Transcribed by Michelle Kelly (@Michellicopter)
##Intro
Rhi: Welcome back to Duskwall. As always, thank you so much for joining us. We’ve got a lot to cover in the intro today, so let’s get right to it.
First, an apology. A fan very kindly reached out to me to point out that my use of the phrase ‘paddy wagon’ in a recent episode is one that’s offensive to Irish people and specifically Irish immigrants. I apologize for any hurt or offense that might have caused and I also want to take this opportunity to say that if we say or do things on the show that cause harm, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We always want to do better.
Second, as you may have seen on Twitter, I’m in another actual play podcast. A Knight of Shreds and Patches is a tale of mercenaries making their way through a post-apocalyptic world of strange technology and lost history. I play Pallie Fisher, a genius mechanic and a kick-ass older woman who helps hold the group together. Visit AKOSAP.com to learn more.
Third, a very big and exciting announcement. At the start of this season, we told everyone that this would be the final season of The Magpies and tat we were working on plans for what’s next. Well, we are finally ready to share those plans. On April 6th we’re launching a Kickstarter to fund our new podcast. Currently codenamed Project Bluejay, this story will be set in Imperial City, the capital of the Empire. And we’re rolling the calendar forward a few decades and drawing inspiration from the roaring 20s. Not just gang warfare, but the art, architecture, economics and social unrest of the decade will all inspire our setting and story. In addition to the new podcast, we’re also launching a production company. Clever Corvids productions will house The Magpies, Project Bluejay and any other podcasts we create together. You can visit CleverCorvids.net right now to get a taste of what’s being planned. This has been a huge, scary, exciting project to work on and I am thrilled to be able to finally tell you all about it. There will be more updates throughout March and the Kickstarter, again, is going to be running in April.
Next, Minna is going to tell us about this month’s featured charity.
Minna: This month we would like to ask you to support The National Alliance to End Homelessness. The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a non-partisan organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. They do this through three main types of work: by building knowledge; they use research and data to discover what works to end homelessness, improving policy; they work to educate opinion leaders and policy makers about what works, and creating capacity; they help communities implement solutions through training, technical assistance and resource development. If you would like to donate, please go to EndHomelessness.org/Help-End-Homelessness/Support-Our-Work. Thank you.
Rhi: For our US audience, please continue to contact your representatives. The democratic party leadership is once again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and dropping many of their campaign promises. We have to stay on them every week and remind them of what they said they’d do and what we expect of them. It is frustrating and disappointing, but we can’t give up.
Now then. Let’s get started, shall we?
##Story continues [00.04.04]
Rhi: We open up on the shores of the river Dosk. This is the main river that cuts through Duskwall, leading out, winds through the Deathlands and cuts through the city and then leads out into the Void Sea. And we see the Magpies are standing on the edge of the river. They are joined by Kay, and The Gondoliers reached out to all of you and asked if you could meet at this location. They’re worried about some things that they’ve been seeing lately. But none of you are focusing on whatever crisis the Gondoliers may have brought to you because Kay, on the advice and fortune-telling of Seeks, has a puppy.
Minna: [gasps] Oh that’s great!
Josie: [squeals]
Rhi: So none of you give a god-damn about this.
Josie: That’s an accurate assessment.
Rhi: She is holding— yeah, I mean, listen. This is how any of us in real life would react. [laughs] So, she has a very large— the breed has a different name in-universe, but it’s basically a Newfoundland puppy who is extremely fluffy.
Kim (as Blaire): Oh, you’re just so cute!
Rhi: She is holding him in her arms. He’s got his big ol’ paws just kinda flopped over.
Kim: [delighted]
Minna: [coos]
Rhi: And she is explaining:
Rhi (as Kay): Yeah this— his name is Shrimp.
[squeals and laughs of delight]
Josie: No!
Kim: Yes!
Josie: You can’t!
Kim: I love this dog!
Rhi (as Kay): He loves belly rubs and he likes it when you ruffle his ears and I am training him to dive for treasure in the canals. He’s a very good boy.
Kim: Rhi, how did you make the perfect dog?
Josie: I don’t— his name is Shrimp.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim: I care about nothing else we’re doing tonight.
Rhi: Yep!
Kim: I just wanna spend an hour with this dog.
Rhi: [laughs] Yep.
Kim: A goo-goo-goo— Blaire is just, like, pinching this dog’s cheeks and rubbing him and just smooshing his face and just so in love and enamored.
Rhi: He is panting happily, his tail is wagging as best it can, cause it’s being held. So just kind of thumping against Kay’s stomach.
Kim (as Blaire): You’re just the cutest little shrimpy shrimp, aren’t you?
Josie: Minx has her hands to her cheeks, beaming.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie (as Minx): Oh, what a good little shrimp!
Rhi (as Kay): He’s gonna get very, very big.
Kim (as Blaire): Oh my gods, Kay.
Rhi (as Kay): Look at these paws. Look at how big these paws are. He’s gonna be such a big boy.
Josie (as Minx): They’re so wide and puffy!
Kim (as Blaire): The biggest boy!
Minna (as Myra): They’re extremely good.
Rhi: So for the record, the name was— I was thinking about, like, okay, like, Kay would probably give some kind of like, water, sea, river-related name and before I could even start thinking through options my brain just went “Shrimp!”
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: Yes.
Rhi: And I was like, “Alright.”
Josie: Your brain is good, Rhi.
Rhi: “Guess that’s it!” [laughs] So, after several minutes of gushing over the dog, Kay will eventually be like:
Rhi (as Kay): Um, so unfortunately, we do have business to discuss.
Rhi: And she will set Shrimp down back in the gondola, where there is like— he’s got a little collar and there’s a leash that’s kind of attached to the side of the gondola that she will clip on there so that he can’t just dive in and swim away.
Josie: Aww!
Rhi: And he just sits there.
Kim: Oh my God…
Rhi: Starts chewing on a stick that she has in there for him.
Kim: [overcome by cuteness]
Josie: [giggles]
Rhi: And you thought that I couldn’t make Kay’s appearance any more exciting. Now people have even more reason to be overjoyed when Kay appears.
Josie (as Minx): [laughs]
Rhi: So, Kay gets the dog settled and will kind of rejoin you all on the shore and be like:
Rhi (as Kay): Um, so, like I said. Business, sort of. More of a spiritual concern, I guess? Can you all— it might be a little easier if I just show you. Can you all just look into the ghost field?
Kim (as Blaire): Uh, yeah.
Josie (as Minx): Alright, dear.
Kim (as Blaire): For sure.
Rhi: So, you all do so and Kay will gesture at the river in front of you, which, most of the waterways in Duskwall are just sort of mildly haunted by default. So many people have died in the rivers and canal that they’re just sort of charged with ghostly energy. So, there’s just sort of a faint glow to them. But Kay will point out that there are, within sort of the normal ghostly glow of the river, there are these sort of brighter streaks of like, the ghost field is normally kind of a blue-green sort of tint to everything. These streaks are like a toxic, violent green. And, you know, there’s just kind of these streaks of this moving through the water. And then everyone comes out of ghost-field vision and Kay says:
Rhi (as Kay): We’ve been noticing this building up for, honestly, quite a while now. But it’s gotten to a point where it’s starting to cause problems.
Josie (as Minx): Oh. Um—
Rhi (as Kay): Whatever this—
Josie (as Minx): Hold on just a moment, dear.
Josie: I think Minx is still in the ghost field, looking at the water and is like:
Josie (as Minx): Oh, oh, that doesn’t look good. No, what sort of problems?
Josie: Listen, Minx is not good with the ghost field. [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs] Squinting.
Rhi (as Kay): Recently, we’ve been noticing that when we’re getting bodies or spirits out of the water, spirits are detaching from the bodies a lot faster, and when they’re out they are much more aggressive possessor ghosts. We’re pretty well warded and mentally guarded against that sort of thing, but we still had a Gondolier who got possessed and was lost. So, it’s getting to a point where we’ve been trying to figure out a source and trying to figure out what we can do about it, and it’s beyond our skill to contain within the city. And the source…
Rhi: She kinda points down the river and you can see, distantly, the lightning barrier that cuts across the river where it continues out into the Deathlands. She’s like:
Rhi (as Kay): It’s out there, somewhere.
Josie (as Minx): Oh. So, it’s not a pollution from a new factory or something.
Rhi (as Kay): No. It would be easier if it was.
Josie (as Minx): Are there any other cities further back on the Dosk? I’ve never been that far out.
Rhi: Kay shakes her head and is like:
Rhi (as Kay): No. I don’t know where else this would be coming from. For how intense it’s getting, I don’t think it’s too— the source probably isn’t too far away from the city? We’ve been sort of— we’ve got records and we’ve been noticing these sort of little flare-ups for years, actually. But it’s just been recently that it seems like it’s gotten worse. I don’t know what—it’s not a new development, but it’s accelerating, whatever is causing this.
Kim: Since this is coming from the Deathlands, can I do some sort of roll to see if I recognize this? Like, a Study or an Attune or something?
Josie: That sounds like a good Gather Information.
Rhi: Yes, just specifically you’re trying to recognize this sort of weird ghost field signature?
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: Um, yeah. Yeah, I’ll let you do that. You can do either of those rolls. And yeah, I think this’ll be Gather Info.
Kim: I have the same in Study and Attune, so I’m just gonna do an Attune, I suppose. Maybe Blaire’s still looking in the ghost field or she’ll look again, who knows. And since this is Gather Info, that’s another extra die for me.
Rhi: Yes indeed.
Kim: Okay, I got one 6 out of there.
Rhi: Okay. So, Blaire, you have noticed on a couple of your more recent excursions out into the Deathlands that the ghosts have been a little more aggressive, a little harder to fend off. You haven’t been out there kind of in the time frame that Kay is talking about, the last few weeks, so you haven’t seen this level of aggression that she’s reporting, but you have seen ghosts there acting like this.
And Blaire hasn’t seen anything like this in the ghost field before, and that in and of itself is kind of telling. Because like, there are common things that interact with the ghost field. Like, you have electroplasm, you’ve got the lightning barriers, you have Leviathan blood, you know, there’s spiritbane charms. There’s all these things that show up in the ghost field in very normal, predictable ways. Like, it’s well-documented and known how stuff works in the ghost field. So, the fact that you haven’t seen this before tells you that this is something…
Kim: Pretty cool.
Rhi: Yeah, something pretty cool. Blaire is definitely like, “Oh my gosh, I have to figure out what this is!”
Kim (as Blaire): I have to take notes!
Minna: [laughs]
Rhi: You get a— you’re kind of, as you’re doing this Attune, you’re looking back into the ghost field and you’re studying these streaks in the ghost field, in the river, and it’s more of like, an intuition, a gut feeling sort of thing, but you get this impression that even though this is something that has become a problem in the last few weeks, the source of this is something very, very old.
Kim: Mm. Okay.
Rhi: You can’t explain why you know that, you just get this sense of whatever is causing this is something ancient.
Kim: I just get a feeling through the force.
Rhi: Kinda. [laughs] The ghost field is written very loosey-goosey, which means I get to do what I want with it.
Kim: Honestly? That’s how ghost things should be. Loosey-goosey.
Minna: Yeah.
Rhi: Yeah.
Kim: Blaire takes her mask off and she looks back to the group and she’s like:
Kim: I’m not sure what this is, but whatever it is, it’s old.
Josie: I think Minx for the most part is pouting, like, we just got back from the Deathlands…
Rhi: [laughs] Yeah.
Josie: No Minx, you must appear competent in front of the buff lady. Let’s go.
Rhi: [laughs] Kay kinda furrows her brow and nods thoughtfully and is like:
Rhi (as Kay): Yeah, I mean that— I feel like that makes sense. I don’t really have a reason for it, but yeah, I think— I mean, ultimately, it doesn’t matter what’s causing this, we just need it to stop. Cause if this keeps building up the way it is, we’re already kind of at our limits of what we can handle to sorta keep a lid on this sorta thing and the Spirit Wardens don’t need another excuse to crack down.
Josie: Yes.
Rhi (as Kay): And honestly, if this keeps going, it could prove a challenge even for them.
Josie: Who could we even talk to about this? Scurlock, perhaps?
Kim: I mean, we could, but I wouldn’t wanna bother him.
Rhi: Kay does a double-take.
Rhi (as Kay): What?
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah, we know Lord Scurlock. We’ve been to his place a couple times.
Josie (as Minx): Against, perhaps, the better judgement of some of us.
Kim (as Blaire): I would say we’re on a first-name basis with him, but I don’t really know his first name, but yeah, you know, we’re kinda tight.
Rhi: Kay blinks at Blaire several times and then just turns and looks at Minx and Myra in a silent plea for like, please tell me this doesn’t sound as batshit…
Josie: Minx just kinda shrugs, like, yeah, I know. [laughs]
Rhi (as Kay): Okay… um…
Kim (as Blaire): I don’t get what the big deal is. He’s chill.
Minna (as Myra): Blaire’s interesting concept of friendship aside, it’s possible he could be a resource for us.
Kim (as Blaire): Listen, I know I’ve made mistakes in the past, but like, I don’t think I’m gonna make that mistake again, Myra.
Josie (as Minx): I mean, it is definitely an improvement?
Kim (as Blaire): Exactly! Exactly.
Minna (as Myra): This is true. This is an improvement. Yes, he could probably be a resource.
Josie (as Minx): You’re getting valuable insight into our personal problems right now, Kay.
Kim (as Blaire): Okay.
Rhi (as Kay): Uh… I suppose you could, if you have access to him, you could try seeing if he has any ideas. But um, [sighs] be careful. I’ve heard some stories. In any case, yeah, if you can figure out what’s behind this and get out there and stop it from doing this, that would be a huge help.
Josie: Yes, well, we don’t want it to continue. Although I like how people aren’t even talking about paying us anymore. Not that mind, it’s just a thing.
Rhi: [laughs loudly]
Kim (as Blaire): What, we were gonna get paid for this? Why would we get paid for this? We’re just doing Kay a favor.
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna: [laughs]
Josie (as Minx): I’m not saying we should, I just, like, that’s not even an expectation anymore. It’s amusing.
Minna (as Myra): We have a mutually beneficial relationship. I think this is us paying them.
Rhi: Yeah, Kay looks actually a little embarrassed, is like:
Rhi (as Kay): Oh, yeah… um, I mean, we can get some payment together for you, for sure.
Kim (as Blaire): It doesn’t have to be much, just whatever you think is fair, you know? Because we’re doing this to help you out. And The Gondoliers.
Rhi (as Kay): Yeah, yeah. Well, yes.
Minna: [laughs] Magpies: Donations welcome.
Kim: [laughs]
Josie: Besides, if we’re—
Kim: If you enjoy what we do, please subscribe to us on Patreon.
Rhi: Yeah. [laughs] Patreon.com/MagpiesPodcast.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Josie (as Minx): Well, since we’re going out to the Deathlands again, all the camping gear is getting rather expensive. So taking that sting off would be nice, but otherwise, we’d be fools not to help with this.
Rhi (as Kay): Yeah. We can get some coin together for you. If there’s anything else we can do to help you with this, you know where to find us.
Josie (as Minx): Mm hmm. And we know where to find you, little Shrimp! Yes we do!
Kim (as Blaire): We always know where to find you, you cutie patootie.
Minna: [laughs]
Rhi: He starts panting again and will lick Minx’s face.
Josie: [squee]
Josie (as Minx): Oh careful dear, I have makeup on.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): You can lick my face, I don’t mind.
Rhi: He clearly gets a mouthful of like, foundation or blush or something and is like, “ack, ack, ack”.
[laughter]
Rhi: Does not like the taste. So, Kay will bid you all farewell and gondola off into the night. So yeah.
Josie: Who else could we even ask besides Scurlock?
Rhi: Possibly The Reconciled, since this does have to do with ghosts.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Kim: My gut is also telling me Dowler, since he knows Deathlands stuff, but I’ve got a feeling he wouldn’t know too much about this.
Rhi: Yeah. Dowler knows as much about the occult as he needs to to survive, he is not an active student of it the way Blaire is.
Kim: Yeah. I feel like The Reconciled or Aranna would both be okay resource for me to ping.
Josie: And then if truly all our occult resources are expired, we can probably use, I don’t know, Eyeball Friend. Seems like the kinda thing that might be useful but—
Kim: We could. We haven’t paid a visit to Eyeball Friend in a hot minute.
Rhi: [sing-song] Mm hmm?
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: But only last resort. Last time I got the feeling of drowning.
Minna: That’s Rhi’s “I really hope you do that, that’ll be interesting” voice.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: No, it’s been a long time. It’s been a hot minute since we’ve played with Eyeball Friend, I wanna say hello. When was the last time Blaire used Eyeball Friend? Probably when I got the Hand, right?
Rhi: Yeah.
Kim: Okay, then yeah, Blaire’s gonna, for one of my Gather Infos, I’m gonna hang out with Eyeball Friend and see what they have to say about it. Did we ever establish pronouns for Eyeball Friend? I think we only ever used he.
Rhi: It’s an eyeball in a box.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim: It’s an eyeball in a crystal ball, Rhi, okay?
Rhi: In a box.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim: In a box.
Josie: Well, now the hand is holding it, correct?
Kim (as Blaire): No, I think no, Blaire stores them separately. But she did get them to like, you know, touch.
Rhi: Interact.
Josie: Then I think Minx will go to The Reconciled, perhaps with or through Nyryx. And they might be pleased to see someone who’s not Blaire?
Rhi: [laughs loudly]
Kim: That actually would be really nice.
Minna: Oh my God.
Josie: Not to take a dig at Blaire there, but…
Kim: No, no, you have every right, because she annoys the fuck out of them.
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: I also wanna go to the library. I know that’s not a contact, but I have the ability to go there.
Rhi: Yeah. Let me think. Let’s start with the library. So, what are you looking for in the library?
Minna: Uh… boy, where do we even start with this research question? [laughs]
Rhi: I could see a couple avenues could be looking at the history of the river, looking at things that can cause ghosts to become more aggressive…
Minna: Yeah, I think either of those is good.
Rhi: Yeah. Go ahead and give me a Study roll.
Minna: That’s a 5.
Rhi: So, history of the river gets you— that seems to be kind of a dead end from like, the ghost perspective. But you are able to find and sort of copy down a pretty good map of the river Dosk leading out quite a ways into the Deathlands. And it has markings, like, it looks like it’s an old explorer’s map that ended up getting put into a book at some point, because there’s markings on there of like, ruins of towns and where docks used to be, things like that. So, you’ve got a pretty good map of the river, ten miles it covers, from the edge of Duskwall up to about ten miles outside of town.
Minna: Excellent.
Rhi: Next, Minx and Nyryx.
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: Going on a business date. [laughs]
Josie: Uh huh.
Minna: A business date.
Rhi: Nyryx looks very, like, I assume that Minx kinda fills her in on what’s going on?
Josie: Oh, yeah.
Rhi: Yeah. She looks very worried and is just kinda like:
Rhi (as Nyryx): I, uh, well, it’s hard to avoid the river entirely here, but I’m gonna try to avoid it as much as possible. I’d hate for anything to happen to…
Rhi: And she kind gestures at her head, indicating her own roommate possessor ghost. [laughs]
Josie (as Minx): Yeah. My thoughts exactly.
Rhi (as Nyryx): Yeah. Alright, well, yeah. Let’s go see if they have anything that might be of help.
Rhi: So, off you go to The Reconciled. And yeah, what information are you kinda looking for here?
Josie: Uh, I mean, honestly, just if they have any idea what the source could be? Because I have to imagine they’ve been noticing the increase in hungry ghosts.
Rhi: Yeah. Okay. So yeah, you’ll end up talking to Lady Karina, who is very happy to see Nyryx/Lilac and yeah, is just kind of like, oh okay, friend of theirs, hello, when you are introduced.
Josie: Minx is very polite the whole time. Does a curtsey.
Rhi: Yeah, [laughs] Yeah, go ahead and give me some kind of roll.
Josie: Sounds like Consort.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: 5.
Rhi: 5, okay. So yeah, when you kinda of explain the situation, Lady Karina is immediately like:
Rhi (as Lady Karina): I’m glad to hear that there’s others that have noticed this and are investigating it. We’ve been noticing an uptick in it as well and it’s even started to have an effect on some of our members. Not to a point where anyone has lost control of themselves, but it’s definitely a concern.
Rhi: In terms of what they would know about the source of it. I think that they’ve been investigating it as well and, you know, being a bunch of ghosts, kind of have different means of approaching the problem. I think that they can confirm that it is coming from something old. Like, either pre-cataclysmic or right around the time of the cataclysm.
Josie: Oh dear.
Rhi: Yeah. [laughs]
Josie (as Minx): Is it— do you think it’s some sort of… is it a creature? Is it a thing that can do this?
Rhi (as Lady Karina): I doubt that it is a creature. Based on what you’ve reported from The Gondoliers, that this is something that has been building steadily over the course of time, I am inclined to think that it is an object. Perhaps a location— it sounds like something is breaking down, perhaps? And something is getting into the water? But I… I suspect that this is something very old and very powerful.
Josie (as Minx): If it is so old, why is it only decaying now?
Rhi (as Lady Karina): I don’t know. Raises a great number of questions. But I suspect that, yes, it’s something old, powerful, given the concentration that we’re seeing in the water, I think it is likely not more than a mile or two away from the city.
Josie (as Minx): Really? That close?
Rhi (as Lady Karina): The further it is, the more powerful it would be.
Josie (as Minx): Hmm.
Rhi (as Lady Karina): We haven’t gotten many reports of— if there were something this powerful five miles, ten miles from the city, I think we would be seeing a lot more activity among ghosts outside of the barriers, and we haven’t heard reports of that sort of thing.
Josie (as Minx): Well at least the trip out there will be short.
Rhi: I think Nyryx kinda reaches over and takes your hand at that.
Josie: Minx squeezes back.
Rhi: Yeah. Lady Karina will nod and be like:
Rhi (as Lady Karina): I certainly hope so, but do be careful as you are going after whatever this is.
Josie (as Minx): I will handle with care.
Rhi: So yeah, I think that’s more or less the information that Minx is able to get.
Josie (as Minx): Thank you very much. You can— you know you can ask of us as well. As usual.
Rhi (as Lady Karina): We will keep that in mind should we need your assistance.
Rhi: Nyryx is very worried on the walk back.
Josie: But I think as we walk out, Minx is like:
Josie (as Minx): Oh, so your friends are nice.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi (as Nyryx): They are. I’m glad you like them.
Josie (as Minx): I don’t often get to share in the people on your side of the relationship.
Rhi (as Nyryx): [laughs] Well, they’re an interesting bunch.
Josie (as Minx): Blaire conveyed someone considerably more gruff, but they’re polite.
Rhi (as Nyryx): I think that Blaire’s enthusiasm can be a little overwhelming to them at times.
Josie (as Minx): Ah yes, I imagine it must be overwhelming for someone who hasn’t lived with her.
Rhi: [laughs] Nyryx just nods. She will probably try to talk you into like, sticking around to have tea before you head out again.
Josie: Oh yeah, Minx will do that.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah. She just, she’s worried.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: She doesn’t like it when you go out into the Deathlands.
Josie: Me neither. [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs] Minx doesn’t like it when Minx goes out into the Deathlands.
Josie: No! [laughs]
Rhi: Alright. So let’s, then, go over the The Nest and Blaire. So, Eyeball Friend.
Kim: Yes. I’m excited.
Rhi: The Eye of Kotar. I do wanna remind you.
Kim: Yes.
Rhi: Activating the eyeball costs 5 stress.
Kim: Just activating it?
Rhi: Mm hmm.
Kim: Not even just interacting with it, just turning it on?
Rhi: Using it costs— yeah.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: Your first minute of use costs 5 stress.
Kim: Alright, that’s not too bad. And I can like, resist anything in Blades, technically, right?
Rhi: This isn’t a consequence, this is a cost.
Kim: Hmm.
Josie: Normally we split the stress so it’s less overwhelming.
Kim: I mean, that still leaves me with 4 open stress, which like, isn’t horrible. I mean, it’s like over the majority of the stress, but it’s still like, it’s not super dire, right?
Josie: Yeah, if you’re on empty, and it is very useful.
Kim: I am on empty. So I’m a little hesitant to go into the Deathlands with that much stress, but like, I kinda wanna… you know, this is kind of like my best time for me to do it, because I have zero stress right now.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: Yeah.
Kim: So I think, I think, yeah. I’ll just go with that.
Rhi: Okay. So, yeah, so with Eyeball Friend, the way that it works is you kind of have to think about what you are trying to see. So what are you asking the eyeball, essentially?
Kim: “What is this?” Um, I think Blaire’s just gonna do her best to like, conjure up the image of what she saw in the ghost field in her mind’s eye and basically just, you know, put out the question of like, do you know what this is? And then just see what comes back.
Rhi: Okay. So, mark 5 stress.
Kim: Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool. [laughs]
Rhi: So, the eyeball, you know, as it usually does, kind of twitches a little bit when you take it out. And then when you sort of project this question at it, it focuses straight at you and like, meets your gaze, which is unsettling. You know when you’re holding, like, a pair of magnets and you can feel that force drawing them together?
Kim: Yes.
Rhi: It’s like that but a thousand times stronger. You feel like you are being pulled in a direction and you can sort of see in this vision the Deathlands, the river cutting through it. You can see the faint glimmer of the lightning barrier reflecting on the water and you see a rotted wooden dock. And then you kind of are very suddenly, like, plunged underwater. And as you go underwater, your vision like switches to the ghost field. And you can see that the water around here is all that bright, toxic green.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: And you just hear in your ears this overwhelming heartbeat, thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump.
Kim: [gasps]
Josie: [exhales]
Rhi: And then you snap out.
Minna: Uh, we don’t have the heart yet, do we?
Kim: [gasps] Oh fuck! That’s what this is!
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: Did we know it was in the Deathlands, like, in character?
Josie: No.
Rhi: No.
Josie: No, this is our first in-character.
Kim: Does Blaire put two and two together here when she snaps out of it?
Josie: I feel like the heartbeat is pretty obvious.
Rhi: Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah, and the sense of that magnetic pull also.
Kim: Oh, right.
Rhi: Because when you had the Hand and the Eye interact they were magnetically attracted to each other and were pointing in a direction.
Kim: [laugh of excitement] This is so exciting!
Rhi: Like a dowsing rod or a compass.
Kim: Okay, so the way that I think this looks, Blaire snaps out of it and I feel like it probably just like, she’s like catching her breath, she’s like, coming down from that vision and she just has this really stunned but excited grin on her face. She just looks down at Eyeball Friend and picks him up and says:
Kim (as Blaire): You are brilliant!
Rhi: Twitch, twitch, twitch, twitch.
Josie and Minna: [laugh]
Kim (as Blaire): Thank you so much! [kiss] Love you.
Kim: And then she puts it away.
Minna: Oh my God, Blaire. [laughs]
Josie: Oh! [laughs]
Minna: I adore her.
Rhi: If it could blink, it would be blinking in confusion right now.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim: Listen, let Blaire—
Rhi: You have stunned an ancient relic of untold power [laughs] into abject confusion by giving it a smooch.
Kim: Isn’t that just Blaire’s specialty, though? Just stunning ancient powers into confusion?
Rhi: It’s true, yeah. She’s just… she’s so bewildering.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: Okay, is everybody else still at The Nest right now? At this point?
Rhi: Uh, yeah, we can say that everybody is, everybody can have reconvened.
Kim: Okay, so I think after, you know, the eye is put away, you know, Blaire just like, rushes out her room. Her door just flies open and she’s like:
Kim (as Blaire): Guys! Guys, I know what it is!
Josie (as Minx): You know what it is?
Kim (as Blaire): It’s the Heart of Kotar.
Minna (as Myra): Oh. Are you sure?
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah!
Josie (as Minx): Oh gods.
Kim (as Blaire): Yes! Yes, Eyeball Friend just told me. It’s somewhere out there in the river Dosk, just out in the Deathlands and… he just showed me where it is! I don’t know exactly where, but we can go get it!
Josie (as Minx): No. Blaire, if it’s the Heart, I think we need to go out there and destroy it.
Kim (as Blaire): What? No! We can’t destroy it!
Josie (as Minx): Blaire listen, Eyeball Friend, the Hand, they seem pretty benign when they’re just sitting around. This is poisoning the land around it just by being there.
Kim (as Blaire): Right, so we go find it, find out why it’s doing that, try to make it stop and then I bring it back to go and study it. Because we have to see what it does with the other two.
Josie (as Minx): No. No, we don’t. For all we know, just bringing them together could, I don’t know, resurrect a dark sorcerer. Or at least, that’s what one fantasy novel I read would indicate.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah, well fantasy novels aren’t always based on fact, Minx.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim: If we can’t bring it back, I’m at least going to bring the other two with me.
Josie (as Minx): N- normally magic all-seeing eyeballs aren’t either.
Kim (as Blaire): Minx, I have to see this through. Nobody has ever gotten all three artifacts before.
Josie (as Minx): Blaire. Not… not to throw daggers, but what happened the last time you said that? I’m not trying to be cruel. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.
Minna (as Myra): If we can take the other relics safely out of the city, then I think that actually the safest place to reunite them would be far from anything we care about. And I also think that I don’t know if we can destroy it. We can certainly try and contain it. We don’t know until we see.
Kim (as Blaire): Containing it would be better. And if I can, I would like to bring the other two artifacts of Kotar with me because I just… I need to know what it does.
Minna (as Myra): We have to be sure no one knows we’re going.
Josie (as Minx): Yes.
Kim (as Blaire): Yes.
Minna (as Myra): Because if anybody— if The Circle of Flame gets them, we are in deep trouble.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah.
Josie (as Minx): I think we need to plan to store them completely separately. If we must bring the other two out and reunite them, that doesn’t mean we should keep them together. We need to play keep away with at least one.
Kim (as Blaire): But—[sighs] we could be the ones for like, the first time ever, that has all three. That’s huge.
Minna (as Myra): Do we know anything about what’s supposed to happen when they’re all together?
Kim (as Blaire): Nobody does.
Minna (as Myra): I mean, obviously The Circle of Flame wanted them together for some reason. I don’t think we should activate them together, to be clear.
Kim (as Blaire): Eh… ehh…
Josie (as Minx): Blaire.
Minna (as Myra): It already takes a lot out of a single person to activate even one of them. There’s only three of us.
Josie (as Minx): Although for all we know, it requires a human sacrifice. It wouldn’t be the first time we encountered a relic like that. But that’s another good point, Myra. What if we try to activate it and it just kills you?
Kim (as Blaire): I mean, I don’t think I would be that bad as a ghost.
Minna (as Myra): I do not want you to die.
Josie (as Minx): I mean—
Minna (as Myra): To be clear, I do not want any of us to die and that is not on the table.
Kim (as Blaire): I mean, neither do I but…
Josie (as Minx): Blaire, there will be plenty of time to be ghosts later. Don’t throw this life away for— for what? Just to see what happens?
Kim (as Blaire): Well, isn’t that what, like, all great scientists do? We try to find out what’s going on, no matter the cost.
Josie (as Minx): I… I… [sigh of frustration] I am not a scientist. But uh, I generally don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to work. That’s a cautionary tale, Blaire.
Kim (as Blaire): Well, we’re all in agreement that The Circle shouldn’t have it, right?
Josie (as Minx): Correct.
Kim (as Blaire): We’re all on the same page there.
Josie (as Minx): Mm hmm.
Kim (as Blaire): So we’re doing this so that The Circle can’t get it, hands down. Bottom line.
Josie (as Minx): Right.
Kim (as Blaire): But we also have the other two and really, we should know what it does when it’s all together.
Josie (as Minx): I think it is worth seeing whether there’s something that happens when they are brought together, not when they are—
Kim (as Blaire): Alright. Well, I agree about not bringing it back to The Nest right away, especially if it interacts badly with the other two, but we should—[sighs] How are we gonna know if we don’t try?
Josie (as Minx): I don’t think it— I don’t need to know. In fact, I would prefer not to.
Kim (as Blaire): Well, nobody’s twisting your arm over this, Minx.
Josie (as Minx): Hey! That— is that— is that not exactly what is happening?
Kim (as Blaire): No. If you don’t wanna come, then don’t come.
Josie (as Minx): Well, I’m not gonna let my family just go out into the Deathlands alone. That’s preposterous.
Kim (as Blaire): I do it all the time.
Josie (as Minx): Do you go that far out?
Kim (as Blaire): Not always, but I go into the Deathlands a lot Minx, you know that.
Josie (as Minx): Blaire. Please. Just, can we at least have a night to sleep on it?
Kim (as Blaire): Fine. Yeah.
Josie (as Minx): Not on the relics of Kotar, on the subject. Whatever. Never mind.
Kim: I think Blaire is gonna go back to her room very quietly, but on her way back into her room she does slam the door shut and you can hear it lock.
Josie (as Minx): Am I off-base here, Myra? Am I being paranoid?
Minna (as Myra): See, I’m more worried about— I almost wanna know what happens when they come together in case someday we can’t protect all three. Because if something very bad happens when they come together, we just have to start looking into how do we destroy these things.
Josie (as Minx): Right, but do we really need to know what happens to do that?
Minna (as Myra): I don’t think Blaire will agree to destroy them unless there’s a very good reason. And if something bad happens when all three come together, I do not want somebody else to get their hands on them. These have lasted a lot longer than us. After we’re gone, somebody else is gonna get hold of them, if they don’t get hold of them from us.
Josie (as Minx): I just really don’t want her to get hurt again. The last time she set out to do something none had done before, it unleashed a demon and a nightmare dream creature.
Minna (as Myra): I agree that I don’t want her to get hurt again. Which is why I would like to do this as safely as we possibly can, as together as we possibly can. Because if she tries to do it alone, it is going to end badly.
Josie (as Minx): Very well then. I will need a bit of time to muster up the courage for that, but I do trust the both of you.
Minna (as Myra): Truly uncomfortable with it, we can find a way to argue against it.
Josie (as Minx): I am never going to be comfortable with it, but if you think this is the best way to minimize harm, I will do that.
Minna (as Myra): I think it’s our strongest chance right now. Didn’t ask to be handed all of these weapons, but better us than them, right? [laughs]
Josie (as Minx): Yes. Yes, I hope so.
Rhi: So, The Magpies retire to their rooms, get some rest with varying results of being able to sleep through the night. I think a lot of people have a lot of thoughts rattling around. But then, next morning, everybody is up. Tea and breakfast are being prepared and yeah, what’s the plan?
Josie: I think Minx is taking very careful stock of the camping equipment and which outfit she prefers. [laughs]
Minna: Myra has brought out the map she found, which she had not brought up last night because everything went into “should we do this?” [laughs] So, she has that spread across the table.
Kim: I think Blaire just very quietly comes out of her room with the two boxes that have the Hand and the Eye. Like, she doesn’t even really say anything, she just very quietly joins the other two without saying anything.
Minna (as Myra): Blaire?
Kim (as Blaire): What?
Minna (as Myra): Would you be alright if one of us carried one of those? I just think it’s better if we split them up.
Kim (as Blaire): Um… yeah. Yeah. Um… which one do you want?
Minna (as Myra): I’m not choosy.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): Um, okay. Well, you can have Handy then, because Eyeball Friend and I are pretty tight.
Minna (as Myra): That sounds great.
[laughter]
Kim: What?
Josie: Blaire is just very good sometimes.
Rhi: [through laughter] Blaire is so fucking weird. I love her with my whole heart, but she’s so weird.
Kim: I don’t know what you expected.
Rhi: I’m not surprised, but sometimes the moments of Blaire being just like, peak Blaire, just, they just really get me.
Kim: I’m glad.
Minna: So much.
Rhi: So, Myra is given the box containing the Hand of Kotar.
Minna: Yeah. So, I think Myra gestures at the map.
Minna (as Myra): So, I found this map in a book called The Dosk and its Tribulations. It’s an old explorer’s map. It actually goes out ten miles, which I thought would be helpful?
Kim (as Blaire): Whoa, yeah.
Minna (as Myra): Yeah, we follow the river Dosk. It doesn’t look like there’s anything too terrifying along the river, hopefully. I… this should give us some warning of what’s in the path. I think that the three of us are gonna go together to find the Heart. We’re gonna follow the river. I think once we find it, were gonna have to see what happens from there. It’s worth seeing how it works on its own. I think we should need to be packed for several days, at least.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah.
Minna (as Myra): Just to be safe. I think we need to— if we’re going to test anything, I think we need to test it out there.
Kim (as Blaire): Right…
Minna (as Myra): I think we just need to get into open space and test the Heart on its own first, for sure, and if we’re going to try all three of them, I don’t know if it should just be one of us at first, you know what I mean? Cause we’ve been able to split up the strain of it between us before, we’ve been able to do that. I think if we’re going to activate all three of them, it has to be at least two of us.
Kim (as Blaire): I agree. That makes sense.
Minna (as Myra): Does that sound alright to you?
Minna: Oh, she was asking if it sounded alright to Minx.
Josie (as Minx): Yes, it… sounds… it sounds smart to me, too. Just, Blaire, if something bad happens and we need to not… please don’t.
Kim (as Blaire): Please don’t what?
Josie (as Minx): Please don’t choose the relics over us. If it comes down to that.
Minna (as Myra): We’re putting everybody’s safety first.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah.
Minna (as Myra): Even yours.
Kim (as Blaire): That’s fair. Um, why the change of heart all of a sudden?
Josie (as Minx): We at the very least need to know what it does. That— Myra convinced me. So that we can prevent The Circle of Flame from doing it and also just, I don’t want you to get hurt, but if you know what you’re dealing with there’s less likelihood of that. So, we should figure it out.
Kim (as Blaire): Okay. Let’s do this.
Rhi: Engagement roll!
[laughter]
Kim: Yay!
Minna: What even is this? It’s an occult score.
Rhi: Narrator bursts into this somber scene with bells on.
Minna: Right, isn’t it an occult score? Or is it transport?
Rhi: I think it’s occult. Because occult is “engage supernatural power”, which is what you’re doing. I’m assuming that the method you’re gonna be using is Blaire’s going to be activating the Hand, or like, doing that thing where using the Hand and the Eye as kind of a compass?
Kim: Ooh, that would be cool. We could do that.
Minna: Oh, I forgot about that.
Rhi: Yeah, which does not have a stress— that does not have a stress cost to it, you’re just sort of putting the Hand, you know, putting them together. And dowsing rod it, basically.
Kim: Nice.
Rhi: Okay, uh, loadout.
Josie: I’m going heavy.
Minna: I’m gonna go heavy.
Kim: Yeah, I think I’m also gonna do heavy.
Rhi: Okay, so you’re all—
Minna: We’re going on a multi-day camping trip.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: Yeah, you’re gonna be pretty obviously loaded. Let’s do the engagement roll. We’ve got one for luck. “Is this operation particularly bold or daring?”
Minna: Yes.
Rhi: I would say that, yeah.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: Going after one of these relics… “Does the plan’s detail expose a vulnerability of the target or hit them where they’re weakest?” Yeah. Using the other two relics to find the third actually is gonna be helpful for you. Friend or contacts, no, enemies or rivals, yes. Yeah, this is gonna be a 2d6 engagement roll. So, that is a 4. So, that is going to be a risky position.
The three of you pack up a substantial, noticeable amount of gear and start heading towards Blaire’s usual kinda crossing point through the lightning barrier, which I feel like we’ve said is in Barrowcleft?
Kim: I don’t remember if we’ve ever established a specific location.
Rhi: I think it is, cause that’s where, um, let me look at the map of the city here. Yes, yeah, it’s in Barrowcleft because otherwise you’d have to go through Dunslough and—
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: So, yeah, you make your way into Barrowcleft heading own towards this weak point in the lightning barrier, and as you’re heading in that direction you basically run into a Bluecoat checkpoint.
Kim: Ugh.
Rhi: There’s like, a chunk of the street that’s cordoned off, there’s a couple buildings that look like maybe there was a fire or something and just like, basically the street has been narrowed a lot, there’s a ton of Bluecoats around blocking, you know, alleys and things, and they’re basically just stopping everybody to, you know, ask what’s your business, searching bags, harassing the citizenry as police do.
Kim: Great.
Rhi: So, you all see it early enough that you’re not like, kinda caught up in it immediately, but there’s not a lot of other easy ways to kinda get around to that point in the lightning barrier from here, so you’re either gonna have to backtrack and try to find another lightning barrier spot or try to get through this checkpoint. Or something else, if you all can come up with another option.
Josie: What wanted level are we at?
Rhi: Three!
Josie: Is that the really bad level?
Rhi: Maximum is four. [laughs]
Kim: Oh.
Rhi: So…
Minna: We’re pretty goddamn wanted.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: I was about to say I could probably lie our way through, but maybe we shouldn’t expose our faces here.
Kim: Yeah, probably not.
Rhi: You also, the fact that you’re all carrying heavy loads is something that’ll draw attention and make bluffing through a little harder. Not impossible, but—
Josie: We aren’t on a hard time limit here. Like, we wanna do it quickly, but it’s not like… we don’t have a hard deadline, so I feel just taking our time to go around…
Rhi: Okay.
Minna: But I think we need to find a way around them, for sure.
Rhi: Okay, so um, if somebody wants to give me a roll for navigating around, kind of the backtracking and getting around this check point.
Josie: Is this like a residential street or kind of like businesses, or…?
Rhi: Um, Barrowcleft is kinda the, like, farming area of Duskwall, more or less. So, it’s mixed. I think the area that you’re in is primarily businesses? It’s, you’ve got some buildings where it’s like, there’s a business on the ground floor and then a residence on the two floors above it, but I think you’re in primarily kind of a more business-y area.
Josie: I see. I almost wonder if there’s just like— we don’t come out to Barrowcleft for supplies or anything very often, do we?
Rhi: No. No.
Josie: Okay. I think it’s probably just Survey, right?
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: I’m not great at that. [laughs]
Minna: Let me see how I’m…
Rhi: You could always group Survey it as well.
Minna: Yeah, we may have to do that. I only have one die in this.
Kim: Mm hmm.
Josie: Same. Alright, so let’s do a group Survey. I can lead if you want?
Kim: Sure.
Minna: 1.
Kim: Two 5s.
Rhi: This is risky.
Josie: I got a 5.
Rhi: Okay, so you’re gonna take one point of stress and the result is a 5. So, the three of you, like, you see this checkpoint, you kind of talk amongst yourselves about like, ah shit, what do we do, and then you decide we’ll loop around and find another way to get through the lightning barrier. And as you’re making your way back down the street, a couple Bluecoats like, go past you, and they don’t stop you or anything, but they notice you and they kinda like, you know, give you the shitty cop stink-eye. And I am gonna start a clock for Bluecoats Investigate. Basically, they’ve noticed you, they have more important things to do right now, but they may end up deciding to follow you and see what your heavily-laden little party is all about.
Josie: Uh huh.
Minna: Ah, jeez.
Rhi: So we’re gonna have that be… we’re gonna do that at 1 out of 5. But you are able to loop around, kinda get onto a side street. I think you’re basically like, kind of going, um, it’s like a residential street that is right next to the big radiant energy farms, so it’s like, really well-lit over here. Because there are just these big greenhouses that are radiating light. And yeah, you’re able to kind of make your way along this street. You get a few looks from the people here but, you know, these are just people who live and work in the area, they don’t wanna start trouble by bothering you and so they just kinda they eyeball you but let you pass.
And you are able to make your way up to the lightning barrier. And yeah, this is a different spot than where Blaire normally goes through so, you know, I think Blaire kinda knows the particular quirks of that area. This is a new spot, so this is gonna be risky for you trying to get through here. But you can try to get through here.
Minna: Alright. So, is this gonna be like Prowl situation, do we think?
Rhi: No, Blaire’s gonna have to do probably an Attune first.
Minna: Oh, I see.
Rhi: To like, get the lightning barrier open.
Kim: Yeah.
Minna: Yes.
Kim: So, should I do that now?
Rhi: Yes.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: Yes. You are at the lightning barrier. Unless there’s something else you wish to do before going through.
Kim: Nope. The sooner we can get away from the Bluecoats, the better.
Rhi: Alright. Risky, I think. You have fine lightning hooks, right?
Kim: I do. Does that give me an extra die?
Rhi: No, but it’ll give you greater effect if you use them. You just have to mark them in your inventory.
Kim: Well, sorry everyone, but the highest I rolled was 4.
Rhi: Okay. Hey, that’s…
Kim: It’s still not great.
Rhi: That still means you do it.
Kim: Yeah but, mm…
Rhi: You do it, though.
Kim: But things happen.
Rhi: Yeah.
Kim: Because that’s how this game works. [laughs]
Rhi: It is, yes. This is a game where consequences happen to you.
Kim: I recognize that’s how this game works. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Rhi: [laughs] You should have picked a character with better self— with a better sense of self-preservation then, my friend.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: You would think, you would think.
Rhi: Uh let’s see, okay. You do it but there’s a consequence. I think that since you’re gonna make it through, I’m not gonna do anything else with the Bluecoats at this moment in time. Okay. I think that Blaire, what’s gonna happen is, you know, you’re using your lightning hooks to basically kind of pry and, you know, pry open the lightning barrier. You’re holding it apart so that your friends can go through and you can duck through after them. But like I said, you’re not used to kind of the way that the lightning barrier works in this area. And so, as you’re going through there’s a surge of energy and you manage to avoid it, but your lightning hooks get fried.
Kim: Oh no!
Rhi: And basically, they’re not gonna be able to be used for the rest of this mission.
Kim: Alright. That’s fine.
Rhi: Yeah. They’re still occupying an inventory slot, but they just, you’re gonna have to replace the, you know, electroplasm charge packs or whatever to use them again.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: But you’re in the Deathlands. You’re on the outside of the lightning barrier. You’re gonna have to kinda hike along the lightning barrier a little ways to get to where the lightning barrier is, which I think you’re able to do without much hassle. Being close to the lightning barrier kinda gives you protection from ghosts and most of the creatures of the Deathlands. They don’t really— they’ve adapted to live without light, so they’re not drawn to it. And yeah, you know, you hike for a while and then make it to the edge of the river. And yeah, at this point I think if Blaire wants to start using ancient relics like a dowsing rod…
Josie: For some reason I’m imaging like a radar sound.
Rhi: Boop!
Josie: Bong.
Rhi: Boop!
Josie: Bong.
Rhi: [laughs] Yep. So yeah, you can use them, or you can just kinda start walking along the river and see if Blaire recognizes anything?
Kim: I mean, we could do both. We could use it as a dowsing rod as we walk along the river.
Josie: I mean, Blaire did see a dock? I feel like just walking until we see a dock works, right?
Rhi: Yeah. There was a rotting wooden dock that you saw.
Kim: Well, I still think we should use the relics as a dowsing rod as we walk along the river and try to find this dock.
Rhi:Okay.
Kim: Would this be an Attune or a Prowl to get a… to progress here?
Rhi: I think to use, to use these relics together, it’s gonna be Attune.
Josie: Can there be some kind of bonus for having had the map and stuff like that? And/or Myra’s guidance?
Rhi: Um, so this first roll is just kind of Blaire, like, activating the relics. And then yeah, when you all are actually doing the searching along the river, you will get a bonus for the map. You’ll get some improved effect. But yeah, this first roll is just Blaire doing magic nonsense. So Blaire, do some magic nonsense!
Kim: You betcha.
Rhi: This is gonna be… risky, standard.
Kim: Oh no.
Rhi: Yeah?
Kim: Yeah, my highest was a 2, out of three dice.
Rhi: Okay. Blaire, I think you take the box with the Eye and you get the box with the Hand back from Myra. You open them both up and they are like, basically as soon as you have them kind of in proximity to each other, they snap together with the crystal sort of sitting in the palm of the Hand and the fingers kind of close around it. And Blaire, you pick them up, you pick up the Hand and eyeball crystal and it’s gonna be level 2 harm.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: Disoriented. Because all you can hear is just that heartbeat pounding in your ears. It’s not your heartbeat. Its coming from somewhere else. But like, you can barely hear— like, the Deathlands are always very quiet.
Kim: Right.
Rhi: But you can barely hear Minx and Myra on either side of you. It’s just like this loud sound in your ears. And there’s also like, a rushing water sound, it’s like, really overwhelming. Just kind of cutting off your hearing. Very disoriented by this sudden input of sound. And as long as you are holding this thing, you’re getting that.
Kim: Okay. And [sighs] I can’t really— I kind of have to take it at level 2 harm, because both of my level 1 harm boxes are full right now. Um…
Rhi: Mm hmm.
Kim: Alright. But like, level 2 harm just means that I only have minus one die to whatever ability?
Rhi: Yeah, it’s gonna be anything that is gonna require concentration, basically.
Kim: Okay. I can probably live with this.
Rhi: Because you’ve just got this…
Kim: [sighs] What an interesting night.
Rhi: Mm hmm! Blaire’s having a time.
Kim: Mm hmm.
Rhi: And yeah, you do, though, Blaire, you do kind of feel a sort of— that magnetic pull again. And so, for Myra and Minx, what you two see is, you know, Blaire kind of picks this thing up, stands up, her eyes kinda go wide and I think she rocks in place a little bit, and then just like, starts kind of— adjusts her position a little bit and then just starts walking along the riverbank.
##Outro [00.58.17]
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.
##Blooper [00.59.29]
Kim (as Blaire): Minx, she knows we’re incompetent. It’s okay.
Rhi and Josie: [laughs]
Rhi (as Kay): You’re very competent.
Kim (as Blaire): When we wanna be.
Rhi (as Kay): In your own unique, chaotic way.
[laughter]
Josie (as Minx): I suppose I’ll take that complement.
Kim (as Blaire): That’s really nice of you, Miss Narrator.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: I thought that was supposed to be Kay.
Kim: Oh.
Rhi: Yeah, me too! [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): Sorry.
Rhi: It’s fine, it’s fine.
Kim (as Blaire): My brain is full of worms tonight, audience.