Transcribed by Michelle Kelly (@Michellicopter)

##Intro

Rhi: Welcome back to Duskwall. As always, thank you for listening. We’ve gotten a lot of new reviews in the last month, along with some really lovely emails from fans. We love hearing from our listeners, and leaving us reviews is a great way to help other people find the show.

If you’re going to Gen Con this August, Minna and I will be in attendance. I plan on spending most of my time playing new games and hanging out with friends, but you can see me and a bunch of other excellent podcast hosts on the panel, ‘So You Want to Start an AP Podcast’. It’s on Thursday at 11am, and we’ll be talking about all the ins and outs of starting your own actual play show. I’d love to see you there.

Next, Josie is going to tell us about this month’s featured charity.

Josie: This week’s featured charity is The Sandy Hook Promise, the non-profit that builds at the community level to push for gun control legislation, provide mental health and wellness programs, and policy aid for victims of gun violence. That being said, gun control is something I’m very passionate about. The amount of gun violence in this country is disgusting. So, really, any charities, any fundraisers you can find in the wake of these disasters is part of this. I feature The Sandy Hook Promise because I like what they do and they’re fairly widespread. So, yeah. Stand up against gun violence this month.

Rhi: Please continue to reach out to your representatives and look for organisations you can support. Right now, I strongly recommend seeing what your local reproductive rights or voting rights groups need and how you can pitch in to help.

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

## Story continues [00.01.54]

Josie: As we’re passing over a bridge into that district, Minx is looking out the window and reminiscing about a time when her, Bazso and Nyryx were all wee children. Like, ten to twelve. And Minx is kind of balancing on, like, the stone railing of the bridge. And Nyryx is chastising her to get down, and Bazso’s the sort of kid who, kind of like, always fancied himself the leader anyway, so he’s strolling ahead with a stick in his hand or something like that. And, like, between that, Bazso and Nyryx are bouncing childish ideas off each other for what they need or who they’re gonna steal from next. And Minx just kind of goes along with whatever the most recent suggestion is, and gets really behind it.

Minna: Aww.

Josie: Like, she doesn’t wanna pick while she’s trying to maintain her balance up there.

Rhi: Yeah. So, the carriage that the three of you are in rattles to a stop as Minx, sort of, blinks out of this memory. And the three of you step out, up in the docks. The Cabbie waves at you as he heads off. Where do you think you have set up a meeting with Lani and Roxanne? Do you think you’re just meeting them at their apartment, or somewhere out in the district? We’ve kind of established you’re giving The Hound’s Paw a bit of a wide berth for the moment, so…

Kim: I personally would like to see their apartment.

Minna: I’d be down, if they would do business there.

Rhi: Yeah.

Josie: Yeah, if they feel safe doing that, there’s potential for adorableness.

Kim: Yes. Exactly.

Rhi: So, yeah, you’ve been given their address, and they live in a pretty typical sort of apartment building that you would see in the docks. A little run down, a little shabby looking, you know. There’s  some damage and stains on the walls, but it’s not a crumbling tenement like what you might see down in Dunslough. You head into their building, up the stairs; they live on the third floor, just enough that you’re all a little winded as you get to the top of the stairs. So you get to the door and there’s a doorbell button beside it. When somebody presses it, you can see, like, bright light flashing underneath the gap in the door a couple times. And then, after a few moments, the door opens and Lani greets you with a smile and a wave, and gestures for you to come in.

Josie: I’ll sign:

Josie (as Minx): Thank you for having us.

Josie: And enter.

Rhi: Yeah. So, Minx, you know a little bit of Imperial Sign, we’ve established, right?

Josie: Yeah.

Rhi: Okay, but probably not enough to, like, carry on a full conversation.

Minx: No.

Minna: ‘Enough to flirt’ is, I believe, what we decided.

[laughter]

Josie: Yeah, exactly.

Kim: Enough to flirt and to swear.

Rhi: Yeah, yeah. Lani kind of ushers you in. It’s a small studio apartment. It reminds you a lot of their old offices at the North Hook Mirror. A little crowded, lots of papers and books everywhere. There’s, like, a curtain hung up in one corner, that you can kind of see that it’s blocking off where they have their bed set up. And she guides you all over to the small table that’s in the little kitchenette area and signs:

Rhi (as Lani): If you want tea?

Kim (as Blaire): Oh! Thank you.

Josie (as Minx): Yes, please.

Minna (as Myra): Yes.

Rhi: Okay, yeah, she seems to be, like, checking for each of you to nod.

Minna: Yeah, definitely Myra’s nodding.

Rhi: Yeah, and then she comes over with a tea kettle and pours everyone tea, and then sits down. I think she signs something. Minx, you can tell that it’s a question that she’s asking ‘What… something something’, but you don’t know enough to follow the whole thing.

Josie: I’ll sign back:

Josie (as Minx): I don’t quite understand.

Rhi: She nods and holds up a finger like, ‘Hold on a second’, goes and rummages around through some papers for a bit and then comes back with a stack of blank paper and a pen and sets that down in the middle of the table, and kind of mimes passing the paper back and forth.

Josie: Right.

Rhi: So she starts off. Actually, before we get into this, so, this was the thing, I don’t know if you remember, on the Magpies Twitter a few months ago I was asking if I could consult with people who were D/deaf or hard of hearing.

Kim: Yeah.

Josie: Mm-hmm.

Rhi: I wanted to ask about this particular situation of how it would make sense for everybody to communicate if Roxanne wasn’t around. So, what I’m gonna wanna have us do for this part is basically you’re going to be passing notes back and forth with her. And just in order to, kind of, get the correct cadence, I guess, of it being written, before you say anything I do want you to actually, like, write it out and just read what you wrote.

Minna: By hand?

Rhi: Not by hand, you can just type it in the chat box.

Josie: Ah, gotcha.

Rhi: You don’t even have to send it, but just so that it’s kind of like–

Kim: Can I write it in my journal?

Rhi: Wherever you would like.

Kim: Yeah, okay.

Rhi: Um, yeah. Just so that it’s kind of like, just so we get the right feel for it.

Kim: Of course.

Rhi: That was one thing that a few people recommended.

Minna: Yeah.

Josie: Yeah, so:

Josie (as Minx): How are you doing? Is Roxanne alright?

Rhi: So, she writes back:

Rhi (as Lani): We’re well. She’s at work today. What did you need to talk to us about?

Kim: Okay, so Blaire finishes writing her note, and she asks:

Kim (as Blaire): We need some info on the members of The Circle of Flame.

Rhi: Lani writes back:

Rhi (as Lani): What kind of info? I know we have some names.

Josie (as Minx): We’re trying to complete the list of names.

Minna: So, I think Myra is currently writing down, like, a list. Like, she’s got a piece of paper and a pen and she’s concentrating.

Rhi: Okay, I think Lani will see that and just, kind of like, points at Myra and sits back to wait for that list to be completed.

Minna (as Myra): Here’s what we know. Lady Drake is affiliated, Lady Eleanor Penderyn is affiliated. There’s somebody whose name starts with R, who has underworld contacts. ‘R’ has a contact, ‘T.L.’ who provided Spirit Sight. We think Lord Mora might be, but we don’t know.

Rhi: So Lani takes the list and reads it, and her eyes get progressively wider. And she seems to, kind of, read through it a couple times, and then nods to herself, folds the paper up, goes over to, like, the kitchen and gets a small bowl and matchbook, and sets the paper in the bowl, lights a match and burns it.

Josie: [laughs]

Rhi: And then writes on, you know, a scrap of paper:

Rhi (as Lani): Can’t be too careful.

Kim (as Blaire): Agreed.

Minna: Oh wait, wait, I have another detail.

Josie: [laughs] Don’t let the fire burn out.

Minna: I think Myra holds her finger up, pulls another piece of paper across and writes:

Minna (as Myra): ‘R’ paints.

Rhi: Tears off that section of paper, adds it to the fire, but she nods. [laughs] She’s very paranoid about this stuff.

Minna: No, good job. Myra approves.

Josie (as Minx): ‘Tis the only way to be sure.

Rhi: Yeah, she points at that note and nods vigorously. So then she writes:

Rhi (as Lani): We can look into the ones you suspect, try to get more names. What other info do you need?

Kim: I think that’s… that was it, wasn’t it?

Rhi: If you just want to start with, kind of, confirming your list.

Josie: Mm-hmm.

Josie (as Minx): I believe that is it. The rest shall flow from there.

Rhi: So, she nods and then, kind of like, gathers up the papers that have been written on, and doesn’t light them on fire yet, but sets them over next to the bowl. And clearly she’s going to burn them after you leave. And yeah, I think that, kind of, as you all are finishing your tea you can pass notes back and forth. Just, sort of, more checking in, seeing how things are going. It’s not the easiest way to have a conversation, and I think there’s probably a couple times where Minx is able to sign some things to speed it up a little bit. But yeah, for the most part it’s just kind of passing notes. It seems like she and Roxanne are doing okay. Still kinda having a hard time finding work that is close to what they used to do. So they’re very grateful to have this sort of thing to do.

Josie: Right.

Kim: Yeah.

Josie: What about Amancio? Does he need, like, a record keeper or something? No, Amancio.

Rhi: Maybe. You could ask next time you see him, yeah.

Josie: Because he’s a deal broker. Like, it’s not glamorous work, but it would be something she’s good at.

Rhi: Yeah, yeah, next time you see him you could ask.

Josie: Well I was thinking that I essentially tell her about him right now.

Rhi: Oh, okay.

Josie: And say it might be worth asking, especially if we say we referred you.

Rhi: Yeah. Yeah. Um, so yeah, I think if you write that out, you give an address, Lani will kinda take that and look it over and nod sort of thoughtfully. And she will write out–, like, she sets that paper aside, out of her stuff to burn pile. It looks like she’s just gonna be burning the entire conversation that you’ve had. But that one she sets aside to look into later. And writes out:

Rhi (as Lani): Thank you. I’ll visit when I have a chance.

Josie: And Minx will nod.

Rhi: Yeah, is there anything else you wanted to ask, or look into there?

Josie: Quick question, what would it take to, like, become more fluent in Imperial Sign?

Rhi: I think that it would be a long-term project.

Josie: Okay. That might be a long-term project I start.

Rhi: Yeah. I don’t think you’d be able to get up to fluent, but I think with like, you know, a longer long-term project you could get up to conversational.

Josie: Right.

Rhi: So yeah, that would be something you could do, it would just be a long-term project to work on that.

Josie: And I think Minx is gonna take a look at the burning pile of paper and make a really obvious, like, sigh of fainting, like my heart is wounded.

Rhi: Lani does a very, like, theatrical shrug in response.

Josie: [laughs]

Rhi: So yeah, I think once you’ve all finished your tea she sees you all out and as you’re leaving signs:

Rhi (as Lani): Thanks for coming by, and good luck.

Josie: I’ll sign:

Josie (as Minx): Thank you, and good luck back.

Kim (as Blaire): Bye!

Kim: Blaire waves.

Minna: Same.

Rhi: Yeah. She waves as the three of you head off, and you make your way back down to the street. And I think as you get down to street level and are kinda looking around, figuring out where you’re going next, you see rounding a corner at the far end of the street a group of four Lampblacks, who look like they’re just on patrol. It’s just kind of that show of force thing that gangs do where they have people walk around to remind you that they’re there. They’re not really here looking for you three, they’re just around.

Josie: I’m going to turn and start window shopping.

Rhi: [laughs]

Josie: Don’t make eye contact. [laughs]

Josie (as Minx): [whistles badly]

Kim (as Blaire): Are you trying to whistle?

Josie (as Minx): Yeah. I can’t quite do it.

Kim (as Blaire): Well why bother trying to whistle if you don’t know how to whistle?

Josie (as Minx): Well, practice makes perfect, dear.

Minna (as Myra): Practice makes perfect.

Josie and Minna: [laughter]

Kim (as Blaire): Oh. Yeah, but, I can already do it, like [whistles a tune]

Josie (as Minx): Well good for you, dear.

Kim (as Blaire): You just put your lips together and blow.

Rhi: So, the Lampblacks eventually turn down another corner and head off in a different direction than the three of you.

Josie (as Minx): Well, I believe our next order of business, because it has been a long time coming, is to plant a hand where the sun don’t shine.

Kim (as Blaire): [laughs] Like in a butt?

Minna: [snorts with laughter]

Josie (as Minx): Yes, Blaire, that was the innuendo. That was the innuendo. I’m talking about setting up our friend here.

Kim (as Blaire): [giggles] It’s a good one.

Rhi: [laughs] My God.

Josie: I should be mad that she dissected the joke, but…

Kim (as Blaire): I dissect things, it’s a living.

Josie (as Minx): You are especially on brand today, Blaire.

Kim (as Blaire): Thank you.

Minna (as Myra): And we all know how Minx loves branding.

Josie (as Minx): Quite.

Kim (as Blaire): Branding is consistency.

Josie (as Minx): I cannot wait for this war to be over so that we can make another brand push.

Kim (as Blaire): To where the sun don’t shine?

Rhi: [laughs]

Josie (as Minx): You know, I suppose I set you up for that one, and I should not be upset.

[laughter]

Rhi: So, what are the three of you doing towards the hand and the Lampblacks and other such things?

Josie: We’re gonna plant it in one of The Lampblacks’ holdings.

Rhi: Yes.

Josie: Thing is, we’ve gotta plant it somewhere reasonably secure, but also not take anything from that secure location, so as not to give the game away.

Rhi: Yep. So you know where their headquarters is.

Josie: Mm-hmm.

Kim: Yes.

Josie (as Minx): Blaire, do you know if there’s a way to access some catacombs near under their headquarters in which to plant it?

Kim (as Blaire): You betcha.

Rhi: Yeah, you all do have those underground maps and such, still. I will also remind you, you all did meet a member of The Lampblacks. One of your contacts is Remira, a reluctant Lampblack, and they might be willing to provide some information.

Kim: That’s good.

Josie: I guess it’s just a matter of hoping that they are a very reluctant Lampblack.

Rhi: [laughs]

Josie: Not merely discontent.

Rhi: Well, where do you wanna start?

Josie: I believe we need to pour over our maps.

Kim: Okay, so maybe maps first and then contact Remira second.

Josie: And someone besides me should do it, because I will be easily recognised.

Rhi: The problem is none of you are particularly unknowns at this point. Minx and Myra both are well–, because Myra, you know, has visited Bazso a few times, Minx obviously is well-known, and Blaire, even though she’s only been there once, is Tycherosi, and Tycherosi are uncommon enough. Yeah, you’re probably not gonna wanna show your faces around Lampblacks HQ too much.

Minna: They know us too well.

Rhi: Yeah.

Josie: Honestly, I’m still not convinced that we need the help. If we study our maps thoroughly and proceed cautiously, we are likely to find a good location.

Rhi: Alright, well, let’s start with the maps.

Kim and Josie: Mm-hmm.

Rhi: Just gonna head back to The Nest?

Kim: Yeah.

Rhi: Alright. So once again we find The Magpies in the common room of The Nest with a bunch of maps spread out over the table. I need an update on the other residents of The Nest; where is Kevin and what is he wearing?

Josie: Um… Kevin is around the planning table as well. Kevin is wearing a page cap and monocle.

Rhi: Excellent.

Kim: Very good.

Josie: Because he is studying as well.

Rhi: Good, good. And where is Hex? Where is our new cat?

Kim: Hex is on the top of the tallest bookshelf in the common area, and he is curled up on the top of that taking a nap. And his hind legs are just stretched out so you can see his little beans. And he is just curled up in a way that is so cosy.

Josie: Aww. His little purple beans.

Rhi: Excellent. Alright. Somebody wants to roll some kind of Gather Info here.

Kim: I’ll roll a Study. Ugh. Okay, so my highest was a 4.

Rhi: Okay. So you are looking for some kind of, like, catacombs that connect to Lampblacks headquarters?

Josie: Mm-hmm.

Kim: Yeah, connect or go underneath, go nearby, anything like that.

Rhi: Okay. So, one of the underground canals goes right underneath.

Josie: Ooh, that’s perfect.

Rhi: And it looks like there… So what it used to be, was there was like a dock there, which when it was actually used as a coal warehouse, coal could be loaded out and shipped out to the river. So there is a dock down there that’s got access, but you’re not sure exactly what the layout of that space is. It’s a fair assumption that The Lampblacks are making use of that, if you’re got a, you know, pre-existing underground semi-hidden dock, you’re gonna use it.

Kim: Yeah.

Josie: Right.

Rhi: But you don’t know exactly what else is in that area besides, like, a dock.

Josie: Well, I think I know who to ask about that.

Kim: Mm.

Minna: [giggles]

Josie: The Gondoliers.

Rhi: Yeah.

Kim: Gay! Gay! Gay! Gay!

Josie: [laughs] Unfortunately, this is business. And not gay business.

Rhi: Yeah, so if you wanna….

Josie: I would like to Consort with The Gondoliers a little bit and ask about what’s around that area.

Rhi: Okay.

Josie: I got a 6.

Kim: Woo.

Rhi: Okay. So, because you got a 6, the Gondolier you consort with is Kay.

Josie: Yay! Hey girl.

Kim: Hey girl, hey.

Rhi and Josie: [laugh]

Rhi: Yeah, I think, like, you know there’s a few bars in the area that are kind of along the canals, where Gondoliers will grab a drink when they’re on a break, or coming off duty. So, you head in there to see who you can find, and Kay is there with a couple of her friends. Waves you over to the table, buys you a drink.

Rhi (as Kay): Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you around. Not gotten shot again, have ya?

Josie (as Minx): Yes, well… only once or twice.

Rhi: She just shakes her head.

Josie (as Minx): I heal quickly.

Rhi (as Kay): You better!

Josie (as Minx): Besides, it takes more than a gunshot to keep a good woman down.

Rhi (as Kay): Indeed.

Rhi: And she, like, you know, holds up her glass in a toast. Takes a drink.

Rhi (as Kay): So, what brings you here?

Josie (as Minx): Well, unfortunately business needs to get out of the way first. There’s a certain canal that I understand is no longer public beneath Crow’s Foot. And I was wondering if there were still records of what the layout of that is.

Rhi (as Kay): I mean, there’s a lot of docks that have come in and out of use. Can you be a little more specific about where?

Josie (as Minx): Uh… beneath the headquarters of The Lampblacks. [clears throat]

Rhi (as Kay): Oh. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that’s not a public one, but it gets plenty of use. The Lampblacks send out from there pretty often. Yeah, it used to be part of a warehouse. It’s a pretty sizeable dock setup. It’s close to the river, so the canals are wider down there, they were able to get some barges in. Yeah, and on the dock is, you know, the old office where they would process payments and paperwork for the coal and everything.

Josie (as Minx): And I imagine there is catacomb access? It is an underground canal, after all.

Rhi (as Kay): If you go far enough, right that close to the district, no. You’d have to go down the canal a little ways to get to the catacombs. But, if you needed to make a hasty exit, it would be an option. Knowing you.

Josie (as Minx): I see. Yes, that does seem to be our specialty.

Rhi (as Kay): It is guarded, as well. They’ve got people posted up down there.

Josie (as Minx): I’d imagine so. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to go on this labyrinthine adventure? Or is it too risky?

Rhi: I think when you say it, like, she looked a little bit like, ‘Eh, I don’t know’, but then when you say it’s too risky, you have unintentionally poked her in the pride.

Josie: [laughs]

Rhi: And so she kinda like straightens up a little and takes a big swig and is like:

Rhi (as Kay): Of course I’ll take ya.

Kim: Yay!

Josie (as Minx): Good, I thought so.

Rhi: And one of her friends sitting next to her, just like, rolls his eyes really theatrically.

Kim: [sings] The power of queer.

Josie: Yes.

Rhi and Josie: [laugh]

Rhi: So yeah, you got a ride.

Josie [as Minx]: And now that the boring stuff is out of the way, I do believe we have some catching up to do.

Rhi (as Kay): Indeed we do.

Josie (as Minx): And some friends to meet.

Rhi: Yeah. So, after you’ve gotten that information, you have a nice night hanging out with Kay and her friends.

Kim: Do you get a smooch?

Josie: I dunno. Like, Minx is, I think part of Minx being more reckless is she’s more willing to get drunk and let her hair down a little bit.

Kim: And smooch.

Josie: Smooch, yeah, smooch. Yeah, Minx initiates.

Kim: Woo!

Rhi: Yeah, Kay’s open to it, if Minx goes for it, so.

Josie: Yeah, I think it is just smooching tonight. But smooching.

Rhi: Okay.

Kim: Woo.

Josie: Yeah. And Minx is still gone way longer than she quoted.

Rhi: [laughs]

Kim (as Blaire): So she’s probably having a good time.

Rhi: Myra. Do you wanna do any info gathering?

Minna: Hmm. I think I’m gonna try and get in contact with Remira.

Rhi: Okay. How do you wanna go about doing that?

Minna: Honestly, I’m going to lurk semi-anonymously around Lampblacks HQ.

Rhi: So just hanging around to catch Remira when they leave, basically?

Minna: Yeah.

Rhi: Okay, yeah. So this sounds like it could be Study, it could be Prowl. It could be Hunt, if you’re kind of trying to do a tracking sort of thing. You’ve got a few options for how you wanna approach this.

Minna: I mean, if you’re allowing Study… [laughs]

Rhi: Yeah. You’re very intently watching one particular building, is my rationale there.

Minna: I’ve gotten a 5.

Rhi: Okay. So, you hang out outside Lampblacks HQ for a couple hours, but then you do eventually see Remira come out. However, they do not come out alone. They are with two other Lampblacks and it looks like they’re kinda going out on the same, sort of, patrol thing.

Minna: Hmm. See, here’s the thing. The level of stalking here might be wait around and kind of track this person’s movements until I figure out where they go when they’re off.

Rhi: So, I think that you follow this patrol group for a little bit, and there’s a point where the other two Lampblacks, like, the three of them stop outside of a bar. And they all kinda turn inwards, and you can’t quite see, but you can tell from the hand, arm, movements that they’re doing… what would the Duskwall version of Rock, Paper, Scissors be? Do you think it’d still be Rock, Paper, Scissors?

Minna: Uh…

Rhi: Probably.

Josie: Mm-hmm.

Minna: All of those things exist.

Rhi: Yeah, yeah, so you can see that they’re throwing Rock, Paper, Scissors real quick, and then Remira kinda, like, their shoulders slump and one of them claps them on the arm, and the other two head inside. And it’s clear that, like, ‘Eh, we’re gonna take a quick break and go grab a drink, you stay out here and keep watch’. So, Remira is outside on the street, but alone for the moment.

Minna: Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and go for it.

Minna (as Myra): Hello.

Rhi: Remina kinda looks over and like, squints at you a little bit. They’re clearly doing that thing of, like, ‘I recognise you, but I do not know from where’.

Kim: And damned if I know your name.

Rhi: Yeah, yeah.

Minna: She holds out her hand.

Minna (as Myra): Myra Keel. The Magpies.

Rhi (as Remira): Oh, oh. Right. [hesitantly] Hi.

Rhi: They’ll shake your hand.

Rhi (as Remira): Wh… What did you need?

Minna (as Myra): I have a proposition for you. There’s money in it. Not much, but some.

Rhi (as Remira): Mm-hmm…

Minna (as Myra): We need a little help with the layout of The Lampblacks HQ. We won’t bring you into it.

Rhi (as Remira): [long sigh]

Rhi: They kinda glance back over their shoulder towards the bar. They’re like:

Rhi (as Remira): Um… I mean, I can tell you about the interior, where everything is.

Minna (as Myra): Do you have any access to some higher security areas? Or at least knowledge of where they would be?

Rhi (as Remira): Um, I mean, there’s Mr Baz’s office. Don’t get in there without permission. That’s up on the second floor. There’s the vaults, down in the old coal storage chutes.

Minna (as Myra): Below the lair?

Rhi (as Remira): Um, yeah. They’re big holes, basically, that I think they used to store coal in, that are underground. Those are locked up real tight.

Minna (as Myra): Those two seem like the most likely for what we’re looking for. What kind of security on them, do you know? Is it just guards, there are probably, I mean obviously, locks. Are there any kind of spark-craft or magical defences?

Rhi (as Remira): Both, as far as I know. The vaults in particular. Some start-up gang tried to break in during the war that they were having with the Red Sashes a while back. I wasn’t part of the gang back then, but yeah. Mr Baz got pretty paranoid about the vaults, and so added a lot of extra security.

Minna (as Myra): Seems about right.

Rhi (as Remira): Should I…

Minna (as Myra): Should you…?

Rhi (as Remira): Well, I’m just, I don’t want to know what you’re planning. I’m just wondering if I should maybe not be around when it happens?

Minna (as Myra): I’m not going to say that it’s gonna be completely safe to remain with The Lampblacks. But, in the immediate next few days, I can’t give you any predictable window of danger.

Rhi (as Remira): Okay.

Minna (as Myra): Just, things are gonna be getting hotter for the gang. Hopefully.

Rhi (as Remira): Right.

Minna (as Myra): Sorry to you, it’s nothing personal.

Rhi (as Remira): No, I understand. I just, you know, gotta pay the rent. You did say that there was money in this information.

Minna (as Myra): There is.

Minna: Out of character, what kind of money do you think is appropriate for this?

Rhi: One coin is a week’s wages. Yeah, one coin. Two if you’re feeling super generous.

Minna: I just have to take it out of my stash, so I think it’s… money’s tight enough that I can only afford a coin. But she does. She hands over a coin.

Minna (as Myra): I hope that’s enough to start to tide you over.

Rhi (as Remira): It’ll do.

Rhi: And they, like, tuck it away inside their jacket, and then are like:

Rhi (as Remira): You should probably get going. Those two were just heading inside for one drink.

Minna (as Myra): Well, you have a nice night. Thank you.

Rhi (as Remira): Yeah. Good luck, I think.

Rhi: So, I think we find you all back at The Nest having reconvened, I’m gonna say the morning after Minx’s night out on the town with The Gondoliers. I think you kinda were doing things that day, slash, that night. So, first question: How hungover is Minx?

Josie: Um… it’s not the worst she’s ever been.

Rhi: [laughs]

Kim (as Blaire): Could be better.

Rhi: Yeah, so what are you all thinking in terms of plan here?

Josie: Well, it’s a sort of maze of canals under the whole district, right?

Rhi: Yeah.

Josie: So, I vote we try to go in an entrance that isn’t the one closest to The Lampblacks, and navigate over there.

Kim: It’s a possibility.

Rhi: So, Stealth plan probably, trying to sneak in, plant this thing, sneak out.

Kim: Yeah.

Josie: Definitely.

Rhi: You all are very good at the ‘sneak in’ part. It’s the sneaking out.

Minna: [laughs]

Josie: Right.

Rhi: You get in very quietly, you leave in a firey explosion. Okay. So, what are you all thinking for your loadout?

Kim: Light.

Minna: Yeah.

Josie: Yeah, same.

Rhi: Okay, so light load for everyone. Let’s do the engagement roll. So this will be a 2d6 engagement roll.

Kim: Okay.

Josie: Okey dokey.

Rhi: Okay. That’s a 5.

Josie: Neat.

Rhi: So, you meet up with Kay, I think later that night. She gets you through the canals without a problem, drops you off. There is, you know, walkways along the edge of the canal, so she drops you off there. You’re kind of closer to a catacombs entrance than to The Lampblacks’ dock, but you can see, like, the flickering light of where the dock is, looking down the canal. And so, your plan is to head into the catacombs and try and find a place nearby to plant it?

Kim: Yeah.

Rhi: Okay. You head into the catacombs and I think you have your maps of, kind of like, you have a map of Crow’s Foot above ground and then a map of below ground Crow’s Foot. You’re trying to line them up and make sure that you’re heading in the right direction, so you’re gonna end up underneath The Lampblacks’ warehouse. And you’re heading in the right direction, you’re feeling pretty good, you’re kind of starting to look around for maybe possible places you could, you know, set this up. Oh, before I get into this, who is carrying the arm?

Josie: I think–

Kim: Me.

Josie: Yeah.

Rhi: [laughs] Not sure why I asked. Probably could’ve guessed that.

[laughter]

Josie: Blaire has the spooky arm.

Rhi: Yeah.

Minna: God, we’re just carrying an arm. I keep forgetting.

Rhi: Yeah, it’s fine. Just wait until you find the–

Josie: It’s not a full arm, it’s just from the elbow forward.

Minna: It’s such a ghoulish plan.

Kim (as Blaire): It’s a forearm.

Rhi: Just wait until you find the real Hand of Kotar.

Kim (as Blaire): Ooh!

Minna: Oh.

Josie: Ugh.

Rhi: [laughs]

Kim (as Blaire): I’m excited for that.

Minna: I love the different inflections of ‘ugh’.

Rhi: You’re starting to look around for potential places where you could maybe set up your trap, where you could hide this away in a way that looks like The Lampblacks were the ones who planted it. And then you hear kind of a weird, unexpected sound. That of a pickaxe on stone.

Kim: Oh.

Josie: Huh. Do we see another light?

Rhi: If you stop and look around and kind of get your bearings, you can tell that the noise is coming from off to your left, and there is a little bit of light down there. And as you’re looking, you hear footsteps behind you, as if somebody else is coming up the passage. You’re in a risky position. You’ve got an opportunity to hide and there are, you know, you’re in the catacombs, there are a lot of nooks and crannies and places.

Josie: Okay. I think we just need to pull off into a side passage and turn out any lights we have.

Minna: Mm-hmm.

Kim: Yeah. What would that be? Prowl?

Rhi: Yeah. A group Prowl, to hide. If you wanted.

Minna: I only have 1, I can lead.

Josie: Okay.

Kim: Okay. I’m gonna push myself as well, I only have 1 dot in Prowl.

Rhi: Okay.

Josie: I got a 3.

Kim: Okay. 6.

Minna: I rolled a 3 too, so I take 2 points of Stress and we do well.

Rhi: Yeah, yeah.

Minna: I love group Prowl rolls. It’s the best.

Kim: It’s the way to do it.

Rhi: You all duck into this dark side passage and put out your lanterns and are all pressed back against a wall. I’m picturing, since Myra was the one leading, that Myra has her arms out pushing the other two back against the wall into, like, the deepest shadows. You stand there and you can see a light getting closer and then a pair of figures in Lampblacks uniforms, or they don’t really have uniforms, but the standard Lampblacks get-up, walk past. One of them is carrying a lantern. They’re both carrying, like, one of them has a pickaxe, the other has a shovel. Which is weird.

Josie: Yeah.

Rhi: The Lampblacks do not have, really, much affiliation with mining directly anymore. You know, they were the old Lamplighters Guild; they never really did mining themselves. You kinda catch fragments of what they’re saying. One of them is grumbling about:

Rhi (as Lampblack): Of course the calculations would lead to a sealed-off chamber.

Rhi: And the other one is like:

Rhi (as second Lampblack): Well, it’s better than last time, where it was all the way out in The Deathlands.

Rhi: And the other kind of shudders theatrically. And they keep walking and turn in the direction of the pickaxe sound that you had heard.

Josie (as Minx): [whisper] Are they already looking for it?

Minna (as Myra): [whisper] Calculations…?

Kim (as Blaire): [whisper] Since when did The Lampblacks go into The Deathlands?

Rhi: They don’t? To the best of your knowledge.

Josie (as Minx): [whisper] What the hell?

Kim (as Blaire): [whisper] Yeah, that’s why I’m asking! Since when?

Josie (as Minx): [whisper] Do you think the rumour I spread got to them, and they think it’s actually underneath them?

Minna (as Myra): [amused whisper] There’s no way.

Minna: Can we… are they leaving?

Rhi: They’re heading deeper into the catacombs.

Minna: I really wanna know what’s happening!

Josie: Yeah. Like, is the way they’re heading more under The Lampblacks’ place?

Rhi: Kinda, yeah.

Josie: What the fuck.

Rhi: It’s more or less the direction that you were planning on going.

Josie: Oh no.

Josie (as Minx): [whisper] Well, if they’re already down here looking, they’re gonna find this. Which may be an asset to us?

Minna (as Myra): Yeah? I don’t know if we want Bazso to know.

Kim (as Blaire): [whisper] No, no of course we don’t want Bazso to know.

Josie (as Minx): Fuck.

Minna (as Myra): [whisper] I really wanna know what’s happening.

Rhi: [laughs]

Kim (as Blaire): [whisper] Well, we could split up?

Josie: Are we in a side passage?

Rhi: You basically ducked into sort of a little nook. It’s not really a full passage. It’s just kind of a little side area. The place where they’re at is kind of the direction you were planning to head in.

Josie: Mm-hmm. I think we might just need to head to a different portion of the catacombs.

Minna: Here’s the thing, speaking as a player. I just want to know things. I’m sorry. Curiosity is my flaw.

Josie: Yeah, I really want to know too, but, like, if we go forward with this, this will completely tank our plan, most likely.

Kim: Unless…

Rhi: Unless?

Kim: We split up the party.

Rhi: Go on…

Kim: That’s it, we split up the party. We break rule number one and split up the party.

Josie: Are you saying have someone else go off and hide the hand, and the others find out what the fuck’s going on?

Kim: Yeah, follow those folks while the others plant the hand.

Josie: Okay. Is it alright if I plant the hand?

Kim (as Blaire): Mm…

Kim: Blaire’s gonna, like, clutch the box.

Josie (as Minx): I’m just thinking that the one going off alone should be the one with a penchant for swords.

Minna (as Myra): Are you volunteering yourself?

Josie (as Minx): Yes, dear.

Minna (as Myra): Not a bad idea.

Josie (as Minx): Alright, here’s the plan, dears. You two will investigate this, I will find another passage to head down and plant the hand, and meet you back with Kay.

Minna (as Myra): Please be safe.

Josie (as Minx): I have an impeccable sense of caution.

[laughter]

Josie: Minx will smirk at herself as she heads off.

Kim (as Blaire): Be careful with that.

Josie (as Minx): I can be careful with precious objects, dear.

Kim (as Blaire): Okay. And come back.

Josie (as Minx): I will come back.

Kim (as Blaire): Okay.

Rhi: Alright. Let’s follow Minx, I think, to start with. You’re gonna be walking in the catacombs for a while before there’s, like, a point where it turns so it’ll get underneath the Lampblacks’ headquarters again. And I think it’s actually gonna put you closer to the vaults, where you’re gonna be dropping it off.

Josie: Okay, yeah. Do I need to, like, check to not get lost, or to find something?

Rhi: Yeah, yeah. Some kind of roll for either, like, if you’re sneaking, or if you’re kinda trying to keep an eye to keep your bearings…

Josie: Yeah. Is Survey applicable here? To like, keep my bearings and find something?

Rhi: Yeah, yeah.

Josie: I’m gonna push myself on this.

Rhi: Okay. It is risky, wandering around in the dark, alone, underneath Duskwall.

Kim: As one does.

Josie: I did get a 6 though.

Rhi: Okay, awesome. So, you make your way through the tunnels. Fortunately, you are able to keep your bearings pretty well. And you can kinda tell when you start getting close to the vaults, because you kinda start getting this, like, weird tingling feeling in your teeth, like when you get really close to the lightning barrier. It’s a similar feeling. And you turn the corner, and Remira was underselling the level of security that Bazso put on the vaults. Clearly he anticipated that people might try to blast their way through the underground part to get in. So there’s basically, like, there’s two, sort of, holes where they used to store coal. So, around each of the, sort of, the exterior of those, that go down through the catacombs, there is just this crackling wall of electricity. It’s like he’s built a miniature lightning wall down here. It’s not as bright, it’s not as strong, but it’s there.

Josie: So, like, the passage opens out onto one of these chutes, but it’s blocked by lightning?

Rhi: No, it doesn’t open into–, I’m trying to think how to describe this. So, the top of the chute is up in the warehouse. And then the chute goes down, and part of it goes through the catacombs, but it’s still, like, a solid wall. So, like, the tube goes through here. Does that make sense?

Josie: Uh-huh. And then around the tube is lightning?

Rhi: Yeah. And you can also see, like painted and carved into the rock are large arcane symbols and wards that you, both kind of just from growing up in Duskwall and particularly being around Blaire for the last year or so, you recognise as spirit bane wards. But also, proximity alarms, basically. If somebody gets close to those wards, it’ll set off an alert of some kind.

Josie (as Minx): Gods above, Bazso, when did you find the time?

Rhi: But, in addition to this whole setup there is, fairly close by, a small kind of side room. But it’s fairly close to this whole security setup. You’re not sure if it’ll trip the wards. You are a little worried about getting zapped by errant lightning, because this is not as well controlled as the lightning barriers. But, like, you do see a place where it would reasonably seem like this is a place where they might have stashed it.

Josie: [sighs] Okay. Um…

Rhi: So, I think we’re gonna, while you’re contemplating that–

Josie: Yeah, I will ponder.

Rhi: We’re gonna cut back over to Myra and Blaire. Are you two sneaking down after this weird mining expedition?

Kim: Yep.

Minna: Mm-hmm.

Rhi: Alright. So yeah, give me some kind of a sneakin’ roll.

Minna: Do you wanna do another group Prowl?

Kim: Yeah, I’m not gonna push myself, though. I’m getting pretty high on stress.

Minna: Uh, I’m trying decide whether I wanna push… I think I want to push myself, just because, I don’t know… What does a Devil’s Bargain look like?

Rhi: Um, you know what, you are in catacombs. There’s a ghost down here that’s gonna notice you and probably cause trouble down the line.

Kim: Not if I can help it.

Minna: Yeah, I mean, I think that’s something that we can handle.

Kim: Yeah.

Rhi: Alright.

Minna: And that’s a 6.

Kim: I rolled a 3.

Rhi: Okay.

Minna: I’ll take that one point of stress.

Rhi: The two of you sneak your way down this hall towards the light and peer into the room where this digging seems to be happening. There’s a small number of what look like Lampblacks down here, digging away at what looks like a deliberate, like, it’s not a solid wall, it’s not a collapsed ceiling, it looks like it’s something that was deliberately bricked over.

 

Kim: Huh.

Rhi: That they are trying to dig through. One of them is sitting off to the side with a book that they are kind of scribbling some notes in. And sitting beside them, on kind of a low stone shelf is a brightly polished silver pitcher. Myra, you recognise it, after a second, as previously you saw it in Bazso’s office.

Minna: Hmm.

Rhi: Blaire, you’re starting to put a few things together.

Kim: Okay.

Rhi: This pitcher, the talk of going out into The Deathlands, and of specific calculations. This sounds like it has to do with the cult of a Forgotten God called The Empty Vessel.

Kim and Minna: Ahh.

Josie: Mm.

Rhi: This God’s, kind of, primary rite is a gathering of believers in a sacred place, you know, that can be out in The Deathlands, or at sea, or within the city.

Kim: Yeah.

Rhi: So, you’re kind of like, oh maybe they found a sacred place under here. So, that’s weird.

Kim (as Blaire): Super weird. Myra, I think I know what they’re doing.

Minna (as Myra): What is it?

Kim (as Blaire): I think they may have found an abandoned site of an old cult of a Forgotten God? It’s called The Empty Vessel.

Minna (as Myra): That is strange.

Kim (as Blaire): Yeah.

Minna (as Myra): But it does lend credence to our story.

Kim (as Blaire): It does.

Minna (as Myra): It’s always better to have more information than less. Let’s back off, though.

Kim (as Blaire): Yeah, I think we’ve got all we need.

Rhi: The person who had the book, like, flips it shut and sets it aside and stands up and is like:

Rhi (as Lampblack): Hurry it up, you need to have that wall open by the time Bazso gets down here. He’s not gonna wanna wait on this ritual.

Kim (as Blaire): [whisper] Wait, woah, woah, woah, woah. Okay, so Bazso does know about this.

Minna (as Myra): Oh.

Kim (as Blaire): And they said ‘ritual’.

Minna (as Myra): [whisper] So Bazso’s in deep with this cult.

Kim (as Blaire): Yeah. Myra, I think we should stick around for this.

Minna (as Myra): Are you sure?

Kim (as Blaire): Yeah. If we can get evidence that Bazso is doing a ritual for a cult, that’s big.

Minna (as Myra): On the one hand, I do like to have information, on the other this could get dangerous, if he’s down here. Are we ready to accept the risk?

Kim (as Blaire): Think about who you’re talking to.

Rhi: [laughs] Yeah, I was gonna say, I think that Blaire, this is sort of leaning into your Weird vice.

Kim: Oh, yeah.

Rhi: If you want to leave you’re gonna have to make a resistance roll, cause Blaire is just, like, this is so much her shit that it is going to be an active struggle where she’s gonna take stress in order to leave.

Kim: I, uh, nope. [laughs] Yeah, no, I’m not even gonna try to resist.

Minna: We can stay, I think she can, yeah, Myra can be convinced. Because, again, she likes to know things.

Rhi: Yeah.

Kim: Sweet. Let’s break out the popcorn.

Rhi: I will say, like, the two of you are not in, like, a dedicated hiding place. You’re just kind of peering in from the hallway.

Minna: Yeah, let’s see if we can find a better hiding place. Can I roll, like, a Study or something?

Kim: Mm.

Rhi: Sure. Still gonna be risky.

Minna: Oh, damn. That’s a 3.

Rhi: Yeah, I think as you are looking around for a better hiding place, your foot hits a rock and it goes skittering across this hallway. And a few people in the room kinda turn and look back, and are going:

Rhi (as Lampblack): Wait, who’s other there? What was that?

Rhi: And they’re coming towards you with lanterns and are going to be upon you in moment, putting you in a desperate position.

Kim (as Blaire): Oh shit, oh shit!

Minna: Should I resist then?

Rhi: Up to you.

Kim: [sighs] I have an alternate idea.

Minna: What’s the alternate idea?

Kim: Uh, Rhi you mentioned that there was a ghost around here that could cause trouble?

Rhi: It has not appeared yet.

Kim: Although, I could put on my spirit mask, look into the ghost field, locate them and try to Command them.

Rhi: It’s gonna be desperate.

Kim: What about a Devil’s Bargain along with that?

Rhi: No matter what you roll, you’re gonna get the attention of a ghost.

Kim: Okay.

Rhi: Okay. This is desperate, just bear that in mind.

Kim: I’ll roll Attune first, just to look into the ghost field.

Rhi: Okay.

Kim: That’s a 5, baby.

Rhi: Okay, so Blaire quickly puts on her spirit mask and looks into the ghost field. And you turn around just in time to see a ghost. It kind of has lost most distinguishing features and it has that kind of gaunt look of a ghost that has not fed well.

Kim: Okay.

Rhi: And it’s gonna lunge at you and possess you. That’s level 3 harm.

Kim: No, no, I’m resisting that.

Rhi: Yep. You do get a bonus on your resistance for your Iron Will.

Kim: 2, 3, 4 and an extra for Iron Will. That’s 5 dice, my dude.

Rhi: Alright.

Kim: Oh Christ. Uh, my highest was a 3?

Rhi: Okay. So you’ll take 3 stress.

Kim: That taps me out on stress. Do I take a trauma?

Rhi: Uh, yes.

Kim: Uh, what the fuck?

Josie: Oh shit.

Kim: [laughs] What the fuck?!

Rhi: For what it’s worth, you also take a trauma if you get possessed. Myra, you see Blaire look into the ghost field. She gasps. The area around you gets extremely cold for a second, and then Blaire passes out. She just collapses at your feet.

Minna: Um.

Rhi: So Blaire’s gonna be unconscious for the rest of the scene. You still have people coming towards you.

Minna: And I have to get her out of here with me.

Rhi: Yep. And we’re gonna cut back over to Minx.

Josie: Uh-huh. And I am coming back with a weird question.

Rhi: Yeah?

Josie: In this setting, are boots primarily soled with rubbed or leather soles?

Rhi: I think rubber exists. I do not think that it is so common that it’s gonna be–, like, you could get rubber soled shoes, but they’re very expensive and it’s pretty much only the Sparkwrights that have them. So yours are probably leather.

Josie: Gotcha. This is fine. If they’re leather, that means they’re very conductive. So what Minx is gonna do is take some time to step out of and unlace her knee-high laced black leather boots that she wears on jobs.

Minna: [laughs]

Rhi: She’s shedding a tear as she does this?

Josie: Yes. So what she’s gonna do is try to, from a distance, like, push them gently. So they’re just slightly ahead of where she’s gonna go.

Rhi: Okay. So they’ll start getting zapped when she knows…

Josie: Right. If the lightning starts jumping out, they’re gonna go for the boots first, because they’re closer and highly conductive.

Rhi: Okay, yeah. That’s ingenious.

Minna: I love using physics to solve a problem.

Josie: Physics!

Rhi: Yeah.

Josie: And then Minx is gonna try and keep close to the wall, padding along in her stockings, and turn around into the passage off to the side.

Rhi: Okay, yeah, I think–

Josie: Do I need to make a roll about that?

Rhi: Yes.

Josie: Okay.

Rhi: It’s gonna be… hmm.

Josie: I could see Prowl, or Finesse, or Skirmish.

Rhi: I think Prowl or Finesse. And I am gonna give you increased effect. You’re gonna be at greater effect, because that’s just so fucking brilliant. [laughs]

Josie: Okay.

Rhi: You have impressed the GM!

Josie: [laughs] What does a Devil’s Bargain look like here?

Rhi: Your boots are gonna be destroyed.

Josie: Okay. Minx will shed tears about it, but will accept this bargain.

Rhi: Alright.

Josie: So she’s gonna be padding along silently crying.

Rhi: [laughs] Yes, those were probably not cheap.

Josie: Nope. Okay, I got a 6.

Rhi: Okay. So that would have been risky, but with greater effect. God, what are you using to, like, what do you have to push the boots along?

Josie: Uh, well… no, she can use her cane. Because wood isn’t very conductive either and I imagine it’s wood on the outside?

Rhi: Yes.

Josie: So she’s gonna sort of poke at them with her cane until they’re close enough.

Rhi: Yeah, so you poke them forward and then it seems to be going fine, nothing’s happening, nothing’s happening. And then this huge arc of lightning just cracks out and slams into the boots, and there’s like a blackened spot on the floor and there’s the pleasant aroma of burning leather in the air as your boots are just disintegrating before your eyes.

Josie (as Minx): I’ll miss you, dears.

Rhi: [laughs] But you’re gotten very close to the entrance to this little side room. And so, you’re able to duck in there. It looks like this may have been some sort of small chapel. There’s a little altar towards the back of the room, and then some kind of, like, you know, catacomb shelves along the sides.

Josie: Okay. Can I hide the box containing the hand, like, behind the altar?

Rhi: Yes.

Josie: You know what, I’m gonna make a Survey roll to see if there are any already existing hidden compartments.

Rhi: Okay, yeah. That’s a good call.

Josie: No.

Rhi: Oh, yeah, okay.

Josie: So behind the altar it is.

Rhi: Yeah, I think that that was, since in this position it’s controlled, if you wanna hide it you’d have to try a different approach, or you can just be like, ‘Well, I will just set it down on the ground back here’.

Josie: I mean, I might as well roll something.

Rhi: Okay.

Josie: I’ll roll Prowl to, like, stash it behind there in such a way that no one’s likely to look behind there, even if it’s not especially well hidden.

Rhi: Yeah.

Josie: Ehh, 3.

Rhi: [amused] Okay.

Josie: So it’s there.

Rhi: Yeah. Yeah, it’s, yeah. You get a little more caught up in the presentation of it than necessarily hiding it. [laughs]

Josie: Yes. And, you know, I’m distracted because I’m in a creepy underground chapel and my boots are gone.

Rhi: Yeah, your boots are burning outside. Yeah, so I think that you do manage to get it hidden back there, or at least placed back there pretty well. And yeah, I think if you’re satisfied with your work, you can start making your cautious way back in your stocking-ed feet.

Josie: Yeah. I’m gonna start making my way back on my tip-toes, because it’s cold.

Rhi: Mm-hmm. Well, and there’s like, bits of rock and stuff.

Josie: Yeah. And now, are my boots fucking gone? Or are they still, like, intact enough to count as leaving evidence?

Rhi: Huh… let me do a fortune roll to see how well your boots have held up. They’re gone. [laughs]

Josie: Okay, so I don’t need to worry about it.

Rhi: Yeah, they have burned. Like, it’s clear that something burned up there.

Josie: Mm-hmm. But as far as he’s concerned, the security system did its job.

Rhi: Yeah, Bazso would not be able to look at that and be like, ‘Son of a bitch, it was Minx. I’d know those boots anywhere!’ [laughs]

Josie: So, I’m gonna head back to Kay.

Rhi: Okay. Alright, so Minx begins tiptoeing away, having completed her part of the mission pretty flawlessly, sacrificing only some boots. Meanwhile, Myra.

Minna: Are there people looking at me, basically?

Rhi: Um, they’re about to be.

Minna: If I do some quick thinking, do you think I can bluff them that I wanna join their cult?

Rhi: You can try. You can try anything. That’s the beauty of an RPG.

Minna: I know. I’m trying to think if that’s my best plot here. I do have an unconscious friend, but that kind of only strengthens the idea that we came down here looking for some spooky shit and just ran into trouble. The thing is that I do have my unconscious friend, so I don’t think I can just pick up and run, because I don’t know if I can even carry her.

Kim: I am small and light.

Josie: Yeah, Blaire’s a smol.

Rhi: Yeah, I mean, like, you would be able to pick her up and carry her. You would not be able to pick her up and sprint with her.

Minna: Exactly. I’m gonna try a Prowl. But I’m not gonna push myself for it.

Rhi: Okay, carrying Blaire?

Minna: Mm-hmm.

Rhi: Okay, you’re gonna be at reduced effect for Blaire’s weight.

Minna: Oh, that’s actually a 5.

Rhi: This is desperate, though. So mark XP.

Minna: Okay.

Rhi: Okay. So, you do it but there’s a consequence. [sighs] Oh man. Do I wanna be that mean?

Minna: Yes.

Rhi: Okay!

Minna and Rhi: [laugh]

Rhi: I would like to point out to all listening, Minna asked for this.

Minna: Listen, we have established my masochism in this game! For Twitter and the world.

Rhi: Myra, you shrink back into the shadows and scoop Blaire up and get to your feet, and you make it, like, halfway down the hall when Bazso and his entourage turn the corner.

Kim: [groans]

Josie: Oh, shit!

Rhi: Serious complication. You’re pretty much…

Kim: Fucked.

Rhi: Stuck. [laughs] Yeah.

Minna (as Myra): Bazso!

Minna: He’s gonna see me anyway.

Rhi: Yeah. He stops dead. [laughs] And, like, there’s a solid three seconds of just bewildered staring.

Josie and Minna: [laugh]

Rhi: Because you’re standing in the tunnels underneath his base holding an unconscious person. And he’s just:

Rhi (as Bazso): What the fuck are you doing here?

Minna (as Myra): My friend got wind of something strange happening, and she’s a little too interested in what’s strange for her own good, and I thought I could stop her. She ran into trouble before I got to her. I just wanna get her out of here. Can you help me?

Rhi: Make a roll.

Minna: I guess that’s a Sway, which is sad–

Rhi: It is absolutely a Sway.

Minna: Because I’m not as good at Sway.

Josie: It’s not that wrong, though. It’s just not the whole truth. [giggles]

Minna: I am going to push myself.

Rhi: Okay.

Minna: Oh no, it’s a 3. [laughs]

Kim: Fuck! Ooh, boy.

Minna: I so wanted to be able to pull that off.

Rhi: Yeah.

Josie: This war is going to be on forever.

Rhi: Oh, man.

Minna: We’re gonna jump from one war to another war.

Rhi: Or two at once.

Minna: [cringes]

Rhi: I mean… shit.

Kim: Yes, exactly.

Minna: Oh God.

Rhi: Yeah, Bazso just stares at the two of you for another long few seconds, and then just, you hear footsteps behind you as the people who were working back in that cavern come up. And he is just like:

Rhi (as Bazso): Right. I don’t have time to deal with you right now. We’ll figure out the real reason you’re creeping around underneath my base later.

Rhi: And he gestures behind him and the four armed Lampblacks who are with him come up. Two of them take Blaire away from you–

Kim: No!

Rhi: The other two basically, like, you know, have your arms pinned, pad you down for weapons, and then they are marching the two of you out through the catacombs. Somewhere else. And Bazso kinda calls over his shoulder, like:

Rhi (as Bazso): Make sure that they’re secure and look around for Minx. If the two of them are here, I’m sure she’s prowling around somewhere as well.

Rhi: And yeah. So, you’ve been caught and captured at the moment. However, Minx is prowling around somewhere. And I think, Minx, as you kind of come into the sort of main hall, you see ahead of you four Lampblacks with, you know, basically kind of marching Myra along, holding an unconscious figure in their arms as they are heading out through the catacombs.

Minna: Don’t be a hero.

Kim: Please be a hero.

Josie: Minx is gonna pull her hands to her lips to stifle a gasp. How many are there?

Rhi: Four.

Josie: Four. Including Bazso?

Rhi: No. Bazso went off to do whatever this ritual was.

Kim: And I wanted to see it so bad.

Josie: Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

Rhi: But yeah, it’s four heavily armed members of the Lampblacks.

Josie: We’ve established that if I want a smoke bomb as an unusual weapon I have to do a flashback about it?

Rhi: Yeah, point of stress.

Josie: [hesitates] Yes, it’s gonna be smoke bomb time.

Rhi: Alright.

Josie: Yeah. So she’s gonna gasp, but then as soon as they’re passing where she is, she’s just gonna whip a smoke bomb right out into the middle of them.

Rhi: Okay. For you it’ll be risky, because they don’t know you’re there.

Josie: 5.

Rhi: So, you throw the smoke bomb. It lands in the middle of them, goes off perfectly, smoke starts filling the tunnel. The one who kind of has his hands free, because two of them are holding Myra, one of them is holding Blaire, goes:

Rhi (as Lampblack): Ah dammit, she’s here!

Rhi: And, like, swings wildly with a truncheon, and somehow that wild swing just cracks you upside the head. So you’re going to take level 2 harm.

Josie: I’m going to resist that.

Rhi: Okay, that’s gonna be Prowess.

Josie: Critical.

Rhi: Okay. So, I don’t know if this has happened yet. When you roll a critical on a resistance roll, not only do you take no stress, you actually heal a point of stress!

Kim: What the fuck?

Josie: Woah! [laughs]

Rhi: You get to reduce your stress by 1.

Josie: Neat! Basically, I’m feeling cool and manoeuvrable and stuff.

Rhi: Oh God, I have this super cool mental image. So, he swings at you and like, you throw your arm up and catch the truncheon and yank it out of his hand.

Josie: Yeah.

Kim: Yeaaaaah!

Rhi: Which is probably more than a resistance roll should do, but whatever! It’s cool.

Josie: Yeah. And I’m just gonna say:

Josie (as Minx): Myra, grab her.

Minna: Yeah, Myra immediately reacts.

Rhi: Well Myra, you’re still being held by two people.

Minna: Hmm.

Rhi: So.

Josie: Although they are blinded and coughing in smoke.

Rhi: Yes.

Josie: So, now might be the time to try and break free.

Rhi: And I will say, since you got searched for weapons, you can have any kind of gear you want on you, so long as it is not a weapon. Because even though you hadn’t established, sort of, having weapons in the Schrödinger’s supplies, any weapons you would have had on you have been removed.

Minna: Okay, so I rolled a Skirmish just to see what happened and I got a 4.

Rhi: Okay.

Minna: I’m trying to think what it looks like. It’s one of those, like, stomp the instep, hope they get distracted enough by the pain to loosen their grip and, like, wriggle out, type things.

Rhi: So, I think what happens, because there’s two guys holding you. You do that, and one of them lets go of you, because you stomp on that one guy and he’s already coughing from the smoke and that just sort of makes him lose his grip entirely as he stumbles against the wall. But the other guy still has a hold on you.

Minna (as Myra): Take her, Minx!

Josie: Okay.

Rhi: [laughs] Both of you yelling at each other to save Blaire.

Josie: Yes, I will attempt to seize Blaire with my free arm. I think I’m gonna make it a Wreck. I think I just wanna fucking truncheon that guy in the face and grab her.

Rhi: Okay.

Josie: Like, I mean, okay, actually Skirmish is a better roll for me.

Minna: You can still be vicious.

Rhi: The penalties for screwing up a Wreck roll while trying to extract an unconscious person from somebody’s arms are gonna be a lot higher. You could really hurt Blaire.

Josie: Okay. Yeah. I’m gonna swing the truncheon I just grabbed around into that guy and try to grab her.

Rhi: Okay.

Josie: 6.

Rhi: Okay, so with a 6, yeah, you basically do what that first guy was trying to do to you. You crack this guy in the head and yeah, I think he drops Blaire. And you are able to scoop her up.

Josie: Scoop up the bab.

Minna (as Myra): Take her and run!

Josie: Yeah. I’m gonna throw her other my shoulder like a sack of potatoes and fucking bolt.

Rhi: Okay, yeah, you can do that. Myra, you are still being held by a person. You’re basically there, like, all four of them are still conscious. So, I think now, Myra, you are back in a desperate position, because you’re so severely outnumbered.

Minna: Okay, I rolled a 5.

Rhi: Okay. To escape again?

Minna: Uh, yes.

Rhi: Was that on a Skirmish?

Minna: Yes.

Rhi: Okay. Tell me what you’re doing, how are you?

Minna: I assume it’s not much time, so like, she’s shaking this one guy off, yelled, ‘Minx grab the friend’, and then she’s gonna turn and punch this guy in, like, I dunno if the face is the right thing.

Rhi: Go for it, you could do, like, the jab.

Minna: Yeah, like a throat jab maybe?

Rhi: Yeah! Yeah, because that’ll ruin somebody’s day.

Minna: The soft spot. [laughs] Phin told her to go for the soft spots.

Rhi: Yeah.

Minna: And also how not to break her thumb.

Rhi: You jab the other guy in the throat, he lets go. You start running. Um, I actually haven’t triggered your ghost, have I?

Minna: Hmm?

Rhi: [laughs] Well, the ghost that showed up, that Blaire was looking for, was just her rolling badly. The ghost from your Devil’s Bargain hasn’t actually turned up yet.

Josie: [stammers]

Minna: Ooh?

Rhi: And this seems like a really nice time for a ghost to show up.

Minna: It does.

Rhi: As you’re sprinting away, the air gets really cold again. I think it’s actually the same ghost, cause Blaire did manage to fight it off. And it’s still hungry. Yeah, then I think this ghost is gonna try and possess you.

Kim: Fuck.

Rhi: So, you can roll to resist.

Minna: Okay. I rolled a 5.

Rhi: Then you’ll only take 1 point of stress.

Minna: Which means I don’t actually take trauma.

Rhi: Cool. So tell me how you fight it off.

Minna: Can we, like, roleplay with the ghost?

Rhi: Yeah!

Kim: Yeah, fuck yeah.

Rhi: Yeah, absolutely.

Kim: Do it for me.

Josie: [laughs]

Minna: So, the ghost starts trying to get into her, I think that’s where this picks up.

Rhi: Yeah, and it is very much a feral ghost. It’s not really capable of a lot of coherent speech. You get very cold and this thing is screeching in your mind as it’s trying to take you over.

Minna: It’s screeching in her mind and she feels a hunger that goes deeper than her stomach, deeper than her bones. But it is not her hunger, and she knows this. She gathers every bit of strength in her, and channels it all into one word. And that word is ‘No’.

Rhi: And I think the ghost continues to screech, but it goes from being sort of a screech of hunger and triumph to a rising screech of frustration as it’s repelled from Myra, who keeps sprinting.

Minna: I think Myra is, like, screaming that ‘no’ louder and louder and louder in her head as it gets stronger.

Rhi: I think we cut back to where Kay is, who sees Minx running with Blaire over her shoulder and is just like:

Rhi (as Kay): Oh, shit.

Rhi: And, you know, scrambles out of the gondola and goes to help Minx with Blaire, and is like:

Rhi (as Kay): Is she okay? Is she alive?

Josie (as Minx): She will be fine.

Rhi: She’s like, you know, checking for Blaire’s pulse, and is like:

Rhi (as Kay): Where’s Myra?

Rhi: And then I think at that point–

Josie (as Minx): Should be right behind us.

Rhi: Yeah, I think at that point, yeah, more or less, Myra comes tearing out of the catacombs and running towards you.

Minna: Wild-eyed, mussed.

Rhi: Yeah, yeah, looking…

Minna: Like hell.

Rhi: Way, yeah, very badly freaked out. I think Kay, like, stands up in the gondola and just kind of, it’s a thing where she just grabs Myra by the arm and uses Myra’s momentum to basically throw her into the gondola. And then immediately, she’s not even asking questions, is just like:

Rhi (as Kay): Yep, it’s time to go.

Rhi: Starts pulling away. And I think as she’s going, from behind, back at the catacomb entrance, Minx looks back and there’s a couple of the Lampblacks and Bazso, and they fire a couple shots at you. But, you know, at this point you’re too far away, the shadows are sort of throwing things off, so none of the shots hit. Unfortunately, Bazso knows that the three of you were here.

Josie: Yeah.

Minna: But it was on the night of his super-secret ritual.

Rhi: So, yeah, it’s possible he thinks that you were coming down here to mess with that. Kay hastily gets the gondola down through the canal, and I think after a few minutes Blaire comes to.

Josie: I think Minx is kind of sitting silently in the other end of the boat. Because Myra just got thrown down into the bottom of the boat and is clearly, like, freaked out, and didn’t gain trauma but is clearly traumatised. I’m accurate in saying that we’ve never seen Myra anywhere near this close to out of control before?

Minna: Yeah, that’s probably true.

Josie: And, like–

Minna: I mean, we’ve had other ghost moments, but I think this is the closest she’s come to being possessed.

Josie: Yeah.

Minna: Besides that time that she did it on purpose and in a very controlled way.

Josie: And, like, Minx is just gonna be silently crying a little bit in the other end of the boat.

Minna: Oh my God.

Josie: Because she separated from them and they both got really hurt.

Minna: And I think Myra is actually, she’s trying to, like, push down her own freaked-outness and is pushing Blaire’s hair out of her face and trying to wake her and tend to her.

Kim: Aww.

Minna (as Myra): Blaire? Blaire?

Kim (as Blaire): [mumbles]

Minna (as Myra): Oh, thank God, you’re alive.

Kim (as Blaire): [stammering] What happened? Did we see the ritual?

Minna (as Myra): We didn’t see the ritual. There was a spirit. A very hungry spirit.

Kim (as Blaire): Yeah, it went right through me.

Minna (as Myra): Tried to make lunch of me, too.

Kim (as Blaire): But, you’re good? You got away?

Minna (as Myra): I’m good. I’m whole, and I’m me.

Josie (as Minx): Both of you, I’m so sorry.

Kim (as Blaire): Minx? What happened?

Josie (as Minx): I’m so, so sorry.

Minna (as Myra): We took the risk. We made the choice.

Kim (as Blaire): But don’t be sorry. You did the thing.

Josie (as Minx): I don’t know what would happen if anything happened to you two. And we came so close today.

Kim (as Blaire): [mumbling] Well, now you know to… we felt when you pulled that shit in the tunnel… in the bane.

Josie (as Minx): [laughs] You should rest.

Kim (as Blaire): No…

Rhi (as Kay): She’s right.

Rhi: Kay says, and kind of reaches back.

Kim (as Blaire): But, but…

Rhi: If Blaire is trying to sit up, she’s going to, like, push Blaire back down and be like:

Rhi (as Kay): Nope.

Kim (as Blaire): No, no, no, I can…

Josie (as Minx): [shushes Blaire]

Rhi (as Kay): Where’s that doctor friend of yours that you’ve mentioned?

Kim (as Blaire): I gotta be awake, though. What if– [mumbles as the others talk]

Rhi (as Kay): River? Or Seeks, or something?

Minna (as Myra): Seeks. The River Lost But Seeking.

Rhi (as Kay): Yeah, where is she at?

Kim (as Blaire): If the ghost comes back, I gotta… ready, and–

Josie (as Minx): It won’t.

Minna (as Myra): The ghost won’t come back. It’s back there, with plenty of easier meals.

Kim (as Blaire): There’s… another ghost… might… I got jars and stuff.

Minna (as Myra): Give them to me, I’ll protect you for a little bit.

Kim (as Blaire): No, no, no, no, no. No. No, no. I jar ‘em up.

Josie (as Minx): We’re done with spirits for today.

Kim (as Blaire): What… what if they’re not done with us?

Josie (as Minx): Then we’ll handle it.

Kim (as Blaire): But… not…

Rhi (as Kay): I am perfectly capable of fending off some ghosts. I have spent enough time in these canals to be able to deal with them.

Kim (as Blaire): But I handle this!

Josie (as Minx): Blaire.

Kim (as Blaire): I handle this.

Josie (as Minx): It’s alright to rely on us once in a while. Please, just rest.

Kim (as Blaire): Okay.

Rhi: I think that we kind of pull out as Kay continues to head South through Crow’s Foot, down towards where Seeks is. Alright, so let’s get into downtime. Who wants to go first?

Josie: I have an idea.

Rhi: Okay.

Josie: I think I want to meet Nyryx as she’s getting off work.

Rhi: Okay.

Josie: I’m gonna be dressed up pretty fancy this time. Like, not for fast movement at all. And gonna take my time strolling over there, wondering at being able to wander the streets without looking over my shoulder every two seconds. And yeah, I’m gonna ahead of time make reservations at a fancy restaurant.

Rhi: Oh, okay. I think it’s like, she is leaving work, probably at like… it’s still fairly late in the evening, probably eight or nine o’clock, but yeah. It’s not like three or four am. You see the doors open and she comes outside and is wearing, you know, a nice coat, and has her hair just sort of pulled back very simply. She says goodnight to the guards out front and then starts down the stairs and kind of, like, stops halfway down when she sees you and just does a double take. And then recovers from the surprise and finishes coming down and is like:

Rhi (as Nyryx): Minx, hi!

Josie (as Minx): Evening, Nyry. I was just wondering if perhaps you would fancy a dinner tonight? I know it’s a bit spur of the moment.

Rhi (as Nyryx): Oh, um… yeah, actually, this is the best thing that’s happened to me all day.

Rhi: And she just kinda like rubs her forehead and, like, now that’s she’s closer you can tell that she looks, not tired, but just kind of like, a little irritated.

Josie (as Minx): Then to sweeten the deal, it will be my treat.

Josie: And I’m gonna proffer my arm for her to put through it.

Rhi: [laughs] Yeah, she takes your arm, is just like:

Rhi (as Nyryx): Ugh, you have no idea how much I needed this. Things have been [sigh] just really frustrating lately. Tesslyn hasn’t been around as much, I don’t know what she’s doing, but she’s left a lot of the running of the place to her assistant, who… I’m sure has some redeeming qualities, but those redeeming qualities do not include the ability to manage a schedule. We’ve had people–, I was double booked twice tonight. And people do not respond well to being told that their preferred partner is not available, and fortunately I didn’t have to deal with most of the direct frustrations, the poor girl working the front desk had to deal with everyone.

Josie: As she’s ramping up in her explanations I’m gonna pull her a little bit closer.

Rhi: [laughs] Yeah. She’s just like:

Rhi (as Nyryx): It’s just, it’s very irritating and I have no idea what Tesslyn is up to that’s taking her away from running her establishment for so long. It’s just, I dunno. It was just a long, frustrating day and I’m very glad that you picked today for this surprise. It’s much needed.

Josie (as Minx): It’s no trouble, and you deserve better than that.

Rhi (as Nyryx): [sighs] Well, I’m hoping it’s just temporary.

Josie (as Minx): These things do tend to pass.

Rhi (as Nyryx): Yes. If nothing else, if enough of us get together and complain about the scheduling I’m sure it’ll get taken care of, but…

Josie (as Minx): Well, be careful. If you do that, you might end up running the place.

Rhi (as Nyryx): Ugh!

Rhi: She, like, waves a hand, as if batting your words away.

Rhi (as Nyryx): Don’t say that! Ugh, no, no. No interest in management. You have no idea the kind of drama that can come up in a place like this.

Josie (as Minx): I think I have some idea.

Rhi (as Nyryx): I will tell you all about it over dinner.

Rhi: And I think she, like, starts going into all of the detailed back story of this feud between two of her colleagues as you head off to this restaurant.

Josie: And Minx is going to spend tonight listening, mostly.

Rhi: Aww.

Josie: Just kind of taking the stress off Nyryx, for once.

Rhi: Yeah. Blaire, or Myra? Do either of you have idea for what you wanna do for scenes?

Kim: Was thinking that Blaire would want to write a letter to Lord Scurlock, to just let them know that, you know, we did the thing, thank you for giving us the artefact once again.

Rhi: Okay.

Kim: She’s not writing the letter proper, she’s just sitting in bed drafting it in her journal. And it’s like, lots of torn up pages, lots of ink scribbles, being very unsure of herself the whole time.

Rhi: Yeah, yeah I like that. And like, I can see where she starts writing it where it’s almost like a journal entry, where she’s, like, telling a lot more detail than she should and then it just like, ‘Oh no I can’t write this down’, and tearing out the pages and tearing them up because what if somebody sees this?

Kim: Exactly.

Rhi: Yeah. Aww, so it’s just Blaire in her bed surrounded by all these torn up, ink-stained pages.

Kim: Yeah, ink-stained fingers, very frazzled.

Rhi: Yeah.  Poor kiddo.

Kim: Yeah.

Rhi: Do you think she’s able to finish a draft of the letter at this point, or is it–

Kim: Maybe one extremely rough draft. And then goes to sleep. [giggles]

Minna: Aww, baby.

Rhi: Okay. Poor Blaire. Myra? What do you think?

Minna: Myra’s also dealing with the aftermath of being upset. I think her stress relief, she is not doing the Devil’s Tooth, she’s doing the obligation. Because she kinda just wants something steady and comforting. And, like, there’s been a lot of stuff lately, but I think she just wants to see if she can capture a moment that feels as relieving as hanging with Jeren used to be.

Rhi: Okay.

Minna: And I think it almost, hmm. I don’t know how to make this work, but they used to basically have study dates where they’d just, like, hang out in a fucking study that they claimed at the library together.

Rhi: Oh, yeah.

Minna: Like maybe I have some notes that I have to comb through and I’m just like, I don’t know where we would do this study date now though, Jesus.

Rhi: Yeah, I think that he just has, as a combination of kind of like, his family connections and his job, he kinda just has free access to the library.

Minna: And I think we just kinda take over the old study room, like I send a note to him, like:

Minna (as Myra): Can you meet me at the old study? I just wanna hang out.

Minna: Probably not hang out, hang out isn’t the words, but like, it’s that vibe.

Rhi: Yeah. I think initially, like, you get there kind of, you know, a little bit before the time you had said and Jeren doesn’t show up for, like, he’s not there. He was like, ‘Oh meet me at two o’clock’, and two o’clock comes and goes and he’s not there.

Minna: I think she just resigns herself and, like, ends up actually engrossed in her notes.

Rhi: You know, when there’s a:

Rhi (as Voice): [clears throat]

Rhi: In front of you it’s a little startling. But you look up and Jeren’s standing there, has left the blue coat elsewhere and just has, like, you know, a satchel slung over his shoulder. And looks very much like he did when you two first met. And he’s just like:

Rhi (as Jeren): Uh, is this just…

Minna (as Myra): It’s just studying.

Rhi (as Jeren): Working on research, or did you–

Minna (as Myra): Yeah. I’m not asking for anything expect this.

Minna: She gestures around at the study.

Rhi: Yeah, I think he kind of like looks at the papers that she’s got all spread out and is like:

Rhi (as Jeren): Alright. I probably don’t wanna know what you’re working on.

Minna (as Myra): No, that’s better, but eh.

Minna: I think as she goes back to her studies, it’s pretty clear that she’s like, exhausted and kind of drained emotionally. But like, she’s not talking about it, she’s just… here.

Rhi: Yeah, I think he, you know, I’m picturing that it’s like those big long tables and I think Myra’s spread out on one side and I think he kind of like sets his bag down and pulls out a couple books and pulls a couple more off of some shelves and sits down and… hmm. What would be, like, some kind of snack that they would have had?

Minna: Oh man. Friend something or other? Dried? Like, ooh, maybe seaweed crisps.

Rhi: So yeah, I think that like, he sets up with his books and his papers and then reaches into the satchel again and pulls out a little bag of this dried sea salted seaweed, and sets it down between the two of them. Doesn’t say anything, just puts it out and then–

Minna: This is totally like a ritual, like an old ritual.

Rhi: Yeah, yeah, this is what they used to do when Myra was pretending to be a college student.

Minna: She didn’t go to classes, she just did this.

Rhi: Yeah [laughs] So yeah, you have a nice afternoon of hanging out with your friend. Okay, hmm. I don’t actually have an idea in mind for kind of a wrap-up scene. Do you all have anything that you’d maybe wanna–

Minna: I know!

Rhi: Ooh?

Josie: Hmm?

Minna: We could come back to Blaire’s thing where she was like, we need to stop splitting up, basically. Because we had to cut it off because Blaire was going to sleep.

Kim: Oh, yeah. Well, Blaire’s still in her room.

Josie: Maybe it’s just Minx and Myra then?

Minna: Yeah, I was gonna say, I think Myra would pick up that theme. Yeah.

Josie: And maybe we’re, like, at the table, looking at Blaire’s door worriedly.

Kim: Aww, yeah.

Josie (as Minx): I should… I… we shouldn’t have split.

Minna (as Myra): I agree. I think I knew it at the time, but I just wanted to know so badly, you know?

Josie (as Minx): I understand.

Minna (as Myra): I think Blaire’s right, I don’t think we should do this anymore. We almost lost you once, and tonight was almost a disaster. Phin.

Josie (as Minx): The first time I was just making sure you all could get away. Tonight was our own hubris.

Minna (as Myra): Yes but heroics like that means that we still lose somebody, and we don’t have enough people to lose.

Josie (as Minx): Are you suggesting that if it comes down to it, we all go down together?

Minna (as Myra): That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.

Josie: Minx will offer her hand.

Minna: That’s so funny, that’s exactly what I was picturing. So I think they just, like, clasp hands.

Josie (as Minx): Let’s make it official then. Ride or die?

Minna (as Myra): Ride or die.

## Outro [01.24.14]

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.

Normally, this is where we’d thank our fantastic Patreon backers. But we haven’t had a chance to record the thank-yous for a bit. So, for now, thank you to all our supporters and if you’d like to hear your name read in the next couple episodes, this is a great time to go back the show at $5 or more.

## Blooper [01.25.45]

Rhi: Okay, that’s a 5.

Josie: Neat.

Kim: Woo!

Minna: Don’t know why I fucking rolled.

[laughter]

Rhi: What did you get?

Minna: I got a 6.

Rhi: Oh. Alright. Well–

Kim: Can you take Minna’s?

Rhi: Nope.

[laughter]

Rhi: It’s always been mine, so. It’s the one time I get to roll in this game.

Kim: I know.

Minna: If it was low I don’t think I would tell you because it’s a trap.

Rhi: [laughs]