forward into the chair. Oak scurries away to the edge of the room.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory closes his eyes. The fool. He glances at Oak. Some were weak. He supposed Oak tried as hard as he could.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] He looks inquiringly at Ajax.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] Oak can't meet Obligatory's gaze. He retreats to the stairs, ascending the first few steps, then stops, turning.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] He moves back down into the basement, moving the edge of the light, Ajax turns to look at him.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "P-please," Oak says. "I c-cannot leave Obligatory h-here. He will be my b-brother. He is my brother, in the Qui-Quiet. I assure you, he will c-c-cause no harm. You h-have my word."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] Ajax nods slowly. "Do I? And your belief in this man is complete? You will not leave without him?"
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "N-no."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] Ajax nods again, in a different way. The thug behind Oak steps forward, and the point of a sword springs through his chest, dripping and red.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory turns white. "You didn't have to do that," he says numbly.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] He staggers forward, tearing himself free, scrabbling wildly, and falls into Ajax's arms. The big man holds him almost tenderly, hugging him close as he dies, whispering something. Obligatory recognizes it as a prayer of the Quiet, the Words to Form the Path of Gentle Repose.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "I am sorry, my friend," Ajax says, letting the body fall to the floor, twitching. "It is a hard thing to free a people from itself."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] He turns to Obligatory, staring down at him with barely disguised contempt. "I did have to do it. Your fault."
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] "You're an exile...." Obligatory says slowly. "A traitor." He looks at Oak, who had died because he had been unwillingly to abandon him. "No. No, it was not. Blood wraps its own chains..and one leads to another. As you should know." He looks at Ajax. "You are not one of us. It is beliefs that make the Quiet, not any weak tie of blood."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "I am your future," Ajax says. "And you are no typical Quiet, either. To inflame Oak so, and stalk him here."
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] "That is what you want? For us to be just another group of murderers? It is to my shame that anger sometimes overcomes me. I told him what he did was wrong, that he betrayed our beliefs." He shakes his head slowly. "I mean to do better in the future. Will you not repent? Look at others with kindness in your heart?"
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "I punish only those who would harm us. You do not understand the necessity. That is fine. Most of the Quiet need never understand. Never dirty their hands. I will be here to protect them. I will sin in their stead. But not in yours. You did not answer me. You are no good Quiet man, to endure the insults of others and live a humble life."
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "What are you? Tell me, or die and become a mystery for me to roll over in my head when life grows dull."
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] "Then I pity you, and more, I grieve for the People. Your sins stain them, and make mock of their honor. What of these others? Were they also once of the Quiet, until they forgot themselves and their People?"
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] There is a cough behind him. Obligatory sees Shel look away.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "Strip him," Ajax barks. "I want to keep the furs."
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] "Then I pity you, too," Obligatory tells Shel. "Perhaps if you fully confess your sins and cleanse yourself of hatred, the People will take you back. But this current path ends only in violence and unhap-" he breaks off he is yakned to his feet, and his coat pulled from him as though he were a living doll.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] Two pairs of arms grip Obligatory, pulling him back. Shel moves forward, parting his shirt with a slash of her knife, scoring into the flesh beneath. Those behind him wrestle his shirt off, and then Shel steps back, the knife dropping from her fingers.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] As they pulls his coat away, he jerks his arms away and is on his feet pelting away in an instant. His shirt gapes briefly open, showing the still-puffy Raven's tatto.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] "WHAT?" Ajax screams, as if to himself. "GET HIM, NOW, NOW, NOW!"
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] He would need a new coat soon enough, but for now he is light on his feet and fliyng, flying up the stairs.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory Sunshine has always been a problematic child. When he was a child, he was forever in trouble- stealing meat from a butcher shop to feed to a starving dog, planting himself in the path of a cruel master to deliver a fiery sermon. It taught him how to scramble. And a lifetime among the Haslanti has taught him to duck.
| |
| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] He rolls under the meaty arm of the big man barring his way, slipping the man's knife from his belt as he does so.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] As he sprints up the stairs he slashes through the rope holding the oil lamp. It smashes to the ground, plunging the room into darkness.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] He drops the knife and then he's at the top of the stairs opening the door. He slams it shut behind him. Thank all the gods it wasn't locked.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] Shouts rise behind Obligatory as the basement is plunged into darkness. Feet hammer against hard-packed earth as all his captors leap for him at once - there is a crash, a curse, and several of the pursuers go down in a tangle of limbs as Obligatory begins to make his way up the stairs. But the stairs shake behind him as he mounts the stairs - some of them are still coming.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] He glances frantically around and grabs a sword hanging by the door. He jams it awkwardly through the door handle and into a barrel beside the basement door. Red liquid begins to pour out the hole. The makeshift bar would for a few seocnds. He hoped.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] Obligatory races for the front door.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] As Obligatory darts across the room, a pair of men, alerted by the yelling drifting up from below, move down the stairs, trying to intercept him.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] He tries the door. It's locked. Obligatory glances at men coming down the stairs, glances at at the door again, and leaps out the window.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] It's made of hard, thick glass, and only desperation makes Obligatory even try it. It shatters against his impact, and Obligatory whispers a quick prayer to Yo-Ping as he hits the ground. He is covered with cuts, and red begins to well up under his white shirt.
| |
| − | | |
| − | [ST] The cold immediately strikes Obligatory like a fist. Behind him, in the house, he hears the basement door splinter off its hinges. The front door is shaking as his pursuers hurriedly unbar it.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] He takes off down the street, thanking Yo-Ping again that they had robbed him of his coat. He has spent enough time recently running from his 'brothers' and their 'jokes' that the ground seems to fairly slide away from his feet.
| |
| − | | |
| − | [ST] The street has largely emptied, though a few figures in the distance pause as he comes tumbling out of the window before hurriedly racing away. In this neighborhood, it doesn't pay to pay too much attention.
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| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] He runs for the Mother. He would tell her everything, her and his sister. They would tell the Quiet what Ajax had done, and the spying would end. That, at least, poor Oak had stopped with his bravery.
| |
| − | | |
| − | [Obligatory] He runs, tears rolling from the corner of his eyes.
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| − | | |
| − | [ST] Obligatory is out of sight by the time Ajax makes his way to the street. He turns, slamming his fist into the timbers of the door. "Damn it! Damn it, damn it! We know where he's going. Watts, Zon, clear this place out, we're moving. Shel, take Larrie's boys over to the Mother's house."
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