Ninth Story Studios, giving Story a voice. Welcome to the list, get
ready to take the ride. Hello, and welcome to a special episode of
Victoria's Lift. I'm Daniel Foy Second, I thank you for listening. Today
we're presenting the fourth chapter of our special ten part mini series by Christopher Long
to those who Thrive in the Dark. This series dives deep into the mythos
of Victoria's world and features Victoria facing ancient gods, fay folk monsters, old
enemies, and a certain little brother with ulterior motives. Before we get started
today, a big thank you to those of you who are supporting the show.
Those supporting the show at the five dollars a month level and above.
Here are these episodes first, since it's you that have made this project possible.
If you're not yet supporting the show on Patreon, you can do that
at patreon dot com forward slash Victoria's Lift. Again, that's patreon dot com
forward slash Victoria's Lift. We really do appreciate and rely upon the support of
our listeners to continue making the show. This series will also be released as
a novella at the end of the run, with an expanded story that takes
you deeper into Victoria's world. I'm excited to announce that our resident composer,
Nico Vitese has created a limited run audio drama podcast called Connections and celebration of
his first full album of the same name. The audio drama will include five
episodes, including one written by me, and you'll also hear some voices that
you know from Victoria's Lift, including Ericas Anderson who plays Victoria's mother, David
all Two plays Victoria's father, and me. These episodes are full audio drama
experiences similar to what we do with Victoria's Lift, so you'll enjoy rich sound
design, fullcasts, and custom scores like what we do here on Victoria's Lift.
These stories are about connections, choices, and hope, so I know
you'll enjoy it. I hope you'll subscribe at Anchor dot FM forward slash.
We talk of dreams. If you listen on iTunes, which I know many
of you do, I created a quick link for our listeners so you can
find it easily. Just subscribe at Victoria's Lift dot com forward Slash. Connections.
Now, hang on tight, and let's go for a ride into the
shadows. On Victoria's Lift. Chapter four and the Giants Slip Free by Christopher
Long. You ever dream you're falling, I do. I'll jump in a
dream, certain I'll be okay. Only the gravity or the distance shifts,
and suddenly I know I'm not going to make it. I don't spin,
i don't plummet. It's not a cartoon. I'm caught in this slow,
lurching free fall, all to aware the landing is going to hurt. Victoria
had dreams like that ever since she was a little girl. She would wake
up screaming and shivering, the shadows, watching the night, keeping its secrets.
Sometimes a parent would come and hold her tightly. Other times she would
hear her little brother sniggering in the dark. When she actually fell, you
think it might have stopped the fear, but it persisted, lingering behind her,
blowing green eyes, as if it knew it was only a matter of
time. Goodbye, little Piggy. Thanks for the presents, I'll treasures forever.
She had no music box to hold on to this time. As she
fell through the fracturing remains of her home, the rooms crumbling and splintering into
the infinite possibility which surrounded them. Victoria knew this landing was going to hurt
got him good shop. Mister s One tries, mister I, Now I
wonder who our little injured damsel is. Why I do believe it's who the
girl? They're all scared off her. She looks like she belongs and already
so Bedford. Remember, appearances can be deceiving here, mister s too true,
mist I too true, saved from damnation by a ruddy big tree.
I dread to think what the folks back home or saying if we get back
home. Now you know I don't approve of such talk, Sorry, mister
s Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. If this really is the
guide, then we need to make the best of things. But she couldn't
defend herself against a captain, Mister s I doubt should be much help when
it comes to our current navigational concerns. I said desperate times, mister I,
I it's time we consider making another batch of blood mountain stew. But
again, mister s I don't know if I could face that. Besides,
there's not much meat on her stout heart. Mister I. You tucked into
that sherper. Remember he did help us see through the winter, didn't he?
Exactly him and his whole family made quite the larder. So let's get
another little feast prepared, shall we? And in men once adventurers pioneers.
Only not every explorer gets to come back the conquering hero, claiming a piece
of the map for their queen. Some of them are conquered by the empty
spaces on their maps, leaving them with little more than restless appetites and sharp
teeth. If I get a firelage, misterss tricky the samest I you know
how our eyes are with the light. True, but it might ward the
cats away and four children do leave a particularly unpleasant aftertaste. They'd found this
place by accident, will stout, hunting for glory. It was only after
they found a way in that they'd found themselves unable to leave. Since then
they'd been lost, their edges blurring in the warping shadows of the building until
they were down to their bleakest, bare bones, cells and belong Now will
it be for this place finally collapses? I expect not rotten luck, really,
still one last good meal to fill our bellies. I suppose I better
start sharpening my long knives where I why, mister s. I do believe
she's awake. That jam's a kitten in the spokes. It's okay, miss,
This is mister s. He saved you from a wild, bloodthirsty cat,
savage creature. It was no need to thank me. Can't be too
careful around cats. They they eat the dead. Why are you bolding a
buonfire to keep you safe and toasty? Miss? There are devils running loose
all around us. Here's my car. It is the true of diamond last.
No wonder I lost that hat. You did say it was impossible,
all playing in the dark. I need to find my brother, my dear.
You really shouldn't. You'll be all right. Flickering like a candle,
Miss Merrit, what have you done? You need a good long lie down,
miss, preferably close to the fire. Someone in your condition, it's
all the rest they can get. I'm not in any condition. I need
to find my brother and fix this mess. I'd be more worried about bears
than brothers if I were you, Miss bes shush, missed, I oh,
my boat. I never meant that any of these. I say.
Our meal is making itself a takeaway after her, mister, I yes,
mister S. She could only see branches and darkness at first, Then,
as her green eyes adjusted, victorious are ruined walls covered in seas of seething
leaves, the floor carpeted in roots, doors and windows was woven into the
wood or spreading like uninvited scales. The air was choked with a thick scent
of sap. She could hear the tree still growing, tearing her home apart.
Stepping over roots and ducking under branches. It started to feel like she
was lost in some deep dark wood. It was hard to know where to
go now. The corridors and rooms were no longer a single whole location.
They were being pushed out of place or left to drift apart. The views
outside every window refused to match. Some of the doors led to nowhere at
all. Please do be careful, miss, I've got you. Stop passing
over me. Let me go. You really be going off on your own.
We need you to stay with us, I said, Let me go.
Listen to mister I. Maybe have a sleep. You'll feel different in
the morning. What's that's supposed to me? It means we can't always be
there to save you from cats. If you go wandering off, cats eat
the dead. But I'm not dead, no, miss, but I'm rather
afraid we are. What and your house makes a so terribly hungry girl?
Mister? Don't you see she's nothing special? Now she'll make a perfect last
meal, we say, she flicked right out of your hands, a little
cheat. She'd better not do that when she's cooked. Who are these people?
Where are you? Little girl? I want my meal? Best to
show yourself. Miss, you'll make it quicker if you do. Don't fraternize
with the food, mister I it's unbecoming. I'm still not sure I want
to eat another child. Mister nonsense. You never know. Her death might
set us free. No, now, we both know the bear will set
us all through. And what's all this about bears? They can't be talking
about merits. He's scared of bears, they say, the bears climbing the
tree to build himself a brand new kingdom. That doesn't sound good. How
many times I have to tell you, mister iron, he's no more a
bear than he's a wolf, or an owl or a shepherd. Let the
old fool run back to his ungodly superstitions. I want that you can go
cooking on a skewer. I felt so hungry. It's all that time we
spent lost in the dark. There was a different down there, lost in
the dark. They must be from the basement. That tree must have set
them loose. But that means Mary, I think I want to dream.
This is an important moment. Anyone hiding that shadow boy is mocking us again.
It's a shame we can't have him for dinner. He'd probably tastes like
rancid shellfish or vinegar skin and grit. Why is he doing this? I
know you're in there, little girl. I will have my pound of flesh.
Child still, lock her down and walk left off the basement against a
special looks like we have competition, mister s They'll need to get past my
long knives, and they want to taste of our dinner. Victoria ducked around
crumbling corners and cut through ruined rooms until she found the nearest branch she could
reach. Then she began to climb. She had never been the best when
it came to climbing trees, but what choice did she have left. I
think I'm nearly on her good work. Don't let her there you are,
I was getting worried about you. Come on, we need to keep climbing
by yourself, Victoria, you're refusing to die, so it's the base for
you, all your own down in the dark. When I find you,
Marritt, I'm going to make you wish I was an only child. Victoria
tried to keep herself together as she kept climbing, managing to stay ahead of
the nightmares her brother had set loose. She knew she'd been saved from being
broken before she knew what it would take, but she was so tired her
arms and legs ached, her head felt like it was about to split open.
This is hopeless. I can't tell where I'm going. I keep feeling
like I'm climbing down when I'm going up. This tree doesn't make any sense.
It's like we've been climbing in circles. Look at you, who's there.
We hid from you for so long. We listened to the stories about
you and shooking fear. But you're just a little girl. Such a disappointment.
I should warn you. I'm in no mood for lectures right now,
Oh little ghost girl. I climb back down. When I heard you coming,
I thought that we would have ourselves a grand fight. But now I
can see her not even a snack between meals. I could attract you with
a shiny toy instead of using that blind spot of a brother. Wait,
you did this. You're the one they were talking about before. You're the
bear. That's such a little name for what I used to be. But
you do have to admit that you look a lot like a bear, a
very large bear, all the better for climbing. Now I've got you,
a little beast. You will pay for poor old mister, And if he
died without even in this sorry statue, deserve a better death than anything offered
by that tiny goblin of a man. They said you're going to build yourself
a kingdom. He should probably know that I'm going to have to stop you
at some point. Oh really, not right now. Of course, this
is becoming sort of a busy day for me. I think two men just
try to eat me, and my brother is trying to tear my home apart.
But I'm sure I can make time to stop the giant bear or whatever
you really are. I look forward to seeing you try a little one.
Of course, you'll need to deal with them those That one is going to
be troubled. This is getting us nowhere. I can't outrun them, and
I can't keep up with a giant bear, and I can't find Merritt if
you won't let me look for him. An you think you can find your
way out of you there, good because I need you to find someone for
me. Today's episode featured Cynthia Loman as Cuckoostone, our tal's narrator, Amber
Collins as Victoria, Louis Pollard as Merritt, Kim Cronflet as Mister S,
David Alt as Mister I, and Karim Kronfley as Ursa aka the Bear.
Sound design was created by Davis Walden, our sound designer and the creator of
The Verdian Wild podcast. The Verdian Wild is a fantasy adventure audio drama podcast
following mythozoologist Sebastian Verwood as he travels the world studying magical creatures. You can
find the show at the Verdianwild dot com that's vir I, D I A
N or you can subscribe to it wherever you get your podcasts. Today's custom
score and the new theme song for our show was created by our resident composer,
Nico Vites of We Talk of Dreams. Find Nico at We Talk of
Dreams dot com and streaming on Twitch. Artwork was created by Janette and Dromeda,
illustrator, artist, YouTuber and all around amazing human. Find her being
creative at Janette Creations dot com. Our author is Christopher Long. You can
find him at Cjlongwords dot com. Chris is been featured on Victoria's Lift,
Shadows at the Door, and The Wicked Library multiple times. More of his
work is available on Amazon. Story editor and producer is Daniel Foytech of Ninth
Story Studios. That's Me until next time. Keep your music box wound and
follow Victoria on Twitter at lift Guide. Victoria's Lift is a Ninth Story Studio's
production. All rights reserved.