Mistress: Previously on "The Outpost"...
Talon, you will love being part of the United.
- United? - [ screaming ]
Talon, you should be joining us, not fighting us.
You've killed her!
No, it's not possible.
[ grunts ]
And what brings you all this way?
We've come to bring peace to your village.
We'll find a way to stop Yavalla from turning us all into her puppets,
but we need to do it together.
[ chanting ] Talon! Talon! Talon!
Keep your distance.
Greetings, friends.
We're looking for Queen Rosmund.
We believe she and Baron Aegisford may have passed this way.
Queen Rosmund shared her message of peace with us.
- We were joined with her. - Well, that confirms it then.
This thing has already spread throughout the Realm.
You are the traitors.
The traitors from the Outpost.
We were warned about you.
Should I send in the Lu-Qiri to kill them all?
Why would we do that? They haven't done anything wrong.
- They're possessed. - They're people.
- We can't just massacre them. - No, she's right.
None of them chose to be infected by a kinj.
If we don't do something soon, they're just gonna spread it even further.
So we should just go around killing everyone
unlucky enough to come in contact with a kinj?
By the looks of things, you'd have to kill hundreds,
if not thousands to keep it from spreading.
Greetings, Talon.
Glad to see you're in good health.
- I don't know you. - If you could only experience
what it's like to be united with so many in complete harmony.
- I tried to share it with you. - Yavalla.
Wonder how far away she can be and still talk through them.
There's no distance I can travel and not be connected to the United.
Why are you doing this? These people are innocent.
Their lives were without meaning.
A never-ending cycle of poverty,
violence, and suffering.
Now, they only know unity and peace.
- This is not peace. - There's no enmity between them
and they're happy.
Is that not the very definition of peace?
I've been watching Janzo and Wren.
- Janzo was right. - [ chuckles ]
Would you pass Wren a message, please?
Tell her I approve her choice in mate
and I expect them both to come and join me soon.
We're too late to stop it from spreading.
This is already out of hand.
We should get back to the Outpost,
set up a sanctuary for the uninfected
until Janzo and Wren can come up with something.
That's a bad idea, Talon.
Do you want to take charge, Zed?
Because I didn't ask for the job.
No, no. People picked you to lead.
Then let me lead.
[ theme music playing ]
[ music playing ]
Postmaster!
- No one got infected out there? - We had eyes on all.
Seems just a little risky to let anyone back in except for Talon and Zed.
How are you feeling today, Garret?
- Pretty bad. - Good.
It means you're not infected... yet.
Send word to Gertrusha in Aegisford.
Tell them to shut their gates.
They need to go into complete lockdown.
Should I tell them why?
Tell them there's a new plague.
And put out word to anyone who can't lock down their town.
Tell them they can seek refuge at the Outpost.
Talon, are you sure that's wise?
Shouldn't we lock our own gates, not let more people in?
Do we even know if everyone who's already her is free of the infection?
- No. No, we don't, do we? - You both sound like Zed.
We need all the manpower we can get.
We need to protect as many uninfected people as we can.
Right, well, if we're going to allow people to take refuge here,
we need to figure out a better way to detect who's infected.
- So, get on that. - Sure.
I mean, Wren and I were busy trying to find a cure,
but I guess we can do two things at once.
It's not like there's just two people down there in the labs
working morning, noon, and night without any sleep.
I know you'll come through, Janzo. You always do.
Speaking of which, Yavalla says she's been watching you.
Oh, yes. Wren and I think she's still spying on us through the rats.
Rats?
[ squeaking ]
Your mother's definitely watching us through the rats we caught.
Let her. Look. See? There!
That's the mechanism right there.
It reproduces itself.
And now, I bet the rat is ready to pass it.
It's desperate for contact.
The kinj must be compelling it,
almost like a person addicted to drink.
Mm-hmm. Let's see what happens.
- Amazing. - That's it.
Start an hourglass. I need to know exactly how long
this whole reproductive process takes.
All right.
She was an amazing woman.
- Yeah. - But I was frightened of her.
Oh, yeah. Me, too. Never wanted to disappoint her.
Still don't, just in case she's watching.
Don't need her ghost showing up to give me a thick ear.
Mm. I'm feeling pretty useless.
- Not much to do since her Majesty left. - Yeah, yeah.
- Hey, do you want a job here? - Really?
We sure could use the help since Janzo's so busy sciencing.
Are you allowed to offer me a job?
Sure. Mum left the place to Janzo and me.
It's half mine. I can do--
I can do whatever I want.
All right, I accept.
Welcome to the Nightshade.
We'll have to get you one of Mum's barmaid outfits
so you look right for the part.
Mum used to say dresses like that
have a way of making for bigger tips.
- Never quite understood why. - [ door opens ]
- I do. - Janzo: Munt?
There you are. What's going--
Right. Look, Munt, I need your help, please.
I need you to go and catch me some rats.
- Lots and lots of rats. - Janzo... [ grunts ]
It's for science. Chop, chop.
[ groans ] I hate science.
Hey, you want to help me come catch some rats?
Yeah, you do. Come on. There.
Oh, yeah. This will be fun.
I'm telling you, Talon. You're making a big mistake.
You can't bring more people in here until we know they don't have kinjes.
Well, if they aren't acting all happy and peaceful, it's a pretty good tip off.
- You can sort of tell, don't you think? - Oh.
So you're gonna risk the safety of everyone in this Outpost
because you can sort of tell.
Well, that's why we're quarantining them,
to buy us a little time so Wren and Janzo can come up
with a better way to detect kinjes or find a cure.
Who are you? Where are you from?
We are from Landers Mill.
We heard that Outpost is the only safe place.
Come in. There's food, water, and blankets.
Take them to quarantine.
See? Not so hard to spot.
I'm immune to your kinj.
I bring a message of peace and love.
Not to my Outpost, you don't. Now leave.
If you won't let me kill him, we should at least lock him up.
We're going to have a hard enough time feeding the people who aren't infected.
He'll just go out there and infect more people.
Probably, but at least this way no one dies.
Now go on, clear off.
And if you go near any of these people, I'll cut you down myself.
Go.
No one let him near you.
[ crowd gasping ]
Are you all right?
Any of these people your parents?
Here. Come with me to the front of the line.
Talon. This is crazy.
Yes. But I didn't ask to be making these decisions, okay?
You pushed me into it. So if you have a better plan, I'm listening.
There are no good choices, Zed, just bad and worse.
So until Janzo comes up with a better solution,
we're saving as many uninfected people as we can.
If you'd have let me kill the first batch like I said when we had the chance,
then we wouldn't be in this mess.
You're the one who forced me to summon Yavalla to this world,
so don't be so quick to judge my decisions now.
Ooh. Yeah, this is nice. This is gonna be good.
I'll let you have a turn with the net after this one.
I don't want to hog all the fun myself.
It's all right. You go ahead.
Take as many turns as you like.
Oh, right.
Rats is too low an occupation for a lady like you.
Have you tried cleaning chamber pots?
No.
Ooh. There's another one.
Ooh, lots of rats over here!
[ screaming ]
Looks like a female hand.
Do you think it was murder?
If you see someone walking around with one hand
and no blood, let me know.
But otherwise, yes.
Yes, I think it was murder.
Well, what happened to the rest of her?
- It was taken by animals? - Could be.
You ever seen that symbol before?
- Yes. - What is it, Talon?
It was burnt onto a wall in our village.
Every time they removed it, it would reappear.
What's it a symbol for?
I don't know.
Every time I asked my mother about it,
she'd get nervous and change the subject.
Wonder if whoever put it on that wall
also put it on this one?
There's at least three sets of boot prints,
and one, a crack in the heel.
It looks like they were stood here
and facing this way.
You're smart with this stuff.
You learned that from your dad the Marshal?
No. No, I'm no Wythers.
He was a great detective.
You seem to have picked up a thing or two from him,
which is why I'm putting you in charge of finding out who did this.
What? No. You-- you need my help with the infection.
How exactly can you help with that?
All right, point taken.
Munt, do me a favor. Take that hand to Janzo.
Maybe he can come up with some ideas.
That is just what Marshal would have had me done.
I wish he were alive today to figure this one out.
Something I said?
I don't think he likes to be reminded of Wythers.
Brings back all his guilt.
Should we maybe cover up this cage?
- Your mother could be watching. - Let her.
- Hey, Mother, watch this. - Hm? Hm?
Yeah, I don't think she's watching us.
Um, by now there are thousands that are infected.
I mean, even the most brilliant mind, mine for example,
wouldn't be able to sort the vision from that many eyes
or even the sound from that many ears.
She must limit her exposure somehow.
Well, maybe she just tries to connect to one or two members of the hive at a time,
just the ones she needs in that moment.
- How long has it been? - Almost ten turns of the glass.
That's just over twice a day.
My mathematical predictions are almost perfect.
Garret wants me to give you a hand.
Thanks, Munt, but I don't need a hand right now.
So, even if we say that four people come into the t--
- [ muttering ] - No, Munt.
Four of the infected come into a town.
And then they then pass on their kinj every time one becomes infected.
- And that's 16 after a day. - No, look.
Not now, Munt. And then after two days, 64.
- No, the thing is-- - And after three days, well, that's more than 250.
That's more than we can handle. I mean, 'cause after one week--
65,536. Gods above.
That's more people than even live in the Capital.
- [ clears throat ] - Both: What?
- Oh! - Someone's been murdered.
That's the victim's hand. Garret says have a look,
- see if you can find any clues. - Murdered?
- Who was killed? - I think that's what Garret wants you to find out.
- All that's left is that hand. - No.
No, I don't have time for this.
I'm trying to save the bloody world!
Well, you tell that to Garret then.
Right. You deal with this.
I'll go back to finding a way to kill the kinj.
Just infect some more rats.
I'll be finished by then and then we can run some experiments.
I never thought infecting rats
would be the less disgusting thing to work on.
[ squeaking ]
Gods, look how eager it is
to pass the kinj on to the others.
What?
- That's it. - What's it?
We need a box with a window on one side.
Wren? You are a genius.
That's what I've been trying to tell you since we met.
This is ridiculous.
A rat doesn't know who's infected or not.
It's actually really quite simple.
The infected rat's biological imperative is to keep spreading kinjes.
And this one is particularly ripe.
So the longer he doesn't pass it on, the more pain he's in.
So he's desperate to spread the kinjes to someone
apart from those who are already infected.
So the people he ignores already have a kinj?
Exactly.
[ squeaking ]
[ squeaking stops ]
What's your name?
Lutza.
Get up. Get up now.
You're going to love being United.
[ crowd screaming ]
Good work, you two. From now on we use this device
to check every person before letting them in.
We should check the Outpost at least once a day.
That's how we stop it from spreading inside.
Guess we make a few more of these, then.
Teach the soldiers how to use them and get them to check these people again.
- And, Janzo? - Hm?
Find me a cure.
Easy for her to say.
You know, if you think about it, maybe it's not so bad.
- What? - Having one of Yavalla's kinjes.
I mean, the infected seem happy and content.
What are you talking about? They're worse than slaves.
If she wants to make them do something, they have no choice.
- Maybe they don't mind it. - Well, so first you want
to kill them all, now you want to be one of them.
I guess I'm just struggling to understand it all, Talon.
Well, I don't want to understand.
I want to stop her.
Hey, barmaid, more ale.
It's all right.
Oh, I like this world.
I really do.
- Since when does she work here? - Since I hired her.
I'm boss, too, you know?
Good idea, Munt. Could use the help around here.
- You were a good idea. - I was?
- Yeah. - Wren, quick question for you.
- Janzo? - Hmm?
Have, um, have either of you ever seen
this symbol anywhere in the Outpost before?
No. Why? Does this have something to do with that murder you're investigating?
- Yeah. It was all around the place where it happened. - I know this symbol.
It belonged to that old cult that the humans had before the banishment.
They worshipped Lu-Qiri as gods.
- Talon said she recognized it, too. - Makes sense.
Someone doesn't understand something,
they just explain it away with superstitious drivel.
I mean, that's how half of our religions are explained.
Prime Order, worshipping The Three? Perfect example.
They think that they're these gods.
We know they're just people with kinjes in their heads.
Yeah, but how would a belief about Lu-Qiri even exist
when they've been gone from the Realm for, what, hundreds of years?
Who knows? Someone reads an old text,
then meets one of your lovely little pets.
Mm, not pets. More like your beasts of burden.
Oh, I do stand corrected. Either way, wouldn't take much
to rekindle those kinds of beliefs, would it?
I mean, speaking as a human, Lu-Qiri? Pretty scary.
- No more than your horses are. - A lot more than horses.
- All right? - All right.
Janzo, have you had a chance to examine--
Gods, scary. So what is this? Is this--
Have you had a chance to examine that hand that I brought you?
Oh, yes. Um, sorry. Probably not going to be much help, though.
She was a younger woman. Definitely severed from the body.
A sharp object, heavy blade. Maybe an axe.
Oh, also, there was a little bit of blue dye on her wrist,
maybe from a bit of clothing.
Could that be of any help?
Maybe, actually.
I thought Janzo proved these people aren't infected.
Why are they still quarantined?
They're not. They just have nowhere else to go.
Great. They're free to come and go as they please.
Maybe do a little blood sacrifice, be back in time for dinner.
- Show me your wrist, please. - So you agree with Zed?
You think I should've just let these people out there to be infected?
No, I-- I'm not sure, Talon. Right? Show me your wrist.
- What are you looking for? - Blue dye. Let me see your wrist.
It's all we have to go on. It was on the wrist of the hand that we found.
- Show me your wrist. - Look, can I just say I hate being in charge?
I'd much rather someone else be making the hard decisions.
I think you're doing a damn good job.
[ gasping ]
[ grunting ]
[ muffled screaming ]
I've searched for any remnants, attach points,
anything like that inside this poor man's head
to seen if we can even find an avenue to attack the kinjes.
But there's not even the slightest sign there was ever even a kinj in there.
Which is consistent with what we've been finding in the rats.
We've tried several times to cut a kinj out of a living rat.
Just like Reb tried to do to you, actually.
And just like yours did, the kinj, it keeps moving and hiding.
We end up just cutting the whole rat apart just to dig it out.
Which then kills it. Once the rat dies,
the kinj expels itself and, um, instantly dissolves.
It's like kill the rats, kill the kinj.
Just like we've seen in humans so far.
So the only way to stop it is to still kill the infected.
- So far. - Well, that's not an acceptable solution.
I'm not killing Gwynn, much less thousands of innocent people.
We've already proven that we can't remove the kinj from a living host.
Now we just need to find out how to kill it while it's still in the host.
Without killing the host, of course.
- Mm. - So do that.
Whatever she said.
Warlita never showed up for work last night.
I found this in the back alley.
It's her brooch.
I'm starting to get worried.
Well, I'm sure she's fine.
Captain Spears, a body has been found.
Oh, no.
What a relief.
Munt, a woman has died.
Yeah, but it's not Warlita.
No, it's Dunlee Page.
I'm sure she's not as happy about this as you are.
- You knew her? - I only met her once.
She's the stableman's oldest daughter.
And there's our symbol again.
Why weren't there men posted out here already?
How was I supposed to know that they would do this again in the same place?
Marshal Wythers would have known that.
Yes, he would, Munt!
Yes, he would, but my father didn't teach me his trade before I--
It's all right.
You're doing your best.
Next time you'll have a man here.
I'm sorry.
It's the same crack in the heel.
He was here watching.
Garret.
These are Lu-Qiri tracks.
They stop here and then turn back.
Garret: Talon, you said that demons can smell blood
from miles away.
It was coming to feed on this woman
while crack heel stood there and watched.
They're not just sacrificing these women.
They're feeding them to Lu-Qiri.
Well, it can't be a Lu-Qiri under Blackblood control.
They eat meat, but they would never eat humans or Blackbloods.
There must be a masterless Lu-Qiri on the loose.
Do you think they have Warlita?
[ music playing ]
- What are you doing? - I don't know.
That's really the problem, isn't it?
I mean, like you said, I was the one that brought Yavalla into this world.
I did it to save our people, but now even if you agreed to open that portal,
I wouldn't bring the rest of them through.
- Better off where they are. - Are you finished whining?
I need your help. A Lu-Qiri is eating humans.
We need to find it.
Xaba.
Xaba? Is that Yobahn's Lu-Qiri?
Since Yobahn died, she's masterless.
Does that mean anyone can claim her?
Yes, but no one wants to.
The best thing you could do is line up a few ballistas and take her down.
She's a rotten Lu-Qiri.
Her master was bad, but she's always been vicious.
Dangerous.
She killed a child in the Plane of Ashes.
Yobahn denied it, of course, but we all knew who it was.
Xaba's a lost cause.
Isn't that what you told me about that first demon I met?
Baphnoro? I tamed him.
He was wild.
Xaba was trained to be malicious.
You can't save her, Talon.
I'm going to try. So are you going to help me or not?
Of course, by talking you out of it.
I'm going with or without you.
Look, if you want to tame that beast,
you're going to have to be meaner and tougher than Yobahn ever was.
- You think you can manage that? - I'm alive and he's dead.
What do you think?
All right. Let's go see Orrin.
Who's Orrin?
The Blackfist who has Yobahn's ring,
the whistle that will summon Xaba.
You're wanted for murder.
Hey, I never murdered anyone.
You've been feeding people to Yobahn's Lu-Qiri.
What? You must be drunker than I am.
- [ chuckles ] - Where's the ring?
Where's the ring that summons Yobahn's demon?
I sold it.
For a good price, I might add.
- Sold it to who? - Don't know.
He covered his face. It was at nighttime. No idea who he was.
Is he really feeding humans to Xaba?
I thought he'd blow that whistle
and be dead before he knew what hit him.
Guess he's more clever than I took him for.
I'm going after Xaba.
And how do we even find her?
I'm going to track her.
You're right. Lots of dye here.
Garret: Look for blue dye.
Sorry, sorry. We're looking for a woman who was brought into here.
She's young, blonde hair. She's the Queen's handmaiden.
[ speaking foreign language ]
Ah, um...
[ speaking foreign language ]
Talon: The tracks head up to the forest.
How do you know they're Xaba's?
Dried blood,
probably from that poor girl's missing hand.
I like this.
You and I together again,
odds stacked against us,
off on an adventure.
We're not together again.
I didn't mean it like that.
[ roaring ]
- That's her. - No kidding.
[ speaking Blackblood ]
Punish her, Talon! It's the only thing she'll respect!
[ speaking Blackblood ]
[ roaring ]
Next time, she'll kill you, you know that?
She had her chance and she didn't.
She won't kill me.
So what now?
Next time I try something that she's probably never seen from a master.
Kindness.
Good luck with that.
Blue dye.
Warlita's not here.
No.
But she was though.
Gods.
We're too late.
[ branches snapping ]
[ growling ]
[ speaking Blackblood ]
[ roaring ]
[ speaking Blackblood ]
[ screaming ]
[ speaking Blackblood ]
[ Xaba screeching ]
Xaba, stop. Let them go.
[ screaming ]
Take them in to stand trial.
Munt: Warlita.
Munt.
[ sobbing ]
[ growling ]
Is she safe?
- She is now. - How can you be so sure?
She could have killed Warlita
and all the fanatics, but she didn't.
She controlled herself.
You know how hard that is for a Lu-Qiri?
I can imagine.
She's bonded to me now.
It's all right.
So, what do you think?
Maybe there is a lid for every pot.
No, beautiful girl like that
would never fall for a lummox like Munt.
Why not?
I fell for a lummox like you.
[ music playing ]
The Capital never looked so good.
I'm glad to be united with you again.
[ footsteps ]
Wow.
I found this in the closet upstairs.
Hope it's all right.
- I had to pull it in a bit. - Oh.
You look as beautiful as Mum did in it.
Beautiful-er.
Uh, are you sure you're all right?
Yes, I'm fine.
After what you've been through, you don't have to work tonight.
I'm fine!
Um, you two better come see this.
Why are we looking at a dead rat?
This rat? A couple of days ago, perfectly fit and healthy.
The whole first generation is rapidly aging and dying.
And you think the kinjes caused this?
Each time a kinj multiplies, it takes life out of the host.
Rats are smaller than humans, so the effect is more pronounced and rapid.
What are you saying? That this is happening to people, too?
- Afraid so. - The first person to get one of these
- from Yavalla was Gwynn. - Unfortunately.
And every time she passes a kinj,
she loses a little more of herself.
How long does she have before she's like this?
She has a body mass of what? I don't know, 100 rats?
- How long? - The first 20 or 30 days, she'll be wasting away.
Um, and a couple more?
She'll be dead.
Janzo, are you any closer to a cure?
- We've been trying for days. - We need more time, Talon.
You have three more days.
Then I'm going after Gwynn with or without a plan.