Transcribed by Tyler (Twitter: @Tyler_MoonSage)
## Intro
Rhi: Welcome back to Duskwall. As always, thank you so much for joining us.
We are one week into our Kickstarter campaign to fund Project Bluejay, our next Blades in the Dark podcast, and Clever Corvids Productions, our new podcast production company. We funded our initial goal in just under 13 hours, and now we’re trying to hit our stretch goals. For those of you who’ve backed us already, I can’t thank you enough.
If you haven’t backed us yet, please consider doing so if you can afford it. We have a lot of really great rewards available including stickers, desktop wallpaper, homebrew content, personalized messages in future episodes, and even the chance to play a Blades in the Dark game with me or Josie as the GM. If your finances won’t let you back us, please spread the word on social media. The more folks we can reach the better chances we have of hitting our stretch goals.
Next, I’d like to tell you about this month’s Featured Charities.
As you probably know, numerous states here in the US are pushing violently transphobic legislation primarily aimed at trans youth. This legislation seeks to deny trans kids the ability to seek transition-related medical care, the ability to participate in sports, and in some cases the ability to act in a way that isn’t aligned with an extremely narrow restrictive view of gender.
In places like Arkansas, the legislation has already passed and is being challenged in court. In other places like North Carolina and Minnesota it’s still being debated. We’ve linked to some organizations that are fighting for trans rights in those specific states, but no matter where you live, look up information on what might be going on in your state legislature.
If you find bills like this, reach out to your state representatives and tell them, in no uncertain terms, that you oppose these bills and that they must do the same. If you’re able, donate to your local trans rights groups or check the #TransCrowdFund hashtag on Twitter to directly support trans people in need. Trans people have to watch as their very existence is questioned and argued for cheap political points. The rest of us need to stand up, push back, and say no more.
Now then, let’s get started. Shall we?
## Story Continues [0:02:42]
Josie: Here’s a gambit.
Rhi: Uh-huh?
Josie: I think she’s gonna produce one of the boxes, I think probably the one containing the Hand.
Rhi: Okay.
Josie: Because that’s the least dangerous of the three.
Rhi: Mm-hmm.
Josie (as Minx): Show me how you destroy what is in this box.
Rhi: All right, um… [blustery exhale] Make a roll. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs] It’s gonna be Sway, and I think I’m gonna push myself for greater effect.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah.
Josie: Or, what’s my position and effect here?
Rhi: Let me—Phew. Let me think. Risky-reduced is where you’re gonna start, because one, they’re a higher tier than you, and two, you’re just kinda gambling on what this White Crow role is supposed to be about.
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: So, there’s a possibility that you are acting wildly outside your responsibilities.
Josie: Uh-huh! So, I want to push myself up to normal effect.
Rhi: Okay.
Josie: What does a Devil’s Bargain look like?
Rhi: You’re not the only one here in a Spirit Warden disguise.
Minna: Can’t you push “or” accept a Devil’s Bargain?
Rhi: Yes, that’s correct.
Minna: But maybe I can give you an assist.
Rhi: You can get assistance.
Minna: I’ll take stress to give you assistance, as like, I’m backing up your authority.
Josie: I’ll take assistance, and I am 100% gonna take that Devil’s Bargain.
Rhi: Excellent.
Josie: Because that’s great.
Rhi: All right.
Josie: So, Devil’s Bargain to increase effect. Does assistance only add…?
Rhi: That’ll give you a die.
Josie: A die, okay.
Rhi: So you are now at risky-standard and you have a bonus die.
Josie: Six, but it was a close one. There’s three 1s in there.
Rhi: Oof.
Minna: I’m glad we got the bonus die. [giggles]
Rhi: The commander takes the box and opens it up. You can’t see a facial expression, but there’s subtle body language of, like, pulls the shoulders back a little bit with surprise and then very quickly closes the lid and looks up at you.
Rhi (as commander): Where was this found?
Josie (as Minx): That is classified, and the locations of the others, also classified, but we need every facility operating at optimum efficiency to dispose of them.
Rhi (as commander): Of course. Yes. Well, we can begin with this.
Rhi: And yeah, he’s going to lead you to one of the side buildings, away from the building with all of the spirit jars. It’s a fairly small building. Like, you come in and there’s a hallway, there’s a couple what look like offices, and then there’s a wide stone spiral staircase leading down. So you descend down into the catacombs.
There’s just kind of… I think Blaire is probably feeling this most of all, because she spends the most time attuned to the ghost field, but all of you kind of feel it. There’s just this bad, almost sick feeling to the ghost field down here, like something is off.
Kim: Hmm.
Rhi: Does that make any of you look into the ghost field in response?
Kim: I think Blaire would.
Josie: Not Minx.
Rhi: Yeah. [laughs]
Minna: I’m happy for Blaire to do it.
Rhi: Okay. Blaire, you look into the ghost field, and boy if you thought the spirit jars upstairs were bad.
Kim: Oh no.
Rhi: There’s more spirit jars down here. You pass by a large room that has some open archways where clearly hulls are being constructed, and there’s crystals that have spirits imprisoned in them.
Kim: Mm-hmm.
Rhi: There’s just… almost every horrible thing you could do to a ghost is happening here. I think Blaire, what you kind of realize is that the feeling in the ghost field you’re getting is just this omnipresent despair of all of the spirits that have come through here and been harmed and destroyed.
Kim: Mm-hmm.
Rhi: It’s just left this constant impression in the ghost field. Blaire, do you do anything with this information, or are you gonna just kinda…?
Kim: I mean, what can she do? They can’t blow our cover just yet. So…
Rhi: She’s just gonna be sad about it.
Kim: Yeah, I think she’s just gonna be very quietly sad about it.
Josie: Aw.
Rhi: So, you keep walking through these catacombs. It’s clear that they have made some modifications to the structures, but a lot of it is still very twisty, turny, windy. You are led to a room. It’s sort of a laboratory.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: But it’s not like a science lab. It’s not an alchemist lab. There’s a lot of arcane—It’s an occult lab, really. There’s a lot of arcane implements and tools around, cages and other containers that have a lot of runes and stuff on them.
Kim: Mm-hmm.
Rhi: And the commander who’s carrying the Hand will carefully transfer the box into one of these cages and will close it and press a few things, and some of the runes flair a little bit, and then he says:
Rhi (as commander): Now that this is secure, I can show you the facilities. Of course, relics like this must be studied in depth so they can be fully understood before their destruction, so we will begin that process as quickly as possible. In the meantime—
Kim: Hmm.
Rhi: And he kind of turns as if to lead you out and away. Like, the Hand, it’s staying here now, and he’s just gonna show you where the destruction facilities are.
Josie (as Minx): Why do you presume this process has not already been undertaken?
Rhi: Give me a roll.
Josie: What’s my position and effect here?
Rhi: Yeah… I think it’s gonna still be risky-reduced.
Josie: I got a 4.
Rhi: Four. Okay… So, you say that, and he stops and turns and cocks his head.
Rhi (as commander): Well, you didn’t present the report, so I assumed that you needed this to be done as well. The artifacts that have already been processed are always submitted with the appropriate paperwork.
Minna (as Myra): The report is classified above your rank.
Rhi: That’s the reduced effect. I gotta get into the consequence. Um, let me think… I’m gonna start a new clock. The clock is Infiltrators Catch Up, 1 out of 3.
Josie: Hmm!
Rhi: Because as I said, there’s other people here in disguise. That’s the complication. The reduced effect is you are expected to have additional information that you don’t have, and Myra, it sounded like you were trying to bluff your way out of that.
Minna: Yes.
Rhi: Okay. Gonna need a roll. [laughs]
Minna: Yeah, no, that’s fair. It’s still…
Rhi: Risky-reduced still.
Minna: Risky-reduced?
Josie: I would like to assist.
Minna: Thank you, so I’ll take an extra die, and then I’m also gonna push myself for greater effect.
Rhi: Okay, so that will push you up to risky-standard.
Minna: That is a 6.
Rhi: Okay.
Minna: [giggles] I rolled four dice, fair and square!
Rhi: No, I know, I know! I’m just… the whiplash that I as a GM have gone through in this episode so far of “oh my God, they’ve gotten in so much deeper than I anticipated” to “oh my God, they’re cake-walking this thing that was supposed to be an absolute challenge, what the fuck.”
Kim: Oh no.
Rhi: [laughing] It’s fine! It’s fine. I’m just kinda sitting here like, yeah, it’s mental whiplash, but I will live. Okay, so you had said that’s classified above your rank?
Minna: Yes.
Rhi: So, he kinda turns his head as he’s clearly looking at the three of you, and there’s some hesitation and seeming confusion, but he does nod.
Rhi (as commander): Very well… then I take it you wish it to be destroyed immediately?
Josie (as Minx): I wish you to show us your process, immediately.
Rhi (as commander): Very well.
Josie (as Minx): And if you succeed, then that is fortunate.
Rhi (as commander): Typically, a relic of this, if it came to us through normal avenues, would be brought here for study and analysis for as long as that took.
Rhi: Then he will take the cage and lead you back out into the hall, further down this winding hall. As you go, a similar smell to that ozone electric smell that you get when you’re near the lightning barrier, you start to get that but it’s concentrated.
Kim: Oh!
Rhi: Just like really heavy and thick. He leads you to a door and he presses his hand to it where there’s clearly a palm imprint sort of thing in the stone. He holds his hand there for a second and then the door grinds open, and then he will usher the three of you in. In here is a device… that I am going to make the three of you describe. [laughs] Give me one thing that each of you notices about this room or the machinery in it.
Kim: Hmm.
Josie: Bubbling cylinders of ectoplasm.
Rhi: Okay. Big glass tubes full of the stuff.
Kim: I like to think that a lot of the just wiring and ventilation and whatever gear is needed to power all of this is just in a maze-like labyrinthine pattern on the ceiling, just very… Like, the ceiling is just tubes.
Rhi: Yeah. Yeah, I like that. So we’ve got just this massive—I’m imagining that it’s mostly copper as well, just this map of copper tubes and wires that all lead into these big glass cylinders of electroplasm.
Kim: Yeah.
Minna: I feel like the tubes lead into something that looks like a giant almost metal thing on an arm that can be pushed down into a tub with a bunch of little outlets for the liquid to come through.
Rhi: Okay.
Kim: Yeah.
Minna: So there’s a tank and then there’s this metal thing the same shape as the tank overhead and there’s like handles where you can push it down.
Rhi: Yeah, I like that.
Minna: It’s probably on some kind of accordion thingy.
Rhi: Yeah, that’s cool. I think he will lead you into this room, the door slides shut behind you, it’s this grinding of stone, and he slots the cage into this hand, this metal grasper thing that clearly the cages are kind of a standard size that it just slots right in, turns a couple things to secure it, and then looks back to the three of you and is like… I don’t think he says anything, I think he just kinda looks at you to see if you have any questions or comments or anything.
Josie: I think Minx will just nod.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah, so he starts turning some dials and pulling some levers and some of this electroplasm which is like—you’re the getting the sense that, you know, this is not the standard electroplasm that Blaire carries around to feed ghosts or even that’s used for the lightning barrier fuel. This is like refined and purified to a really intense state. So he’s starting to fill the tank that this cage is gonna be lowered in with all this stuff, and now I do need to know. Who is holding the Eye and who is holding the Heart?
Kim: Um… I’ll be holding the Eye.
Rhi: Eyeball Friend?
Kim: Yeah.
Minna: I’ve got the Heart.
Rhi: Okay. So, as the tank starts to fill, the box holding the Hand in this cage suddenly jumps and slams against the side of the cage.
Kim (as Blaire): Ah!
Rhi: Blaire and Myra, you both feel movement in your packs or, you know, under your coats or wherever you have your boxes, as the other relics are starting to move and slam violently in their boxes.
Kim (as Blaire): Um…
Rhi: I think the commander startles a little and looks at it.
Rhi (as commander): Did that… move? We must work quickly.
Rhi: And he starts, you know [laughs] working on getting this prepped.
Josie (as Minx): It does do that from time to time.
Rhi: Myra and Blaire.
Kim: Mm-hmm?
Rhi: You both have a little bit of a situation on your hands.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: It feels very much like they’re trying to escape. These things are slamming against the boxes that are holding them, trying to open them.
Kim: Yeah. Can I roll… The only thing that I think makes sense for this is Consort. I want Blaire to just very quietly put a reassuring hand on Eyeball Friend’s box and just hope that that’s a calming presence.
Rhi: Okay. I’m gonna tell you that’s gonna have zero effect.
Kim: [smiling] Okay. Great. Never mind.
Rhi: Because… there’s a couple reasons. One, you have brought it to a place where it will be destroyed, and two, you talked about destroying it in front of it in the previous episode.
Kim: Oh yeah.
Minna: Ah…
Rhi: It knows what you intend to do and it is fighting back.
Kim: Right. Okay.
Rhi: [laughs] It is no longer Eyeball Friend.
Kim: Aw…
Minna: It is Eyeball Foe.
Kim: It is Eyeball Fiend.
Rhi: Friendship ended. Friendship ended with eyeball.
[laughter]
Kim: Now Lord Scurlock is my best friend.
Rhi: Yes.
Kim: Okay. In that case, is there some kind of Attune I can roll to have some kind of spiritual influence on this to make it quiet down? Because I know I have an ability that, you know, ghosts listen to me no matter what, and I know this isn’t a ghost thing, but maybe in that same vein?
Rhi: You can try.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: It’s gonna be risky-reduced.
Kim: Okay. Oh my God. I rolled three dice and they all came up as 2s.
Rhi: Huh.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: Um… you reach out through the ghost field and try to get it to stop, to chill, and you get hit in retaliation with this sort of psychic lash of rage and hate and betrayal.
Kim: Oh geez.
Rhi: So you’re gonna take level 2 harm, Psychically Punched. I don’t know how you wanna phrase it.
Kim: Psychic Damage.
Rhi: Yeah, basically. And yeah, it is not calming. Myra.
Minna: Yes hello?
Rhi: Hi. You have a heart that’s trying to beat its way out of the box that you’re carrying.
Minna: Uh-huh… How do you stop that happening?
Rhi: Not sure yet! Blaire tried and was unsuccessful.
Minna: We’ve established that we can kind of do spells and stuff before.
Kim: Sort of.
Rhi: Kinda sorta. Magic is pretty loosey-goosey. So, what do you want to try and do?
Minna: I kinda want to have Myra have recently picked up a shut the fuck up spell. [giggles]
Kim: [laughs]
Rhi: What would… What effect would you like this to have? [laughs]
Minna: Very, very small radius area that is muffled.
Rhi: Okay, so there is a silence potion in the Lurk playbook.
Minna: Ooh!
Rhi: Let me look at how that works.
Minna: I could definitely do something like that instead.
Rhi: Let me take a look. A silence potion vial. A vial of golden liquid that negates all sound within ten paces of the drinker for a span of several moments. I think for the setting what might make more sense is if you have a version of that, if you want to do a flashback to have obtained such a thing.
Minna: I would love to do a flashback. How many stress is that?
Rhi: I think it’s gonna be two, because that’s kind of a weirdly specific thing.
Minna: Yeah. I just figured this is the most important stealth mission we’ve done in a while.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: Mm-hmm! Yeah. Seeks can hook you up with it. Yeah, you can have that, but it is something, like… you would have to drink it yourself.
Minna: Hmm.
Rhi: Or… well let me think, because if you’re spending a flashback, you’re wearing a mask, that’s not gonna be useful.
Minna: What if I open up the box in the cover of my robes and pour it on the Heart?
Rhi: Fuck it! Let’s see what happens! What roll should we make that?
Minna: Jesus Christ. I don’t know.
Rhi: Ah, yeah, me neither. Okay, so I think the important thing here is to do that move without being noticed.
Minna: I think it’s a Prowl, because I’m trying to do it without notice.
Rhi: Prowl or Finesse would be my guess.
Minna: Prowl is better for me.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah, either one is good. I think this is gonna be risky-reduced.
Minna: What’s a Devil’s Bargain?
Rhi: I’m just gonna tick up the clock.
Minna: That sounds fun.
Rhi: All right, marvelous.
Minna: That’s a 6! [laughs]
Kim: You got the hot dice tonight, Minna.
Minna: They are going to betray me in the fourth quarter.
Rhi: [laughs] They always do. Okay, so you manage to, underneath this coat you’re wearing, pour this silence potion onto the Heart of Kotar. It is still, like, you can feel it still thumping, it’s still trying to escape, but it’s not making noise anymore. The Hand is continuing to slam around inside the cage which is only motivating the commander to work faster. I’m gonna make a fortune roll, because I want to see if the Hand manages to get out, because that is fun.
So, he is putting the final things in place, the machinery has whirred to life, there’s steam, there’s rattling pipes, it’s pretty noisy in here, and that noise is cut through by the sound of splintering wood as the box that the Hand is in shatters against the side of the cage.
Josie: Oh dear.
Kim: Uh…
Rhi: The Hand, completely ignoring the binding runes on this cage, shoots between the bars and grabs the commander by the throat.
Kim & Josie: Oh!
Josie: Oh dear.
Kim: [chuckles nervously] Okay.
Josie: I want to try and pull it off? [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah!
Josie: I think Minx is gonna rush forward to grab at it.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah. What are you gonna roll?
Josie: Skirmish?
Rhi: Yeah, that makes sense. This is gonna be risky, greater effect, because he is assisting you in removing the disembodied hand that’s trying to strangle him.
[laughter]
Kim: As one would.
Josie: I got a 6.
Rhi: You got a 6. Okay. Yeah, so the two of you working together manage to yank this off of him, and I think if you want you can just, since it’s greater effect, you can just chuck it into the vat.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: Yes.
Rhi: Okay. Just describe what that looks like as Minx does this.
Josie: I think Minx instinctively reaches out to grab it, but you know how in Ghibli movies when a character sees something disgusting and they get the prickles all up their body?
Rhi & Kim: Oh yeah.
Josie: [laughing] I think they can see that happen to Minx a little bit, because she’s just like “oh no, I just grabbed the dead disembodied hand. Oh God. Oh geez.” So she kinda like… I think her demeanor falters a bit as she gingerly yanks it off and tosses it into the vat.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: I like the idea that you’re not deliberately throwing it into the tank, it’s more of an: “Ew! Get it away!”
Josie: [laughs] Yeah.
Rhi: It just happens to go into the correct thing. [laughs] So, it lands in the concentrated electroplasm, and then the commander lunges forward and grabs this big lever and pulls it, and lightning shoots—Like, the electroplasm I’m imagining is so thick that it’s more like a gel.
Kim: Oh wow.
Rhi: So, as the hand sinks into it, lightning starts to shoot through the gel and there’s just a bright flair of light as this thing is pretty thoroughly destroyed.
Josie: [pleased] All right.
Rhi: Immediately following that… I think there’s a beat of silence where the commander starts to look to you, probably to say something, but then all four of you, at minimum, possibly other people as well, get hit with this piercing echoing psychic scream.
Kim: Oh God.
Minna: Oh.
Josie: Ugh.
Rhi: I think the three of you know, like, it’s coming from the Heart and the Eye.
Minna: Cool. Cool-cool-cool.
Kim: Fuck.
Rhi: The commander clutches his head. All three of you are, I think… you’re all gonna take level 2 harm from this. You can resist it.
Josie: Yeesh. Um…
Kim: Yeah, I’d like to resist.
Minna: Yeah…
Rhi: Okay. It’s going to be…
Josie: Yeah, same.
Minna: Is it a Prowess resistance roll?
Rhi: No, it’s gonna be Resolve.
Kim: All right, that’s good. I have a high resistance in that.
Josie: It’s all the same to me.
Rhi: I think, Kim, you’ve got a bonus to Resolve resistance. I think you’ve got that Iron Will thing.
Kim: Uh… yes, I do. Thank you for reminding me.
Josie: I did get a 6.
Rhi: Okay, so you resist it with no stress.
Kim: My highest was a 4.
Rhi: So you’ll take 2 stress.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: Minna, what did you get?
Minna: It was a 5. I take 1 stress.
Rhi: Five, okay, so 1 stress.
Minna: What’s the harm?
Rhi: It’s gonna drop down to level 1.
Minna: Yes, but what is the harm?
Rhi: You all now just have really bad headaches.
[laughter]
Kim: Okay, so level 2 harm, Headache?
Rhi: Level 1. It’s dropped down to level 1.
Kim: Okay. Perfect.
Josie: Okay.
Rhi: Yeah, these things just let out horrible psychic wails. The commander doesn’t quite go to his knees but like staggers and is clutching his head with one hand and then straightens up and looks at the three of you.
Rhi (as commander): What was that? What have you done?
Josie (as Minx): We’re gonna need you to do that twice more.
[laughter]
Kim: Oh God.
Rhi: Um… okay. Interesting.
Josie: I think her imperious tone falters a bit, too. She’s just sort of like… now it’s kind of banking on a sense of “well, we do want these destroyed, right? So let’s do this.”
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: Yeah, “let’s get this done.” I think… I think you’re gonna need to make a roll.
Josie: Uh-huh. [laughs] Honestly, I think I’m kind of going for Consort here.
Kim: A little bit.
Rhi: Yeah, yeah, that makes sense.
Josie: Because I’m just sort of like, “listen, consequences can come later.”
Rhi: “You don’t want that to happen again. I don’t want that to happen again. Let’s just do this.”
Josie: Right.
Kim: We should have done all three at once.
Rhi: Well…
Josie: Uh-huh.
Minna: That might have been even worse, frankly.
Rhi: Yeah. You all remember what happened the last time you had all three of them together.
Josie: What’s my position and effect here?
Rhi: Oh, what a good question. It’s still risky-reduced.
Josie: Okay.
Rhi: Yeah, not quite at desperate, but he is growing suspicious.
Josie: Right. I would like to push it up to normal effect.
Rhi: Okay. Take the 2 stress. What are you sitting at for stress now?
Josie: Seven.
Kim: Ooh.
Josie: Also, if anyone wants to give me an extra die, that would be cool.
Kim: Yeah, I can assist.
Josie: Okay.
Rhi: All right, mark a point of stress, Blaire.
Kim: Okay.
Josie: Got a 6.
Rhi: Okay! So yeah, he kind of straightens up, has a hand on the wall to steady himself, and… you know, the head turns again as he’s clearly looking the three of you over, and then he just shakes his head.
Rhi (as commander): You’re gonna have to give me a few minutes to reset it.
Rhi: And then he starts flipping more levers and switches and things.
Josie (as Minx): The both of you, maybe we should keep these at opposite ends of the room.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah, that’s a good idea.
Rhi: It’s not a terribly big room, but you two can move as far apart as you want. They are both still… you can feel them fighting to get out. Yeah, I think you’re both gonna need to roll something to keep them from doing the same thing the Hand did and just break through their boxes.
Kim: Okay. Would that be some kind of resistance roll?
Rhi: Kind of, yeah, you’re basically trying to resist a consequence. You’re a little outmatched by these things, now that you have put them in danger.
Kim: Okay, so what kind of resistance would that be?
Rhi: I think it’s gonna depend on how you want to approach it.
Kim: Interesting.
Rhi: Yeah, I think it’s gonna be, if you want to just physically try to hold it together, it will be Prowess. If you want to try and do something with Attune, reaching out through the ghost field would be Resolve.
Kim: All right. I think I might do that, just because Resolve and Insight are my highest resistances.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah. So you wanna do Resolve. Myra, what do you wanna do? You also, Myra, if you can think of an action that you would rather do here, you can do that as well.
Minna: Hmm.
Rhi: What did you get, Kim?
Kim: I got a 5.
Rhi: Okay, so you’re gonna take another point of stress.
Minna: I think I might just also make a resistance roll.
Kim: Oh, I gotta be careful.
Rhi: Yeah, you’re getting up there, you’ve been spending a lot. Which resistance are you rolling?
Minna: Resolve, and I got a critical. Does that mean I get 1 back?
Kim: Dang, Minna!
Rhi: Yeah, so you get 1 stress back. [laughs] You recover 1 stress. So the two of you, describe how you do this. What kind of attuning in the ghost field do you two do to get these things to not necessarily calm but slow down?
Kim: I think it has to be some kind of command.
Rhi: Yeah, yeah.
Kim: Like, you know… I don’t know what Blaire would actually say that could be threatening, but basically just gives off the vibes that, you know, if you do not cooperate we’ll make things way worse for you.
Rhi: How about Myra? What does she do?
Minna: I feel like it’s basically a “I’m not listening to you, because you are not going to matter in a matter of minutes.”
Kim: Dang.
Rhi: Ooh, stomping on the old ego. I think the commander gets the thing reset and looks back to the three of you.
Rhi (as commander): All right. What do you have?
Rhi: Which one are you handing over first?
Kim: I think the Eye.
Rhi: Okay.
Kim (as Blaire): I’m sorry.
Kim: She kinda just whispers to the box. [laughs]
Rhi: He will take it, and I think as soon as you let go of it, Blaire, you can hear that crystal ball that’s in there just slamming around, and he very quickly puts it into the cage and tries to get it reset.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: I’m gonna just do another fortune roll. It’s gonna be a little harder, because you have done magics to it. Okay. As he’s doing the final steps, the wooden box shatters.
Kim: Oh no.
Rhi: But the eyeball crystal is not able to find a way, like, it’s too wide to get out of the bars of the cage.
Kim: Right.
Rhi: And (whoosh), down it goes. Again, there’s that crackling of lightning and a bright light and then another piercing psychic scream, but this time it is clearly—it’s not enough to do harm. Like, it doesn’t feel great on the headaches that you all have, but it’s clearly weakened. It’s no longer a scream of anger, it is fear.
Kim: Oh no. Rest in peace, Eyeball Friend.
Rhi: [laughing] It’s the heart of a sorcerer who means only bad things for the world.
Kim: Yes, but also, rip in peace, because that was a friend.
[laughter]
Rhi: [pinched] It was not a friend!
Kim: It was a friend for a very long time on the show. At least to Blaire it was.
Rhi: It wasn’t. Blaire was its friend. It was never Blaire’s friend.
Kim: Yeah. Oh God. That’s so many of her relationships.
[laughter]
Josie: Uh-huh.
Rhi: It is, and it’s really sad!
Kim: Oh God, she’s such a sad girl.
Rhi: All right. So, it goes through. The Eye and the Hand have both been destroyed. He is, again, moving to reset everything. The level of electroplasm in the cylinders has dropped considerably, and I think as he’s doing this you hear him mutter.
Rhi (as commander): [a little grumpy] I don’t normally do this many in one night.
[breathy chuckling]
Josie (as Minx): Apologies, but we think you can understand our urgency.
Rhi (as commander): There is going to be a conversation about this when we are done.
Josie (as Minx): That’s good. Conversations are good.
Rhi: [laughs] Minx says, fully intending to knock this man unconscious as soon as he’s done.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: It’s going to be a conversation we will not be sticking around for.
Rhi: Yeah. He’s gonna start resetting the machine. I think I am gonna need one more roll to kinda deal with the Heart again.
Minna: I almost want this to be a Command.
Rhi: Yeah, absolutely.
Josie: Ooh.
Minna: What is the position-effect?
Rhi: It’s gonna be risky-standard. I’m bumping the effect up, because you have already scolded it effectively.
Minna: I’m trying to decide whether to push myself for one more die or just risk it.
Rhi: What’s your stress at currently?
Minna: I still have 4 slots remaining.
Rhi: I will remind you…
Minna: We still have to get out.
Rhi: …you still have to get out.
Minna: Yeah, I’m gonna keep.
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna: Oh, and it’s a 6, so… [laughs]
Kim: You just keep rolling 6s tonight.
Rhi: The fact that I ever got one trauma on you is just incredible, honestly.
Minna: We each had to work really hard.
Kim: We did.
Rhi: We did! We had to work so hard! Anyway. What do you say to the Heart to get it to stop fighting its inevitable fate?
Minna (as Myra): You are irrelevant. Your time is over.
Kim: Wow.
Josie: Shit.
Minna (as Myra): One of you is gone. Your objective can no longer be achieved.
Rhi: Excellent. You can feel it still beating, but it’s not banging itself against the box anymore. So yeah, he gets the machine reset, holds out his hand to you, Myra. You hand it over?
Minna: Myra hands it over.
Rhi: All right. He will take it, does not open the box, doesn’t need to know. Puts it into the cage, pulls all the levers. I am not gonna roll for it to try and escape, because I think that Myra has sufficiently cowed it, and also at this point, yeah, it’s objective—it cannot bring back Kotar on its own. The other two pieces have been destroyed. With a pull of a lever, the Heart of Kotar, the final of the three relics, is dunked into the electrified electroplasm and destroyed.
Kim: Wow.
Josie: Minx tenses, waiting for another psychic scream.
Rhi: Yeah, that’s the thing. I think everybody does a little bit, like even the commander’s kinda looking around, but there is just that bright flair of light, and then it fades, and then it’s quiet save for the steam and the clattering of the machinery.
Kim: You just beat the will out of this thing, Minna.
Minna: [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah. Minna has a very strong will. Or, Myra has a very strong will.
Kim: She does.
Rhi: So, the commander pulls another couple levers, turns a few dials to kind of shut down the initial operations of the machine, and then turns back to look at the three of you.
Rhi (as commander): Now, I do not care what rank you hold, you brought these things into my crematorium and you are going to explain yourselves.
Josie (as Minx): Right. Well, see, there’s a very easy explanation for this and it’s that—
Josie: I’m gonna strike with my sword hilt to try and knock him out.
Kim: Good.
Rhi: Yep!
[laughter]
Josie: I think I had been gently unbuckling it under my cloak or whatever and just like (boom).
Rhi: Yeah. Initially I was like, “oh, pocket sand—wait, a mask, no.”
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: This is gonna be risky-reduced.
Josie: Okay. Anyone wanna assist me?
Rhi: They’re a higher tier than you. Everything is gonna be harder.
Josie: Uh-huh. Is this Skirmish or Wreck? I’m aiming for Skirmish, but…
Rhi: So, Wreck would be you’re trying to break his skull.
Josie: Oh.
Rhi: Skirmish would be you’re trying to knock him out.
Josie: Okay, yeah, I’m just trying to knock him out.
Rhi: Yeah. Using Wreck on a person is… you are going for maximum brutality, basically.
Josie: Okay.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: So yeah, it’ll be Skirmish. So risky-reduced.
Josie: Eh, what does a Devil’s Bargain look like?
Rhi: Oh, what does a Devil’s Bargain look like? A Devil’s Bargain looks like I finish this clock.
Josie: Sold!
Kim: Oh no!
Rhi: Hell yeah!
Josie: I’m increasing my effect.
Rhi: [claps] I am literally kicking my little feets in excitement.
Kim: Josie…
Rhi: Kickin’em.
Josie: So 4d6 at normal effect.
Rhi: I’m kickin’em, kickin’ my little feetses.
Minna: [laughing] Why are you so cute?
[laughter]
Josie: You’re being cute. Y’all are cute.
Rhi: Okay, so you got a 6! Yeah, so you just hit him over the head and he drops like a sack of potatoes.
Josie: [laughs] Thunk!
Rhi: He’s had a rough night.
Kim: That’s probably not gonna help his headache at all.
Rhi: No! So yeah, he drops. I assume the three of you are going to make a hasty exit from the room.
Kim: Yup.
Rhi: Okay. So, you leave the room and you’re back out in the hallway, the very twisty, turny, windy hallway that none of you are terribly familiar with.
Kim: Oh dear.
Rhi: And the person who was leading you through here is unconscious in the room behind you.
Josie: Uh-huh.
Rhi: So somebody’s gonna need to make a roll to try to start navigating out.
Josie: What would that be? Probably Prowl?
Minna: Maybe a Study for having paid attention on the way here?
Rhi: Could be Study, yeah.
Josie: Ooh.
Kim: I’ll roll a Study.
Josie: Okay.
Minna: Go for it.
Rhi: All right, it’s gonna be risky-reduced. Well, let me think. Is it risky? No, it’s gonna be desperate.
Kim: Okay. Great. I’ll mark xp.
Rhi: Because there’s a couple dozen Spirit Wardens in the general vicinity, so if you fuck up there’s a lot more. It was risky in there because there was only one. You had him out numbered. Now you all are pretty badly outnumbered here, so it’ll be desperate-reduced.
Kim: Okay, I got a 5.
Rhi: So, you… you know, Blaire, you had been paying attention out on the walk, and you lead the other two up through this windy, windy hall. You get to the hall workshop.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: And you notice—like, it kinda takes you a second that, like, there had been a lot of metallic sounds, hammering on metal, metal clattering when you came by here. It takes you a second to notice that it’s quiet, one. Two, metal shutters have been pulled down across. There’s like three archways looking into this workshop.
Kim: Oh no.
Rhi: Metal shutters have been pulled down across two of them.
Kim: That’s not good.
Rhi: Let’s see… Oh, it’s gotta be Minx. Minx.
Josie: Uh-huh?
Rhi: You are gonna get tackled from the side and knocked into this workshop.
Josie (as Minx): [yelps]
Rhi: Somebody just plows into you, football tackles, and you land… I think you land sprawled on your back and the person who tackled you is pinning you down, and you look up through your mask into the face of Tesslyn’s new body.
Kim: Oh no…
Josie: Oh…
Rhi: Who also is wearing a Spirit Warden uniform but has taken off the mask. She gives you a big toothy, angry grin.
Rhi (as Tesslyn): You three are going to pay for what you have just done.
Josie (as Minx): Oh, well that’s better than the lines you had before.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: [sighs] Right, I forgot about this part of Minx interacting with Tesslyn. Yeah, so uh… Minx has just been tackled by a vampire.
Josie: Uh-huh. [laughs] With an undignified yelp.
Kim: Ooh, I have an idea.
Rhi: Yeah!
Kim: Can I roll something to knock something over in this workshop so that way Tesslyn will have to count it?
Rhi: You can try. However, I will tell you that the last time that happened she was very new to being a vampire and she may have developed a better resistance to that particular compulsion now.
Kim: True.
Rhi: So it’s not a guarantee that it’s gonna work.
Kim: I could still try.
Josie: Right, but narratively it makes sense to try.
Rhi: You can try. Absolutely. I just want to give you the warning that it is not a guaranteed… [laughs]
Kim: Yeah. Yeah. Well, we’ll let the dice decide.
Rhi: But yeah, there are definitely bins of nuts and bolts and other little things that you could knock over and try to get her to count.
Kim: Perfect. Devil’s Bargain?
Rhi: Ooh boy. You are not gonna be able to avoid getting jumped by one of the minions in here. She didn’t come alone. She’s got backup.
Kim: Oh shit.
Rhi: And you’re gonna get ganked by one of them.
Kim: I mean… okay I guess. That’s fine.
Rhi: All right! Neat.
Kim: Ugh! My fucking dice. They’re so janked up. I got a 3.
Rhi: Okay. You run in, you knock over a thing of bolts, and you look at Tesslyn… and she just looks up at you with this look of utter disdain and shakes her head, and then looks back to—is trying to pry Minx’s mask off is basically what’s happening here. Then Blaire, from behind you, you basically get grabbed, like backward bear hug. Somebody just both arms, around you, pinning your arms down and picks you up.
Kim (as Blaire): [struggling] Hey!
Rhi: Myra, someone just stepped out from behind a pile of machinery and has grabbed Blaire. Minx is pinned by Tesslyn.
Minna: Yeah… we’re living that life.
[laughter]
Rhi: Yeah, you sure are.
Minna: Uh-huh… Where do I start? Looks at my inventory.
Which I have not until now used at all, by the way.
Rhi: Yeah, here’s the thing—Yeah, I was gonna say, none of you have used anything in your inventory yet, so you’ve got all kinds of goodies you can start pulling out from under your cloaks.
Minna: Fuck it. Why don’t we pull a gun in the Spirit Wardens’.
Kim: [giggles]
Rhi: I mean, here’s the thing, like…
Minna: It’s already a mess.
Rhi: Yeah, and it’s clear that something has happened, because there’s not many Spirit Wardens around in this area. Like, something else has happened to clear this area out. Now gunshots may change that arrangement, but you know.
Minna: How IS a gun gonna work when both of my friends are in the way of the people I wanna shoot?
Rhi: Hmm… yeah.
Josie: Probably dangerously.
Rhi: Mm-hmm. You could also try to stab.
Minna: I’m going to try and stab, and I think taking care of the goon first is probably a good idea, and then we can all take on Tesslyn.
Kim: Good call.
Minna: I’m going to go attempt to take on the goon.
Rhi: Okay.
Minna: A blade, or two.
Rhi: Yes. This is gonna be—because you are not fighting the… These are Circle of Flame people, not Spirit Wardens, so they are the same tier as you, so this will be risky-standard.
Minna: All right. I believe this is a Skirmish.
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: And that is a four.
Rhi: Okay. You lunge in and stab this guy who was not expecting to be stabbed.
Minna: I mean, he attacked somebody who is dangerous. I don’t know what he expected.
Rhi: Well, he thought he had Blaire pretty well-pinned.
Kim: I am very small.
Rhi: You are very small.
Minna: And you have no money.
Kim: Yeah. [laughs]
Rhi: And Myra just popped up and stabbed him in the arm, and that was a little surprising for him as a person. So he drops Blaire but instinctively just wheels around and just punches Myra across the face.
Minna: Cool.
Kim: Youch.
Rhi: That’s gonna be level 2 harm.
Minna: Yeah, and I can’t resist it.
Rhi: I mean you could.
Minna: I mean I can’t. I have both of my level 1 harms are filled.
Rhi: Well this is—oh yeah, so even if you do. Okay, so yeah, level 2 harm. You just get punched across the face. You’re wearing a copper mask…
Minna: [grinning] Does he hurt himself?
Rhi: No, I think I’m just gonna change where you get punched. I think you get punched in the side of the neck, so you’re having a little trouble breathing. You’re like wheezing a little.
Josie: Tesslyn is trying to yank off my mask?
Rhi: Yes, or strangle you. You’re not sure.
Josie: [laughs] Minx is like:
Josie (as Minx): Oh I know, it’s such a shame to have my beautiful face behind this mask. Don’t you agree?
Josie: Then I want to—
Rhi: She hates you so much.
[laughter]
Josie: I know. I know. Good. I think we’ve established that spirit bane charms have minimal effect on vampires.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: But I think I’m trying to produce one and shove it directly into her face.
Rhi: Okay.
Josie: And hopefully that causes a reaction to pull her off me a little bit.
Rhi: Yeah! Give it a shot.
Josie: What sort of roll would that be?
Rhi: I honestly would say… I feel like it’s Skirmish, because yeah it’s a spirit bane charm, but you’re using it basically as a, like, you’re hitting her in the face with it.
[laughter]
Josie: Yes.
Rhi: You’re punching her with a holy symbol.
Josie: Yes.
Rhi: So this is gonna be risky-standard for you, then. Well actually, she’s a vampire, she’s tougher, so risky-reduced.
Josie: I got a 3.
Rhi: Ooh! Unfortunate! She swats the spirit bane charm away, does yank your mask off, and is going to try to drain your… I think we determined she feeds on charisma, right?
Kim: Yeah, I think we have established that.
Josie: Yes. Mm-hmm.
Rhi: Yeah… Yeah. So she’s gonna just start—I think this is gonna be level 2 harm, Charisma Drained.
Kim: Oh no.
Josie: Eh…
Rhi: You’re just gonna be at a penalty for any time you need to use your charisma.
Josie: Oh geez.
Rhi: Blaire! You’re no longer being held.
Kim: Yep.
Rhi: The guy behind you just punched Myra.
Kim: Yeah, but Tesslyn is also doing a big no-no to Myra—uh, sorry, to Minx.
Rhi: Yeah.
Kim: What is a weapon… Have we established weapons that harm vampires?
Rhi: Nope.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: They’re just generally tougher.
Kim: Right. I can always just try rushing up Tesslyn and stabbing her. Mark off a blade or two.
Rhi: Yeah. Listen, stabbing is a problem for most things. It might not be a problem that will make them stop for good, but it’s a problem. They’re not gonna appreciate it.
Kim: Yeah. Okay. I’m gonna roll Skirmish then.
Rhi: All right. Go forth and stab. I believe in you.
Kim: What are the things?
Rhi: Risky-reduced.
Kim: Okay. Oh, for fuck’s sake. All right, I got a 4.
Rhi: Okay. You do it, but there’s a consequence. You’re already at reduced effect. You run up and just stab Tesslyn in the back.
Kim: Yep.
Rhi: She doesn’t appreciate this.
Kim: No. [chuckles] Kind of an inconvenience, really.
Rhi: Yeah. [laughs] That’s the thing, it is kind of an inconvenience. You stab her and she’s got one hand on Minx’s face…
Kim: Right.
Rhi: …and with her other hand she just reaches back, grabs you by the arm, and just flips you forward over her.
Kim: Oh dang.
Rhi: So you just get thrown across the room.
Kim: Just yeeted.
Rhi: That’s not necessarily… That’s more the reduced effect, that you don’t really do that much damage. The complication is that another goon is gonna come running in.
Kim: Ugh, all right.
Rhi: Backup goon.
Kim: That’s fine. We might wanna smoke bomb our way out of this at some point.
Josie: Yeah. I don’t think a lengthy fight favors us.
Kim: No. The longer we stay here the longer, you know, the Spirit Wardens could get wise of what’s happening.
Rhi: I will mention.
Kim: Hmm?
Rhi: As a thing.
Kim: Okay?
Rhi: Vampires are very hard to destroy permanently, but that thing back there that just destroyed the Relics of Kotar could definitely do it.
Kim: Oh fuck.
Josie: Agh, but we need to get her all the way back down those stairs though.
Kim: I was gonna say, how far back do we have to push her to get there?
Rhi: You’d have to drag her back down the hall.
Josie: Which would mean disabling her first.
Kim: Or we could—yeah, make an attempt to flee, and she would follow us. Lay a trap.
Rhi: I just… [laughs] You don’t have to act upon that. I’m just mentioning, if you would like, the opportunity is there.
Kim: I can tell that Rhi really wants us to do this.
Rhi: I may have set things up in this way so that you had the opportunity to destroy her. Yes. [laughs] But yeah, you don’t have to.
Kim: What do we wanna do?
Josie: I’m gonna float an idea that can maybe get her back towards the room with a bluff, which will work very much less with my charisma drain, but until it comes around to my turn again I think we should just proceed as though we’re getting out of here.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: Okay, so Myra?
Minna: Oh gosh. How are they doing? How are they both doing?
Rhi: Minx is still pinned by Tesslyn. Blaire has been yeeted across the room. One goon is bleeding, another goon is unharmed and has just entered the room.
Minna: I am going to suggest to the goon who has just entered that he turn around and leave.
[laughter]
Rhi: All right.
Minna: I think it’s a Command.
Rhi: Yes.
Minna: [laughing] What is the position and effect?
Rhi: It’s gonna be risky-reduced, because like… he doesn’t really have a good reason to do what you’re telling him.
Minna: I’m trying to think how to make myself more scary to increase that effect.
Kim: I mean, you have a gun. You could always point it at him.
Rhi: Yeah. If you would like to brandish a weapon at him.
Minna: Yeah, no. If I draw a pistol, can it be standard? Because that is the vibe I was going for.
Rhi: I’ll allow it.
Minna: [laughs] Thank you.
Rhi: I think you’re close enough that you’d basically have the gun straight in his face.
Kim: You did just destroy an ancient relic by negging it, so Myra’s very commanding right now.
[laughter]
Rhi: That’s true!
Minna: That’s the thing I was going for is that she is on a roll with just fucking bulldozing people’s egos.
Rhi: Yeah, telling people what to do.
Minna: So I rolled a 6.
Rhi: Of course you did.
Kim: Minna, can you spread the dice luck a little bit?
Minna: I don’t know how to do that!
Rhi: It’s not even her dice. We all just, whenever we get together, we just need to all give Minna our dice and she just needs to rub them between her hands.
Kim: Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about though. You need to share the energy.
Minna: I can be your luck.
Kim: Because apparently I’ve got none. The vibes are bad in this house, apparently.
Rhi: So yeah, I think that this guy comes rushing in and then comes up short as Myra just points a gun in his face, and then he just kinda, like… he looks around at the scene, he sees the other guy is bleeding, and then looks at the gun, has to cross his eyes a little bit to look down at it because it’s so close to his nose, and then he just looks at Myra and is like:
Rhi (as goon2): Fair enough.
Rhi: And leaves. [laughs] “I don’t get paid enough. I’m not gonna get fucking shot in the nose. No!”
[laughter]
Rhi: So, he’s gone. Congratulations. Minx?
Josie: I think Minx, feeling the charisma drain, is gonna try and do her best to put on a bit of a panic and be like:
Josie (as Minx): Wait. Wait-wait-wait. No, Tesslyn, there’s one left.
Rhi: Oh…
Josie (as Minx): We couldn’t destroy the Heart.
Rhi: Okay…
Minna: I love that.
Kim: That’s a very good bluff.
Rhi: I love it too. That’s a really good bluff. I’m into it. Yeah, go ahead and roll.
Josie: Because of the harm, I’m at -1 die on this.
Rhi: Yes, but you could get an assist if somebody wanted, or you could take a Devil’s Bargain.
Minna: I can give an assist.
Rhi: Okay. You’re getting a boost from Myra. Man, let me think about position and effect. It’s definitely gonna be risky. I’m gonna give you greater effect, because you have landed on precisely the lie that she needs to hear, so she is going to be inclined to believe you.
Josie: Okay.
Rhi: Because she wants to believe you.
Josie: Mm-hmm. A critical.
Kim: Nice!
Rhi: That is beautiful.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: So she stops and pulls her hand back from your face. She stops for a second and just kind of, you know—you still have the mask on, just kind of looks down. I think that also probably helps, [laughs] that she can’t see your face.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: Looks down at you and then just, without a word, pushes off of you and, again, moving faster than a human should be able to, just zips out of the room and back down the hall.
Josie (as Minx): [frantic] All right. All right dears, let’s run.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah. Let’s get out of here.
Rhi: Well, here’s the question. Are you running out or are you running after her?
Josie: I think Minx still wants to run out.
Minna: I think we’re just leaving.
Kim: Yeah, we can bail.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah. So, the goon I think just looks at the three of you, looks to where his boss ran, and runs after Tesslyn, because again, he doesn’t get paid enough to take the three of you on by himself. That’s silly.
Kim: Nope.
Josie: Mm-hmm.
Rhi: Yeah… tell me how the three of you are getting out.
Josie: Um…
Kim: Could we leave the way that we came or are alarms raised enough that they’ve kinda got it on lockdown?
Rhi: It’s not on lockdown, and you’re all still in your disguises.
Kim: Right.
Rhi: You’re a little, you know, disheveled, but I think that the sound of the fight has drawn some attention but it’s not like full high alert yet.
Josie: I think it’s time to power walk.
Kim: Yeah, I was gonna say. We should just speed walk our way out of here.
Josie: Uh-huh.
Rhi: [laughs] Okay. I think… I feel like this is a Sway?
Kim & Minna: Yeah.
Josie: [laughs] Okay.
Kim: Should it be a group Sway?
Minna: Do a group?
Rhi: I feel like it should be a group.
Minna: I can lead. I still have 3 stress to spare.
Kim: Yeah, please.
Josie: Awesome. Thank you.
Rhi: All right. This is gonna be risky, greater effect.
Josie: I did a critical.
Kim: Finally, I got a 6.
Minna: I got a 3, so I take 1 stress.
Rhi: One stress, but your result is a critical. Everyone is so concerned with what’s happening down in the catacombs that they do not pay you any mind. You just walk right the fuck out the front doors. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: So, you make it out. I imagine you quickly find a back alley to duck into to ditch the disguises and change into street clothes so you don’t draw attention the way Spirit Wardens do. You make your way back to The Nest and are all a little shaken, but hey, you made it out. So yeah, we can kinda go into downtime things.
## Downtime [0:53:24]
Rhi: Let’s start with Minx.
Josie: All righty. Minx is basically gonna go right to Nyryx after this.
Rhi: [laughs] Drop of the uniform, drop off the gear, and I’m out.
Josie: Yep. It’s the sort of thing where the door opens and there’s an immediate big hug.
Kim: Aw.
Rhi: Yeah. Nyryx was not expecting you.
Josie: Uh-huh.
Rhi: I think Nyryx is sitting at her—well no, she always has to unlock the door. She’s given you a key by this point. You’ve got a key to her place. [laughs]
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: I was like that doesn’t make sense, this relationship is at a point where you’ve got a key. So, I think when you unlock the door she’s sitting at her desk doing some paperwork and she whips around and sees you.
Rhi (as Nyryx): [surprised] Oh, Minx!
Rhi: And then, yeah, just (swoop), big hug. She hugs you back and is like:
Rhi (as Nyryx): I really was not expecting to see you this soon.
Josie (as Minx): Me either! But, believe it or not, it actually went rather well.
Rhi (as Nyryx): Huh… You’re all in one piece? Are you all right? You seem…
Josie (as Minx): Oh, just the adrenaline, dear.
Rhi: Well, I think it’s also like—she can pick up on the fact that your charisma got drained.
Josie: Oh yeah.
Rhi: She can’t exactly describe what’s wrong, just a feeling of something’s off.
Josie: Right.
Rhi (as Nyryx): All right, well… glad you’re all right. Everyone else is okay?
Josie (as Minx): Everyone else is fine, yes.
Rhi (as Nyryx): You did what you needed to?
Josie (as Minx): Mm-hmm, and just got grazed by a vampire. It’ll wear off.
Rhi: Have you told her that Tesslyn’s a vampire yet?
Kim: Oh…
Rhi: I think you have.
Josie: I think so, yeah. I think there was a discussion about this.
Rhi: Yeah, I think when you mention a vampire she kind of pulls back a little.
Rhi (as Nyryx): Was it her?
Josie (as Minx): Yes… Yes.
Rhi (as Nyryx): Is she still out there?
Josie (as Minx): I don’t know. Given that we got out of the Spirit Wardens compound, she probably can. But also, that’s probably the worst place for her to be, so we’ll see.
Rhi (as Nyryx): Yeah… Well, I’m glad you’re back.
Rhi: She reaches over to her desk and picks up the letter and hands it back to you.
Rhi (as Nyryx): If you’d like to do the honors of shredding that.
Josie (as Minx): Sure. Gladly.
Josie: [chuckles] Just a gentle rip.
Rhi: Yeah. She will fuss over you and get you tea and all of that worried girlfriend stuff.
Kim: Aw.
Josie: Aw. Mm-hmm.
Rhi: All right. Myra?
Minna: Hello!
Rhi: Hello.
Minna: So Myra takes the Spirit Warden uniforms back to The Mustang. Asks for Tuhan.
Rhi: Yes. I’m imagining this is the next day and she comes trotting downstairs. I’m imagining that it’s like early afternoon, but she still has that vibe of “I just woke up” about her.
Minna: Mm-hmm.
Kim: Ah.
Rhi: Yeah. I imagine you’ve got whatever large satchel or bag the uniforms are stuffed into, and she looks at it.
Rhi (as Tuhan): Huh… That was pretty quick. How’d it go?
Minna (as Myra): Not as noisy as I think you expected, but still pretty dramatic.
Rhi (as Tuhan): All right. The uniforms all in one piece?
Minna (as Myra): They’re all in one piece, although they may have questions about the people wearing them.
Rhi (as Tuhan): Okay.
Minna: I think Myra pulls out the one that Minx was wearing.
Minna (as Myra): This one has claimed to be a member of some kind of authoritative group from Imperial City and they believed it, so that may be fine.
Rhi (as Tuhan): Oh.
Minna (as Myra): But we did use these uniforms to do something that they will have questions about, so you might want to wait a little, let the heat die down.
Rhi (as Tuhan): Noted. Appreciate the warning.
Rhi: [laughs] She signals somebody else.
Rhi (as Tuhan): Get these back into storage. Put a note on them, don’t use these for like a year or so.
Minna: [chuckles]
Rhi (as Tuhan): Do you want a drink? What time is it? Is it early enough, or is it late enough for a drink?
Josie: [laughing] Is it early enough?
Minna (as Myra): It’s time for a drink somewhere in the world right now.
Rhi (as Tuhan): Yeah… it’s my fucking bar, let’s have a drink.
Minna (as Myra): I’ll drink to that.
Rhi: [laughs] Yeah, and then Blaire.
Kim: Yes. So, Blaire is going to be making her way back to Scurlock Manor to report that the deed is done.
Rhi: All right. I think as usual Oskar will let you in, walk you back to the parlor. You have to wait a little while but not as long as he normally makes you wait.
Kim: Oh, that’s nice of him.
[laughter]
Rhi: “I’ll take it.” And yeah, Scurlock just walks in and, without preamble, before even sitting down, just says:
Rhi (as Scurlock): Is it done?
Kim (as Blaire): It is.
Rhi: Sits down.
Rhi (as Scurlock): All of them?
Kim (as Blaire): All of them. We cast them into some electroplasm, and some of them screamed, some of them didn’t… and they’re gone.
Rhi (as Scurlock): I didn’t think you had it in you.
Kim (as Blaire): Well, thanks, I guess. Um…
[laughter]
Rhi: Yeah, I don’t know, there really isn’t a good response to that, is there?
Kim: I mean, Blaire is a little bit proud of herself, but she’s still just like, “uh…”
Rhi: “Okay…”
Kim (as Blaire): Listen. I, um… kind of brought you something else just to say that I’m sorry, again.
Kim: Blaire reaches into her pack and produces in her hand two acorns. She looks up to Lord Scurlock and says:
Kim (as Blaire): I found these in the Deathlands about a year or so ago, and I have no idea what they are, don’t know what they could be for, and you’re kind of my go-to guy for things that I don’t know… and yeah. You can have this in your collection.
Kim: And she outreaches her hand for him to have it.
Rhi: Yeah, he’ll hold his hand out for you to drop them into his palm and he takes them back and studies them, kinda picks one up and just looks at it for a very long moment, again, kind of the same way that he looked at that piece of the painting that you brought.
Kim: Mm-hmm.
Rhi (as Scurlock): In the Deathlands?
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah.
Rhi (as Scurlock): Where?
Kim (as Blaire): Um… not too far from the wall. It was, um… A poisonwood actually gave them to me?
Rhi (as Scurlock): Hmm. I’m amazed it managed to keep these for so long. I would have thought they’d have decomposed.
Kim (as Blaire): So it is pre-Cataclysm?
Rhi (as Scurlock): Yes. They are seeds for a tree.
Kim (as Blaire): Oh… Probably wouldn’t grow anymore, would it?
Rhi (as Scurlock): Not the way that it used to. You could probably try to grow them in a radiant energy farm, but their growth would be stunted. They likely wouldn’t get more than 20, maybe 30 feet if you were lucky.
Rhi: That’s still taller than any tree you’ve ever seen, Blaire.
Kim: Yeah. Blaire’s just like:
Kim (as Blaire): That’s… Well, I mean that’s something.
Rhi (as Scurlock): I do not have access to a radiant energy farm, so I won’t be growing these anytime soon, but it’s good to see that some have survived.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah.
Rhi: He looks at them for another long moment and then takes one and places it back on the table between the two of you. This is giving it back. He’s keeping one and he’s giving one back.
Josie: Aw.
Kim (as Blaire): Are you sure?
Rhi (as Scurlock): As I said, I doubt I’ll be able to grow these myself anytime soon, and they were given to you for a reason, I presume.
Kim (as Blaire): Well, okay then.
Kim: Blaire’s going to take the one back.
Rhi: He will stand, still holding the one that he’s keeping, and look down at you.
Rhi (as Scurlock): In the future, please exhibit a little restraint and caution before activating ancient relics that you know nothing about.
Kim (as Blaire): Okay.
Rhi: He will nod and he will exit.
## Outro [1:00:53]
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 GMed and produced by Rhi. Follow me on Twitter at @rhiannon42 and check out RPGSkillCheck.net for my copy editing and accessibility freelance site.
Blaire Culhane is played by Kim Kogut. Follow her on Twitter at @kimdianajones.
Minx is played by Josie. Follow her on Twitter at @DragonGirlJosie, and watch her art streams at picarto.tv/DragonGirlJosie.
Myra Keel is played by Minna. Follow her on Twitter at @mynaminnarr.
The opening and closing theme music is from ‘Trio for Piano, Violin, and Viola’ by Kevin MacLeod, and is used under a Creative Commons license.
The Blades in the Dark roleplay system is the creation of John Harper, and is published by Evil hat Productions.
## Blooper [1:02:00]
Rhi: You and your fucking blessed dice.
Minna: It’s not even the Google dice which I am convinced loves me.
Rhi: I know! It’s just you! It’s you and your—you have some kind of magic touch.
Minna: It’s a good thing I’m aro, because given how lucky I am with “chances,” I would be very unlucky in love.
[laughter]
Rhi: Ba-dum-tss!