The Magpies – Transcript
Season 2, Episode 13: The Brother’s Keeper Score
Transcribed by Tyler (Twitter: @Tyler_MoonSage)
## Intro
Rhi: Welcome back to Duskwall. As always, thank you for joining us. We remain very, very close to our next Patreon goal of $300 a month. If we can get just a few more backers, we’ll be able to start posting transcripts even faster. Right now we have transcripts up through Episodes 10 and 11 of Season 1. We’ve made a lot of progress, but there’s a long way to go.
So please, if you can support us on Patreon it would mean so much to us. If you can’t, please spread the word about the show. Tweets, reviews, home-made yard signs, we love it all. No one’s actually done the yard sign thing yet, but that would be really cool if you did.
Next, let me tell you about this month’s Featured Charity.
The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center is a non-profit dedicated to supporting indigenous women in the United States who are facing domestic violence as well as helping Native American tribes and tribal organizations better respond to domestic violence. Their goals are to show that offenders will be held accountable and that native women and children are entitled to safety from violence within their homes and in their community, justice both on and off tribal lands, and access to services designed by and for native women based on their tribal beliefs and practices. Visit www.niwrc.org/donate to support their work. There will be a link to their site in the show notes.
Now then, let’s get started. Shall we?
## Story Continues [0:01:35]
Rhi: How long do you all think you wait before embarking on this rescue mission?
Josie: If y’all want to wait, you might need to restrain Minx into waiting, because she’s ready to go.
Minna: I feel like we don’t wait long.
Kim: We don’t wait long, but the thing is I feel like Minx needs a little bit of time, maybe a day or two, to cool down.
Minna: Yeah.
Josie: [laughs] Also I have a back wound.
Rhi: Well, there was at least a day that Minx spent with Nyryx, so it could be the next day. That would just be two days after everything that happened previously with Harker and Rigney.
Kim: [darkly] Mm-hmm.
Minna: [moans]
Josie: Yep…
Rhi: A couple days have passed since all that happened. Where do we find The magpies at the beginning of this planning?
Kim: Obviously we’re planning in The Nest.
Rhi: Yep! [laughs]
Kim: We learned that lesson the hard way.
Rhi: [laughs] yep!
Josie: I think Minx is letting other people take the lead on planning. She’s kind of doing herself up, straightening her hair, making sure her makeup is good, and she’s preparing for a hike so she needs exactly the right canteen.
[giggling]
Rhi: Coordinating the canteen to her outfit.
Josie: Right. If anything she seems oddly chipper and happy to be doing it.
Kim: Huh. That’s weird.
Minna: I feel like Myra would have asked—if they know vaguely where they’re going—Myra wants a vague map. She knows Blaire has been out to The Deathlands. She herself does not know the lay of the land at all out there.
Kim: I think Blaire may have in her journal some hand drawn maps. She can definitely lend those to Myra. You can look those over in the common area.
Minna: Yeah. I feel like we have those spread out over the table.
Kim: Yep. Blaire is in her room at the moment and she is just grabbing and putting together her Deathlands gear, just rummaging through her room and getting everything that she needs.
Rhi: Grabbing some ghost jars, just because well, I’m out there, I may as well.
Kim: Yeah.
Kim (as Blaire): Oh, it’s been a while, I should take you too.
Kim: She puts them in her satchel.
Rhi: Yeah. I think, Blaire, you and the Deathlands Scavengers have kind of an understanding. They’re not super thrilled that you are—I don’t think they know that you’re out here releasing ghosts, because they would not be happy about that if they knew. Mostly it’s just like, if you happen to see some Scavengers while they’re out there you all give each other the “hey, how’s it going” nod and then continue on your separate ways. You don’t really work with them directly a lot. The Deathlands Scavengers have a few safe houses in the ruins out there that they move around. Blaire, you have a rough idea where a couple of them are, but you don’t know all of them, because again it’s not like you’re going over to hang out with them very often.
Kim: Right.
Rhi: But I think you have those locations marked on your map, sort of as a “don’t release ghosts near this area,” because that’s rude.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: Exactly. Those are the areas we’re going to want to pay the most attention to, because that’s going to be a good place to start looking for Nevan.
Josie: All right.
Minna: Okay, so he’s with the people who got out?
Kim: He could be on his own or he could be with a group, but…
Rhi: The only way he’s survived this long is being with a group.
Kim: Okay. His home base is one of those Scavenger outposts.
Rhi: Yeah. Blaire and Minx are prepping for the trip. Myra is looking over maps. Everyone’s doing their own thing.
Kim: Mm-hmm. At a certain point we all need to get into the common area, that’s the thing.
Josie: I was thinking we were already there, like I was there doing myself up while we’re talking.
Kim: Oh, I see.
Minna: I think Myra has gotten nowhere with deep conversation, so she’s keeping the topic light, just chattering with Minx.
Josie: Which Minx is all too happy to oblige with.
Kim: Blaire has her satchel strapped to her side. She looks very geared up and ready to go.
Kim (as Blaire): How you making out with those maps?
Minna (as Myra): I’m making out okay. I’m just trying to keep their positioning in mind.
Kim (as Blaire): My handwriting isn’t too cryptic?
Minna (as Myra): [laughs] Luckily what I wanted was the pictures.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): Well, good. Handwriting is hard out there, it’s pretty dark, even with a lantern.
Minna (as Myra): I’m fairly good at making out handwriting.
Kim (as Blaire): Oh yeah, I forgot. That’s like your thing. [giggles]
Josie (as Minx): [giggles]
Minna (as Myra): [giggles] Did you just call me a nerd, Blaire?
Kim (as Blaire): me? No. No-no-no. I said that was kind of your thing. I didn’t call you a nerd. I’m the nerd.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie (as Minx): I do believe you both can be classified as nerds, but simply for different things.
Kim (as Blaire): [grumbles] But I’m prime nerd, okay?
[laughter]
Josie (as Minx): Yes dear, you are Nerd Prime.
Kim (as Blaire): I am nerd Supreme!
Josie (as Minx): Alpha Nerd.
Kim (as Blaire): Thank you. You will address me as such.
Josie (as Minx): It’s hard to out-nerd a ghost nerd, to be fair. It occurs to me this may be our first time really dealing with what Blaire trades in, essentially.
Kim (as Blaire): I mean, that incident with The Lost District was, you know, almost the same thing.
Minna (as Myra): And we started a riot with ghosts.
Josie (as Minx): Right. Hopefully it does not get as rambunctious as that trip did.
Kim (as Blaire): I’m not intending on starting another ghost riot. I don’t want to put another harvester out there, even if it is in The Deathlands.
Josie (as Minx): Indeed. Hopefully the Scavengers are friendly?
Kim (as Blaire): Eh, I mean, as friendly as you can be when you’re living in The Deathlands. I haven’t interacted with them much, but you know, if we make ourselves not too threatening or suspicious they may let us wander some of their camps. If you make it out to be like we’re lost or we need supplies they’ll probably help us out. Anything more than that, I don’t think they’re the best at small talk.
Rhi: Was there any info gathering that you wanted to do before heading out?
Kim: Should we just do a group Study to look over the maps and have that be our info gather?
Josie: Yeah, why the heck not.
Kim: That might be just the easiest and quickest way to do it. I don’t think we really need to do anything else, unless you guys need to go get supplies.
Minna: I don’t need to get things necessarily. I was wondering if we wanted to try and narrow down where Nevan would be or if we’re just gonna trial and error out there.
Kim: That’s what I think this Study roll should give us.
Minna: Okay.
Josie: Yeah.
Kim: In that case, I don’t mind leading. I’ve got 0 stress.
Minna: I just critted.
Rhi: Nice.
Josie: I got a 4.
Kim: My highest was a 5.
Rhi: Okay. Nobody takes stress, and the result is a critical success.
Kim: Woo.
Rhi: What information are you trying to glean?
Kim: We’re narrowing down Scavenger outposts, so basically what I’m imagining we want to do is eliminate the ones where Nevan is unlikely to be and get some kind of radius of outposts that would be a good place to start.
Rhi: Okay. I think what happens is, Myra, you’re studying these maps for a little bit and after a while something clicks in your brain and you go running off to a bookshelf and grab a history tome off the shelf and page through it. You are able to find, in a book that’s sort of a history of Duskwall that includes some pre-cataclysmic history, there is a map of Dusk wall and the surrounding area before the cataclysm. You bring the book over and set it down next to Blaire’s maps, and you can see this section of ruins is the same as this village here, so that means this village is here, and you’re able to expand on the maps that Blaire has and locate another couple areas where the Deathlands Scavengers might be. Blaire, you know in terms of how they move around and rotate to… You’re able to be like, I know for sure, or I’m 90% sure that they won’t be at these two locations, so I think you narrow it down to them being at one of two places in The Deathlands.
Kim: Okay. Awesome.
Rhi: It’s either ruined village A or ruined village B.
Kim: Got it.
Rhi: I think those two places are not too far away from each other.
Kim: Right. That works.
Rhi: It’s not like you’re gonna be hiking out there for hours and hours and hours to get between the two.
Kim: That’s perfect.
Rhi: Okay! The other thing before we get into starting off the score proper… Has anybody talked with Rigney about making plans for where you’re gonna meet once you get Nevan back into the city?
Josie: I haven’t.
[laughter]
Kim: We know this.
Rhi: This is my shocked face.
Kim: Blaire is definitely going to go to Rigney and check up on him and let him know what the pickup scenario is going to look like. What’s the best location on the map to meet us?
Rhi: I feel like your options are gonna be either The Hound’s Paw or Gaddoc Rail Station. If your plan is to put Nevan on a train and send him to Tycheros, potentially meeting at the rail station.
Kim: I think the rail station would be safer than The Hound’s Paw.
Rhi: I agree, and I think Rigney would agree as well. Rigney is very quiet and doesn’t really—you know, it’s a lot of monosyllabic responses when you’re talking to him. He’s still very racked with guilt about everything.
Kim (as Blaire): So, you have to be there before sundown in the event it ends up being a quick in and out.
Rhi (as Rigney): yeah. I can wait over there.
Kim (as Blaire): We’ll find him. Okay?
Rhi (as Rigney): Yeah, yeah, I know. [sighs] You should get going. I ought to go pick some things up for him so he’s not heading out empty-handed.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah. Oh, I know. You been holding up okay?
Rhi (as Rigney): Don’t worry about me.
Kim (as Blaire): Okay…
Rhi: Yeah. I think we have that little flashback scene.
## Score [0:12:57]
I guess the three of you are heading out? Jumping right into things?
Kim: Yep!
Josie: Yep. I think technically we’re doing a Transport mission. We’ve never done that before.
Rhi: Yeah. [laughs] That one definitely is new. I got a 1, a 3, and a 4.
Kim: Whoa.
Rhi: [laughs] You just barely squeak your way into a risky position. You make it through the barrier fine. Blaire has done this enough that she knows when the patrols are, she’s got those lightning rods that she can use to open up a gap in the barrier. Minx and Myra, this is probably a little unnerving for you because this is the first time either of you have gone through the lightning barrier on foot. Last time you did it was on horseback. You were kind of carried through. This is you having to just walk through and trust that Blaire has got a good enough grip on those things that it’s not gonna electrocute you.
Kim: Yeah. It’s no problem.
Rhi: Yeah. You all make it through just fine. I think how I’m gonna do this is, the riskiness will manifest in a little bit, but I want to give you all a chance to just, you know, have a nice, friendly hike.
Minna: Oh, friendly hike through a creepy wasteland.
Rhi: Yep!
Josie: Minx is dressed like an upper-middle class yuppie going on a hike, not someone who’s actually experienced hard wilderness conditions. She’s got a nice canteen, all her clothes are clean.
Minna: That’s a good question. What the fuck does Myra wear to hike? [laughs]
Rhi: Probably pants.
Minna: Yeah. I think it’s just pants and bundled up in a jacket that’s well strapped down.
Rhi: I feel like Myra has split the difference between Minx and Blaire. Blaire is the experienced hiker and is dressed in appropriate gear.
Kim: She is Steve Erwin.
Josie: Minx looks like she just got out of REI.
Rhi: [laughs] In terms of the environment that you find yourselves in, south of the city it’s kind of low, rolling hills. There’s a decent amount of illumination for actually a surprising distance thanks to the lightning barrier, because that’s 200 feet tall of lightning, so it casts a fair amount of light for a while.
Minna: I just imagine it casts this flickering light.
Rhi: Yeah. It’s illuminated, but it’s spooky.
Kim: Yes.
Rhi: Because it’s flickering and inconsistent light. You can see the dark shapes of dead skeletal trees jutting up here and there. There’s not many of them. There are a lot of mushrooms just growing around in different places. Mushrooms seem to have filled the ecological niche that plants once held, so there’s just all kinds of different types of mushrooms and fungi growing out here. Otherwise, again, it’s kind of that same feeling you all had when you got into The Deathlands the first time, it’s very, very quiet. You can actually hear pretty distantly the waves crashing along the shore, because if you were to head west far enough you would hit the coastline, and it’s quiet enough that the sound carries all the way in to where you are. Yeah, otherwise, Blaire, you’re checking your surroundings, looking for any threats, and nothing is immediately visible as being a problem.
Kim: Right. All very normal.
Josie: Minx is trying to stay towards the front and trying to keep a chipper attitude about things, ward off the fear a little. It’s very clear she’s nervous like she was the first time.
Kim (as Blaire): Are you gonna be warm enough?
Josie (as Minx): Oh, yes, I packed warmly. Unless we are talking freezing temperatures I think I’ll be fine.
Kim (as Blaire): No, it won’t be freezing unless we go really far north, but that’s not where we’re heading. Um, yeah… You look good, but I wanted to make sure you were warm enough for this.
Josie (as Minx): Thank you! Oh yes, I did pick up this rather puffy new jacket.
Josie: She gestures to it. It’s like one of those puffy rain jackets, but clearly designer, a dark blue and around the cuffs of the sleeves there’s some gold embroidery that she did herself.
Kim: Oh my God…
Rhi: Oh God…
Kim: No… Honey.
Rhi: Oh, that’s so good.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): You’re not worried about, you know, getting a little dirty, are ya?
Josie (as Minx): Well, I mean, I don’t intend to soil these clothes any more than is necessary, but it is hiking, yes?
Minna (as Myra): You’re not jumping in any mud puddles.
Josie (as Minx): No, of course not. If things get rough I suppose I shan’t miss this jacket too much.
Kim (as Blaire): Okay. I just wanted to make sure that wasn’t precious. That looks… The sleeves look like they took you a long time.
Josie (as Minx): Yes, well I don’t slack off on any of my garments.
Kim (as Blaire): Well, as long as you don’t miss it too much in case we get, you know, jumped by something.
Minna (as Myra): What exactly do you expect to be jumped by?
Kim (as Blaire): Oh, you know, in case we run into a Deathlands crow or an umbra lion or an ash bear. I don’t expect to run into any of those things, but it’s always a risk and a possibility to cross the wrong paths with the wrong kind of wildlife.
Josie: Minx’s eye twitches a bit more with every new creature you list off.
[laughter]
Kim (as Blaire): And of course there’s always ghosts, but you know, you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone, at enough distance.
Rhi: That’s not true!
Kim (as Blaire): At enough distance!
Rhi: [laughing] They’re very hungry!
Minna (as Myra): Blaire, they’re not wasps… They’re going to come after us if they’re hungry.
Kim (as Blaire): If they’re hungry, but… we have to make sure that they’re not hungry.
Kim: Blaire is gonna shake a vial on her belt that’s full of ectoplasm.
Josie (as Minx): Given that you are clearly bearing food, won’t that draw them?
Kim (as Blaire): No. No, not unless I tease them, but I won’t do that. It’s sealed enough that they won’t smell it or anything.
Josie (as Minx): [nervously] Very well. I will elect to choose that they won’t bother us unless we bother them, regardless of the truth of the matter. Let’s keep walking.
Kim (as Blaire): The key point is distance!
Minna (as Myra): Yes, I would prefer distance. I think we’re all agreed on that one.
Kim (as Blaire): And I do have spare jars.
Josie: I like to think that when Blaire elevated her voice to say “the key is distance” we hear the echoing out into The Deathlands and the void.
Kim: Oh yes.
Rhi: Mm-hmm. Yeah, off the hills.
Kim (as Blaire): [whispering] Oh shit. Sorry.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): [giggling bashfully] I don’t want to wake anything up.
Minna (as Myra): It’s so empty out here.
Kim (as Blaire): Only if you think of it in that way. If you look at it a different way, there’s so much~
Kim: At that, I think Blaire is just gonna put on her spirit mask.
Josie (as Minx): I think I will choose to see it as empty, but I admire your wondrous spirit.
[laughter]
Rhi: Yeah… So Blaire, looking through the ghost field out here, right now there aren’t a ton of spirits in your immediate vicinity. You can see, glowing off in the distance, the spirit well that you tend to release ghosts near.
Kim: Yes. It’s a great place. Five stars.
Rhi: It glows very brightly with all of the spirits that cluster around it. There’s just the faint life signatures of different things out here. There’s a low-level glow from all of the mushrooms covering everything.
Josie: I think Minx has trail mix, but you know, Starbucks trail mix or something.
Minna: Bougie trail mix.
Josie: Yeah, bougie trail mix.
Kim: Okay. The minute she pulls that out, though, Blaire is going to rush up to her and cover that with her hand.
Kim (as Blaire): You can’t take that out. You cannot, under any circumstances, take out any food, unless we are at an outpost.
Josie (as Minx): [stumbling] All right…
Kim (as Blaire): Do you hear how empty it is? You can hear the wind. The wind will carry any scent of food to any creature in the area, and then we’ll get swarmed.
Josie: Minx sort of pales a bit.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): You can eat as soon as we’re near safe people, but out here in the open where there’s not much, it’s not safe. Okay?
Josie (as Minx): Very well. I’m gonna pack this away.
Josie: She’s gonna open the little backpack she has and shove it all the way to the bottom.
Kim (as Blaire): I just want you to be safe.
Josie (as Minx): No, I believe you. I believe you. I want to be safe as well. Be prepared, as they say.
Kim (as Blaire): Speaking of safe… If you don’t mind me asking, Minx, where did you run off to the other day?
Josie (as Minx): Oh. When I went to see Nyryx? I just wanted to check on her.
Kim (as Blaire): No, before that, after the score.
Josie (as Minx): Ah. Well, I needed to let off some steam as Phin might call it. It’s nothing to worry about, though.
Kim (as Blaire): Did you go to the pits?
Josie (as Minx): No. Heavens, no. I wouldn’t be caught dead or alive in that. It is not a clean place. I went to a more upstanding establishment.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): To socialize or to fight?
Josie (as Minx): Well, one might say that high class socialization is a battle all its own, wouldn’t you?
Kim (as Blaire): Oh my God. Minx. Minx… You know that’s not what I meant.
Josie: Yes Blaire, I went to fight. I needed… Better some arrogant snob than Rigney, yes?
Kim (as Blaire): You really think that about him?
Josie (as Minx): No, it just—I’m hardly one to talk about betraying one’s comrades, but it is one thing to be caught in desperation or a moment of passion or a heat of the moment, and it’s another thing to sit with it, pre-meditate it, with your friends’ lives on the line.
Kim (as Blaire): I get that.
Josie (as Minx): Were it not Rigney, they probably would have been run through on my sword in that moment.
Kim (as Blaire): I understand it’s going to take some time, and it makes sense, it’s more than fair that it’s going to take some time, but I still believe Rigney’s our friend. He’s not a bad guy, and he didn’t want to do this.
Josie (as Minx): I believe that as well, but at the same time, this wasn’t a simple mistake. It’s one thing to put my life on the line, but it’s another to put the life of, you know, my friends, my crew, people I love on the line as well. It takes more than a few moments discussion to get forgiveness on that one, you understand.
Kim (as Blaire): I do. Yeah, I know. I know that’s going to have to take time for you. Myra?
Minna (as Myra): You seemed to be deep in conversation. I didn’t want to interrupt.
Kim (as Blaire): No, I wanted to see how you were doing, what you thought, about Rigney.
Minna (as Myra): I understand the calculus Rigney is doing all too well.
Josie (as Minx): I could imagine.
Minna (as Myra): Salia gives you two choices, bad and worse.
Kim (as Blaire): That’s the other thing we’re gonna have to talk about at some point. We need to figure out a way to take care of her.
Minna (as Myra): I know…
Kim (as Blaire): That can wait. Right now, we can focus on the task at hand.
Josie (as Minx): Quite.
Kim (as Blaire): But we can’t have this happen again. Salia’s going to have to be taken care of, Myra.
Minna (as Myra): I know.
Kim (as Blaire): I don’t know if that means death, but… something needs to change.
Minna (as Myra): I know. I wish… [exhales] I don’t have a good vision for what that looks like.
Kim (as Blaire): I’m not asking you to have any kind of vision for that yet. I’m just saying.
Minna (as Myra): She’s not untouchable. Nobody can be untouchable.
Kim (as Blaire): Exactly. We find her weakness and we take her down.
Josie (as Minx): Myra, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get away from Salia?
Kim (as Blaire): I don’t think you ever told us.
Minna: I think she just goes silent for a moment, and thoughtful.
Minna (as Myra): I thought it was going to be worse than it was. It turned out that I could just walk away. I mean, she’s clearly not letting me stay away, she’s never been happy about me being away, but the actual walking out was as simple as that. Then I met Phin, after a time working on my own, and then after I met Phin we kept working and then we met all of you.
Josie (as Minx): I’m glad you were able to walk out. It’s not always in one’s power to make that decision on their own.
Minna (as Myra): Yeah.
Kim (as Blaire): I think you got out at just the right time.
Minna (as Myra): Heh.
Kim (as Blaire): If you stayed any longer it would have gotten worse.
Minna (as Myra): If I stayed any longer I’d be like Ojal or Clave, or Wester I suppose.
Kim (as Blaire): Or dead.
Minna (as Myra): I’m too valuable to her for her to have killed me while I was under her control.
Kim (as Blaire): But an accident could have happened while you were doing something for her, you know?
Minna (as Myra): An accident could happen while I’m doing things for us. That’s the life.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah, but [chuckle] at least this way it’s worth it.
Minna (as Myra): It’s worth it, and far more dangerous physically.
Josie (as Minx): Oh dear. We’re an upgrade in the danger from Salia? I’m not sure how to feel about that.
Minna (as Myra): Salia doesn’t normally do this. The kind of thing that we do is much more hands on. I mean, I suppose I did infiltration kinds of things, but usually just posing as somebody else, not with the stakes that we… I never got stabbed and shot and hit as much as I have in the months that I’ve known you.
Josie (as Minx): [laughs] I have a feeling Phin would have taken that as a compliment. I’m not sure how to take that.
Minna (as Myra): It’s the price we pay for standing up against people like her.
Kim (as Blaire): That’s right, and we’re lucky enough to have Seeks too. She definitely helps.
Minna (as Myra): Yes.
Josie (as Minx): That is true. Although, just once I’d like the wound I suffer not to be from a bullet.
Minna (as Myra): That would be lovely.
Kim (as Blaire): Well, don’t worry, there’s not a lot of bullets out here. It’s mostly claws and fangs.
Josie (as Minx): [shivering] Oh, quite.
Minna (as Myra): Oh, don’t say that…
Rhi: On that, there’s a sort of change in the air that you can’t quite pin down why it’s happening or what it is, but it’s just a sudden tension, and then there’s a low growl and a flicker in front of you. It seems as if something emerges from the ghost field.
Kim: Oh no. Is this an umbra lion?
Rhi: Mm-hmm. I was torn between this and a blood slime, and then you said fangs and claws and that sealed the deal for me. Thanks for that. What you see, crouching low on the ground in front of you, is a large feline, for our reference it’s about the size of a panther. It has dappled gray and black fur, and you can see its eyes glinting with that ghost field light as it looks at the three of you, sizing you up. This is that risky engagement triggering. The reason it’s risky and not desperate is that you see it coming. [laughs] You have a chance to react before it pounces.
Kim (as Blaire): Nobody… move…
Rhi: It’s vision is not based on movement, just so you know.
Josie: And it saw us–
Minna: [bursts into laughter]
Kim: If we run, it will chase us.
Rhi: Yes, that is correct.
Minna: [laughing] How many Jurassic Park references is this show gonna have?
Kim: Several, if it’s up to me.
Josie: I have an idea. I think Minx probably read a basic survivor’s manual.
Rhi: Oh no…
Minna: The worst case scenario for Duskwall.
Josie: Yes, and knows that when there’s a cautious predator around you try to make yourself look big to dissuade it from attacking.
Rhi: Oh no.
Kim: [inhales deeply]
Minna: [breathless] Honey…
Josie: I think this would normally be a Command, but I would like to use Rook’s Gambit to use Sway instead, to puff myself up, have my hand on my weapon, and try to just seem unworried so hopefully it hesitates or decides we’re not worth it. We do out number it.
Rhi: [smiling] Okay. You’re trying to bluff the big panther?
Josie: Yes.
Kim: It’s not a bad strategy.
Josie: Can I do Sway off the bat?
Rhi: So, you’re trying to make yourself look unfrightened?
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: Yeah. I’ll let you do Sway for that. It’s gonna be risky, and I think reduced effect, because you’re trying to convey via body language to a non-human creature.
Josie: Yeah. Oh God. Does that also mean my wound penalty applies, because It’s kind of physical?
Rhi: I’ll leave it up to you to decide how much physicality there is in it, if that’s aggravating your back.
Josie: I have a bullet wound in my back. I think it makes sense for me to take the penalty on that. I did get a 6 though, I did get a 6, but at reduced effect.
Rhi: Yeah, you’re at reduced effect. It’s eyes flick over to Minx, and Minx puffs herself up as much as possible, and Minx is also the tallest member of the party, and tries to look intimidating. The umbra lion stares you down for a couple seconds and then shifts its attention away from Minx. It has decided Minx is probably not worth the trouble, but it is now… I’m gonna roll to see which one of you it’s focusing on. It is now looking at Blaire.
Kim: Okay!
Josie: Oh dear.
Rhi: That glow in its eyes starts to get brighter. Blaire or Myra, one of you will have an opportunity to act before it does anything.
Kim: I would like to act since its attention is on me. Blaire is going to remain completely quiet and still. Her movement is going to be very calculated. The only thing she’s going to do is reach for her spirit mask, put it on, and I would like to roll Attune to see if there’s any way I can communicate to this creature that we are not a threat.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah. Go ahead.
Kim: That’s a 2, a 5, and a 5.
Rhi: Okay, so a 5. Here’s what happens. Blaire, you put on your spirit mask and you look into the ghost field. Normally when you’re looking at living creatures in the ghost field they are kind of washed out, ghosts are brighter. As you are looking at the umbra lion it gets brighter. Minx and Myra, you see the umbra lion vanish—
Minna: [gasps]
Rhi: –and then Blaire, you’re getting knocked over as this thing pounces on you. It snaps out of the ghost field just before it makes contact, so it slams into you, knocks you down, it’s growling in your face, and you are gonna take level 2 harm as this thing has knocked you over and is clawing at you. You can resist it.
Kim: Yeah, I would like to resist. What am I rolling to resist it? Would it be Prowess?
Rhi: Prowess, yeah. I feel like every time you guys go into The Deathlands Blaire gets tackled by some large ghost creature.
Kim: Okay, but the thing is, in my head I’m imagining this as a playful Lion King pounce. “Pinned you again!”
Rhi: … It’s not. It wants to eat you. [laughs]
Kim: I know that it’s not, but in my head…
Rhi: Blaire is interpreting it as “Oh! It’s saying hi!—Oh God!”
[laughter]
Kim: Yeah, basically. Okay, so my highest on that resistance roll was a 6.
Rhi: Okay. You take no stress. It’s level 1 harm instead.
Kim: Level 1 harm, Tackled?
Rhi: Yeah. Most of this damage is coming from you getting slammed into the ground and having the wind knocked out of you, but you’re wearing enough layers and padding and stuff that the claws aren’t quite able to get into you. There is still a panther standing on top of you pinning you to the ground.
Kim: Yep, and it’s invisible to Minx and Myra.
Rhi: No, it is visible now.
Kim: Oh! I see.
Rhi: So, Myra? You haven’t done anything yet. How would you like to deal with this situation?
Minna: What I would like to do is see if I can maybe roll Study or something to see if, while we were getting ready for this, I found anything about the most common creatures of The Deathlands and how to survive them.
Rhi: This one sounds like more of a flashback?
Minna: Okay! Either way, just either a Study to see if I remember or a flashback that I looked them up.
Rhi: Well, it’ll be a flashback. You’ll roll a Study in the flashback to see what you learned.
Minna: Oh, okay, perfect. Yeah. I got a 5.
Rhi: You were able to find a bestiary of The Deathlands that talks about a lot of the creatures out there. Unfortunately it was written from a more sensationalist standpoint than anything remotely scientific.
Minna: Hmm…
Rhi: You get a description of the creatures that matches. Basically what you know is that the only kind of weakness that these creatures have is that they’re solitary. They have very sharp claws and fangs, they have excellent hearing and night vision and scent, they can phase into the ghost field.
Minna: So they’re just weak because they don’t have a pack to hunt with?
Rhi: Right. The fact that you outnumber it is basically your biggest advantage right now. You do also know that umbra lion hides fetch a fine price in the city.
Kim: [whispering] Don’t kill this.
Minna: [giggles]
Kim: It’s very big, and angry, and on top of me. Do not kill it.
Rhi: [chuckles]
Minna: I think Myra shouts:
Minna (as Myra): Okay Minx, you and I need to be in two different directions from it, trying to get its attention.
Josie (as Minx): [nervously] Very well.
Minna (as Myra): There’s going to be only one of it, so our best chance is to team up, confuse it, and strike at it from two angles.
Josie (as Minx): Very well. Surrounding it is.
Rhi: All right. Myra, what are you gonna do to try and draw its attention or draw it off?
Minna: I think I’m gonna have a large weapon, and it’s like a larger gun, so I shoot one into the air and it makes a very loud bang and I’m ready to use it on the umbra lion next.
Rhi: Go ahead and make a roll…
Minna: What is this roll going to be? It could be a Command.
Rhi: I feel like you could do it as… I would allow—Command, or Sway… well, probably Command.
Minna: I like Command, especially since I’m trying to intimidate. Also I’m better at Command.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: Can I throw in an assist on that?
Rhi: Sure. What are you doing to assist?
Josie: I’m on the other side of it and I’m trying to get its visual attention. I’ve got my sword out and waving it at its face a little bit.
Rhi: Okay. You’re trying to distract it visually from one side and Myra’s making a loud noise on the other.
Minna: All three of my dice rolled 4.
Rhi: [laughs] Okay! You do it, but there’s a consequence. Myra, you get its attention. It jumps off of Blaire, and it disappears again.
Minna: [gasps]
Kim: Blaire definitely still has her spirit mask on. She would know where it is.
Rhi: Blaire, you see the creature running and about to leap at Myra. You’ve got enough time to give her a warning, but Myra is gonna be in a desperate position because this thing is about to connect.
Kim: Blaire is gonna roll to her feet, she’s going to get a sight of where it is, and she’s gonna shout:
Kim (as Blaire): Myra! Look out!
Minna: I’m gonna assume this is gonna be maybe a Finesse roll?
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: What does a Devil’s Bargain look like?
Rhi: Hmm…
Minna: Ooh, I have a good one.
Rhi: Yeah?
Minna: Because this is a rifle, it’s a Duskwall gun, it probably needs reloading every shot. I drop my ammo and I’m gonna have to scramble for it if I want to shoot this thing.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah. I like that.
Minna: Six! Hell yeah!
Josie: Nice.
Rhi: Yeah. Mark a point of experience because that was desperate.
Minna: It probably is less effect because I’m shot with cracked ribs.
Rhi: Yes. Thank you all for reminding me of your various and sundry injuries.
Minna: I remembered for once in my god damn life.
Rhi: [laughs] On reduced effect, what it is, you dodge out of the way but you’re still in a desperate position. It pops out of the ghost field and lands right next to you and turns on you and is snarling. It is clearly getting ready for a second attack.
Josie: I would like to, while its attention is on Myra, I just want to barrel into its side and knock it over.
Kim: Oh boy. Oh boy.
Rhi: Oh, all right.
Josie: Hey, I’m reckless now.
Rhi: Yeah, no, that tracks.
Josie: I’m shoulder-checking the panther, with -1 die because it’s a physical thing.
Rhi: For you this is gonna be risky, because it’s attention is on Myra.
Josie: And I’m rolling Skirmish. I got a 6. [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah. You tackle the umbra lion. I don’t know if you had a follow-up plan to what you were gonna do once you had tackled it. [laughs]
Josie: Can I follow it up with something? I wasn’t intending to be in a grapple with it. I was gonna barrel into its side and shoulder-check it over.
Rhi: Okay, just knock it over and give Myra a second to back off?
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: Yeah, you can do that. I guess if you had gotten a 5 then you would still be entangled with it, but yeah, I think you’re able to knock into it.
Josie: My intended follow-up is to just start stabbing down at it with my sword.
Kim: [breathy yelp]
Rhi: I will allow it. Does anybody else have anything that they want to do?
Kim: Scream?
Kim (as Blaire): [whining] Minx, stop! Stop!
Josie: Minx hesitates with the sword above it.
Josie (as Minx): What? Why?!
Kim: She’s gonna probably stand between the lion and Minx. [laughs]
Josie (as Minx): I don’t think the dramatic gesture is necessary, Blaire, but we are kind of on the line here.
Kim (as Blaire): No, I know, but don’t hurt it! We can get it to go away. Even if you wanna kill it, you’d ruin the hide.
Rhi: [laughing] Blaire’s priorities! Don’t kill it, it’s an innocent, beautiful creature, but if we must kill it make sure it’s worth something.
Josie (as Minx): How do you suggest we get rid of it? It’s right behind you.
Rhi: Yeah. I will say, I think it’s fallen back a couple steps and it’s still doing that low down to the ground hunting cat thing, and it seems to just be watching all of you. It’s not moving to attack again.
Kim: I have a proposal. Being that this is a creature that’s semi-corporeal, do you think it would be tempted if I threw a bit of ectoplasm at it?
Rhi: Hmm. Let’s find out. [laughs]
Kim: okay. Do I need to roll anything to toss some ectoplasm in its direction?
Rhi: Yeah, you’re gonna need to roll something to get it over there.
Kim: Can I make an argument for Finesse?
Rhi: Yeah.
Kim: Yeah, just have it be one swift motion, she uncorks the vial and tosses a small portion of it. What does a Devil’s Bargain look like?
Rhi: This is gonna use up all of the electroplasm that you have.
Kim: Aww… No, I’ll just push myself instead. It was a 2 and a 6.
Rhi: You toss some of it out there and its eyes track the motion of it, and then it slinks over and gets down real low and sniffs at it. I think, because we’ve said that ghosts just sort of drain the life essence from it… If you have an idea, go for it.
Kim: I like to think that it kind of eats it in a more traditional way, because it is still a bit of a corporeal creature.
Rhi: Yeah, it’s primarily corporeal.
Kim: Right. What it does is laps it and eats it up like a cat would a treat.
Josie: Aw.
Kim: It hooks it between its paws and it’s just very happy. It’s tasty.
Rhi: Well, it’s more of a liquid, right? So it laps it up.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: Then its eyes are glowing noticeably brighter, and then it takes a couple steps backwards, slinking off, and then it just disappears again.
Kim (as Blaire): Phew.
Kim: Blaire’s gonna take off her spirit mask.
Rhi: Blaire, before you take off your spirit mask, I will say you can see it bounding away.
Kim: Oh good.
Josie (as Minx): Well, now that we’ve preserved a glorious and proud beast of nature, can we go back to the city yet?
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): We still have to find Nevan.
Josie (as Minx): Right. Yes. We were out here for a reason. Ahem.
Kim (as Blaire): The sooner we find him the sooner we can get back to Duskwall, Minx.
Josie (as Minx): Quite.
Rhi: With the umbra lion chased off into the darkness the three of you continue on towards the first of the two sites that were identified as probable sites where the Deathlands Scavengers would be. I’m gonna say that the one that you are closest to, thank you Minna for these names, is Blue Hill, the ruins of the village Blue Hill, and I think that it is on the River Dosk, so you all just start following the river along. I want to have somebody make some kind of roll to determine if they’re here or not. I could just do a fortune roll, or if somebody wants to do something like tracking to look around for evidence that people have been here recently or are here.
Kim: I don’t mind rolling Survey just to look around.
Rhi: Okay. Go for it.
Kim: That’s a 2.
Rhi: Blaire, as you approach this first village, you can tell pretty quickly that nobody’s here and it looks like nobody’s been here for a while. There’s a new layer of dust, some fresh mushrooms sprouting up on things, it doesn’t look like people have been here for a little while.
Kim: It’s super abandoned? There’s no items left behind or anything?
Rhi: You can search around if you want to try to look for anything, but yeah, it doesn’t look like the Scavengers have been through here in a while.
Josie: I might as well throw a Survey out.
Rhi: Sure.
Kim: Nope. That’s a 2.
Minna: I rolled a 5 on a Study check.
Josie: “They’re taking the hobbits to Isengard.”
Rhi: Okay, so—[chuckles]
Kim: Thank you.
Josie: [smiling] No problem.
Rhi: On a 2, yeah… Minx, you are just trying not to touch stuff, because there’s a lot of mushrooms and dust and dirt and soot, and it’s just not…
Josie: Egh.
Rhi: Everything is kind of grimy. So, your Survey is standing very still in the middle of a room and just turning your head to look around without touching anything or moving much.
Josie: [laughs] Yes. I’m not quite ready to dirty this jacket yet.
Rhi: Myra, you are poking around, looking at things, and you start to notice that there are symbols carved into the walls, and after a second you recognize them as the same kind of symbols that are on spirit bane charms.
Minna: Ohh. I think she brushes her fingers along them.
Minna (as Myra): I think these are charmed to keep out ghosts.
Kim (as Blaire): Did you find something?
Minna (as Myra): Come look at this, Blaire.
Kim (as Blaire): Whoa.
Rhi: Yeah. Blaire, you immediately know what this is. They are runes and wards to try to keep ghosts out, which makes sense that the Deathlands Scavengers would put up things like that, but as you’re looking, there’s a lot on here, like way more than would typically be necessary.
Kim (as Blaire): Whoever was living here was either paranoid or attacked.
Kim: She’s gonna copy a couple into her journal.
Josie (as Minx): Perhaps repeated passing through by the Scavengers required them to be refreshed?
Kim (as Blaire): No. Once you put something down it’s good pretty much forever as long as the surface isn’t destroyed. This is excessive.
Rhi: Blaire, this would be something where they were either trying to ward off a huge number of ghosts or a smaller number of very powerful spirits.
Kim: Or a harvester?
Rhi: Or a harvester, or, as you said, somebody was very paranoid. It’s possible that’s why this site isn’t in use at the moment.
Kim (as Blaire): I think our next stop is Cairsford.
Josie (as Minx): Yes. We should move out of this worrisome place.
Rhi: You continue on across The Deathlands. I’m gonna do a quick fortune roll to see what kind of interesting things happen on your way. Ooh, those are bad interestings.
Kim: Oh dear.
Josie: Oh no.
Rhi: I rolled a 1 and a 2.
Kim: Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha…
Minna: I love Kim’s bad roll laugh.
[laughter]
Kim: [musically] Give me something spooky to kiss~
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: Yes! Good. That is the right attitude.
Kim: [giggles] I’m just thinking ahead, guys.
Rhi: You start walking again in the direction of the other village that you had planned to head towards. You’re walking for a little while, 15 or 20 minutes, and Minx I think you hear it first, this faint whispering at the edge of your hearing, too quiet to make out the words exactly, but you can tell that there is a voice.
Josie (as Minx): Hello?
Kim (as Blaire): Hmm? Did you say something?
Josie (as Minx): I heard a voice from the clearing.
Kim (as Blaire): You heard a voice?
Josie (as Minx): Yes. I didn’t quite make it out.
Rhi: Blaire, you hear something, a couple voices now, whispering.
Kim: can I make out any words?
Rhi: I don’t think so. It’s still just a little too quiet.
Kim (as Blaire): Wait. I hear it, too.
Rhi: Myra, as the other two are mentioning these voices you see a flicker of light movement in the corner of your eye, but when you turn there isn’t anything there.
Minna (as Myra): Huh…
Kim (as Blaire): I don’t think we’re alone, guys.
Minna (as Myra): I don’t think so either.
Josie (as Minx): Well, that is precisely the thing someone says before something attacks them. I vote we press onward? Or are we gonna try to address these stragglers?
Kim (as Blaire): Let me try taking a look.
Kim: I’m gonna look into the ghost field again with my mask.
Rhi: Okay. You look into the ghost field, and they haven’t fully surrounded the three of you yet, but there’s a couple dozen ghosts sort of in a loose, wide circle drifting in towards you.
Kim: Uh-huh?
Josie: A couple dozen, you said?
Rhi: [matter-of-factly] A couple dozen.
Josie: Oh…
Rhi: Blaire, now that you’re looking at the ghost field you can start to make out the whispering. “Hungry. So hungry. Food. Finally. Life. Food. Hungry.” They’re closing in.
Josie (as Minx): Blaire, what do your Tycherosi eyes see?
Kim (as Blaire): [smiling] Friends~
Rhi: No.
[laughter]
Kim: [giggles]
Rhi: Blaire, you don’t have enough jars for this.
Kim: But I might have enough ectoplasm.
Rhi: No~
Minna: [nervous noises]
Kim: The spirit well is nearby?
Rhi: You can make a roll to see if you can spot anything, but remember, spirit wells are McDonalds, you all are perfectly cooked steaks.
Minna: I love that you’ve kept this simile.
Josie (as Minx): Please tell me they are friends in the traditional sense and not the sort that needs to be persuaded not to eat us.
Kim: [laughs] What do you suggest I roll, Rhi?
Rhi: Probably Attune would let you see through the ghost field to see if there’s a spirit well nearby, or if you want to roll something else to look for other options…?
Kim: No, I feel confident in Attune. Devil’s Bargain?
Rhi: Oh man. I will offer you this Devil’s Bargain from Simon Landerville, one of our backers on Patreon.
Josie: Yay!
Kim: Thank you!
Rhi: The consequence of this action will haunt your dreams for some time.
Kim: I can deal with that.
Rhi: [forebodingly] All right.
Kim: Blaire has weird dreams all the time.
Josie: Give us those sweet, sweet nightmares.
Kim: My highest on that was a 5.
Rhi: Okay. You do spot, off in the distance, farther south, farther from the city than you’ve ever ventured, the distant glow of what you suspect is a spirit well. However, in the time that it takes for you to spot it the ghosts close in and close the circle around you. You all are encircled by hungry ghosts.
Minna: Remember that thing where we have to roll to keep our cool in the presence of ghosts?
Rhi: Yeah…
Minna: I’m definitely at that point.
Rhi: I think Minx and Myra both are gonna have to do this, because this is a lot of ghosts.
Josie: Even though we can’t see them, we can, like…
Rhi: You can sense them. the whispering is very loud now. It has gotten very cold.
Josie: Yeah…
Rhi: You can tell as almost an animal instinct of preservation that you are surrounded. Both of you are going to take level 2 harm, Panicked, unless you roll Resolve to resist, to stand your ground.
Josie: I’m gonna try and resist it.
Minna: Yeah, I’m gonna try and resist it, too.
Josie: I got a 4.
Rhi: You’ll take 2 points of stress.
Minna: Six.
Josie: Uh-huh, but it gets reduced to level 1 harm?
Rhi: I will actually leave it to both of your discretion. I will say you can either just shake it off entirely or level 1 harm, Shaken.
Josie: I think I’m gonna take the Shaken, because that is fitting for Minx.
Minna: I think shake it off entirely, just because I rolled a 6.
Rhi: You got a 6. Yeah. So, what do you all want to do about this situation? [chuckles]
Josie: I think Minx is gonna pull out her spirit bane charm and put it in front of her like a holy emblem and hope it does something, because she’s a little shaken and not okay with this.
Minna: I think Myra’s terrified, but she manages to pull herself together, because that’s how you survive this.
Rhi: Yep.
Minna: Damn, I do not know what to do about this, though.
Kim: I kind of want to do some kind of social roll, either Command or Consort them to go to the spirit well nearby.
Rhi: Yeah. You have had some success with that in the past.
Kim: I have, and since then I do have 1 rank in Command. Is anyone good for an assist?
Minna: I’m good for an assist.
Kim: Okay. Thank you. So, my highest on that was a 5.
Rhi: That still means you do it. Tell me what you say to the ghosts.
Kim: I think Blaire very calmly and firmly, and still with her spirit mask on so she can see what’s going on, says:
Kim (as Blaire): You don’t want to hurt us. There’s a spirit well just down the way.
Rhi: There’s another murmur of whispers that goes through the crowd of “Hungry. Hungry. So hungry. Not enough. There’s not enough of them. There won’t be enough.” Most of the ghosts drift off.
Kim: Okay, with the exception of how many would you say, one or two?
Rhi: Three.
Kim: Okay, three remain.
Rhi: [laughing] There’s three ghosts left that kind of hang back and are like “well now there’s one for each of us.”
Kim: Okay… However ,however, I always have empty jars. I have one that’s empty. My other two already have captured ghosts that I plan on releasing, so this is all I can do. I’m going to attempt to jar one of the ghosts. Would that be an Attune?
Rhi: I think so.
Kim: Okay. The highest on that one was a 4.
Rhi: You step out towards the ghosts. One of them starts to move towards you, and right when it gets really close you snap out with the jar and it gets sucked in. Unfortunately, that means that you aren’t really defending against the other one that closes in and, because it’s a ghost, it’s gonna try and possess you.
Kim: Right.
Rhi: Yeah. You’re gonna have to roll to resist being possessed by a spoopy ghost.
Kim: Okay, that’s a 6, boi~
Rhi: You don’t take any stress. You manage to, as you have done in the past, just shield your mind and your soul against this ghost. Minx and Myra?
Josie: [apprehensively] Minx is gonna look into the ghost field, I think.
Kim: Yay!~!
Rhi: Yeah!
Josie: She doesn’t do that often.
Rhi: Minx, you are able to see there’s two ghosts basically flanking Blaire, and Blaire is holding a brightly glowing jar in her hands from the ghost that she caught.
Josie: [laughing] Seeing that they’re right next to Blaire, this is gonna do nothing, but I think Minx is gonna want to stab at one with her sword.
Kim: Oh, honey…
Josie: Yeah. It’s gonna do nothing, but she’s just like:
Kim: Minx…
Josie (as Minx): No! Get away from her!
Rhi: Yeah. This is gonna be risky and zero effect, so you can push yourself to get reduced effect, but otherwise it’s not gonna have any effect.
Josie: I’m rolling a Skirmish for no effect. I got a 5, so I succeed at doing nothing. [laughs]
Rhi: You run over and you slash at the ghost, and it doesn’t harm the ghost, but it gets the ghost’s attention.
Josie: Yay…
Rhi: The ghost is no longer focused on Blaire. The ghost is now very focused on you.
Josie (as Minx): You should pick on someone your own size, yes, you ought to—Can we leave now?
Kim (as Blaire): minx! I had it handled! What are you doing?
Josie (as Minx): It was about to eat you!
Kim (as Blaire): No it wasn’t! I had it under control!
Josie (as Minx): It still seems really freaking hungry.
Rhi: Is Minx just like backing up slowly?
Josie: Yeah, kind of. [laughs]
Rhi: Myra?
Minna: Anything to avoid being possessed.
Rhi: All right.
Kim: Fair.
Rhi: You could roll a number of things. You could do Attune. You could possibly do Command.
Minna: I think Command feels very Myra. And I rolled a 4.
Rhi: Okay. What do you say?
Minna: I think she holds up her spirit bane charm in her hand. It’s not shaking. It’s taking a lot of effort, but it’s not shaking. She is standing confident, and she says:
Minna (as Myra): [severely] You will not come any closer to me.
Rhi: Myra, you say that and the ghosts, both of them, drift backwards from the force of will that you are putting behind this spirit bane charm. Both Minx and Blaire, you see these two ghosts just drift off, not quite going all the way down to the spirit well, but they’re backing off.
Josie (as Minx): I do think that is our cue to move, I’d imagine.
Kim (as Blaire): Was that you, Myra?
Minna (as Myra): Yes. I wasn’t about to let them get close to us.
Kim (as Blaire): Understandable.
Josie (as Minx): It was rather impressive.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do that so steady.
Minna (as Myra): I guess when the time came down to it, it was staying steady or giving in.
Rhi: You continue on, again still following the river and then you veer off into the hills. This time, as you start approaching, you can tell that this is the right spot. They have generators to put up small lightning barriers, to create little safe pockets. There’s some lightning flashing, there’s lantern light and fires, you can see people moving in the light there. As you get close a couple people, a pair of women both holding rifles basically, step forward. They’re not aiming the rifles at you, but they’ve got them up so they can swing around to aim.
Rhi (as Woman): Hey. Who goes there? Who are ya?
Kim (as Blaire): We’re here to look for someone, one of your own.
Rhi: They eye the three of you.
Rhi (as Woman): All right. Come on, then.
Rhi: They lower the rifles. One of them slings it over her shoulder. They usher you into the camp. They seem to be some of the guards that are just posted around the edge of camp. So, the Deathlands Scavengers. They are camped out in the ruins of this village. There’s a couple dozen people here from what you can see. Everybody is armed just as a matter of course. A lot of people have spirit bane charms and other sorts of charms and wards hanging off their clothing, on their belts, things like that. Most people seem to be engaged in maintenance or guarding or just general camp activities of cooking or boiling water or repairing equipment. There’s a handful of people sitting by one of the fires seemingly sorting through a large pile of stuff. You all get some curious looks, but it’s basically, you’re not actively hurting people, [laughs] so they assume that it’s like, eh, you know, you’re here, you need shelter, so you’re fine. So, you have made it to the Deathlands Scavengers’ camp. What would you like to do?
Josie: I want to find Nevan.
Kim: Yeah. We should roll to find Nevan.
Rhi: All right. How do you wanna do that?
Josie: I want to be chummy and amicable. I just want to Consort and ask around a little bit. I got a 6.
Kim: Woo.
Rhi: Okay. You ask a couple people where Nevan is, and basically the second person you ask is like:
Rhi (as Scavenger): Oh yeah, I think he’s working on repairing some of the salvage.
Rhi: They point off towards one of the half-collapsed buildings.
Rhi (as Scavenger): Check in there.
Josie (as Minx): Oh. Thank you.
Rhi: The three of you make your way over to the building that was pointed out to you. This is like a half-collapsed house. Somehow in this ruined home a large table survived, and on this table is spread out a large number of mostly weapons in various states of disrepair, rusted blades, broken down guns, things like that. Sitting on a stool at this table, sorting through things, assessing weapons, is a young man, very dark skin, wearing pretty bulky clothes, has his hair cut very, very short, kind of gaunt in an underfed way, but even with all those differences you get one look at this guy and you’re like oh yeah, that’s Rigney’s brother. They have very similar facial structures and even hand movements. The way that he moves as he’s sorting through things, there’s something very familiar about it.
Kim: Aw.
Rhi: As you all approach, onto the edge of the table a creature leaps up, and Kim, I am going to let you describe it since this is kind of your baby.
Kim: So, this creature looks very similar to a domestic cat with a few exceptions. It has very large ears, and its hind legs are that of a regular cat, but its front legs are very long and spindly, and in between the joints there is some webbing. It has two pale, pupil-less eyes. It seems as though it gets very limited to no vision into it, but on the center of the cat’s forehead is a vertical eye that is bright, bright red up against this very dark, deep, rich purple fur, and it just pops out at you. The pupil is a rectangular bar going across horizontally almost that of a goat’s eye, and it is a very piercing gaze. Other than that, it behaves and moves and walks very much like a normal cat.
Rhi: Yeah. It pops up on the table and, true to cat form, bats a rusty knife off the edge.
Kim: [laughs]
Rhi: Nevan looks up.
Rhi (as Nevan): Hex! Stop that—Oh, hi. Uh, are you…?
Josie (as Minx): Hello dear.
Minna (as Myra): Are you Nevan?
Rhi (as Nevan): Uh, yeah.
Josie (as Minx): I am Minx. This is Myra and Blaire. I’m uncertain if your brother mentioned us at all, but we are here on his behalf.
Kim (as Blaire): Rigney sent us.
Rhi (as Nevan): No, Caelan never… Oh. Are you The Magpies?
Minna (as Myra): Heh. That’s us.
Josie (as Minx): Oh! Our reputation precedes us.
Rhi (as Nevan): Yeah. He mentioned a group that he’d been working with called The magpies. Didn’t give any names, I think just kind of a safety thing. He always spoke very highly of you, so… It’s great to meet you, but what are you doing here?
Kim (as Blaire): We came to get you out.
Josie (as Minx): yes. Cutting straight to the point, I see.
Kim (as Blaire): Things have changed in Duskwall. Rigney’s okay, but you can’t stay here in The Deathlands anymore.
Rhi (as Nevan): Uh… I mean, not complaining, I wouldn’t mind not being out here, but what’s going on?
Kim: Okay. Blaire’s going to step up and hand Rigney the note.
Rhi: Nevan. I mean, technically also Rigney. [laughs]
Josie: Oh. Rigney’s the last name. Right.
Rhi: yeah, Rigney’s his last name.
Kim: Oh! Wow.
Minna: Mm-hmm. Caelan Rigney.
Rhi: Yep. Caelan is his first name.
Kim: Anyway.
Rhi: Yeah. Blaire hands over this note, which I assume Blaire did not read.
Kim: No.
Rhi: He unfolds it and reads it, and as he’s reading it his eyes go huge, and then he sets the letter down and rubs a hand over his forehead in a very, very familiar gesture. Rigney does the exact same thing when he’s frustrated or upset.
Kim: Aww.
Rhi (as Nevan): Why didn’t that tall idiot tell me? God!
Josie (as Minx): My thoughts exactly.
Rhi (as Nevan): [exasperated sigh] All right…
Kim (as Blaire): He was worried about something happening to you. He was worried about anyone getting hurt.
Rhi (as Nevan): I know. He always worries. He’s very good at it. Okay, so… with this, what’s the plan? I obviously can’t stay in Duskwall.
Kim (as Blaire): The plan is, we’re gonna get you over to Gaddoc Station and we’re going to get you to Tycheros. I have some family over there that will give you room and board and be happy to help you get back up on your feet.
Rhi (as Nevan): Okay, Tycheros, that’s a long trip.
Rhi: He reaches over and absently scratches at the cat’s head.
Josie (as Minx): Better safe than sorry.
Rhi (as Nevan): Yeah.
Josie (as Minx): Rigney has things prepared for you, so it’s simply a matter of getting to the station, although if you need more humor tonics I might have some.
Rhi (as Nevan): Caelan probably has me. If he’s putting stuff together he’s probably got some set up, but I appreciate that. Okay, well, uh…
Kim (as Blaire): We figured it’s not safe for you to stay anywhere on Akoros. Tycheros is going to be the safest place for you right now.
Rhi (as Nevan): Yeah. No, I understand, this is just not how I was expecting my day to go when I got up this morning.
Minna (as Myra): [laughs]
Rhi (as Nevan): Okay! Let me get a few things together and talk to a couple people.
Kim (as Blaire): Can I pet your cat?
Rhi (as Nevan): Oh yeah, yeah. Hex, say hi to the nice ladies here.
Kim: Blaire is so delighted on the inside. She has never seen anything like this before.
Rhi: Yeah. He herds the cat across the table towards you.
Rhi (as Nevan): If you all could just wait here for a little bit, I’ll be just a few minutes.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah!
Minna (as Myra): Of course.
Rhi: He hurries off.
Kim: [meows]
Minna: [smiling] I love this voice.
Rhi: So yeah, Hex comes over and does the cat thing, shoves its head under your hand to demand pets.
Josie: Aww.
Kim (as Blaire): Oh, you’re so cute!
Kim: Blaire’s gonna scratch behind the ears.
Rhi: It seems to like that.
Josie (as Minx): It is good to see something resembling a normal feline out here.
Kim (as Blaire): What do you mean?
Rhi: It meows again, and Minx gets a good look at the mouth full of needle sharp, very long teeth.
Josie: Minx just sort of takes a half step back. [laughs]
Rhi: So, Blaire bonds with the cat, and Nevan comes jogging back with a pack slung over his shoulder.
Rhi (as Nevan): Okay. I told Lady Thorn that apparently I’m making a very hasty exit. I’ve got my stuff.
Rhi: He clicks his tongue and Hex comes over. He scoops the cat up and it does that thing where it drapes itself over his shoulders.
Kim: Ohh~!
Josie: Aww.
Minna: [hums happily]
Rhi (as Nevan): Okay… I think that’s it.
Josie (as Minx): Now it’s a nice, simple stroll to the train station.
Rhi (as Nevan): Yeah. I don’t know. I just sort of always thought that leaving would be more of a production than this, but I’ve said my goodbyes and I got everything I’m taking.
Josie (as Minx): Don’t worry. There’s still plenty of time for a heartfelt goodbye as the train is about to leave.
Kim (as Blaire): And we’re gonna try and take the safest route out of here.
Rhi (as Nevan): I have been wandering around here for the last couple years, so pretty familiar with the quick routes around. Yeah, let’s get going.
Kim (as Blaire): Okay.
Rhi: You start making your way out, past those guards again. As you’re passing by, he’s like:
Rhi (as Nevan): Good luck out here, Harry, Jaz. Be safe.
Rhi: Neither of them really respond. They’re both just kind of standing there, staring straight ahead.
Minna: Hnn…
Kim: Well, that’s their job.
Rhi: He kind of waves at them and they still don’t respond.
Josie (as Minx): That is not normal, is it?
Rhi (as Nevan): No… Oh.
Josie (as Minx): If so, they are very dedicated.
Rhi (as Nevan): Oh hell.
Minna (as Myra): What?
Rhi: His eyes shift as he’s clearly looking into the ghost field.
Kim: Oh no.
Rhi (as Nevan): Sorry, I—
Minna (as Myra): Are they–?
Rhi (as Nevan): Yeah. They got got. Hang on.
Rhi: He jogs back into the camp.
Rhi (as Nevan): Lady Thorn!
Rhi: Yeah, the consequence was those two ghosts followed you.
Kim: Nooo.
Josie: Ohh.
Minna: I thought that was weirdly easy.
Rhi: Mm-hmm! So, a few people from the camp come up and there’s some murmuring and waving of sigils around them, and then a couple people very carefully remove the guns, and the two women are ushered back into the camp. Someone pats Nevan on the shoulder.
Rhi (as Scavenger): Bad way to be heading out, but I’m glad that you caught it. Be safe out there.
Rhi: Nevan looks disturbed as you all head out.
Josie (as Minx): They’re gonna be all right, yes? Can we assist?
Rhi (as Nevan): Uh… We have a lot of experience with possession out here, so…
Minna (as Myra): [shivers]
Kim (as Blaire): They’ll find a way to remove the spirit.
Rhi (as Nevan): Yeah, probably.
Minna (as Myra): You take this kind of thing in stride out here?
Rhi (as Nevan): Kinda have to. [sighs]
Rhi: The three of you set off. Nevan seems not shaken exactly, but a little ill at ease.
Kim: Blaire’s gonna walk up to him and touch his arm.
Kim (as Blaire): It’s okay. You won’t have to deal with that anymore, where you’re going.
Rhi (as Nevan): Yeah. Yeah. What’s Tycheros like? I don’t really know much about it.
Kim (as Blaire): To be honest, it’s not that much different than Duskwall, but the people are much nicer. There’s a lot less crime and everybody’s willing to help out with each other. There’s a big focus on the arcane, and alchemy, and all kinds of magical research.
Minna (as Myra): You ought to fit right in.
Rhi (as Nevan): Well…
Kim (as Blaire): You don’t have to be a scholar to thrive there. Don’t worry.
Rhi (as Nevan): That’s good. I was gonna say the no crime part might be a struggle for me. Did Caelan tell you about what I did to land myself out here?
[laughter]
Kim (as Blaire): He did.
Rhi (as Nevan): I’m sure that I can manage to…
Kim (as Blaire): You’ll find reputable work. My aunt and uncle will get you squared away.
Rhi (as Nevan): Yeah. It’ll probably be a little more boring, but eh, maybe I can do with boring. Boring actually sounds kind of nice.
Kim (as Blaire): I think Rigney would agree.
Rhi: The four of you make your way back through The Deathlands towards Duskwall. Between Nevan and Blaire, you’re both able to take safer paths and avoid any additional threats. You make your way into Nightmarket. You start to have a little trouble with Nevan here, because he’s basically not paying attention to where he’s walking because he’s looking around so much and has a running commentary on everything that’s changed.
Rhi (as Nevan): Oh wow. That clothing shop has expanded a whole bunch. Oh no, did that eel pie shop close? There used to be this great place that did these eel pies.
Minna: [laughs] I think Myra eventually grabs his elbow.
Minna (as Myra): Try to act a little bit less like an escaped prisoner who just got back to the city after exile.
Rhi (as Nevan): Right. Sorry. It’s my first time being in this particular situation. Yeah, got it.
Rhi: [smiling] He stops the commentary, but is still looking around a lot.
Kim: Right, which is fair so long as he’s not so vocal.
Rhi: What was the timing you gave Rigney? Be there before sundown?
Kim: Right.
Rhi: I think the last rays of weak sunlight are just starting to fade when you reach Gaddoc Rail Station, which is huge. It’s equivalent to Penn Station. This is just a huge station with many, many trains coming in carrying people and cargo at all hours of the day. I think you subsequently have a very specifically designated meeting spot for Rigney.
Kim: Yes, Platform 7 or whatever.
Rhi: Yeah. As the four of you approach you spot Rigney pretty easily, because he’s a tall guy, pacing back and forth, just looking extremely anxious.
Minna: [sad noises]
Rhi: As soon as you spot him, Nevan just goes…
Rhi (as Nevan): Caelan!
Rhi: …and breaks into a run and sprints over.
Others: [awing and happy sobbing]
Rhi: Rigney had been facing away from you. He spins on his heel and just stands there, frozen in shock, and then Nevan crashes into him in a hug.
Others: [simultaneously happy-groan]
Rhi: It’s a big, tight hug. They’re obviously talking while hugging, and Rigney is rocking him back and forth a little bit.
Minna: I’m gonna die…
Josie: Aw…
Rhi: They’re clearly talking. You can see Nevan wiping at his eyes a few times.
Kim: [long happy sobs]
Rhi: At one point in there, Nevan does punch Rigney in the arm as he seems to be chiding him for something, probably being a big, tall idiot who doesn’t tell anyone when he’s being blackmailed. [laughter] I’m gonna say, the platform you’re at is where the train that Nevan needs to be on is at. A bell starts ringing for boarding call. They step back and are clearly trying to wrangle their emotions.
Kim: Yeah…
Rhi: Rigney picks up a big duffle bag at his feet and hands it to Nevan, and Nevan starts to take it and then makes a very clear “hang on a second” gesture, and bends down and picks up Hex who’s been sitting at his feet this whole time and walks back over to the three of you.
Rhi (as Nevan): [clears throat] I can’t really give you much, and this is probably gonna cause you more problems than anything, but I can’t really take Hex with me… and um, well Caelan’s allergic.
Rhi: He holds the cat out to Blaire.
Rhi (as Nevan): Can you take care of him for me?
Kim: Blaire’s going to take him, but she’s going to look up at Nevan.
Kim (as Blaire): A-Are you sure?
Rhi (as Nevan): Yeah. The felydon, they don’t really do too well outside of this area. I don’t want to drag him up to Tycheros and have him get sick or something. You know, when I come back we can maybe share custody or something.
Kim (as Blaire): Heh. Shared custody sounds good.
Kim: She’s scritching Hex’s chin as they’re talking.
Rhi: He reaches out and gives the cat a few pets.
Rhi (as Nevan): All right. You be good for these three, all right?
Kim (as Blaire): I’ll take the best care of him.
Rhi (as Nevan): Thanks. He’s been a real good friend out there.
Rhi: He gives the cat one last scritch.
Kim (as Blaire): When you get off the train you’re gonna wanna look for the Copper Sparrow Inn. It’s not far from the edge of the city where you’ll be landing. You’re gonna look for Gabriel and Sylvia Culhane. They’ll give you room and board. They’ll help you get back on your feet and find some work. Just don’t tell them that I sent you. I’m not ready to tell my family what I’ve been up to lately.
Rhi (as Nevan): Okay. I’ll just tell them a friend in Duskwall recommended them.
Kim (as Blaire): Take care of yourself out there.
Rhi (as Nevan): Thanks. Take care of yourselves in here, and keep an eye on my big brother, huh? He clearly needs it. He’s useless without me around.
Kim (as Blaire): We’ve always kept an eye on him.
Rhi (as Nevan): Thanks for this. I wish I could stick around and get to know you better.
Kim (as Blaire): There will be time.
Rhi (as Nevan): Yeah… Yeah. I’ll be back.
Rhi: He gives you all a wave and then walks back over to Rigney and they have another big hug.
Kim: [long sobs]
Minna: [whines]
Rhi: Nevan has to step back, and Rigney is clearly very reluctant to let go of the hug. But yeah, then Nevan picks up his bags and slings them over, looks around at the station, gives the three of you another wave, and then pats Rigney on the shoulder and turns and heads off towards the train. Rigney turns to watch him go until he gets on the train and disappears from site, and then turns back around. He’s pretty clearly having a hard time. His shoulders are slumped, hands shoved in his pockets, and as he gets close you can see his eyes are kind of red.
Kim: Can we talk to him?
Rhi: Yeah. He’s gonna come back over to the three of you.
Rhi (as Rigney): I know you’re still not thrilled with me, and that’s fine, but I can’t thank you enough for this, for what you did for the two of us.
Kim (as Blaire): Rigney…
Kim: Blaire’s gonna set Hex down before she, you know—
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim: Move in for a hug, and just let him know:
Kim (as Blaire): You’re being so hard on yourself. You’re gonna get past this.
Minna: Hnn!
Rhi: He doesn’t really respond, but he does hug you back… and then sneezes.
[chuckling]
Kim (as Blaire): Sorry.
Rhi (as Rigney): It’s okay. I managed to hold it together with Nevan. There’s cat fur all over him.
Kim (as Blaire): You gonna be okay? I know you didn’t get a lot of time.
Rhi (as Rigney): More time than I thought I was gonna get anytime soon. You know, maybe at some point I can take a vacation. I’ve never been to Tycheros. Go visit him sometime.
Kim (as Blaire): The Copper Sparrow would be happy to have you.
Rhi (as Rigney): I don’t really know what else to say besides just, thank you.
Kim (as Blaire): You’re welcome.
Josie: Minx is notably a little bit back from Rigney.
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: When Blaire steps back Myra’s gonna reach out for something that’s half way between a handshake and a hand clasp, just very reassuring.
Rhi: He gives Myra a nod, and then after a few moments takes his hand back.
Rhi (as Rigney): If you don’t mind, I need a little time.
Kim (as Blaire): Of course.
Minna (as Myra): Yes.
Rhi (as Rigney): See you around.
Minna (as Myra): See you around.
## Outro [1:21:07]
Rhi: Thanks for listening. The Magpies will be back in two weeks. In the meantime, follow us on Twitter at @magpies_pod, and visit our Patreon at patreon.com/magpiespodcast.
The Magpies podcast is hosted and produced by Rhi. Follow me on Twitter at @rhiannon42 and check out RPGSkillCheck.net for my copy editing and accessibility freelance site.
Blaire Culhane is played by Kim Kogut. Follow her on Twitter at @kimdianajones.
Minx is played by Josie. Follow her on Twitter at @DragonGirlJosie, and watch her art streams at picarto.tv/DragonGirlJosie.
Myra Keel is played by Minna. Follow her on Twitter at @mynaminnarr.
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.
Rhi: Now, I’d like to thank our exemplary Patreon backers!
Austin F. Frank, thank you. Matthew Therman, thank you. LeK’s Play, thank you, and I hope I pronounced that right.
## Blooper [1:22:29]
Minna: [sweetly] Oh, hello~
[small cat squeak]
Kim: [gasps]
Minna: [giggling] Did you hear that?
Kim: I did!
Josie: I heard that squeak!
Minna: My softest son~ He’s a big, big boy with a tiny meow sometimes.
Kim: That is sweet.
Rhi: That’s my favorite.
[small cat squeak]
Kim: Awww!
Rhi: I love that.
Minna: Yeah, you said that earlier and I was like “oh, it’s Raja.”
Josie: Oh no~!
Rhi: Oh, big chonker cats with teeny-tiny mews. It’s so good.
Minna: He’s just here to bother me. I think he wants water maybe, but he has water… so I don’t know what he’s doing.
Rhi: [chuckles]
Kim: He wants pets~
Minna: He’s getting them~