Second Citadel - The Silvered Secrets (Part 1) is an episode of the Penumbra Podcast in the Tales of the Second Citadel series. It is the eighth Second Citadel episode of season 4, and the seventeenth overall.
Overview[]
Hidden in the Wayward East lies a city lost to time: Silvershore. With silver sands twinkling in the spring sunlight, cool waves of the Wayward sea lapping at its docks, and violet crystal monoliths jutting from the surrounding desert sands, Silvershore is a place of beauty... and of mystery.
Every city has its secrets. A secret city has even more. And though Olala wants to learn the secrets of Silvershore, though she wants to make this strange city her home... she may soon find that what happens in secret shadow is more than she bargained for.
Trigger Warnings[]
- Racism and xenophobia
- Depictions of chase/pursuit
- Violence and threats of violence (towards humans and animal-like creatures)
- Deep bodies of water
- Claustrophobic/enclosed spaces
- Home invasion
- Explosions and sudden loud noises
Episode Summary[]
Olala is enthralled by what little she's seen of Silvershore, but Caroline won't allow her to leave the hotel the group is staying in. Ale is allowed to leave to compete in prizefights to earn local money, making Olala feel she's being treated like a child. She and Caroline argue about whether Caroline's fears are real and justified, but they are interrupted by Quanyii talking in a disturbed sing-song manner, still unwell from "mirror madness." Caroline caves, feeling it might be better for Olala to have a break from listening to Quanyii. Olala leaves, making Caroline to promise she will also be careful, and takes Angelo with her.
A doctor calls on Caroline and Quanyii while they are gone. They tell Caroline that Quanyii isn't curable in the usual way. They chuckle that some of their equipment has even begun to behave oddly from exposure to Quanyii--telling terrible jokes or speaking in their dead brother's voice. Centuries of bed rest will cure her, or a treatment using what the doctor claims is impossible to obtain: a dandelion. Caroline scoffs and insists she will go find a dandelion, while the doctor watched Quanyii.
Olala and Angelo shop, but discover that even when Ale has earned money, they may not have enough to buy the books on the Western Wastes that interest her. Angelo suggests they watch a play, but admission isn't free, and Olala is embarrassed by Angelo's loud surprise drawing attention to them. Yearning to blend in and observe ordinary life without being stared at, Olala tells Tail she has resolved to sneak away from him to explore.
Angelo, meanwhile, has found a seller of used books, Crickitilly, who allows browsing. Olala is delighted to find she can glance through a chapter on the Garden of Graves, and attempts to "pace" while she reads, thinking she will walk away with it just long enough to read it properly while Angelo and Crickitilly talk about the rising prices of entertainment in Silvershore, including books and theater, and an interesting performance Crickitilly saw. Angelo spots Olala taking the book too far and takes it from her. Another customer, wrapped in a scarf, takes it, and he and Olala recognize each other: he's the book thief she saw through the crystal in Sir Pellinore's lair. They recognize each other, and the thief flees with the book into a water-filled alley. Cricketilly says, frustrated, that it leads to the underwater district, the City Beneath, and nobody can follow him far without gills. Olala grows some and dives in, while Angelo sighs and sits down to wait for her.
Caroline tries to buy a dandelion, but struggles with scammers. She thinks to have one sent to her from home, but sending a letter even close to the Second Citadel is prohibitively expensive. A gremlin named Gremling approaches her to say he'll pay for her letter to be sent to the Northern Wilds if she'll do a job for him in Silvershore's black market.
The thief, whose name is Lam, is dismayed but unsurprised to find that Olala slipped past him and beat him to his hideout. He offers her the book if she'll leave him alone forever, but she brushes him off in favor of poking around his home. As they talk, Olala reveals she's a shapeshifter, and Lam explains to her that Wayward East Press has a near monopoly on publishing, and stealing books is the only option he has for reading whatever he wants. Olala picks his pocket to find a pearl that allowed Lam to breath underwater, and Lam takes "her" back with great alarm, making her promise not to mess with the pearl again.
Lam carries on to explain that WEP periodically "vaults" books and destroys copies to drive up demand, horrifying Olala. Lam offers to let Olala work with him, and together they look at the book that discussed the Garden of Graves. Olala is thrilled to see it was written by Sister Beenok, a famed nun from the past. Olala agrees to return the next day to help Lam break into a clock tower he believes contains the WEP's book vault.
By the time Olala returns to the hotel, it's 10:00 at night. Quanyii is confused but calm, to her relief, but Angelo bursts into the room, shouting his own relief to see her safe. She tells him she was in no danger, and merely lost track of time. Angelo accuses her mildly of planning to steal the book herself, and she tries to tell him how terrible Wayward East Press is, but he points out that it was a used book--she's only hurt Cricketilly. Olala is frustrated again, feeling his disappointment means she's acting like a spoiled child, but Angelo assures her he's disappointed in her because he knows she's grown up enough to have chosen not to use her responsibility and kindness.
Angelo leaves, and Caroline enters, to find Olala bursting into tears. They have a conversation about trust and honor, and about Angelo's tremendous capacity for patience and forgiveness. Olala is reluctant to tell Caroline what she did to upset him, and accuses Caroline of also breaking their deal not to get in trouble. They argue again about expectations, agitating Quanyii until she screams about fire. Olala runs out, leaving Caroline to quietly tell Quanyii that the job she took has pointed her in the direction of a man who sounds like Sir Galahad.
Cast[]
- Marge Dunn as Olala;
- Leslie Drescher as Caroline;
- Stewart Evan Smith as Lam;
- M Sutherland as Angelo;
- Melissa De Jesus as Quanyii;
- And Kate Jones and Alexander Stravinski as the Ensemble.
Crew[]
- Alice Chuang as Head of Design
- Ginny D'Angelo as Head of Merchandise and Outreach
- Melissa DeJesus as Script editing team
- Harley Takagi Kaner as Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designer
- Joelle Kross as Transcriptionist
- Noah Simes as Production manager
- Grahame Turner as Script editing team
- Kevin Vibert as Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writer
- Ryan Vibert as Composer and performer of original music
- Recorded by Mertz at The Bridge Sound & Stage