Transcribed by Michelle Kelly.

##Intro

Rhi: welcome back to Duskwall. As always, thank you so much for joining us. Special shout-out to the fine folks who have been recommending the show on Twitter lately. We’ve been tagged in a lot of podcast rec tweets recently and it’s really great to see our fans bringing in new listeners. That’s just one of many ways that you can support the show. Leaving reviews and supporting us on Patreon are other awesome ways to help us reach more people and do more great things.

Minna and I will be at Gen Con in August, which is approaching very quickly. I’ll be moderating a panel on Thursday morning, ‘So You Want To Start An AP Podcast?’ Swing by and check it out, and get a Magpies bookmark while you’re there. Even further in the future, I will be at AcadeCon in November. I’m running a game of Blades in the Dark, and I’ll be handing out even more Magpies bookmarks. Next, Kim is going to tell us about this month’s featured charity.

Kim: Styles 4 Kidz is a Chicago-based organisation that provides education to multi-racial and adoptive families on how to style and care for black natural hair. Their salon offers a safe and judgement-free zone for parents to learn about their child’s hair, teaches them the skills they need, and recommends them hair care products meant for afro-textured hair. They also provide services to children living in residential facilities and detention centres, and children with special needs. To sponsor a child, or to donate, visit www.styles4kidz.org.

Rhi: In addition, for our American listeners, please continue to call your representatives and demand that the house begin an impeachment inquiry. Call your local city and county governments to demand that they refuse to cooperate with ICE and donate to immigrant defence organisations like RAICES if you’re able.

Now then. Let’s get started, shall we?

## Story continues [00.02.06]

Rhi: So I think it’s been a few days since your ‘Two Scores in One Night, Part Two’ expedition, where you did manage to keep two promises. You pulled off two scores in a single night and then took a nap.

Kim: Big nap.

Rhi: Yeah, big nap. Big, cuddle-pile nap.

Minna: I feel like two scores, one night is becoming, like, our specialty.

Rhi: You’re getting there. So, you know, it’s been a few days since that happened. You have checked back in at The Hound’s Paw to collect your messages, I imagine at this point you’re doing that a little more frequently, and you have a message from Lani and Roxanne, who have asked to meet with you. The note is vague, but it basically says that they have found some information on that project you’d asked them to work on.

Minna: Hmm.

Josie: Ooh.

Kim: Which project?

Rhi: Basically try to confirm the identities of the other members of The Circle of Flame.

Kim: Oh, yes.

Rhi: You know who some of them are, you had suspicions about a couple people, so they have been doing that research for you. And apparently, they have turned up something.

Kim: Woo!

Rhi: So I think that probably you’re just, again, gonna head over to their apartment. I introduced it and then you’ve gone there, like, every episode since.

Kim: It’s a good gay apartment.

Rhi: You make your way up to the docks, and as you’re heading through the docks area, you can tell that things have taken a bad turn around here. There is a lot of damage to buildings, there have been fires, there are broken windows. The Lampblacks who were patrolling the streets, they’re moving in larger groups. Like, previously they were moving in groups of two or three, now they’re moving in groups of four and five and are very openly armed. But there are fewer groups. And some of the people that you see moving around look like, you know, they’ve got bruises and black eyes.

Minna: Are there, like, random citizens around?

Rhi: Yeah, there’s the regular dock workers, people on the docks.

Minna: I kinda wanna just, like, stop and ask somebody:

Minna (as Myra): Is somebody moving in on The Lampblacks’ territory here?

Rhi (as Passer-By): Yeah, you haven’t heard? It’s some old gang that, I dunno, got a bug up their ass and is trying to take the docks.

Minna (as Myra): Old gang?

Rhi (as Passer-By): Erm, what are they… the umbra-somethings?

Minna (as Myra): Hunters. The hunters?

Rhi (as Passer-By): Yeah, yeah. Umbra Hunters.

Minna (as Myra): [sighs]

Rhi (as Passer-By): Yeah, they apparently fell apart some years ago and, I dunno, new management, maybe? But, they’re scrapping with the Lampblacks and good on them, I say. I don’t think The Lampblacks have been very good for this area, if you ask me.

Minna (as Myra): I doubt The Umbra Hunters will be any better.

Rhi (as Passer-By): Mm. You’re probably right.

Rhi: [laughs] Just, sort of, frowns thoughtfully.

Josie: [laughs]

Rhi: For the most part, there’s been a lot of property damage, but it does not look like the citizens of the docks have been physically attacked. For the most part.

Kim: Mm. Okay.

Rhi: Yeah. Like, their buildings are getting destroyed in this conflict, but it seems like either The Lampblacks and Umbra Hunters have some scruples, and are trying not to involve civilians, or, more likely, the people of the docks know when to duck and cover.

Minna and Josie: Mm-hmm.

Kim: I do not have any alchemical solutions for broken buildings, unfortunately.

Rhi: So, you’re making your way through the docks. And, you know, as you’re heading towards Lani and Roxanne’s building, you hear very distantly, probably on the other side of the district, gunfire breaking out. Could be nothing, could be some kinda scrap between The Lampblacks and The Umbra Hunters, you’re not sure. You head into their building, head upstairs, and Lani lets you in and as soon as the door is shut begins signing very rapidly and excitedly. And Roxanne is like:

Rhi (as Roxanne): Slow down, slow down.

Rhi and Josie: [laugh]

Rhi: She signs at her to be like:

Rhi (as Roxanne): I can’t keep up, you’re talking too fast.

Rhi: They sit you down and get you some tea. You’re all crowded around this table that like, it’s a table that would be comfortably cosy with three people, and there’s five of you at it. So, you’re a little squished in.

Kim: Squishu.

Rhi: Yeah. They have a bunch of, like, papers spread out and Lani starts explaining what they’ve found. And what they have found is a confirmation that Lord Alistair Mora is involved in The Circle of Flame.

Minna: Mm!

Rhi: Some connections that are, you know, it wouldn’t hold up in court. But, it’s good enough for your purposes, that it seems like he is almost certainly a confirmed member of the group. And they continue on to explain that as they were researching Lord Mora, they uncovered some of his other activities. If you remember back at the end of Season One, he was planning to open up a weapons production factory in the docks.

Minna: Mm-hmm, the one with the dorms.

Rhi: And you all shut that down. But apparently he still has his hands in various types of weapons dealing, except now he’s doing it less than legally. He apparently has kind of a, like, gun-running side business, smuggling weapons to The Grinders. Which is, The Grinders is kind of–

Kim: Are they gay?

Rhi: They’re a gang–

Kim: No, I said are they gay?

Josie: [laughs]

Rhi: Some of them probably are, but they’re not, like…

Kim: Rhi, you’re missing the joke.

Rhi: Oh, I get it. Yeah. No, I get it now, it took me a second.

Kim: [giggles]

Rhi: [sighs]

Minna: I mean, I was thinking are they sandwiches.

Rhi: [bigger sigh]

Josie: I mean, nothing’s stopping gay sandwiches.

Rhi: I’m just gonna stare into the middle distance sadly for a little bit.

Josie: [laughs]

Minna: Until the puns end. I’m sorry.

[laughter]

Rhi: No, I know that if I just let you all keep going, they won’t stop. So, The Grinders are actually, some of them are probably gay, some of them probably enjoy a good sandwich, all of them are Skovlan revolutionaries.

Josie: But all of them swipe right.

Rhi: Always, yeah, for sure.

[laughter]

Rhi: Yeah, so they are Skovlan revolutionaries. Basically their main goals are they also do a lot of weapons dealing, and they’re funnelling weapons back to Skovlan to, like, back the revolution against the Empire there.

Josie: Ah.

Kim: Alright.

Rhi: So, Lani and Roxanne kind of explain what they’ve learned about his gun-running dealings, and then Lani reaches over and picks up a copy of The Duskwall Daily. It’s not the top headline on the paper, but it’s above the fold. There is a story about how one Inspector Gilbert Severin has been arrested on charges of fraud and corruption.

Minna: [gasps]

Kim: Oh…

Rhi: Lani taps his name and then signs

Rhi (as Lani): He was investigating Mora. He was looking into this gun-running connection. We actually got a little information from him.

Minna: Was Inspector Severin the one that we…

Rhi: He sure was! That’s the guy who was being blackmailed by Harvale Brogan because he is a ghost in a person. He is a possessor ghost who has won his way into the Inspectors, and this is a fairly big deal, because the Inspectors have a reputation for being untouchable. The Bluecoats, everybody knows that they take bribes and are corrupt. The Inspectors are supposed to be above that. And so, the fact that one of them has been apparently caught out wrapped up in some kind of corruption charges is a big deal.

Josie (as Minx): Oh dear. Although, it seems pretty clear this is–

Minna (as Myra): A set-up?

Rhi: Yeah. [laughs] Lani nods vigorously and points at both of you like, ‘yup’. Now, the other thing that Roxanne points out in the article, if he is convicted, it would not only shut down his current investigation, but it would lead to a review of all of his recent cases. Including his arrest of Harvale Brogan.

Minna: [groans]

Kim: Oh.

Rhi: Yeah.

Josie (as Minx): As much as I hate to admit it for a person like him, we may need to go to bat for him again.

Minna (as Myra): What do you mean, ‘a person like him’?

Rhi: Yeah, Lani and Roxanne also look confused and like, ‘what do you mean?’ Inspectors are usually pretty helpful.

Josie (as Minx): I mean, yes, he’s just a bit of an arse.

[laughter]

Rhi: They look at each other and shrug and Lani is like:

Rhi (as Lani): I thought he was very nice.

Josie (as Minx): I’m glad he was nice to you.

Minna (as Myra): He worked with us, and he does appear to have kept working against our enemies. Our mutual enemies now, it seems. I don’t know that we should let him go down for this, if we can avoid it.

Josie (as Minx): Oh no, we absolutely shouldn’t. If for no other reason than pragmatism. But, having such an obviously unlawful conviction of a seemingly dedicated Inspector would be bad also.

Minna (as Myra): Well, not un-corruptible, but…

Josie (as Minx): Eh.

Rhi: [laughs]

Minna (as Myra): At least working towards the same ends as us.

Josie (as Minx): Right.

Kim (as Blaire): Still, I can’t believe that we’re actually gonna help a cop.

Rhi: [laughs] Thank you for giving me the summary for this episode when I post it.

Josie (as Minx): It does leave a bit of a dirty feeling.

Kim (as Blaire): We’re gonna have to do something big to, like, balance this out.

Rhi: Yeah. So, are there any other questions that you want to ask Lani and Roxanne while you’re here?

Josie: What are the specifics of the charge?

Rhi: He has been charged, basically, fraud and corruption are the broad charges. In specific, he’s accused of extortion, more or less. Taking bribes from merchants and nobles to drop investigations, or making people pay him off so that he won’t open up investigations into them. Because it’s like, you know, it’s the thing where if you’re the target of an investigation, even if you haven’t done anything wrong, just by association it damages your reputation.

Josie: Right.

Rhi: And apparently the article says that he was found with a hidden cache of drugs that had been picked up in, like, you know, arrests and gang raids, and a cache of weapons that were meant for the Inspectors and Bluecoats, that he was apparently selling.

Josie: I see. And who is the prosecution?

Rhi: The article is vague as to where the accusations came from. It’s just, sort of like, these things were discovered about an Inspector, isn’t this scandalous. They don’t really say who brought the charges.

Minna: Not a paper that cares very much about naming its sources, is it?

Rhi: Nah, I mean, you know, the Daily’s relationship with the truth is casual at best.

Minna: [laughs]

Rhi: There is, kind of, an implication that it was a result of an internal investigation. But, no one specifically is named as being behind it. What you do see is that the trial is going to be heard by magistrate Lady Rhonda Drake, who you know to be in The Circle of Flame.

Minna: Lady Drake was the one who was onto us when we were raiding Ironhook.

Rhi: Mm-hmm.

Josie: Right. That is an issue. If this trial is to happen, it needs to have a different judge presiding. Otherwise, this is even more of an obvious sham.

Rhi: Or there needs to be such solid evidence proving his innocence that if she still convicts him it casts doubt on her.

Josie: Right.

Minna: We basically need to find out more about the accusations and the evidence.

Josie: Right. Question about the court system in this world…

Rhi: Yeah!

Josie: Is it kind of what we’re familiar with? Judge and jury and cross-examination?

Rhi: No jury.

Josie: No jury. Okay.

Rhi: When you are accused of a crime in Duskwall, your case is heard by a magistrate. Magistrates are basically judges, they issue warrants, prosecute trials, assess evidence and pronounce judgements. There are no juries. It is a system where you get justice based on how much money you have and your social standing. If you are very rich, you can buy your way into innocence. And yeah, so the way that trials work is you have a prosecutor, a barrister in this case. This is what Jeren’s father does.

Minna: Mm-hmm.

Josie: Ah.

Rhi: Who will argue the prosecution’s side. Often they are representing the city. Just sort of, in general, the way that we have, you know, the prosecutors representing the state in real life court cases. Defence lawyers are not, like, there are no public defenders. If you can afford one, you can have someone argue your case. Otherwise, you have to represent yourself.

Kim: That’s fucked.

Rhi: Which is where a lot of the, you know, your ability to receive justice is tied directly to how much money you have, comes from. Because if you have a lot of money you can hire a very good lawyer, if you don’t have any money, you’re having to argue your case.

Kim: God, this city sucks.

Rhi: It sucks so bad!

Josie: [laughs]

Rhi: So, yeah. That is how trials work in the city. I think Blaire is the only one in this group who is unfamiliar with it.

Kim: Yeah.

Rhi: Minx and Myra have both done brief stints in jail in their youth, where, you know, they would have gone through very fast trials.

Minna: And Myra studied it.

Rhi: Yeah, so Myra is actually probably somewhat familiar with the intricacies of the legal system. But, yeah. So that’s more or less how trials work. They take as long as they need to. Usually they don’t draw a ton of outside attention, but sometimes you get big, scandalous cases, such as an Inspector being accused of corruption, and that’s gonna draw a lot of interest from the press and the general public. So, this is likely to be a bit more of a production than a lot of trials normally are. It might go for a few days.

Minna: Do we know when it’s set to happen?

Rhi: A few days from now. He was arrested on these charges pretty recently.

Minna: So they’re rushing to court.

Rhi: I feel like that’s actually pretty typical in Duskwall. They tend not to linger over people. It’s like, you get arrested, you sit for a couple days, maybe, and then they wanna just process you through the system as fast as possible.

Minna: Mm-hmm.

Rhi: So, yeah, you all have not an eternity to prepare, but a few days.

Josie: Well, I see a few ways of going about this. One, we can try and stop it before it occurs by perhaps messing with documents or evidence or the like. Replacing Miss Drake with someone who is assuredly not gonna find a guilty verdict. Or, at least one of us replaces one of the sides in the case and rigs it.

Minna: If we wanna help out the defence, maybe we should find out what the prosecution has.

Rhi: Yes. Yeah.

Minna: Because I’m gonna assume they’re not super open about their evidence.

Rhi: No, no, no.

Josie: No. But we simply make sure that they have none for the case, when it comes up.

Minna: Do you think we can approach the defence openly? As like, we wanna help?

Rhi: You don’t know if he has, like, a lawyer. He may just be in a situation where he’s defending himself.

Minna: Oh. Can we visit him?

Rhi: That’s a good question. I think that he’s still held in Ironhook. I think Ironhook is just where he would be held, I don’t think that they do visitations. Unless you pay a bribe. Visitation hours are not standard, but anything in this city can be bought for the right money.

Josie: Right.

Minna: Can we bribe for a visit to find out?

Rhi: Yeah, to talk to him? Probably.

Minna: Do we have the money is more of my question.

Rhi: You do. I mean, you all are quite well off financially. You have a lot in your vault. You have eleven coin in your vault.

Minna: How much coin do you think would be the bribe?

Rhi: Four coin.

Minna: Four coin, Jesus.

Rhi: Normally it’s not that high, but he is–

Minna: He’s high profile.

Rhi: Yeah, he’s a very high profile target. And I think the price is set that high because there’s a number of reporters who are wanting to get in to talk to him and the guards don’t want to put up with that bullshit, so…

Josie: Right.

Rhi: He’s a big deal. He’s famous. Sucks for him.

Josie: Yes, I think phase one is getting the details from the horse’s mouth.

Minna: We’re going back to Ironhook.

Rhi: Yeah!

Josie (as Minx): Thank you Lani, thank you Roxanne.

Rhi: Yeah, as they’re walking to the door, Lani signs:

Rhi (as Lani): Good luck and be careful.

Josie: Oh, can I leave them a bundle of cookies from gangster grandma?

Rhi: Oh, yeah, [laughs] sure.

Josie: So I’ll leave them with something.

Rhi: Yeah. They both thank you for the cookies.

Josie: Alright. To Ironhook, again.

Rhi: Are all three of you heading to Ironhook together?

Josie: Actually, I feel a bit uncomfortable continuing to talk to someone of his nature, so I might try to figure out more about the high society persons involved.

Minna: I’d like to hear about the evidence at Ironhook, if possible, before I go to Jeren.

Rhi: Yeah, you can do multiple– people can do more than one Gather Info, so like, Myra and Blaire could go to Ironhook, and Minx will…

Minna: Yeah, I think that’s what I’m gonna do.

Kim: Yeah.

Josie: Yes.

Rhi: Okay. Myra and Blaire are heading back to Ironhook.

Kim: Fun.

Rhi: Won’t this be fun. Yeah. So, the two of you approach the looming, hulking, structure that is Ironhook. Somehow, it’s more menacing approaching it the intended way than sneaking in through the sewers.

Kim: I believe that.

Rhi: And you get to, kind of, the outer walls and the gate and the guard there is like:

Rhi (as Guard): State your business.

Kim (as Blaire): Yes.

Rhi (as Guard): What?

Kim (as Blaire): Yes.

Minna: [laughs] Do you want Myra to step forward?

Kim: Yeah.

Rhi (as Guard): I didn’t ask you a yes or no question.

Josie: [laughs]

Minna (as Myra): It’s alright. My young friend here is just a little bit nervous. We had some business with one of the people in your custody. We were wondering if you might be able to help us out with seeing them.

Rhi (as Guard): You know, that would depend on who it is and how invested you are in paying a visit.

Minna (as Myra): We are trying to get a visit with Inspector Severin.

Rhi (as Guard): Oh. Well. You better be very invested then.

Minna (as Myra): How invested?

Rhi: He names a price that’s the equivalent of four coin.

Minna (as Myra): Alright.

Minna: Are we spending this out of the crew vault, guys?

Rhi: Unless one of you has that on your person.

Minna (as Myra): I can contribute a coin towards it, if you guys don’t wanna only spend out of the vault.

Kim (as Blaire): Yeah, and I can contribute one coin, so that way we’re only pulling two from the vault.

Rhi: Okay. So, you’re gonna hand over the coin?

Minna: Mm-hmm.

Rhi: He takes the pouch of money and kinda, you know, opens it up, rifles through the coins and is like:

Rhi (as Guard): I like people who come prepared.

Rhi: And tucks the thing away into his coat and is like:

Rhi (as Guard): Alright, come on.

Rhi: And the gates grind open, squeaking of metal that’s not fitted together just right. He leads you up the path towards the prison. So, he walks you into the prison, down a couple halls, and then leads you into basically just an interrogation room.

Minna (as Myra): Very uncomfortable place to be.

Rhi: Yeah. Table in the middle of the room, there’s two chairs on one side, one chair on the other. There’s a panel of one-way glass behind you, where presumably someone will be observing this interaction. So, good luck with that. He sits the two of you down and is like:

Rhi (as Guard): We’ll have somebody bring him around. Just wait here.

Rhi: And then he heads off, closes the door behind him.

Kim (as Blaire): [whispers] Myra.

Minna (as Myra): Yeah.

Kim (as Blaire): We’re gonna be watched.

Minna (as Myra): Yeah, that’s entirely possible.

Kim (as Blaire): No, no that’s probably what’s gonna happen. That’s a one-way mirror.

Minna (as Myra): Yeah, I understand.

Kim (as Blaire): What do we do?

Minna (as Myra): Well, we don’t have to talk about, you know, our connection to him. We can just pretend to be do-gooders trying to look into the evidence. We’re reporters.

Kim (as Blaire): Okay…

Minna (as Myra): We’re Lani and Roxanne-style reporters, who care about the truth.

Kim (as Blaire): What’s your reporter name?

Minna and Rhi: [giggle]

Minna: Ugh, let me look up real quick. I know I have aliases ready, so.

Kim (as Blaire): I feel like Jane. Jane is a reporter name. But what’s a last name that goes with Jane? Jane Jameson!

Josie: [laughs]

Kim: Oh. Oh I realise what I just did.

Josie: All she cares about is pictures. Pictures of Spider-Man!

[laughter]

Kim: Yep, I walked right into that one.

Rhi: Yeah, no, we have to do it now. That’s it.

Minna: Oh, I found it. Let’s go with Elinor Croaker. I don’t think I’ve done that one as an alias yet.

Rhi: I don’t think you have.

Minna: I’m just, every time Myra needs a name, I use one of the names I considered for Myra.

[laughter]

Kim: Nice.

Rhi: Alternate universe Myras. Alright, so after a kind of uncomfortably long time, like, you’re sitting there for ten minutes and it’s getting to the point where, you’re criminals, you’re paranoid, you’re sitting in a prison, you’re starting to think, ‘Ah shit, they figured it out, we’re gonna get arrested’. The door opens and a couple Bluecoats lead Severin in. He looks worse for wear. Doesn’t look like he went quietly. He’s got bruises on his face and on his arms. It doesn’t look like they really let him clean up, so there’s still blood crusted in his hair and in his moustache. He’s just in the ill-fitting prison uniform. He’s got shackles on his wrists and his ankles and they, you know, sit him down, basically chain him to the chair and the table and then one of the Bluecoats says:

Rhi (as Bluecoat): We’ll be right outside, holler if you need us.

Kim (as Blaire): Thank you.

Rhi: And they leave you in there. Severin, for his part, his eyes go a little wide when he sees you, but by the time he’s sitting down across from you he’s managed to, kind of keep his face blank.

Minna: Yeah. Myra’s gonna lean forward.

Minna (as Myra): I’m sure you remember us. We’re the journalists who were asking you for some details about that case a few months back?

Rhi (as Inspector Severin): Yeah, yeah I…

Minna (as Myra): Elinor Croaker and Jane Jameson.

Kim (as Blaire): Hi.

Minna: She gestures to each of them so he knows which names to use.

Rhi: Yeah! [laughs]

Josie and Minna: [laugh]

Rhi (as Inspector Severin): Yes, yes of course.

Josie: I gave you pictures of Spider-Man.

[laughter]

Rhi: Dammit! Alright, so that’s gonna be the bit for this episode.

Kim: Yeah.

Rhi: He’s like:

Rhi (as Inspector Severin): Yes, yes I remember speaking with both of you. It’s good to see you again, I suppose, although not exactly ideal circumstances.

Rhi: He kind of rattles the chains a little bit.

Minna (as Myra): Yes, we were sorry to hear about your arrest. We actually were trying to look into your case this time. Make sure justice was being prosecuted accurately.

Rhi (as Inspector Severin): Well, I wish you the best of luck, but I don’t have a lot of confidence in this playing out fairly.

Minna (as Myra): Do you have representation in this case?

Rhi: He just laughs, he’s like:

Rhi (as Inspector Severin): Tch, no.

Minna (as Myra): Is it something that you’re not able to afford, or have you not been able to make a connection?

Rhi (as Inspector Severin): Both.

Minna (as Myra): Mm. [sighs] Okay. Do you know what kind of evidence they have against you? Or is there anything you have to argue against their case?

Rhi: This would be the point where I need a roll.

Minna: Alright.

Kim: Probably Consort.

Minna: Consort.

Rhi: Yeah, for sure.

Minna: We’re doing some classic Myra shit.

Rhi: Yep.

Minna: Holy shit! Okay, it’s a 5.

Rhi: 5, okay. He knows that they have sworn statements from a handful of nobles and merchants who are alleging that he took bribes from them. Of course, the people who offered bribes to the cop are not being charged with anything.

Minna: Mm-hmm.

Rhi: Because they’re too high-ranked for that.

Minna: No, just the cop who can’t afford or get representation.

Rhi: Yeah, it’s a great city, Duskwall. So, yeah, there’s people who either have confessed to giving him bribes, or people who are accusing him of shaking them down for money in exchange for leaving them alone.

Minna: If he took so much money from so many people, why can’t he afford a lawyer?

Rhi: Listen.

Minna: [laughs]

Josie: [laughs]

Minna: Duskwall is evil.

Rhi: I’m just– yeah. He says:

Rhi (as Inspector Severin): Some of these are people that I did deal with on cases, but none of them were really targets of investigations, just people that interacted with me tangentially. Personally I suspect that they were bribed into making those statements, but I can’t prove it from here. And as for the drugs and guns that I’m apparently dealing on the side–

Rhi: And he rolls his eyes.

Rhi (as Inspector Severin): – they found that after my arrest. It would have been very easy for someone to plant that in my apartment, or not even plant it at all, just claim that they’d found it there.

Rhi: And he kinda glances at the window behind and is like:

Rhi (as Inspector Severin): I am sure that our fine boys in blue would never do something like that!

Josie and Minna: [laugh]

Rhi: I think the two of you can hear, kind of like, muffled laughter from behind the glass.

Kim: Yeah.

Minna: Out of curiosity, just out of character, do we know about Inspector Severin? He has, like, a good reputation, right? As I recall.

Rhi: Yeah, when you talked to Jeren about him previously, Jeren had a very high opinion of him. He is, like, that’s another reason why this is such a big deal. Among a group of people who are known for being un-corruptible, he was a paladin type. He really stood out. And, like, he legitimately did go after some big targets and take down some actually genuinely corrupt, harmful people. Just, kind of like, the one legitimate black mark on his record was the Brogan thing. Which nobody knew about.

Minna: Okay, that was just a thing that I was curious about.

Rhi: Prior to this, his reputation was impeccable. Which means a lot of people fucking hated him. [laughs]

Minna: Yeah. Okay, let me think, really quick.

Rhi: Yeah. So, what he has. He can tell you about the evidence that they have. He does not have a lot to offer.

Minna: You can’t prove, like, an absence.

Rhi: Right.

Minna: All we can do is try and, like, discredit some of their evidence.

Rhi: Mm-hmm. More or less. Prove that those bribes happened, prove that those weapons and things–

Josie: Prove that Spider-Man is a menace.

Kim: [sighs]

Rhi: Mm-hmm, exactly. So, you can ask some other follow-up questions of the Inspector. But, you know, bearing in mind that you are being observed.

Minna: Yeah. Do you have any questions, Kim, that you can think of?

Kim: I can’t really think of anything, I’m sorry.

Minna: That’s cool. Gimme a second to think. I don’t wanna waste this.

Kim: [gasps]

Minna: Mm?

Kim: You can’t prove an absence unless there were witnesses.

Rhi: Mm-hmm.

Kim: What if a ghost was a witness?

Rhi: That’s definitely something you could look into.

Kim: Ooh. [sings] Ghost justice!

Rhi: I’m not exactly sure what Duskwall’s laws say about ghost testimony, but I’m gonna guess it’s probably not super positive. But I think it’s definitely worth looking into.

Josie: One thing is that given that we know what he is… Minx would never suggest this, but Josie’s suggesting a plan to, I don’t know, maybe he can hop to a different person.

Rhi: He might. Like, that might be a plan that the possessor ghost has in mind. But, Blaire and Myra will be escorted back out of Ironhook, and as they are wrapping up that visit, we will cut over to Minx. Who is as usual, wining, dining, and charming the upper echelons of society.

Josie: It’s been a while since I’ve done some good, old-fashioned gossip.

Rhi: Yeah. I’m sure your presence has been sorely missed. So, what kind of information are you looking for?

Josie: Yeah, I’m looking for, like, gossip or what kind of people they are, generally.

Rhi: Okay, just learn more about Lord Mora and Lady Drake.

Josie: Yes.

Rhi: Some more details about them. Okay, yeah. Go ahead and make a roll.

Josie: I think I’m gonna do a Consort about it.

Rhi: Mm-hmm.

Josie: And I got a 5.

Rhi: You already know a little bit about Lady Drake. You’ve kind of crossed paths with her previously. She has a reputation for being very intelligent, very clever, very ruthless, not great at parties. People don’t like it when she’s invited because she is, kind of like, really serious, stick-in-the-mud, not a super fun social person.

Josie: Right.

Rhi: She is known to be fairly heavily involved in The Church of the Ecstasy of the Flesh. I’m trying to think… are there any, sort of, specific details you’re looking for about her?

Josie: No, that’s actually good stuff. I wanted to know more about these people personally, so I can maybe play on something.

Rhi: Lord Mora, you have a little harder time getting information about. He’s a person that everybody seems to know of, but very few people have actually ever met.

Josie: Mm-hmm.

Rhi: Most of what you hear is kind of second-hand. He has a reputation of being a fairly aggressive businessman. Most of the nobles kind of keep their focus on their Leviathan hunter fleets. That’s where most of their money comes from. His ships are usually pretty profitable, but he has, like, diversified his business a lot. He has some factories, there was that attempt at opening up a weapons factory earlier, that he’s still, apparently, kind of shopping around trying to find a place to set up with that. Personality wise, again this is kind of all second-hand, what you get is that he is the kind of person that actually he’s fun to have at a party so long as nobody makes him mad. He is very, like, friendly and cheerful and kind of boisterous at parties, but very short-tempered and liable to make a scene if he feels he has been slighted or wronged in any way. So, the general feeling is that people constantly have to be on eggshells around him.

Josie: Right. Interesting, interesting. Okay. And Lady Drake, do I also kinda get the sense that she, you know, does her job honourably?

Rhi: Oh hell no.

Josie: Hell no. Okay.

Rhi: No, no. She is corrupt as they come. That’s not something you get from this gossip, that is stuff that you have picked up from other things you’ve learned about her. No, she is crooked as hell.

Josie: Okay, alright. A plan is starting to brew, but I think we should cut away to Myra’s scene.

Rhi: Yeah. So, do you think this is the same day? Do you kinda send Blaire home and then you veer off?

Minna: Sure.

Kim: Yeah.

Rhi: Okay.

Minna: Because I don’t think we have time to dally.

Rhi: Yeah. Alright, so Myra, you break off to meet up with Jeren. Are you gonna just, like, send him a note and ask if he can meet you somewhere? Because you, again, can’t really go to his workplace. Three wanted levels.

Minna: Yeah, I wonder if maybe I ask him to meet me at the library, just because this is a legal thing, so we might be doing some research, if it comes to it.

Rhi: Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. You had sent this message to Jeren, asking to meet as soon as possible. So, he shows up not as quickly as you would like, but it’s obvious when he gets there that he got here as quick as he could. He looks kind of flustered. His coat is a little mis-buttoned, like he missed one of them, so it’s off by one.

Minna: Aww.

Rhi: I assume that you probably grabbed, just like, a little private study room area, so you could talk.

Minna: I think I grabbed our private study room.

Rhi: Okay, yeah. Oh God, that makes this even worse. So, he hustles in and shuts the door behind him and is like:

Rhi (as Jeren): I got your note. Is everything okay, are you alright?

Minna (as Myra): I’m okay. I’m just working on something that I could use your help with.

Rhi (as Jeren): Oh.

Minna (as Myra): It’s not The Bluecoats this time.

Rhi (as Jeren): Uh huh…

Minna (as Myra): Also, hello. Sorry not to greet you. Um. Are you busy? Are you too busy for this?

Rhi (as Jeren): I mean, I don’t know what it is, so…

Minna (as Myra): Okay. There is about to be a serious mis-prosecution of justice. Lady Drake is about to try, in a few days, an Inspector who has been wrongfully accused.

Rhi (as Jeren): Wait, Severin?

Minna (as Myra): Yup.

Rhi (as Jeren): [sighs]

Minna (as Myra): Who, as you will remember, we have had dealings with in the past.

Rhi (as Jeren): Yeah, yeah, I… wrongfully accused? Really? That– I mean, I thought you were… I thought this was the kind of thing, like, yes it’s disappointing. I thought this was the kinda thing you wanted, to get rid of corruption.

Minna (as Myra): He’s not corrupt. They are. The people forcing this trial are. They’re doing it to get him out of their hair, and he is partly on their trail because of us.

Rhi (as Jeren): [sighs]

Minna (as Myra): So, I would like to help him. Because he has helped us and I feel responsible.

Rhi: Hmm. Yeah, I think you’re gonna need to give me a roll.

Minna: Okay, I think it’s Consort?

Rhi: Oh, yeah.

Minna: This is a Gather Info, right?

Rhi: Yeah. This is seeing what he’s willing to do and what he’s willing to believe.

Minna: 5.

Rhi: 5, okay. So, he kinda like, rubs the back of his neck and sits down, is like:

Rhi (as Jeren): I guess…

Minna (as Myra): You believed in him, didn’t you? I remember you telling me.

Rhi (as Jeren): That does seem to make more sense, that he was being framed, than that he would have done all those things. I just, I don’t know, I was trying to be more realistic about things. I don’t know.

Minna (as Myra): You can be cynical, but you can also believe in people sometimes. I’m glad that you’re thinking about it, though.

Rhi (as Jeren): Yeah, I… what do you want from me right now?

Minna (as Myra): We’re trying to interfere however we can in this. We know some of the evidence they probably have, which is probably evidence they’ve manufactured. But I don’t know how to counter it, exactly. We don’t have time to discredit all of it.

Rhi: Yeah, so he kinda nods and is thinking, and he’s like:

Rhi (as Jeren): Well, okay. So sworn statements that he thinks are bribes. If you can prove that one of them was, even just one, was bribed, than that’s gonna cast a lot of doubt on the rest. Especially if it was all the same person collecting the statements, which it probably was. I don’t know if I’ll have time to get you copies, but I can get you a list of the people who gave the statements.

Minna (as Myra): A list would be helpful. I don’t think we even need the copies, necessarily.

Rhi (as Jeren): Okay. I can get that.

Minna (as Myra): We want to get at the people.

Rhi (as Jeren): And any other information I can find out, who took the statements, I guess.

Minna (as Myra): How much effect is throwing doubt on the evidence gonna have on the decision of a case? Because this woman’s pretty determined.

Rhi (as Jeren): Well, you might need…

Minna (as Myra): If we get more of an audience? If we talked to–

Rhi (as Jeren): More of an audience. If you could get some witnesses that would discredit–

Minna (as Myra): Witnesses that would testify in favour of–

Rhi (as Jeren): Of Severin, yeah.

Minna (as Myra): Okay.

Rhi (as Jeren): Or people who could, with the weapons and stuff being planted, if you could get somebody to testify that they saw it being planted.

Minna (as Myra): That’s gonna be tough. It really is hard to prove honesty, unfortunately.

Rhi (as Jeren): Yep. [sighs]

Minna (as Myra): [laughs]

Rhi (as Jeren): That’s why I have the desk job that I have. I don’t have to prove much of anything. I just gotta fill out the paperwork.

Minna (as Myra): Fill out the paperwork, make sure you’ve got everything in its place.

Rhi (as Jeren): Pretty much.

Minna (as Myra): I put more hard choices on you than you signed up for, don’t I?

Rhi (as Jeren): Yeah. You really do.

Minna (as Myra): I didn’t think it was gonna be like this, when I struck out on my own.

Rhi (as Jeren): Neither did I. When you struck out on your own.

Minna (as Myra): Did you think I was gonna go straight?

Rhi (as Jeren): Well, kinda hoping.

Josie: Never straight, only forwards.

Rhi: [laughs]

Kim: That is very good.

Rhi (as Jeren): I was hoping, you know.

Minna (as Myra): If I could stand to watch all of this, at this point… but I can’t.

Rhi: He just kinda shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair, is like:

Rhi (as Jeren): Well, I should probably get back and start pulling that information that you need.

Minna (as Myra): Thank you.

Rhi (as Jeren): Yeah. I hope you’re right, that he is innocent.

Minna (as Myra): Of what they’re accusing him of, yeah, I believe he’s innocent.

Rhi: [laughs] Best phrasing.

Minna: Well he knows about the ghost thing!

Rhi: Does he?

Minna: Doesn’t he?

Rhi: No.

Minna: No? He didn’t? Okay.

Rhi: No, Jeren doesn’t know.

Minna: What did I tell him about Severin? Because I said there was something sketchy.

Rhi: Yeah, but you didn’t tell him about the ghost.

Minna: Okay, okay.

Rhi: No, Jeren, you wouldn’t tell him that. He’s innocent.

Minna: Oh, I think I told him about bribery, maybe.

Rhi: Yeah I think you told him about the bribery and the blackmail, but you didn’t tell him about the, like, what he was being blackmailed over.

Minna: Yeah, the blackmail. Okay, yeah, because I didn’t know yet, when I was talking to him.

Rhi: Yeah, Jeren would not take that great.

Minna: Yeah, no. He would not.

Rhi: Yeah, I think when you say, ‘He’s innocent of what they’re accusing him of,’ he kinda like, quirks an eyebrow at you, but doesn’t ask any questions. Is just kinda like:

Rhi (as Jeren): I’ll just… we’ll come back to that.

Minna: I think Myra’s just gonna say to Jeren:

Minna (as Myra): Maybe you’ll be right about someone for once.

Rhi (as Jeren): Yeah, for once.

Rhi: He shakes his head and is like:

Rhi (as Jeren): Alright, well, I’ll drop off whatever I find at the usual place. Be careful.

Minna (as Myra): You too.

Rhi: Exit Jeren, stage left.

Minna: Pursued by his doubts.

Rhi: Yeah.

Josie and Kim: [laugh]

Rhi: Okay. Kim, did you still wanna do the ghost thing, of seeing if there were any spiritual witnesses to any of these things?

Minna: Yeah, we could use a witness.

Kim: I do!

Josie: Mm-hmm.

Rhi: Alright! Yeah, so how do you wanna approach this?

Kim: I imagine I would have to go to the place where this happened.

Rhi: So, you know where he lives.

Kim: Okay.

Rhi: And, you know, that they were saying he had this stuff stashed in his apartment. So you could go to, like, around his apartment to see if you could find any spirits who could give you any intel.

Kim: Yeah, I think I will do that.

Rhi: Alright.

Kim: Okay, that’s a 6.

Rhi: Nice. Okay, so you’re hanging out around Severin’s building, trying not to look suspicious.

Kim: [singing] Don’t be suspicious, don’t be suspicious!

Rhi: And you find an alley that’s empty at the moment and duck in there. Because, like, looking into the ghost field is not something you can usually do subtly. Your eyes are glowing.

Kim: And also I put on a mask.

Rhi: Yeah. So, you duck into this alley, you put on your mask, you look into the ghost field and, you know, there’s just sort of the normal ghostly patterns and things of the city. Ghost doors and the echoes of old buildings, the faint shapes of living people moving down in the street, or up in the building that you’re looking at. Severin’s apartment, just by virtue of having a ghost being there for so long, is glowing a little brighter. Just, the stuff in there stands out a little more because of leftover ghost energy. But nothing about his apartment super stands out, so you look down and are looking straight at a ghost, who is standing right in front of you.

Kim (as Blaire): Oh! Hello.

Rhi (as Ghost): Uh, hello?

Rhi: She is still quite solid and held together, has a fairly well-defined form. She looks like she is not too much older than you.

Kim: Oh.

Rhi: Yeah.

Minna: [sympathetic whine]

Rhi: Clothes are… let’s see. What was she… who were you?

Kim: Oh, what if it’s the Charter Hall uniform?

Rhi: Ooh, yeah. Yeah, I like that. I think she’s wearing something affiliated with Charter Hall. I think it’s the Hall of Alchemy.

Kim and Mina: [sympathetic groans]

Rhi: And you can of like, it’s sort of the sixth sense thing, where you kinda get a sense of how she probably died, because there’s burns all over the front of her uniform and her arms and her chest.

Kim: Oh, no!

Josie: Aww.

Rhi: She broke something and it blew up in her face.

Kim (as Blaire): I’m so sorry.

Rhi (as Ghost): Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I measured some stuff wrong.

Kim (as Blaire): I’m lucky I only ever singed my hair. I’m from an alchemist family and I went to Charter Hall for a little bit.

Rhi (as Ghost): Oh!

Kim (as Blaire): The same, in alchemy. So, I’m sorry.

Rhi (as Ghost): Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, eh. I’ve kinda made my peace with it.

Kim (as Blaire): Yeah?

Rhi (as Ghost): I guess I didn’t have any unfinished business hanging over me, that’s what people say, right?

Kim (as Blaire): [laughs] Yeah. Yeah, it is.

Rhi (as Ghost): Yeah. But, um, yeah! So, what are you doing? What are you looking for? Are you looking for what’s his face? Who used to live up there?

Kim (as Blaire): No, I know where Severin is.

Rhi (as Ghost): He was cool.

Kim (as Blaire): Yeah, he was. Did you happen to be here when The Bluecoats came and inspected? Did they happen to plant any evidence here? Like, any guns or drugs?

Rhi (as Ghost): Oh, yeah, yeah! He used to chat with me sometimes, because like…

Rhi: She kinda looks around and is like:

Rhi (as Ghost): [loud whisper] He was a ghost! I guess you probably know that, right?

Kim (as Blaire): Yeah, I knew that. [laughs]

Rhi (as Ghost): Yeah, okay. I just, you know, I just don’t want people to catch wind of it. Although, I’m a ghost too, they can’t really hear me, can they? [shouts] He was a ghost!

[laughter]

Rhi (as Ghost): Anyway, yeah, he used to chat with me sometimes.

Kim (as Blaire): Yeah.

Rhi (as Ghost): And yeah, I was hanging around and it wasn’t Bluecoats that planted it. I guess that’s what they were doing? There were some people who came by that had all this stuff. Guns and drugs and stuff. And they, like, hid it around his apartment. Didn’t hide it real well.

Kim (as Blaire): But they weren’t Bluecoats?

Rhi (as Ghost): No, but they brought the stuff in and planted it and then they left. And then, like, ten minutes later the Bluecoats came in and they knew exactly where everything was.

Kim (as Blaire): Ah. Did you get any good look at the group? Who it was?

Rhi (as Ghost): Yeah! Yeah.

Rhi: She didn’t get any names, but she can give you descriptions of the people.

Kim: Do I recognise the gang?

Rhi: Yeah. As she’s describing them, she mentions black coats with brass detailing, brass buttons and things, which–

Minna: That’s Umbra, right?

Rhi: Yeah, that’s the uniform of The Umbra Hunters. You recognise it right off.

Kim (as Blaire): So The Umbra Hunters are behind this. Interesting. Well, I don’t want to ask too much of you, and this is a little unorthodox, but would you be willing to testify in court that the evidence was planted, in defence of Severin?

Rhi (as Ghost): Wow. Is that legal?

Minna: [laughs]

Kim (as Blaire): I will make it legal.

Rhi (as Ghost): I don’t think that’s legal. I don’t know that you can, I mean I like what you’re thinking… uh… I just, if you can find a way for me to do it, that doesn’t involve me getting, like, shoved into a jar or disintegrated or something, because like–

Kim (as Blaire): I will do absolutely everything I can to protect you. Although I may have to jar you up, I’m sorry, to bring you home.

Rhi (as Ghost): Wait, what?

Kim (as Blaire): [hesitates] Actually, you know what? You seem cool.

Rhi (as Ghost): Thanks.

Kim (as Blaire): Like, this should be fine. You can just hang out. You can hang out in my room.

Minna: [laughing] Oh my God.

Rhi: Actually, I don’t know if she can, because you have the place warded against ghosts pretty good right now. You would have to bring her through in a jar.

Kim (as Blaire): Oh, well, you can hang out outside my house.

Rhi (as Ghost): Um.

Kim (as Blaire): Or you can stay here, I can find you again, it doesn’t really matter.

Rhi (as Ghost): Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Kim (as Blaire): I’m gonna find a way to make it legal.

Rhi (as Ghost): [doubtfully] Okay.

Kim (as Blaire): Because you still have you mind and by that right you should still have rights.

Rhi (as Ghost): I like your moxie. What’s your name, by the way? We didn’t really do that part. I forget sometimes.

Kim (as Blaire): Oh, yeah, sorry! No, that’s okay. My name’s Blaire. What’s your name?

Rhi (as Ghost): Oh, I’m Tira.

Kim (as Blaire): Tira?

Rhi (as Tira): Yeah, Tira… uh… hmm. Nope, don’t seem to have a family name up here anymore. Well that’s annoying.

Kim (as Blaire): That’s okay.

Rhi (as Tira): Yeah, I forget stuff sometimes.

Kim (as Blaire): That’s okay, I’ve heard that’s pretty common, actually.

Rhi (as Tira): Oh, alright.

Kim (as Blaire): I’m sorry. I just, you know. As long as you don’t forget who you are, you should be okay.

Rhi (as Tira): Yeah. Well, right now I know that I am Tira and I was an alchemy student and I fucked up pretty bad.

Kim (as Blaire): [laughs] Well…

Rhi (as Tira): I’m gonna go haunt the lab.

Kim (as Blaire): Okay!

Rhi (as Tira): I threatened to do that with my lab partners and I feel like I should make good on it.

Josie and Minna: [laugh]

Kim (as Blaire): Okay, well you have fun with that. Oh, but by the way, when this is all said and done and you’ve testified and, you know, I don’t need you for any favours anymore, I have some friends that can help you out. Friends like you.

Rhi (as Tira): Oh! Like, see-through, ghost, dead friends?

Kim (as Blaire): I mean, yes, but they’re special. They remember who they are.

Rhi (as Tira): Oh.

Kim (as Blaire): You’ll be in good company.

Rhi (as Tira): Okay. Can I meet them even if I’m not able to testify?

Kim (as Blaire): Oh, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I’ll bring you to them.

Rhi (as Tira): Okay. I’m gonna go haunt the lab now!

[laughter]

Kim (as Blaire): Have fun!

Rhi (as Tira): She runs off.

Josie: Aww.

Kim (as Blaire): Tell Professor Pennyworth I said hi!

Rhi (as Tira): [shouts] I’m gonna throw an eraser at his head!

Kim (as Blaire): Nice!

Rhi: [laughs] I like this ghost.

Kim: I love her a lot.

Josie: She’s so good.

Kim: I love her.

Rhi: She’s very weird.

Minna: She seems like a good buddy for Blaire, honestly. Like, they seem like they would have been fun classmates.

Rhi: Yeah, I think they just missed each other.

Minna: Yeah.

Kim: Yeah, definitely.

Rhi: Alright. What do you all wanna do?

Minna: I feel like we should be the fucking legal defence team.

Josie: [laughs] Yeah, definitely.

Minna: I honestly feel like that’s the way that’s gonna go best, unless we can find a face for us. Because we’re also super wanted, so maybe we shouldn’t appear in a court of law.

Josie: We have the resources for disguises.

Minna: Yeah. I think we just need to make it as much of, like, a public spectacle as possible, while discrediting the evidence against him.

Josie: Right. I mean, part of me is just tempted to ghost bomb the whole thing.

Rhi: Yeah. I will say though, in terms of disrupting the trial, having a ghost show up is a great strategy. In terms of having that ghost make it out of the situation okay, maybe not the best.

Kim: I will fight everyone.

Rhi: [laughs]

Josie: We know, dear.

Minna: What if you have her possess you and speak through you?

Kim: [gasps] Yo!

Minna: That way your body, like, protects her.

Kim: That is a great idea. I’m free real estate.

Minna: [laughs] Don’t call yourself ‘free real estate’, Blaire!

Josie: [laughs] Real estate?

Kim: I’m free real estate.

Josie: That’s not how it works.

Rhi: I don’t know if I’ve ever been so unhappy that we play this online, because I really wish you all could see the look on my face right now. I’m not exactly… I feel like it’s the Venn diagram, the overlapping part of, like, horror and being impressed and…

Kim: I love this idea, we’re gonna do it.

Rhi: What’s the feeling, like, the feeling of watching a really bad but fictional car crash in slow motion. That’s how I feel right now. Like, watching a real car crash is just bad, but a fictional one, it’s kind of like, ‘Oh that looks horrible, but also I’m enjoying this’.

Josie: Yes.

Rhi: That’s my emotional state.

Minna: [giggles]

Kim: We’re definitely doing this, thank you Minna.

Minna: So we have two lawyers and a witness, is that what we’re saying?

Kim: Mm-hmm.

Josie: Right. Okay, so we are aiming to win this and not… well, we are cheating it, but not trying to get it thrown out on a technicality.

Minna: I mean, they cheated first. We’re just showing that they cheated.

Kim: Yeah.

Josie: Right. I’m saying, we’re trying to get an innocent verdict, not get it thrown out or delayed.

Kim: Right.

Minna: So… what kind of fucking score is a courtroom drama?

##Outro [00.55.04]

Rhi: Thanks for listening. The Magpies will be back in two weeks. In the meantime, follow us on Twitter @magpies_pod and visit our Patreon at patreon.com/magpiespodcast.

The Magpies podcast is GMed and produced by Rhi. Follow me on Twitter @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 @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.

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.

And now, I’d like to thank our stupendous Patreon backers.

Amanda Jones, thank you.

Michael Rakowski, thank you.

Brian Jenkins, thank you.

## Blooper [00.56.33]

Rhi: Kim, what were you gonna ask?

Kim: Didn’t we take care of the inspector ghost [sings] doo da doo doot, Inspector ghost-man. [sings ‘Inspector Gadget’ theme song]

Josie: [laughs]

Rhi: I’ll just let you get this out of your system.

Minna: [laughs]

Kim: Thank you. Didn’t we take care of Inspector ghost-man?