Transcribed by Michelle Kelly (@Michellicopter)
##Intro
Rhi: Welcome back to Duskwall. As always, thank you so much for joining us. In our continuing journey towards future projects, I’m very excited to announce that the application for Project Bluejay is now open. We are specifically looking for Black, Indigenous, mixed and other people of color to apply as we do not want to have any all-white casts for any of our projects going forward. In addition, we are looking for people of marginalized genders, especially non-binary, trans and other gender non-conforming people. If that sounds like you, check the link in the show notes for the application. It’ll be open through May 31st.
We have also started sending out rewards to our Kickstarter backers, so if you were one of those backers please make sure to check your emails for information about all of that great stuff. And finally, after a week of website chaos, MagpiesPodcast.net is back up and running with transcripts for all our bonus episodes and through Season 4, Episode 11 for the main show. Huge thanks to Tyler and Michelle for continuing to be the best transcriptionists that this podcast host could ask for.
Next, Josie is going to tell us about this month’s featured charity.
Josie: Hi everyone. I’m just continuing the previous charities from last month because, as you can imagine, the wave of anti-trans bills sweeping the nation, usually targeting kids, are really disturbing to me and I think they need more attention. For the record, those were InTRANSitive in Arkansas, EqualityNC in North Carolina and OutFront in Minnesota.
Also, go ahead and look up any ones that are specific to your state because more than half the country has proposed these bills and we need to stop them. And we just need people to be vocal and outspoken and call people out and frankly, get in the streets because there has not been enough backlash to these and we can’t rely on the courts to overturn them every single time. Because they have overturned a few, but not enough. There shouldn’t be even one passed. And just support your trans friends as well and frankly, donate directly to people, especially in these states, because a lot of trans people are in poverty and we don’t really have the resources to fight this. Thank you.
Rhi: We also ask that you continue to speak out about the oppression and occupation of the Palestinian people. Donations often seem like a good solution, but given the blockade on Palestine it’s often very difficult for money and supplies to reach the people who need them there. Look for charities supported by Palestinian activists if you want to donate. In addition, be sure to contact your governments, especially the United States government, and demand that they cease funding to the Israeli military. It’s not enough to ensure liberation for Palestine, but it is a positive step.
Now then. Let’s get started, shall we?
##Story continues [00.03.33]
Rhi: We open up in Lord Scurlock’s parlor.
Kim: Yay.
Rhi: The— [sighs]
Kim and Josie: [giggle]
Kim: Shutting up.
Rhi: The Magpies having been summoned by letter earlier in the day. They’re arranged on their usual couch, Lord Scurlock is in his usual chair, but what is unusual is that Oskar, Lord Scurlock’s nephew, is also here. He is standing behind Lord Scurlock’s chair just kind of quietly observing and listening. I think that you all have just gotten settled after Oskar has led you in and Lord Scurlock says:
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): I have found the remaining item that we will need for the ritual to bind Setarra with her kin in the bay.
Kim (as Blaire): You have?
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): Yes, that’s why I said it.
Minna: [laughs loudly]
[laughter]
Kim: Oh, we’re off to a great start.
Rhi: Yep. [laughs] He kinda gives Blaire a look for a moment and then shakes his head and is like:
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): As we have discussed previously, I cannot obtain these items directly lest Setarra suspect I am working against her. Now, the relic in question is a Leviathan bone relic, a large fish hook used in some rituals. And it is being held by a cult that follows the Forgotten God the Maw of the Void.
Josie (as Minx): Hmm.
Kim (as Blaire): Huh.
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): They are a cult of Leviathan worshippers.
Kim (as Blaire): Oh…
Rhi: He kinda makes a face. [laughs] He doesn’t think very highly of that.
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): Now, due to certain individuals and occult influences, I essentially control this cult, but they aren’t aware of it and I need to keep it that way.
Kim (as Blaire): Okay. So, what do you need us to do?
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): I need you to infiltrate the cult and obtain the relic. I cannot simply ask for it because they do not know of my involvement.
Kim (as Blaire): Right. Well, I mean, that sounds easy enough.
Josie (as Minx): We do have some amount of experience in this regard.
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): Good. Now, Oskar—
Rhi: And he gestures.
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): Is a member of this cult.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim: What?!
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: I think if all of you look confused, Oskar very drily says:
Rhi (as Oskar): I hold membership in several cults across the city in order to provide information.
Kim (as Blaire): Well how come I’ve never seen you around?
Josie: [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): Which cults? We should hang out some time.
Rhi: [laughs] Oskar and Scurlock exchange a look.
[laughter]
Rhi: There’s no—[laughs] they just, kinda glance at each other and Scurlock looks mildly apologetic.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: Oh my God.
Rhi: And then Scurlock continues:
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): He knows a fair bit about this cult, although he is still at a fairly low rank in their hierarchy and so his information is somewhat limited. But he may be able to help you gain access to their sanctuary so that you can obtain the relic. This cult is of use to me, so I would prefer that this not turn violent.
Kim (as Blaire): Okay. I mean, we’ll do our best, but if things go haywire we’ll do out best to at least not kill?
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): That would be advisable.
Kim (as Blaire): Okay. I think we can do that, right gals?
Josie (as Minx): Uh, yes, I believe so.
Minna (as Myra): Yeah.
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): Good.
Rhi: And he stands up.
Rhi (as Lord Scurlock): Bring the relic here when it’s done.
Kim (as Blaire): You got it.
Rhi: And exits. Oskar stays where he is and kind of looks at the three of you.
Rhi (as Oskar): As my uncle said, I will offer you as much assistance as I can. The Maw of the Void has a rather rigid hierarchy so I only have access to a certain amount of information.
Kim (as Blaire): Well, some’s better than none.
Rhi: He nods. And he will tell you a bit about this particular cult. They are leviathan worshippers. A lot of their practices revolve around hoarding both items and actions of power. So like, they will collect, you know, occult objects, relics, ritual objects, but they also will try to like, learn about other rituals and traditions held by other cults or old religions. Um, and like, incorporate those into what they’re doing as well. Oskar knows where their sanctuary is. It is under the Docks and kind of underneath the bay, it’s like dug in underneath.
Kim: Oh, that’s cool.
Rhi: He is fairly certain that they are an apocalyptic cult that want to summon a leviathan to drown the city.
Kim: Oh.
Josie: Great.
Kim: Alright then. I mean—
Josie: Are we sure Setarra’s not in with them?
Kim: Oh, that’s a good point. Do we know that, Rhi?
Rhi: Oskar looks kind of thoughtful.
Rhi (as Oskar): To the best of my knowledge, they do not have any demons in their midst, but to the best of my knowledge neither did the nobility of this city and we were all rather wrong about that. They are less interested in the more pedestrian forms of demons. Their focus is on leviathans.
Kim: Alright…
Rhi (as Oskar): So I cannot say sure that Setarra is uninvolved, but they would not seek her out.
Kim (as Blaire): Alright. That’s good, yeah.
Rhi (as Oskar): I may be able to bring you in as new initiates, if that is a path you wish to take, but you would need to each bring some sort of offering to contribute to gain membership.
Kim (as Blaire): What do they usually accept as offerings?
Rhi (as Oskar): Relics, rituals, anything that they believe holds power.
Kim (as Blaire): Alright, I think I can foot that. I’ll see what I have.
Josie (as Minx): Yeah, unfortunately the ones I know of we just burned in an acid bath, so…
Minna: [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah, but— I dunno, I have some stuff in my room and there’s some things in the vault. We’ll look into it.
Josie (as Minx): Alright.
Rhi: If you all wanna ask Oskar any other questions you can do that and we can do Gather Info rolls.
Kim: Yeah. I do want to ask questions of him, I just can’t think of what.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: I mean, Minx wants to know what sort of people are in the cult.
Rhi: Yeah! Yeah, that is a great question to ask. Go ahead and make a roll.
Josie: I got a 6.
Rhi: Okay. So, it’s a mix of people that are like, from the Docks who are, you know, just on board with the whole drown the city thing. There was an influx of people who joined after the Ink Row fire. People were angry and had lost everything and found their way into this cult. A lot of the other people in it are kinda the opposite end, folks who are from kinda the upper classes who are more interested in the occult power that they can gain through it.
Josie: Mm hmm. I think I know who I want to ask about this next.
Kim: Have they ever rejected an offering, or like, if an offering goes wrong do they just decline you as an initiate?
Rhi: Yeah, go ahead and make the roll.
Kim: Is it Consort?
Rhi: Probably Consort, yeah, you’re being… this is an open conversation with an ally.
Kim: Jeez. The highest I got was a 2 and I rolled four dice. I got two 1s and two 2s.
Minna: Yikes.
Kim: Ridiculous.
Rhi: So, Oskar can tell you that some relics have been rejected, some offerings have been rejected, but he’s not involved in kind of that, like, approval process so he isn’t exactly sure what the criteria is.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: Because he has seen people come in with stuff that are like, legit occult relics that they have turned down. So, he’s not entirely sure what their standards are. He’s not sure what they’re looking for specifically.
Kim: Right. Okay.
Rhi (as Aurelia): Myra, did you have any questions for young Oskar here?
Minna: How does a person like Oskar convincingly play a member of the cult?
Kim: Mm, that’s a good question.
Rhi: Oh, that is a good question.
Minna: As another person potentially like Oskar. [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah, um… go ahead and give me a roll.
Minna: What’s— I think it’s gonna be a Consort, because it’s just like, from one person to another.
Rhi: Yeah, yeah, like I said, this is somebody who is an ally who is here to help you, you’re not— nobody’s being deceitful.
Minna: That’s a 5.
Rhi: 5, okay. So, he looks kind of thoughtful and—
Minna: Can I— sorry, can I back out and come in in character as opposed to my semi-out-of-character?
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: So, I think Myra leans forward.
Minna (as Myra): You don’t exactly seem the type to join a cult. I mean, I’m sure there’s things we don’t know about you, we don’t know that much about you, but on the surface. I’m also one of those people. How do I play the part like you do?
Rhi: He, when you say you don’t seem like the sort of person to join a cult he gives you a very sort of like, thin, amused smile. He’s like:
Rhi (as Oskar): Well, fortunately, I am enough of a joiner to be in several across the city, at least to a degree enough to obtain information for my uncle. Given my family background, I tend to find it easier to approach it from the somewhat interested in power but also interested in knowledge angle. That tends to play well in most of these circles. They don’t entirely trust people who want no power, because why else would you be here, but they don’t want you to be completely power-hungry. So, some amount of interest in power, some amount of interest in knowledge tends to be a reasonable balance.
Minna (as Myra): So they don’t instantly worry if you’re interested in knowledge?
Rhi (as Oskar): Yes. It’s just, you can’t get too greedy with it.
Minna (as Myra): I can play that angle.
Rhi (as Oskar): Particularly with a cult like this that has a rather strict hierarchy and limits on who has access to different things. For instance, you will have to at some point sneak deeper into the sanctuary than I have authorization to pass. I don’t know where they keep the relics that they bring in.
Josie (as Minx): But they are likely on site?
Rhi (as Oskar): They are not one of the more powerful cults in the city. I don’t believe that they have any holdings besides their sanctuary.
Josie (as Minx): Hmm.
Minna (as Myra): Do they want people who are completely new to the occult or people who already have some occult knowledge?
Rhi (as Oskar): Generally, some amount of occult knowledge is required to bring in an appropriate sort of offering.
Minna (as Myra): Mm. Very good.
Rhi: Any other questions you wanna ask Oskar at the moment?
Kim: I think I’m good for now.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: Alright. So, Oskar will, as usual, see yuo all to the front door and basically tell you if you think of anything else you wanna ask you can stop by, you know, and otherwise just let me know when it’s go time. [laughs]
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: Yeah. So, what other sorts of info would you like to gather?
Josie: Hey, Bazso.
Minna: [laughs] We do know a cult member…
Kim: Wait, why do we need Bazso?
Minna: He’s a cult member!
Rhi: Because Bazso’s in a cult.
Kim: Oh, that’s right.
Rhi: He’s in a different cult.
Josie: And he was occupying the Docks for a while, so he probably knows what’s going on with them.
Rhi: Yep. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
Minna: Mm hmm.
Rhi: Mm hmm. This is gonna be fun.
[laughter]
Rhi: So, are you just gonna, like, head over to his headquarters?
Josie: Yep, pretty much.
Rhi: Alright. So, yeah, the Lampblack guards will let you in, walk you up to his office. You do have to wait for a while. It seems like he’s in a meeting. You can occasionally hear raised voices in his office. But after like— it’s probably like, half an hour, the door opens and a few people come out and Bazso, you know, as they’re leaving , you can hear him say:
Rhi (as Bazso): Doing this carefully is better than getting it done fast, so just do your homework and report back before you start setting anything up, alright?
Rhi: And the other people are like, “Yep, got it, boss.” They head off and you can head on in.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Josie (as Minx): Hello, Bazso!
Rhi (as Bazso): Oh fuck, what now?
Minna and Kim: [laughs]
Kim: Oh, that’s so good.
Josie (as Minx): What, no small talk about not seeing each other since Gratitude?
Rhi: He just holds up the copy of the Duskwall Daily with Eliza Ormasa’s story about your duel with a demon and is just like:
Rhi (as Bazso): I can only assume that your appearance here means terrible things are afoot, Minx.
Josie (as Minx): I mean, they’ve been afoot for a while. This is really a conclusion of a long-running thing. The thing we’re starting and what I’m here to ask you about is we’re trying to steal from a particular cult.
Rhi (as Bazso): Okay. I assume it’s not…
Josie (as Minx): It’s not yours, no.
Rhi (as Bazso): Okay…
Josie (as Minx): They’re the Maw of the Void?
Rhi: Gimme a roll. Let’s see what he knows.
Josie: A 5.
Rhi: Alright. He like, leans back in his chair and kind of makes a face and he’s like:
Rhi (as Bazso): Yeah, I’ve heard of them.
Josie (as Minx): I figure they occupy a similar demographic that you were overseeing in the Docks, so…
Rhi (as Bazso): Yeah. They’re, uh, how to put this? Fuckin’ weird.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie (as Minx): It sounds like, from what I’ve heard.
Rhi (as Bazso): Yeah, they uh, I dunno. They hoard stuff? Relics, information. Don’t know what they want it all for, but…
Josie (as Minx): Supposedly it’s for some doomsday ritual. But I imagine that’s not uncommon in cults.
Rhi: Yeah, he kinda makes a like, ‘uh, yeah, that sounds about right’ face. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: He’s like:
Rhi (as Bazso): Yeah, not surprising.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi (as Bazso): Yeah, I mean, I… I don’t think I’ve got anybody in my operation that’s a member, but we’ve run across a few of them in some of my…
Rhi: He kinda like, glances at the silver vase that he has and is carefully choosing his words,
Rhi (as Bazso): Practices. Trying to infiltrate, take some of our things.
Josie: Right. Do you know— so, it sounds like you don’t know much of their inner workings?
Rhi (as Bazso): Uh… not, well, of their inner workings, no. They have… it seems like they have a specific group that they send out to do this stealing or acquisition of other people’s beliefs.
Josie (as Minx): Is there a pattern to what sort of things they take, or is it just anything that’s not nailed down?
Rhi (as Bazso): Oh no, they’re very specific in what they want. They want objects used in rituals, they want the rituals themselves. We had a problem for a while where we had to lock down a lot of things because somebody kept trying to get into some of our services, as it were. They’re very targeted in what they’re looking for, it’s definitely not about anything of material value. Its spiritual value is what they seem to put weight on.
Josie (as Minx): Do you know if they took some sort of fish hook relic?
Rhi (as Bazso): Fish hook?
Josie (as Minx): Yes. Made of leviathan bone.
Rhi (as Bazso): Fuck. Uh, they didn’t take it from us. That’s not really our style.
Josie (as Minx): Well thank you, Bazso, that does help some.
Rhi (as Bazso): I’m not gonna ask why you need to know all this.
Josie (as Minx): I mean, it’s just a job.
Rhi (as Bazso): [sighs] Minx, I don’t think you’ve been doing anything that even remotely counts as “just a job” for a good long while now.
Josie (as Minx): Well, you know, I got— gotta go out with a bang.
Rhi (as Bazso): “Go out” with a bang?
Josie (as Minx): Oh, well, yes. I was somewhat waiting on this, but after more of our demon friends—
Josie: She gestures at the paper—
Josie (as Minx): Compatriots are gone, I at the very least need a break. Probably move in with Nyry?
Rhi (as Bazso): Huh. Well, she must be over the moon about that.
Josie (as Minx): Yeah. Yeah. Although she was worried at first.
Rhi (as Bazso): Can’t blame her. Well, I hope this helped?
Josie (as Minx): It did.
Minna: [laughs softly]
Josie (as Minx): Although I hope that the paper took the time to transcribe my puns. I was very proud of my wordplay during that whole encounter.
Rhi (as Bazso): Uh, yeah. Yeah. They— she recorded all of ‘em.
Josie (as Minx): Excellent.
Josie: [laughs] I have a feeling Bazso shares a hatred for puns.
Rhi: He’s my character, so yes.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi (as Bazso): I can’t believe that you not just fought but apparently bested a demon with puns.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie (as Minx): Yes, well, if you wanna throw someone off their game, you make them mad.
Minna: Quite ignom-igneous.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Minna, I will fight you.
[laughter]
Minna: I’m not even in this scene, I just can’t…
Kim: Meet me outside of the Denny’s between Florida and Chicago at 3am.
Rhi: [laughs] Yep.
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: It’s okay, it just came to me and it needed to be said.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Bazso just shakes his head and is like:
Rhi (as Bazso): Well, good luck. I guess.
Josie (as Minx): Aww, thank you Bazso.
Rhi (as Bazso): Don’t get sappy. Get out of my office.
[laughter]
Josie (as Minx): Fine, fine.
Rhi (as Bazso): Don’t make it a thing. Don’t make it a thing.
Rhi: He like, waves his hands at you to shoo you.
Josie (as Minx): The front page of that paper would make a good, uh, frame for your wall there. I’m leaving, I’m sorry. I’m leaving.
Rhi: He grabs the paper like he’s gonna throw it at you.
[laughter]
Josie: [sings comedy musical sting]
Rhi: [laughs] I really love that they’ve landed on this, like, I don’t know, it has a very contentious sibling relationship vibe.
Josie: Yes.
Rhi: Yeah, that’s what you can get from Bazso. Blaire, you were gonna try and chat with Aranna?
Kim: Yes.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah, you can go track down Aranna.
Kim: Okay. How’s she been? I feel like it’s been a while since I talked to her.
Rhi: It has been a while. Um, she seems to have moved up somewhat in her own cult’s hierarchy.
Kim: Oh, good for her.
Rhi: Yeah. She is doing a lot of, like, scribe work of interpreting texts and writing text and things like that, which she seems to be enjoying a great deal. So yeah, um, go ahead and gimme a roll.
Kim: Sure.
Rhi: Well, let me take a step back. What are you asking her about?
Kim: Uh, just like generally if she knows the cult and any tips or advice or heads up that she wants to give me once I tell her what the plan is.
Rhi: Okay.
Kim: Anything I should be aware of.
Rhi: Go for it, yeah, yeah.
Kim (as Blaire): So this sounds like another Consort?
Rhi: Mm hmm. Yeah, y’all are just going around and chatting with your friends.
Kim: Okay, that’s a 5.
Rhi: 5, okay. So yeah, Aranna has sort of a similar level of info to Bazso. She knows of the cult. Not a fan. They have stolen some texts from her group, the Radiant Word, and they have also— so like, the Radiant Word, their focus is the destruction of kind of ritual objects that are attached to rival orders.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: Part of why they were so willing to help you with breaking into the Archive of Echoes is because, you know, Lord Penderyn is essentially an enemy order now, or part of an enemy order, so making his life more difficult honors their god.
Kim: Yeah. [laughs]
Rhi: They have run into issues where the Maw of the Void has not only stolen stuff from them, but has gotten their hands on things that they intended to destroy and have kept them from being able to do that. A lot of what they focus on for their kind of acquisition relates to, as best they can tell, kind of tracking the patterns, a few areas. Leviathans, things related to the Void Sea…
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: And pre-cataclysmic things.
Kim: [sighs]
Rhi: Or like, specifically right around the time of the cataclysm.
Kim: Right. Okay. That’s gonna be tricky for me because I think— I think the only pre-cataclysmic thing that Blaire has left is that single acorn which she would be wiling to part with, but Void Sea relics could be dangerous for her because Setarra.
Rhi: Yeah. But she also says that things that are also just, like, generally very powerful in an occult sense might also work. They tend to have a preference for those three areas but, you know, if you bring them something really powerful, that might be good enough.
Kim: Okay. That’s good.
Rhi: Yeah. Any other questions or is that— does that help?
Kim: I think that helps.
Rhi: Okay. Uh, Myra?
Minna: Yes. Hello.
Rhi: Any info you would like to gather?
Minna: I honestly wanna know a little more about occult security measures since I’m going to assume they’re gonna have some of those. And like, I’ve done my best, but it’s good to study up a little bit.
Rhi: Yeah, yeah. How do you wanna go about doing that?
Minna: Um, do we have like an architect friend?
Rhi: Yes. Yeah, you have an architect contact on your sheet.
Minna: Yeah, I might just talk to the architect friend.
Rhi: Okay.
Minna: Augus, a master architect.
Rhi: Yes.
Minna: So, I’m gonna go talk to him.
Rhi: okay. Yeah. Go ahead and give me a roll. Let’s start there.
Minna: Oh, and that is a crit, my friend.
Rhi: Okay. So, what kind of information do you want?
Minna: The best ways to break occult security measures besides like, the kind of— we kinda have just done spellcasting at it.
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: But like, if there’s known best practices for that kind of safe-cracking. Or I guess things that he would know to guard against.
Rhi: So, I think that what the conversation is, is like you kind of start asking about this and he just launches into this story of like, they did a gut rehab on this building where like, they left the exterior but gutted the entire interior. And he talks about how the place had been just riddled with these arcane wards and they had to spend, like, an extra month on the project just to find and root all of them out.
Here’s what I think it is. There’s an alchemical oil called Alcahest that stops the effect of any other alchemical. And I think that he says that like, while they were working on this project they kind of worked on a variant of that that can— it’s like an arcane oil that can suppress occult wards. Because basically what they were doing in this house was they would just suppress the ward and then just like, cut out the chunk of wall that it was on without people getting blown up or whatever. And I think… so he describes this and is just like, “Oh yeah, it was great, it sped up the process once it was developed,” you know, etc. And then he like, offhand mentions that they have some left over. And he doesn’t offer it to you, but you casually mention to his secretary on the way out that he said you could have it.
Minna: [laughs]
Rhi: And so, she is going to bring you— I’m gonna roll a die to see how much of this you get. Four vials of, we’re just gonna call it Arcane Alcahest that will suppress the effects of an occult ward for an amount of time. It’ll be like a decent amount of time. No more than an hour.
Minna: Cool.
Rhi: So, do you all wanna gather more info or do you wanna try and figure out some stuff to bring to get into this cult?
Josie: I wanna figure out what to bring.
Kim: Yeah, that’d be good to do beforehand.
Rhi: Okay.
Kim: We still have the blood-iron ring in the vault.
Josie: No, we’re not giving them the blood-iron ring.
Minna: We’re not giving them the blood-iron ring. [laughs]
Kim: I just thought I’d put it out there.
Josie: It crossed my mind. We’re not doing that. Honestly, we should throw that one in acid to.
Kim: Mm… no.
Minna: There’s many reports of cannibalism associated with it. Many.
Josie: Do we have like a fence who can handle relics and shit?
Minna: We burned our bridge with the Dimmer Sisters.
Josie: It occurs to me that this is a chance to just scoop up what we can carry and make sure we actually have some money by the end of this. [laughs]
Rhi: Uh yeah, I mean, I think that you have enough contacts. Like, the Reconciled would probably pay for some of this stuff. Scurlock might pay for some of this stuff.
Kim: Ooh.
Rhi: Aranna might.
Kim: Yeah, that’s a thought.
Rhi: Like, you have enough occult contacts. Like, you wouldn’t be able to go to just— you don’t have a one-stop shop, but you know enough people that you’d be able to offload anything that you stole.
Kim: Yeah, will just have to remember to have sticky fingers.
Rhi: That’s not a bad plan. [laughs]
Kim: What’s in Blaire’s inventory? Lemme check.
Rhi: Just to loot the place.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Kim: I scrolled down Blaire’s character sheet and the first thing in my notes, I have a list of Blaire’s inventory. I have to delete the Hand of Kotar, we don’t have that anymore. I didn’t realize that will still on there. Aw. Um… what does she have?
Rhi: The fact that you’re still sad about the fact that it’s gone cracks me the fuck up.
Kim: I am sad that it’s gone! I’m sad that both the relics—
Rhi: They were evil! [laughs]
Kim: I know, but they were so cool!
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim: And Blaire had them for a long time and also she named them Eyeball Friend and Handy and they were cute, okay?
Minna: I just adore your priorities, they’re wonderful.
Kim: Thank you.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: I try.
Josie: Whatever happened to that fake Hand we put under Bazso’s place?
Minna: [laughs]
Kim: Oh yeah, the fake Hand of Kotar.
Rhi: You left it with Bazso.
Minna: Would Bazso give it back?
Rhi: I’m pretty sure it got destroyed.
Minna: That’s fair.
Josie: Okay. [laughs]
Rhi: I’m fairly certain Bazso destroyed it in a rage.
Josie: Yeah. [laughs]
Rhi: That was a low period in your relationship.
Kim: Yeah.
Josie: Uh huh.
Kim: Yeah, before we start asking around to see if people have things, I just wanna shoot some stuff out there based on the notes on Blaire’s sheet. She still has three leviathan hunter journals. I think Phin gave them to her, I can’t remember, but she has those.
Rhi: Mm… no, I remember you all got those… I think you actually stole those during the bonus episode you did with Waffles where you met the baby leviathan.
Kim: Probably. That could be it. Yeah, other than that, like, at the very bottom of her list she has random vials of Void Sea water and some leviathan blood?
Rhi: Well, you know that they are interested in leviathan stuff.
Kim: Right. And those two things seem like safe bets to me.
Rhi: I will tell you Void— like, a vial of Void Sea water probably isn’t going to be of much help because the Void Sea is right there. Anybody can—[laughs]
Kim: Anybody can jar it up. Yeah.
Rhi: Yeah, anybody can go out there with a bowl or a bucket.
Kim: Yeah, but levi blood, that’s something.
Rhi: Yeah, leviathan blood fits the category of related to leviathans, so do the leviathan hunter journals.
Kim: Okay, cool. I will put an asterisk near those and come back to them, see if that’s what I wanna do.
Minna: I have a potential third, but I haven’t established it in the narrative.
Rhi: Hit me.
Minna: So, you know how Myra can do ghost contract?
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: I’ve always assumed that she found either or a teacher or a book and I’ve never decided. What if it is just a weird old book that she finally dug up out of somewhere?
Rhi: Yeah. I’d allow it.
Minna: That doesn’t seem like an especially dangerous thing. Like, not as dangerous as the blood-iron ring.
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: It was just floating around out in the universe before Myra got to it.
Rhi: Yeah. Yeah, that could work. It is an occult thing.
Minna: So, I think Myra goes digging in her room and comes up out of her chest with:
Minna (as Myra): Well, I have this weird old book.
Josie (as Minx): I am so glad that I’m living with two very strange people.
Rhi: So are those the— so, we’ve got leviathan blood, leviathan hunter journals and ‘weird old book what teaches you ghost contract things’.
Josie: Uh huh. [laughs]
Rhi: Okay. Are those the things you wanna try and go in with?
Josie: Yeah, why not?
Kim: Yeah.
Minna: Sounds good.
Rhi: Okay. So, um, let’s do the Engagement roll. It’s gonna be a 3d6 engagement roll. Uh, two 1s and a 5.
Kim: Oh, wow.
Rhi: Yeah. Dangerously close. But you will be heading in in a risky position. So, you all spend some time kind of preparing for your infiltration of this cult and you eventually reach out to Oskar to let him know that you’re ready. He arranges a time and a place for you all to meet. The cult hideout, their sanctuary, is in the Docks. The entrance to it’s in the Docks. So he gives you kind of a cross street in the Docks district to meet up and when you get there to meet him, Oskar, one, it’s just weird seeing him outside of Scurlock Manor. You’ve never seen him set foot outside the house.
Kim: Mm hmm.
Rhi: And two, he is— also, every time you’ve seen him he’s usually wearing, you know, fairly nice suits. Maybe they’re a little bit out of fashion, but they’re still high quality. The sort of thing you would expect for a, you know, nobleman’s nephew if that nobleman were an immortal who didn’t really care about fashion anymore. Oskar now, he’s still dressed pretty nicely, but it’s a much more, you know, modern fashion. Still not a ton of color in the outfit, it’s mostly blacks and greys, but just a much nicer, more trendy suit. He’s styled his hair differently, you know, he wouldn’t look out of place at any of the parties that Minx crashes. As the three of you come up he gives you all a nod and is like:
Rhi (as Oskar): You all ready?
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah.
Josie (as Minx): Yes.
Rhi (as Oskar): As I’ve said, the relics are kept in areas that I don’t have access to and I cannot assist you once we’re in there, I need to maintain my own cover. It’s going to be difficult enough once your theft is discovered.
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah.
Rhi (as Oskar): But I can get you in. Beyond there, it’s up to you.
Kim (as Blaire): Sounds good.
Josie (as Minx): Alright.
Rhi: So, he leads you into some of the catacombs underneath the Docks and you walk through a little ways and then he turns down an archway that clearly was not part of the original design of the catacombs, it was clearly just kind of punched into the stone wall and dug through. And what’s on the other side is stairs that descend down deep. And you can guess that from how deep you’re going, how far you’re going and the position of where you were in the catacombs that at this point, you’re underneath the bay. Ships and waters of the Duskwall port are above you.
Eventually, you reach the bottom of the stairs and find yourselves in a system of kind of small caves, mostly lit by kind of a glowing fungus, but there’s a few electroplasm lanterns placed here and there. And Oskar leads you through the caves on kind of a winding path until eventually you come to a cave that has a symbol painted on one wall. It’s a large circle that’s filled with rows and rows of very sharp, point triangles. And as you look at it, you realize that it’s just supposed to be these rows and rows of teeth.
Kim: Oh.
Rhi: Like the mouth of a lamprey.
Josie: That’s fun.
Rhi: Except probably with more teeth, yeah.
Josie: Everything’s fine.
Rhi: Yeah. Nothing to worry about. It’s not menacing at all. Particularly as Oskar just puts his hand right in the middle of it.
Kim: Oh!
Rhi: And sort of mutters something under his breath and you see his eyes kind of do that blue-green flare of somebody who’s attuning to the ghost field for a moment. And then he takes his hand back, fold his hands in front of him and waits. And a few minutes pass. He doesn’t seem— like, he’s just sort of standing there patiently. Um, he doesn’t seem perturbed by the fact that he just did something and is now just standing here. I don’t know if the three of you are getting antsy.
Josie: Minx pulls out a compact and is checking her hair.
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna: Goodness gracious.
Kim (as Blaire): Oskar? Are you good? What’s going on here?
Rhi (as Oskar): Oh, I’ve summoned representatives who will speak to you about your interest in joining.
Kim (as Blaire): Do they usually take this long?
Rhi (as Oskar): There’s a number of caves they have to navigate through. They’ll be here.
Rhi: He just kind of goes back to patiently waiting, twiddling his thumbs.
Kim (as Blaire): Nice outfit.
Rhi (as Oskar): Thank you.
Kim (as Blaire): Seriously though, why do I never see you around with like, all the cults that you’re in?
Rhi: [laughs] Oskar glances ceiling-ward for a moment.
Kim: [laughs]
Rhi: As if praying for strength.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: And is about to answer you, but he is saved by the arrival of two apparent cult members. Again, this group doesn’t really have uniforms, but they, you know, come out from deeper in the caves. They’re both dressed the way a lot of dock workers are dressed usually.
Kim: Right.
Rhi: They come out and kind of look the group of you over and the one who appears to kind of be in charge of this pair says:
Rhi (as Cultist): Oskar. We hadn’t expected to see you again so soon. Who are your companions?
Rhi: And Oskar will sort of step to the side and gesture at the three of you and say:
Rhi (as Oskar): Hopefuls who are interested in joining our cause.
Josie: Minx waggles her fingers.
Rhi: [laughs] The leader here sort of nods and looks to the three of you and says:
Rhi (as Cultist): Have you brought offerings?
Kim (as Blaire): We have.
Josie (as Minx): Yes, of course.
Rhi (as Cultist): Well, what do you have?
Josie: Minx pulls the leviathan hunter journals out and presents them with a slight bow and says:
Josie (as Minx): The words aren’t always flattering, but it is an encounter with divinity.
Rhi: They will take the journals and kind of flip the top one open and page through it. Their eyes widen.
Rhi (as Cultist): The hunters are blasphemers, but they do record a great deal of information in their foolish efforts. This is quite valuable, thank you.
Rhi: And will pass it off to the other person.
Kim: Blaire seps forward and presents the very small singular vial of leviathan blood to them, and I don’t think she even says anything because she probably knows that they would be able to recognize it. She just hands it over.
Rhi: Yeah. Again, take it and kind of hold it up to the dim light in here. Again, eyes kind of widen a little bit.
Rhi (as Cultist): Where did you acquire this?
Kim (as Blaire): The clinic formerly belonging to one Dr Hagen.
Rhi (as Cultist): Interesting. Appreciate you bringing it to us. Thank you.
Kim: You’re welcome.
Rhi: And Myra.
Minna: Myra also pulls out a book. She says:
Minna (as Myra): I ran across this book some years ago. It contains some esoteric knowledge, including the means to make your promises stick.
Rhi: Take the book, page through it and kind of furrow their brow a little, page through it some more. And then snap it shut and shake their head.
Rhi (as Cultist): Interesting, but not what we are specifically looking for.
Rhi: And will hold it back out.
Josie (as Minx): Not to— not to sound pleading, but it should be noted that acquiring these was a group effort. Some of them were rather difficult, especially the vial. So, we figured out something to bring because it said one for each of us, but really each of these could come from any of us three.
Rhi: Gimme a roll.
Josie: Well, I got a 3. So…
Kim: Hmm.
Rhi: Oh…
Josie: That’s unfortunate.
Kim: Oofa doofa.
Rhi: Yeah. I think that the one who’s been speaking just kind of gives Minx a sharp look and says:
Rhi (as Cultist): The offerings that each of you chose represents something about you. It says what you value. The two of you have shown that your values are in line with ours. Hers are not.
Rhi: I think it’s just you lose this opportunity. Like, that line of argument, of we all got these together, just isn’t gonna fly.
Minna: Can Myra try to convince them?
Rhi: Yeah. Yeah, you just have to kinda take a different tack on it.
Minna: Yeah, I’m not doing a Command. I’m doing probably a Sway, honestly, because she’s gonna lay out an argument for why this lines up with their values.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah, for sure.
Minna: Okay, so it’s gonna be a Sway…
Rhi: Yeah, so still risky. Standard effect.
Minna: I got a critical.
Rhi: Alright! Alright, well then you do it with increased effect. So, what is your argument that persuades them?
Minna: Myra steps forward.
Minna (as Myra): I’d like to hear your reasons for thinking that what I’ve given you does not show that I align with your values. From what I’ve heard about this cult, it is about pursuing knowledge. About not giving up even when it’s hard to find. I knew nothing about the occult before I found— well, when I was looking for this book. It took me at least a year of searching to find it. I think that this is the kind of persistence that you want on your side.
Rhi: The two of them exchange a look and then kinda glance at Oskar, who gives sort of a solemn nod. The lead one here will sigh and nod a bit and hold their hand out for the book again to take it back.
Minna: She hands it over calmly.
Rhi: They will take it and say:
Rhi (as Cultist): If this tome set you on the path that brought you here, then perhaps it does hold value we have not yet assessed. And regardless, it seems that the three of you are quite skilled in acquiring items of great value.
Kim (as Blaire): We are.
Rhi (as Cultist): Which is something that we have need of. Now, if you’ll follow me…
Rhi: And the four of you, with Oskar, are led through some more caves, and like, as you’re going you understand why it took them a while to get here. It’s a very windy, twisty, turny path through kind of these narrow, dark, damp caves. But eventually, you come out into a very large open cavern. It has some kinda large, naturally-formed stone pillars throughout sort of holding it up, but for the most part it’s just sort of a big, open room that’s been kind of divided up into different spaces.
There’s what looks like sort of a library-type area with a lot of books and papers and, you know, some sort of makeshift desks and tables where people are clearly doing some research. There’s kind of a living area with benches and a small cook station. There’s some tables scattered over there, crates of things, you know, different cheap foods. There’s some cloth partitions hung up in areas that are a little more private. Maybe it’s sleeping quarters, maybe it’s just private space for people to have if they need it. And there’s maybe about a dozen people kind of milling around here, doing different things. A lot of them are over kind of in the library area.
The second person who hadn’t really spoken while you were out there, who is holding all of the things you brought, breaks off and heads off through a tunnel on the right side of this cavern.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: Oskar will sort of nod to the three of you and wish you good luck and may the blessings of The Void be upon you. And he’s going to head off towards the library area.
Kim (as Blaire): And also with you.
[laughter]
Josie: I was about to say.
Minna (as Myra): We lift our hearts up to The Void.
Rhi: And then the three of you, the person who is leading you, as they kind of lead you off towards the left side of this cavern says:
Rhi (as Cultist): You may call me Cavill. I am the…
Rhi: [sighs] I have to think of a title.
Josie: Deacon.
Rhi: Oh, deacon’s good.
Josie: One might say a Deacon of the Deep.
Rhi: A Deacon of the Deep? Yes.
Minna: What?
Josie: Okay, good. We have other Dark Souls nerds here, alright.
Kim: [laughs]
Rhi: Uh no, I just— I’ve never played a Dark Souls, I’ve just been exposed to enough of it from my brother and other people that I know playing it that I’m familiar with a lot of it. But I do like deacon.
Rhi (as Cavill): I am the Deacon of Induction. I am responsible for welcoming our new initiates into our practice.
Rhi: And they lead you down a side tunnel. Couple of turns that you have to take, until eventually you come into a not terribly large chamber that is well-lit with— it seems like they’ve cultivated a lot of that glowing fungus in here, so it’s fairly well-illuminated but it’s all a fairly soft, like, natural light. And in the center of the room is a large, round pool of Void Sea water.
Josie and Kim: Ooh.
Rhi: It is inky black and if you look up at the ceiling above it, you can see a little droplet of water slowly form and then plink down into the pool and another one slowly begins to form. It seems that there’s just like the teeniest, tiniest crack in the ceiling here that allows sea water to slowly, slowly drip in and has filled this pool over who knows how long. And Cavill gestures off to the side where there’s really the only sort of piece of furniture in here. It’s another one of those kind of cloth partitions. And they say:
Rhi (as Cavill): You may change into robes if you would like. Most people prefer not to enter the pool in their street clothes.
Kim: [uncomfortable]
Rhi (as Cavill): It’s difficult to explain why one is soaking wet when one exits.
Josie (as Minx): Oh, we’re going in!
Kim (as Blaire): Uh—
Rhi (as Cavill): Yes.
Josie: Minx is trying to seem like the eager initiate in this, even though she’s like, “No, I don’t wanna do this in fact.” [laughs]
Kim (as Blaire): Is— is this necessary? I… don’t know how to swim.
Rhi (as Cavill): It is very necessary. It is how you will commune with The Void.
Josie (as Minx): Dear, I don’t think you will need to swim a marathon. You’ll just be under the water for a few moments.
Kim (as Blaire): Mm…
Kim: Blaire just shoots Minx a look.
Minna (as Myra): We won’t let you sink.
Rhi (as Cavill): If you seem to be in any kind of distress, I will be here. I can pull you out.
Rhi: It’s a— like, I say a large pool. It’s large for the size of this room. It’s like, you know, a couple kiddie pools put together in terms of sort of circumference.
Kim: Right.
Rhi: It’s not actually that big.
Kim: Or deep, I imagine. Blaire’s just trying to cover her nervousness.
Rhi: Yeah, you can’t tell how deep it is because it’s pitch black.
Kim: Right.
Josie (as Minx): Alright then. Well, let’s get changed. I much prefer the purple robes to this.
Rhi: [laughs] Yeah, the robes that they have are like, it’s more of a like, over-the-head tunic situation and it’s cheap, kinda scratchy fabric.
Josie: Uh huh. [laughs]
Rhi: It’s clearly meant like, put this on, get in the pool, get out. Like, it’s not—[laughs]
Kim: So, do all three of us move to go get changed?
Josie: Yeah.
Minna: Yeah.
Kim (as Blaire): [quietly] I can’t go in there.
Josie (as Minx): [whispers] That’s okay.
Kim (as Blaire): No it’s not.
Josie (as Minx): No—
Kim (as Blaire): No it’s not.
Josie (as Minx): Now, Blaire. We don’t need to go in. We just need to— it’s just him out there. We just need to come out of this booth ready to knock him out and tie him up and then move on with our lives.
Kim (as Blaire): Even being n— near that thing. It— it’s really bad. Okay? I—
Josie (as Minx): Well, stay here behind the partition, then. Myra and I will handle it.
Kim (as Blaire): She could still find me.
Josie (as Minx): Well, we’ll just have to make things swift down here then, hmm?
Kim (as Blaire): Yeah. Yeah. Um. I’ll just stay here. Um, please be quick?
Josie (as Minx): Alright.
Josie: Minx is gonna finish changing into the robe and then I think— are there exactly three back here or is there just like a pile?
Rhi: Yeah, there’s like a little wooden crate with a bunch of them stacked inside. There’s sort of a small, medium, large sizing. [laughs] You just kinda take whatever’s closest. Yeah, it’s not a very precise system. So yeah, there’s a few back there.
Josie: Alright. So, she’s gonna put a robe on over her clothes, ready the trance powder envelope she pulls from one of her pockets and just takes a bunch of the robes and you know the thing where you spin a towel around so it gets nice and tight?
Rhi: Oh, yeah.
Kim: Yes.
Josie: And then you whip people with it? She’s basically just gonna make ropes out of a few of them.
Rhi: Okay.
Josie: So they have something to tie him up.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: Minx is gonna pop her head out from behind the curtain and say:
Josie (as Minx): Uh, Cavill? A moment here please?
Rhi (as Cavill): Oh, um, is something wrong?
Josie (as Minx): Yes, it’s just that the sizing of the robes for our diminutive friend is a bit of an issue—
Josie: And as soon as they are close, trance powder to the face. [laughs]
Rhi: Okay. Gimme a roll to get them to come on over.
Josie: Okay. I’m gonna have that be a Sway. I got a 6.
Rhi: Okay. So Cavill will frown and come over and is just like:
Rhi (as Cavill): I’m afraid we don’t have a great many options—
Rhi: Gets within trance powdering range.
Josie: Yeah, as soon as they open their mouth, trance powder.
Rhi: Alright. You’ll need to make another roll to successfully trance powder them.
Josie: Right. I’m gonna push myself.
Rhi: Risky, standard. Let me— actually, it might be— you all do have this person outnumbered, so I think it’s gonna be risky, greater.
Josie: Alrighty. Also a 6.
Rhi: Okay. Toss the trance powder and it’s perfectly timed, right as they’re going, like, inhaling to say something, just poof! So they inhale most of it. Just kind of blink, blink. Blink, blink. Slowly slide down the wall to sit.
Josie: Uh huh. [laughs]
Minna: [laughs]
Rhi: And are just staring at the pool of water, head cocked to the side, and just like, you can see their eyes are sort of tracking the little water droplets. Every time it falls they’re just…
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: Oh, buddy.
Rhi: Listen, of all the places to be put into a trance, this is probably one of the best. You can just sit here and contemplate [laughs] these water droplets.
Kim: It’s nice. I’m so happy for them.
Minna: People probably do that on purpose sometimes.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Oh, for sure.
Josie (as Minx): Alright. Let’s tie them up, stick them behind the partition and have the run of the place, hmm?
Rhi: Yeah, at this point, between the three of you and one tranced-out person, you don’t have to make a roll to tie them up. You are able to. They offer no resistance. They might not be entirely aware that you’re there. You get them tied up, tuck them back against the wall so they still, like, they can’t be seen form the cave but they still have a nice view of the pool so they can just stare at it.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: And yeah, they’re out of your way. What would you like to do?
Kim (as Blaire): Uh, okay, what’s our next steps? Gotta find the hook, right?
Josie (as Minx): Yes. I imagine it’s back where they took our relics?
Kim (as Blaire): Probably, but who knows where that is.
Josie (as Minx): I mean, we saw what hall they went down, so perhaps we should just go that way.
Kim (as Blaire): As good a start as any. Let’s go.
##Outro [00.53.36]
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 [00.54.48]
Kim: Plain clothes organization.
Rhi: Yeah, yeah. They’re one of those, like, chill, cool, hip cults. That wants to drown.
Kim: Turns chair around, “Hey kids.”
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim: “Do you know who else was a daft punk?”
Rhi: [laughs loudly] Jesus.
Kim: I can’t take credit for that, I saw that as a tweet.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: It’s very good though.