If you remember back to Episode 40, we had an ally of dubious value named Worm. Worm was badly messed up by a rival Soul Thief. Episode 41 deals with the immediate aftermath: Worm is dying; perhaps the wisest course of action is no action at all. But Worm could teach Elena serious killin’ skills, if he doesn’t get her killed first. Elena just has to accept that she will not be fixing what’s wrong with Martin. Which means she has to accept that Martin may die sooner than either of them would like.
Episode 42 finds Worm without a hand and Elena with a clearer understanding of the wish that’s moving her. I’d like to say more, but she says it better than I ever could. This might be an episode you think about in the long term.
Behind the scenes, it would appear that I neglected to announce episode 41. Sorry about that. Momentum has been precious to me, and when I push an episode I throw myself at the next one with full fury. I actually published Episode 42 a few days ago. I’m dancing at the edge of chaos, letting the moment carry perhaps too much weight against the master plan for the story, but even so each episode goes through a lot of revisions before I inflict it on you.
Please enjoy Episode 41 and Episode 42.
Apparently I accidentally hit the “publish” button already, but now the episode is actually finished, with a title and everything. The core of the little group is perhaps strengthened a bit, but Martin has some bad news for the others.