Transcribed by Michelle Kelly.
## Intro
Rhi: Welcome back to Imperial City. We had a fantastic launch of the show, and we’re so excited to keep sharing this story, world, and characters with you all. Please remember to leave a review, and to tell your friends and followers about it!
If you’re interested in supporting the show financially, we’ve got a few options. First is our Patreon, which has all kinds of cool, behind the scenes content, all available at pay what you want rates. Next is our merch store, which includes t-shirts and stickers featuring designs from The City That Never Dies, Clever Corvids, and The Magpies. They make great Christmas gifts!
And finally, a new opportunity for those of you who might have shows, streams, or shops you might want to advertise. Starting in January, you can sponsor an episode of the show! In exchange for your financial support, we’ll tell our audience all about your cool, tabletop related project. We even offer bulk discounts if you back multiple episodes at once, and we have discounted rates for marginalized creators. Check out the Episode Sponsorship link in the show notes to learn more.
Next, Aki is going to tell us about this month’s featured charity.
Aki: Hey, it’s Aki. Our chosen charity of the month is Hate is a Virus, a non-profit community dedicated to dismantling racism and hate. Formed in 2020, Hate is a Virus continues to amplify, educate, and activate AAPI to stand for justice and equality in solidarity with other communities. If you want to support the cause and our community, feel free to donate or buy some merch. Both can be found on hateisavirus.org. That’s hateisavirus.org. Thanks.
Rhi: The last couple years have been very long, and very, very hard. And awful as it feels to say, next year isn’t looking much better. There are so many causes that we need to fight for. But take some time this month, as 2021 winds down, to take care of yourself. We can’t keep fighting without taking some time to breathe, recover, and reflect.
Now then. Let’s get started, shall we?
## Story continues [00.02.53]
Rhi: We open up on an auto dealership. It’s fairly small, not a sizeable lot, a small office towards the back. But there’s a decent number of cars, and the sign out front of the lot says “Riverford’s Used Vehicles”. And normally, this would be a pretty nice establishment. It’s pretty well-lit, it’s on a fairly busy street in Kestrel Heights, but today, as the Whisky Jays arrive at the edge of the property, it looks like a small contained storm blew through. Windows are busted, there’s dents in some of the cars as you move back towards the office, windows in the building are broken, there’s even a few bullet holes scattered around. And as you kind of near the office a woman comes out.
This is Hedwig Riverford, she owns the place. She’s a mechanic and now an auto trader. She’s a tall, heavyset woman. Always seems to have some amount of like, oil or grease on her, even if she is dressed up nice for business meetings, she just can’t seem to get it off of her entirely, I imagine probably to Darling’s eternal frustration. And her business specifically in terms of her used cars is that she tends to buy them off of various gangs and cleans them up in something drivable and respectable.
Kim: [laughs]
Rhi: You know, maybe sometimes this means that the car got shot up and maybe somebody died in there.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: And she can clean it up so that it’s sellable. Or maybe the Bluecoats have flagged it as a suspicious vehicle and so she’s gonna give it a new paint job and, you know, be able to sell it into something that you won’t be arrested for driving. And she sent notes to all of you earlier this morning asking if you could come out. She just said that she has a problem that she needs your help with. And as you’re walking in, it’s pretty clear that this is a significant problem. And so, Hedwig is a friend of the crew. How do you all think you know her? What’s your relationship with her like?
Kim: Well, I imagine that I know her because I probably go to her for whenever my car needs repairs.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: Cause you don’t like me touching it.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim: Well… eh.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: The thing is if there’s repairs that you all don’t have the setup to make in-house she’s probably the safest bet, because your car probably has been flagged for Bluecoat interest.
Kim: Yeah…
Rhi: So you might need to go to somebody who’s willing to work with underworld folks.
Kim: Right. That’s probably more what it is.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: I mean, I imagine we get a lot of parts from her. Because we’re not an actually active garage, so…
Rhi: Yes. [laughs] Yeah, I can see you, yeah, just buying stuff or doing favors to trade for things. So yeah, as you all approach, Hedwig comes out. She is wearing, um— I think I started to describe her and then I got distracted with other details. She has medium-tanned skin, thick, dark straight hair that she usually wears back in a braid and yeah, she’s tall, heavyset, currently wearing mechanic overalls, and right now she looks very tired. And as you all approach she kinda gives you a wave and is like:
Rhi (as Hedwig): Hey, um, thanks for coming by. So…
Josie (as Echo): Are you okay?
Rhi (as Hedwig): Uh, physically I’m fine. I wasn’t here when all this happened. But otherwise, I’ve been better.
Rhi: Yeah, she gestures at the wreckage that is her lot.
Josie (as Echo): Well, someone has a death wish, I guess.
Kim (as Val): Yeah, no kiddin’.
Rhi (as Hedwig): [sighs] Why don’t you come in? I’ve cleaned up the office, at least.
Kim (as Val): Sure.
Rhi: So she’ll walk you in. And unlike kind of a modern, at least American, car dealership that I’m familiar with where there’s a bunch of, you know, it’s a big building with lots of windows and cars parked inside, this is really just, kind of like, there’s a little waiting room and an office. All of her vehicles are kept outside. You know, there’s a big broom propped up against one wall and glass has been swept into some piles. But her office, again, it’s pretty clear that this has been ransacked and she’s spent some time cleaning it up. Like, there’s piles of paper but they’re a little disorganized, stuff like paintings that you remember have been pulled off the walls and are now just kind of propped up against it, and she will gesture for everyone to sit. She has actually enough chairs in here for all of you. It’s a little cramped, but there’s space for everybody to sit. She doesn’t sit behind the desk. She just kinda leans against the front of it.
Kim (as Val): Gee whizz.
Josie (as Echo): But is that grey Rivie I was looking at okay?
Rhi (as Hedwig): No.
Josie (as Echo): Dammit.
Rhi (as Hedwig): I don’t think any of them really are. I’m gonna be working on this for weeks, getting things back into shape. But um… all of this is, in a way, almost secondary to the bigger problem that I have. Whoever did this didn’t just smash up the place. They stole my ledger.
Kim (as Val): Your ledger?
Josie (as Echo): That could be very bad, huh?
Rhi (as Hedwig): Yeah… it’s, you know, everybody who’s bought and sold stuff here, so…
Kim (as Val): Ah, shit.
Rhi (as Hedwig): Good news, it’s in code.
Kim (as Val): Oh, I’m glad you had the forethought for that.
Rhi (as Hedwig): I mean, if I’m writing down a list of every criminal in the city that I’ve done business with, I figured it was better not to write that in something too easy to read.
Kim (as Val): Noted.
Rhi (as Hedwig): So probably whoever took it hasn’t had a chance to figure out anything, and if it’s still encrypted it’s probably not worth as much for them to try and sell off. It’ll just look like a bunch of gibberish.
Kim (as Val): Unless these ransackers have a codebreaker that we don’t know about.
Rhi (as Hedwig): Well, I didn’t really tell people it was in code, so fingers crossed. But I’m hoping if you all can figure out who took it and just get it back to me… I can pay, of course. But I don’t have the resources to track it down on my own.
Kim (as Val): Hedwig, your place just got trashed. You don’t have to pay if you don’t have the funds right now. You’re gonna need every cent you need back into this place.
Josie (as Echo): I don’t know, I could use a few new parts.
Kim (as Val): [whisper] Yeah, so could I, but she—
Aki: Darling will just give you a look and be like:
Aki (as Darling): Well, while that is a very nice sentiment, we do have an awful lot of debt.
Kim (as Val): Yeah, but we’re working on it, right?
Rhi (as Hedwig): Appreciate it, Val, but prior to this I’ve been doing fine business-wise. I’ve got some money saved up and you’re doing something on my behalf, so I’m gonna pay you for it. We’ll be square. I don’t— I don’t like having debts.
Kim (as Val): Alright, fair enough. Neither do I.
Rhi: So yeah, she kinda fiddles with her braid a little bit in kind of a nervous fidget and is like:
Rhi (as Hedwig): So, the only lead I’ve got, and it’s not much, I’m sorry, is that over the last few days I’d seen some people just kinda hangin’ around the edge of the lot. You know, just sort of watching the place. I didn’t really think much of it, I mean people hang out on the streets and talk and loiter around from time to time and sometimes the Bluecoats will run them off, but you know, I didn’t think much of it. But now I’m thinking maybe they were casing the place. Some of them were on foot and then sometimes there was this car. It was an old, beat-up Ember with this weird paint job.
Rhi: And now I’m gonna throw it all to you.
Kim: Oh.
Rhi: Tell me what the paint job was.
Kim: Hot rod flames.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: Yes. 100%.
Rhi: Yeah. Well let’s— I want this thing to be, like, real over-the-top, so I want something from everybody.
[laughter]
Rhi: So we got hot rod flames.
Josie: I think it has a hood ornament with like— it’s not the original hood ornament, it’s someone’s home-made pit bull ornament.
Rhi: Oh my god, yes.
Josie: Because they just love their dog way too much.
Minna: Maybe they have, like, rims that match the hot rod flames.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: Yeah…
Rhi: [laughs] Yes.
Aki: And very, very noticeable spikes that are on the tires.
Rhi: Ooh….
Kim: Oh, that’s nasty.
Rhi: So, like, so the rims are painted with flames and have spikes on them? That’s very good. I hate this car very much.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs] It’s such a douchebag car, I love it. So, Hedwig describes this vehicle to all of you and is just like:
Rhi (as Hedwig): Yeah, I guess the only other thing I can say is one time, you know, after I’d seen that car out there a couple times I went out to try and talk to them and they headed off kinda northwest, sorta up in the, like, towards Ivyridge.
Josie (as Echo): Okay. Well, I guess they won’t be hard to find with a car like that.
Rhi (as Hedwig): Yeah, that’s— I sure hope so.
Kim (as Val): Did you happen to catch the plate by any chance?
Rhi (as Hedwig): No, I didn’t.
Kim (as Val): Hmm. Alright. Well. Did you at least get a chance to see what the people looked like?
Rhi (as Hedwig): Um… I didn’t get close enough to get a really good look. There was a driver and two other people in the car, but I didn’t get a good look before they peeled out.
Kim (as Val): Alright.
Rhi (as Hedwig): So, I guess you can kinda start asking around up around that direction? See if anybody’s got any info for ya.
Josie (as Echo): Okay. Any unsatisfied customers lately?
Rhi (as Hedwig): Hmm… no? Not that I can— I mean, there was one person who came back after a couple weeks, you know, complaining of engine trouble, but I just fixed that up for free and she was perfectly happy and went on her way. So nobody who I think was unhappy enough to do this. I think they were really just after the ledger.
Josie (as Echo): Okay.
Aki (as Darling): Well then, any flashy names that could be found on that ledger?
Rhi (as Hedwig): Uh, I mean, quite frankly I’ve cleaned up cars for nearly every gang in the city, so…
Josie (as Echo): Are there any notable gangs you haven’t serviced?
Rhi (as Hedwig): Um, I haven’t done anything with the Vultures. But you can tell that ‘cause I’m still alive.
Josie (as Echo): Mm hmm.
Rhi (as Hedwig): I mean, haven’t really worked with the Queen’s Guard, but they’re mostly over in Ironworks, so I think they just kinda do their own business.
Rhi: The Queen’s Guard is mostly the Skovlan mafia/revolutionaries. Most of what they do is— they engage in a wide variety of crime and almost all of it just sort of funnels weapons and money to the kind of ever-present rebellion in Skovlan. So yeah, and they are mostly based in the Ironworks. Little bit in Riverside. So yeah, she’s just like:
Rhi (as Hedwig): Yeah, I don’t do a lot of work for them, but I don’t think that’s out of any particular hostility, I think they just kinda take care of themselves. Oh, and I guess Ivalace? The new… gang? Gang leader? I’m not real clear on what the situation is there, but up in Ivyridge. Haven’t done any work for them, but also, I dunno, there hasn’t really been any hostility from them. There’s nobody that I feel like that I’ve blown off on purpose or who has been specifically not coming to me because they don’t like me. Like, anybody who comes here needing to trade a car, I’m willing to do it.
Josie (as Echo): Maybe someone’s trying to steal your spot.
Rhi (as Hedwig): Maybe.
Aki: Could I possibly, based on what I know, do like— this is gonna sound weird— do like a faction vibe check on who has the worst taste in cars?
Rhi: [laughs] Um… oh man. Lemme think.
Aki: Like me, Darling does not know much about cars, but Darling is definitely an aesthetic, fashion person, so this sounds like something I could potentially do. [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah. Lemme think. In terms of… so you’re looking for who has the worst taste in cars?
Aki: Yeah.
Rhi: Okay.
Aki: Like, somebody who would— like, Queen’s Guard does not sound like a group that would ever allow a hot rod looking ass car with spikes, you know, like that, right?
Rhi: Ahh…
[laughter]
Aki: That actively sounds like something the Nightcaps might be interested in.
Rhi: Got it.
Aki: You know? That’s what I mean.
Rhi: Who would tolerate a car that looks like that?
Aki: Yes.
Rhi: I understand what you’re asking, that’s phenomenal. Um, so possibly the Brigantines or the Breakers. They’re both gangs of smugglers. The Brigantines are who you kinda dealt with last time. And the Breakers are Severosi smugglers. That seems like the kind of thing that they might allow, but both of them are a little more focused on other types of movement. The Brigantines have speedboats and the Breakers have horses. None of the big names are striking you as an exact fit for that. Again, maybe the Nightcaps, but also, like, you all are a stone’s throw away from Hedwig’s lot, so like, if they were gonna do this they probably would have just asked you to get the thing. So, that said, like, there’s a lot of much, much smaller gangs, little independent gangs that are just out doing their own thing that aren’t some of the really big players in the city that could also be behind this. So, kind of running through what you know of the bigger gangs, this doesn’t quite seem like a fit for any of them. You’re thinking it’s probably somebody a lot smaller.
Aki: Good to know, good to know. I know I can get away with insulting them now, thank you.
Josie and Rhi: [laugh]
Rhi: So yeah, is there anything else you’d like to ask Hedwig?
Kim: Not that I can think of.
Rhi: Okay. And we can always, you can circle back to her if you need to. But at this point, we’re gonna do Gathering Information. Which is exciting, we didn’t do this last time. So, just as kind of a refresher, for Gathering Info you basically can pick any action that you want, and as long as it makes sense for the kind of question that you’re asking or the approach that you’re taking you can roll it, and generally speaking there aren’t consequences for a low roll. Like, you know, you’re not gonna get shot if you roll a 3 on Gather Info, you’ll just get less information. So the higher, or the better your result, the more information you’ll get. So, how do folks wanna start approaching this in terms of figuring out whodunnit?
Josie: Echo isn’t great at traditional Gather Information, because she’s tall, pretty and looming.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: So I think she wants to look into, like, code-breaking in general and what you kinda need to do it.
Rhi: Ooh, okay. Yeah.
Josie: Because, like, Hedwig’s a professional, it’s probably not something any old upstart gang can just do.
Rhi: Yeah. Suddenly vibrating slightly with excitement that I’m getting to indulge a little bit in my, like, hobbyist interest in codes and ciphers.
Minna: I know! [laughs]
Josie: [giggles] So, I think Echo is like— do we have public libraries?
Rhi: Ooh. That’s a good question. What do we think? At this point in kind of…
Josie: Yeah. ‘Cause we didn’t have them for Magpies, but I think they could potentially have happened in the meantime?
Rhi: I think so. Yeah, so according to Google, the first free modern public library was opened in 1833.
Josie: Oh, jeez.
Rhi: In New Hampshire. But it seems like it took a while for that to kinda spread. I’m trusting the American Library Association to give me some good information. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: There are a number of— okay, I just wanna say that when they were established, when modern public libraries were established in England, it was partly part of the temperance movement.
Kim: Really?
Rhi: Oh!
Minna: It was motivated by the temperance movement.
Rhi: Interesting.
Minna: Um, “Francis Place, a campaigner for the working class agreed that the establishment of parish libraries and district reading rooms and popular lectures on subjects both entertaining and instructive to the community might draw off a number of those who now frequent public houses for the sole enjoyment they afford.”
Rhi: Fascinating. So, okay, so I think that I’m, you know, yeah. I think that there are public libraries. I think that content in said libraries is probably still tightly controlled by the government. You’re not gonna find a lot of, you know, Skovlan literature in here. But yes, there are public libraries. I’m glad we went on this educational journey together.
Kim: Yay.
Josie: So, I think I’m just gonna hit the library.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah, so this sounds like probably Study.
Josie: Yeah. That’s where I’m trying to swing it. [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah. I mean, you’re going to the library and researching how codes work, so yeah, for sure.
Josie: Well, I got a 1. So.
Rhi: Okay. So, I think probably somewhat unsurprisingly, you’re able to find a couple books on very basic codes that are almost more aimed at like— they’re kind of like activity books for kids of like, “Write secret notes to your friends” using what is essentially a Caesar cipher where you just replace different letters of the alphabet. You’re guessing that Hedwig is probably using something a little more complicated than that. The good news though is that even though you’re not able to find a lot of information, it probably means that, again, unless this particular gang happens to have somebody who was already a trained codebreaker on staff, essentially, other people aren’t gonna be able to find this kind of information either. So like, it seems like information about codes is not super publicly available. So unfortunately, that’s kind of all you’re able to get, but you’re sort of feeling like, okay, it’s probably gonna take them a little bit to figure out this code.
Josie: Okay. Okay, that’s good to know.
Rhi: Yeah. What other kinds of things would folks like to investigate?
Kim: I kinda just wanna do a lap around the block and see if any other people near the garage had seen this car and just Consort with them, see if they know anything.
Rhi: Yes. Roll Consort.
Kim: Alrighty, let’s get it. [rolls dice] Not very good, I rolled a 3 and a 2.
Rhi: Ooh. Okay, so limited information. So, I think what ends up happening is you go around and start chatting with people. People around, like, in the immediate area of your garage know you. One, just because you’re kind of around in the community. Also, with the exception of Arlene, you all are pretty memorable figures. [laughs]
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: So, you know, I think people are like, will greet Val and start chatting and I think what happens is people will be like, “Oh yeah, yeah I saw that car, it was, yeah, heading up towards kind of like Ivyridge, maybe Maroden Park way.” And then at some point you explain why you’re asking and as soon as people hear that Hedwig’s garage has been trashed, like— you’re talking to two people. You don’t know how word spread so fast. But suddenly there’s a crowd of like, ten people around you who are like:
Rhi (as Passer-by): Oh my God, Riverford’s got hit? Okay, well, you go grab some brooms and some tarps for the windows—
Kim (as Val): No, no, that’s really not necessary.
Rhi (as Passer-by): Get some food— no, we got it.
Rhi: And like, this crowd of a dozen people just leave, walk away from you to go help Hedwig clean up her garage.
Kim (as Val): Oh, for gods’ sake.
Rhi: Somebody has a casserole. You don’t know where the casserole came from, but it’s here now.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: Someone has an emergency oven for casseroles.
Rhi: [laughs] Yeah. There’s just constantly a casserole that’s ready to go as soon as there’s a crisis. Yeah, so unfortunately— like, Val, you get a little bit of information about where they were heading and somebody referenced a neighborhood called Maroden Park, which is another neighborhood in Kestrel Heights. It’s kind of on the border of Kestrel Heights and the next neighborhood north, Ivyridge.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: But other than that neighborhood, you don’t get any specifics because everybody gets so distracted with going to help Hedwig out. And they just sort of leave you standing there on the sidewalk. [laughs] Where you’re just kind of like, “Alright.”
Kim (as Val): Well, screw me, I guess.
Rhi: [laughs] So, yeah. Arlene, Darling? Would either of you like to Gather Info?
Aki: Yes. Because I’m good at it, technically. I guess I would low-key count it as tracking, Hunting. So, I guess that’s my main gig.
Rhi: Yeah.
Aki: So I think since we’re looking for a hot rod I should go semi-subtle. And I guess… hmm… flashy, ugly car might be in more not-so-great areas. So maybe I will go hang around there and see if I can pick up on anything or spot it myself, vice versa. And I would like to go in semi-disguise, because it’s very difficult to disguise me.
[laughter]
Aki: So my semi-disguise is I will wear modest clothes, so that way I just look like a simply woman in a cute little, like, qipao style top. We got one of those nice long skirts to hide my unnatural legs and I am totally, it’s so very fucking normal to walk my giant tiger on a leash.
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki: I have a parasol for the light.
Kim: Oh my God.
[laughter]
Josie: There’s no sun.
Aki: It’s for the light!
Rhi: Oh my God, Darling’s idea of incognito is my new favorite thing. Holy shit.
Aki: If I had sunglasses I would also be wearing those. But that—
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah, probably not a thing unfortunately. Oh my God. Okay, yeah, so you’re just kind of, you’re tracking, you’re trying to track this car?
Aki: Yes.
Rhi: Yeah, so I think you then go ahead and roll Hunt. And we’ll see what kind of information you get.
Aki: Uh, and we take the higher? Yes?
Rhi: Yes. Take the highest.
Aki: That would be a 5.
Rhi: Okay. So, you get a good amount of information. So, you put on your, air-quotes, “disguise”.
Aki: It’s a very good disguise.
Rhi: And walk your tiger—
Aki: Yes.
Rhi: [laughs] Sort of through Kestrel Heights keeping an eye out, you know, talking to people a little but, and I think that you… so, you end up making your way to this neighborhood of Maroden Park, which is mostly a residential neighborhood, just, you know, a lot of apartments, houses that have been chopped up into apartments. Has kind of a similar vibe to Kirin Cove in that it’s kind of a, like, very aggressively friendly sort of neighborhood. You have a lot of kids who wanna come over to say hi to the tiger, a lot of parents being like, “Uh, ask! Please ask the nice lady before you pet the tiger!”, holding the back of the kids’ shirt.
Aki: And I’m just like:
Aki (as Darling): Oh, yes, of course the kids are allowed. Just, oh, keep your hands away from her mouth. She might think your little fingers are chicken strips.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim: Oh my God.
Rhi: So yeah, so I think your progress slows down a fair bit once you get up there. But you kinda notice as kids are petting Pearl and you’re listening to some of the parents talk, you start hearing about some of the problems that this neighborhood has been having. That there is this gang that has moved in very recently that has been causing a lot of problems. They are doing a lot of smash and grabs, you know, breaking into places and just stealing whatever they can carry. There’s rumors that some of the businesses up here are facing extortion, kind of a, like, “Yeah, it’s a real shame what happened to that other restaurant down the street, it’d be a shame if all your windows got smashed in, wouldn’t it?” kinda thing. And you do hear a couple people complaining about one of the gang members drives this, you know, god-awful flame car with spike wheels and drives just so fast past all the houses. Nearly hit little Timmy last week.
Timmy nearly sticks his hand in the tiger’s mouth. It might not have been the driver’s fault. Timmy does not seem to understand a fear of death.
Josie and Minna: [laugh]
Rhi: [laughs] But anyway, you hear a description of this car and a gang that— I think— I’ll give you the name. You do get the name, that they are the Hollyhock gang. Nobody you’re ever heard of. You’re guessing it’s one of the smaller, independent gangs. But seems like somebody affiliated with this gang is driving your car, and the kind of crimes they’re engaging in sound like what happened to Hedwig’s dealership.
Aki: Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
Rhi: It takes you a while to extricate yourself from the neighborhood and you’re somehow sent home with dinner for you and Pearl. At some point in here somebody whose kid was very enchanted with the tiger is just like, “Oh here, we have some leftovers, I just wrapped this up for the tiger and we put a little something in there for you. Here you go.” And so you just, you leave with a basket of food.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, very nice.
Rhi: [laughs] Maroden Park is kind of mostly residential, but most of the businesses that are there are restaurants because they’re very close to the Shadowfields where all the farms are, so they can just get a lot of fresh food very easily. So they just kind of take advantage of that and have a lot of little restaurants and street carts and whatnot. So overall, a pretty good day for you, honestly. You get to hang out with a bunch of cute kids and you get some free food.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: Sweetness.
Rhi: Arlene?
Minna: Yes.
Rhi: Anything you’d like to do?
Minna: So I’m gonna go hang out in Maroden Park and see if I can— see if anybody, like, knows people from there.
Rhi: Yeah, yeah, just kind of trying to track down the exact location of the gang’s headquarters?
Minna: Yeah.
Rhi: How do you wanna go about doing that?
Minna: I’ll be honest, I think people probably know best. So it may just be like a Sway…? Probably Sway, because I’m probably not being honest about why I wanna know.
Rhi: Okay. That’s fair. So yeah, go ahead and make that roll.
Minna: It’s a 5.
Rhi: Yeah, I think that you are kinda asking around. And I think that people are a little more evasive. A lot of people just don’t know. But if you start asking around about them, people are kinda clamming up. ‘Cause like, you’re not from this neighborhood, you’re asking weird questions about this gang they’ve been having trouble with, you look like a fucking cop. People are reading you as an undercover cop. [laughs]
Minna: Oh no.
Rhi: So, a lot of people just don’t wanna talk to you. But you do manage to get enough little bits of information here and there that you can kind of, you know, track it down to there’s an abandoned restaurant, like a closed restaurant that’s been empty for a while, at the end of a street that people are saying like, the people who live close to there, a lot of people have moved away from there very abruptly in the last few weeks. And you kind of lurk around. Like, you don’t get too close, but you do, as you’re sort of wandering around the street, you do catch a glimpse of, mostly out of sight, parked behind this building, a car that has some flame detailing painted on it.
Minna: Hmm…
Kim: Uh oh.
Rhi: So, it seems like you’ve found their location, which is this abandoned restaurant in this neighborhood. You’re pretty sure you know whodunnit. Now you just have to get the thing back.
Aki: Oh my God, we all meet up back at the lair and it’s like, it’s like— oh we accidentally did send help Hedwig’s way. My bad.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim (as Val): Yeah, I didn’t mean to. It just, the situation got a little bit out of control and all of a sudden there was a mob headed to her place with a whole bunch of brooms. And a casserole, weirdly enough.
Josie (as Echo): Only one casserole?
Kim (as Val): Just the one.
Josie (as Echo): That’s restrained.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim (as Val): I know, right? Especially for Kestrel Heights. I would’ve expected five.
Rhi: That was— that was just the starting casserole that was already ready. [laughs] I’m sure more have appeared since then. Hedwig has not been allowed to clean anything. She has been bullied into her office and is being fussed over by no fewer than seven grandmothers.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim and Minna: Oh my goodness.
Aki: Wow.
Rhi: Hedwig’s just like:
Rhi (as Hedwig): Please, I’ll feel better if I can fix a car!
Rhi (as Grandmothers): No, no, no, honey. We’ll take care of it, don’t you worry.
Aki: That’s so cute.
Rhi (as Grandmothers): We’ll have this place looking right as rain.
Josie (as Echo): I didn’t find much. I just know it’s going to be hard for them to break whatever code Hedwig has on it.
Kim (as Val): Well, that’s reassuring.
Aki (as Darling): I might have found us a name for our little gang.
Kim (as Val): You got us a name?
Aki (as Darling): Yes, the Hollyhocks. It would seem that they’re new and they’re causing little ruckuses here and there. You know, shakedowns and the like. So, there is that. I also got us some good food. Kind people. Really into tigers.
Rhi: Pearl’s just sitting on the floor, like, gnawing on the remains of the dinner that was packed for her, which was probably half a chicken. [laughs]
Aki: Oh yes.
Aki (as Darling): So yes, maybe I’ll cook us dinner later.
Kim (as Val): Thanks.
Minna (as Arlene): I think I found the spot that they’re in.
Kim: Oh, perfect. Whereabouts?
Josie (as Echo): [simultaneously] Where at?
Minna (as Arlene): There’s this abandoned restaurant over in Maroden Park.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, you went to Maroden too? We could have went together!
Minna (as Arlene): Well, you know, we covered more ground splitting up.
Aki (as Darling): I know, but we could have gotten more food if we were together.
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna: I think that Arlene’s secretly glad that Darling didn’t go with her, because she probably didn’t do a great job on her, like, social lessons.
Rhi: Oh, you mean Arlene didn’t do great with the…
Minna: Yeah, Arlene did not do so great. She got read as an undercover cop and she is kind of glad Darling didn’t see that.
Aki: [giggles]
Rhi: [laughs] How do you all wanna go about going after the thing? What kind of, basically, what kind of score do you wanna do? You could do Assault, Deception, Stealth, Occult, Social or Transport.
Kim: It feels like an Assault score if we’re attacking them, right?
Rhi: You could attack. You could sneak in. You could try to lie your way in.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, wouldn’t it be fun if we all pretended we wanted to join the group and then just got them?
Kim (as Val): I think that’d be a lot of fun.
Josie (as Echo): I don’t really see these as fun, but…
Minna (as Arlene): Do you think you can pretend to like the car long enough?
Aki (as Darling): Oh, I can pretend to like a lot of things! Like cars in general.
Rhi: [laughs loudly]
Josie (as Echo): Wow.
Aki (as Darling): I’m not a car person. I’d rather have a horse.
Josie (as Echo): Just calling me and Val out, huh?
Aki (as Darling): Yes!
Kim (as Val): No, no, we all have our things, Echo. It’s fine.
Aki (as Darling): And sometimes you both go on… you just go on. And on. And… and on.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie (as Echo): Echo kind of pulls her hat lower on her face.
Rhi: Aww…
Aki (as Darling): I’m not saying it’s not good to know these things or to enjoy them, I’m just saying… I don’t know how to drive. I never will know how to drive.
Kim (as Val): What, you don’t wanna learn?
Aki (as Darling): No. I also— I can barely fit in the car as it is.
Kim (as Val): Fair enough.
Aki (as Darling): And a lot of things become easily broken or stuck when I sit in the front. Cause, you know, tails.
Aki: And I lift up my skirt and it’s like, “look at these dragon legs”.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim (as Val): Well I’m sure they make Tycherosi models.
Aki (as Darling): Yes, but we don’t all have legs like these. Some of us don’t have legs at all. It’s just all tail.
Josie (as Echo): We should make some.
Kim (as Val): Now that you mention it, how do the legless ones get around without a car?
Aki (as Darling): Slither.
Kim (as Val): I suppose, but—
Josie (as Echo): A bus?
Rhi: There’s cars that have, like— real world cars that have all hand controls for people who are paralyzed from the waist down.
Aki: That is true, that is true.
Rhi: I don’t know if those would have been— I mean, this is a world that I have decided is better about disability than our real one, so they may have come up with something where you could have all-hand controls.
Aki: It’d still be much more expensive, I think, than your average car, though.
Rhi: Yes, yeah. It would have to be something custom. So, are we leaning for Deception, then?
Kim: I think so.
Rhi: Okay. So, the plan is to just show up and tell them you’re interested in joining.
Aki: Darling insists that we all dress up like ruffians.
Rhi: I can’t wait to hear Darling’s idea of ruffian.
Aki: [under breath] Yes.
Rhi: What is everybody thinking for loadout?
Kim: Uh, normal.
Josie: Yeah, normal for me.
Minna: I feel like I might be heavy, just because I’m probably appealing to them as a dangerous, violent person. [laughs]
Rhi: Okay. Aki, what are you thinking for Darling’s load?
Aki: I’m thinking normal would be fine.
Rhi: Okay.
Aki: She’s not gonna be too interested in concealing them too much, right? Because it’s like, we’re ruffians! [laughs] I cannot wait to describe this outfit.
Rhi: Yeah, it’s gonna be so good. So, for the engagement roll you have one for luck. “Is this operation particularly bold or daring?”
Kim: Eh.
Rhi: I mean, you’re…
Aki: I think so.
Rhi: You’re taking on a gang of unknown size just by sorta walking up and knocking on the front door. That feels pretty bold to me.
Kim: Fair.
Rhi: Yeah. “Does the plan’s detail expose a vulnerability of the target?” Not really. “Are they strongest against their approach? Do they have a particularly…” No. Friends or contacts, no. Enemies or rivals are not interfering. Other elements you wanna consider… let’s see. They are, honestly, about the same Tier level as you. Yeah, this’ll be a 2d6 roll. [shakes and rolls dice]
Alright, it’s a 4. So, you’re gonna be starting in a risky position. So, the plan is to, uh, show up at the Hollyhock gang’s headquarters, an abandoned restaurant, and claim you want to join them. And Darling has devised ruffian disguises for you all. Aki.
Aki: Yes!
Rhi: Please take it away. [laughs]
Aki: Alright, alright, alright. So I’m thinking Arlene is probably just going to be wearing relatively the same things that she usually wears, but there is, it’s like, where we see that it’s nice and fitted, Darling will be like:
Aki (as Darling): No, no, no.
Aki: And slap on an accessory or two that makes it looks a little sloppy. You know, like your collar is undone and stuff, but it’s not unbuttoned too much. No, no, no. We keep the baby modest. And—
Rhi: [laughs loudly]
Aki: And we give you a hat. It’s night, but we give you a hat anyways.
Minna: [laughs]
Aki: Your outfit is relatively the same, but we just like— we do the French tuck, so that means half of it is like, half of the shirt is not tucked in, only the front part is tucked in. Thank you, Queer Eye.
Minna and Kim: [laugh]
Aki: And a whole bunch of other things, your collars are a little— no, your collars are popped up! Yes! And you’re wearing a hat! Yes. And—[laughs] and then we put a vest on you. You look like a little business girl. But you’re not just about business as in documents and stuff, it’s more like business as in you have a knife somewhere on you.
Minna: Oh yeah. I’ve got a jacket with like, the outline of a weapon very clearly showing through it.
Aki: Yes, yes, yes. And we’re good, we’re happy with this. Maybe we pop in a fake cigarette so it looks like you mean business. We give you gloves.
Kim: I am in love with this.
Minna: Queer Eye but it’s Criminal Eye. [laughs]
[laughter]
Aki: Um okay. Val is next. Val actually looks perfect for this. [laughs]
Kim: Uh… oh?
Aki: Too bad, I’m changing it. [laughs] We make you wear one suspender and the other one is like, off on the side, so it looks like you can pull it up when you want business or you take both off when you’re ready to throw down. [laughs]
Kim: Oh God. Yes.
Aki: We roll up your sleeves. We also give you gloves, but your gloves are like, probably the gloves that you use when you’re fixing up the car. So that way it’s like, it’s dirty, but it also shows that you mean business, okay? And—
Kim: Can I request biker gloves?
Aki: Yes. Yes, we will give you those.
Kim: The fingerless— yeah.
Aki: And we give you a tie that you can loosen up when you’re ready to throw fucking down.
Kim: Yes. I’m into it.
Aki: Also fake cigarette. Or a real cigarette. I don’t know if you smoke. [laughs]
Kim: I think I do smoke.
Aki: Arlene’s not allowed to, but you can.
Kim: Yeah, I’ve decided that I think Val smokes. Because I could not resist the aesthetic of a long, elegant cigarette holder. But it’s probably just like, a regular cigarette. No holder.
Aki: We give you a fancy lighter. And we slick your hair back with gel.
Kim: Yeah! Alright.
Aki: Yeah. We go to Echo. And Echo is the hardest for me because Echo also looks perfect for this, and I’m pretty sure Echo naturally wears a trenchcoat.
Josie: Yes. Mm hmm.
Aki: So instead what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna make Echo dress as— the best way to put it is as pauperly as possible. [laughs] You’re gonna look beat up, you’re gonna look like your clothes are oversized and whatnot. Your pants are hardly fitted but it’s okay. Why? Because you’re wearing boots. Long-ass boots. No hat. Your hair is gonna be in a nice— no! I take it all back. You’re gonna dress not pauperly, we’re gonna make you dress in a nice fitted fucking suit!
Josie: I already have that.
Aki: And then we’re gonna put your hair up in a bun and then we’re gonna still put you, we’re still gonna put you in the boots though because the boots is a good look and you’re gonna look like a business woman who is about the documents, but you don’t know, you don’t know shit, we don’t know what you’re into [laughs] or anything like that. It’s gonna look so fucking good. I put hair ornaments in your hair, okay. But you would quickly note that Darling’s hair ornaments are not just hair ornaments, they’re like knives and shit.
Minna: Oh, yes.
Rhi: Yes!
Kim: Yeah!
Aki: So it’s like, boop, boop, boop, you can borrow these. That kinda stuff. But that’s what we look like, right? And then Darling’s turn. Darling is, you know, high-waisted pants, okay? No shoes because feet are like that. And then she’s got, the best way to put it is black bra and just the blazer. That’s it.
Minna: [strained gasp]
Aki: And then her hair is probably up and stuff. And then she’ll be like:
Aki (as Darling): Look at this! We look so ruffian-like!
Josie (as Echo): I look like an accountant.
Aki: [laughs]
Rhi: Darling has never met a ruffian in her life.
Aki (as Darling): I don’t speak with degenerates.
Rhi: [laughs loudly] Also, I’m pretty sure that Darling spent the last— like, the three days before the score raiding every thrift store in the three districts surrounding.
Aki: [laughs] Pretty much, pretty much.
Minna: I think Arlene’s like:
Minna (as Arlene): Oh, I like this. I could try this again.
Kim (as Val): Yeah, this is not too shabby.
Aki (as Darling): Yes!
Josie (as Echo): I mean, it’s not that different from what I usually wear. Just more things in my hair.
Aki (as Darling): But it’s a good look.
Josie (as Echo): Um. Thank you. As though you didn’t dress me in it. I don’t know how to deal with this.
Rhi: [laughs] Aw, honey.
Aki: I don’t care man, I’m happy with what I’ve done. Darling thinks this is great. Oh, and Pearl is— and Pearl, Pearl is also wearing a very shoddy collar. It’s got the hot rod flames on it.
Minna: [gasps] Oh no!
Aki: Instead of Pearl it just has a big capital P on it. And Darling’s like:
Aki (as Darling): This hurts me more than it hurts you.
Minna and Rhi: [laugh]
Kim: Oh my God.
Josie: [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): We have to look the part.
Rhi: So, are you all walking up there or taking the car?
Kim: I think— I mean, how far away is it? Because I think we can walk.
Rhi: Yeah, it’s walking distance. And you can always do a flashback if you get in a situation where you need the car, you can do a flashback to say that earlier in the day you drove the car up and parked it somewhere.
Kim: Right, right.
Minna: Better not to show up with our car, because our car is part of our identity.
Rhi: Notable, yeah. So, you spend a couple hours of Darling getting you all ready and then you hike up to Maroden Park, to the abandoned restaurant. And kind of as you get onto the property, a couple people will say— it starts as just two, but as they approach one of them kind of, uh, whistles and another two will peel off from elsewhere around the building and come over. So you’ve got four people who look the part of, uh, ruffian street toughs a bit better than all of you do. [laughs] Just kinda, you know, largely it’s sort of boots, suspenders, shirts with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. Everything’s a little bit worn, a little bit stained, some patches. Everybody is openly carrying weapons. And the one who whistled kind of gives all of you a… confused is the primary emotion you’re reading on her face, gives you a very confused look and just goes:
Rhi (as Ruffian): Are you all lost?
Kim (as Val): On the contrary, I think we’ve been found.
Rhi: The four of them just look at each other.
Kim: [laughs]
Kim (as Val): Listen, we’ve heard about you and some of the stunts that you’ve pulled, and we want in.
Rhi: Alright. Gimme a roll. [laughs]
Kim: Uh, okay, that’d be a Sway, right?
Rhi: Oh, yeah.
Kim: Yeah. Alright. Here we go. [blows on dice] Let’s go, baby. [shakes dice]
Rhi: It’s gonna be risky… we’ll call it risky, standard.
Kim: Dope. [rolls dice] Okay, that’s a 6.
Rhi: Sorry, I just had to take a second. [laughs]
Kim: Why?
Rhi: Just be like— just…. this is very silly.
Kim: This is what I do.
Rhi: [laughs] I know, but it’s— this plan of, “Yeah, we’re just gonna get in disguise and walk up there and tell them that we want in,” I was like, “Surely this will not work.” 6. Okay. This will work. [laughs]
Kim: I eat hot chip and lie. That’s what I’m good at.
Rhi and Josie: [laugh]
Rhi: So yeah, the four of them look at each other and they’re still clearly confused but, y’know, the woman who’s been talking to you looks like she’s about to just send you on your way, but somebody else tugs on her sleeve and is like:
Rhi (as Second Ruffian): Listen, we could use the extra people right now, okay?
Rhi: And she’s like:
Rhi (as Ruffian): Alright, fine. You can—[sighs] come on in and let me track down the boss.
Rhi: So, they lead you inside. The woman who’d been talking to you and one of the others head off deeper into the restaurant. The other two stay by you to clearly keep an eye on you.
This restaurant has kind of had some very rough renovations done to it once the Hollyhocks moved in. The dining hall has kind of been broken up into different areas. Like, there’s sheets hung from the ceiling to sorta create little rooms. You can see there’s an area where a bunch of the chairs have been stacked up out of the way and then some tables have been pushed together where there’s, you know, what looks like kind of a pile of stolen stuff that a couple people are sorting through. Most of the stuff that’s piled up there doesn’t look super valuable. There’s a couple people who are, like, playing cards. It’s a pretty rough setup, from what you can see.
And listening, you know, as you’re waiting here, it’s pretty quiet. Like, when you’re in the Nightcaps headquarters it’s always fairly busy. There’s a lot of people moving around doing stuff. And this is, like, kinda oddly quiet for, you know, a gang headquarters. So yeah, I don’t know if you all just wanna kinda wait here or if you wanna start shit now? [laughs] If you wanna try and look around, talk to anybody?
Aki: Yeah, I definitely wanna talk, since there’s like two people around us, right?
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: Echo is standing there awkwardly, observing.
Rhi: Okay.
Josie: Which is fortunately what her crime persona would also do, so… [laughs]
Minna and Rhi: [laugh]
Rhi: You’re doin’ great.
Josie: I’m a clearly out of my depth accountant.
Rhi: [laughs] Yeah, so Darling, you’re gonna, uh, strike up a conversation?
Aki: Yes. I will go to one of the ruffians, yes, and also be a ruffian. And simply go:
Aki (as Darling): So… nice place you got here, but how exactly did you get it?
Rhi: Gimme a roll to see how much of the tale you get.
Aki: Should it be a Consort roll?
Rhi: Um… are you genuinely just trying to chat with this person to get information or are you trying to distract them?
Aki: Technically, we’re not doing anything just yet, so I guess just a straight-up talk to know more about the gang in general.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah, I’ll allow Consort for that. So, I’m gonna say still risky, standard for this one.
Aki: I have rolled a 4.
Rhi: Okay. So you do it but there’s a consequence. I think I’m just gonna say reduced effect, in that you’re not gonna get quite as much information. So, the person that you’re talking to kinda rolls their eyes and makes a face and is like:
Rhi (as Gang Member): Yeah, well, we used to have a much nicer setup in Ivyridge, but the new crime boss up there pushed us out, pushed out everybody who used to work up there, so we’ve kinda had to make do with what we can get here. And it’s been—
Rhi: And I think kinda before they can keep talking the other guard kinda whacks them on the arm and is like:
Rhi (as Second Gang Member): Hey, come on, we don’t even know if they’re gonna be joining. You don’t have to tell them everything yet.
Rhi: So they just kinda shrug and will fall silent.
Aki: I kinda wanna flirt now. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: Do it!
Aki: Darling will just be like:
Aki (as Darling): Oh, but you could. I’m just curious as another rough… and tough… god, whatever the fuck you are.
Aki: And just, you know, I have my tail. My tail can touch them… [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Do the little like, leg curl?
Aki: Yes.
Rhi: Okay. [laughs] What’s your goal here? Just trying to get them to keep talking?
Aki: Yes.
Rhi: I think in this case this is gonna be Sway.
Aki: Okay.
Rhi: You can push yourself.
Aki: I was gonna say, I…
Rhi: Or ask for a Devil’s Bargain.
Aki: Okay, well what does the Devil’s Bargain look like, before I deliberately take stress?
Rhi: This person is actually genuinely gonna be very into you and is going to, um, cause problems in the future because they’re gonna keep looking for you.
Josie: Hmm.
Aki: That doesn’t sound that bad actually. [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim: Oh my God. Yeah.
Rhi: Oh no, I have to come up with a— I’ve created an NPC!
Josie: [sings happy tune]
Aki: Curses! Um, I’ll take that. [laughs] Cause now I want it.
Rhi: Alright. You’ve got an admirer. So yeah, that’s one die. Oh, boy.
Aki: [laughs] That’s a 6.
Rhi: Oh my God.
Minna: [laughs]
Aki: Yay!
Rhi: I’m just staring into the middle distance here.
Josie: [giggles]
Rhi: You know what, I will— I have a name for them, but Aki, I’m gonna toss this back to you. What do they look like?
Aki: Oh. Oops.
Rhi: The only thing I’ve estab— yeah, ha ha! The only thing that I’ve really established via pronouns is that they are non-binary. So, otherwise, take it away.
Aki: Maybe athletic-ish build. They probably just look like your… almost like a courier sort of style? So they got one of those newspaper boy hats.
Kim: D’aww.
Aki: Maybe? You know?
Rhi: Mm hmm. Uh huh.
Aki: Tannish skin and we’ll say that their hair is curly, like a curly brown kinda permed almost type of vibe. Just lots and lots of curls.
Rhi: Yes. Alright, yeah. So, this person will kinda, like, you know, after Darling flirts with them, they kind of brush off their companion here and will like, walk off a couple steps with Darling, like, still close to the group but you know, they can talk without this other guard reprimanding them. And they’ll be like:
Rhi (as Gang Member): Yeah, they don’t want us talking about it because we honestly lost a lot. You know, a lot of our people, pretty much all of our holdings up there. We’re pretty much having to start from nothing. So the fact that there’s people who are showing up looking to join us is honestly kind of a relief.
Rhi: They rub the back of their neck and are like:
Rhi (as Gang Member): I, um, I go by Sprig, by the way.
Josie: [delighted] Sprig!
Kim: Are we using our real names?
Rhi: We’re about to find out. [laughs]
Aki: I just, um, to keep up this cute little flirting thing, I like— one, I’m probably way— I’m way taller than them.
Rhi: Oh, yeah.
Aki: Two, I just kind of like, I cup under their chin to bring their face up a little bit and just go:
Aki (as Darling): Oh, poor things. You can call me Darjeeling.
Aki: And then I just pat them on the cheek with my hand and go— unless they wanna talk some more, I go back.
Rhi: Uh, no, Sprig is gonna stand there for a little bit staring into the middle distance, as Sprig has just uncovered some things about themselves.
Minna: [laughs loudly]
Kim: Oh, their search history is about to look way different.
Rhi: Uh huh, yeah. Sprig is just— Sprig is going on a journey internally. And yeah, while this conversation is happening, what are the other three of you doing? I know Echo is just kind of standing and observing. I don’t know if either Val or Arlene wanted to strike up a conversation. I know there was a suggestion Arlene could slip off.
Minna: She was planning to sneak off. Did you have any particular feelings about where she should sneak off to? Or was it just not witnessing Mom flirting?
Rhi: [laughs] Well, column A, column B. I mean, you could, like, start trying to scope out the lay of the land just in case—
Minna: Yeah, that’s what she wants to do.
Kim: Get us our exits.
Minna: Well, I think she’s more trying to figure out if there’s secure areas.
Rhi: Mm hmm. That makes sense. So yeah, I think the— you’re only being observed by one guard, but you also don’t really have cover so I don’t know if you wanted to have, like— this would be a great time for the setup action of somebody talks to the guard to give cover while the other person sneaks off.
Josie: Can I do that?
Minna: I was gonna say, Echo.
Kim and Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: Echo is just gonna lean over awkwardly and be like:
Josie (as Echo): I— is it disrespectful to sit? I am new to this.
Rhi (as Second Gang Member): Um… I don’t… okay, uh…
Rhi: Go ahead and give me a real quick roll.
Josie: Uh huh.
Rhi: And yeah, your result on this will kinda determine if Arlene gets improved position or improved effect level or no benefit at all.
Josie: Okay. I’m thinking this is Sway and I have no dots in that, so what does a Devil’s Bargain look like? [laughs]
Rhi: I think this person that you’re talking to is— they’re not gonna— they’re gonna pick up that there’s something unusual about you. Not enough to where they’re gonna raise any kind of alarm, but they’re gonna be watching you a lot more closely.
Josie: Okay. I’m fine with that. I’ll take that.
Rhi: Okay. So yeah, that’ll get you a die.
Josie: [rolls die] 5.
Rhi: 5. So yeah, that’s good enough to help Arlene out. So, I think this guard is just sort of confused and is like:
Rhi (as Second Gang Member): No, it’s not disrespectful. Let me— stay there. I’ll grab you a chair, we’ve got plenty.
Rhi: And so he walks over to where all the chairs are piled up and wrestles a chair free, and I think while all that’s happening that’s when Arlene can just sort of sneak off. So would you like improved position or improved effect on this roll, Minna?
Minna: I think improved position makes sense for what this is.
Rhi: Yeah, okay. So this’ll be controlled, standard.
Minna: I’m gonna roll Prowl.
Rhi: Yeah, I was gonna say. It’s sneaking. You’re Prowling.
Minna: Okay, that’s a 4.
Rhi: 4, okay. You do it but there’s a consequence. I think I’m just gonna start a clock of your absence is noticed. [laughs] Cause I think that Sprig is going on a personal internal journey right now and is distracted, and this other guard is paying much closer attention to Echo than anything else, so neither of them have noticed that there’s only three people where there was once four. But eventually, they are gonna notice. So, I’m gonna start a clock. We’re gonna called it Arlene’s Absence Noticed, 1 out of 4. But you’re able to slip away. The way that this is set up, there’s a couple open areas towards the front but there’s a lot of just sort of sheets that have been hung up to create rooms, so you kinda have to navigate around all of these hanging sheets and like, standing screens and other sort of things. And what specifically are you looking for? You said you’re looking for where maybe valuables are?
Minna: Yeah, just areas that seem like they have a lot more security than other areas, and what security looks like.
Rhi: Okay. So again, as you’re moving you’re finding it actually kind of easy to sneak, because there’s just not a lot of people in here. Sprig was not kidding when they said that they lost a lot of people. And you go past one area where a couple people are like, sleeping on some cots, but as you get sorta towards the back, you start seeing some guards again, and basically kinda behind the counter where food woulda been served, there’s a door that probably leads back into the kitchen and sort of the back areas of the restaurant. And there’s a couple guards standing outside there.
Minna: Back of house is the secured area.
Rhi: Uh huh, pretty much. So, do you wanna try and just sneak back to the group or just wait here?
Minna: Yeah, I think she’s gonna re-rendezvous with Echo.
Rhi: Okay. [laughs] So, you get back right as one of the guards was looking around like, “Wait, where… where is she? Oh, okay, she’s right there.” [laughs]
Minna: I think Arlene just gives a little smile and like, tucks herself in at Echo’s elbow.
Rhi: So after, like, five to ten minutes of waiting, the first guard that had talked to you comes back and says that:
Rhi (as Ruffian): Yeah, the boss wants to chat with you about your interest. So come on back.
Rhi: And she will lead you back through the dining hall over to the back of house area, which starts by leading into the kitchen. Which is still set up as a kitchen. It smells like some of them have been using it as a kitchen. It smells kinda like cooked food in here.
Kim: Okay.
Rhi: But a lot of it is just shut off, stuff is kinda pushed out of the way. They’re just using one stove and one oven, they’re not making use of the full restaurant kitchen setup in here. And then she walks you back to kind of, at one side of the kitchen there is an office. And she’ll hold the door open. She looks inside, looks at the four of you, frowns, leans her head and is like:
Rhi (as Ruffian): Yeah, boss, um, I don’t… two of them are just really tall. I don’t think this is gonna be comfortable for anybody. You think you can meet out here?
Rhi: And you just hear kind of a grumble of like:
Rhi (as Voice): Yeah, fine, fine.
## Outro [01.06.13]
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.
Hedwig Riverford was created by Jack Israel, one of our Kickstarter backers. Thank you, Jack, for sharing this awesome mechanic to befriend the crew!
This episode’s jumbotron message comes from Kickstarter backer Sophie, and it’s for… Sophie!
Hey Sophie, it’s Sophie. You struggled for a long time to learn how to want to live and unlearn hating yourself, and you succeeded. And you’ve found people to share your life with who love, respect, and treasure you. And for the past while you’ve been trying really hard to learn the next step: to love yourself and to express that love clearly and meaningfully. So, I’ve written this to give a helping hand as you listen to one of your favorite podcasts. Sophie, I know you feel like you still have a long way to go. But you’re always doing your best and you’ve done a lot of work. I love you very much, and I’m proud of you.
We’re proud of you too. Thanks so much for sharing this, and for supporting the show. And thanks to all our Patreon backers for their continued support of Clever Corvids.
## Blooper [01.08.48]
Aki: It would be the weirdest Transformer.
Kim: Yeah.
Minna: Oh, God.
Josie: That’s one of the Michael Bay Transformers.
Rhi: [laughs] Yeah.
Kim: It’s definitely like, a punk Transformer that has some kind of like, spiked mohawk or something.
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki: Exactly, oh my God.
Josie: [laughs]