Transcribed by Tyler (Twitter: @Tyler_MoonSage)
Download a Word doc version of the transcript: TM2-03 The Fresh Produce Score, Part 2
## Intro
Rhi: Welcome back to Duskwall. As always, thank you for listening. If you’re enjoying the show please consider supporting us on Patreon, leaving us a review on iTunes, or just going on social media and yelling about us a lot. We’re looking to reach even more listeners and do even more exciting things in 2019, but we can’t do it without your help.
Speaking of exciting things, I have a really awesome announcement. Tyler, a long time Twitter friend of the show, volunteered to transcribe the first couple episodes of The magpies for us. They finished the first transcript recently and it’s posted on our site. Visit magpiespodcast.net and click on Transcripts to check it out. I cannot thank Tyler enough for their generosity in doing this. If you need a transcriptionist, reach out to them on Twitter at @Tyler_MoonSage. There will be a link to their profile in the show notes.
If you want to help us add more transcripts, please consider backing us on Patreon. Once we hit $300 a month I’ll be able to afford to hire Tyler and other transcriptionists to transcribe our archives and then keep up with all of our new releases. Accessibility is really important to me, and providing text transcripts is a huge step in that direction.
In other news, continue to tune in to Character Creation Cast on the One Shot Network to hear me, Minna and Josie talk about building characters in Blades in the Dark. Episodes 1 and 2 of the series are up now. We had a great time building a power-hungry cult full of disaffected rich kids and talking about just how terrible they all are. I’ll include links to both episodes in the show notes.
Next, let me tell you about this month’s featured charity:
Howard Brown Health is a Chicago based organization that focuses on health care for queer people. They do research and education as well as provide direct health services to the community including primary care, mental health care, and HIV/AIDS care, all available on a sliding scale for low income or uninsured patients. They have several clinics throughout Chicago as well as a youth center and three resale shops whose proceeds support the group’s mission. If you have a few dollars to spare, consider donating, either to Howard Brown or to a local queer-supporting charity in your area.
Now then, let’s get started. Shall we?
## Story Continues [0:02:39]
Rhi: Blaire pushes open the doors and a light unlike anything that any of you have ever seen before fills the room. It is warm, and golden, and you all look into this greenhouse… For the three magpies, Amancio has a little green house attached to his house where he has a single small radiant energy tree that produces light kind of like this, enough to keep his herb garden alive. All of the plans just said greenhouse, so you were expecting something similar, a large glass room. This is made of glass, but it is not just open, empty glass. Curving overhead encasing this entire space is a massive glass dome aquarium… full of fish that glow with the light of the sun.
[gasps, squealing]
Josie: Whaaat? That’s fucking bonkers.
Minna: So, it’s like radiant energy fish?
Rhi: Mm-hmm. That is a thing. That is the legit description of this farm in the book. This is why I have wanted to have people come here ever since I read it. It’s the coolest fucking thing.
[excited noises]
Josie: That’s super rad.
Kim: [smiling] I’m sorry for shrieking, this is not good audio, but that is amazing.
Rhi: Here, let me find it. “The Nyamaska family pioneered the technique of building an aquarium full of radiant fish that arched over a greenhouse. The living light allows growing gardens of fresh fruit and vegetables inside the mansion’s security.”
So, you step into this massive greenhouse that is illuminated with—none of you would know what actual sunlight looks like, but for us—it’s not as bright as full sunlight, but it is still pretty bright. It is bright enough for grass to be growing underfoot. There are fruit trees in neat rows. There are raised beds of vegetables and herbs and berry bushes. It smells amazing in here. For all of you this is probably one of the most beautiful places you’ve ever seen.
Kim: I’m gonna take out my journal and just immediately start drawing these fish.
Josie: I think Minx might just straight-up be struck dumb, just entranced by this for a while. Fuck staying behind. [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah, just standing in the doorway, staring.
Josie: Running my fingers through the trees a little bit.
Rhi: Yeah. I think everybody has a moment of “holy shit…” Eventually you all kind of shake it off and start moving into the space a little more to start looking around and seeing what there is to see. Tell me kind of what everybody gravitates to. Where do you go? What do you do?
Josie: I gravitate towards the fruit.
Rhi: Okay. There is an apple tree kind of near the doors.
Josie (as Minx): There’s so many… I’ve never seen so many in one place.
Minna: I just love that we’re in the closest thing that Duskwall has to an Eden and there’s an apple tree in it.
Josie: Mm-hmm. [laughs]
Rhi: There’s a few apple trees.
Josie: We were told to take some of this stuff. Right?
Rhi: Yes. Your orders were to take enough to prove to Bazso’s connection that “yeah, I’m legit, I can actually get this stuff,” but not so much that anything would be noticed as having gone missing.
Josie: Can I have a small, dainty basket?
Rhi: [laughs] I think you can find a basket somewhere around here.
Josie: I’ll just load it up with a few apples. One of them is for me. I’m gonna eat one.
Rhi: Minx is picking apples. What’s everybody else doing?
Josie (as Minx): [hums happily]
Minna: I think Myra’s gonna collect a soil sample.
Rhi: Okay. Myra is actually managing to focus on—[laughs] I mean Minx is too!
Madge: Yeah.
Josie: In my own way.
Minna: It also gives her a chance to dig her fingers into dirt that is probably the most alive dirt she’s ever felt in her life.
Rhi: Yes. That’s true.
Minna: Do I need to mark something off for this? I don’t know what I would mark off.
Rhi: Soil samples? No. I imagine you’re just getting a couple little vials or pouches. That’s not enough to count as one unit of load, unless you’re getting a lot of soil samples.
Minna: Yeah. I just didn’t know if I needed to have something on me for that or if that’s small enough that it doesn’t matter.
Rhi: No, I think you can do it. I will say, I think I’m gonna have you make some kind of roll to make sure that you can do it in such a way that isn’t gonna leave signs behind that anything was disturbed.
Minna: Okay. I wanna say either a Finesse or a Study.
Rhi: I would say either one of those.
Minna: I’m better at Study. That’s a 5.
Rhi: You’re able to get the soil samples, but I am gonna start a clock. The person who’s awake…
Kim: Can it just be a Cindy Lou Who situation?
Josie: Who is no more than two.
Rhi: [laughs] We’ll see. It’s probably somebody who recognizes Needle though.
Madge: [laughs nervously]
Rhi: yeah, so Needle, what are you up to?
Madge: Needle is gonna be wandering between the rows taking note of each type of fruit that’s there, trying to place if she recognizes any of these things.
Rhi: I think she definitely does recognize some of this. How well off–? Was your family nobility or were they rich merchants?
Madge: They were rich merchants.
Rhi: Okay. Your family would have sprung for this kind of stuff on special days, birthdays, holidays, things like that. This was not the kind of stuff you would have been able to have regularly, but you know, you’ve had strawberries and blueberries, and there’s probably some citrus trees growing here that you’ve had before. You recognize a number of the fruits and things here, and it brings up memories of special holidays and celebrations with your family.
Madge: Yeah. I’m gonna take some strawberries, because I feel like those were my favorite.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: Aww.
Rhi: Okay. You’ve got a pocket full of strawberries. I will say, all of the fruits and vegetables in here are to us in the real world would look sort of stunted or undergrown.
Madge: Yeah, they’re dinky.
Rhi: Everything is just sort of smaller, but they’re ripe and healthy and whatnot.
Madge: I want to specify that I’m making sure to grab something from every other bush so that it’s not obvious.
Rhi: Yeah! You’re not just grabbing a handful from one. Yes, I figured.
Madge: Yeah. [laughs]
Rhi: I’m assuming Minx is doing similarly.
Josie: Yeah. I’m not taking a lot, I’m just taking a small sample.
Rhi: A few from a few different trees so it’s not super obvious. Blaire? What are you doing?
Kim: I am still way the fuck into these fish. I know that’s not really productive, so I’m trying to think of ways…
Minna: I mean, you could be sketching the layout of it as well.
Kim: Okay. Yeah. I could do that. I was thinking it’s gonna be hard for me to harvest the fish, but then I remembered that I always have jars on me. I could try taking a fish. Maybe?
Minna: Oh shit.
Rhi: You would have to find an access point. You know how aquariums will have those tunnels where it’s just a glass dome and the water is all around you?
Kim: Oh, that’s what this is. Okay.
Rhi: It’s that, but greenhouse sized. The space that the fish have between the two panes of glass is probably like a foot, foot and a half. It’s a thin, massive wide aquarium. Now, that said, there probably are some access points, because they need to be able to feed the fish and restock. You would have to go searching for them if you wanted to grab a fish.
Kim: Can I bring a fish home…? I want to.
Rhi: Uh, I mean, you’re gonna have to… How alive do you want the fish to be? [laughs]
Kim: Very? If possible, I’d like to bring it home alive. I have jars.
Rhi: You’re gonna have to find… Well, if you have a spirit jar you could get some water and a small fish in there. Okay. First you’re gonna have to find the access point.
Kim: Should I roll a Survey for that?
Rhi: Sure, if you want. This is still risky.
Kim: [quietly] Fishy, fishy, fishy… Oh, 3.
Rhi: Oh geez.
Kim: I’m sorry I’m not helpful.
Rhi: [smiling] It’s okay.
Madge: Yeah.
Kim: [chuckling] I know what I like and I must follow it.
Rhi: You’re all just kind of spending a lot of time down here. Blaire, you just wander off along the edge of the aquarium looking for access points. You’re not able to find one, but it’s all taking a lot of time. This person… Nobody’s watching the house. [laughs]
Madge: Can I wander over to Blaire at one point? [smiling]
Kim: [gasps] Aquarium date~!
Madge: [laughs]
Kim: [shrieks]
[laughter]
Madge: I am here to just embarrass Kim.12:48
Rhi: And thus did Kim’s little gay heart expire.
Kim: [smiling] It’s my favorite kind of date, you guys. I’m sorry~!
Madge: Yeah. Needle will come up and stand next to Blaire and sort of nudge her a little bit and offer a strawberry.
Madge (as Needle): So, it’s a really nice view, ain’t it? Lots of pretty fish swimming around, pretty girl, pretty food…
Kim (as Blaire): Uh… What? Heh.
Madge (as Needle): You’re pretty, and the fish…
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah, yeah, the fish. Um…
Madge (as Needle): Has anyone flirted with you this intensely before? Just so I know where my boundaries are here. Because, you know…
Kim (as Blaire): I-Is that what we’re doing? Heh. Uh…
Madge (as Needle): That was sort of my intention. Yeah.
Kim (as Blaire): Um… No, not really.
Madge (as Needle): [laughs] That’s kind of embarrassing for me, isn’t it? Uh… Coming on too strong.
Kim (as Blaire): No, no! This is fine! It’s okay. It’s okay.
Madge (as Needle): You sure? I can always, you know, back off a little bit if it’s making you uncomfortable.
Kim (as Blaire): No. No, no, it’s okay.
Madge (as Needle): Because, you know, you’re nice.
Kim (as Blaire): Heh. You’re nice too. Um… How’s that finger? Are you doing any better? Are you okay?
Madge (as Needle): Oh. Yeah! It’s still a little bit swollen and everything, but it could be worse.
Kim (as Blaire): Heh.
Madge (as Needle): I can still wiggle the other four, so that’s kind of the important thing when you think about it. You know?
Kim (as Blaire): Mm-hmm.
Madge (as Needle): That’s like a total of nine?
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah. I mean, not as good as 10, but uh…
Madge (as Needle): Eh. The other one will come back, hopefully.
Kim (as Blaire): I hope. I mean, like I said, I’ve got stuff.
Madge (as Needle): Yeah. I’ve got a healer that I go to sometimes. Getting hurt on jobs is kind of a strange thing, to be perfectly honest. I don’t get hurt very often on jobs like these, so that’s new.
Kim (as Blaire): Heheh. I get hurt a lot. Heh.
Madge (as Needle): Really? Do you wear any sort of extra padding or anything to keep you from…?
Kim (as Blaire): Uhh…
Kim: She thinks back to all the scores, and there’s a montage in her head of her getting hurt.
Kim (as Blaire): Uh? No.
Madge (as Needle): So, when we’re done with all this, how about we get armor for you?
Kim (as Blaire): Um, yeah, yeah, that would be good.
Madge (as Needle): Yeah. You know, don’t want that pretty little face going to waste.
Kim: Blaire’s blushing so hard you guys.
Kim (as Blaire): [giggles] Sorry. I’m not usually like this. [laughs nervously] I don’t know what’s… Yeah. You know?
Madge (as Needle): I am fully aware. I was not always this smooth.
Kim (as Blaire): I don’t believe that.
Madge (as Needle): So, first time that I tried flirting with someone—
Kim (as Blaire): [laughs]
Madge (as Needle): Do you want to hear this story? Because it’s really fun.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah!
Madge (as Needle): Okay. First time I tried flirting with someone, it was on the ship. We were on one of the leviathan hunters. I got the sweets for this cabin boy and I decided I was, you know, gonna try my luck. He wasn’t dating anyone. I wasn’t dating anyone. I went over to give it my all and I tripped over my own feet.
Kim (as Blaire): Heh.
Madge (as Needle): And I said, “well, I guess I’ve sort of fallen for you now, haven’t I?” Everything sort of went downhill from there pretty fast.
Kim (as Blaire): So, you didn’t really get a date out of that?
Madge (as Needle): No. Not even a little bit.
Kim (as Blaire): [laughs]
Madge (as Needle): He left once he got back to shore and didn’t come back to the ship.
Kim (as Blaire): Aw. That’s too bad.
Madge (as Needle): It got really awkward when the boss’s daughter tries coming on to you. So…
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah. I uh… Sorry. I don’t really have a story like that, I don’t think.
Madge (as Needle): [laughs] No. I wasn’t sharing so that you could share, I was just sharing for the sake of… Um. Sometimes I talk just to fill silence, and it’s really not that great.
Kim (as Blaire): No, no, that’s okay.
Madge (as Needle): No. it gets really awkward, because then you feel like you have to talk off of my talking and then we get to this place where we don’t know what to say to each other… I’m gonna just have another strawberry. Do you want one?
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah! Yeah, that’s fine.
Madge (as Needle): Yeah. Let’s have that.
Kim (as Blaire): Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Rhi: [giggling] So the two of you wander off, eating strawberries, awkwardly glancing at each other and blushing.
Josie: Minx is over by Myra with a fucking proud mom look on her face.
[laughter]
Josie (as Minx): They grow up so fast.
Kim: She never thought this would happen. [laughs]
Minna: I think Myra turns to her, like:
Minna (as Myra): Hmm?
Josie (as Minx): Oh. It’s just awkward adorableness happening. That’s all.
Minna (as Myra): Oh. Those two.
Josie (as Minx): Indeed. Is there anything more you wanted to grab in here?
Rhi: We have some fruit, we’ve got some apples and some strawberries, we got some soil samples.
Madge (as Needle): [distant] Oi! Have you guys looked over here yet? They have oranges!
Minna (as Myra): Agh… Please don’t shout.
Rhi: They do have oranges over by where Needle and Blaire are.
Josie: I’m gonna go grab an orange.
Rhi: [chuckles] You go grab a few oranges. You’ve got room in your basket.
Minna: I think she follows.
Minna (as Myra): So, what about this backdoor we’re preparing for them? I don’t think we’ve really got enough for them yet.
Josie (as Minx): Yes. Well, the main issue is the door we just came through. That is the biggest hindrance. If we can disable that without anyone knowing…
Minna: Could we look around to see if there’s maybe any other way in here besides that door?
Rhi: Give me a roll.
Minna: That’s gonna be a Survey. I think I’m actually gonna push myself on the Survey.
Josie: You know what? How about I help you?
Minna: Or that.
Rhi: You can do both.
Kim: Both. Both is good.
Rhi: So, Minx will take 1 point of stress, Myra will take 2.
Minna: That’s a 6.
Rhi: Okay! You basically have to go clear over to the other side of the greenhouse, but set against one wall there is a break in the glass and there is a small, brick shed against the back wall. The door is not locked on this side. You open it up and it’s storage. There are various gardening implements and some more baskets and things to collect fruits and vegetables in. Then, on the opposite wall from where you came in is another door.
Josie: Oh!
Rhi: This whole thing was not marked on the blueprints.
Josie (as Minx): Oh, well this is convenient.
Minna: Is it locked? Could we unlock it from this side?
Rhi: I mean, logically, yes.
Minna: Can I slowly peek my head out to see where it comes out?
Rhi: Yeah. You look out. Maybe some of you have thought of this, maybe you’ve all been too caught up in the grandeur of this place, but there is not a big, glowing beacon on the hill where this estate is. You poke your head out and glance around, and you realize the entire outside of the greenhouse is painted black so none of the light escapes. Nobody else can see it. The door is almost completely concealed. It’s a very tight seam around the edges, and when it’s closed, you’re looking at it and you can tell this is probably almost invisible, particularly because it’s a pitch black door in a pitch black wall in a world that is constantly dark.
Josie: Fair.
Rhi: I’m gonna need you to make a Prowl roll to see how sneaky you are. It’s gonna be risky.
Minna: Okie-doke. What does a Devil’s Bargain look like here?
Rhi: Oh. Hmm-hmm-hmm?
Josie: I don’t suppose I’m able to assist on this one, am I?
Rhi: Yeah, you can help.
Josie: Oh. Totally, I’m gonna do that.
Rhi: You can describe how you assist. Devil’s Bargain, let me think… Hmm. I don’t know. Anybody have ideas?
Minna: You can always tick up that clock again.
Kim: I was gonna suggest the clock, or is that too much of a cop out?
Rhi: Yeah. Let’s do that. You all have spent a lot of time just wandering around in here. I think that will be the Devil’s Bargain, that the clock is gonna tick up one.
Minna: Okay. That’s a 5.
Rhi: With the Devil’s Bargain?
Minna: Yes, with the Devil’s Bargain.
Rhi: Okay. Minx, how are you helping with this, with her sneaking out through this door?
Josie: I think I’m following behind and looking in the directions she can’t be looking, and then also helping to open the door quietly.
Rhi: Yeah. Minx, I think you’re still back in the doorway. Myra, I think you’ve stepped outside a bit to get your bearings and figure out, okay, this is where it is, this is how people would access it, basically mapping out what you’re gonna tell Bazso. You have finished making your map, you kind of nod at Minx like “I’m coming back in,” and you go to take a step forward and a hand closes on your arm.
Josie: Uh-oh.
Rhi: You are in a desperate position because a guard just came around the bend and has grabbed you.
Kim: Ah!
Josie: Uh… Pocket sand!
[giggling]
Rhi: Yeah. Roll it. It’s still desperate. Whoever is reacting is in a desperate position. You can mark experience.
Josie: I mean, if Myra wants to help me she can, but…
Minna: I don’t know how I would help you with pocket sand.
Rhi: Well, you could kind of jerk your arm to the side and try to throw the guy off balance.
Minna: Oh. Yeah. I can take the stress to help.
Josie: Yay. [laughs] I got a 5.
Kim: Ooh.
Rhi: You do it, but there’s a consequence.
Minna: What does pocket sand do again?
Rhi: It’s trance powder. It sends the target into a sort of pleasant trance. Gosh… I just like this complication so much. You throw the trance powder and it hits the guy in the face, but it also hits Myra.
Josie: Oh no!
Kim: [gasps]
Madge: Nooo~
Josie: [laughing] Sorry Myra.
Rhi: Myra does not get a full dose of it, but Myra, you are basically gonna take level 2 harm, Dazed, and you’re basically just on a -1 on most things, because you are…
Josie: Pretty stoned.
Rhi: Yeah. You are just tripping right now, which is gonna make going back inside really fun. You are gonna be like oh, it’s so pretty~, I wanna go look at the fish.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: If this was not a place you had to flee from you could just prop Myra up in front of the aquarium wall and leave her there for three hours.
Minna: On the one hand, we really have to get out of here smoothly, so I should resist this. On the other, God damn that’s really fun. I’ll just be slightly woozy if I resist it.
Josie: That would be so good, because Myra doesn’t let her defenses down like this normally, right?
Minna: She doesn’t.
Rhi: It’s not your consequence to resist, though, it’s Minx.
Minna: Oh fuck.
Josie: Oh… Wait. What do I actually do to resist it?
Rhi: Josie, you would need to roll…
Minna: Would it be Prowess?
Rhi: Yeah. I think since this is a physical thing that you were doing that caused this complication, you’re gonna need to resist with Prowess.
Josie: I’m kind of tempted not to.
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna: [smiling] It is your choice.
Josie: I think I’m not gonna resist, because it takes Minx a minute to realize what she just did.
Rhi: Yeah. Minx rushes forward to grab the guy and drag him inside, and then it takes that long for her to notice that Myra is still just standing there looking up at the stars slack jawed.
Josie: Aw. [laughs] I’m gonna take the guard around the bend a little ways, just sort of sit him down, point him to look up at the stars, and just be like:
Josie (as Minx): Have a nice nap.
Rhi: Okay. You’re just gonna leave him outside?
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: Okay.
Josie (as Minx): Myra, you doing okay?
Minna (as Myra): It’s just… such a lovely evening, I don’t notice often enough.
Josie (as Minx): Yes. It’s… It’s beautiful. Let’s head back inside for a moment, Myra. Let’s get this setup and you can take a nice rest.
Minna (as Myra): All right. I’ll do that.
Rhi: She doesn’t move until Minx guides her back inside.
[laughter]
Minna: Yeah.
Rhi: Myra, when you get back inside—
Minna: Oh God. Overload. Yeah.
Rhi: –your mind is blown all over again.
Minna (as Myra): Oh glory, I’ve never seen anything like this.
Madge (as Needle): Oh. What happened to her?
Josie (as Minx): She took the collateral damage of some trance powder. I had to deal with a guard. We should wrap up here and…
Madge (as Needle): Oh. Uh… Yeah? That sounds like exactly what we should be doing. Let’s make ourselves scarce.
Josie (as Minx): yes. Let’s sabotage the lock back here, so it’s a literal backdoor, and then be gone from this place.
Madge: Yeah, let’s sabotage it, because I’m not getting that- [laughs] I’m not, I’m not gonna be able to get it from my hand being messed up. It’s -1, so I only roll one die to mess with it?
Rhi: Yeah. You can still push yourself or get assistance.
Kim: Would you like an assist?
Madge: An assist would be really good.
Kim: All right. I’ll assist you.
Madge: Yay. Holy mother… Oh…
Rhi: Is that good or bad?
Madge: [laughing] I got a 2 as my highest.
Rhi: Oh my God.
Minna: Honey!
Josie: [seethes]
Kim: Madge…
Josie: This is not a good night.
Madge: [laughing] I’ve swapped my dice three times!
Rhi: So, you’re all kind of clustered around the door while Needle is working trying to sabotage it, and then from across the greenhouse you hear someone go:
Rhi (as ???): Is… Is someone here?!
Kim (as Blaire): No?!
Josie (as Minx): [laughing] No! Blaire, no.
Kim: [laughs]
Madge (as Needle): Blaire, Blaire, you’re adorable. Not right now, please.
Kim (as Blaire): [whispering] Okay. I’m sorry.
Madge: Cover your mouth, and I try getting everyone out the door.
Rhi: Needle, it is a voice that you recognize.
Madge: [wincing] Oh no.
Rhi: Who is this person? How do you know them?
Madge: Oh gosh. Um… Because she’s a merchant family, rich merchant family, she’s probably been to this estate for parties before.
Rhi: Mm-hmm. I think this is one of the Nyamaska daughters…
Madge: Oh yeah.
Rhi: …and you’ve danced with her at a few parties.
Madge: Mm-hmm.
Kim: [whispering] She’s an ex.
Rhi: Well, I mean, I can leave this up to Madge. I don’t know if it was an ex necessarily. Maybe more like a fling.
Madge: More of a might have been.
Kim: Oh, okay.
Rhi: So yeah, Needle’s herding you all out the door.
Madge: I will stay behind, and I’m gonna try and break the lock again, if that’s okay with everybody.
Josie: Mm-hmm.
Madge: I’m gonna do it with just my one. That’s a 5 though!
Rhi: Okay. You are able to sabotage the lock in such a way that it will still lock but it’s now much easier to pick. You finish up with it, you let out a sigh of relief, “okay, got it, done.” You stand up, and then you hear from behind you:
Rhi (as Nyamaska Daughter): Devin?
Madge (as Needle): Oh…!
Madge: She’s gonna turn around and sort of tuck her hands behind her to hide the one that’s all messed up, and when she talks she doesn’t have the accent anymore.
Rhi: Oh?
Madge (as Needle): [cheery] Hi! It’s been forever, hasn’t it? Hi~
Rhi: I think her name is Carissa.
Madge (as Needle): Carissa… Heh. Hi~
Rhi (as Carissa): What… are you doing here… in my greenhouse, in the middle of the night?
Madge (as Needle): [softly] I missed you.
Rhi: … Roll me a fucking Sway.
[laughter]
Kim: Oh-ho-ho…
Rhi: [claps, laughing] Jesus. Oh, I love it.
Madge: There’s so much lying right now. There’s so much lying.
Rhi: Oh God. Okay. This is risky still.
Madge: Four.
Rhi: She kind of stares at you just in shock for a couple seconds, and you’re like “oh shit, she’s not buying it, she’s not buying it,” and then she just lights up in this big smile.
Rhi (as Carissa): [giggly] I missed you too. This is the stupidest way of coming to see me again.
Madge (as Needle): You know I’m unconventional.
Rhi (as Carissa): I mean, yes, yes you are.
Rhi: She loops her arm through yours and starts to walk you away from this door.
Madge: Cool. I’m gonna kick the door shut as we get further away from it.
Rhi: Okay. The other three of you are waiting outside and the door just closes.
Kim (as Blaire): Uh… I-Is she okay?
Minna (as Myra): What…? What happened? Why is the door…?
Josie (as Minx): I think she knows what she’s doing.
Minna (as Myra): Why… Why is the light gone?
Kim (as Blaire): The door closed.
Josie (as Minx): We’re going home, Myra. That’s why.
Kim (as Blaire): But… Not without Needle.
Josie (as Minx): Well, we’ll need to figure out whether we’re gonna wait here or head around. It doesn’t sound like the alarm has been raised, which is good.
Rhi: How long do you wait?
Josie: I think maybe about 15 minutes.
Minna: I think Myra at this point is leaning heavily on whoever is holding her up. Neither of you has probably had that much physical contact with Myra like this.
Kim: Ever.
Josie: She’s probably leaning up against Minx, because Minx is taller, but Minx honestly looks kind of perturbed about it. She’s just sort of like:
Josie (as Minx): Is this really Myra right now?
Kim (as Blaire): You hit her with the trance powder. You tell me.
Rhi: [smiling] So, while the three of them are waiting, Carissa is leading you upstairs, Needle. She’s just kind of whispering…
Rhi (as Carissa): You’re gonna have to sneak back out in the morning. My parents are not gonna stand for this.
Madge (as Needle): Oh, you know I’ve snuck out hundreds of times before. I’m sneaky. It would help me out a lot if you made sure the alarms didn’t go off while I was sneaking out?
Rhi (as Carissa): I can take care of that in the morning, can’t I?
Madge (as Needle): I mean, you could, but I don’t want you to wake up and have to worry about all that stuff. I want you to be relaxed.
Rhi: Give me another Sway.
Madge: Oh gosh.
[laughter]
Kim: Oof.
Madge: She has no Sway.
Rhi: Now, to be fair, she wants to believe you.
Madge: Oh man.
Rhi: So I’m gonna give you controlled.
Madge: Two.
Rhi: You can either keep trying this line of questioning or you’re gonna have to withdraw and try a different approach.
Madge: I’m gonna withdraw.
Rhi (as Carissa): No, don’t—I’ll worry about it in the morning. Don’t worry about it.
Madge (as Needle): If you don’t wanna do it, I can just handle it right now.
Rhi (as Carissa): I mean… How would you know where anything is?
Madge (as Needle): I know my way around here. I mean, I noticed things when I was here before, and you know I’ve got magic fingers.
Rhi: She kind of giggles and blushes a little.
Rhi (as Carissa): All right, but don’t keep me waiting too long.
Rhi: She winks at you and scurries on up the stairs.
Madge: [laughing] Oh my God.
Kim: She’s such a heartbreaker.
Madge: [giggles, deep breath] Okay. Yeah. I’m gonna go find the alarm.
Rhi: Okay. You do, I will allow that. Since you have been here before you do know where it is.
Madge: I’m gonna push myself. Yeah. Let me do that, and that way I have two… I feel so bad!
Rhi: [laughs] She’s been carrying a torch for you all these years and you just come back into her life for one night, lie to her, steal her fruit.
Madge: Four.
Rhi: You are able to disable the alarms. I think you open the door to wherever the little security room is and Carissa is leaning against the wall opposite. She’s changed out of her night gown [chuckles] into something considerably more risqué.
Rhi (as Carissa): I got tired of waiting.
Madge: [laughs] Oh man. Ah man. Oh man. What I’m gonna do… This is the worst. Um… I’m gonna use my silence potion vial. What I’m gonna do is I’ll pull out the vial… it isn’t labeled.
Rhi: No. Why would it be?
Madge: yeah. Why would it be? Then I’ll hold it up.
Madge (as Needle): Wanna have a drink before we head upstairs?
Madge: To show her that it’s okay, I’ll drink it first.
Rhi: Okay.
Madge: Everything goes silent, okay.
Rhi: Yeah, but you’re already in a silent house, so… yeah. You down most of it and then…
Madge: …offer the rest to her.
Rhi: Yeah. She just kind of shrugs and grins and throws it back. I think for her it’s the sound gets muffled around her. What do you think it tastes like? It’s a golden liquid is how it’s described.
Madge: I feel like it’s just a little bit bitter sweet. It’s the faintest hint of taste.
Rhi: Yeah. She kind of makes a face.
Rhi (as Carissa): Hmm. I might have something better up—Hmm. Huh?
Rhi: And she kind of rubs at her ear.
Rhi (as Carissa): Oof. That’s hitting me kind of hard.
Rhi: At least that’s what she’s saying. I don’t know if you can hear it.
Madge: Yeah. Okay. Okay! I’m gonna put a finger to my lips and then I’m gonna point up the stairs.
Rhi: She nods and gives you a big grin, and then winks at you, and goes to lead the way up the stairs.
Madge: Okay. I’m gonna give 10 paces, and then I’m gonna take on the shadow cloak and leave.
Rhi: Okay. Roll me Prowl, I think, to sneak out of here successfully, but you’re gonna be controlled position, improved effect, because of all of the sneaky help things that you have.
Madge: Do I still have -1 on this one?
Rhi: Not for this, no.
Madge: Woohoo.
Rhi: This is not something that you’re using your hands to do. You’re just walking out sneakily.
Madge: Cool. I got a 5.
Rhi: Okay. I think the complication is that you… I don’t know. I’m not sure. You’re able to get out but there’s some kind of consequence.
Madge: [into hands] I leave the vial.
Rhi: Okay! Yeah. I like that.
Madge: And it’s not like either of us could hear it drop to the floor. [laughs]
Rhi: No, no, but you make it out, I think probably just as Minx and Blaire are starting to get into a discussion of “we should go,” “no we shouldn’t.”
Madge (as Needle): All right. Are we heading out or what?
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah! Let’s go.
Josie (as Minx): Oh! All right. Yes. Let’s go.
Madge (as Needle): Sorry. I had to take care of something in there, because you know, didn’t wanna get followed.
Josie (as Minx): yes. What happened?
Madge (as Needle): Uh… Old flame?
Kim (as Blaire): Oh…
Josie (as Minx): Oh, well that’s fortunate.
Madge (as Needle): You know, you run into them in the weirdest places.
Rhi: You all are able to skedaddle on out.
Josie: Dragging Myra along behind us.
Rhi: She didn’t get a full dose, so Myra is starting to come around, but she’s still pretty out of it. Yeah. You all make it away from the estate, up through Barrowcleft which is pretty quiet. You have to hide from Bluecoat patrols a few times. You make it across into Silkshore and head up to the address that Remira gave you. It’s just a little apartment on one of the canals. You knock at the door, it opens a crack, and you see an eye and then directly below it is the barrel of a gun, of a revolver. The revolver lowers, the door opens, and Remira’s like:
Rhi (as Remira): [sighs] Took you long enough. Who’s—
Rhi: When they see Needle they half-raise the revolver.
Rhi (as Remira): Who’s this?
Madge (as Needle): My name’s Needle. I was the lock pick for this whole thingamajig that went on here.
Rhi (as Remira): All right.
Madge (as Needle): I also made it easier for your people to get back in, so you’re welcome. You can put that gun down.
Rhi: Yeah. Yeah. Remira has lowered it. They just seem to be a little on edge.
Rhi (as Remira): Sorry. I nearly got mugged on my way over here. I’m a little… [breathes] Anyway.
Rhi: They spot the basket that Minx has.
Rhi (as Remira): Is that it?
Josie (as Minx): No, there’s more, but we have a good picnic here if you want it.
Rhi: Remira takes the basket, flips it open, and just kind of stares for several long seconds.
Minna: Myra leans down and is also staring. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi (as Remira): Could have bought every building in Ink Row for what this is worth…
Madge (as Needle): And it’s all right here for you. Isn’t that something special?
Minna: Why are we giving this to Bazso?
Madge: Because that’s the job. [laughs]
Rhi: Remira closes the basket and flips the little latch.
Rhi (as Remira): So, you said you had a way in?
Madge (as Needle): And a way out. Everything. Just so you know, the alarms are busted, so…
Rhi (as Remira): Oh. Great.
Madge (as Needle): Yeah. They won’t give you any problem. it’s gonna be a lot easier to pick the lock. That’s the other thing that’s going on there.
Madge: What else did we do?
Minna: The door.
Rhi: Yeah. You describe where the door is and how to get there and all that. Remira doesn’t write anything down but seems to be listening really intently.
Madge (as Needle): Something else to keep in mind, part of the family that owns the whole place, she’s a bit of a night owl so she’ll be walking around at night. Make sure you keep an ear out for her.
Rhi (as Remira): Right. Okay. Good to know. Nobody… You all made it out without any issues?
Madge (as Needle): Nobody knew we were there.
Rhi (as Remira): All right. Well, I’ll report this back to Mr. Baz, but I think that everything should be square between the two of you now. I’m sure he’ll let you know if that’s not the case.
Madge: At the mention of Mr. Baz, Needle kind of rolls her eyes, like “knew it, knew it.”
Rhi: Remira goes back over to the door and opens it.
Rhi (as Remira): I gotta wait here for a bit before I head back, but uh… Thanks. I’ll keep your offer in mind.
Josie (as Minx): Very well. A pleasure.
Madge (as Needle): Was I not the only one who was getting a job offer?
Kim (as Blaire): Uh, different thing, we were gonna help them out if they wanted it.
Madge (as Needle): Ah.
Rhi: So yeah, you set off into Silkshore with some vials of dirt and a mildly tipsy Myra.
## Downtime [0:41:56]
Rhi: Let’s talk about downtime. You did steal those soil samples.
Minna: Can we immediately sell those for profit, or is that more of a project to get it to be a profitable thing?
Rhi: I think that you all have enough connections, particularly now. Needle is probably gonna be able to tell you some people who would be interested in that. Let me actually look back at those pages to find out the specific family who would be willing to buy. The other family that would be most interested is the Brochalla family. You would be able to sell these samples to them… I’m gonna say 6 coin. They are willing to pay out for this.
Minna: Beautiful. One for each of us, 2 for the coffers?
Rhi: Does that work for everybody?
Madge: Yeah, that sounds good.
Rhi: Okay. Let us go into our downtime scenes.
Josie: Maybe as I’m coming back in from my training:
Josie (as Minx): You feeling all better, Myra? I’m sorry for putting you in the line of fire there.
Minna (as Myra): Oh. I probably should have known better.
Josie (as Minx): Don’t put it on yourself like that. It’s my fault. Though, you seemed especially out of it for such a light dose.
Minna (as Myra): Uh… I don’t know if it had more of an effect on me. I’m not sure. What is the trance powder exactly? I’ve never quite asked.
Josie (as Minx): I’m uncertain of its actual composition, but it’s normally used to put one’s self into a stupor.
Minna (as Myra): Ironic.
Josie (as Minx): Heh. But it’s just as effective for poisoning, or in my case, I get a more granular version that can be thrown. I originally purchased this so I could slip it into marks’ drinks and the like, but now it’s kind of become an ace in the hole as it were.
Minna (as Myra): Well, I can tell you as someone who’s experienced it, it does quite knock one for a loop. I’m sorry about however I was acting. I don’t entirely remember everything, but it seems that I was… a hindrance more than anything.
Josie (as Minx): Not overly so. I must admit it was mildly amusing in retrospect. I had never seen you in such wonder before.
Minna (as Myra): I take care not to let anybody see me when I’m in that kind of a state.
Josie (as Minx): Are you in that state frequently?
Minna (as Myra): Oh.
Minna: I think Myra rubs a hand through her hair.
Minna (as Myra): Sometimes it is a comfort to let go, but only in very controlled circumstances where people are not going to be there with me. I don’t like being out of control where other people are there. So, I don’t think it’s necessarily amusing in retrospect to me, but I’m glad that I wasn’t too much of a hindrance.
Josie (as Minx): Well, I apologize, and…
Minna (as Myra): Again, no, you could not have stopped it. Thank you for seeing me safely home.
Josie (as Minx): It’s no issue. We all have our vices. If you ever need, I don’t know, help remaining in control or safe I can help.
Minna (as Myra): I wish I could say that I would be comfortable with that. I trust you more than most people, but I just still don’t know… I guess if nothing else you’ve proved that to some extent you could help with that. I just… You know what? Uh, thank you. That’s what I should have said to that. Thank you.
Josie (as Minx): You’re welcome. Heh. Yeah.
Josie: I think actually it’s gonna kind of end awkwardly there, and Minx is gonna head into her bedroom. [laughs]
Rhi: Blaire? Needle? Do you two want to do a scene together? Do you want to do separate scenes?
Kim: My idea for the downtime scene was that you and I would go armor shopping together.
Madge: Yes! I love that.
Rhi: Needle, where do you take Blaire to get some good armor?
Madge: All right. I’m gonna take her to Brightstone.
Madge (as Needle): If you’re gonna get some armor I think you should go to the place where it’s best. You know?
Kim (as Blaire): Okay? Um… Normally, I don’t know, this part of town is a little bit outside of my coin, but I’ve been saving up. This might be doable.
Madge (as Needle): Oh. I was thinking I’d pay for it.
Kim (as Blaire): Oh! No, no, no. You don’t have to do that. You’re just here to help.
Madge (as Needle): Yeah, but if I’m gonna work with you more often I thought it would be, you know, more… uh, that’s kind of weird.
Kim (as Blaire): What?
Madge (as Needle): Just because I did one job, that I was assuming I’d be, you know, working with you more often.
Kim (as Blaire): No! yeah! That’s… You can assume that! I’m sure we could probably, um, we’ll need lock picks again, at least a lock pick who’s better than me.
Madge (as Needle): Heh. We could work on that, if you think you wanna work on that part of your repertoire.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah. Yeah. Let’s do that.
Madge (as Needle): Yeah. Let’s work on that. So, armor first and then we do the working on the lock pick thing.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah! That sounds great.
Madge (as Needle): Yeah. That’ll be good. Also, sorry, I just wanted to—You seemed a little weird back there when I talked about the old flame. It wasn’t like that at all.
Kim (as Blaire): Like what?
Madge (as Needle): Nothing happened. Well—[seethes] Oof. Okay. Um… [laughs] I said that I ran into an old flame, and you were like “oh…” and I didn’t want it to be like…
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah…
Madge (as Needle): We never actually did anything.
Kim (as Blaire): No- No, that’s- I mean, even if you did, that’s okay. I don’t mind.
Madge (as Needle): I just wanted to be upfront with you, you know, just be completely honest.
Kim (as Blaire): Okay. Yeah. I appreciate that.
Madge (as Needle): Yeah…
Kim (as Blaire): Um… Armor? Heh.
Madge (as Needle): Armor! Armor, armor, armor…
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah. Mm-hmm!
Madge (as Needle): Armor over here!
## Outro [0:47:54]
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.
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.
Needle is played by Madge. Follow her on Twitter at @madgequips.
The opening and closing theme music is from ‘Trio for Piano, Violin, and Viola’ by Kevin McLeod, 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.
## Blooper [0:49:04]
Minna: I am not looking at stars, by the way. [laughs]
Rhi: What are you looking at?
Minna: Wait. Are there stars? Oh. There are stars. Sorry, I forgot.
Rhi: Yeah. There are stars. Mm-hmm.
Minna: For a second I was like, “There’s no stars! Right?!” No. They have stars.
Rhi: Yeah. There are stars, they just move around sometimes.
Minna: They just don’t have our big star. We don’t have our big, friendly star.
Kim: It’s fine.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: Mm-hmm.
Kim: Yeah. We don’t have mama star.
Rhi: yeah, well I mean you do, it’s just broken into many small pieces.
Kim: Mm-hmm.