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Leon:

Wasting Company Time presents Tell No Tales, season two. Episode Nineteen: One-Time Offer.

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[SFX: Leo rummaging through several drawers and cupboards, sighing with frustration. Julia’s footsteps pursue quickly]

Julia

Leo! What are you-

[SFX: Leo‘s footsteps hurry off again before they continue rummaging]

Julia

Where are you going? Will you stop storming off for just a second and just… talk to me?

Leo

It’s fine, please just go and sit with Riley, they shouldn’t be alone.

Julia

Then come with me, come and sit with me and we’ll keep an eye on Riley and we can talk about what Nathaniel said to you. I get being upset, but storming off isn’t going to achieve anything.

[SFX: Frank’s footsteps approaching]

Leo

I’m not storming off. And I don’t have time to talk, I need to- Jesus, where is it?

Frank

Leonardo, calm down and explain yourself. We may be able to help.

Leo

How am I supposed to calm down after… Christ, how does a person manage to lose a damn stasis capsule?

Julia

Whose capsule, Leo?

Leo

Whitley’s! Who else? I need to find out how to help Riley. Frank said Mortui Non Morden were the last people to ever deal with a posession. He might be the last person around who could help.

Frank

It’s been less than a day since we spoke to my father, and we pushed him to his limits then. It is far too soon to talk with him again.

Leo

No, it’s far too soon to talk with whitley safely. I’m done with safely. I need answers.

Julia

What even makes you think he’s going to be any more helpful this time around? You’re going in circles, Leo, we need to find a way to help Riley now.

Leo

That’s what I’m doing. If you have a better idea of where to start, I’m happy to hear it.

Frank

(BEAT) He may be more helpful without me in the room. But Leonardo, you are not… forgive me, you have many strengths, but intimidation is not one of them.

Julia

For once, I agree with Frank. If you’re set on doing this, at least let me at him, I’ll sort him out.

Leo

No. I- I know I’m a bit… But not when it comes to Riley. I know I’m not the most… commanding of people, but I do not compromise when it comes to the people I love, okay?

Julia

At least let me come in with you. Be the, I don’t know, the muscle?

Leo

Julia that is very sweet of you but… I care a lot about what you think of me. I don’t think I could follow through with this if you were listening.

Julia

Oh. That’s… that’s a bit concerning.

Leo

It’s for Riley.

Julia

I didn’t say I was going to stop you.

Frank

I have his capsule locked away in that cabinet. You’ll need the key.

[SFX: Keys jangling]

Do what you must, Leonardo. I am not sure, given everything, that this is what you wish to hear from me right now. But I am very proud of you.

[SFX: Leo’s footspes approaching, Keys being passed over]

Leo

You’re right. I don’t think I did want to hear that.

Julia

I guess I’ll just… sit with Riley, then.

Leo

Thank you. I’m sorry about this. I just… they need us right now. And this is the only way I can help.

Julia

(IT’S CLEARLY NOT FINE) Yeah. It’s fine. Just… come back soon.

[SFX: Julia’s footsteps leaving]

Frank

I will be just next door. A single word from you, Leo, if you need me, and I will be here.

Leo

I… Thanks. Yeah. I’ll be fine.

[SFX: Frank’s footsteps leaving. Leo unlocks the cabinet, and retrieves Whitley’s capsule. They begin opening it at the moble tether, pause to take a deep breath, then continue, releasing Whitley.]

Leo

Whitley.

Whitley

Ah, yes, how long was I away for this time?

Leo

Not long enough. But we need your help.

Whitley

Seems that is all anybody needs from me, these days.

Leo

Trust me, I’m not in the mood to play games. What do you know about possession?

Whitley

A considerable amount, as would befit somebody of my line of work.

Leo

Then tell me about it.

Whitley

And why would I do that? So my son can continue his facade of leadership over my life’s work? On that note, where is Richard? Too much of a coward to face me again, I suppose.

Leo

Mr. Whitley. I’m not used to threatening people. It’s not usually what I’m about…

Whitley

Yes, I noticed that last we spoke. A little wisdom for your future endeavours, a quiver in the voice is not likely to convince anybody you intend to stand by your threats.

Leo

Well then listen closely and tell me if you hear a quiver this time around. Because I am dead serious. We thought we needed you. But if you continue to be unhelpful, we have no reason to keep you around, do we? My friend is in a very bad situation, and I’m only going to ask you once for your help. Just once. One-time offer, and as soon as it’s off the table, you’ll officially be considered unhelpful to me. Now you don’t know me, or my friend Riley, so let me spell this out for you. I would die for them in a heartbeat. It’s fair to assume that there’s not much else I wouldn’t put on the line for them. Including your safety and comfort. Possibly even your life. I’m not sure what exactly happens when a spirit is left on this tether for too long. So you get to decide whether or not we find out together. I’ve already taken you back out sooner than I should have, and we don’t have long before you start slipping. Certainly not long enough for me to change my mind. And in the unlikely event I do change my mind, I know your son would take great pleasure in getting the job done for me. He’s hurt far more innocent spirits than you over less. So. Give me a reason not to let you rot in this tether until you’re screaming in undignified agony. Tell me how to help my friend.

Whitley

(BEAT) You’ve grown, since we first met.

Leo

You have no idea.

Whitley

I think I do. When you came to my mausoleum, you were ready to bolt at my every move. You were terrified. You also did not appear to hold my son in particularly high esteem. What has he done, since then, to corrupt you? You were meek and cowardly, yes, but perhaps noble, am I correct? My son appears to have had rather a damning effect [on you]-

Leo

One-time offer, Whitley. Leaving the table in five… four… three… two…

Whitley

Very well. What do you need to know?

Leo

(RELIEVED SIGH) Everything. Anything you can tell me about possession. How to get the spirit out of them safely, how to save them.

Whitley

Mortui Non Morden had a method. A second ritual used to forcibly remove a spirit from a body it was possessing. A little more brutish than the other ritual. Thankfully it was never used in my lifetime, but we studied it regularly out of an abundance of caution. First, you exorcise the spirit from your friend, then you banish the spirit entirely. Spirits are generally much more difficult to move on if they are being forced to do so. The ritual is usually only successful if the spirit is willing. However, I was always told that possession is the exception to the rule. A spirit recently exorcised from its host body is weaker than most, and so may be forced to move on against its will.

Leo

Okay, so two rituals then? One after the other. Right. You’re going to tell me about both of them. In-depth.

Whitley

Yes, yes, I have already agreed, have I not? Patience is [a]-

Leo

A virtue, yeah. So I’ve heard.

Whitley

Then it would do you well to remember it. (BEAT) To begin with, both rituals must be completed in the light of a full-moon.

Leo

That seems oddly specific. Why?

Whitley

We believe it is to guide the spirits’ passage. But in all honesty we cannot be sure if this is the true reason. All we know for certain is that whenever these rituals have been attempted without a full moon, they have failed.

Leo

Okay. Okay, we might need to do a bit more research into that part. But noted, for now. What about the rituals themselves?

Whitley

To remove a spirit from a possessed body, first, the body must be poisoned. Truly poisoned. Not simply harmed or sickened, but badly enough that, if left untreated, death is an inevitability. We used Belladonna, or deadly nightshade as it is often called. It has its obvious risks of course. Once the spirit is gone, emetics, along with plenty of water and vinegar is sometimes successful in curing the host, though there will always be those who succumb to poisoning too fast to be cured.

Leo

That doesn’t sound like a solution.

Whitley

Then find your own if you are so dismissive of ours. The important part is that the spirit truly believes the body is uninhabitable. Once the poison has taken root, someone close to the possessed person must perform a grounding ritual. This involves physical touch, a laying-on-of-hands of sorts. The person performing the ritual must put pressure on the host body, assert that their body is of the physical plane. And they must speak to the possessed person, speak to their emotions and desires. If the touch reminds the person that their body is their own, the words serve to remind them that their spirit is their own.

Leo

That’s it? It all seems a bit… flowery.

Whitley

Yes, you do quite take after my son. He thought Mortui Non Morden could use a little more science. Spirits are guided as much by magic as by science, and it would do both you and Richard well to remember it.

Leo

Sure. So we’ve just got to poison Riley, touch them, and say nice things to them?

Whitley

A crude summary, but correct. Though there is the further problem of repossession. Any living person nearby when the spirit leaves the possessed’s body – especially the person completing the grounding ritual – is at risk of possession by the evacuated spirit. If not protected against it, then the ritual was for naught.

Leo

So how do we protect against possession?

Whitley

There is little we have found that is fool-proof. Though one method that often works is for the brain to be addled.

Leo

What?

Whitley

We used opium.

Leo

Opium? We need to be high?

Whitley

An addled mind is confusing to the spirit. It may still attempt to enter, but the disorientation should buy enough time to perform the removal ritual.

Leo

This is insane. So first we poison Riley, then we get too high to be of any help to them? And there’s only a chance any of this even works?

Whitley

(FURIOUS) Why do you think we spent centuries devoting our careers to ensuring spirits were removed before possession is even possible? This was the life work of generations of directors, and Richard has destroyed it all in a single lifetime.

Leo

I’m not even disagreeing with you, but we don’t have time to get into Frank’s failings right now. Is that everything about the possession ritual? You’re not leaving anything out?

Whitley

That is everything. What do I stand to gain from providing inadequate information at this stage?

Leo

Then tell me about the ritual to move spirits on.

Whitley

(A LITTLE SMUG) I am afraid I am beginning to feel rather faint. Perhaps another time.

Leo

Procrastinate all you like. You don’t go back in the capsule until you’ve told me. The longer you wait, the more it hurts.

Whitley

I agreed to tell you how to help your friend. Not how to move the spirit on. You may perform the anti-possession ritual on your friend, and relegate the spirit to another one these… metal prisons you have inflicted upon me. That should be sufficient.

Leo

Deal’s changed. Neither of us leaves here until you’ve told me all of it.

Whitley

(STUBBORN PAUSE, THEN SMALL INTAKE OF BREATH)

Leo

Yeah. I’ve got all the time in the world, but you’re running short. Dizziness comes first. Pain’s next. After that, who knows?

Whitley

(RELUCTANTLY) There is a passage that must be read. We used Latin, but the language is unimportant. What matters is the meaning and the importance behind the words. If English is the only language you are fluent in, use that.

Leo

Tell me.

Whitley

Take it down. Word for word.

Leo

It’s being recorded.

Whitley

I see. (BEAT) Wayward spirit, clinging to a life no longer your own, I free you. Lost shadow, remembering a world no longer your own, I guide you. (WORDS BEGIN TO RING WITH INCREASING REVERB) This world no longer serves you. This life ceases to preserve you. A new life, a new world, await. Be neither shadow nor spirit, but whole once more. Restless soul, I release you. Be guided, be free, (REVERB ENDS, AS IF THE MAGIC HAS FIZZLED OUT) be at rest.

Leo

That’s it?

Whitley

There are more- (WINCES IN PAIN). There are more components.

Leo

Tell me.

Whitley

It must take place in a space of great significance to the spirit. If they are tethered to a space, that will suffice. If tethered to an object, you need to move them (GROANING) – stop! It has been too long. Put me back.

Leo

No. Not until you tell me the rest of the ritual. Tell me, and you’re safe.

Whitley

(GRUNTING, TALKING QUICKLY, VOICE AND BACKGROUND SPIRIT PLANE NOISE BECOMING MORE DISTORTED) The space is important. But you also need something belonging to the spirit. Something sentimental or significant to them in life. Read the passage, then burn the-(SHOUTS IN PAIN)

Leo

(LOSING THEIR COOL) Please keep going. Please. I burn the object, then what?

Whitley

(IN IMMENSE PAIN) Burn it when the passage is almost complete… Use gunpowder. Something that creates sufficient energy… They need the energy to… to move on.

Leo

That’s it? That’s everything?

Whitley

Yes, all of it. Please.

[SFX: Capsule opens, Whitley returns]

Leo

(HYPERVENTILATING) I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m- I’m so sorry. Oh god. Oh(SOBBING)

[SFX: Door opens, Frank enters softly]

Frank

You did well, Leonardo. Hush now. You did well.

Leo

Get off me. Don’t touch me.

Frank

I understand your distress. But you have done so well.

Leo

I did what I needed to, but that was not- I shouldn’t-

Frank

I was listening at the door. We got what we needed.

Leo

No, we didn’t. I did. And I hate myself for it.

Frank

You should not. I was impressed.

Leo

That doesn’t make it better, Frank.

Frank

Leo…

Leo

Get out.

Frank

Leonardo.

Leo

Get out, Frank. I need to come to grips with what I’ve just done, and you being here congratulating me on becoming a good little torturer isn’t helping.

Frank

Very well.

[SFX: Frank leaves. Leo throws something, continues hyperventilating]

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Leon:

This episode of Tell No Tales was written and produced by Leon Egan. In it, you heard the voices of Shannon Kelly as Julia, Leon Egan as Leo Quinn, Asher Amor-Train as Frank, and Marlon Dance-Hooi as Montgomery Whitley. If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love it if you let someone know. It doesn’t have to be us, but it would be a nice ego boost if it was. You can find us on Twitter or Tumblr @tellnotalespod and as always, links and information about transcripts can be found in the show notes. Tell No Tales is distributed by Wasting Company Time Productions, under a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial share-alike 4.0 international license. Thank you for listening, and remember: the dead don’t bite.

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