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The Thief's Guild,

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by Jake Kerr.

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Episode 73:

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Mailer.

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Travil entered, and Mailer sat up straight.

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She'd asked numerous times over the previous few
days about reuniting with

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Darla, but the attendants all said it wasn't up to
them.

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She was certain that such a decision would be made
only by a senior wizard, so

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she pressed for a meeting with Travil.

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"You look positively healthy, Mailer," Travil
stated, a broad

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smile on his face and his voice full of warmth as
he walked in.

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Mailer stood up to meet him.

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"Thank you, Travil."

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Mailer bowed to the lead wizard.

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"It is why I was hoping to talk to you. Would it
be possible for me to share lodgings with

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Darla?"

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Cut right to the chase, Mailer thought.

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Don't give him the opportunity to twist the
conversation to something else.

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"No need to bow, Mailer.

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Come, let us sit as friends."

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Travil waved his arm, and two chairs appeared out
of thin air near the

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wall. Mailer gasped.

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"You should not be so impressed. Uh, it is but a
transport spell.

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Those..."

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Travil pointed to the chairs.

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"Are from my office. I merely moved them here.

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Movement and destruction spells are difficult, but
don't require high-level

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mastery."

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Travil waved Mailer again to a chair, walking over
to the far one and

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sitting down.

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"What kind of spell requires high-level mastery?"

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Mailer said, not able to hide the awe in her voice
as she sat.

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"Spells that change the shape and nature of
things.

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For example, turning an iron lock into sand, or
raw stone into finished brick.

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But there is only one wizard alive who can do that
today.

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There were more many centuries ago, but the move
through the mountain was as difficult on us

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as it was on you."

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Travil stared at Mailer, and she knew it meant she
was sitting with

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that one wizard capable of such magic.

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Mailer realized that Travil had distracted her, so
she repeated her

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question.

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"Can I join Darla?"

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"Of course, but first, we will be moving you to
your own home in the

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woodlands. It is to the northeast and quite
beautiful."

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A move to a new location did not quite sound like
freedom.

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With nothing to lose, Mailer pressed for more
answers.

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"So, we are to live there? Are we free to roam
your beautiful city?"

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Travil was quiet, and

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once again, stared at Mailer, as if looking for
the right words.

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Finally, he said-

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"No,

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you will be restricted there. We have a law about
the Forbidden Tunnel.

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No one is to enter the tunnel, ever. Breaking that
law is punishable with life in

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prison."

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"But I didn't enter the tunnel!"

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Mailer exclaimed as she realized that the wizards
were going to keep her under

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house arrest for what seemed like the rest of her
life.

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Holding up his hands, Travil replied-

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"What?"

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"We understand, and that's why we chose this
generous resolution.

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You entered the tunnel, so technically you're in
violation,

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but you entered it from the other side, which
was...

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unanticipated."

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Mailer shook her head.

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"So, Darla and I will live in this woodlands?

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Will we have freedom to roam the woods, or will we
be confined to a home with a pleasant view of the
trees to

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distract us?"

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Bitterness dripped from Mailer's voice.

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"The latter."

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"Why don't you banish us from the city and send us
back into the tunnel?"

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"Don't be foolish. By now, you should know that
the tunnel is closed for a

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reason. We cannot have our brothers and sisters
once again cause us the grief they did

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so long ago. They have not earned that trust.

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They will never earn that trust."

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Travil stood, not looking quite as jovial as when
he entered.

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"Tonight, you will receive new clothing.

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Tomorrow, you will depart in a closed carriage for
the woodlands.

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Please don't think of returning to your home city
of Ness.

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It will never happen."

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Travil walked to the door, stopped, and turned
back to Mailer.

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"Goodbye, Mailer. Uh, soon you will have a new
home."

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He took one more step, and then paused again.

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"You should be grateful."

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As the door closed, Mailer knew that the next step
would happen in their new

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prison, far from the mountain and the center of
this new city of Ness.

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Unlike their home city of Ness, the roads in this
Ness were of packed

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dirt, so the trip in the carriage was smooth and
pleasant, with no jarring

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cobblestones. Mailer sat across from Darla in a
small carriage that had

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little room for them both.

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There were no windows, and the wooden doors were
locked from the outside.

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"If we had any doubts about whether we were
prisoners or not, this dispels them,"

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Darla noted as she once again pushed against the
door.

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"This is a mobile prison."

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Mailer took note of the doors and the space within
the carriage.

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She could see three vulnerabilities that would
enable them to escape, although two of

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them would require lengthy preparation to exploit,
but Mailer didn't bother

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following through on any of them.

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She knew that their best hope of a successful
escape was from their new

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home. There, they could assess timing and
defenses, and

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potentially escape with a lengthy lead before
anyone would know they were missing.

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Escaping now would only lead to a quick recapture.

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"You are quiet.""I don't like that they are
listening to us."

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Meila nodded her head toward a slit at the front
of the carriage over her shoulder.

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The driver and a guard were just outside. Dala
nodded.

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The remainder of the journey was marked by the
sounds outside the carriage, voices

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and shouts from the roadside, the sound of horses,
wagons, and carriages going

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by, the rustle of the wind, and the ever-present
slight rumble of the

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wheels turning as they made their way through the
city toward what they only knew

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as the woodlands. "Whoa."

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The carriage prison slowed to a halt.

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Meila looked at Dala, who smiled and replied-

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"Five hours, more or less." "Someday you'll need
to teach me how you

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do that," Meila replied, shaking her head.

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"It's instinct,"

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Dala replied, pointing to her temple with a
finger.

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A click preceded the door being yanked open,
letting in a diffused

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sunlight, still bright enough that Meila had to
squint and shade her

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eyes. "Welcome to your new home." A hand came into
view, and

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Meila took it as it helped her out of the
carriage.

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"Home is an interesting word for prison,"

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Dala said as she followed Meila out.

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They were in a small clearing at the end of a
lane.

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The lane snaked through trees and was lost at a
turn in the distance.

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Looking around, Meila couldn't quite comprehend
what she was seeing.

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The trees were everywhere, rising high into the
sky, with dark

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brown bark of various shades combined with greens
of similar variety.

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"Wow."

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The trees were huge, rising 50 feet or more into
the air with lush

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foliage obscuring the sky.

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The clearing was the only thing that let light in,
but it was dim, filtered by

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leaves and shadows. Meila looked around, noticing
a cottage about

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the size of a small house you would find in the
Flats or the Lower Triangle.

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It was bathed in shadow, but appeared homey
enough.

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Beyond that, there was nothing but trees and more
trees.

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"This is your new home," a tall man standing near
the front

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of the carriage said. He had his hand on the hilt
of his sword and looked like he knew how

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to use it.

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Despite his appearance, his voice was kind.

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He didn't wear red, but clothes that were a
combination of colors, brown,

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deep green, and blue. For someone used to the
monochromatic guilds of Ness,

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it was striking-looking and somewhat unsettling.

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"I don't see any walls or bars, at least," Dala
replied, spinning around

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as she took everything in.

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"You have a guard?"

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"You?"

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Meila asked.

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She hadn't seen anything but the house and the
carriage, with its driver and the

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man with his hand on his sword.

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"No.

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I will be leaving with the carriage. Your guard
will only make himself known if you try to leave."

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"And how will he know that we are trying to
leave?"

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"He'll know." The man pointed to the house.

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"The cabin has a well behind it with fresh water.
There are supplies inside.

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You will find a bow with some arrows as well so
that you may hunt for food."

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The man leaped onto a step and pulled himself up
onto the carriage.

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"Do you have any questions?"

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"How long are we to stay here?"

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"Forever."

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"Where does the lane lead?"

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Meila pointed down where they came from.

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"If you follow it, it leads to death."

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"What if we escape?"

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The man frowned. "Don't make this a death
sentence. Enjoy your time in the forest.

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It is the only time you have."

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The man looked at Dala and then Meila.

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"Anything else?"

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There was a long pause, and then Dala looked at
the guard, her hands

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clenched into fists.

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"Do you know what kind of people live on rat flesh
and blood?"

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The man recoiled. "What kind of question is that?

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No, of course not."

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"The kind who persevere."

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The man shook his head and patted the driver of
the carriage on the shoulder.

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It made a wide circle and headed down the lane,
the man with the sword

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watching them over his shoulder the whole time.

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When the carriage was out of earshot, Dala
muttered under her breath-

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"And the kind who escape."

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(dramatic music)