Transcribed by Michelle Kelly.
## Intro
Welcome back to Imperial City. As always, thank you so much for joining us. If you’re enjoying the show and listening on a platform where you can do so, please leave us a review or a rating! We don’t have very many of either yet, and it’ll help us out a lot with reaching new listeners. You can also help us out by backing our Patreon, buying a shirt or sticker from our merch shop, or even sponsoring an episode of the podcast!
This Saturday, January 29, at 3 pm Eastern time, we’ll be on a panel at the Con in the Dark! It’s a free, virtual con, hosted on the Hacked in the Dark Twitch stream. All five of us from The City That Never Dies will be there to answer questions and chat about the show. We’d love to have you join us! There’s a link to the Twitch page in the show notes.
Next, Josie is going to tell us about this month’s featured charity.
Josie: A Better ABK is a workers’ alliance, providing power and support to the employees of Activision-Blizzard, many of whom are currently on strike protesting the abusive, sexist, bigoted culture of the video game giant. The board of directors has doubled down on supporting CEO Bobby Kotick’s abusive and harmful leadership, and several workers at Raven Software were lied to about promotion opportunities, and then promptly fired.
The ABK Strike Fund seeks to support these workers in their struggle for workplace justice. Find them on Twitter at A Better ABK and on GoFundMe under ABK Strike Fund. I personally know people struggling in this terrible environment, and I’d very much appreciate anything you can spare to the strike fund this month. Thank you.
Please continue to take care of yourselves and each other as much as you can. It’s an exhausting, scary time right now, and the best way we can get through it is to support each other.
Now then. Let’s get started, shall we?
## Story continues [00.02.25]
Rhi: Okay, so let’s do the engagement roll. We’ve got one for luck, uh, “Is this operation particularly bold or daring?”
Kim: I mean, kinda?
Rhi: I think so. I mean, you’re breaking into a very high-security…
Josie: Very public place.
Rhi: Yeah. Um, and what you’re transporting, like, it attracts ghosts, so even once you get out it’s gonna be a little…
Kim: Yeah…
Rhi: …sketchy. So, yeah. I think definitely bold or daring. I am gonna give you all just a bonus die on this roll because you got so— like, you just rolled really well on your Gather Info and you have a lot of good information going into this. You’re quite well-prepared. So, it’s gonna be a 3d6 engagement roll.
Kim: Not bad.
Rhi: And you got a 6!
Kim: Ey!
Josie: Yay!
Rhi: So you’re gonna be started in a controlled position. The cinematic shot is the outside of the Four Arches building and it’s night time. Not that it looks a lot different from daytime. [laughs] But still, I think it’s raining harder now. So, normally night time is actually a little bit lighter because of the moonlight, but it’s just, it’s very dark out on this evening. The shopping center is still open, but it’s late enough that there’s not a ton of people around. You know, a couple late shoppers wandering. The apothecary itself is closed and I think that we sort of pan over the shop, which is very dark. You’ve gotten past the two security guards outside already. Where do we see them? [laughs] Like, where are they piled up? Tied up? However you disabled them.
Josie: I kinda like the idea that they’re propped up on a bench with their hats pulled down.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: So it’s like they’re asleep.
Kim: Yeah, mm hmm.
Rhi: Yeah, [laughs] I like it. But yeah, so I think that the tracking shot is like, we see these two sitting here, heads lolled forward, looking like they’re asleep, but then as it zooms in you can see, like, there’s a little bit of blood on the temple where clearly somebody got hit. And then we go around to behind the counter, where all of you are crouched down, some of you very low, [laughs] in front of this door. Who is working on picking the lock?
Kim: Who has the best Tinker?
Josie: I’m good at Tinker, so I can be working on it.
Rhi: Okay.
Josie: Yeah. And I have fine Tinkering tools, so.
Rhi: Excellent. So, you’re gonna be making— this is a controlled, greater effect.
Josie: [shakes dice]
Rhi: So… [laughs] you’re feeling— you’re in, like, the best position possible as you’re working on this door.
Josie: [rolls dice] Uh, 6.
Rhi: Okay. And so, just yeah, as we kind of come over to all of you crouched down here, there’s just a click and the door swings open.
Josie (as Echo): Easy.
Kim (as Val): Good work, doll.
Rhi: Alright. So you all, I think still staying low until you’re all through the door, you slink inside. But once you’re all inside and the door is closed, everyone can like, straighten up and you can hit a light switch to illuminate the room. And this is a fairly large, like, workshop area. It’s a much more elaborate setup of kind of what you saw in the back of Mira’s shop. There’s clearly some stuff that’s like, in process. There’s this large glass container that is filled with this, like, roiling smoke. And at the very bottom of it is this little dropper that somehow, in the process of whatever is happening in this container, is condensing the smoke down into a liquid. And every so often this little drop just plinks out into a bottle that’s beneath it.
Josie: Plink!
Rhi: And there’s a lot of equipment in here and there are some ingredients. It’s very neat, it’s kept very organized. And then there is another door set into the wall to your right as you’re coming in. And that is— I mean, it looks like a vault door. Like, it looks like a bank vault. Like, it’s very heavy-duty.
Josie: I wanna sweep the room for wards.
Rhi: Okay. Uh, how do you wanna go about doing that?
Josie: Um, well, I have fine arcane implements, so I think I’m gonna like, take out a small little metal bar. It looks like a magnet and kinda functions like a magnet, except it’s attuned to arcane stuff, not magnetic fields. So I kinda just hold it in my hands, I pinch it in my fingers and see where— and sort of hold it in front of things and see if it pulls it in that direction.
Rhi: Yeah. Go ahead and give me a roll.
Josie: This sounds like an Attune, maybe?
Rhi: Yes. Yeah. Still controlled, and since you have fine tools, it’ll be greater again.
Josie: What does a Devil’s Bargain look like here?
Kim: Ooh.
Rhi: Oh, um… I start a clock for, um, the guards waking up.
Josie: That sounds fun. I’ll take another die.
Rhi: Okay. Alright.
Josie: I got a 3.
Kim: Oh no.
Rhi: Okay. So, on a 3 controlled, you falter. You can try again with a risky opportunity, or you withdraw and try a different approach. So, tell me if you’re okay with this Josie, we can do something else if you’d like.
Josie: Uh huh?
Rhi: But I think that you take it out and it just whips around and points at you. And you can’t get it to focus on anything not you.
Josie: No, that’s funny. I like that. [laughs]
Rhi: Okay. [laughs]
Josie: I— can I go one step further?
Rhi: Oh, yeah.
Josie: I take it out and it shoots to my forehead, beneath my hat, so it’s just kinda hanging there, magnetized between my eyes.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: And Echo just stands there looking at it cross-eyed for a minute.
Josie (as Echo): Give me a minute. It might be up to all of you for a moment.
Rhi: And I’m gonna start the clock, Guards Wake Up is at 0 out of 5. So, while Echo is disentangling herself from this arcane magnet, what does everybody else wanna do?
Minna: So, we have a shopping list, right?
Rhi: Yes. And there’s, like, the ingredients that are out here are things that you can kind of recognize as very common ingredients. It’s not even the stuff that Mira needs. There’s a big vault door, though, set into one wall, where you’re guessing that’s where he keeps all the valuable reagents locked up. But you all know from kinda your previous scouting that this place is secured with both occult and spark-craft wards. So you gotta figure out how to deal with that.
Minna (as Arlene): Is anybody here good at wards?
Josie (as Echo): I am fine when my tools are working.
Minna: I can work on it, I have one in Tinker.
Josie: I think wards are Attune, but I mean, if you can swing Tinker…
Minna: That’s true.
Rhi: Yeah, well, I mean, if you wanna try tinkering, because there’s spark-craft security on the door, there’s the lock on the door, and there’s the wards. So all of those have to be tackled. The security or the lock would be Tinker. And then the wards would be probably Attune. Although I am always open to creative applications of other skills.
Aki: Mm, this is a— mm… this… uh… I don’t think it’ll help us in the long run, but um, I do have a tiger.
Rhi: You do have a tiger, yeah.
Aki: And we could always brute force it.
Josie: I mean, that’s true.
Minna: We are going to get caught faster.
Josie: I don’t know if tiger versus vault door works, but…
Rhi: I mean, yeah, I am willing to let you try anything.
Minna: I have lockpicks and I have some Tinker, so I can definitely start to work on the spark-craft/the lock.
Rhi: Okay. Do you want to push yourself, get an assist?
Kim: I could probably assist if you wanted to, Minna.
Minna: Okay. I think I’ll take that, then. I don’t wanna take too much stress right now, just because I already have, like, five stress apparently? [laughs]
Josie: Oh, jeez.
Rhi: Yeah, you didn’t clear a ton last time, I remember.
Minna: Mm hmm.
Rhi: Yeah. Arlene and Val set to work on the security on the door. So Minna, go ahead and give me a roll.
Minna: It’s a 4.
Rhi: Cool. You’re still controlled, just standard.
Minna: Do fine lockpicks increase my effect? I don’t remember how fine works.
Rhi: Oh, if you have fine lockpicks, yes, that would put it up at grater, yeah. So… yeah, you’re working at the lock on this door and like, it’s a big heavy lock but it does just have— or it’s a big heavy door, but it does just have, like, a regular kind of lock you would open with a key. So you do it, but the consequence is I’m just gonna tick up that clock. So, Guards Wake Up is now at 1 out of 5.
I think there’s kind of a loud clunk as you get— as the lock releases, and everyone sorta freezes. And outside, in the shop proper, one of the security guards kind of like, “Wha—[mumbles]” grumbles a little bit but doesn’t fully wake up. So, the lock is open. And I think by opening the lock that’s gonna deal with the spark-craft as well, because the spark-craft security thinks that you’ve opened it with a key. The wards are still active, so those will need to be dealt with.
Josie (as Echo): Alright. I’ll try again.
Rhi: Yeah. Do you maybe wanna get an assist from Darling?
Josie: If you would.
Aki: Mm hmm, I can assist, yes. How will I be assisting?
Rhi: I almost like the idea that it’s more Pearl helping.
Aki: Yeah.
Rhi: Because Pearl is— you know, Pearl is able to phase into the ghost field sometimes.
Aki: Yes.
Kim: Oh, yeah.
Rhi: So has kind of—
Aki: I just haven’t gotten her to do it on command. [laughs] Yet.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: She can sniff ‘em out and I’ll break ‘em.
Rhi: Yeah, I think that she kinda has naturally more attunment to the ghost field, so yeah, so Aki, you’ll have Darling take a point of stress and Josie, you’ll get another point. So far we are still controlled, nothing’s happened to drop it down to risky yet.
Josie: Well, I got a 6 and a 1.
Rhi: Okay.
Josie: So, it’s close.
Rhi: [laughs] Yeah.
Aki: [laughs] All I’m picturing though, is because we have a mind link, is Pearl nudging one side and I go:
Aki (as Darling): Oh, to the left.
Rhi: [laughs] So Echo, what does it look like this time as you and Pearl are… you’re not— I think it’s kind of both locating and disabling the wards on the outside of the vault.
Josie: I think I have, like, a small container full of nails which have little chalk marking on the flat side, and wherever Pearl sniffs out a ward I place the tip to where it is and just push it in just slightly. So it’s like the ward is suspended while the nail’s in there.
Rhi: Oh, cool. I like that. So, you’ve disabled the wards, you’ve got this vault door open. You can haul it open and the kind of like chemical smells gets much more intense as you open it up and head inside. This is basically a store room. There’s a lot of shelves. I think most of the items, like, there’s either sort of a little lip at the front of the shelf to keep anything from just sort of accidentally falling off, there’s something to catch it, or in some cases there’s just a full cage holding it in place. Very secure. But nothing in here is, like— I say cages, but none of it is locked. It’s just kind of the grating to keep stuff from falling.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: You know, the assumption was that if you have the lock to get through that door you obviously are supposed to be in here and can get whatever you need. So, now you need to find your stuff. So, there are six items on the list that Mira gave you and you will need to spend some time locating these items. So, I will need some rolls. You can do this individually, you can do it as a group, however you all wanna approach this.
Josie: I mean, honestly this sounds like a group action.
Aki: Mm hmm.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: Okay. What kind of action do you wanna do here?
Josie: I mean, it sounds like Survey, unless we wanna get mystical about things.
Minna: I think Survey makes the most sense for Arlene.
Kim: Yeah, me too. I have one dot in Survey.
Aki: I also have one dot in Survey.
Rhi: Alright. You’re all mildly aware of your surroundings.
Minna: [laughs quietly]
Rhi: Who wants to lead?
Kim: I can lead it. I have no stress.
Josie: Cool.
Rhi: Okay. Alright, so this is gonna be controlled, standard, and basically I’m gonna just— I’m gonna have a clock of 0 out of 6, and when you fill it up you’ve found all six items.
Kim: Great.
Rhi: So go ahead and make your rolls.
[dice rolling]
Kim: Oh no. [laughs]
Aki: 5 for me.
Josie: I also got a 5.
Minna: [laughs]
Rhi: 5, 5, 5.
Aki: Are we three 5s right now?
Josie: Yep. [laughs]
Aki: Wow.
Kim: Not quite. I got a 1.
Rhi: Oof. Alright—
Aki: [mock outrage] We trusted you!
Minna: [laughs]
Kim: [sighs] I know.
Rhi: So you’ll take a point of stress.
Kim: [sadly] Yeah, I know.
Rhi: But the result is a 5. You do it with a minor consequence. So I’m gonna say that you’ve found two of the six items at this point. So your clock is at 2 out of 6. So you can just kind of repeat what you just did, you can try a different approach.
Kim and Josie: Hmm…
Josie: Can I try and sense the ghost attracting types?
Rhi: Sure, like with Attune?
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: And I also don’t know if they have any effect on me.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: It might. Actually, um, I’m gonna give you greater effect on it, because I think it does.
Josie: Okay! [rolls dice] [laughs] Do you want a picture?
Rhi: Did you get a 6?
Josie: I did. [laughs]
Rhi: Alright.
Aki: [pleased giggle]
Rhi: I like that that parlance is spreading from Aki.
Josie: Yes. [laughs]
Rhi: So, let’s see. You got a 6… I think that you are able to find— two of the items are very close to each other and it does, like, you do feel a little it of a pull towards them.
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: So you’re able to locate them and put them in your metaphorical shopping basket.
Josie: Yeah, I think Echo’s looking around before she kind of immediately swivels to a specific spot, walks towards it and just stands there looking at them for a little while before shaking herself out of it and picking them up.
Rhi: Yeah. Okay, who wants to do stuff to locate your last two?
Aki: I’m going to try to push Hunt, and specifically, uh— I’m good at that, one, and two, I do have a tiger whose senses are much better than my own, probably. And we are both mind-linked. So, maybe I make Pearl smell it out once again, like [laughs] like a puppy. And yeah, and every now and then I just remind her what we’re looking for.
Rhi: Yeah. So, I think in that case you’re basically leading a group action with your cohort, cause Pearl is a cohort. So, you’re gonna roll your Hunt and then add— Pearl will roll one die. I can roll for Pearl if you’d like, just to sorta keep that separate. Okay. I get to roll a die, guys! I’m so excited.
Josie: Yay.
Aki: Go do it!
Rhi: Oh my God, I rolled a 1.
Josie: [laughs loudly]
Aki: Nooo! I trusted you! [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs] I know!
Aki: It’s okay.
Minna: The one die you get to roll and it’s 1, buddy.
Rhi: Yeah. What did you get, Aki?
Aki: I got, um, I got a 4.
Rhi: Okay, so the result is a 4 and you’re gonna take a point of stress for Pearl. [laughs] I think Pearl is just getting like, overwhelmed and distracted by all of the stuff and the smells in here and you have to be like, really firm with that mental link of like, “No. We are looking for this.” But you do manage to find— I’m gonna say I’m gonna give you the last two items, but I am going to tick up that Guards Wake Up clock to 2 out of 5 and you’re gonna be now operating in a risky position. But you found all the stuff.
Minna: Woo.
Aki: Pearl’s face gets some quick kisses, you know, because I know it’s been hard. It’s been a very hard week for her so far, okay? [laughs]
Kim: Yeah…
Aki: So she’s gonna need some pampering.
Rhi: So, it seems like your approach has been to take only the things that you specifically need. Do you all wanna grab anything else while you’re here?
Kim: I kinda do. I wanna pick up something for Val themselves to like, sell off later and that way we can make some extra coin off this stint.
Rhi: Okay.
Josie: Yeah.
Aki: I was gonna— oh, you guys went that route. I was like, “Is there cash in the cash register?” [laughs]
Josie: [laughs] I mean, that works.
Rhi: Also that.
Kim: We could get that too, yeah.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: I specifically wanna swipe like, instruments and tools and stuff, in case any of that’s valuable.
Rhi: Okay.
Kim: I’m just gonna look for anything that looks or seems that it could be the most expensive thing here. [laughs]
Rhi: Okay. Arlene, you wanna liberate something?
Minna: Sure.
Rhi: Alright. What do you wanna go for?
Minna: I feel like if there’s some kinda prepared medicine or something, she’s just gonna swipe that.
Rhi: Okay. Um… I’m gonna treat this as a fortune roll, so it’s just kind of a random thing. I’m trying to think of what— just gonna run down the list, everybody tell me what action you’re using and then make that roll. So Darling, what action are you using to find, or to get at the cash? To get into the cash register.
Aki: I’ll say Finesse, because I don’t wanna break it open. I just wanna break it open, get this and hopefully it doesn’t make a chiming noise as I do this. [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah. Yeah, go ahead and just roll that and I’ll tell you how much you get.
Aki: Ha ha! Ha ha! 6! Ha!
Rhi: Okay.
Aki: I get money!
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: So you get three coin.
Aki: Yeah, let’s go!
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Echo?
Josie: Can I swing Tinker here? Because I’m relying on my knowledge of stuff like this?
Rhi: Yeah. I’ll allow it.
Josie: [rolls dice] I got a 3. So…
Rhi: Okay. So you’re able to grab some stuff, but like, your knowledge isn’t— your background isn’t in alchemy as much, so you just get one coin worth of stuff.
Josie: Okey dokey.
Rhi: Val?
Kim: Uh yeah, I just roll a Survey to have Val take a glance around the room and just yoink something.
Rhi: Okay, go for it.
Kim: Okay. I’m also gonna push myself real quick. Lemme mark that stress. [shakes dice]
Rhi: Alright.
Kim: [rolls dice] Okay, I got a 4?
Rhi: 4, okay, so you’ll get two coin worth of alchemical goodies.
Kim: Sick.
Rhi: And then Arlene, what are you rolling?
Minna: She’s rolling a Survey. She’s just kinda glancing around for something that looks— she’s going to assume that if it’s finished, it’s probably worth something.
Rhi: Yeah. What did you get?
Minna: I got a 6.
Rhi: Okay. Y’all are coming out really good on this. So yeah, you also are able to find a couple, like, finished items that you swipe that are gonna be worth three coin. And now I’m gonna make a quick fortune roll to see how much time this took you all. [shakes dice]
Josie: Okey dokey.
Rhi: And how much, uh, I’m gonna tick up on these clocks. Ooh. Well, that’s not ideal. I got a 3.
Josie: Uh huh?
Rhi: Which is bad for you.
Josie: Aww. [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki: Okay.
Rhi: So, I’m going to— the guards are at 4 out of 5 for waking up. So, now you all have to get out.
Josie: Is there a side entrance?
Rhi: There is, that Arlene located previously. However, it’s close to a security guard station. I believe that Aki had mentioned a cunning plan for chaotic distraction.
Kim: Oh gosh.
Aki: I do. And like, if this is, um, if this is a no-no for you guys because you’re uncomfortable with it, just say no and that’s fine with me. And I’m cool with also having this take up, uh, I believe it’ll take up two loads, but I did go shopping earlier. And I definitely went to a designer bag store. And in said designer bag stores, they usually have very openly on display on the inside, the bags, because they let the customers usually touch it and all that other stuff. And so, what I’m saying is in a flashback, maybe I put a small explosive in one of the bags, and I have it ready—
Rhi: [laughs loudly]
Aki: And I can just click it and so it looks like, “Oh no, someone’s trying to rob this designer bag store!”
Rhi: Oh my God.
Josie: I mean, that’s a hell of a flashback. I like it.
Kim: I— yeah, that’s fantastic.
Rhi: Yeah, I’m down for that. I think that’s gonna be a two stress flashback, because that’s pretty, pretty finicky. But it’s definitely doable. So, mark two pints of stress for that.
Aki: I’m so glad I spent all of my money to get rid of one stress, got my money back and have enough stress to throw around for this. [laughs]
Rhi: So here’s the thing. I want there to be a roll for detonating this bomb. And I think that it was something where like, Echo could have made you an explosive. I don’t think we have to get into the details of like, how did you acquire a bomb. You know Echo. You can get explosives
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: The reason I want a roll is because one of the fun setting details that we got from John Harper is that ghosts interact with radio waves, and you all are carrying a bunch of ghost-attracting alchemicals and so, basically, I’m imagining that the detonator, if you’re using a remote detonator, it’s gonna be operating over radio. So, I wanna see if setting this off causes any problems of the ghostly kind. So, I think Darling’s gonna need to make some kind of roll for setting this off, to see what happen.
Kim: Wha happa.
Rhi: See what happens.
Josie: I mean, I could see Wreck for a roll like that.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: Yeah. [laughs] I don’t know if you have Wreck.
Aki: I do not.
Kim: We could group action Wreck? Because I know not all of us— I don’t think any of us have anything in Wreck.
Rhi: Yeah. I’d need an explanation for how group actioning it worked.
Kim: Yeah…
Rhi: I would allow— I feel like maybe an assist from Echo, for putting together this explosive device?
Josie: Yeah, I’m down for that.
Rhi: Okay. So that’ll give you— that’ll, uh Echo take a point of stress and you can roll one die for Wreck, to see— and I think this is gonna be risky, standard. And we’ll see what happens.
Aki: [hesitantly] Before I do anything, what does a Devil’s Bargain look like? [laughs] I don’t trust myself.
Rhi: Ooh… yeah, no, that’s fair. Let me think. Darling specifically leaves something behind that is going to connect her to this crime.
Aki: Oh no! Hmm.
Rhi: Maybe one of the fur-trimmed gloves that you were wearing earlier in the day. Something that when this guy comes in and realizes that he was robbed, that you were involved.
Aki: Nah, I won’t take it. That—
Rhi: Yeah, okay. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Aki: I already have someone who’s actively apparently gonna look for me later down the line, and I went, “That’s not… that’s not a problem.” No, that’s such a problem. They could find out where I live. [laughs] Like, that’s such a problem.
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki: So no, I’d rather not have two skinny nerds this time.
Rhi: [laughs] Fair enough. So go ahead and make your roll.
Aki: 4.
Rhi: 4. Okay, so you do it but there’s a consequence. And that consequence is: ghosts.
Kim: Yay…
Josie: Mm.
Rhi: [laughs] When do you set off the explosion? Do you stay in the shop ad then set it off and kinda wait for all the guards to rush past? What’s the approach here?
Aki : That might be the best approach actually, since we’re close to the guards outside waking up, right? And the last thing we wanna see is, you know, possibly catching us five, technically, coming out of the shop. So, I think once we have everything and I’m like:
Aki (as Darling): Good, good, we’ve robbed the place, yes? Nice. Okay.
Aki: And I click the button, you know, like one of those—[laughs]
Rhi: Yeah. “Right, do I have all of them? Let me do a quick head count, one, two, three, four, alright. Boop!” Uh, so yeah, a little bit down this hall there’s a— it’s not a huge explosion, but it’s loud and it flashes and I think a window breaks. And there’s not a lot of shoppers here still, but the couple here— there’s a couple distant screams and the sound of people running and then the security guards all go pelting down the hall to investigate this. And I’m starting the clock of Ghosts Catch Up, 1 out of 4, because between the stuff you’re carrying and the radio signal that just went out, you have some spirits interested in what you all are up to.
Josie (as Echo): Alright. Let’s get outta here.
Kim (as Val): Yeah.
Rhi: I think give me… I’m gonna need some kind of roll or rolls for you all making it, basically like, getting out without running into any other trouble. Getting outside the building.
Josie: Group Prowl?
Kim: Yeah, sounds like a Prowl,
Rhi: Yeah. Who wants to lead?
Kim: I can lead it.
Josie: Oh, okay.
Kim: Oh, unless you wanted to, Josie.
Josie: Go for it.
Kim: Okey dokey.
Rhi: [laughs] Alright. So everybody give me a Prowl. This is gonna be risky, standard for the group.
Aki: Once again, a 5.
Kim: [muffled] Oh God…
Josie: I got a 1.
Rhi: 5, 1… what did you get, Kim?
Kim: Is the Force punishing me because I haven’t bought character-specific dice yet?
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Maybe.
Kim: I rolled another 1.
Minna: [groans]
Rhi: Oof.
Josie: Mm.
Minna: I rolled another 6!
Aki: Yeah, Minna! Let’s go! [laughs]
Rhi: Okay, so Kim’s gonna take two points of stress.
Kim: Ugh.
Rhi: But the result is a 6. So, Minna, tell us how Arlene leads everyone safely down to the side exit.
Minna: I think it’s that she like, scouts out the quietest, darkest shadows to run through and like, points everyone through and takes up the end of the line.
Rhi: Yeah. You all rush through the shadows, get to the stairwell, hustle down the stairs and slip out the side door onto the side street. Did you all bring the Drake?
Kim: Uh, yes, I’m gonna say retroactively. [laughs]
Rhi: Okay, yeah, that’s fine. I feel like with y’all being smugglers, technically a flashback, but I’m not gonna have it cost any stress. So, the Drake is sitting there, parked, and you all pile inside.
Kim: Yep. Val starts revving up the engine.
Rhi: You all start down this side street and your first challenge here is going to be getting away from the building without interference, because there was just an explosion. Security is reacting strongly. And they are starting to kind of shut things down around the building, to prevent exactly what is happening, the thieves getting away. So, uh, I’m gonna guess this will be Val driving.
Kim: Yep.
Rhi: I’ll need some kind of a roll for—
Kim: What did we agree vehicles was?
Rhi: It’s Finesse in the book.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: So yeah, just— you can do Finesse for driving, but you know, if you have other ideas for how you drive casual, uh—[laughs]
Kim: No, Finesse works. I’m just curious what a Devil’s Bargain might look like.
Rhi: Oh, um… I’m just gonna click up that Ghosts Catch Up clock by one. Put it at 2 out of 4.
Kim: Okay. Sure. Why not?
Rhi: Okay.
Kim: So what’s the rating?
Rhi: Great question. I closed my book and put it away and…
[laughter]
Rhi: I have no idea what anything is. Um, this is going to be… risky, standard.
Kim: Risky, standard. Okay. [shakes dice]
Rhi: Or actually, risky greater.
Kim: [rolls dice]
Rhi: Because you got a special, fancy car.
Kim: Motherfucker…
Rhi: Oh no. [laughs]
Kim: I rolled two 2s.
Rhi: Ooh…
Josie: Oh no…
Rhi: okay.
Kim: Talk about ultimate dice jail tonight. Christ.
Rhi: Yeah… Um. Let’s see here. Yeah, you know what? I think I’m just gonna do this. So, you drive down this side street slow, casual, you don’t know that there was any kind of robbery happening in this very fine building.
Kim: Mm hmm.
Rhi: You turn, you can hear, like Bluecoat sirens as they drive up. But nobody’s following you, everything seems good. And then it gets really, really cold around the car.
Kim and Minna: Oh no.
Rhi: Cause I am gonna click that clock up to 4. [laughs]
Aki: Oh, they’re here.
Rhi: They’re here! Ghosts are here. So yeah, the car is surrounded by some number of spirits. You would have to look into the ghost field to tell. But yeah, you got ghosts. They want your stuff, maybe they want your bodies, and the life essence contained within…
Minna: [laughs] I know what they want from our bodies… [laughs] but…
Rhi: You know. [laughs] A little from column A. Uh, so yeah—
Minna: Ghosts want me, Bluecoats fear me.
Rhi: What are you all—[bursts out laughing] So what are you all going to do about this situation? You can tell that you have some number of ghosts on you.
Kim: I mean, I kinda wanna just keep driving. I wanna have Val focus on that, unless anybody else has a better idea.
Rhi: Yeah, Val can focus on driving. I think that that’ll be kind of— Val will keep— I’m not gonna require Val to make a roll unless Val is being actively harassed by a ghost or if they’re doing some kind of like fancy driving. Otherwise, if you are just driving normally, you don’t have to roll.
Kim: Yeah. Okay.
Rhi: So yeah, everybody else. Ghosts.
Aki: This is my first time— like, me, as a person, first time dealing with ghosts like this in Blades. And so I have a couple questions.
Rhi: Absolutely. Hit me.
Aki: So, I know that we all have, like, spiritbane charms automatically, like in our items.
Rhi: Yes.
Aki: Now I think is a very good time to ask, what do that do?
Rhi: [laughs] So, a lot of the items are left kind of vague. I’m looking up the specific description of how spiritbane charms— what the description is. Yeah. It just says, “A small arcane trinket that ghosts prefer to avoid”. The way that we’ve used them in the past, in Magpies, was basically like you could kind of brandish it like holy symbol style and make a roll to see if you were able to drive off ghosts with it, to get them to back off. And also it’s a thing where like, if you have a spiritbane charm on you, weaker ghosts will like, kinda leave you alone, not try to possess you, but stronger ones can ignore it, and that’s where you have to sort of be like, “No. Leave. Shoo.”
So that’s how spiritbane charm works. Um, a little bit on how ghosts work in this setting. So, almost 900 years ago there was a mild apocalypse.
Kim: Just a tiny one.
Rhi: Just a smidgeon of an apocalypse in which the sun was shattered and the gates of death broken. As a result of the gates of death being broken, when a person dies, their spirit doesn’t go anywhere. There’s no afterlife anymore. Their ghost just hangs around. And majority of ghosts end up becoming sort of feral. They don’t really have a sense of self or personality, they are just hungry. And what they are hungry for is life essence. Good way to get life essence: possess a living person and drain it from them. [laughs] So like, if you get possessed by a ghost it’s very bad.
When a person dies, the Spirit Wardens collect the body and have to destroy it pretty quickly in order to destroy both the body and the spirit before the spirit comes out and becomes a ghost and causes problems. Um, so there is a few ghosts that are able to, like, retain their sense of self. Most people don’t make any kind of distinction. Ghosts are bad and scary and will try to eat your soul is sort of the general understanding of how ghosts works.
Aki: Mm hmm.
Rhi: You’re not— you’re not sure exactly what kinda ghosts you’re dealing with in the car right now, but they’re probably not friendly.
Kim: Yeah.
Aki: Oh are they— they’re in the car?
Rhi: They’re— you know, I mean, they’re ghosts, you know? I don’t know if you all have the top up on the car— oh, it’s been raining, so you probably did. But they’re ghosts, they’re incorporeal, they can just kinda go through. They’re also not visible unless you look into the ghost field. So usually kinda the indicator that I give when ghosts show up is that it gets very, very cold. And then people can be like, “Oh no! Ghosts!” So yeah.
Aki: And then my last question, which probably might not be great to do now that I realize that they are technically in the car, is, um, I’m assuming that the electroplasmic ammunition is to shoot the ghosts.
Rhi: Yes it is.
Aki: Awesome.
Rhi: [laughs]
[laughter]
Rhi: Yep, that’s what that’s for. You got ghost bullets.
Aki: Yeah, yeah, cause if not, I was gonna ask “what is that?” But I’m assuming it is to shoot some goop, you know?
Rhi: Yes.
Josie: Shoot your goo.
Aki: Yeah, you know.
Kim: [disapproving of Josie] Mm. Jail.
Josie: [laughs]
Aki: Put the goo in boo, you know?
Rhi: [laughs] So yes, the electroplasmic bullets are for shootin’ ghosts. Would you like to shoot ghosts?
Aki: I would like to shoot ghosts, cause I feel like that’s the only way to deal with— I don’t think you can scare a ghost. Besides shooting them.
Kim: Kinda?
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: Can I give it a try?
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll shoot last is what I’m…
Josie and Rhi: [laughs]
Aki: Unless someone becomes possessed, I will shoot last. If someone becomes possessed I will shoot first.
Rhi: Fair enough. Alright. Echo, what are you trying?
Josie: I wanna look back at where the ghosts are and just be like:
Josie (as Echo): These are mine.
Rhi: Oh, trying to scare them off?
Aki: Oh…
Josie: Yeah.
Aki: Asserting dominance, I see.
Josie: Yeah. Like, I probably don’t read like a ghost immediately, for reasons, but I wanna give it a shot.
Rhi: Yeah. The ghosts are gonna be able to tell that you’re not— they might not be able to tell what you are, but they can tell that you’re not a regular living person. What do you wanna roll for this?
Josie: If I can do Attune, I would like that. But otherwise it seems like a Command?
Rhi: I think I’ll allow Attune, because you’re not giving them an order, you’re just stating a fact and trying to use your nature as something a little spiritual yourself, to get them to back off. So I’ll allow Attune. I think this is gonna be risky… risky, standard. So you can go ahead and make your roll.
Josie: Alright. [rolls dice] [sing-song voice] I got a 3.
Rhi: Oof. Let’s see… I think it’s just gonna be you lose this opportunity. You turn and say that and I think that all of you hear this whispery voice reply:
Rhi (as Ghost): And soon they’ll be ours.
Aki: Oh Hell no!
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie (as Echo): Well then, that’s rude.
Rhi: So they’re not— they’re not backing off. They’re here to steal what you stole. Who’s next? Arlene? You wanna do something before Darling starts shooting? [laughs]
Minna: Mm… how does she deal with ghosts? It’s a good question.
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: Definitely got a spiritbane charm in hand. Definitely like:
Minna (as Arlene): This isn’t good.
Minna: And I think— do we know which things have ghosts in them?
Rhi: There’s not stuff that has ghosts in them specifically, they just attract ghosts.
Minna: Oh, that’s right.
Rhi: Yeah. But Echo, I think, knows which two. It’s two specific things that are ghost attracting.
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: So yeah, if you wanna know which two, Echo can point them out.
Josie: And she will.
Minna (as Arlene) So, like, problem-solving time, right?
Josie (as Echo): Yes?
Minna (as Arlene): Like, I don’t wanna drop the cargo, but can we make the cargo less cursed?
Josie (as Echo): Maybe we can veil it?
Minna (as Arlene): How do we do that?
Rhi: Put spiritbane on top of the jar and hope. [laughs]
Kim: Yeah.
Minna: I mean, I’m willing to try that,
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: Yeah. I might have something for this. Can I have, like, an anti-ghost gadget?
Rhi: I think that might be something you would’ve needed to create already. Yeah, like there are… there are some gadgets that can repel ghosts, but they’re pretty high tier, like the ones I’m seeing here are like, Tier IV. So that’s not something that you would just have.
Kim: I do have a spiritbane charm in my equipment loadout. Is it easy enough to have Val fish into their pocket and flash it with one hand while they continue steering with the other?
Rhi: Yeah. Yeah, if you wanna try and do that. But like, that’ll kinda… help a little bit, um, but like, rolls have to happen for the spiritbane charms to actually like fend them off wholly.
Kim: No, no, I know. Would that be an Attune roll?
Rhi: Well, let’s jump back to Minna and Josie.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: What were you all thinking? Cause honestly, you could try a group Attune where you’re all just with your spiritbane charms, being like, “Nope!” [laughs]
Kim: Yep.
Rhi: “Go away!”
Josie: Yeah, I mean, I’m down for it.
Minna: Yeah, me too.
Kim: Let’s do that.
Minna: I feel like that’s kind of a fun character moment.
Josie: Yeah, I’ll lead it if you want.
Minna: Okay!
Kim: Sure.
Rhi: Echo will lead, so everybody— I mean, you don’t rally need to mark your spiritbane charms because they don’t have any load, but—
Minna: I’m gonna push myself for greater— or for another die.
Rhi: Okay. This is gonna, yeah, this’ll be risky… I’ll say risky, standard.
[dice shaking]
Rhi: So everybody go ahead and roll Attune.
[dice rolls]
Josie: I got a 4.
Kim: Oh, man.
Minna: I got a 6!
Aki: Tonight is the night where I only get 5s.
Rhi: [laughs] What’d you get, Kim?
Kim: [laughs despondently] So, when you have no ranks in a skill, you roll two die and take the lower, right?
Rhi: Correct.
Kim: Yeah. I got a 2 in that case, which is really frustrating because my other die came up as a 6.
Rhi: Oh. [laughs]
Josie: Womp womp.
Rhi: Well fortunately it’s only one point of stress and the result is a 6. What does this look like as the four of you, by our powers combined, [laughs] use your spiritbane charms to push these ghosts back?
Kim: I think at least in the ghost field it’s like, you know that thing that will happen in shows and movies sometimes where like, you know, the cops bust someone and it’s just like immediately flashlights or a spotlight from a helicopter or something and it’s just like, “Bow! [imitates sirens]”
Rhi: Yeah.
Kim: Um, that’s kinda what it looks like in the ghost field, it’s just like all of a sudden, all around the car is just a huge beacon of light and that just immediately makes all the ghosts recoil.
Rhi: Yeah. Yeah, there’s this pulse in the ghost field and the ghosts all peel off. And I think from there I imagine that Echo, like— I’m picturing Echo, and you can tell me if you like this, Josie, gathering up everybody’s spiritbane charms and just surrounding the two attractive things with the spiritbane charms to kinda protect them on the rest of the drive.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: Maybe doing some other arcane stuff to ward them a little bit.
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: But you all make it across town over to the tea shop, Mirabelle’s Brews, and when you, like, pull up at the back door, before the car has even stopped she has the back door open and comes rushing over with a box that is like, it’s carved and painted with all these kind of runes and just like, she kind of shoves it through the window and is like:
Rhi (as Mirabelle): Here, put them in here quickly.
Josie (as Echo): Alright.
Rhi: And yeah, as soon as you load them all in she like slides the lid on and is like:
Rhi (as Mirabelle): [breathlessly] Phew, okay. Uh, oh, I’m so sorry. I probably should have asked first. Any ghosts here? Are any of you possessed? Did you have any…
Josie (as Echo): No.
Kim (as Val): All good.
Rhi (as Mirabelle): Good. Alright. Wonderful. Well. Uh.
Rhi: I think she kind of like, belatedly slides the lid open a little bit and is like,
Rhi (as Mirabelle): You got one, two, three— oh! All six. Wonderful. Thank you so much!
Kim (as Val): Any time.
Rhi (as Mirabelle): Great. Um, I will, uh, send word to Mr Barsotti that I think his organization has more than proven itself to be a good fit for expanding my business. Oh, uh, wait here one moment.
Rhi: And she rushes back inside and then, you know, comes back out with a different box, this one is more just like a cardboard box, and kind of passes it through the window. It’s a little warm and she’s just like:
Rhi (as Mirabelle): I put together some tea for all of you and there’s some snacks in there and, uh, I have some— there’s some treats in there for the big one.
Rhi: Pointing at Pearl. [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): Oh, thank you!
Aki: By the way, there’s totally some weird demonic mumbling in the car as Darling’s like, ha ha, I’m gonna put all the ghost bullets in because I did not prepare a gun with ghost bullets.
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki: We didn’t need ‘em, but like, that was what was happening in the back seat.
Rhi: [laughs] So yeah, you have completed your mission. You delivered the stuff and nobody got eaten by ghosts, or arrested. Well done. Alright, so let’s get into our downtime scene. I think we’ll start with Echo and Val. Where do we find the two of you after this score?
Josie: Echo is in the main room of the garage for once, because if you’ll recall, she got a bunch of components and parts from the lady who ran the shop last time.
Rhi: Yes. Hedwig.
Josie: Hedwig. Um, and she’s sitting on top of a large toolbox with those strewn around her. And she has her pants pulled up past her knees, revealing her legs. And because Echo is a hull, her legs and the rest of her look like they’re made of sculpted porcelain plates that interlock at the joints and stuff like that. And revealing thin strips of gold clockwork underneath. She’s in general pale, and it’s apparent that it’s the color of porcelain, and even on the parts of her that are covered up, there’s the painted on blue ornate flowery pattern you’d expect on fine china.
And she has the plates that represent her calves pulled away, revealing a hollow space next to the clockwork of her legs, where she is working on installing some sort of piston with a spring that she has been cobbling together out of the car parts. But it quickly becomes ill-advised that she’s working on both legs at one time, when one of the springs snaps because it’s just too old and rusty and she says:
Josie (as Echo): Fuck. Uh, Val? Are you still around?
Kim (as Val): Yeah, what do you need?
Kim: They shout from the other room. I think they’re just shuffling through some sheet music for tomorrow’s performance.
Josie (as Echo): Can you bring me a fresh spring?
Kim (as Val): [sighs] Did you break another one, sweetheart?
Josie (as Echo): Yeah.
Kim (as Val): Alright, I’m on my way.
Kim: And they grab a fresh spring from, I don’t know, some kind of workbench or shelf or whatever and walk over to Echo.
Josie (as Echo): Thank you.
Josie: Has Val seen Echo working on herself before?
Kim: I don’t think so. Maybe not.
Josie: Okay. So yeah, I think she usually does repairs in her room, but this time she’s out here with both legs popped open.
Kim (as Val): You uh, you doin’ some fine-tuning there?
Josie (as Echo): I am adding a new function.
Kim (as Val): A new function?
Josie (as Echo): Yeah. I have had the design for a while, but it occurred to me that getting out of that building might have been easier had I been able to just go out the side. So, I am working on a way for myself to jump much higher.
Kim (as Val): Oh. You can do that?
Josie (as Echo): I suppose we’ll see when I finish.
Kim (as Val): Well, good luck to ya. I would love to see it when you’re done.
Josie (as Echo): Really?
Kim (as Val): Sure, why not?
Josie (as Echo): Oh. I’m not… I’m not used to people being excited about… me.
Kim (as Val): Doll, it’s— listen. You’re very special, alright? And you’re gonna have to take this new mechanic out for a test-drive anyway, so when you’re done just gimme a tap on the shoulder and we’ll go outside, yeah?
Josie (as Echo): O- okay.
Kim (as Val): Alright.
Josie: She nods.
Kim (as Val): You know where to find me.
Kim: And they walk back over to their— to what they were doing.
Josie: If Echo could blush, she would. [laughs]
Kim: Aww.
Rhi: Aww!
Josie: But kinda just gently goes back to tinkering with her legs.
Rhi: Just the mental image of just—[laughs] supportive dad Val while Echo just jumps 70 feet up, “You’re doin’ great, kid!”
Kim: “That’s my girl!”
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs] Boi-oi-oi-oing!
Minna: [laughs]
[laughter]
Kim: Exactly that, yup.
Rhi: Yeah, so from there, uh, we will fade over to Darling and Arlene. And where do we find the two of you?
Aki: Hmm…
Minna: I feel like they do not meet up at Arlene’s house. Or not house, probably apartment. So, it’s either Darling’s or they’re out together. Which do you think?
Aki: I feel like meeting up at Darling’s is just very easy to do. It’s also safer, homelier, and Pearl can cuddle you fully.
Minna: Yes! This is very true. So yeah, probably a lap-full of Pearl, and/or sitting on Pearl.
Josie: Aww.
Kim: Such good chuffs.
Aki: Mm hmm. And Darling is being a very good Darling. Made tea, brings it over, you know, that kind of thing. And then she’ll take a seat somewhere, probably across, one of her little chairs. It’s not little, it’s like a couch. She’s very long. [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna (as Arlene): Thank you.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, well it’s not every day you come to visit me without me insisting. Why, did something happen?
Minna (as Arlene): I come visit you.
Aki (as Darling): [laughs] Well yes, yes you do. But not while you’re completely healthy.
Minna (as Arlene): Mm… okay, I admit you might be right. But hey, maybe we just fell into some patterns that we’re trying to break.
Aki (as Darling): “Patterns that we’re try—” what’s that supposed to mean?
Minna (as Arlene): I mean, when was I allowed to lounge around in your space before when I wasn’t hurt? Anyway, I like this better.
Aki (as Darling): Ah. Well, I’m…happy that you are comfortable.
Minna: I think she says that with her face kind of buried in Pearl’s shoulder. [laughs]
Aki: Obviously, sorry.
Minna (as Arlene): I think I just made it awkward.
Aki (as Darling): A little, yes. But it’s okay. Uh… shit happens.
Minna (as Arlene): You’re supposed to be the one who’s good at this.
Aki (as Darling): I am, normally. But… well. I’ve been thinking lately and realized that I don’t have any hobbies, and probably neither do you.
Minna (as Arlene): I mean…
Aki (as Darling): I mean that doesn’t involve other people. Cause then I have plenty of hobbies. And… and that is where I will end the hobby-specific talk.
Minna (as Arlene): Oh! No, gross!
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): Told you.
Minna (as Arlene): We will be moving on from that.
Aki and Minna: [laugh]
Aki: Sipping my tea.
Minna (as Arlene): [uncomfortable whine]
Aki (as Darling): But yes—
Minna (as Arlene): I just dunno where to start. There’s, like, a lot to look at all of the time, still.
Aki (as Darling): Does it feel boring— or not boring. Quieter, maybe?
Minna (as Arlene): I mean, quieter, sure, but I’m not sure I don’t like the quiet.
Aki (as Darling): Ironically, the smuggling is— it’s great to keep me occupied, but I personally—
Minna (as Arlene): Oh no, for sure. Enrichment.
Aki (as Darling): Yes. You know, same old, same old, feels kinda nice. Never completely entirely out of practice. And of course, lovely people. Val, Echo, the Bailey, all of them, lovely. But, um…
Minna (as Arlene): Is Bailey lovely?
Aki (as Darling): When she wants to be.
Minna: [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): Oh, that came out even more— no, no, no. Actually, maybe. Don’t know.
Minna (as Arlene): I didn’t read anything into that, either. Stop reading things into things for me.
Aki (as Darling): Yes. I should. But as…
Minna: [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): As— as I was saying…
Minna (as Arlene): Anyway, if you had a hobby, what would it be?
Aki (as Darling): Oh. Oh shit, well clearly not talking about things. Um… I don’t know. Ah! Painting.
Minna (as Arlene): Oh, yeah. You’re good at pretty stuff.
Aki (as Darling): Well, I would hope so. What about you?
Minna (as Arlene): Um… I’m not the one that brought up hobbies.
Aki (as Darling): Well, you could say what you would like to do and then hopefully go and attempt it.
Minna (as Arlene): I kinda wanna try everything right now, which I realize isn’t gonna get me anywhere.
Aki (as Darling): Yes, please do it in moderation. You wouldn’t want to overindulge and then, I don’t know, find yourself in more debt.
Minna (as Arlene): I mean, you don’t have to spend that much money to have fun.
Aki (as Darling): Well no, I mean— you have— if you were to, let’s say, try everything, then you would have to buy supplies for everything. That’s what I mean.
Minna (as Arlene): Oh. Yeah. True.
Aki (as Darling): What did you think I meant?
Minna (as Arlene): I don’t know. I’m not, like, going wild on the town. I’m mostly walking around looking at things, still. Which, you know. I could probably stand to walk around less.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, oh walking around town sounds like a very good idea, actually.
Minna (as Arlene): Hm?
Aki (as Darling): I mean, I usually just stay here, or I circle the same neighborhoods.
Minna (as Arlene): What?
Aki (as Darling): Yeah, I don’t go out much.
Minna (as Arlene): Okay. I need to take you about a billion places immediately.
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): I’m concerned, but sure. Just finish your tea first because it’s that bitter stuff, and normally I like the bitter teas, but why did she vibe check me and pick bitter? Like—
Minna: [laughs]
Minna (as Arlene): I don’t know. She gave me sweet.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, because you’re sweet as a button. Look at you. Like a cupcake. I don’t even know if cupcakes exist.
[laughter]
Rhi: They do, but they might be something wild— there’s something called a cupcake and it is sweet. Does it have any resemblance to what we know as a cupcake? Who knows.
Minna: It is a cake and it is in a cup.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna: The cake may be a broad definition. Anyway:
Minna (as Arlene): Maybe she looked at you and she thought that you needed something that required a subtle palette.
Aki (as Darling): I must take it in stride that way, because if not then I’ll have to show up later and be like, “What does this mean?” and I don’t want to do that—
Aki: Darling’s saying this, she downed the tea already and it’s like she’s getting dressed—
Minna: In the living room.
Minna (as Arlene): I don’t think the tea lady is a fortune teller.
Aki (as Darling): Well, I would hope not. Then she would just need to look at the tea leaves. That’s how it works.
Minna (as Arlene): [laughs] Is that your hobby?
Aki (as Darling): No, it’s not my hobby. It’s definitely something I’m a little more familiar with. You know, the old country. Speaking of the old country, why don’t we look at the new country?
Aki: [laughs]
[laughter]
Minna: Damn, running away from their feelings at 50 miles an hour. [laughs]
Rhi: Yep. So, Darling and Arlene sweep out into the city, Arlene taking the lead to show Darling all of the sights. And from there we fade across town to a small but very nice, clearly wealthy manor in one of the more upper-class neighborhoods in the city. And we see inside this manor is a really nice sitting room. Everything is— it’s very, like, it’s all fine furniture and decorations, but it all feels a little impersonal, like it was picked out by somebody who was doing it because it looks good, not for any one person’s particular preferences.
Minna: Hotel vibes.
Rhi: Sitting on a couch, a little stiff, a little awkward, is Sprig. They’ve cleaned themselves up as much as they can, which, you know, for a down-on-their-luck gang member, isn’t much. They’re very painfully aware that they’re underdressed for the setting, but they’re trying to power through the awkwardness. And they smile as someone hands them a cup of tea and say:
Rhi (as Sprig): Thank you, I appreciate it.
Rhi: And the person handing over the tea smiles and says:
Rhi (as Person): Oh, of course. We want to be hospitable to our guests.
Rhi: And they sit down. There’s two people sitting opposite Sprig, one in each armchair. One woman, one non-binary person. The woman who had been speaking says:
Rhi (as Woman): Well, I’m so glad that you were able to find us, Sprig. And tell me again about the woman that you saw, Darjeeling.
Rhi: And Sprig says:
Rhi (as Sprig): Yeah, hard to forget her. You know, she’s really tall, red scales scattered around, this red-black hair, horns, tail.
Rhi: And the two of them kind of glance at each other and then, you know, as Sprig kinda trails off and takes a drink of tea, the woman says:
Rhi (as Woman): And was there anyone with Darjeeling?
Rhi: Sprig kinda shrugs and says:
Rhi (as Sprig): A few others. There were a few. I… I don’t really remember very clearly, sorry. Do you— do you happen to know where I might be able to find her again? I’d like to just talk to her, figure out what happened.
Rhi: The woman just smiles and I think at this point it dawns on our viewers, though not on Sprig, that while both of the other people in this room are holding teacups, neither of them have had a drink.
Minna: [surprised outburst]
Rhi: And the woman just smiles and says:
Rhi (as Woman): Well, we don’t know yet, but hopefully we will soon.
Rhi: And Sprig kind of says:
Rhi (as Sprig): Oh and you’ll tell— me— when—[coughs] when—[chokes]
Rhi: They drop the mug, clutching at their throat, choking. Slide to the floor, gasping, struggling for air. The other two set down their mugs and look at each other.
Rhi (as Woman): At least Darjeeling is here. Don’t know about Lady Grey. But given Darjeeling’s sentimentality, it seems quite likely that they went missing together. Should we alert Heliotrope?
Rhi: And the other person shakes their head and says:
Rhi (as Person): No, no, I don’t think that will be necessary yet. Once we have identified where they are and if it is in fact them, well, we’ll have to tell Begonia first. And then she can make a decision about who else to bring in. But in any event, ugh, we’ll need to get one of the apprentices in here to clean this up. We’ll get some people spread out over the city, see who we can find.
Rhi: And they sort of nod to each other, stand and leave Sprig’s body on the floor of this fine sitting room. And that’s where we’re gonna leave it.
Aki: [strained] Aaaah…
Josie: Okay then.
Minna: Augh!
Josie: Great.
Aki: Ah!
Minna: [groans]
Josie: Everything’s fine.
## Outro [01.04.12]
Thanks for joining us! The Whisky Jays will return in two weeks. The City That Never Dies is a Clever Corvids production. Visit our website at clever corvids dot net and follow us on Twitter at clever underscore corvids for the latest on this and other shows.
The City That Never Dies is GM’d and edited by Rhi. Check out her business Skill Check for copyediting and accessibility consulting for the RPG community at rpg skill check dot net.
Arlene Graeme is played by Minna Reilly. Find her on Twitter @mynaminnarr.
Darling Tsering is played by Aki. Find her on Twitter @akinomii_art for more TTRPG Content.
Echo is played by Josie. Find her on Twitter @dragongirljosie, and check out her art at josie-art.com.
Valerie Sullivan is played by Kim. Find her on Twitter @kimdianajones.
Our opening and closing theme music is from Something by Kai Engel and is used under a Creative Commons license. Blades in the Dark is the creation of John Harper and is published by Evil Hat Productions.
This episode’s jumbotron message comes from Kickstarter backer John Kozloski. He says:
“To my fellow scoundrels and ne’er do wells, to the Magpies, to the Dredge, to John Harper, and to all those that lurk in the dark. I hope your scores go well, and your consequences are at least dramatic if not manageable. This world may be haunted and bleak but the stories we tell within it bring us together in more ways than we realize. I’m eternally grateful for all the adventures, laughs, frustrations and even tears I’ve shared with you all. I hope to continue sharing these moments until my last breath and my ghost is released to feed upon the unsuspecting living.
Stay lucky, Scoundrels!”
Thanks so much, John. And as always, thanks to all our backers on Patreon, whose ongoing support makes this show possible.
## Blooper [01.06.32]
Rhi: Okay. So that looks like it’ll clear all your stress.
Aki: [chuckles] I have a fun thing for stress. I frequent the brothels!
Kim: Ah! Yeah!
Rhi: Excellent.
Aki: I just decide, “Oh God, I’ve had such a day. I could really use… some titties.” I don’t know.
Josie: I mean…
Minna and Rhi: [laughs]
Kim: Don’t we all?
Josie: Listen. Mood.
Rhi: [laughs]