Download a Word copy of the transcript: magpies tc s01e10 the experimental trials score pt 1 final

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## intro

Rhi: Welcome back to Duskwall. As always, thank you for joining us. To quote the ancient podcasting proverb, please leave us a review in iTunes if you haven’t yet.

There’s a lot of announcements in this episode, so stick with us.

First, we are now on Spotify, so if you want to listen to us there, check that out.

Second, I was recently interviewed on both Tales from the Fandom and I Am: Hear:. If you want to hear how I got into RPGs, other games systems that I like, and more about my GMing style, check them out. I’ll link to both those interviews in the notes.

Third, Minna and I will be at Gen Con in Indianapolis this August. If you’re going, let us know. We’d love to meet some fans.

Fourth, Blaire will not be appearing in this episode, but we do have our very first special guest: Chris AKA Waffles. They’re a longtime friend and a great artist. Our Twitter followers might have seen some of their Blades-themed tarot cards a few months ago. They can be heard on Mouse Guardians and on the soon-to-be-released Iron Hides podcasts. You can follow them on Twitter @Mahaffay. I’ll link to all of their things in the show notes.

Next, Madge is going to tell us about this episode’s featured organization.

Madge: Hey, everyone. We know that last episode we featured Unidos for our featured charity for the month, but that was also the week that the news about Donald Trump’s immigration policy started taking place. So, instead of Unidos this month for the rest of the month, we’re going to ask that you go to 5calls.org and start reaching out to your representatives, because, while the executive order might have “halted” separations, a lot of is still left to be done. The over 2,000 children who were separated from their families still don’t have a plan to be reunited. There’s so much that still needs to be done. There’s families who are being held indefinitely in camps, and the best way to combat this is gonna be calling your representatives and making your voice heard. Without calling, without getting in contact with people, the politicians aren’t gonna change anything. We’re a big, big proponent of political action on this show. I don’t think we’ve ever shied away from that. I extremely suggest that you go to 5calls.org. We’ll put the link in the show notes. Thank you.

Rhi: If you’re in the United States, please call your representatives. I’ll link to both 5calls and Unidos in the show notes.

In addition, this episode is being released on June 26 2018. This coming Saturday, June 30, there will be rallies and protests all across the United States in opposition to the horrific acts that have been perpetrated against refugees and immigrants coming to our country. If you are able, please, please find a protest near you and attend. The more voices we can raise in outrage against this, the more pressure lawmakers will feel to make changes.

Now then, let’s get started. Shall we?

## [00:03:15] story resumes

Rhi: I think the first thing to address in the few days after your last score, where you raided the Iruvian embassy, and… Things were not great. How long is Phin gone, and when does she get back?

Madge: I feel like it isn’t just like, “oh, she’s gone for a day and a half,” and it’s fine, [laugh] ‘cause she took trauma. I feel like she’s gone for at least a week.

Josie: Oh, dear.

Rhi: Long enough that everyone else is starting to worry.

Madge: Yeah.

Rhi: Or, is more than starting to worry; is well into worry.

Madge: [laughter]

Minna: Yeah, we’re fretting.

Rhi: So yeah, what happens when you do finally come back?

Madge: She probably comes back in the middle of the night, and then, in the morning, she’s at breakfast like nothing happened.

Minna: Okay. So, we’ve established that Myra’s early for breakfast. So I think when Phin comes out, Myra’s like:

Minna (as Myra): Phin!

Madge (as Phin): Hey.

Minna (as Myra): Uh, okay. That’s how we’re doing this. You were gone for a week.

Madge (as Phin): Yeah.

Minna (as Myra): No notice.

Madge (as Phin): Yep. [haltingly] I had stuff I needed to work out.

Minna (as Myra): Okay. You’re part of a crew. We were worried. We thought you were maybe in Ironhook, or held by The Bluecoats, or, I don’t know, dead in a ditch somewhere. Who knows?

Madge (as Phin): I was at The Pits. You know, where I go.

Minna (as Myra): Understandable. I kinda wish you’d let us know. That’s all I’m saying.

Madge (as Phin): You guys could have come. Didn’t say stay away or anything.

Minna (as Myra): We didn’t know that’s where you were. After like three days, we kinda figured that wasn’t the case.

Madge (as Phin): Well, I’m back now.

Minna (as Myra): Okay. I’m glad you’re okay. Or– Alive, is what I meant.

Madge (as Phin): Yeah. How’s Blaire?

Minna (as Myra): Still got that foot propped up.

Madge (as Phin): Shit.

Minna (as Myra): Bones don’t heal in a week.

Madge (as Phin): I… [inhale]

Minna (as Myra): Everything okay?

Madge (as Phin): Yeah. I’m fine.

Minna (as Myra): All right. Let me make you that breakfast, then.

Minna: [laugh]

Rhi: I think Phin is back for a couple days; things kind of settle back into normal. Blaire is mostly keeping to her room. She’ll hobble into the kitchen to get food every now and then, but she just seems pretty withdrawn; buried in her books, dealing with the whole broken leg situation. The three of you who are not limping around start thinking about what the next score is going to be, and, I would assume, as per usual, you guys head on down to The Hound’s Paw.

Josie: Hold on, hold on. Important detail we’re missing: where did we leave Kevin? [laughter]

Minna: [laughter]

Rhi: Do you put him in Blaire’s room to keep her company?

Josie: Yes, 100%.

Minna: [laughing] Kevin is by Blaire’s bedside.

Rhi: So, Kevin is left in Blaire’s room to keep her company while the three of you head out.

## [00:06:24]

Rhi: You make your way into Nightmarket down to The Hound’s Paw. I think it’s early afternoon at this point, but there’s a fog rolling in from the sea. It’s an especially gloomy day, and as a result, there’s not a lot of people in The Hound’s Paw. At this point, Rigney’s just hanging out at the bar, absently cleaning some glasses. There’s a couple people at different tables. But Rigney perks up a bit when he sees you guys come in.

Rhi (as Rigney): Oh, hey. How’s it going? You’re… Hm. You’re short one. Where’s Blaire?

Minna (as Myra): She’s got her feet up.

Rhi (as Rigney): Uh, she okay?

Minna (as Myra): She will be. She caught a broken leg in the last score.

Rhi (as Rigney): [sharp inhale] Oh, damn. Well, you know what? Later on, whenever you guys are heading back to wherever you live… I know she really likes the tea that I make here. I’ll make up some you can take back to her.

Minna (as Myra): Oh, thank you.

Madge (as Phin): Yeah, she’ll really enjoy that.

Rhi: He just nods, looking very somber and worried.

Rhi (as Rigney): Well, uh…

Rhi: He shakes his head to clear it a little bit.

Rhi (as Rigney): Glad the three of you stopped in. There’s somebody who’s been waiting here to talk to you.

Rhi: Points over to one of the few occupied tables, where you see…

Chris: A Tycherosi woman in sirwal-style pants and layered shirts. Her hair looks like it was just in water. She’s got clear, white eyes, and a bit of a squished face. She looks kind of like a sealion, if a sealion were a person.

Josie: Aww.

Rhi: Yeah, and he nods to her and says:

Rhi (as Rigney): Yeah, she, uh, came in here, said somebody named Sawtooth sent her to talk to you about something or other. Honestly, I feel like the less I know about what you get up to, the better off I am.

Minna (as Myra): Smart man.

Chris: I have a giant plate of squid bits. I think Seeks notices you guys talking, and she waves with a mouthful of food.

Chris (as Seeks): [mumble] Mmmmm!

Chris: [laugh]

Rhi (as Rigney): I’ll, uh, bring over your drinks.

Josie (as Minx): Ah, a direct visitor. It’s been a warm moment since that happened.

Rhi: You guys all sit down.

Chris: I think she pushes the tray of squid bits towards you guys.

Minna (as Myra): Oh, thank you.

Madge (as Phin): I’m good.

Josie (as Minx): I shall abstain. So, what does old Sawtooth need from us?

Chris (as Seeks): Well, Sawtooth is out of supplies, and he’s overcharging. But mostly, he’s out of supplies, and my crew is injured, which is, like, a weekly occurrence.

Josie (as Minx): I do believe we can sympathize.

Chris (as Seeks): And normally, I go to Sawtooth because he always buys too much and then forgets to sell it. But now, he’s been robbed, and I have no medicine. And he said to come to you.

Minna (as Myra): So, what he’s looking for is for us to get him some supplies?

Chris (as Seeks): I want you to get me supplies.

Minna (as Myra): Oh.

Chris (as Seeks): I don’t care about Sawtooth.

Madge (as Phin): Fair.

Madge: [laugh]

Chris: I think she leans across the table.

Chris (as Seeks): [in a stage whisper] He overcharges everyone.

Chris: And then leans back.

Minna (as Myra): [chuckle] I think he pays that premium for silence.

Madge (as Phin): Yeah.

Chris (as Seeks): Mhmm.

Josie (as Minx): Will any supplies do, or do you wish us to take back what was stolen?

Chris (as Seeks): Any ones will do. But I don’t have any of the documents or licenses to purchase things.

Minna (as Myra): Mm. I see.

Josie (as Minx): Now, we do not require a license, but we do charge for these things, you understand.

Chris (as Seeks): Oh, yes, I figured. I don’t have much, so, one second.

Chris: Then she takes her back and dumps it out on the table. You get a thing of brass knuckles, and two hand grenades, and some fruit, some glowfruit that she stole from the other side of town, and a little lockbox filled with coin.

Chris (as Seeks): I’ve got this.

Rhi: The worth of it all comes out to roughly 2 coin.

Josie: Hmm.

Chris (as Seeks): And I’ve got a list of people you could rob.

Minna (as Myra): These are all people who sell the kind of thing that you’re looking for?

Chris (as Seeks): Mhmm. These two are fronts for drug operations, and this one is…

Chris: I don’t know. What’s the last one? What do we think? [chuckle]

Rhi: A private doctor who exclusively works with the wealthy.

Josie: Wait, so this list is people we can get the things from, or this is a list that’s part of the reward?

Chris: Oh, no. This is the footwork.

Josie: Ah, okay.

Chris (as Seeks): Parris calls it footwork. I think that’s what it’s called.

Josie: All right. So, the deal was 2 coin and the footwork already done.

Chris (as Seeks): And, uh…

Chris: She thinks.

Chris (as Seeks): Um… Hm. Is that enough? Do I need more?

Minna (as Myra): That’s very helpful.

Madge (as Phin): Would you be coming with us?

Chris (as Seeks): I can help. I am entirely capable.

Josie: She pulls Myra aside a bit and says:

Josie (as Minx): I’m a bit leery of bringing her along on the operation.

Minna (as Myra): Mm, I think it’s best to check the footwork before we assume that these are going to be viable places to rob.

Josie (as Minx): Indeed.

Minna (as Myra): Maybe watch a couple of them; we’ll see how she does while she’s watching with us?

Josie (as Minx): Sure. A test, then.

Madge: I feel like while they’re off whispering, Phin is just poking at the squid bits.

Chris (as Seeks): They’re really tasty.

Madge (as Phin): Well, I already had breakfast. So, you said you’re smugglers? Your group is made of smugglers?

Chris (as Seeks): We don’t smuggle things.

Madge (as Phin): [crosstalk] Okay. What is it you really do?

Chris (as Seeks): We mostly get into fights.

Madge (as Phin): Oh. What kind of fights?

Chris (as Seeks): Uh, Saroja will find something she doesn’t like, and then suddenly we’re embroiled in a bunch of trouble.

Madge (as Phin): [laugh] I think that sounds really cool.

Chris (as Seeks): I mean, it’s pretty fun.

Madge (as Phin): Yeah.

Chris (as Seeks): But then I have to patch them up, because they get all scuffed up.

Madge (as Phin): I am familiar with being the person patched up.

Chris (as Seeks): Oh. I can patch people up.

Madge (as Phin): Yeah?

Chris (as Seeks): I have all the cool tools. [whispering] I stole them!

Minna: [laughter]

Madge (as Phin): [laugh] I won’t judge you for that. I’ve stolen plenty of things before.

Chris: She nods.

Madge (as Phin): How much do you charge?

Chris (as Seeks): Um, what am I fixing?

Chris: She’s gonna go through whatever you say. She’s going to name off the price of supplies, and then nothing else, ‘cause she doesn’t understand how business works.

Josie and Minna: [laughter]

Minna: Oh no!

Madge: Sweetheart.

Rhi: It is considerably cheaper than what Sawtooth charges you.

Madge: All right.

Madge (as Phin): And, I have one more question.

Chris (as Seeks): Mhmm?

Madge (as Phin): Are you okay with people coming to you a lot?

Chris (as Seeks): Mhmm.

Madge (as Phin): And you won’t roll your eyes and make snide remarks about how they’re still getting hurt?

Chris (as Seeks): Well, that seems very mean. If they are hurt, they need happiness.

Madge (as Phin): Yeah. Yeah! They do! And people who don’t give them happiness are rude. I like you.

Chris (as Seeks): Are we talking about Sawtooth again?

Madge (as Phin): Yes, we are.

Chris (as Seeks): He is very rude.

Madge (as Phin): Yeah.

Rhi: So, what is the plan here?

Josie (as Minx): I do believe we will undertake this task. However, we would appreciate it if you were to join us on a bit of scouting. Think of it as a trial run. Then, we will proceed as necessary.

Chris: She nods.

Josie (as Minx): Right. Let’s take a look at the list, then.

## [00:14:40]

Rhi: The first person on your list is Colburn Pharmaceuticals. Similarly, there is Dr. Slain; works in Crow’s Foot. The last name on the list, though, I think, actually, all three of you recognize: Dr. Elias Hagen. The name, you all recognize from the places where you grew up; you’ve seen fliers with this guy’s name on it, or have heard rumors. He tends to recruit people for medical tests or experiments. There’s an offer of good pay. Majority of people come back.

Josie: What happens when they come back?

Rhi: You’re not real sure. You know, you’d hear, like, “oh, my friend’s cousin went and spent a week at his clinic, and then came back with a whole purse full of coin.” You know, you don’t really know the specific details. But he’s been doing this for about a decade.

Madge: Yeah.

Minna: So, what do we know about what he does with his… What is it for?

Rhi: Medical research of some kind.

Madge: I had to deal with people getting extorted where I was growing up, so would I have dealt with more people who were going to him because they needed the money?

Rhi: Yeah. You did know some people a little more directly who volunteered for these experiments. Some of them came back and were fine. Some of them came back and got sick, and then got better. Some of them, maybe a quarter of the people who you heard this about, came back, got sick, and did not get better, and either have some kind of chronic health condition, or they died.

Josie: [noise of distaste]

Madge: When she notices his name, she’s gonna get quiet for a while, and then:

Madge (as Phin): If we could hit him first, that would be really good.

Josie (as Minx): Indeed. I do believe we have a philosophically and ethically appropriate target.

Minna (as Myra): Mhmm.

Chris (as Seeks): Those are really big words.

## [00:16:53]

Josie: I think I will hit popular cafes and the like, and start up conversations about him amongst the wealthy.

Rhi: Okay.

Minna: So are we supposed to be trying to find out about what he does, or about how to get into his place?

Rhi: Thanks to the information Seeks got you, you do know: his clinic is in Charterhall, but it’s very close to one of the bridges that connects to Coalridge. Easy walking distance for the people he’s recruiting.

Minna: I’d just like to scope out the clinic itself; see if I can find out things about security.

Rhi: Okay.

Madge: Phin will go with, if you’re okay with that.

Minna: Yeah, totally.

Rhi: Do you wanna bring Seeks along on that, as well?

Minna: Sure.

Rhi: Let’s start with the three of you.

## [00:17:39]

Rhi: The clinic is a fairly unassuming, very square three-story building; not a lot of windows. There’s a handful on the first floor and none on the second floor and third. There are a couple guards standing outside the door.

Minna: And that’s the only way in?

Rhi: This is just as you guys first approach; that’s what you guys are able to see. To get more specific details about alternate entrances, things like that, you can each do separate Gather Information checks to learn stuff about building, or the area, or what have you.

Chris: All right. I guess, before I roll, first question is: is there water nearby?

Rhi: It’s pretty close to one of the major canals, ‘cause it’s basically like, you cross the bridge from Coalridge, and then it’s right there on the corner.

Chris: I guess I’m gonna go see if there are any secret entrances for boats and stuff.

Rhi: Okay. Go ahead and roll Prowl to sneak on down there.

Chris: I think I take one of my new friends down to an alleyway that goes into the canals, and I hand them my bag, and then I hand them my pants, and I jump in the water.

Rhi: [laughter]

Minna: I’m just– I’m picturing Myra standing there, holding the pants, like, “what do I do with these?” [laughter]

Madge: [laughter]

Chris: Uh, 4.

Rhi: You hop down into the river. There is, indeed, a dock there. It’s a very simple dock; it’s some wooden slats, a place to tie up a boat, and then stairs. Based on the angle of the stairs and the position of the building, you’re pretty sure it heads up into the clinic.

Chris: Okay. I assume that door is either locked or guarded. Or… what?

Rhi: If you climb up onto the dock, you can go a little bit up the stairs. You’re able to see there is light coming down from the top. You can see shadows moving up there; shadows, people, are moving around. So, there’s people up there.

Chris: Okay. I will return, and just stick my head out of the water.

Chris (as Seeks): There’s a back door.

Minna (as Myra): Is it guarded?

Chris (as Seeks): I mean, yeah. But it’s probably less guarded, and we can use it as a better getaway, because the cops will come from the streets. They always come from the streets.

Rhi: That is what Seeks has learned. And, presumably, she eventually gets out of the water and reclaims her pants.

Minna: Yeah, at this point, Myra holds out her pants.

Minna (as Myra): Do– Do you want these back?

Minna: [laugh]

Chris: She takes her pants.

## [00:20:08]

Rhi: Phin, Myra?

Minna: Hmm.

Rhi: What do you guys wanna do?

Minna: How do supplies get in there? That’s a rhetorical question, and I know you’re not gonna answer this right now. But I would like to find out how the supplies get into the thing. Maybe I can use that way to get into the clinic.

Rhi: How do you wanna go about learning that information?

Minna: I think Myra’s gonna express… Who would I ask? I guess I would approach… Is there, like, a secretary?

Rhi: You don’t know. You haven’t gotten inside the clinic.

Minna: No, no. I think she’s going to walk up to the guards.

Rhi: Oh, okay.

Minna (as Myra): Hello. Good afternoon.

Rhi (as Guard): Hello, ma’am. What can I do for you? You here for volunteering?

Minna (as Myra): I was actually wondering if there’s a way I could get a meeting with whoever sees to the supplies here.

Rhi: At this point, you’re going to have to make a roll.

Minna: I think it’s going to be… Is it a Consort or a Sway?

Rhi: I don’t know. How do you wanna approach it?

Minna: I mean, I’m being friendly, but I’m not being honest. And I’m probably gonna be making a sales pitch. So, it’s probably Sway, unfortunately.

Rhi: It’s probably Sway.

Minna: I have a 6.

Rhi: Okay.

Josie: Yeah. [victorious chuckle]

Rhi: The guard looks you up, and:

Rhi (as Guard): Uh, I don’t…

Rhi: Looks at the other guard; just shrugs silently.

Rhi (as Guard): I don’t really know who handles supplies. Guess you can head on inside and ask Cora. She might know. Here.

Rhi: He opens up the door and ushers you inside. The first room that you enter is a waiting room. The walls were, at one point, white. They’re kind of that sad, dingy off-white now. There’s a number of uncomfortable-looking chairs; handful of people sitting in them, waiting around. Then, towards the other side of the room, sitting at a large desk is a woman in probably her mid-50s, with her hair pulled back in a bun, scribbling in a ledger. Glances up.

Rhi (as Cora): Your name, and what are you volunteering for, honey?

Minna (as Myra): Oh, I’m not volunteering. I was hoping I could talk to whoever handles the supplies for Dr. Hagen.

Rhi: She looks a little confused.

Rhi (as Cora): Well, I handle most of the supply ordering for him. Uh…

Minna: Wonderful. You’re exactly who I wanted to speak to, then.

Rhi: Since you’re suddenly brightening, she smiles back.

Rhi (as Cora): Well, sure. Who are you? What can I help you with?

Minna (as Myra): My name is Thena Helles. I’ve started a new business. We’re looking to expand our customer base. We provide supplies to the medical community of Duskwall.

Rhi (as Cora): Oh, you must be awfully new. I’ve never heard of you before.

Minna (as Myra): Oh, see, we’re still just putting out feelers for who we wanna take on as clients.

Rhi (as Cora): I see. All right, well, I don’t think we’re necessarily looking to bring on anyone new… But I might be able to answer some questions, or…

Minna (as Myra): Yeah, actually, if you’re not interested in working with us, it’d be great if we could, you know, talk about how this works, ‘cause we’re looking to break into a similar environment to yours. We want to provide things low-cost to people who are working with the not-so-well-off in the city.

Rhi (as Cora): Dr. Hagen’s a very generous man like that.

Minna: I don’t think the audience cares about the informational interview that Myra then embarks on. [laughter]

Rhi: Yeah, yeah. They chat for a bit. Cora is very friendly and helpful. You get the sense, as you talk to her, that she is kind of bored out of her mind.

Minna: Yeah. I wanna ask her about the work he does.

Rhi (as Cora): He does a lot of research on medicine and anatomy, and is trying to understand how these infections that break out in some of the poorer areas of the city spread.

Minna: I think Myra’s gonna break in there.

Minna (as Myra): Oh, does he work during those plague outbreaks?

Rhi (as Cora): You know, he’s not really able to get in there and treat people directly. His skills are best used in working on developing cures and medicine, and things like that, you know. So when those sort of things have happened, he usually works with some of his colleagues over at Charterhall to get as much knowledge as they can, and make some treatments to help end the plague more quickly.

Madge: Oh, it’s really good that Phin isn’t there. [laugh]

Minna: I mean, it’s not great that Myra’s there. [laugh] She has a pasted-on smile. I think she’s keeping herself together. She asks a few more light questions, and then she leaves.

Rhi: Okay. That is what you learn.

Minna: Myra gets outside and she’s like:

Minna (as Myra): Yeah, I would feel absolutely no iota of regret for anything to do with this guy.

Madge (as Phin): He sucks.

Madge: [laughter]

Rhi: Yeah. Phin, what do you wanna investigate?

## [00:25:07]

Madge: Picturing she hears about how far Myra gets. So, to get further, it seems like we’re gonna have to go with Minna’s idea of actually signing up.

Minna: Oh, shit.

Madge: And since Phin is pretty obviously from one of those less-well-off areas, she’s gonna go in. It’s fine. [nervous laugh]

Rhi: Okay.

Madge: She will head in and head up to the desk.

Rhi (as Cora): Oh, hello there. Are you here to volunteer?

Madge (as Phin): Yeah. Yeah, I’m here to volunteer.

Rhi (as Cora): All right. And was there a particular study you were interested in?

Madge (as Phin): Um, no, not exactly. I was sort of… I have a family back home, and I wanna be able to get back to them as soon as possible, so I was wondering if there was a system where I could see what I would be going through. And then if it’s not for me, I can back out?

Rhi (as Cora): Unfortunately, with some of the potential for exposure, we do need to keep everybody in a contained environment once they head back.

Madge (as Phin): Okay.

Rhi (as Cora): Just so that we don’t cause any outbreaks. There are experiments we do that are only like three or four days.

Madge (as Phin): Okay. How many people do you take back at once?

Rhi: I think at this point you’ll need to do a roll.

Madge: Yeah. [laughter]

Rhi: [laugh] ‘Cause that’s fishing for information that is a little nonstandard.

Madge (as Phin): I got a 6.

Rhi: She’s already been kinda warmed up to be chatty. She’s like:

Rhi (as Cora): Well, you know, it depends on how many people we need. Some of the smaller studies, it’s maybe 20 people.

Madge (as Phin): You take them all at once?

Rhi (as Cora): Usually, yeah. We’re waiting for… We’ve been told to expect another few more. I thought you were gonna be one of them.

Madge (as Phin): Well, you’re in luck, because I am.

Rhi (as Cora): All right. We’re just waiting for, I think… Well, there’s you, and then…

Rhi: She leans past you to count the people in the waiting room.

Rhi (as Cora): I think just a couple more after you.

Madge (as Phin): All right.

Madge: She’s just gonna take a seat.

Rhi: Are you gonna hang out until—

Madge: Yeah.

Rhi: Okay. You sit down. There’s a chair between you and this guy who looks like he’s, you’re guessing, 30s, but it looks old for his age.

Madge: Yeah, time hasn’t been easy on him?

Rhi: Yeah. The characteristic, he’s got cracked skin on his hands, the coal dust is just caked under his fingernails; probably never comes out. He notices you.

Rhi (as Coalminer): First time?

Madge (as Phin): Yeah. My family’s sick, so we need the money.

Rhi (as Coalminer): Well, I know that feeling. [cough] My dad and older brother have been in the mines, and they got the black lung happening, so… Make better money spending a week in here than a month down in the hole. So…

Madge (as Phin): Yeah, I completely understand. My parents are fishermen, so…

Rhi (as Coalminer): Mm. I wouldn’t be too nervous about it. It’s… You’ll feel like shit for a few days, but this Hagen guy’s got some pretty clever tricks. Usually gets you set back up, feeling pretty good.

Madge (as Phin): Does he come in and do the work himself?

Rhi (as Coalminer): Sometimes. He usually shows up to talk to everybody as a group when you first get brought back; gives this whole speech about contributing to medical science, blah blah blah. I don’t know. I tune him out. But he’s mostly got some nurses and a couple other doctors; I think, some of the students from one of the schools up there are helping out.

Madge: Yeah. She’s gonna look him over again.

Madge (as Phin): So, you said your brother and your dad worked in the mines. How old are you?

Rhi (as Coalminer): About…

Rhi: He has to think for a second.

Rhi (as Coalminer): 26.

Madge (as Phin): Huh. Well.

Rhi (as Coalminer): Yeah, yeah. I know.

Madge (as Phin): I didn’t mean to be offensive or anything.

Rhi (as Coalminer): Ah, it happens.

Rhi: He just shrugs. He doesn’t seem like he’s upset about it.

Madge (as Phin): Was it because of one of the things they did to you, or is it just the mines?

Rhi (as Coalminer): Eh, it’s just the work, the life. I mean, I’m sure you know how it is. Can’t imagine it’s a lot more pleasant up on the docks.

Madge (as Phin): Not really.

Rhi (as Coalminer): Yeah.

Madge (as Phin): Between actually going out on the sea and dealing with whatever gang decides to roll in on the docks, it’s not great.

Rhi (as Coalminer): Yeah.

Rhi: You chat with this guy for a while. About an hour passes, and nobody else has come in.

Madge: At that point, she’s gonna brush her hands off on her trousers and be like:

Madge (as Phin): Listen. I thought this was gonna be real quick in and out, but I can’t leave my family alone. One of my brothers is like two.

Rhi (as Coalminer): Oof.

Madge (as Phin): Can you save my spot?

Rhi (as Coalminer): I mean, I’ll try. They kinda do it first come, first serve, you know?

Madge (as Phin): Yeah. Yeah, I totally understand. But like I said, I can’t leave them alone for too long.

Rhi (as Coalminer): Yeah. All right, well, good luck.

Madge (as Phin): Thanks.

Rhi: So, you head back out.

Madge: Yeah.

## [00:30::37]

Rhi: While the other three are learning all kinds of fun and exciting things about Dr. Hagen and his quote unquote “generosity,” Minx heads up to, once again, chat up the nobility.

Josie: Right.

Rhi: You go, and it’s one of the cafes that you have visited multiple times before. There’s a few of the regulars who recognize you, and are happy to see you when you come in. What kind of questions are you asking as you steer the conversation around to Dr. Hagen?

Josie: I will have an annoying cousin who is sick, and we’re not satisfied with our current physician, and are looking for someone perhaps a bit more up to the standard.

Rhi: Okay. The recommendation you get, almost universally, is that you must see Dr. Hagen. At one point, you get cornered by this old woman who tearfully tells you that she has a daughter who is just about your age. She had a really difficult pregnancy, and Dr. Hagen just spent so much time with her, caring for her, and was there through the whole 20 hours of labor and nature that both her and the child were fine. You manage to extricate yourself before she starts pulling out the sketched portraits of her grandchild.

Josie: [laugh] The wallet-sized sketch portrait?

Rhi: [laughing] Yeah. The wealthy of the city have nothing but good things to say about him.

Josie: Just so we know who we might be pissing off—I’m not gonna make Rhi come up with more names on the spot, but—I want to remember some of the names of people who seem pretty attached to him.

Rhi: Yeah. A lot of these are people who you’ve chatted with previously, so, yeah, you’re able to be like “okay, this person and this person,” and keep track of that. Anything else that you wanna ask about him?

Josie: I am all set there.

Rhi: Okay. You guys all get back together, share your info. What are you guys thinking in terms of planning here?

Josie: Do we wish to attempt a nighttime operation and then deal with the security, or lure people off during the day and make our escape?

Madge: Honestly, getting in is gonna be way easier during the day.

Josie: All right.

Madge: ‘Cause if we pretend that we’re interested in the trial, we can get in, knock everyone out, take what we need, and leave.

Josie: That makes an amount of sense. Do we know where the supplies are in within the building?

Madge: Oh, yeah.

Josie: Okay.

Rhi: Between Myra’s conversation and Phin’s conversation, you guys have a pretty good idea of where stuff is stored.

Josie: All right, let’s—

Minna: We can make a pretty good guess.

Josie: This seems like a by-the-book Deception operation, then. Good work, everyone.

Rhi: Your plan is Deception, and your method of deception is pretending to be volunteers for medical experiments.

Josie: Yup.

Rhi: There’s no way this’ll go wrong.

Josie: Mhmm.

Chris: Seeks looks incredibly nervous.

Minna (as Myra): Seeks, you are welcome not to come in if you don’t want to. You can always wait in the canal. It might be helpful to have somebody on the outside.

Madge (as Phin): Mhmm.

Chris (as Seeks): I could bring a boat, but what if you need grenades?

Madge (as Phin): Fair point.

Minna (as Myra): I think if we need grenades inside the building, then things are already irretrievable.

Chris (as Seeks): Mm.

Minna (as Myra): Do you sneak into places a lot?

Chris (as Seeks): Sort of. We get caught a lot.

Madge (as Phin): We don’t get caught as often. We’ll be okay.

Chris (as Seeks): Okay.

Minna (as Myra): You care welcome to whatever you would like to do. I’m just offering you the out if you would like it.

Madge (as Phin): Honestly, we could play it… Have two of us go in and two of us stay out, because, no offense, Minx, but you don’t come off as someone who would volunteer to be experimented on for money.

Minna (as Myra): I think you’ve worked very hard not to come off that way. Think it’s a compliment to you.

Josie (as Minx): [laugh]

Chris (as Seeks): We can secure the back door.

Josie (as Minx): Indeed.

## [00:34:38]

Rhi: All right. Let’s do the engagement roll. And I got a 6! So it is gonna be a controlled position starting off. Phin walks through the door first. Myra, as you’re walking in, you realize, “oh God, I just spent an hour yesterday talking to this woman. She’s gonna recognize me.” There’s a totally different person sitting at the desk.

Minna: [sigh of relief]

Rhi: The two of you get checked in with no problem. You’re among the last ones to get in for this particular experiment blocks; looks like this is one with about 20-ish people. Last person shows up, and you’re all ushered back through this big, heavy steel door that, once you’re inside, clangs shut in a very prison-like way. Basically, get herded into another large room with some doors and hallways going off of it. There’s a few people around in long coats and aprons. As you’re all herded in, there’s a man up at the front of the room who’s holding a sheaf of papers.

Rhi (as Sheaf-Wielding Man): Ah, good. Welcome. I am Dr. Elias Hagen. Thank you all for volunteering today. You are doing a great service for not only Doskval, but for the Empire as a whole.

Rhi: And he goes on and on and on.

Minna: I think Myra’s listening. I think she just doesn’t like it.

Rhi: Yeah. It’s just a lot about “noble sacrifice,” and “betterment of humanity,” and “scientific advancement,” and all that stuff. He finishes his speech; he leaves. Some of the nurses and doctors start guiding people off towards specific doors, and there’s a bit of an opportunity where nobody’s really paying attention to the two of you. It’s gonna be a controlled opportunity to try to slip away.

Minna: Do we wanna do a group action?

Madge: Yes. I can take point.

Minna: I think what it looks like is you grab Myra’s sleeve, and then we’re gonna take this opportunity.

Madge: What would a Devil’s Bargain look like for this one?

Rhi: The guy that you saw the other day is here, and he recognizes you.

Madge: Okay.

Minna: What about for Myra?

Rhi: [thoughtful sigh] I almost want to apply a Masks-type condition of, you are just super, super angry about this whole situation.

Minna: So, I’m less good at my social shit?

Rhi: I think so. I think that’s what I’m gonna go with.

Minna: I kind of enjoy that!

Rhi: Yeah, I think that’s gonna be the Devil’s Bargain, is that you’re at a bonus die now, but I’m gonna say you’re gonna be at reduced effect for social stuff for the rest of the score.

Minna: Fuck yes. I’m doing it.

Rhi: Okay.

Minna: Okay, I got a 5.

Rhi: Okay.

Madge: I got a 3. [laughter]

Rhi: [laughter] Okay. So, Phin, you’re gonna take a point of stress since you’re leading. I know what the consequence is, but it hasn’t quite landed yet.

Madge: Okay.

Rhi: But you two are able to slip away down a hallway that you know will lead you to the basement. You’re gonna start heading through the halls.

## [00:38:03]

Rhi: Let’s jump over to the dock crew. Is the plan for Minx and Seeks to just hang out there and wait with a boat, or do you two wanna come in the back door?

Chris: We’re going in the back door, because I’ve got all these cool toys and I wanna use them. I figure I borrow a boat. Oh, I put all the extra gear in a crate. That way, it doesn’t look suspicious as we’re sailing down the canals.

Rhi: Yeah. You’re at the dock. Looking up the stairs, you can see there’s electric lights up at the top, some shadows moving.

Josie: We know that there is a guard, yes?

Rhi: There’s at least one guard. You’re not sure how many are up there.

Josie: Okay. [laughing] Can we do the old “throw a rock to distract them?” [laughter]

Minna: [laughter]

Josie: I just want to distract them so we can come up from behind and knock them out, and not just charge at them and give them a chance.

Christ: We could hide in the shadows and do something silly, like yell out “help. I am all alone down here, and my clothes are all ruined, and I cannot wear them anymore.”

Various: [laughter]

Minna: [laughing] Seeks!

Rhi: That’s also an option.

Chris: And I have all of these drugs here, which I can put on their faces.

Josie: Oh, that’s good. That’s good, ‘cause I’m out of the drug that I put on people’s faces.

Rhi: Do you guys wanna do this as a group check?

Chris: Can I just assist? Like, use the trance powder as an assist for their Sway?

Rhi: Yeah. You can do an assist and take one point of stress, Seeks.

Chris: Mhmm.

Rhi: Minx, you’re at a completely unnecessary 4d6. Probably gonna critical this again.

Josie: Oh, no. I didn’t critical. I just got a 6.

Rhi: What do you say to lure the guards down here?

Josie: Okay, I’ll make a bit of a scuffling sound, and, I don’t know, drop some things on the ground. I’ll adopt sort of an uncouth accent, and just go over the top with:

Josie (as Minx): Oh, goddammit. Motherfucker! Can someone fucking– Goddammit, I dropped it– Come on!

Josie: And just jingle the vial around a little bit, like I dropped some sort of box.

Rhi: You hear footsteps come down the stairs, and there’s a voice of:

Rhi (as Guard): Everything all right down there?

Josie (as Minx): Yeah, I just need a little help getting some of this.

Josie: Throw the pocket sand.

Chris: I assume I was specifically told not to murder anyone.

Rhi: I don’t know if you were.

Madge: Phin is A-okay with you murdering.

Minna: Myra’s not.

Chris: Well, I guess the question is, how often do crows fly above this place?

Rhi: Often enough that it wouldn’t raise suspicion.

Chris: Okay, cool. But I am just gonna chloroform this guy and steal his pants. 6, 6!

Madge: Yay!

Rhi: Okay, yeah. You just rise up from the shadows and slap the rag over his mouth, silently drag him away. Just as Seeks drags the guy out of view, the other guard comes down and is like:

Rhi (as Guard): Did you say you needed help?

Josie: Yeah. I’m gonna trance powder. I got a 4.

Rhi: I am going to give in to the temptation for slapstick for the moment. The guy is coming down the stairs towards you, so he’s above you when you throw the trance powder in his face. He gets a big, deep whiff of it, his eyes go all glazy, he wobbles on his feet. He pitches forward and just slams into you, Minx. The two of you go tumbling down the stairs.

Josie: Oh no.

Rhi: Minx, you’re gonna take level 1 harm, Bruised, ‘cause you just [tumbling noises] down the stairs.

Josie: I would like to resist it.

Rhi: Okay. It’ll be with Prowess.

Josie: 5.

Rhi: 5? Okay, you’ll take 1 point of stress. You manage to tuck and roll and twist this guy so that he takes the brunt of the damage on the steps. Your hair is a bit mussed, but otherwise you’re fine.

Josie (as Minx): Oh, dear. I was hoping to at least go some portion of the operation with it still intact. But, very well; let’s press onward.

Chris (as Seeks): So, we should steal their uniforms?

Josie (as Minx): I think they’ll recognize anyone inside, even if we’re wearing the uniforms.

Chris (as Seeks): But they’ll try and talk to us and figure out if we were changed guards, and then we could blow more trance powder in their faces.

Josie (as Minx): I do miss having trance powder. I should get on that.

Chris: I hand her another vial of trance powder.

Josie (as Minx): Very well. Let’s do it.

## [00:42:31]

Rhi: While the two of you are getting changed into the uniforms, we will cut back up to Phin and Myra, who are creeping down a hallway that is lined with doors. It’s eerily quiet, so you’re very clearly able to hear two things. One, from a door a little ways down the hallway, muffled crying. And two, footsteps coming up behind you.

Minna: Uh, can I glance over my shoulder?

Rhi: You can. Phin, which direction do you look?

Madge: I’m looking towards the crying.

Rhi: Okay. Myra, you glance over your shoulder. There’s a man who looks vaguely familiar. You might have seen him in the waiting room yesterday or today. It’s the same guy that Phin saw and talked to a whole bunch. He’s following you guys. When you look back, he gives you a hesitant wave and comes over.

Rhi (as Coalminer): Which room did you get assigned to? I think we were in the same group.

Rhi: He sees Phin and gives you a wave.

Rhi (as Coalminer): Hey. Glad you were able to make it in.

Madge (as Phin): Yeah. Yeah, uh… Which room did we get assigned to?

Rhi: You guys didn’t actually get assigned to a room. You left before you were—

Madge: I know. I’m asking that to Myra.

Rhi: Oh. [laugh]

Minna: Oh!

Madge: [laughing] Trying to seem convincing. Yeah.

Minna: Myra’s looking very tense and a little bit unsure what to do with the situation, because she just got jerked in a very different direction than expected. Are there, like, numbers on these doors, and such? Such that I can… What number is the crying room?

Madge: Yeah! Yeah.

Rhi: 134.

Minna (as Myra): Uh, 134. Right there. You got to us just in time.

Minna: Do I need to lie?

Rhi: Oh, yeah. [laugh]

Minna: Do I need to roll Sway or something?

Rhi: Probably, yeah.

Madge: Can I assist?

Rhi: Yes. If you wanna take a point of stress, you can give her an extra die.

Madge: Yeah.

Minna: Well, 4, but I’m at reduced effect, because it’s social.

Rhi: He frowns at you.

Rhi (as Coalminer): Well, these are all the individual rooms, and I think it sounds like somebody’s in there already. You must have gotten something mixed up. We should probably head back, and get to the right spot.

Madge (as Phin): Yeah, you start heading back. We’ll be right behind you.

Rhi: I think he eyes you a little bit, and then is like:

Rhi (as Coalminer): Okay… Yeah, let’s go.

Rhi: And he turns around and starts walking away.

Madge: Okay. Um, I’m gonna… [laughter] Oh man. [pained noises]

Rhi: You’re gonna attack an impoverished coalminer, aren’t you?

Madge: Shut up. No—

Minna: I have a thing that I could do. If you recall, I have a vial of sleep essence, and I could soak a handkerchief in it and sneak up on him if you don’t wanna be too violent.

Madge: Can we do that? Can we please do that? ‘Cause I feel—

Minna: Okay.

Madge: [laughter]

Minna: I was gonna do that before you did anything rash. So, I think that Myra is going to follow closely and grab his arm.

Rhi (as Coalminer): Uh, yeah?

Minna: I think she’s gonna slap her handkerchief over his mouth. [laughter]

Josie and Madge: [laughter]

Minna (as Myra): Sh-sh-sh-shhhh.

Rhi: Okay. Yeah, you’re gonna need to make a roll.

Minna: Okay. Oh, fuck. Do I really have nothing in Skirmish? Why did I do this to myself?

Josie: [laughter]

Minna: Okay. I’m gonna push myself.

Rhi: Since you are ambushing him a little bit, if you wanted to do Prowl, Prowl would also be effective.

Minna: Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha… It’s a 2.

Rhi: You try to just slap this thing onto his face, but you’re not quite quick enough about it. He slaps your arm away and then goes:

Rhi (as Coalminer): What the hell are you doing?!

Minna (as Myra): Shhhh!

Madge (as Phin): Shhh! Shush!

Rhi: A door slams open at the end of the hall.

Minna (as Myra): This man just touched me.

Madge (as Phin): He’s stalking us!

Rhi: There’s a doctor and a nurse or an orderly behind. They come rushing down. They’re like:

Rhi (as Doctor): What are any of you doing here? No one in this experiment is supposed to be in this area.

Rhi: They separate all of you and are like:

Rhi (as Doctor): What is going on? What are you doing?

Minna (as Myra): I was just looking for a washroom. I haven’t been feeling well.

Madge (as Phin): I was going with her.

Rhi: They look at the guy.

Rhi (as Coalminer): I thought that they were heading towards their assignment, and then she tried to slap this—

Rhi: And he reaches down and picks up the handkerchief.

Rhi (as Coalminer): She just tried to slap this on my face.

Minna (as Myra): I don’t like being followed.

Madge (as Phin): We were raised in a very bad part of town.

Rhi: The doctor takes the cloth and can feel that it’s wet and gives it a sniff, and pulls back, and is like:

Rhi (as Doctor): Right.

Rhi: And pockets the handkerchief and turns to the guy.

Rhi (as Doctor): Head back to the central room. You two, come with us.

Rhi: And the orderly swings in around behind the two of you. At first, it seems like you’re going the same direction, back to that central room. Then, before you go in, there’s a sudden turn, and you’re heading off somewhere else.

Madge (as Phin): Where are we going?

Rhi (as Doctor): I think we need to have a discussion about your eligibility for the program.

Madge (as Phin): No, I don’t think any discussion is necessary. We’re fine. We just needed a washroom. She’s been feeling ill.

Rhi (as Doctor): Exactly. Your eligibility for the program.

Minna (as Myra): So why don’t you just take us out and kick us out onto the street?

Rhi: A second orderly comes up behind you. There’s now two people behind you, and the doctor leading the way.

Rhi (as Doctor): You just attacked another one of our patients with slumber essence.

Minna (as Myra): Which I use in self-defense.

Rhi: The doctor glances back over his shoulder and raises an eyebrow.

Rhi (as Doctor): Which nobody from your part of town should be able to afford.

Madge (as Phin): That’s a really big assumption about people from our part of town.

Rhi (as Doctor): And yet, one that I feel perfectly fine making, given the number that I’ve seen.

Madge (as Phin): Prejudiced prick.

Rhi: He doesn’t seem to be especially insulted.

Madge: Dang it. [laugh]

Rhi: I think you two are still being walked down a hall.

## [00:48:38]

Rhi: We’ll cut back over to Minx and Seeks, who are now dressed in guard uniforms that mostly fit. Sleeves are a little bit long on Seeks.

Chris: Yeah. I rolled them up.

Josie: Do we hear any sort of commotion when we come in?

Rhi: You, actually, if you’re just stripping the guards, you would be able to get their keys. [laugh]

Chris: Yes!

Rhi: You unlock the back door and step into the basement, which is kinda the same as the rest of the building. There’s electroplasmic lights along the hall, gray paint on the walls, a few doors. The hallway curves off towards the end. You don’t really see any stairs from where you’re at.

Chris (as Seeks): This place is really drab.

Josie (as Minx): Indeed. They should really hire someone for this. They could use my services in making this a much more pleasant experience. Do you see anything you need here, or shall we press on?

Chris: I guess I will study the room.

Rhi: There’s a couple doors. The one closest to where you come in is a guard station. That one is unlocked. It’s just a table and a couple chairs, and some little storage cubbies. It looks like it’s just where these guards come and put their coats and stuff and sit on their breaks, or whatever. There’s a couple locked doors that are labelled as “linen storage,” and another is “uniforms.”

Josie: Okay. Let’s keep pressing on, then. This isn’t gonna be anything we want.

Rhi: There is one door that catches your attention, ‘cause it’s not labelled. The keyring that the guards have, they’re able to get into most of the doors, and you’re able to unlock these things. There’s this last door in in this hallway that’s unlabeled, and none of the keys work on it.

Chris (as Seeks): Okay, I’m going to open this door. Just keep an eye out for me?

Josie (as Minx): Very well.

Chris: I’m going to take my fine tinkering tools, and I’ma tinker.

Rhi: Okay. This is gonna be controlled, ‘cause there’s not really anybody around.

Chris: All right. And I guess I will push myself for the extra die. No.

Rhi: What’d you get?

Chris: 3, 2, 1.

Rhi: Oh, jeez. Okay.

Josie: [groan]

Rhi: This is a surprisingly difficult lock.

Chris: I think you hear the snap of the lockpick just [metallic twanging noise]. She looks at it, sad. She’s like:

Chris (as Seeks): Hm, fuck this.

Chris: Reaches into her pockets. Vial of acid. Yay! A 6.

Rhi: 6. Okay. Yeah, you melt through the lock, and the door opens. Inside is a fairly dark room, but there’s still a faint glow coming from the vials of electroplasm and some other substances that, at a glance, you’re not sure what they are. But they’re glowing a bit.

Chris (as Seeks): Oh, boy. This is worth a lot of monies.

Rhi: So: electroplasm, as the stuff that fuels basically everything in the Empire, is usually stored in very large barrels. These are in little test tubes. Pretty much everything in here is kept in small quantities.

Josie (as Minx): Um… Any of the stuff you needed?

Chris (as Seeks): Uh, I mean, you can sell all of this stuff for a lot of money, but it’s not medical stuff.

Chris: I am going to take one of the vials.

Josie: Yeah, I’m gonna take a bunch. [laugh]

Rhi: Okay. As you’re looking, you’re able to flick on the light to get a better look at everything. There’s the electroplasm that you guys recognize. Seeks, you probably can tell this, just because of your work: there’s vials of stuff that look similar to electroplasm, but have a brighter glow.

Chris: [Awed gasp]

Rhi: That is raw leviathan blood, unrefined.

Josie: Oohhh. Taking it.

Chris (as Seeks): Do not drink it.

Josie (as Minx): I– I do not intend to drink this swill. I intend to sell it.

Chris (as Seeks): No, but don’t drink it, because then all your flesh gets all bubbly, and it falls off like [wet, mushy sound].

Josie (as Minx): Why do you know that?

Chris (as Seeks): Why do you not know that?

Josie: I’m just going to pocket this.

Rhi: The last set of vials, some of them glow. Some of them look like really deep red blood that has a bit of a glow to it. Some of it looks, at first glance, kind of like The Void Sea captured in a vial. It’s pitch black and has little pinpricks of light in it. There’s some that look like they hold liquid smoke.

Chris: Oooh.

Rhi: It’s very weird.

Chris (as Seeks): I do not like this person.

Josie (as Minx): No, but the good news is we can deprive him of these things. Minx is gonna continue taking everything.

Rhi: You’re able to grab a number of vials. I’m gonna say you can get five each of the electroplasm and the leviathan blood. Then, I think you can grab three of the other ones.

Josie: Gotcha.

Chris: I think Seeks is gonna peruse the shelves and pick up just one of them, the perfect one, and put it in her pants.

Josie (as Minx): [laughter]

Rhi: Okay. You guys have a whole bunch of vials of random things, some of which, you know what they are. Some of them, you don’t. You can head back out, close the door behind you. The lock is very obviously melted.

Josie: I’m gonna go ahead and throw a Magpies pin in there.

Rhi: Nice.

Chris (as Seeks): So, I was thinking. We could steal a couple of things, or we could steal all of the things.

Josie (as Minx): Indeed. I don’t believe we’ve come prepared to steal all of the things, but…

Chris (as Seeks): But if we steal the building, we don’t have to move anything.

Josie (as Minx): I suppose that would be true. I… don’t think we have the storage space to store a building, though.

Chris (as Seeks): I mean, the building doesn’t have to move if he just signs the papers. The papers are probably in his office, I think.

Josie (as Minx): I– I’m not certain that would work, Seeks. We’d need to take those papers away to make sure they’re forged properly.

Chris (as Seeks): Well, I mean, he could sign them, and he could disappear, and then nobody would have to ask him any questions about papers in offices.

Josie (as Minx): I mean, I suppose so. That’s not… You know what? Let’s find the rest of the crew, ‘cause I do like how you think about these things. But let’s find the rest of the crew, and then decided this. If we wish to steal a building, we will need all four of us.

Chris (as Seeks): Okay.

## [00:55:18] outro

Rhi: Thanks for listening. The Magpies will be back in two weeks. In the meantime, follow us on Twitter @magpies_pod.

The Magpies Podcast is hosted and produced by Rhi. Follow me on Twitter @rhiannon42.

Blaire Culhane is played by Kim Kogut. Follow her on Twitter @kimdianajones.

Minx is played by Josie. Follow her on Twitter @dragongirljosie, and watch her art streams at picarto.tv/dragongirljosie.

Myra Keel is played by Minna. Follow her on Twitter @mynaminnarr.

And Phin Haig is played by Madge. Follow her on Twitter @madgequips.

The opening and closing theme music is from Trio for Piano, Violin, and Viola by Kevin MacLeod and is used under a Creative Commons license.

The Blades in the Dark roleplay system is the creation of John Harper and is published by Evil Hat Productions.

## [00:56:19]

Chris: But first, I gotta ask if there’s a Devil’s Bargain.

Rhi: Oh, for a Gather Info?

Chris: I don’t know. Can you get a Devil’s Bargain on Gather Info? ‘Cause I’m willing to take it. [laughter]

Rhi: I mean, if you… if you want it?

Madge: Waffles is a good fan! Waffles is a good fan. He knows how this works.

Josie: Indeed. But we do need to initiate you to the proper terminology of “what does a Devil’s Bargain look like?”

Minna and Rhi: [laughter]

Chris: Oh, okay. What does a Devil’s Bargain look like?

Josie and Minna: [laughter]

Rhi: Um…