_
I want you to marshal
all the resources at your disposal.
To find a library book?
Let's go get pissed.
I know any of you have done
in a city full of thieves and killers,
is shoot a bunch of innocent pigeons and chase a dog.
Welcome to Ankh-Morpork.
I thought I saw a man who did this?
Carcer Dun is dead, Captain.
You're a werewolf.
That's who Sam Vimes is.
Helps people who have nowhere else to go.
So, you think...
Carcer Dun.
...who's come back from the dead,
hasn't aged a day and is now stockpiling Slab.
It was only later I realised we'd both saved each other.
Be safe, Goodboy.
All this Slab for a little library book about dead dragons.
A book can burn a world.
Carcer.
No!
So, uh...
I am dead, right?
It would seem our meeting is somewhat,
premature.
Then, uh...
Why are we...
Probably, something to do with that crossbow bolt heading towards you.
The guy who shot it?
Mr Carcer Dun?
Twenty years ago, did he die?
Sadly not.
I saw him fall.
And the lightning... I saw him burn.
Yeah.
You'd think that would be enough, wouldn't you?
Imagine how frustrating these things are for me.
Here I am, trying to do a job...
If he didn't die, then where is he?
Did you hear what I said?
No, of course, you didn't.
Nobody ever listens to Death. Nobody ever thinks about Death.
Please.
Eh, we're gonna have to finish this discussion at another time
because someone's about to save you
and I've got to carry on not being appreciated elsewhere.
Who's gonna save me?
Ah, shut up.
Who's gonna save me?
No!
No.
No!
Stand down, Sergeant, that's an order.
Stand down!
Sarge!
Captain, stay down!
Sarge!
My champion won't save me again.
You saved me...
You saved all of us...
Sam.
_
Sarge.
Oh, Sarge.
Sarge!
Sarge.
Synced & corrected by -robtor- www.addic7ed.com
Good evening, everyone. Thank you, uh...
Thank you for this opportunity
to share my music with you guys.
Let's have fun tonight, yeah?
? How do you know... ?
I can't believe he's gone.
We're not meant to die doing this.
Line of duty.
Get that shit from, Carrot?
Our line of duty's way off what we just did.
Sarge wanted to be more than a prop under some bridge.
Maybe we can be more, too.
? ...memories, good times... ?
Took a witness statement from Lady Ramkin, sir.
Checked every iconograph in the area.
Imps.
All murdered.
Carcer wanted no trace of himself
or who he was getting that book from.
Who told the Sergeant to go
charging through the door like that?
You knew him.
When you were younger.
- How come he hasn't aged a day? - Who told him?
Was it possible the report you made
20 years ago was wrong.
Perhaps, Carcer didn't die, maybe he got away...
Who told him?
I was trying to help.
Carcer didn't get away.
- He should be dead. - But he's not.
And now he's back.
And he's killed two alchemists,
another officer of the Watch, 17 iconograph imps,
all in pursuit of that book you tasked me with finding.
- Booze run away. - A book none of us took seriously,
yet somebody stole from the Unseen University...
- Who scared the booze? - For Carcer and would only exchange...
Would only exchange for enough Slab to sink a city.
There's more to all this than you and Carcer.
He didn't come looking for you,
you went looking for him.
Don't you wanna know what he's planning to do with that book?
This is way above our pay grade.
Carcer is not a member of any guild, there's no licence
for the crimes he's committing. Surely, that means
all of this is in our jurisdiction.
The Watch hasn't fought real crime for years.
My Sergeant...
The only reason I'm still breathing...
? Nothing wrong with love... ?
It's just the four of us now.
Five, sir.
Lady Ramkin wants to help.
We'll see about that.
The door wasn't locked.
You want people to get in here.
My father commissioned these ordnance maps
for his holdings across the city.
We can use them to coordinate our search for Carcer.
Help me with this strap, will you?
I can never get this sodding holster across my shoulder.
Um... Look, don't think I don't appreciate you
- trying to help, but, uh... - Mmm, I might have to carry it.
But then, that means, I'll have to either leave
the broad sword or the mace behind, which I'm loath to do.
If Vetinari finds out what you've been doing
to guild members up here,
he'll hang me for not reporting you,
and have half the Assassins Guild crawling all over this place
before my neck's broken.
Maybe you can carry the mace?
I'm more booze than blood.
And your... Your snares and wires didn't fool me.
My little vanity hatch did though.
One finger on this switch...
It's a long way down to the basement.
Do you have any idea how many thieves
rethink their choice of profession
after ten weeks of intensive nursing?
Even if you caught every assassin,
you'd never get them to rethink their choice of profession.
My gods.
Vimes...
That's a noble dragon.
Just like in the book.
These poor souls.
Citizens, Lord Vetinari wishes it be known
that the recent occurrence...
It's just as you described it from Carcer's book, Lady Ramkin.
...not a dragon but a...
Did anyone see it up close?
...angry, wailing bird.
And you call yourselves the Watch.
Please remain calm.
How many, um...
fatalities?
At least six, sir, in this street.
Whether you like it or not...
this is now a crime scene,
Captain.
Where'd that bastard go?
Eighty confirmed dead.
Scores of injured.
Four streets, gone!
To say nothing of the damage to our pockets.
My thieves are afraid to step into...
Yes, but does the Thieves' Guild have a proposal
for finding this creature?
Nobody's seen one in a hundred years.
Folklore speaks of chaining virgins to rocks, to...
Plenty of rocks in the city, My Lord.
Only one virgin I know of.
Well, perhaps we should contract
our esteemed head of the Assassins Guild to inhume the creature.
If I can find it, I can kill it.
As ever, Dr Cruces's, dedication to her craft is...
admirable.
But it seems to me, the sudden appearance
of this creature is most likely to be a magical phenomenon.
Archchancellor,
this city greatly values
the technology your Unseen University provides.
But your experiments have some...
alarming side effects.
Like keeping the lights on?
Like the time an entire street
vanished when you wired it up to the thaumic power grid.
_
Yeah, it was a coincidence.
Or the fact that you can't swear?
Oh, yes.
Firstly, what sort of...
...would bring that up.
And secondly,
I was trying to help a poor mother
who preferred music
to her foul-mouthed teenager's terrible profanities.
The spell backfired,
and I was left with this...
This...
...condition.
Every stall in the Shade is full of your malfunctioning inventions.
The typewriter...
that explodes when you press the letter "Y."
Can you be certain that there's nothing taking place
in your institution
that could've triggered this event?
A trespasser's foot
so much as touches the floor of our research library
and I'm immediately alerted.
No, no, no, no.
This had nothing to do with us.
Our scoreboard?
What is this?
What have you done?
I dragged up every report I can.
Right back to when the Captain was first in the Watch.
Did you know he only joined up to kill John Keel and empty the cells?
Yes.
And he had a change of heart.
Carcer was in charge of the gangmost of the criminals
in these cells were part of.
Captain Vimes
filed a report saying he chased Carcer
up on to the roof of Unseen University.
What happened to the typewriter?
Oh, it blew up.
The Captain said that lightning disintegrated Carcer.
What if...
he let him go?
They were friends.
Weren't they?
Grew up together.
Only explanation I can think of for why he isn't dead.
I can't do this.
I don't understand.
Who's better than Cheery with powders and prints?
And you, with that nose. And look,
yesterday, it was complaints about
litter and peeping toms.
Today, people want to know if they're gonna be safe.
We should run towards the danger
- everyone else runs away from. - I can't.
You don't strike me as a coward.
If I'm caught outside
when the moon's out.
I'm the danger.
It's me they'll be running from.
We don't live in the same world, Constable.
Angua, I'm sorry, I...
The dragon must be hiding somewhere, Vimes.
The Librarian didn't mention that the, uh,
book could summon dragons, sir.
Have you met him, Vimes?
Well...
Apart from that night I chased Carcer on to its roof,
I've never been anywhere near on Unseen University.
Let's just say The Librarian is a man of few words.
The book
must've been
stolen for Carcer by someone on the inside.
Sorry, I... I didn't mean to think aloud.
Elaborate.
Well, if I find the thief,
they might lead us straight to him.
Sir.
I've, uh, already lost one good officer.
The others barely survived.
"Barely" will suffice, Vimes.
The overalls are made of scalehide.
Flame retardant. Pop the gloves on, will you?
Uh, Lady Ramkin, the trousers are too tight,
they're really riding up around my crotch...
Oh! Vimes.
I've brought these in, in case of another attack.
They won't do much good in a full frontal blast
but they should provide some protection.
Stealing that book from Unseen University
was an inside job.
It's the only lead we've got on Carcer,
and sending that thing back.
Us? The Watch?
- Mmm-hmm. - So, this is an official investigation?
Afraid so.
And I am not losing anybody else.
We do things my way, understand?
Low-key, no stupid risks, heads down.
The Archchancellor is the most powerful wizard in the city.
He created everything, from the street lights to the iconographs.
He'll make short work of you.
- You... You know him? - A little.
So he can help us.
I don't think that's a good idea.
We need all the help we can get.
Good, agreed. Leave it with me.
Uh, leave what with you?
Lady Ramkin!
Leave what with you?
_
- _ - _
_
-_ - _
_
Find the wizards.
_
Now!
_
The wizard's fallen asleep.
It's been a while since he called upstairs.
I should wake him.
Sit back down and let him sleep.
Why are they keeping us waiting?
'Cause we're the Watch.
Or are they using all this time to hide something.
Lord Vetinari publishes the minutes of most council meetings.
I've been reading through some of the paperwork.
Paperwork isn't police work, Constable.
Besides,
if it's a public document.
Then nobody's gonna say anything that's gonna inc...
inc...
Incriminate.
...incriminate themselves, are they?
Why do you keep shutting me down?
Why don't you shut yourself down for a while?
- Good afternoon. - Ah.
Listen and learn, Constable.
Archchancellor.
We're here to, uh, investigate
a report made by your librarian
about the theft of a book from one of his shelves.
We'd like to ask you a few questions.
I'm not sure how much use I can be to you.
It's a long time since I concerned myself
with minor matters like library books.
Well, in my experience,
it pays to explore every avenue.
We won't take up too much of your time.
And while we're speaking,
my officers here would like to interview your librarian.
That I can arrange.
Javier, will you escort these two Watch officers to the library?
Javier? Oh.
Oh.
Did none of you notice he'd died?
Hmm.
Is everybody here a...
A wizard?
Yeah.
And you are?
Just a cleaner.
Right, here we go.
The Librarian will look after you.
You're not coming in with us?
Uh, six floors left more to clean.
Don't worry, the alarms won't trigger when you tread on this one.
You have the Archchancellor's permission.
Thank you.
Roundworld, my biggest discovery.
It's where I get my best ideas.
Helps me focus my imagination.
The, um, stolen book?
Please.
You honestly think I believe you came here to talk about a book?
Vetinari's getting desperate, sending you in here.
They're always spying on us.
We've had them all.
Lowly orphans with tragic stories.
New caterers,
then the old caterers back with their tails between their legs.
I gave them those tails.
We didn't come here for tales.
Or trouble.
That's good, because you're sitting on the last person who did.
Transfiguration. Painful process.
That's the face, you know.
Right by your left...
Excuse me.
Terrible affliction.
What you really want to know
is if we're to blame for that dragon.
- No. - No, no, no.
Captain, I'm not a fool.
I've already told the council that our ex...
I believe you used Slab
in some of those experiments, Archchancellor.
That's right.
It isn't just a narcotic...
Fuel for making magical
reactions.
- What is this? - Yeah, what is this?
It's called interviewing a suspect, sir.
Am I a suspect?
- No. - Yes.
- No.
- No, no, no, no, no. - Yes.
Get on with it.
You were recently in dispute with the Alchemists' Guild,
who refused to supply you with Slab after you tried
to drive down their prices.
- You would have got that from... - Council meeting minutes, sir.
- Hmm. - Police work can be paperwork.
You would make a great couch, Constable.
Are you sure he's with the Watch?
Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
Hand picked and trained by me.
And actually, we were both wondering
how you'd solved your...
- Supply. - ...supply.
Supply problem after reading the...
- Minutes. - ...minutes.
Great m... Yeah, I've read those minutes.
It's obvious, isn't it?
Fewer magical reactions.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment.
So, if you could kindly...
- ...off. - Oh, yes. Yes.
Thank you.
Archchancellor.
Bit dark for a library.
If these freaky books turn mean on us,
you fight the encyclopaedias, I'll fight the periodicals.
And that?
Maybe we can fight that one together.
With the Sarge?
Why are you carrying him around like that?
Crossbow is broken.
Hey, did it just jump?
Cheery?
We know the book was almost certainly stolen
by someone inside the university.
And they exchanged it with Carcer for Slab.
Do you really think he's got an appointment, Captain?
Actually, I do.
This is how you're helping us?
I've come to discuss
this year's Ramkin Scholarship Awards.
My family have been supporting underprivileged students for years.
Hmm. Well, at least you didn't bring Goodboy with you.
I not only learn from my mistakes, I grow.
So, I brought my axe.
You can't carry an axe around...
Can in a coat like this.
Besides, it's not a weapon. It's a tool.
Perfectly legal if you chop firewood.
Hmm.
Did the Archchancellor give you anything useful?
Only that he's running low on Slab
and doesn't wanna talk about it.
Is he pestering you, Lady Ramkin?
He's just admiring my coat, Archchancellor.
I'll get him to talk. Watch.
Archchancellor, tell me about...
Cheery?
No, no. It's okay.
Hey, this is The Librarian.
This is Angua.
Say hello.
Hello.
Welcome to the reading room.
- Wait, how come I can... - This space helps them
read books written in ancient languages.
But it also helps them
- read people. - People...
That's incredible.
- Angua. - Cheery.
You're terrified.
You're not carrying the Sarge around as a weapon...
You're thinking of leaving.
...you're carrying him for comfort.
You're terrified of the dark.
Shall we just...
See what our friend here can tell us about the book?
Yeah, I think we'd better, don't you?
Wow.
No more dragon sightings at least.
Must be nesting somewhere.
Is that what these things do, nest?
What happened to the typewriter?
It...
Doesn't matter.
Sir, did you know the library is right under the dome
where you fought Carcer?
It's all in here.
Your own report.
Checking up on me, Constable?
The Archchancellor sent The Librarian out of the city on an errand
the night the book was stolen.
The Archchancellor denied ever having sent the message,
even though it was in his own handwriting.
That's when The Librarian noticed an empty space on his shelves.
The Archchancellor could lead us to Carcer
but he won't come quietly.
The Library is rigged with an alarm system
that triggers as soon as any trespassers set foot on the floor.
And what good does that do us?
There's a room where you can read people.
We get in there, trigger the alarm, lure him in.
Find out the truth...
All of it.
It's Vimes.
He's investigating.
Investigating?
I did as you asked,
stole the Grimoire.
Now, I need to go.
Why didn't it work, Wonse?
Why couldn't I control the dragon?
I have the book and it's no use to me.
Without magical training, maintaining the bond
between summoner and summoned...
What is this?
I just scrub shit off the walls.
- You're a wizard. - Don't...
Don't call me that.
Not one of their stupid ideas works out the way it's supposed to.
But I'm taking the Slab you gave me
and I'm leaving this city.
Teaching myself everything they held back from me.
Good.
They don't deserve you anyway.
You left me to rot in a cell.
Get our brothers and sisters out of there.
Vimes was supposed to break you all out.
Where'd you go that night?
Why do you still look the same?
What are you hiding?
You were like a father to us kids.
But now we're all older than you.
- How? - Go back.
Use the Reading Room to find out what this symbol is.
I can't.
Go.
Then, maybe, I'll tell you my secret.
Library's right below us.
Why won't you talk about that night, sir?
Hey.
Over here.
Whew!
As soon as we're on the floor, the alarm's will go.
We run for the room.
Draw the Archchancellor in...
And beat the shit out of him and find out where Carcer's holed up.
Watch yourselves with ancient history
and modern languages.
They bite.
That wasn't us.
The Archchancellor will be here soon.
What the...
...are you doing here?
No, it's somebody else.
You're the thief.
It's my...
...cleaner.
You've been here all these years.
I would rather be a cleaner here
than Captain of the City Watch.
You know this woman, sir?
A lifetime ago.
They were both in Carcer's gang.
And Vimes turned on us all.
Where'd Carcer go.
How do we get rid of that thing out there?
She doesn't know.
She does know this isn't just about revenge against you.
Carcer wants to burn the whole city down.
Needs to burn it down, every molecule.
Why?
He hasn't told you?
Why come back with a book you've already stolen?
Carcer can't control the dragon...
What is this?
...without a key.
- But you don't know what it is. - Or where it is.
He's in the Shades.
Rest assured, she will be severely punished
once she's finished the urinals.
This room could revolutionise policing across the Disc.
Spend too much time in here and you regress into...
into this.
An unintended side effect of a spell
designed to make meaning as simple as possible.
Everything you touch has an unintended side effect,
Archchancellor.
And if you want to lift that silly curse,
why don't you try making the sound of a trombone
when you need to swear?
You're no killer, Wonse.
You wouldn't help him burn the city.
That was always the difference between
you and the rest of us, Vimes.
We had to kill or we didn't eat.
You...
didn't eat.
But when it was your turn to pay us back...
Nothing.
- You're coming with me. - Shit.
Goblins!
- Goblins, go! - Where are they?
It's a trap!
Kill them all.
Angua, behind you.
They've strengthened their armour.
They're smarter than we thought.
Hold the doors, now!
Constable...
Lady Ramkin...
Archchancellor, I was out chopping firewood
and I just got lost.
Oh, shit.
Was that really necessary?
The blood boils up and I just throw before I think, you know?
I know why you're terrified.
- The moon. - You'd better run then.
You're the danger?
I decide to seize me and when, understand?
I decide.
- Angua, no. - Go, it's the only way.
Crossbow.
Come on, move.
Move. Come on. Let's go. Let's go.
- The door, sir. - Step aside, Constable.
Sir, it just slides open.
Wonse got here before us.
We just missed them.
Foot hurting, sir?
This is my kicking foot, Constable.
It's taken down many, many,
many, many doors in its time.
In all manner of... Yes, it does hurt actually.
Come on, sir.
We raided Carcer's lock-up.
Confiscated weapons, but, uh...
they'd already moved on.
Raided?
It's a technical police term.
It suits you.
And you mentioned a key?
This picture is from the library book.
We don't know what it is.
Where it is.
Find it before Carcer does.
I mean, after all,
you're the head of the City Watch.
That's nothing special, sir.
Oh, but look at what you've already achieved...
Captain.
Sometimes,
police work can be paperwork.
It's time for the truth.
That night, when I had Carcer
hanging off the edge of that roof,
part of me wanted to push him over.
But another part, that part...
wanted to pull him back.
So, in the end,
I did nothing.
I just...
watched.
And I don't know if what I did
was out of courage
or cowardice.
But I do know one thing.
I'm done watching.
Hmm.
Also...
Sometimes it's hard trying not to do the wrong thing.
And sometimes it's even harder...
Well, it's even harder.
Harder, because as the saying goes,
"You can lead a fish to water..."
"You can't judge an apple by its cover."
"...but you cannot make him drink it."
And sometimes it's even harder...
Apples...
They're gonna be cleaning goblin guts out of those books
for centuries.
I don't want to know.
I wouldn't worry about it.
It's not that they can actually feel pain.
How'd you find me anyway?
- Are those parts of... - I think it's a cat.
Tracked a whole trail of noses and paws.
I guess you don't like those bits.
How can I stay in this job, Cheery?
Well...
Picks up the slightest change in the weather.
Cloudy tonight.
Bad news for people afraid of dragons.
Good news for werewolves.
Why are you so afraid of the dark?
It's not the dark.
It's what's in it.
And at the end of the day, you can't make a pie...
So, I'm done.
That was... wonderful.
- Shall we get back to business? - Yeah.
The lightning you saw, all those years ago,
could be another side effect of an Unseen University experiment.
When you find out what it was,
I'll be able to figure out what happened to Carcer.
And what that is.
I snuck into the Alumni Archives.
Found some papers of a sorcerer
who had wasted his entire life trying to prove it was possible
to summon a noble dragon.
Carcer must have been using the Grimoire the sorcerer made.
Yes. Also, on the sorcerer's deathbed,
he bequeathed a magical artefact
to a friend for safekeeping.
- What is it? - This was his legacy.
"I entrust Gawain's power to you.
"Place him in Veltrick's hand and all will be well."
- Gawain? - Gawain could be the key.
Veltrick.
Why do I know that name?
Veltrick was a king.
He was inhumed by the Assassin's Guild
many centuries ago, long before they were legalised.
They were so proud of their accomplishment,
they made a statue of him in their gallery.
And what's so funny?
Oh, well,
we're actually quite good at this, aren't we?
Wait one minute.
I wouldn't be seen dead wearing that, Vimes.
Well, you have to wear the badge if you want to help us.
I will consider your offer.
Did I just do something wrong?
When I saw Lady Ramkin with that dragon,
I thought I'd check her records.
Smaller offences often mask bigger ones...
I think you should read this.
Something happened to her years ago.
Don't leave.
Help me to find the key before Vimes.
I am taking my Slab and I am getting out of here.
You're not gonna find what you're looking for.
The story of this world's already been written.
There is no place in it for you or me.
No. I don't believe that.
I know it.
I've seen it.
Where have you been all these years?
Found a new gang...
Bigger and better than any guild.
And the Watch, they see through the whole maze.
Every turn, every route...
All the ways it's rigged.
- Who are they? - Silent partners.
They can give us the power to write our own story.
They just ask that we burn this one down.
All of it.
CREDITS