0:01

Where am I? Welcome to

0:03

Desert Skies, Traveler. Your

0:06

journey through the physical plane

0:08

has come to an end.

0:11

I am the attendant. My

0:13

colleague here is the mechanic. This

0:16

is your last stop on your way to

0:19

the great beyond. It's

0:21

our job to make sure you're prepared

0:23

for the ride. Now, before hitting the

0:25

road, we have an impressive selection of

0:27

over 34 varieties of

0:30

microwavable burritos. Um,

0:33

what's going on? There's gotta be a

0:35

better afterlife than this. I mean,

0:37

come on! That's offensive. Something

0:39

seems to be wrong with me. You

0:41

left something major undone.

0:44

I have a life outside of

0:46

this gas station, you know. You

0:48

quite literally do not. Any hobbies?

0:50

Nope. Ever travel? Nope. Love

0:53

interests? Are you kidding? Oh my god.

0:55

You like the human version of a

0:57

plain bagel. Cash register. How can

0:59

I help you attend it? Play some music? You got

1:02

it. It's

1:04

kind of funny though. What I needed wasn't

1:06

back there. It was here, waiting

1:08

for me. I wonder what it feels

1:10

like, Mac, to miss the physical plane

1:12

of people you left behind? You know, I

1:14

had a wife who died three years ago. Wish

1:17

I could go back. No, you don't need to go

1:19

back. You just need to be here. And

1:22

a new traveler approaches. Ready team?

1:24

Ready. Attended. Good. Let's do this.

1:26

Find Desert Skies wherever you listen

1:28

to podcasts. Hello, dear listeners. You're

1:31

listening to the ad-supported version of

1:33

the show. If you'd like

1:35

to support us more directly, get

1:37

episodes early and ad-free, and listen

1:39

to our many bonus episodes, consider

1:41

signing up on either Patreon or

1:44

Apple subscriptions for just a few dollars. Every

1:46

new sign-up makes us really happy

1:48

and really helps us to make

1:51

new episodes. So more info on

1:53

ameliapodcast.com. Thank you so much and

1:55

happy listening. This

1:57

episode is dedicated to our long-term

2:00

term patron, LG, who will

2:02

be found smothered by stashes

2:04

of fabric and yarn. Police

2:06

will discover a laptop displaying the

2:09

BritEx Fabrics website with 47 items

2:12

in the shopping card. We will

2:14

resurrect LG as a wise-cracking waitress

2:16

at a roadside diner in the

2:19

Pacific Northwest. Be like

2:21

LG, support the show, and let us fake

2:23

your death. Enjoy the episode.

2:30

Stuka to lungo. Sore

2:36

la sore pirueta. Why

2:41

are you piruetting? Because

2:43

I can't. You are showing off

2:45

jealous. This is no

2:47

way to fight, Arthur. You should

2:49

be conserving energy. Not

2:51

my style. If you are

2:54

ever in a real world,

2:56

cavazione, menza cavazione, contre postura.

2:59

Under the leg. What? You

3:01

weren't expecting that, were you? This is silly.

3:04

Behind the back. Arthur. Ouch. And

3:07

another self hit. I'm fine. No,

3:11

you're not. On guard. I

3:14

think we should take a break. Scared?

3:16

Oh no. Admit it.

3:18

I am an unpredictable opponent.

3:20

Unpredictable, yes. Arthur, what

3:23

is that? What? The

3:27

paper on the floor. The paper? I don't

3:29

know. I don't know. Someone

3:31

must have slipped it under the door

3:33

while we were fencing. What

3:39

is it? A phoenix. It

3:44

is an impressive sketch. The

3:46

flames are so lively. You can

3:48

almost feel the heat. This

3:51

must be the work of a great

3:53

artist. There's something written beneath. Very

3:56

neat handwriting. Ah. Thicky

3:59

knot. It's... I...

4:02

carev... It's Cobbledygook.

4:05

Give it to me. Verocchio,

4:08

tonight. What? It

4:11

is mirror-script. Verocchio needs

4:13

our help. Interesting. You

4:16

must go and see him. But we are visiting

4:18

the cobbler's shop this evening. I'm

4:21

still not sure a cobbler's shop is

4:23

a suitable front for a... Why not?

4:26

Making boots. It will be a comfortable

4:28

life and everyone needs to get their

4:30

souls patched. It's the perfect pretext for

4:32

meeting clients. Besides, we can't stay in

4:34

this attic forever. If we want

4:37

to make Florence our new base, we need to... Ooh,

4:40

what? Firebird footwear!

4:42

What do you think? I think that boot making

4:45

is a skill that takes many years to match

4:47

it. I will master it just like I mastered

4:49

fishing. And preaching. And

4:51

basket weaving. And rat catching. And

4:54

jousting. And... I

4:57

am a jack of all trades. Master

4:59

of none. I heard

5:01

that. You want

5:03

to stay in Florence as much as I do,

5:05

right? Oh, yes. I believe it

5:08

is the most interesting place to be. Right.

5:11

I will inspect this cobbler's shop.

5:13

Yes! But you

5:15

must meet Verocchio. Setting

5:17

up a new cover operation requires funds.

5:20

And an artist of Verocchio's standing

5:23

can pay. Very well.

5:26

Another match? No, Arthur. On

5:29

guard. Arthur, Soto il Braquio.

5:31

I said... Adzione Volante. Very

5:34

well. Valtzudri! Valtzudri!

6:14

The Amelia Project created

6:16

by Philip Thorne and Austin Ulsbeck

6:19

Braga with music and sound direction

6:21

by Frederick Pardon and sound design

6:23

by Eli Hamada McElveen. Andres

6:26

Delvarrochio? Oh! Oh,

6:28

so sorry, I didn't see

6:30

you there.

6:48

It's so dark and, well, you're

6:51

so still. Yes. Verrocchio?

6:54

That's not Verrocchio, that's a statue. Who are you?

6:56

Where are you? Up here. Oh,

7:00

what are you doing up on that ladder? Varnishing

7:11

a canvas. You're an apprentice? Just

7:14

a Garzione. Call your

7:16

master, please. It's late.

7:18

Verrocchio's already in bed. Wait.

7:22

What? Are you? Yes.

7:28

I can't believe it's you. No, no,

7:31

I'm here to see your- You're the Phoenix

7:33

guy. I

7:35

know who you are. Verrocchio

7:37

shouldn't have told you about me. We

7:39

operate in utmost secrecy. We- Verrocchio

7:42

didn't send for you. What?

7:45

I did. You? Yes.

7:48

No, no, that can't be. Verrocchio

7:50

left this. See?

7:52

There we are. Yep, that was me. You

7:56

drew this. No, no,

7:58

it's- Just a silly little do-