Transcribed by Michelle Kelly.
## Intro
Rhi: Welcome back to Imperial City. As always, thank you for joining us, and for supporting the show, be it through reviews, buying merch, backing us on Patreon, sponsoring an episode, or buying a jumbotron message! Any and all support is greatly appreciated.
Our newest show Demon: Love and Hellfire launched last week! If you haven’t listened yet, go check it out. The first episode is extra-long and comes with a bonus backstory episode, so you can really sink into the world and the characters right away. We’re also halfway through our Court of Blades mini-series, with the first three episodes available for listening as well.
This coming weekend, June 18th and 19th, is Rainbow Roll Fest! You can see us alongside many other awesome queer RPG podcasts on the Rainbow Roll Fest Twitch channel. Our screening will air at 6 p.m. EST on June 18th, and will feature a mix of old and new content. We’d love to see you there!
Next, Josie is going to tell us about this month’s featured charity.
Josie: Fund Texas Choice is a non-profit organization dedicated to travel and funds for that travel to Texans seeking abortions, even going so far as to help them travel out of state. If you’re listening to this, we just did a whole big livestream to raise money for Fund Texas Choice, but that doesn’t mean you can’t donate. And especially in the coming times, fuck SCOTUS, lots of people in lots of places are gonna need this help. Everyone who can get abortions is entitled to them, for any reason, fuck anyone who tells you otherwise, and we at Clever Corvids believe strongly in affordable healthcare for all of any sort.
Rhi: I’m going to repeat what I said at the end of my intro to our last Court of Blades episode. Contact your elected officials and community leaders, wherever you are, to advocate for reproductive, trans, and queer rights. This pride month, it’s important to loudly and frequently remind those with power that everyone deserves to live in safety, health, happiness, and freedom.
Now then. Let’s get started, shall we?
## Story continues [00.02.50]
Rhi: So it’s a fairly ordinary mid-week day in Imperial City. Dark, a little gloomy, a little foggy. People are bustling around, heading to and from work. And we see Bailey Barsotti parking her car a little bit down the street from where the Whisky Jays have their garage. She hops out of the car and kinda hustles down the sidewalk and then will press the buzzer, or doorbell, next to the door of the upper building of the garage. And like, stands there for a couple seconds and then like, presses it again. And we cut down to the garage. Who do we think is here? Is it just Echo? Or do we think other folks are hanging around?
Kim: Um, I think I can be there.
Aki: I’m not gonna like, I think Darling would be there and I think Darling would have—[giggles] I think Darling would be a little bit more clingy to Arlene as well.
Minna: Yes. So if Darling’s there, then Arlene’s probably there as well.
Rhi: Okay. So you all are hanging out down in the garage, working on various things. And you hear the doorbell go upstairs. Now, most of the time when somebody buzzes upstairs, it’s somebody that doesn’t know that the garage is closed, or it’s, you know, some kid just pranking you by hitting the buzzer a lot.
Minna: [laughs]
Rhi: And doesn’t think anybody’s actually here. So, I imagine you probably all ignore it the first couple times.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: But it keeps happening.
Minna (as Arlene): Nose goes.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim (as Val): Did anybody order delivery?
Josie (as Echo): I did not.
Kim (as Val): Well, I know you didn’t, Doll. But uh, Girly? Dar? No? Didn’t order dinner or anything?
Minna (as Arlene): Mm-mm.
Rhi: Bzz, bzz, bzz.
Kim (as Val): Alright! Alright.
Aki: I pull out my glock and I sit in front of—
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki: You know, I sit, you know, I’m watching. I sit.
Minna: Arlene takes her finger off her nose.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Alright, so it sounds like Val’s heading upstairs to get the door?
Kim: Yeah.
Josie: For some reason, I imagined Val and Echo playing poker.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim: Oh, that’s cute, yeah.
Josie: Which Echo can’t win at, but has perfect poker face, because of course.
Kim: Oh, yep.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim: Oh that’s funny, I like that a lot.
Rhi: That is good. So Val sets down their cards and will jog upstairs to check the door. And yeah, you see Bailey standing outside, looking uh… not necessarily like, upset. But kind of like, nervous energy.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: She’s kind of bouncing from foot to foot, looking around, that sort of thing.
Kim (as Val): Hey, Bails. Uh, how you doin? You alright.
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah, yeah. Just um, needed to talk to you about a job.
Kim (as Val): Yeah?
Rhi (as Bailey): Can I come on down?
Kim (as Val): Yeah. Yeah, come on in.
Rhi: So Bailey will follow you downstairs. Your lair is hidden, but since the Nightcaps own your lair, they know where it is.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: Bailey gets to drop by, because Bailey helped move you all into this place. [laughs]
Kim: Gotcha.
Rhi: Probably carried a couch.
Kim: Bless her.
Josie: Echo scrambles to put a blanket around herself after having covertly moved a pile of chips to her side of the table.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: I was wondering if you were gonna take advantage of this opportunity. So, yeah. Bailey will follow Val back downstairs. And I think probably picks up on a little bit of the tension in the room as I imagine, you know, like, Darling is on high alert. Echo is probably also a little bit like, [nervous vocalization], Bailey’s just kinda like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Hey. Uh, everything alright?
Josie (as Echo): Oh. I could ask you the same.
Rhi (as Bailey): [sighs] Yeah. So, got work for ya. I know things ended a little, uh, ehnn, unpleasantly last time you were talking to Grandad, but um… [sighs]
Rhi: She like, rubs her forehead.
Rhi (as Bailey): We, uh, we need your help with picking up some product.
Kim (as Val): Okay… what kinda product?
Rhi: And like, she kinda glances around a little unnecessarily and then looks back at you and is like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Okay, what I’m gonna say to you doesn’t leave here.
Kim (as Val): Okay…?
Rhi (as Bailey): Grandad has stretched us way too thin. We’ve got more people looking for product than we can supply. We’ve got the distillery running full-tilt all ours of the day. And night. But it’s not enough. [sighs] So, I tried to talk him into some different plans, maybe reining things in a little bit, but he wasn’t hearing it. So, he wants all of you to get some more liquor from somewhere. He’s not particular, and he’s not particular how you get it. But we’ve got orders we need to fill and he is counting on all of you to do it.
Kim (as Val): Alright. Well, leave it to us, I guess.
Josie (as Echo): This seems like a really good way to make some enemies.
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah. And this is not solving the problem. This is a short-term solution. We’re gonna be back in this same boat a month from now, cause we just can’t keep up. But I don’t know, I think he knows that he’s screwed up, but his pride won’t let him admit it. Or fix it.
Kim (as Val): Well, thanks for doin’ your best to try and change his mind anyway.
Aki (as Darling): The worst kind of man, yes, continue.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi (as Bailey): I think he’s— he wants to build something big. But I think it might be better to have built something… stable. [sighs] I don’t know. I’m hoping that he’ll start listening before, uh, well, things start falling down around our ears. Anyway, uh… as usual, let me know if you need help with anything. I’m working on my own things trying to help fill in the gaps, but, you know. Wanna make sure that my favorite smugglers get all the support they need.
Rhi: She kind of gives you a slightly tense but like, genuine smile.
Kim: Yeah.
Minna (as Arlene): You’re the best, Bailey.
Josie (as Echo): How long until the falling down around us part? Because it sounds like we’re kicking the can down the road.
Rhi (as Bailey): I’m… not… I’m not sure. We are kicking the can down the road, but I don’t know how far and I’m not sure what we’re gonna be able to put in place to make things more stable before we catch up. But, I mean, you’re not wrong. This is a temporary fix. But it’s what we gotta do.
Josie (as Echo): Okay. Um, how much is he offering?
Rhi: Oh, that’s a good question. Let’s see… so, four coin. One apiece, with a potential for a bonus, depending on, you know, what you’re able to get. You bring in something really high quality or a lot, might be able to throw in a coin or two extra. But four coin, as your base.
Kim (as Val): Sounds fair enough.
Rhi: So yeah, Bailey will kinda glance over at the poker game by Echo and just sorta like, trying to, like, in a quick glance trying to gauge where the game is, but can’t really piece it together. And then will nod and be like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Alright. Well, talk to you all soon, I hope. And good luck, Echo. I hope you keep raking them in.
Rhi: [laughs] Nods at the pile of chips in front of Echo. And then she will head back upstairs.
Josie: Echo nods.
Kim: I think Val makes a double-take at the table and goes:
Kim (as Val): Doll, did you move my chips?
Josie (as Echo): No.
Kim (as Val): Are ya lying to me?
Josie (as Echo): I’m not lying. I moved my chips.
[laughter]
Kim (as Val): Your chips?
Josie (as Echo): Yeah. What, I can’t rearrange them on the table?
Kim (as Val): No, because they still belong to me.
Kim: And I think they’re gonna start reaching over and count back which ones that Echo took. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs] Echo doesn’t move to stop them, she’s just like:
Josie (as Echo): I mean, if you… we’re not playing for much. If you need to even out, that’s fine. You can just ask.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim (as Val): Where did this arrogant streak come from? Fuckin’ A.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie (as Echo): I installed an arrogance engine in me, obviously.
Kim (as Val): Did you?
Minna (as Arlene): Can you do that?
Josie (as Echo): No, that’s not a thing.
Kim: [wheeze-laughs]
Minna: I think Arlene just sits back like, ‘Oh, that’s me told, I guess.’ [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs] So, uh, poker game falls apart. [laughs] Due to… a lack of agreement over the chips.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: You have a task. You need to acquire a fair bit of alcohol for your boss. But other than that, it’s pretty much up to you.
Kim: Yeah. Are we starting with Gather Info, then?
Rhi: Well, I was gonna say, you all have acquired Informants. So, this would be a good opportunity to talk to them and see if they can kinda get you some info about some options.
Kim: okay.
Aki: Yes, let us speak to these informants.
Josie (as Echo): I suppose this will be our test run.
Rhi: Yeah. So, you all head across town to Dunmore Ridge, which is a small district up on the cliffs. It’s basically tucked in next to Corvus Row, which is the main kind of market, shopping, business district. Dunmore Ridge has a fair amount of like, printers and publishers and the like, so having the Imperial City Times tucked in among them makes a lot of sense, even though the ICT is in no way, shape or form, an actual newspaper. And you park outside of their building, which is just like kind of a low, two-story brick building that looks like all of the other printing presses and publishing houses in the area. There’s a little sign outside that has the name on it. And I think a note that says, you know, it’s like ‘Imperial City Times. See inside for copies’. [laughs]
Kim: [laughs]
Rhi: And so, you can head in. And it looks… like, the feeling that this is just sort of a normal business kind of continues when you go inside. There’s, you know, a front desk [laughs] with a person sitting at said front desk, and some doors and hallways that seem to lead off into offices. It’s not exactly the norm for a criminal operation.
Kim: Yeah. Seems very clean. At least a clean front.
Rhi: Mm-hmm.
Kim: Val is actually just start at the front desk, since that seems easiest. And try to get the receptionist’s attention.
Rhi: Yeah, I think um, yeah, she looks up as you come in and is like:
Rhi (as Receptionist): Ah, hello. Can I help you all with anything?
Kim (as Val): Hi. Uh, yeah. Valerie Sullivan. And this is Darling, Echo and Arlene. We’re friends of Sola’s. We helped her out about a week or so ago?
Rhi (as Receptionist): Yes! I, yes, Anne let us know to expect to hear from you. Um, gimme just a couple minutes and I’ll grab Isan.
Rhi: So she heads into the back and comes back a couple minutes later with a person in their, like, mid-thirties. They’re Iruvian, so short, dark hair, kind of warm brown skin. They have an eyepatch over one eye and are wearing, uh, it looks like they probably started the day in a full suit but have now, you know, it’s suspenders and shirtsleeves rolled up to the elbow. And yeah, they will come in and be like:
Rhi (as Isan): Ah, so you’re the ones who helped out Sola. It’s good to finally meet you. I’m Isan. And uh, why don’t you come with me and we can have a chat?
Kim (as Val): Pleasure.
Rhi: And so, Isan will lead you all into one of the side halls and into what it basically a conference room? [laughs] Like, it’s just a big table with a bunch of chairs around it. And you know, they will sit, gesture for all of you to sit. Is Pearl with you?
Aki: Of course. [laughs]
Rhi: Okay. I figured as much. They kinda eye Pearl, but don’t really say anything. Just sort of like, okay, seems like you’ve got the tiger under control. That’s fine.
Aki (as Darling): She’s incredibly well-behaved.
Josie (as Echo): She’s a big baby.
Rhi (as Isan): Uh, certainly seems quite well-behaved. Just not every day I have meetings with a large tiger in the room.
Minna (as Arlene): Keeps you on your toes, huh?
Rhi (as Isan): It certainly does. So, yeah, Anne mentioned that you all would be stopping by, and I don’t know if she was able to convey it, but we are very grateful that you were able to help Sola out. She got in a little over her head, but definitely nothing that deserved getting shot or blown up or anything else. So we are more than happy to assist you. So, what can we do for you?
Kim (as Val): Well, we’re here on an assignment and we are trying to seek out some new distilleries in town, if you uh, knew of any of them?
Rhi (as Isan): Yeah, might know of a few. But did you have anything specific in mind? You know, type of production? Is this a business arrangement or…?
Kim (as Val): Business, yeah. And we’re not particular. We’re kinda casting a wide net right now. So…
Minna: Is it a business thing? I thought we were having to steal it.
Kim: It’s a busi— which is business for us. We are in the business of stealing.
Rhi: [laughs] I mean, listen. These guys are also criminals. [laughs]
Kim: Right.
Rhi: The ICT also [laughs] So you can be, you know, as honest with them as you feel comfortable with.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi (as Isan): Well, um… if you all can wait here for a little bit, I know I’ve had a few people putting together some documents for front businesses for a lot of those kind of productions. So gimme like ten minutes, let me go talk to some people and I’ll see what I can do for ya.
Kim (as Val): Alrighty.
Rhi: So, Isan leaves. And I think the receptionist pokes her head in and is like:
Rhi (as Receptionist): Do any of you like, want anything to drink? I can get you tea or something?
Kim (as Val): I think just a water for now would be nice, thank you.
Rhi (as Receptionist): Okay!
Rhi: Yeah, she’ll come back with like, a pitcher of water and some glasses. It takes Isan a little bit longer than ten minutes, probably about fifteen or twenty, but they do come back with kind of an armful of papers and will say:
Rhi (as Isan): Okay. So, in terms of distilleries, um, not a ton. But I have some information on people who might be welling to sell or… uh, who have product available.
Kim: Okay, it’s a start.
Rhi (as Isan): Item number one is the Sunfell Import & Export. They apparently just took a delivery of some very expensive Iruvian liquor. And…
Rhi: Kind of shuffles the papers:
Rhi (as Isan): There’s also, heard about some movement at the docks and then a breach of the lightning barrier, which generally means that the Brigantines are doing a run out to a privateer ship. So, they are probably coming back with a decent amount of alcohol, based on sort of, uh, past observations. And then,
Rhi: They kind of shuffle down to the last page and sort of look at it for a minute with kinda this expression of like, ‘Is this even worth mentioning?’ and then will shrug a little bit and say:
Rhi (as Isan): This last one is more of a rumor than anything. The Ascendants are this weird cult that’s recently gotten into producing moonshine to fund whatever it is that they’re doing. I don’t know a lot about that one, especially in terms of the quality of what they’re producing, but it’s an option.
Kim (as Val): Okay. Well, it’s something.
Minna: Out of character, do we know what kind of product Barsotti’s producing? Because I assume we’re kinda just putting it under his label, right?
Rhi: Um, the Nightcaps primarily do like, whisky-type things. But he supplies liquor to a lot of speakeasies and it’s basically like, they need something to put on the shelves.
Minna: It’s gonna be kinda weird if we go for like, exclusively high-price Iruvian liquor.
Rhi: Eh. That’s more of Benny’s problem than yours. [laughs]
Minna: That’s fair.
Rhi: Benny just said, ‘Get alcohol, I don’t care what or where,’ so you can take that as you will. The logistics are his problem. [laughs]
Minna: [laughs]
Kim: Yeah. I was kind of interested in the Iruvian stuff, since that potentially might give us the biggest payout.
Minna: That’s true.
Rhi: So, I think that you all know that Sunfell Import & Export is more or less the Iruvian mafia in the city.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: And they… their focus is like, arms dealing and money laundering, and the occult trade. However, they also have a lot of legitimate business fronts that they use mostly for their money laundering. So they have a lot more sort of legitimacy or like, institutional pull than a lot of the other underworld gangs do. Like, most gangs have to pay off the Bluecoats in order to keep the Bluecoats from doing something.
Kim: Right.
Rhi: Sunfell Import & Export, if they get robbed, could just report a theft to the Bluecoats and have the Bluecoats take action for them. So, that’s kind of the gamble there. For the Brigantines, you know the Brigantines, which is sort of the— the risk there is you’ve fucked with them a couple times in the past and a third time could lead to them running out of patience and retaliating and that would be bad.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: And then you got a cult.
Kim: Yeah, we sure do.
Rhi: [laughs] So, yeah. Those are kinda the options that you’ve got. I don’t know if you all wanna wrap things up here with Isan before heading out?
Kim: Yeah, yeah. I think we’re gonna thank Isan and wrap things up here, and then we should pick out our course of action.
Rhi: Yeah. So Isan will provide, you know, a couple more details about like, locations and whatnot, and then will walk you all out and will say, you know:
Rhi (as Isan): Again, really appreciate what you did for Sola. Any time that you need help, don’t hesitate to ask.
Kim (as Val): Much obliged, thank you.
Rhi: And they will send you on your way.
Josie: In the background of all that, Echo was offering her glass of water to Pearl.
Minna: Aww!
Rhi: [laughs] Aww.
Josie: [laughs]
Aki: You know that baby would just drink that shit up, oh my God.
Rhi: I’m just picturing a tiger, like, trying to lap water out of a, you know, person-sized glass. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: Darling’s gonna regret letting Echo do that, because Pearl will get used to drinking out of people glasses and then people glasses will not be safe in Darling’s apartment.
Rhi: Mm.
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: I say, not at all from experience.
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki: Let’s be real. I think Pearl just chooses what container she wishes to drink out of in Darling’s house. I think Pearl has enough brat leeway to just [laughs] bully Darling this way. By choosing whatever.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah, just a crystal serving bowl that Pearl has claimed as her own.
Aki: [laughs]
Rhi: Pearl still will drink from the faucet, let’s be real.
Aki: Pearl is a tiger. Big, big, big. I don’t think I can actively stop her from doing anything, per se.
Kim: That’s fair.
Aki: I think she’s just adopted Darling’s very expensive taste.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: So you all pile back into the car and yeah, what are you thinking? Of your options, what would you like to pursue?
Josie: I think we should go after the Moonshine. They will have less allies to come after us.
Aki: Okay. I wanna do something. It’s a bit— I guess you could consider it Gather Info, but it’s more of a collaborative thing. I would like call Bailey and ask her what she wants to do.
Rhi: Okay.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: So if you call Bailey and ask, the first thing she’ll say is that she knows that her grandad Benny would vote for the Brigantines, out of these three options. He feels like they’re easy to push around and it’s predictable. You’re gonna get a fair amount of just sort of standard quality alcohol.
Kim: Okay.
Aki (as Darling): Well, you clearly want more of a say, so when we’re asking you what you would like to do, you should really tell us what you would like to do.
Rhi: Um, and she like, hems and haws about it a little bit, but basically, what she says is she thinks the Brigantines is a bad idea, basically for the reasons I outlined. They will come back at you hard. She thinks if you can hit Sunfell very quietly, that would be good because that’s gonna be, you know, very high quality stuff that will… you know, if they sell that to their speakeasies, he’ll be able to charge more, the speakeasies will charge more per pour, it’ll last a little longer.
Kim: Right.
Rhi: But, you know, she can also kind of see the risk there of like, if you don’t think you can do it without any exposure, maybe hit the cult? So, that’s kinda her vote, is Sunfell if you think you can do it completely quietly, but if you think there’s risk of exposure or getting caught, eh, knock over the cult that everybody in the city thinks is weird. [laughs]
Minna (as Arlene): I think we can manage Sunfell.
Josie (as Echo): You really think so?
Minna (as Arlene): Well, at least two out of the four of us are trained on that kinda thing.
Josie (as Echo): I’m getting better, but, you know. I’m not the trained assassin here.
Aki (as Darling): Oh yes, I forgot, we told you about that. Yes. You are not. But you are definitely… a Cool Tire. Hmm. I don’t like this lingo.
Josie (as Echo): You know, I appreciate the attempt.
Aki (as Darling): Thank you. I do prefer Sunfell, simply because I’m pretty sure I’ve killed a couple cult leaders before, and they get weird afterwards.
Kim (as Val): They get weird after you kill them?
Aki (as Darling): Yeah, it’s… you would think— you would think they’re already so out there that the noise would just stop, but radicalists are radicalists, and I don’t know how they would favor in us taking their means of production. Even then, I have no idea— we have no idea what is even in the moonshine, so it could literally be bottles of actual poison and we would be the slapping the company logo on there. And while I’m all for fucking over Benny, I’d rather not fuck over the other Barsottis. Not yet.
Kim (as Val): Right. Right. Bailey’s a good kid. So, let’s stay away from the weirdos for now and head for the Iruvian stuff, since that’ll give us the fattest paycheck.
Josie (as Echo): And this way, we know we won’t get cursed.
Aki (as Darling): Exactly.
Rhi: So, you are going to attempt to lift some alcohol from Sunfell Import & Export. Wonderful. What do you wanna do for Gather Info? You know where the business that like, took the delivery for this liquor is, because Isan would have given you that info. And as I say this, I realize I probably should know. Where… would they be— they’d probably be in Corvus Row. Or do I wanna go to a different part of the city?
Minna: Is it a storefront or a warehouse?
Rhi: I think a storefront. Well, hmm. What do you all think would be more fun?
Kim: Ooh.
Josie: Um…
Aki: I wanna do a warehouse, because we’ve done storefronts before.
Minna: Mm hmm.
Rhi: That’s true, okay.
Kim: That’s true.
Minna: And I feel like that would have, like, security and stuff in play.
Rhi: Yeah. Oh yeah, for sure. So, let’s say it’s a warehouse in Portmarch, but it’s like kinda right on the edge of Portmarch and the docks.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi (as Alessa): And Portmarch is the kind of central business district, like, right in the middle of the city. That’s where most of the like, the new skyscrapers are being built and where a lot of the newly-developing, like, banking and finance industry is located. Yeah, kind of a— on average, a higher-end area of the city, but you know, as you get closer to the Docks in Portmarch, you know, it kind of is, is less expensive, less obvious wealth. Less Bluecoat patrols, [laughs] so…
Kim: Okay, good stuff.
Rhi: Yeah. So yeah, that’s what we’re looking at. So, you can go from there in terms of gathering your info.
Kim: Cool, cool, cool. Friends on my character sheet, see if they would know anything about this place…
Rhi: Ah, yes.
Kim: Jarvis might, but I’ve hit up Jarvis before.
Rhi: Yeah, all of you can kinda see if you’ve got any contacts or Crew contacts.
Minna: I think the one that’s most appropriate is the bureaucrat? Or maybe the florist if for some reason— no, I don’t know why the florist would be supplied by them.
Rhi: So yeah, you’ve got Sasha, a bureaucrat. You wanna talk to–?
Minna: That seems like the person most likely to know about Sunfell Import & Export. Also, I don’t know how I know a bureaucrat. [laughs]
Rhi: But you do.
Minna: Maybe I did a training mission and during my cover there I made friends with them. [laughs]
Rhi: Oh my God, that would actually be kind of amazing. Yeah, so why don’t we start with, since it sounds like Val and Arlene have got ideas to start, let’s start with Val.
Kim: Okay, I think I’m just gonna roll Consort with Jarvis to see if maybe there’s any old Bluecoat reports on this place that, I don’t know, give us an idea of the numbers or the layout, anything like that.
Rhi: Yeah, yeah. Get some info about the security. Yeah, go for it.
Kim: Do I get a— wait, do we get a +1 die to Gather Info now? We do.
Rhi: Yeah, you do! Cause you’ve got Informants. Everybody gets a bonus die on all of thee rolls.
Kim: Alright, her we go. [shakes and rolls dice] Okay, my highest was a 5.
Rhi: 5, okay. So good amount of info. Jarvis can tell you that this is an area where the Bluecoats don’t patrol super actively, cause it’s getting down by the docks. But there are, you know, a lot more Bluecoat patrols in Portmarch. So they’re not gonna be actively walking by or driving by, but they’ll be able to respond pretty quickly if an alarm goes up.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: In terms of info about the building itself, he doesn’t really have a lot of records of there being many break-ins. It seems, you know, to the best of his knowledge, it seems fairly secure. There have been a couple attempted break-ins that have, you know, lead to people getting caught. Primarily by either on-site guards, like they have their own security personnel on site, or they have some arcane wards on the place. That’s usually where people get caught, is one of those two things.
Kim: Okay. So pretty standard.
Rhi: Yeah.
Kim: Sounds good.
Rhi: Alright. So then, Arlene, you were gonna go talk to Sasha, who is a bureaucrat.
Minna: Yes.
Rhi: What do you think? Ministry of Transportation?
Minna: Honestly? I think Ministry of Preservation though.
Rhi: Okay. That makes sense, too.
Minna: Though it has lost power in recent years, but no, I think that makes sense.
Rhi: Yeah. Yeah, I can see that for imports. They’re inspecting stuff that comes into the city. How did you meet a bureaucrat for the Ministry of Preservation, Arlene?
Minna: I think it wasn’t even, like, a mission that was supposed to involve killing people. I think it was just like a ‘Here’s your cover identity, I wanna see how well you keep up with it and what information you can get me’.
Rhi: Oh, okay. So just kind of a test.
Minna: I don’t know what my cover identity was, that’s what I’m wondering about now.
Rhi: Oh man. Maybe like an intern or a clerk somewhere in the ministry.
Minna: I think it was like a friend thing, like we were at the same club or something. Maybe this Ministry of Preservation person frequents a speakeasy that I was at as like a, ‘I’m here in town just for a couple of months, why don’t you show me the sights and why don’t we get to talking?’
Josie: Hmm?
Rhi: Okay, cool. I like that. And then you moved back— you moved to Imperial City and you reconnected and you’ve stayed in touch.
Minna: Yes.
Rhi: Yeah. So, um, what kind of info are you looking to get from Sasha about this place?
Minna: Specifically about this warehouse, stuff like who would you expect to see there. Like, are there higher-ups there or is it mostly like lower level people. Like, what kind of personnel are there, if anything.
Rhi: Okay. Cool, yeah, go ahead and give me a roll for that.
Minna: [shakes and rolls dice] Well, that’s a 6.
Rhi: Okay. Cool. So, what Sasha’s able to tell you over drinks at this speakeasy where you two continue to meet is that this is not a place where a lot of high-powered people work. Sunfell has kind of separate offices and places, they don’t have a lot of their— their higher-ups don’t work at the warehouse. However, she— Sasha is speaking to the legal stuff. The stuff that’s declared on the customs forms. So you can kinda of extrapolate from this information. This particular warehouse tends to hold a lot of just expensive stuff that they bring in from Iruvia. I think, you know, art pieces and textiles and officially imported food and drink and jewelry. Definitely jewelry. A lot of expensive stuff is moved into this warehouse and kept there until it’s moved out to their various businesses for sale.
Minna: Hmm. And like, what kind of a workforce do they have there? Are they just daytime or night time?
Rhi: They have two shifts. They have two 8-hour shifts, so there is a night shift that’s off. There aren’t people working the warehouse.
Minna: But there’s probably security going on— well, we can find out about security later.
Rhi: Yes, they have security. Yeah, yeah. They’ve got security on the place all day, every day, but in terms of warehouse employees, there’s an 8-hour stretch where nobody’s working, you know, packing stuff up and moving things around and doing warehouse stuff.
Minna: Good to know.
Rhi: Alright. So, Echo? Darling? You have any ideas for gathering of info?
Josie: I was thinking just scoping the place.
Rhi: Always a solid strategy.
Josie: Yeah. I think I wanna just take a few walks around the block.
Rhi: Go for it. What do you, uh, what do you wanna roll for that?
Josie: Uh, Survey, I guess?
Rhi: Okay. Survey sounds good.
Josie: Or can I swing Study? This is pretty archetypical Survey, huh?
Rhi: Um, it depends on how you approach it. I would say… hmm. So, if you’re trying to get an overall sense of the building as a whole, it would be Survey. If you wanna zero in on a specific aspect, like, what are the entrances and exits like, or what are the guard patrols like, then you could do Study.
Josie: Okay. I think I just want an overview.
Rhi: Okay. That sounds good.
Josie: That’s a 3.
Rhi: Oof. Okay, so you head down into Portmarch and take your walk around, kinda loop the building a few times, and it’s— it’s a warehouse. There’s not a lot to see. There’s like, a truck that pulls up and one point and some stuff gets unloaded. So there’s a, you know, a freight entrance in the back. There’s some doors in the front. And like, that’s kind of it. There’s some windows kinda, but they’re high up and they’re fairly, like, narrow, thin little windows.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: So maybe not the best entrance option. There’s like, a couple side doors, but it seems like all of the security personnel are probably inside, at least at the time of day that you’re there. And so, you’re not really able to get a ton of information about sorta how the security works or anything.
Josie: What about the area around it?
Rhi: Yeah, I think it’s in an area where there are other warehouses around. You’re, you know, getting down towards the docks so you’re not in the area with a lot of the skyscrapers and whatnot, so I think it’s a lot of long, low buildings. I think most of the building here are gonna be, you know, maxed out at three stories. Most of them are two stories. I think that it has —there’s another warehouse next door to it, like across an alley, more or less.
Josie: Alright.
Rhi: So if you wanna, yeah, try and get onto a roof. It’s feasible. Might be a bit of a jump or a climb, but feasible.
Josie: Well, for me it can be a jump.
Rhi: Yeah, that’s true. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Boi-oi-oi-oing!
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Okay. Darling, what are you thinking?
Aki: This is a long shot.
Rhi: Uh huh?
Aki: And it’s very—
Rhi: Love a long shot.
Aki: It’s very specific. I have the scenario in mind, too. Can I wait until it’s closing and/or night, follow a security intel to hopefully a bar, flirt with them and then steal their keys? To the facility?
Rhi: …I mean, by God, you can try.
[laughter]
Rhi: I support this wholeheartedly. [laughs]
Josie: Is this Gather Information or part of the score? [laughs]
Aki: That’s my issue, yeah. I don’t know if it would count—
Rhi: That’s a good question.
Minna: It could be a set-up.
Rhi: Yeah, I have— I’ve allowed this sort of thing as a set-up action before, where it’ll basically— if what you’re trying to do succeeds, it will give you an extra die on the engagement roll. So, you can certainly try.
Aki: It was very specific, but it’s the only thing I could think of. [laughs] I feel like we have everything else covered.
Minna: You can find out about security procedure while you’re at it, if you wanted to.
Rhi: Yeah, that’s true. Ask questions about the job, the fascinating ins and outs of warehouse security guard.
Aki: Mm hmm, mm hmm, exactly. I’m just so into it, you know, like:
Aki (as Darling): Oh, wow. Tell me more about boxes.
Rhi: ‘Your patrols.’ [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): Yes, and your endeavors as a security guard. You know, I’ve read a book once before about security guards, it was at a museum. And everything came to life. But I’m pretty sure—
Rhi: [laughs loudly]
Aki (as Darling): That is not what your job entails.
Minna: [laughs]
Aki: I just, I’m gonna sound smart but say not-smart things. To really get this guy’s guard down.
Rhi: Yep. Go ahead and give me a roll. I think this is gonna have to be Sway, because you are lying like a liar who lies.
Aki: I’m lying, yeah. Oof. I have nothing in Sway. I take the lower, right?
Rhi: Uh huh. Roll two, take the lower.
Aki: [nervous sounds] [laughs] The lowest is a 5—
Rhi: Oh my God, did you roll two 6s?
Aki: No, I rolled an eleven, which makes it a 5. My lowest is a 5.
Rhi: Oh my God.
Aki: I was really hoping for like a weird thing, but this is funny, too.
Rhi: Yeah. Well, okay, so that means it’s a, you know, partial success. So I think what I’m gonna go with is you get a good couple hours at a speakeasy, chatting about security procedures at this warehouse. And so, you have a pretty solid understanding of like, the patrols and what the guards do, which I’m not gonna get into the details right now, it’ll just as it comes up in the score, you know about it. You do not get your hands on the keys. I think you get keys off of the belt and then realize that it’s just like, his house keys. [laughs] So you have to like, put them back. [laughs]
Aki: Mm hmm, mm hmm.
Rhi: So yeah, you get a lot of info, but you do not get keys to the building.
Aki: I can live with this. Yes, I can live with— return late at night and just go:
Aki (as Darling): That was a waste of fucking time.
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): Not really, but… but oh, goodness. Do I know a lot about wares now.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie (as Echo): And where to house them?
Aki (as Darling): Yes.
Rhi: Alright. So, what kinda plan are you thinking?
Minna: So this is probably a stealth entry point, right?
Rhi: Probably. It sounds like— it doesn’t sound like you all wanna kick in the door.
Minna: So I think the entry point is that freight door.
Rhi: What are you all thinking for loadout?
Kim: Um, I’m gonna go with normal.
Minna: Normal.
Josie: Same.
Aki: Mm… I… might go with light this time, because we’re really trying to not kill people.
Rhi: Good plan.
Aki: And unfortunately, my entire loadout is how swiftly would you like— how many and swiftly would you like to kill? [laughs] And I’m like…
Rhi and Josie: [laughs]
Minna: That’s true actually, I think especially because Arlene’s going in there as an infiltration person, she might also be light.
Rhi: Okay. Sounds good. Alright, let’s do the engagement roll then. It’s a 3d6 engagement roll, which is pretty good. Got a 6!
Kim: Nice.
Rhi: So you will be starting this score in a controlled position, which is great for you.
Aki: I’m so sorry, I pictured Arlene in a black wingsuit and I was like, look at my little Squirrel Girl.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim: Oh my gosh, yes.
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: I mean… [laughs] I was also picturing her in a black jumpsuit, so… [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki: I have it like you’re a little flying squirrel, you know? That kinda wingsuit.
Minna: Uh huh, I know what you mean. [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah. [laughs] So, we cut to this warehouse district in Portmarch. It is night. Traffic in this area has eased up. It’s fairly quiet. Where do we find Arlene? What roof?
Minna: Yeah, Arlene’s on a rooftop, I think close enough that she can see that the truck is, like, I think maybe she’s been watching the trucks that go in and out, and like, you’d probably have them about the same look. So, she’s looking at a few, probably four or five roofs down, somewhat down the street, positioned so that she can like, jump down to the roof of the truck once she sees it going past. So, I think you see her crouched on the edge of a roof. She has her hair tied tightly back, in like, a black jumpsuit. Or not tied tightly back, because it’s short. Like, she has a headband or something.
Rhi: Got it. Yeah, hair is contained. So, a truck rattles around the corner and starts coming down the street, and your first roll is going to be making this jump onto the roof of a passing truck. You’re gonna be in Ma controlled position, I am going to say standard effect unless you have something, you know, an item you can use that will assist you with this in some way.
Minna: I think standard makes sense.
Rhi: Alright. Go ahead and roll. And I assume this is Prowl?
Minna: Yes. [shakes and rolls dice] Guess who rolled a 6?
Aki: Yeah!
Kim: Nice.
Rhi: [laughs] Alright, describe this for me. What’s this look like?
Minna: So, as the truck comes rattling down, she’s crouched on the edge of the thing. And you see her, like, notice it and back up a bit and then takes a few light steps. And you see her just leap and land lightly on the roof of the truck. And she kinda glances around as she makes the landing, and then she lies flat on top of it, clinging to the top.
Rhi: I think as Arlene flattens down, the camera pans down to the truck driver, who does not seem to have reacted at all, has not noticed that there’s now a person on the roof. The truck backs up to the warehouse. The freight door slides up, you know, some people come up, the driver hops out and is greeting then, clearly they all know each other. The driver has worked this route before. And then the employees will start unloading the truck of all of the crates and boxes and whatnot. Arlene, what is your plan for the detaching from this truck?
Minna: Uh, are there like… not catwalks, but what do the roof supports look like and how far are they away from me? Is there something that I can like— like pipes or those metal girds, something that I can like…
Rhi: Yeah… I think there’s some steel beams and whatnot. There’s some exposed stuff you can grab onto.
Minna: I’m gonna try and grab onto that.
Rhi: Okay. Um, risky standard, but again, if you’ve got anything that you wanna use to make— I know that the Lurk has some sneaky-type items.
Minna: Hang on a second, um…
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: Oh, what does my shadow cloak do? I haven’t used my shadow cloak before.
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna: Let me look up what that does.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah.
Aki: You said shadow cloak and I, instead of thinking of anything practical, I thought of a blanket with Shadow the Hedgehog on it.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: I mean, that’s what it would be if I owned it.
Kim: What about Shadow the Hedgehog wrapped in a blanket, though?
Aki: That would also be a Shadow cloak, you’re not wrong.
Rhi: That would be a fine Shadow cloaked.
Aki: [laughs]
Minna: “A hooded cloak made of rare Iruvian shadow silk that blends into the darkness around it.” Um…
Rhi: It improves your effect a level when you sneak around, which is exactly what you’re doing right now.
Minna: Yeah. So I think, yeah, that makes sense. I almost want this to be part of her, like her jumpsuit to be partly made of this material.
Rhi: Yeah, yeah. I like it.
Minna: Like, she has gloves and a full jumpsuit and then when she pulls the hood up.
Rhi: Okay. So, you can mark that you have a fine shadow cloak and you will be risky, greater for this roll.
Minna: Excellent.
Rhi: I can’t wait to see how much of this discussing of shadow cloaks I leave in the episode. Some of it’s staying. I don’t know how much, but at least some of it is.
Minna: God. Dammit. Uh, I rolled three dice and my highest was a 3.
Rhi: Ooh…
Minna: Yeah!
Josie: Oh…
Rhi: That’s a bummer.
Aki: Oh, what…
Rhi: You suffer harm or a complication occurs, you end up in a desperate position, you lose this opportunity.
Kim: Ooh, boy,
Rhi: What’s gonna be most… hmm.
Josie: [chants quietly] Desperate position, desperate position…
Aki: One of your suit zippers gets caught and now you just can’t move.
Rhi: I don’t think zippers are a thing at this point. They should be, from what Arlene’s wearing, but I don’t think they are.
Minna: [laughs] Well, we’ve established that I have a cloak. The cloak could get caught and we could summon the ghost of Edna Mode to be very angry at me.
Aki: [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna: There could be somebody up there.
Rhi: Oh, that’s interesting. [laughs] Somebody else is trying to get in on the same theft. Uh, okay. So here’s where I’m thinking. I’ll give you two options. Option one is just you lose this opportunity. You’re not able to do this thing in this particular way. You’ll have to take a different approach using a different action skill, or action roll. Or, desperate position, which is gonna be I think you make it like halfway up and then yeah, you get caught on something and you’re just sort of like dangling over this open warehouse floor where if you screw up, you’re gonna fall quite a ways. Or if anyone looks up, they will see you dangling from the ceiling. So.
Josie: Desperate roll… desperate roll…
Minna: Uh [laughs] I’m down. I think that’s fun.
Rhi: Alright. So Arlene, you straighten up on the truck, carefully make your way over towards the warehouse wall, and I think there’s some kinda like piping and stuff on the walls you can use to start climbing up. And you get to a point where like, you’re reaching over to grab onto one of the steel beams that runs across the ceiling so you can pull yourself up and just hang out there until everything closes, and you reach one arm and get it onto the beam and then you go to move your other arm and it won’t move. You just, your sleeve is stuck. It is caught on something and you are just kind of like, you’re standing here with, you’ve got like, one hand on a beam, one arm caught, your feet are braced on two different things and you’re just like, ‘Uhh…’
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: I’m gonna roll my dice and then we’ll figure out how this looks.
Rhi: [laughs] Yeah, so it’s gonna be desperate. What are you— I assume you’re rolling Prowl again?
Minna: Yes.
Rhi: To try and get yourself out of this. Don’t forget to mark XP. I think I am gonna give you greater effect, because you’re continuing to try and be stealthy. [laughs] And you do still have your stealthy outfit on. But it is desperate.
Minna: [shakes dice and rolls] God fucking dammit, it’s the exact same roll. [laughs]
Josie: No, come on…
Minna: [whines] This is my best skill, too. [laughs] I can only roll 1, 2, 3.
Rhi: It started— it went downhill so fast.
Minna: This is the first shit. [through laughter] This is the way we were supposed to get in.
Rhi: Let’s see… suffer severe harm, a serious complication occurs… I’m trying to think of what’s gonna be the most interesting here.
Aki: What if… what if we meet the elusive Rat… Girl? I’m trying to think of Catwoman but also not, so Rat Girl.
Rhi: [laughs] You guys really wanna have arrival on this score. Cause Minna suggested it, Aki suggested it.
Aki: Yeah, cause you’re like, what’s fun? And I’m like, well, falling or damaging gear is kind of your only two options, besides somebody coming up behind her and hitting her like the pinata she’s become.
Josie: Rival or no, I do kinda like the idea of someone dangerous showing up at the warehouse.
Kim: It could be fun.
Minna: I feel like somebody being up there and like, saving her, but now you’re stuck with her would be an interesting complication. [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah, okay. You know what? Fuck it, let’s roll with this.
Minna and Josie: [giggle excitedly]
Rhi: Let me look at the my list of factions so I can figure out who is up here.
Minna: Hooray.
Rhi: Okay. So Arlene, you are up here, you are trying to disentangle yourself quietly and like, you yank your sleeve free, but you do it with such force that you lose your footing and start to fall. But before you can fall very far, a hand closes around your wrist and somebody just yanks you up onto the beams up here. And you look up to see a young woman, maybe only a few years older than you, dressed very similarly to you, with her hand around your wrist and then in her other hand is a knife. And kind of using the flat of the knife, she holds it up and kind of gestures like, ssh, quiet. Uh, and we are going to cut to the rest of the crew.
Minna: [wheezing laugh]
Kim: Oh, boy.
Minna: Who is it?
Rhi: You all have been lurking nearby, waiting for the warehouse to close for the night. You see the last truck drive off, you watch the warehouse employees head out for the night. You can see, you know, security guards closing the doors, pulling things shut. And do you think— how do you think this was set up? Were you gonna signal Arlene when you were there, or was she gonna signal for you?
Aki: I think it makes more sense if she signals for us, because everything does kind of rely on her.
Rhi: Okay. So you all, you know, see this close down and you’re waiting for Arlene to signal you all, open a door or something. And you’re waiting. And you’re waiting. Do you all wanna have some kind of conversation about if you should move in, or are you just gonna wait?
Kim (as Val): Uh… should we keep waiting it out?
Aki (as Darling): Keep waiting.
Kim (as Val): Yeah.
Josie (as Echo): Yeah. She knows what she’s doing.
Aki (as Darling): She would not disappoint us.
Rhi: Okay. So, back inside. Arlene, you’ve been up here [laughs] on this steel beam with this person, who does let go of your arm but keeps the knife out. And I don’t think that you’re talking because you both don’t wanna get caught.
Minna: Mm hmm!
Rhi: So, you’re just, you’ve just been sitting here for like an hour.
Minna: Oh my God, yeah.
Josie: Oh no.
Rhi: Well, cause I feel like— I’m thinking that the truck you were on was the last delivery of the day, so you have to wait for them to finish getting everything, you know, unpacked and taken care of and the for everyone to leave. So you’re just sitting here. In silence.
Minna: Yeah…
Rhi: And its very awkward.
Minna: And I think she’s like, watching this other person, trying to figure out if there’s any details she can pick up, or like… like, waiting to see for when she does something.
Rhi: Roll me either Study or Survey. This’ll just be a fortune roll. It’s not gonna be a consequence roll, it just, yeah. We’ll see what you’re able to pick up from having an uninterrupted hour to stare at a person.
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: I rolled a 6 on my Survey.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: Of course the 6 comes in on this one.
Kim: Wow.
Minna: You know, the thing that I’m good at— well, I’m good at Survey, but I’m not as good at it as Prowl. [laughs]
Rhi: You can kinda tell from like, the way that she’s dressed, the way that she’s moving, she’s got similar skills to you. This is somebody who’s good at breaking and entering. And as you’re looking at the knife that she’s holding, it’s a very finely crafted dagger. Which is a little unusual. Not a lot of people carry, like, daggers like this. People carry knives, but like, this is a dagger. That’s not something people really have these days.
Minna: Like, kind of old-fashioned vibes.
Rhi: It is. And what you notice as like, she kinds shifts her hands on it, is there’s a lot of roses on the hilt of the dagger.
Minna: Ooh, there’s a rose gang, right?
Rhi: There sure is.
Minna: [gasps]
Rhi: Arlene, you suspect, you’re not certain—
Minna: It’s the anime-ass girls.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: But you suspect that this might be a member of the Blood Roses.
Minna: [softly] Yessss!
Rhi: Which is— a lot of people don’t even know for sure that they exist. They don’t really interact with the rest of the underworld. But rumor says that they are a gang of vigilante assassins who enact social change through strategic murder. And their calling card is a white rose dipped in their victim’s blood. They’re extremely extra.
Josie: I love them.
Rhi: It’s all been rumor, like, nobody knows for sure if they exist. But you’re sitting here looking at this person like, maybe? So finally, the warehouse below you goes quiet, the lights power down. You know that there’s some security guards still in the building, but based on kinda what you do know, it should be safe to climb down now. And I think that the other woman who’s up here kinda like, gestures with her knife and sort of like, ‘Okay, down’ sort of motion,
Minna: I think she narrows her eyes, but she does it.
Rhi: Yeah. Given the setting now, it’s much emptier and you’ve got somebody else who can help a little bit, you’re able to climb down, I’m not gonna ask for a roll here. As soon as you’re on the ground— I think you hit the ground first and then she like, grabs your shoulder and brings the knife up. Like, not right at your throat, but you know, in front of it, and is like:
Rhi (as Blood Rose): Who are you and what are you doing here?
Minna (as Arlene): I could ask the same thing. Should I call you Rose?
Rhi (as Rose): Sure. That’ll do. What should I call you?
Minna (as Arlene): Bergamot will do.
Rhi (as Rose): Alright. Why are you here?
Minna (as Arlene): There’s some stuff here we want. I don’t think there’s anybody particularly interesting here. What are you doing here?
Rhi: She’ll kind of, you know, let go of you and step back so that the knife is down. Is like:
Rhi (as Rose): We don’t exactly have a benefactor, so sometimes we help ourselves to the spoils. You said we. Who else is here?
Minna (as Arlene): Just a couple people who also want some of the spoils. What, you came alone? You’re gonna get all this stuff out on your own?
Rhi (as Rose): I was just looking for a few small particularly valuable things. Wasn’t gonna take everything. This isn’t what I want to be known for.
Minna (as Arlene): Me neither. I think we can probably make some kinda deal. I mean, there’s enough stuff here that we should both be satisfied.
Rhi (as Rose): Fine. Just don’t get in my way and don’t get caught.
Minna (as Arlene): Likewise. Keep quiet.
Rhi: She just kinda narrows her eyes at you again and will stalk off a little bit into the warehouse. Not too far, it’s clear that she’s kind of checking for guards. So, if you’d like to let everybody else in? [laughs] You can.
Minna: Yeah! [laughs] Uh, so I think she’s gonna go to the door and like, kinda like gesture to them and do the— put a hand over her mouth, like, ‘be quiet’. But like, stop them just inside the entrance.
Rhi: Okay. So, the rest of you come—
Josie: Are… are we walking in? Or are we backing the car up?
Rhi: That’s up to you.
Josie: Yeah, did you open the freight door or just the side door?
Minna: Good question. I was figuring we’d find the stuff first, before we tried to move anything, so that’ll we’ll attract less attention.
Rhi: So, probably there’s like a people-sized door next the freight door.
Minna: Yeah, that’ what I figured.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: Okay. So yeah, you can slip inside. It’s a dark warehouse and I think that you’re all able to see, because she’s not too far away, there’s another person here besides Arlene.
Minna: Yeah, so I think she stops them like, right inside the doorway and she’s like:
Minna (as Arlene): Uh, so there’s somebody else here who also wants some stuff. I think we probably don’t want the same stuff. Uh, she seems like she also ants to keep it quiet. Um, I’m Bergamot to her.
Josie (as Echo): What’s a bergamot?
Minna (as Arlene): Um… it goes in tea, I don’t know.
Kim (as Val): Wait, is this assassin stuff?
Minna (as Arlene): Mm… no, I just panicked and came up with the closest nickname. I just don’t— I don’t know, I don’t trust her. She seems like she might be like— have you ever heard of the Blood Roses?
Rhi: You’ve all heard of the Blood Roses.
Kim (as Val): [sighs] Oh boy.
Rhi: Again, you’ve heard rumors, you’ve heard stories, nobody’s ever actually met one.
Kim: Right.
Rhi: Except apparently, there’s somebody over here who— she hasn’t confirmed. She also hasn’t denied it.
Minna: [laughs] I literally just said, “Can I call you Rose?” and she’s like, ‘Okay.’
Rhi: Yeah. She could just be banking on the reputation. But you never know.
Minna: But she like— the way that she act— like, kind of agreed to stuff that Arlene was saying kinda convinced Arlene, so she’s like:
Minna (as Arlene): Well it doesn’t seem like anybody’s doing any murders tonight, so… it should be okay?
Rhi: And I think as you all come in, Rose had turned around and is sort of eyeing all of you and will slink over and is just like:
Rhi (as Rose): This is a large group to keep quiet.
Josie (as Echo): We’ll be quick.
Kim (as Val): Yeah.
Rhi (as Rose): Since none of us want to raise any sort of alarm, I will tell you that the guards do patrols at the half-hour and at the hour. They walk the floors to make sure that everything’s where it’s supposed to be. And so, right now I think we have about fifteen minutes before they do their first walk of the night.
Aki (as Darling): We know this.
Rhi (as Rose): Well then. I suppose I won’t offer any further help.
Aki (as Darling): Just don’t get caught, dearest.
Rhi: Darling’s hackles are all the way up. [laughs]
Aki: Oh, yeah.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: So she just like, kind of makes a sneering sort of face at Darling and is like:
Rhi (as Rose): Same to you.
Minna (as Arlene): Let them get through their first patrol, and then let’s get out of here after that one.
Rhi (as Rose): It depends on how quickly we can all find what we need, but sure. Better get moving.
Rhi: She is going to slink off into the darkness.
Kim: I think Val is going to look at Darling and just be like:
Kim (as Val): Arlene said this wasn’t about assassin stuff, but you two look like you know each other.
Aki (as Darling): Well… one can never be too careful when in any profession such as breaking and entering.
Kim (as Val): Fair point.
Josie (as Echo): She is pretty, though.
Aki (as Darling): Do you think she broods all the time and her face is just stuck like that?
Josie (as Echo): I mean, I brood all the time and my face is stuck like this.
Aki (as Darling): I’m pretty sure the circumstances are a bit different.
Josie (as Echo): Eh. Details.
Rhi: [laughs] Echo’s just got little heart-eyes.
Minna: [laughs] Echo’s like, assassin girlfriend when? [laughs]
[laughter]
Aki: Everybody wants to get stabbed at least once, I feel.
Rhi: [laughs] Alright. So, you all need to at minimum locate the alcohol that you’re here to steal.
Kim: Right.
Rhi: And then if you wanna lift anything else for yourselves, there’s also that. So, what do you all wanna do?
Josie: I ant to try and look into the ghost field and see if there’s anything spooky or magical in here.
Rhi: Ooh, yeah. Go for it. I think this is gonna be risky, standard.
Josie: [rolls dice] I got a 6.
Rhi: Alright. Dice are just all over the place tonight. Either a 6 or things go terribly.
Kim: No in between.
Rhi: Yeah. So, I think looking through the ghost field you are able to see where a lot of the wards are. They are— there’s some, there’s a section of the warehouse that lights up very brightly and the shelves have a lot of kind of glowing shapes indicating that they’ve got some kind of occult energy happening. Those shelves are also surrounded by glowing wards. It seems that the protect their occult stuff with occult wards, which makes sense. So, there’s a fair amount of stuff. Some of it looks small enough that you could, you know, pocket it or tuck it under an arm and carry it out, but you’d have to get over there to investigate to see specifics and you’ve have to get past the wards in order to gain access to any of it.
Josie: Mm hmm. I do wanna do it, though.
Rhi: I mean, yeah. I support this wholeheartedly.
Josie: Echo’s just trying to buy toys.
Rhi and Minna: [laughs]
Rhi: Echo is gonna be slinking off in that direction, it sounds like. What do the rest of you wanna do?
Kim: I think I kinda wanna make a Prowl to try and find the room it might— or not room, but like which area it would most likely be in?
Rhi: Okay. Just kinda sneak around, see where things are?
Kim: Yeah. Yeah, basically just sneak around.
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: Yeah, no, I think Arlene’s doing basically the same thing.
Aki: Yeah. Finding the alcohols makes…
Kim: We could make a group roll out of it.
Aki: Yeah.
Rhi: Yeah, that’s why I was asking. So let’s, for the moment, do that. We’ll have the three of you make a group Prowl.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: I think this is going to be… I think we’re gonna put this— well, cause Arlene has her thing… risky, standard, for the moment.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: Who’s leading?
Kim: I can lead.
Rhi: Okay.
Aki: A 4 from me.
Kim: I also got a 4.
Minna: A 3, because I can only roll 3s on Prowl rolls tonight.
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna: I rolled three 3s this time.
Kim: So that’s how much stress?
Rhi: Wow.
Minna: Two.
Rhi: One point of stress.
Minna: Oh, one. Okay.
Kim: Spicy.
Rhi: Yeah, cause 4s do not lead to stress. So one point of stress and the result is a 4. So you do it, but there’s a consequence. You’re sneaking through the warehouse, but you have to go very slowly because, you know, you’re looking for a couple crates of liquor in a very large warehouse.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: Having to check a lot of boxes. So unfortunately, that plan of getting in and getting out before the first patrol doesn’t happen. So, you find a couple crates. One of them is kinda cracked open already, so you peek inside and there are a few cases of liquor in there. Great. And then, uh, flashlights start kind of sweeping through the area. The guards are doing their patrol and you all are gonna have to hide. In the meantime, Echo?
Josie: Hi.
Rhi: Hi. What’s up?
Josie: Uh, well what sort of weird stuff do I find?
Rhi: Well, so I think before you can get close to look at the stuff, you’ve gotta deal with the wards around the stuff.
Josie: Okay. Alright. I want to try and silently disarm that.
Rhi: Yeah, yeah. Which I know you’ve done in the past, so not impossible.
Josie: Yeah. What does a Devil’s Bargain look like?
Rhi: Oh… I think you’re going to— you’re gonna find something that is interesting, but not valuable to like, Echo’s going to latch onto something that’s cool to her, but it isn’t actually worth a lot of money.
Josie: You know what? I like cool things.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: I’m gonna do that.
Rhi: Alright. Okay. So, Devil’s Bargain on that roll. Take an extra die. This is gonna be risky, reduced.
Josie: [rolls dice] 3!
Rhi: Oof.
Josie: Double 3s.
Kim: Oh…
Josie: It’s only 6 or 3s tonight. [laughs]
Rhi: So— okay. So, I think what happens is Echo, you are still kinda looking in the ghost field, you get close to where the wards are and you start to look at the wards to try and figure out like, okay, what do I need to do to disarm these. But then you spot something on one of the shelves. What is it that catches Echo’s attention?
Josie: Um, I think it’s like— well, we established that she kinda has an occult clock thing.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: I think she finds like, a star clock, I guess?
Rhi: Ooh.
Josie: It’s like a disc in a frame. And it’s probably from Iruvia, so what stars are there are probably slightly different.
Rhi: Mm hmm.
Josie: If you wind it up and set it going, I think it over time mimics the movement of the stars.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: Like, it rotates or, I don’t know, maybe it’s a rotating canvas in there, so it like, slowly starts sliding across. And it just unwinds really, really slowly.
Rhi: Okay. Cool, I like that. So, you spot this on a shelf towards the middle and like, it’s not in— like, it’s not really secured, its not in a box, it almost looks like somebody just kinda, like, tossed it there and left it. And without thinking about the wards, you reach across and grab it. And then the area around you lights up very bright.
## Outro [01.11.18]
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 CleverCorvids.net and follow us on Twitter @clever_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 RPGSkillCheck.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.
Rhi: If you’d like to dedicate a personal message to a friend, family member, gaming group, or other special Clever Corvids fan in your life, you can do so right here! Visit clevercorvids.net and click on Jumbotron Messages under the Support Us menu to buy your very own message. As always, thanks to all our Patreon backers, whose ongoing support makes this show possible.
## Blooper [01.13.10]
Aki: We could have totally gotten cursed is what I—[laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Aki: What crossed my mind. I was there like, I was very concerned.
Rhi: Listen.
Aki: About like, accidentally drinking like, I don’t know, a bottle of, I don’t know, diarrhea-enhancer.
Minna: [laughs wheezily]
Rhi and Josie: [laughs]
Aki: But… but curses. I don’t even know what Blades curses would be like. I think the moon would become a transformer to us, visually.
Kim: Oh boy.
Aki: Or we become transformers. I don’t know what curses— how curses work in Blades. [laughs]
Rhi: Surprise, we’re playing Lancer now.
[laughter]