Omen Presents: Apollo + Apocryphal Accounts

Show notes + Transcript

Just a quick note before we begin, this episode of Omen Presents features an exclusive sneak peek of Omen's new bonus anthology, Apocryphal Accounts. So stay tuned to hear the entire first scene from our 2-hour special! Thanks and enjoy the show!

[[OMEN MAIN THEME]]

Hello, friends! I'm Tim Krause, creator of Omen, and welcome to a very special presentation of Omen Presents! As you may already know, Omen released our 2-hour bonus anthology, Apocryphal Accounts, earlier this year. And I am very excited today because Apocryphal Accounts is now available on the awesome new podcasting app, Apollo!

For those who don't know, Apollo is exclusive to audio fiction and audio drama shows and is working to make it easier for listeners to discover great audio fiction and help empower creators to push the frontiers of audio storytelling.

I am joined today by a handful of beautiful people from the Apollo Team, including Apollo Co-Founder, Chief Content Officer, and creator of the award-winning audio drama "Earth Eclipsed" Nick Prufer; Apollo Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer, and sound engineer of "Earth Eclipsed" AJ Churchill; and finally, Apollo Head of Community and creator of the award-winning audio drama "VALENCE" Wil Williams!

Welcome to the show, my friends! Please tell us a little about yourselves and what you do with Apollo.

Topics covered:

How does Apollo stand out from other podcasting apps?
What are Apollo's unique features? What are you working on?
What do you see as Apollo's role in the audio fiction community?
Why should listeners and audio fiction creators switch to Apollo?
What do you hope for the future of audio fiction?
So where can people find and use Apollo?

I am very proud to have partnered Omen with Apollo and I'm really excited to be a part of everything your team is building. Thank you all so much for joining me today!

And now for an exclusive preview of Omen's Apocryphal Accounts, Volume 1. You can download the entire 2-hour anthology on Apollo for $5, which supports both Omen and Apollo. Thank you for listening and until next we meet, fair winds and following seas!

[[OMEN MAIN THEME]]

Omen: Apocryphal Accounts, Volume One

Transcript

[[SFX: tavern music]]

Torn: [[cordial]] Greetings and welcome, dear friends! It's so good to be in your excellent company once again! [[satisfied sigh]] Well! It has been quite the sweeping adventure thus far, hasn't it? [[catching self]] That is--this whole "Omen" saga, as it's come to be known. [[haughty]] I'd say the story thus far has proven to be a strong enough start to the series. A bit of an overly sappy ending for my taste, though I must admit the plot concluded well enough. And yes, it's a travesty that yours truly was given such a paltry role in the tale. But I daresay I at least managed to leave an impression. [[chuckles]]

Torn: Oh! I suppose you're all wondering why I'm even still here, yes? You were led to believe that little cave-in was my undoing, hmm? [[scoffs]] Come now. Have you learned nothing of the heartiness of incubi? [[coy]] But… we'll get to all that soon enough. For who better to host this menagerie of mythos, this elegant lot of lore, than a bona fide master of yarn spinning ceremonies such as myself?

Torn: "But what's this?" I can almost hear you protest! "Our story hasn't featured a narrator before!" Well, my friends, that is quite true. But there also hasn't been a need for one until just now. For you see, any grand adventure is merely a collection of stories. And stories, well… we all have one of those, don't we? But even a sprawling epic such as Omen plays host to the odd tale or two that slips through the cracks. Untold origins and insights that may not steer the greater narrative. But details that nonetheless deepen the waters on which we all sail. Join me--won't you?--as we venture together into the uncharted fringes of Omen, and delve into the first of many… Apocryphal Accounts!

[[OMEN MAIN THEME]]

[[SFX: harbor ambiance, gulls]]

Torn: Quite fittingly, we begin our journey in the City of Lost Omens, sparkling in the early morning light at the center of the world. Specifically, we look to its bustling docks district. The forest of teetering masts and groaning planks make for a perfect backdrop; an inevitable intersection for all yarns worth spinning in these parts. And as our setting is brought more sharply into focus, one moored ship among hundreds catches our eye. Her hull is still proudly emblazoned with the licentious moniker "The Witch's Teat". For as we now peer into the lives of her crew, the daring mutiny that changed the course of all those aboard has not yet come to pass. [[dramatic]] And the heroine of our first tale has not yet awoken to her true calling…

[[SFX: sea/harbor ambience, creaking boat planks]]

[[SFX: Lola snores gently, heavy footsteps approach, knocking on door]]

Battoh: [[calling from outside]] Quartermaster! [[pause]] Lola! Are you in there?

Lola: [[tired groan]] [[calling from bed]] Piss off, will you?

Battoh: [[calling from outside]] Captain's just returned from the Guild Hall.

Lola: [[tired/annoyed]] What, already!?

Battoh: [[calling from outside]] You have two minutes. Perhaps fewer.

Lola: [[tired/annoyed]] Ughhh… you're sure you didn't just see a shaved bugbear strutting about in a tricorn?

Battoh: [[calling from outside]] This one has given warning.

[[SFX: heavy footsteps trail off]]

Lola: [[struggles with clothes]] Figures he's only a gods-damned early bird when we make port. Only time I can get any bloody sleep!

[[SFX: rustling cloth, jangling buckles]]

[[SFX: footsteps approach, Stoddard and Battoh's voices fade in]]

Battoh: [[far off]] At this time, patience might pay more dividends than a swift departure. News from the north might assist in plotting future courses.

Lola: [[curses to self]]

Stoddard: [[annoyed, far off]] Gods, Battoh--it's always "hurry up and wait" with you! Just how long do you expect me to sit here on my ass? Waiting day and night on that drooling s'wit trash to finally show their faces? Like a neutered dog begging for its dinner!

Lola: [[curses to self]]

Battoh: [[patient]] This one simply calls attention to every option, Captain. The Teat is fully stocked and can depart at your command. This one has already passed your orders on to the Woe's men. Shall they also be instructed to punish Barlow's lot in your absence?

[[SFX: footsteps halt just outside]]

Stoddard: [[thoughtful, coy]] No… No, I see what you're playing at. Spare the rod, spoil the child--yes? Or are you merely attempting to pry a few more days of shore leave from me?

Battoh: [[patient]] This one only means to--

Stoddard: [[barking laughter]] Of course not! What was I thinking? I swear to the gods, Battoh--you would salt a pomelo to celebrate your own naming day! [[laughs]]

Battoh: [[dryly]] A fine jest, Captain.

Stoddard: [[amused]] Very well! You've talked me into staying--but only for a few more days. [[nonchalant]] After all--it's been too long since I've made an example of the freelancers.

[[SFX: jangling keys, door unlocks/opens]]

Lola: [[clears throat]] [[feigning impatience]] 'Bout time you showed up.

Stoddard: [[suspicious]] And what have we here?

Lola: [[feigning impatience]] We need to talk about prisoner rations. And the latest fruit restock is already half-rotten. I told you that gnome looked a right gombeen.

Stoddard: [[smiling]] That will be all, Battoh. Two more days or until Barlow's lot shows--whichever comes first.

Battoh: Aye, Captain.

[[SFX: door closes, heavy footsteps trail off]]

Stoddard: [[coy]] What's this about rations now?

Lola: [[terse]] The prisoners. They don't have enough of them.

Stoddard: Well! I think the solution is fairly obvious, don't you think?

Lola: Aye. Buy more rations. I'll get right on it.

[[SFX: hurried footsteps, Stoddard moves to intercept]]

Stoddard: [[interrupting]] Let's not be so hasty, dear Quartermistress. After all--we do have all that rotten fruit to get rid of. A bit of a treat for our guests.

Lola: [[frustrated sigh]] And how long d'you reckon it'll take before eighteen people's worth of sick and dysentery fumes makes its way up through the lower decks?

Stoddard: [[amused]] We're short on mops now too, are we?

Lola: [[stern]] Drying out prisoners means drying out the water casks faster. Which means even more gold spent on rations and less earned at market. [[mocking]] Unless you're planning on running a discount trafficking operation now? "Honest Stoddard's Sickly Chattel", is that it? Has a nice ring to it, actually.

Stoddard: [[smiling]] I'm guessing there's a reason you're bringing this… urgent news to my attention in my private quarters and not above deck?

Lola: [[attempting nonchalance]] Oh, you know me. Never one to pass up a bit of luxury. [[suggestive]] Or new opportunities, for that matter.

Stoddard: [[coy]] Is that so? As I recall, you were never much of an early riser.

Lola: [[shrugging]] They say you should dress for the job you want. [[seductive]] Thought you might have something in my size.

[[SFX: heavy footsteps approach]]

Stoddard: [[humorless]] You're trying to distract me.

[[SFX: slow footsteps approach]]

Lola: [[smiling]] Trying? Or succeeding?

[[SFX: pistol cocks, Lola gives a frustrated grunt]]

Stoddard: [[coldly]] You know the rules. Hands behind your head. I so much as feel your haunches clench and you'll lose a few dress sizes.

Lola: [[rolling eyes]] That ain't how that works.

Stoddard: Threats of violence don't need to make sense. Now stand still.

[[SFX: hand rustling over cloth/leather]]

Lola: Alright! Steady on! [[uncomfortable groan]] At least offer a girl a shot of whiskey first.

Stoddard: What were you looking for in here, eh? Gold? A dagger? Knowing you, I'd say a bit of both.

Lola: [[scoffs]] As if I'd let you catch me with either.

Stoddard: [[unamused]] Well? What, then?

Lola: [[frustrated sigh]] Just looking to catch a few winks away from the usual chorus of snores and tail scutters, is all.

Stoddard: [[scoffs]] And you expect me to believe that?

Lola: [[fed up]] I expect you to take your grubby hand off my arse! And you can point your lad somewhere else, while you're at it. Really--you think I lasted this long aboard the Teat pinching knick-knacks outta your powder box?

[[SFX: gun holstered]]

Stoddard: [[suspicious]] Hmm. I've heard it said, "Give a Narrows rat the time and they'll take the chain, as well."

Lola: [[dusting herself off, annoyed]] At least rats are smart enough not to make their burrows in the pockets they steal from. Are we done here?

Stoddard: [[mocking]] And now the sultry Quartermistress is suddenly in a hurry! [[eyes narrow]] What were you looking for?

Lola: I told you--I was trying to get some bloody sleep. You really need to change your sheets more often, by the way.

[[SFX: sheets rustling]]

Stoddard: [[to self]] Hmm, still warm. [[suspicious]] I suppose it never crossed your mind to just rent a room dockside?

Lola: [[laughs]] With all the gold you don't pay me? [[scoffs]] If I was stupid enough to steal from you, that's actually the first thing I'd do.

Stoddard: And I assume you make yourself at home in here whenever I'm away?

Lola: [[shrugs]] Battoh keeps me too busy to sneak in most of the time. And I always make sure to lock up before I leave. No harm, no foul.

Stoddard: There's a reason I dismiss you after we've had our fun. [[threatening]] If I find anything missing--

Lola: [[interrupting, annoyed]] You won't. And when have I mentioned anything about what we do ever being fun?

Stoddard: [[dark chuckle]] I've never heard any complaints. [[scoffs]] You do love trying to get my goat, don't you? I'll admit, I… appreciate that forked tongue of yours from time to time. I trust you're intelligent enough to know when to take your little jabs… [[darkly]] and when to mind your words.

Lola: [[coy]] Oh your life's an open book, love. With small words, big print, and lots of pictures.

Stoddard: [[condescending]] Always so very clever. Just keep in mind I can't be held responsible for my actions if one of your abrasive remarks were ever to catch me in a bad mood.

Lola: [[teasing]] You? In a bad mood? Ah darling, you're the patron saint of chivalry. A right gentleman.

Stoddard: And despite how cheerful I may seem, if you ever speak of me like that to my crew… [[threatening]] I'll crush that slender little throat of yours with my bare hands. Without even a second thought. Understand?

Lola: [[feigning nonchalance]] Yeah, yeah. I know the rules, "Cap'n". [[sigh]] You really know how to chat up a girl, don't you?

Stoddard: I also know when my underlings are up to something.

Lola: [[sardonic]] Oh, I'm up to something all right. Up to my eyeballs in moldy tangerines. Now are you going to let me buy more or not?

Stoddard: [[suspicious]] You know of what I speak. Guarded whispers amongst the crew… nervous laughter. And a certain dubious inflection whenever the men address me as "Captain". Don't think I haven't noticed.

Lola: [[scoffs]] [[teasing]] Good to know I'm not the only jammer losing my mind aboard this tub. Though if you're really that paranoid… you might actually try being nice for a change. [[chuckles]] I mean--only as a desperate last resort, of course.

Stoddard: [[darkly]] Oh I've been plenty nice to you, dear Quartermistress. Perhaps a bit too nice. I wonder if a demonstration of my less… civil managerial techniques would change your tone.

Lola: [[fed up]] I haven't heard anything, alright? Besides--you think these blokes would ever bother including me in any theoretical hijinks of theirs?

Stoddard: You do have a habit of… conjugating your way into good graces.

Lola: [[fuming]] Why you-- [[stopping self]]

Stoddard: [[amused]] Hmm? Yes? Go on. What were you about to say?

Lola: [[bitter]] Nothing.

Stoddard: No, no--I insist! You obviously have something you're just burning to tell me. [[smiling]] So say it.

Lola: [[slow rattled breath]] [[through gritted teeth]] I have been threatened by worse, struck by stronger, and used by better scrubs than you could ever hope to be, Montague. You can never frighten me.

Stoddard: [[low angry growl]] Never say never, you vile little--

[[SFX: knocking on door]]

Stoddard: [[furious]] What?

[[SFX: door opens]]

Battoh: Apologies, Captain, but Barlow's skiff has just made harbor. [[uncertain]] Shall… this one greet them in your stead?

Stoddard: [[deep breath]] [[composing self]] Not at all, First Mate. [[pointed]] I could stand to blow off a bit of steam. Have the men prepare the tow line and tell them to mind the new paint. [[warning]] And you--get your ass down to the brig for bookkeeping.

[[SFX: footsteps]]

Stoddard: Oh, and Battoh--have Batab set out my weekday coat.

Battoh: [[confused]] Your coat, Captain?

Stoddard: This one's too fine to risk a stain. [[darkly]] You and I will resume our discussion later… Quartermistress.

[[SFX: footsteps diminish]]

Lola: [[under breath]] Bastard.

Battoh: [[under breath]] It is unwise to provoke him.

Lola: [[under breath]] He knows.

Battoh: [[under breath]] He suspects--nothing more.

Lola: [[under breath]] Yeah? Well he suspects very accurately. [[sigh]] How many others have you talked to?

Battoh: [[under breath]] Now is not the time to discuss this. Concern yourself only with maintaining your usual rapport with him.

Lola: [[under breath]] What do you think I was just doing? He'll know for sure if I don't piss him off at least a little bit.

Battoh: [[under breath]] This one shall not always be within earshot. Or able to intervene.

Lola: [[resentful]] I can handle myself, Xoshak.

Battoh: [[annoyed]] Then you should learn how to handle yourself better. This one must now work to redirect his foul humors.

Lola: It'll never work, you know. I… [[under breath, scared]] Waiting for the right moment won't matter if I can't beat him.

Battoh: [[sigh]] [[under breath]] We shall speak tonight. This one recommends staying alive until then.

[[SFX: heavy footsteps diminish]]

Lola: [[deep shuddering breath]] [[to self]] You're alright, Delores. [[sigh]] [[determined]] You're going to be alright.

[[SFX: gulls fading]]

[[SFX: tavern music]]

Hello again, friends! That was the first of five scenes from Omen's Apocryphal Accounts, Volume 1. The full 2-hour anthology features even more stories and secrets from some of your favorite Omen characters. If you'd like to support Omen and Apollo, you can download Apocryphal Accounts, Volume 1 on Apollo for only $5. Thank you all for your love and support and until next we meet, fair winds and following seas!