Transcribed by Chloe Hendry.
Rhi: Welcome back to Ilrien. As always, thank you so much for joining us. This episode begins the final errand with the House Battalia Coterie! While I’d originally planned for this mini-series to be six episodes, our finale recording ran long enough that it’s actually going to end up being seven. So while this is the beginning of the end, you’ve still got a bit of time with Aurelia, Lucy, Alessa, and Inanna.
If you’re enjoying Court of Blades, you can learn more about it on A Couple of Drakes website. And be sure to check out our other shows, The City That Never Dies and Love and Hellfire.
Next, Fabby of Love and Hellfire is going to tell us about this month’s featured charity.
Fabby: Hey everyone, it’s Fabby to talk to you about a charity. The Thrive youth center is a San Antonio center and shelter for lgbtq+ youth 18-24 experiencing homlensess in San Antonio Texas. They provide emergency shelter, housing support, and case management. I lived in San Antonio for a decade, it was the city I came out in as a trans woman, it’s not the most trans friendly city in the world. Knowing that queer homeless youth have a place to stay, something to fall back on is super important to me. You can donate by going to www.thriveyouthcenter.com/donate.
Rhi: Please continue to advocate for reproductive rights and civil liberties of all kinds within your communities. Make connections at the local level, and find the people who have been leading the fights and doing the work already to lend them your support.
Now then. Let’s get started, shall we?
## Story begins [00.02.31]
Drake: We find ourselves, once more, in Ilrien. Our coterie has seen its share of struggle. I think that we’ve got some downtime stuff to take care of, so we’re gonna, kind of, get a real quick montage of people with their indulgences trying to pay down their stress. We’re going to, maybe, work on a long term clock. Alessa, you had a long term clock that you were working on, right?
Rhi: Yes. so, Alessa has been trying to figure out where Wren, her ex, has been and what they’ve been up to. And so, how she comes by this information ends up being a little unusual, because she had, kind of, put out some of her own feelers in the Twist; she’d asked her mother to, sort of, ask some of her contacts. But where she ends up getting the lead is when she is indulging in her vice, and what indulging in her vice looks like is something that’s kind of, I think, fairly unusual for probably most of House Battalia. She will slip off into the Twist to meet up with a fortune teller who will, you know, through tarot readings, will – not necessarily read her fortune and, like, tell her future precisely, but will give her guidance about what the, sort of, local spirits want or need. And then her, sort of, way of dealing with stress is to make offerings to those spirits, to appease them.
Drake: You know, you’re getting your troubles reframed by this fortune teller, this medium, who is communicating with the local spirits, and then by appeasing them you, kind of, gain further knowledge, right?
Rhi: Mm hm.
Drake: That’s, kind of, cool. It’s almost like psychiatry, but in the Twist. I like that.
Rhi: Yeah. yeah. And I think, like, yeah, it’s- And some of it is, like, I think, yeah, in talking through with this fortune teller it can, yeah, kind of help reframe what’s happened, kind of, give her an opportunity to reflect on recent events in a way that, sort of, help sher, yeah, just, sort of, deal with them a little bit better.
Drake: That’s awesome. Do you have a particular medium that you go to?
Rhi: Yes! Her name is – where’s my character sheet? – Her name is Loretta.
Drake: Loretta, in the Twist. Okay.
Rhi: I think she’s just, kind of, like, a fixture in the Twist. Like, she’s been there forever.
Drake: I love it.
Rhi: Like, nobody actually knows how old she is, as far as, like- I think that Alessa was kind of, like, introduced to Loretta through her mother and, like, her mother’s friends and they’re all, like, ‘yeah, she’s- Loretta has been ninety years old for as long as we’ve known her.’
Drake: Wow.
Rhi: So she’s just-
Drake: So, as Loretta’s laying out this deck and you’re asking your questions, like, I think I wanna know, like, what- What comes up? Like, what is the main thrust of the reading, right? Like, what-
Rhi: I think-
Drake: Go ahead.
Rhi: It’s, yeah, I think it starts as, Alessa is kind of trying to, as she normally does with this sort of thing, kind of talk about sort of what has happened recently. You know, I think as we see her, like, she’s wearing looser fitting clothes than normal and is, like, clearly favouring one side because she still has bandages from where she broke her ribs-
Drake: You exploded a bit, it happens.
Rhi: In the explosion. She’s got a couple, like, bandages, like, on her hands and on the side of her face. Like, she is still very banged up from that. So I think it starts as her, kind of, trying to just sort of like work through that and kind of asking questions about that. But it turns into trying to understand why people are doing this, what would drive people to do this. And I think that’s what, sort of, leads down the path of asking about Wren.
Drake: Oh. Okay. Alright.
Rhi: Of trying to understand- ‘Cause at this point Alessa has heard the rumour from her mother that Wren is working for the Brizolattos.
Drake: Oh, okay, yeah.
Rhi: But has also heard directly from Wren, or at least, you know, that Wren is working for and believes in the Prince of Tatters. And so I think that it just, sort of, turns into this question of why would somebody throw themselves away from stability like that?
Drake: Sure. Yeah, I think the cards reveal, as the reading rolls on, that there is some past division between the card that is associated with Wren, which is the sabre, and the card of the prince. There a thing that is in their history with the Brizolattos which is a source of pain and trauma and struggle, and then there is a card – the Dread Emperor – that comes up that associates with the Prince of Tatters, and it’s inverted, but the card that crosses it is the – I mean, you have to imagine this as a very baroque deck, right? – it’s this enormous, floral arrangement, but you can see that all of the thorns are dripping poison. Now, Loretta looks at it, and she nods, and she turns to you and says:
Drake (as Loretta): The cards say that all of this is doomed to end in blood.
Rhi (as Alessa): Well, that’s not exactly the reassurance I was hoping for.
Drake: So, as Loretta, like, sweeps the cards back into her hands and shuffles she gives you a shrug and gestures vaguely at, you know, everything. She’s like:
Drake (as Loretta): There are many things that I wish the cards would tell us. But this is as it is.
Drake: So, you’re not the only one who got injured on the last excursion. Everybody else already, like, cleared harm, like, who was the- What was the worst harm that we had from our last excursion? That was Aurelia, wasn’t it?
Paulomi: Yep! I had a flesh wound.
Drake: A flesh wound? Turns out fighting an accomplished fencing master and besting them sometimes-
Paulomi: A little bit.
Drake: Comes with a warranty. Where did we decide that wound was? I can’t remember. I don’t think that we ever really did, did we?
Rhi: We did, it was- ‘Cause originally it was level 3 harm and Aurelia got run through-
Drake: That’s right.
Rhi: But you decided that because you had armour, so it went from- You got a nice cut from hip to sternum because you wanted a cool, sexy scar that the ladies would like.
Drake: Oh, yeah. My question for you, Aurelia, is, like, after spending some time with the House Battalia doctor, do you like the House Battalia doctor? Like, is the House Battalia doctor someone that you get along with? Or are they always kind of mad that they have to put you back together?
Paulomi: I think Aurelia’s charming enough where it makes those appointments pass a little faster. Like, I definitely think initially they were like ‘alright, this has got to stop happening.’ but now-
Drake: This is ridiculous.
Paulomi: This is how we hang out.
Drake: This is fostering the relationship, is what it really is.
Paulomi: This is creating a rapport.
Drake: Like, they’d be mad if you didn’t show up every now and then. Okay, I love that.
Paulomi: ‘Aw, you went and got yourself stabbed just so you could see little old me? That’s so sweet!’
Drake: So, here’s the point of question that comes with that: like, do you ever, like, unburden yourself to the doctor when they’re at their work?
Paulomi: Woo, are we that type of friends? I think we previously established that there’s only one other person in House Battalia that knows about Juliana and Aurelia’s relationship, I do not think this doctor is in on that. So if I am unburdening myself I think that it is mostly venting about people I would like to stab.
Drake: Oh, certainly, yes. So, my follow up question to that is, like: when you and Juliana are on the outs, right, because it’s been tough, right?
Paulomi: Uh huh.
Drake: You guys had a fight last time and it’s been icy kind of ever since, even in broad strokes or broad terms, when you say that you’re only talking about people you want to stab, do you have somebody that you’re talking about, or is it mostly just the world in general at this point?
Paulomi: At this point I think it translates to Aurelia being uncharacteristically quiet.
Drake: Oh no. So when the doctor is applying the linen and the slave and, you know, checking your dressings and eveyrhitng they, you know, meet your eyes and, like:
Drake (as doctor): You typically complain more.
Paulomi (as Aurelia): Uuh.
Paulomi: I think the course of the appointment has been Aurelia brooding womanfully.
Drake: Brooding womanfully, I love it.
Drake (as doctor): So, you know, again, just checking the dressings, like, you have to take it easy, you have to- Wow, I was expecting-
Drake: You know, because you rolled that crit on your recovery-
Drake (as doctor): Wow, I was expecting that to be much worse than it was, it didn’t fester, it looks like it’s healing cleanly. That means you’re going to get out there and get in another fight, doesn’t it?
Paulomi: Fully, I just had this thought and I need to share it with everyone: I genuinely think that Aurelia has a problem resting when a wound is trying to heal. But because she’s on the outs with Juliana at the moment resting has not been a problem.
Drake: Oh, I love that!
Paulomi: There’s not as much physical activity happening right now, huh?
Drake: Ah, you know how it goes. You know how it goes.
Drake (as doctor): This is healing very cleanly. Now, I need you to promise me that, like, you can come back here when you’re not bleeding, right? You know that.
Paulomi (as Aurelia): I can?
Drake (as doctor): You can. I’m always here.
Paulomi: There’s, like, serious mental math taking place.
Drake: Hold on, I gotta do the algebra. The emotional algebra.
Paulomi (as Aurelia): Are you talking about, like- I guess we’re friends, huh?
Drake (as doctor): I think at this point we kind of have to be. Any time somebody steps up on my table and, you know, is bleeding I- I’m in this job because I care about people, and I’ve seen you enough to where, even by simple arithmetic- Again, I care about you, Aurelia.
Paulomi: I think this just sends her into another brooding spiral. And she, kind of, reaches out, puts a hand on the good doctor, and is like:
Paulomi (as Aurelia): I have a serious question.
Drake (as doctor): Well, I deal in answers.
Paulomi (as Aurelia): What do you do when someone is angry with you? Someone you care about is angry with you?
Drake (as doctor): Find out why very quickly.
Paulomi (as Aurelia): I think I know why. I don’t know how to fix it.
Drake (as doctor): Well, I’m better at diagnosing with information.
Paulomi: I think Aurelia makes kind of a face.
Drake (as doctor): Okay, alright, fine, that’s fine too.
Paulomi (as Aurelia): I’d better go.
Drake (as doctor): Alright, well, you know, come back, but mostly whole please.
Paulomi (as Aurelia): No promises.
Paulomi: Just, kind of, leaps off whatever thing there she’s sitting on.
Drake: It’s a trestle. You know, it’s a table. But-
Paulomi: Sidles out the door.
Drake: And the doctor watches after you and like, kind of, shakes his head. Closes the door behind you. When did you have the fight with Juliana? When did it become less a fight and more a cold war?
Paulomi: Ooh. I think we snuck off once stuff with the explosion had been settled and we talked to out spymaster, we snuck off and I think Aurelia’s first order of business would have been to check on Juliana, which is exactly the opposite thing that needs to be happening if you have this clandestine relationship.
Drake: And if you’re having a clandestine getaway.
Paulomi: Yeah, no, because a lot of folks are gonna be like ‘oh my god, are you okay Juliana? Sion of the House Battalia? Like, that was an explosion and we gotta make sure you were good!’ I think a lot of people are attending, or waiting on her.
Drake: And you gotta imagine, like, at this point, like, you walk in and, like, you’re bleeding, you know?
Paulomi: Fully, fully bleeding. Like, I haven’t gone to the doctor yet at all, and-
Drake: Well, no, you’ve got priorities.
Paulomi: And Aurelia shows up when all of these people are here, fully intending to be like ‘are you okay?’ And that’s written on her face. And Juliana- I don’t even think it;s a conversation. Juliana just gives her a reproachful look and points to the door.
Drake: Oh wow!
Paulomi: Uuuuuh.
Drake: Oh no. Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. And ever since then, like, you just can’t get time-
Paulomi: Ever since then, tail between my legs. I have not had a single moment to talk with her alone.
Drake: That’s awful. I’m sorry to hear that. The fiction is true. Alright, anybody else over the course of the time between our last errand and things getting- Coming to a head tonight have anything else that has occurred? I know that there was some indulgence, maye?
Josie: Yeah, I indulged.
Drake: Remind me again, what is your indulgence there, Josie?
Josie: It’s faith.
Drake: Faith, right.
Josie: Specifically an older version of Alessa’s faith.
Drake: Oh, wow, right! That’s cool. So, do you think that there was, like, particular, like, vigil that you stood, or a celebration of some kind? What kind of ritual did you, you know, indulge in? Is there something in there that might be juicy?
Josie: Yeah, Rhi, did you have any ideas what Alessa’s faith might look like?
Rhi: So, outside of the like, the tarot think, which I know is what we focused on here, it’s a lot of, like, the, you know, offerings and appeasing spirits, so I think that the, like, the spirits that- I imagine what is for Alessa is a lot of, kind of, the, like, the things where, you know, how you would have stories of, like, how you would appease the fae, how you would, like, leave out, you know, a bowl of milk, or an extra plate of food, or things like that, like, small things. So I’m wondering if there’s something more involved, maybe something that’s a little more ritualised, like-
Drake: Gotta go entreat them by name, right?
Rhi: Yeah, maybe if, like, what the people of the Twist is sort of a folk tale, you know, version, seven hundred years of being passed down, of what, you know, your people used to do in a more formalised way, maybe?
Drake: Okay, here’s my question for Inanna. So, Taliesin the Great, one of the generals that you- Or, the first prince that you served, right, was a Knack, had power, had a familiar, one of these, kind of, fae creatures that was a boon companion in times of trouble. Do you still remember that companion’s name?
Josie: Yeah, probably.
Drake: Do you think it comes when you call?
Josie: I don’t think so.
Drake: Oh no.
Josie: Yeah.
Drake: Oh, that’s absolutely heartbreaking.
Josie: Yeah, I think it went with her, or is just off doing its own thing now.
Drake: Oh no. like, there;s that thing where, you know, you were tied to Taliesin, it was tied to Taliesin, it has found its own way forward in the world, and here we get this shot maybe of Inanna, you know, honouring the old traditions, just kind of untethered, just kind of afoot in the old world, right? That kind of breaks my heart.
Rhi: Yeah.
Drake: And, Luciana, you were gonna try and burn off that immense amount of stress you acquired on that last errand, right? What is- You’re a musician with the Buskins on your downtimes, right?
Navi: Yeah, that’s right. So, since the last errand I think Luciana’s probably taken it both harder than everyone else, and also is making the least of a show about it. So she just kind of disappeared once she was sure that, like, Auelia was okay, she just kind of disappeared, and she really hasn’t left the Roses, so, like, that’s where she’s been, like, almost this entire time, so she’s burned through every cigarello in the entire city, just chains mocking and just shredding on her lute, like, her fingers are probably just like calluses now, it’s pretty brutal. So, that’s all she’s been doing. She has got the look of somebody who’s not really sleeping, but this is how she relieves stress. So she is both in a much better space and also looking haggard.
Drake: Do you go and, like, play shows, or, like, do you play in public spaces, or are you just in your room just jamming out?
Navi: Oh, no, they definitely do, like, public spaces. Anywhere that there is a stage. It’s probably, like, really crappy taverns where occasionally they, like, hurl a bottle at the musicians.
Drake: Awesome.
Navi: Yeah, it’s awesome. So, that’s where she’s been, like, the entire time.
Drake: Tell me about, like, the show where- Tell me somebody that, like, you play with. Give me a name, or, like, a little thumbnail sketch real quick. Somebody that’s, like, in your band, I guess, quote unquote.
Navi: I’m gonna go with Jori.
Drake: Jori, Jori’s in your band. What was the show like when Jori, like, at one point just kind of came over and was like:
Drake (as Jori): Luciana, are you okay?
Navi: It was probably at, like, hour sixteen, on the first day.
Drake: Oh my!
Navi: But after, like, it was just, kind of, he asks are you okay, and she, like, she just kind of gives him that look, like, what are you talking about? Everything’s great.
Drake: We’ll pick it up at the bridge.
Navi: Exactly. Like, everything is perfectly fine, but, like, she’s going through a little bit of a phase, so at this point, like, she’s got, like, the full on, like symbol on her face, and, like, she’s-
Drake: Turning into Ilrien’s Prince.
Navi: Oh yeah, but she’s actually- Right now they’re calling her first prince.
Drake: Oh, okay.
Navi: So, just to be clear. So that’s just kind of the overall trajectory right now. And I think as we’re starting to come back together she has a strong sense of – what’s that word? – she has a strong sense of responsibility, and she will collect herself and return when the time is right. I think she kind of has Chitter spying on everyone, so that she knows when, like, she actually has to get her shit together. So only Inanna can actually see Chitter, so, like, only Ianna knows that this is happening, everybody else is just like ‘oh, where did Lucy go?’ So that’s like Lucy’s – what do you call it? – the canary in the mineshaft. So Chitter comes back eventually and says, you know, that Aurelia’s healed up and, like, things are moving again and, you know, and at that point Lucy goes and, like, catches some rap time and shows back up like nothing happened.
Drake: So gave everybody the brush off for like a week here. To put yourself together, go jam out for a while, work through some stuff, get some bottles hurled at you, and then finally, when everybody is kind of back in coterie shape, now it’s time for business.
Navi: Mm hm, but she shows back up and, like, she’s completely in order except for she still has the symbol on her face.
Drake: That’s just a hell of a flex to start calling herself first prince in a town- A city that is full of princes, right?
Navi: Mm hm.
Drake: Okay, yeah. What does the symbol look like? Is it just, like, an unpronounceable, like-
Navi: Oh, yeah, some ridiculous unpronounceable, like, fae glyph, in like, bright purple with sparkles, that whole thing.
Drake: I mean, your whole crazy tattooed up anyway, so it’s just one more thing.
Navi: Oh yeah, everybody probably things it’s permanent.
Drake: Alright. Well, things do occur in such a way that the coterie does have to get back together. Eventually the call goes out and it is a little while, like we’ve said, there;s been plenty of time for downtime, plenty of time for the world to, kind of, correct itself in the wake of the attempted bombing of the first prince’s hosue. But when the call comes it’s odd, because it;s a Twist jack, it’s a, like, one of the enforcers of the fragile peace of the city narrows of the Twist comes to House Battalia and kind of almost- You have to understand that Twist jacks are basically batman, right? They had to, you know, leave the city watch, they had to go places that the city watch couldn’t go, and they are always in danger and kind of that’s where they thrive, right? But when they come to the Esultare, it’s weird to see a Twist jack kind of hat in hand, right? And they’re in one of these parlours, these ancillary little chambers where you await a meeting with one of the crowned heads. But this Twist jack, Ortollo, is waiting for you. I think that, you know, when the call comes and you’re directed to this room, Ortollo is there looking very, very uncomfortable, sitting down on a settee real quick and then right back up and watching and waiting to see what happens next. And when you enter he puts his cap down and he says:
Drake (as Ortollo): We have a problem.
Navi (as Lucy): You’ll have to be more specific, everything’s a problem.
Rhi (as Alessa): Yeah, I was gonna say, it’s Ilrien, you’re gonna have to be more specific.
Drake (as Ortollo): Yeah, okay, I get that. I’m sorry, let me start again: the Twist has a problem. There’s a faction, a new gang, something like that, we can’t pin it down. But Apollo Brizolatto is trying to broker some kind of peace. Now you know Apollo Brizolatto doesn’t broker peace, that emans Apollo Brizolatto’s scared of something. There are rumours, and I’ve been told by some people that the rumours are true, that there was an assault on the prince’s house, the first prince’s house.
Navi (as Lucy): Can neither confirm nor deny.
Drake (as Ortollo): Fair. I’m not asking you to confirm or deny. I’m just saying that when the prince of the Twist is brokering a peace after an explosion occurs, neither confirm nor deny, at the house of the first prince, clearly we are in trouble. Look, I just wanted to let you know, because Battalia has a reputation, you’re Ilrien’s sword machine, and I’m just saying that the attack is coming from inside. It’s already inside our guard. Sword and shield isn’t gonna help us, this is dagger work.
Navi (as Lucy): I think I’m looking very pointedly at Aurelia, and Alessa, anyone in the room who isn’t me I’m kind of looking at and I’m like so are we doing this? Because I’m not doing anything unless you guys are doing something. And I won’t even like it.
Drake (as Ortollo): I’m hoping that you can go and talk some sense into Apollo Brizolatto. You can’t deal with whatever it is that is happening in the Twist right now. There are gangs tearing themselves apart. There are gangs that have vanished overnight. We still haven’t found Apollo Brizolatto’s knack. Just vanished in the middle of the night.
[everyone laughs]
Drake: Oh god, do you guys start laughing?
Paulomi: The four of us carefully don’t look at each other.
Navi: I think Lucy kind of, like, chokes on a laugh and then, like, is like:
Navi (as Lucy): That’s, um, that’s terrible. Knacks are going missing? Now that involves me, now I’m concerned.
Drake (as Ortollo): Maybe I came to the wrong place. I understand.
Navi (as Lucy): No no no! You’re in the right place. Apollo Brizolatto has a very fine butt, we’re on it.
Rhi (as Alessa): That’s not really the concern here.
Navi (as Lucy): Oh.
Drake (as Ortollo): I have concerns.
Rhi (as Alessa): I mean, I do too about Lucy’s priorities. But I grew up in the Twist, and so I know a fair number of people there and would prefer to not see a lot of them get killed, so yes.
Navi (as Lucy): Fair play, that’s a much better reason.
Rhi (as Alessa): I will elan on these fine people-
Rhi: Gesturing at the rest of my coterie.
Rhi (as Alessa): To take care of this. We can-
Drake (as Ortollo): This is just a little bit bigger than the Twist jacks, you understand?
Rhi (as Alessa): Yeah. We’ll talk to the Brizollato’s and see what we can find out.
Drake (as Ortollo): I appreciate your attention to the matter. I don’t know what I expected. Honestly, coming and laying this out, I thought for certain that I was going to get the eyebrow and then shown the door, but I heard some stories, Alessa. Can I call you Alessa?
Rhi (as Alessa): Oh, please do. The titles are exhausting.
Drake (as Ortollo): I understand completely. If I had one I’d probably neve use it. Ayway, it’s just that I’d heard some things, I know that there are some among the great houses who had ties to the Twist and I thought it might be, I don’t know, maybe there was still some love there. I don’t like the Brizolattos, I hate what has happened to the Twist, I hate that it is a place where it is easier to be a tiger than a person, gut any change that is coming I can’t imagine it’s for the better.
Rhi (as Alessa): Yeah. Well, we’ll look into it.
Drake (as Ortollo): Thank you.
Rhi (as Alessa): See what we can turn up.
Drake: He reaches down and he picks up his cap and he looks almost like he wants to salute, like a watchman, and then he remembers and kind of just gives you a nod and paces towards the door.
Navi: Can I whistle to make him uncomfortable as he’s walking towards the door?
Drake: Yeah, he’s real uncomfortable. You can only see it in, like, iron in the spine, right?
Rhi: Alessa smacks you on the arm.
Navi: As soon as he’s out of earshot though, like, she’s gonna lean over:
Navi (as Lucy): So what do we think has Apollo Brizolatto scared?
Navi: Now serious business.
Rhi (as Alessa): Prince of Tatters. That’s what the rumours are saying.
Navi (as Lucy): Mm, he is the talk of the season.
Rhi (as Alessa): Which unfortunately means we’re going to need to go track down my ex.
Drake: Do think that if we are going to find out what’s going on in the Twist go and talk to Wren, maybe find out what’s going on with this mason gang free-for-all that’s going on in the Twist. Do we think this is, like, a social errand or do we think that this is just still gathering information? How do we want to handle this?
Josie: I mean, this honestly sound slike gathering information to me, but like-
Paulomi?: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don’t feel like I have enough info to pin down what exactly we’re doing yet?
Drake: That makes sense, yeah.
Paulomi: So I think we’re still in the gathering info phase.
Drake: Okay, cool, then I won’t have anyone roll an engagement roll. So I guess my question then, if you’re going to seek out Wren: what is it you’re hoping Wren will be able to tell you?
Rhi: What the hell are you up to?
Drake: What do they plan to do? Yeah, that-
Rhi: Yeah, I mean, like, I think- I think what Alesa is going to propose is let me talk to Wren alone, but, like, be within shouting distance in case I get jumped.
Drake: Fair.
Josie (as Inanna): This is a wise call?
Rhi (as Alessa): Mm hm.
Josie (as Inanna): After what they did? I am not certain my blade would be stayed.
[everyone oohs]
Drake: Alright! Coming in hot!
Josie: Well, they set up the machine beneath the ball at the beginning, right? So-
Rhi: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so, yeah, I think ALessa mostly just wants to know- I think Alessa is going to open with what is going on with the Brizolattos? And we’ll see where the conversation goes from there.
Drake: That’s fair. Now, previously you didn;t even know where Wren could be found, because they had kind of vanished into the underworld of the Groan. Your mother has passed you some communique saying where they’ve been. Where’s a place that you might reasonably bump into Wren? So that I can, kind of, frame out a scene here.
Paulomi: I have a suggestion.
Rhi: Yes?
Paulomi: Is there a red light district?
Drake: There’s absolutely in the Roses, yeah.
Paulomi: Nowhere’s gonna be more private than there. ‘Cause anyone who’s there is trying not to be seen there.
Drake: Oh there’s no shame here.
Paulomi: You don’t want people to know who your favorites are.
Drake: Yeah, that’s- At that point it’s leverage.
Navi: Exactly.
Drake: It’s just not the usual kind of leverage.
Navi: You wanna keep it on the down low because anybody could access you through your favourite service providers.
Drake: Fair, fair, yeah. That makes sense.
Rhi: Yeah and, like, given where Alessa grew up, that’s probably the areas that she would’ve been haunting as a kid and young teen. I think that she and Wren have known each other from when they were kids.
Drake: Early on, yeah, you guys used to run together back in the bad old days, right?
Rhi: Yep. So, yeah, yeah, I like that idea.
Drake: Okay. so, the Roses adjoin the Groan, which, you know, the Twist is part of the Groan. So it stands to reason that anything that is happening down in the Groan is in some way, shape, or form starting to overflow into nearby districts, so it makes sense that you would totally find Wren here. Who wants to paint me a scene? What do we think?
Rhi: I think that it’s like there’s like a lounge bar area, with sort of, that’s on, like, the ground floor of one of the brothels here that has sort of, like, more private little booths, so you can have, sort of, quiet conversations and I think that- So, the information that Alessa has gotten through her various sources is that Wren will do, like, business through here. So Wren is waiting here for, like, a business meeting and Alessa just sort of sits down at the table like: hey.
Drake: Okay. so we’re gonna do a you know sort of fly in shot of a little place called the Palanquin. It’s almost like a brothel up on stilts, but underneath it’s basically like a big lounge area, but it’s all silk dividers, and almost like cushions and pouffes rather than, like, chairs and tables and things like that. So it’s very just sort of loungy. And this is where Wren, like, holds court now. They are in one of these divided privacy areas and-
Josie: That’s so sick.
Drake: What do we see when Alessa, like, parts the silk and appears?
Josie: I’m jealous of Wren, just putting that out there.
Rhi: I don’t think that Wrenchose this pace. I think that Wren was assigned to work, like, this is where Brizolatto has assigned them to work here. So I don’t think that they are- The way that they’re dressed doesn’t match their surroundings.
Drake: Sure.
Rhi: You know, work boots and suspenders.
Drake: Yup! That’s probably why Wren looks so ill at ease, right?
Rhi: Yeah, yeah, you know, probably sitting cross legged on a cushion.
Drake: Not reclining and being fed grapes, but sitting very upright waiting for their next appointment.
Rhi: Yeah, yeah, just- This is not, they would much have preferred a pub.
Drake: Sure. And this is as close as we get in the Roses, right?
Rhi: Yeah, but this is where they were assigned to work, so this is where they’re working.
Drake: What’s your approach? What’s your angle? Like, are you just coming in and hoping you’ll be able to get through to them? Or are you going to get hands on? How do we see this going?
Rhi: I think it’s just gonna- Alessa is just gonna start with conversation.
Drake: Okay.
Rhi: And we’re gonna just see how it goes from there.
Drake: Yeah, I think we can get the general tenor from how the scenes gonna go maybe from a consort roll?
Rhi: Yeah! Alright, so since this is gather info there’s not, like, position or effect or anything?
Drake: No, I don’t think so. I think right now, like, the worst thing that can happen is your information is either incomplete or Wren just doesn’t want to talk to you.
Rhi: Fair. Alright, I’m rolling consort… that is a 5.
Drake: A 5. So I think there’s almost relief on Wren’s face when they see that you’re the one who comes through the silk. It’s actually a really complex dance of emotion that crosses their face, because first there is confusion, then a little it of anger, and then it kind of dissolves into relief, and Wren sits a little straighter and says:
Drake (as Wren): Well, welcome to my office. To what do I owe the pleasure?
Rhi: Alessa, I think kind of, you know- I think that Alessa has basically just, like, walked in and plopped down on whatever cushion was across.
Drake: That sounds right, yeah.
Rhi: From Wren. without, you know, really announcing herself, and just kind of glance around and is like:
Rhi (as Alessa): Ah, this is… a place.
Drake (as Wren): Well, we don’t always get our first choice.
Rhi (as Alessa): Ah, I can tell that this is definitely not what you would’ve chosen.
Drake (as Wren): Wasn’t my last choice either, but wasn’t my first choice.
Rhi (as Alessa): I am hearing some rumours about things getting real bad in the Twist.
Drake (as Wren): Oh you heard that, did ya?
Rhi (as Alessa): Yeah.
Drake (as Wren): Well, I don’t presume to say anything about your source of information, but we got it handled.
Rhi (as Alessa): That’s not when I’m hearing.
Drake (as Wren): Yeah, that’s what I meant. It sounds like whoever’s talking to you is losing.
Rhi (as Alessa): Who’s new gang you’re making peace treaties with?
Drake (as Wren): Me? Making peace treaties? I don’t, no, no, that’s above my pay grade. See, I work at the Palenquin, you’re talking about Apollo. Apollo’s making a peace treaty.
Rhi (as Alessa): Yes, which is unlike him.
Drake (as Wren): It is, isn’t it? You’d almost think that the guy was scared.
Rhi (as Alessa): You would. Which is also unlike him.
Drake (as Wren): If you’ve got a question, ask it.
Rhi (as Alessa): What the hell’s going on with Apollo Brizolatto that some new upstart gang has him scared enough to be making a peace treaty?
Drake (as Wren): It’s a funny thing. Princes are having a whole lot of trouble, and I would hate to be the prince of the Twist when a real Prince comes on down.
Rhi (as Alessa): Uh huh.
Drake (as Wren): Turns out Apollo would hate to be that prince too.
Rhi (as Alessa): So this is getting back to your Prince of Tatters.
Drake (as Wren): My Prince of Tatters? Oh, no no no. Alessa, don’t be boring. This is our Prince of Tatters.
Drake: What are you hoping that you can get out of Wren here?
Navi: Why don’t you call, or write, or love me anymore?
Rhi: No, Alessa’s the one who broke up this relationship. Alessa knows why! It’s ‘cause Alessa was like ‘mm, listen, I’m moving up in the world and this just ain’t gonna work out so… bye.’
Drake: Let me go ahead and give you just a peek behind the curtain here, because you moved up in the world, you pledged to a prince, do you think maybe Wren is maybe trying to show that they’re moving up in the world too?
Rhi: Yeah, I’m-
Drake: Do you think Wren still has feelings for you?
Rhi: I mean, Alessa’s certainly still carrying a torch, so… I’m trying to think of how Alessa is going to approach this.
Drake: I’m gonna tell you what, I’m not going to ask for any more rolls here, but I’m going to inflict a minor social harm to you, because you told me-
Rhi: Yes, that sounds good.
Drake: You told me that you’re still carrying, or Alessa is still carrying a torch for Wren.
Rhi: Yeah.
Drake: Wren’s still carrying a torch for you as well.
Rhi: Yay! Is my social condition yearning?
Drake: Your social condition is level one harm yearning.
Rhi: Yaaay!
Paulomi: It’s the worst kind of harm.
Rhi: But also the best.
Navi: I’d love it if it was the worst.
Drake: And I’ll tell you right now that Wren will tell you something that you can use.
Rhi (as Alessa): What is the Prince of Tatters planning for the Twist?
Drake (as Wren): I mean, I don’t mean to make it sound like I know the Prince of Tatters’ mind any better than anyone else, but from what i’m given to understand is first the Twist, and then from there he’s got a stable from which to grow and turns out there are more citizens of Ilrien in the Twist than anywhere else in the city. I think it’s a popular revolution.
Navi: I wanna pan over to the table on the other side of the curtain where Lucy is sitting in costume, which for her means she’s dressed like a normal person, she’s incognito.
Drake: There’s no mile high wig this time?
Navi: Exactly, she’s there looking like a standard citizen of Ilrien, very lovely. I’m going to be prying through this entire conversation.
Drake: Oh no, you can read minds!
Navi: I’m gonna flex my new abilities. So I want to pry into what they may be thinking that they’re not, like, articulating out loud because people could be listening, we are in- I mean, there’s curtains for walls. And I don’t think bestie knows that I’m on the other side of the curtain, because it would be really rude-
Rhi: No no no! I expressly told you all-
Drake: Please be nearby.
Rhi: To wait.
Paulomi: We’re on the other side of the curtains and all three of us are playing cards and not playing cards at the same time.
Drake: You are being seen to play cards. But this is a city of duplicity. Okay.
Rhi: Yeah, I think that I instructed you all to wait, like, at the bar on the other side of the room.
Paulomi: We’re really good at instructions.
Drake: If Wren kills me, you avenge me.
Josie: Wren says popular revolution and suddenly Inanna has to scratch behind her ear.
Drake: Oh dear. Okay, so we’re prying. That makes me think that you’re probably channelling to see what’s on their mind right now, right?
Navi: Yes, I’m going to see what’s on their mind and maybe-
Drake: This is gather information. Controlled.
Navi: Controlled, right.
Drake: I can’t hurt you yet. Even though I hurt Alessa. Breaking my own rules.
Rhi: No, I mean, listen, I set that up.
Drake: You did.
Rhi: I suggested yearning.
Drake: You handed it to me.
Rhi: On a silver platter, even.
Navi: I was gonna either push myself and be greedy and push for greater effect because of the circumstances, but I think I’ll just go.
Paulomi: I- Counter proposal, it’s the finale and I feel like Lucy has shown herself to be the kind of person who just gets a little greedy, a little greedy for fun.
Drake: Don’t leave it on the table, is what you’re saying?
Paulomi: Yeah.
Navi: In that case, I think because Alessa’s on the other side just kind of, like lining up the conversation, I think that would naturally push their mind towards, like, really, I mean, while they’re distracted, because obviously they’re also wanting to, like, make out right now, so- The tension, like, you can feel it! So Lucy’s fanning herself while trying to pry over here, but I think I feel like because the conversation’s being driven in that direction it’s probably easier to pry, because the thought process is all there, there’s not a lot to sort through, right?
Drake: For sure, yeah. That makes sense.
Navi: Okay, in that case I’m pushing for it.
Drake: You’re channelled in your channelling.
Navi: I am.
Drake: Okay, great effect.
[everyone oohs]
Drake: Okay, so that’s-
Paulomi: A critical!
Drake: A crit! So not only do you get knowledge of what they are thinking right now, but, like, I think you’re even able to get through all of the emotional chatter that is going on inside their mind, and you know that Wren is off their game as well, thinking primarily of Alessa, but you push down beneath those surface thoughts, and I think you can ask an additional question in addition to what the Prince of tatters is planning. So, once I tell you this, feel free to ask follow up questions and we’ll hash it out, okay>
Navi: Okay.
Drake: So, the meeting that is set is for Apollo Brizolatto to receive an envoy from the Prince of Tatters tomorrow at noon. All of Apollo’s knives, all of his hired muscle and everything was cordially invited by the Prince of Tatters. The Prince of Tatters has allowed this meeting to happen in Apollo Brizolatto’s headquarters, this massive, like, opulent casino that Apollo runs in the Twist, the Cherubim. That’s going down tomorrow at noon, Apollo is already, liek, putting out word to all of the remaining gangs that they are to be there to ensure that, you know, cordiality is respected, however you are getting that Wren is secretly very excited about this, because it;s not going to be an envoy, it’s going to be the Prince himself.
Navi: Oh. Oh my! Oh! Oh, oh, oh. I don’t know. What further information could we possibly want to get out of that?
Paulomi: So we know where.
Rhi: Why.
Paulomi: We know when- Yes! Is there-
Rhi: Why, like, what’s- Because, like-
Drake: Why would the prince put himself at risk when he could send an envoy? Is that your question?
Rhi: I guess? ‘Cause my thinking is, if I am the Prince of Tatters, and I wanna take over the Twist, I would get all of my enemies into one place and then blow it up, I wouldn’t show up myself.
Drake: So-
Rhi: So I wanna, I feel like the further question there is: what’s the angle? What’s the catch? What’s he actually planning? Because there is no way this meeting is what it seems on its face.
Navi: So I’m prying into Wren’s mind, right?
Rhi: Yeah, yeah.
Navi: And they are-
Drake; You got a crit, you got everybody in this place’s head, like, straight open.
Navi: Okay.
Rhi: So you can tell that Alessa is also sitting with lots of sad yearning thoughts as well.
Navi: Aw, just try not to be distracted by the sad yearning. The- So- Wren’s excited?
Drake: Wren’s excited.
Navi: Wren thinks that the prince wants to have a conversation with them all, so Wren’s not in the mindset of something might be going down, and I don’t have an open line to anyone who I’m not directly next to, right? So I don’t think that that’s a line of questioning that I can-
Drake: Sure, you can totally pursue that. It’s just whether you want to or not. Whether or not you got a juicer question.
Navi: I do have a juicer question.
Drake: Uh oh. I’m here for it.
Navi: They’ve gotta be- It’s Apollo Brizolatto, they have to be assuming that there is some level of danger, like, your backup plan, or your plan B or whatever. What is the security going to be like? Do they have any information on what’s been set up for, like, who the building will be secured, maybe any backroom talks they had with Apollo about what Apollo might be suspicious of.
Drake: Yeah, no, you’ve got, you know, that from the get go. He’s got all of his best, hand picked folk coming to the Cherubim. He’s going to fill his casino with as many loyal knives as he possibly can, and when the prince comes he’s going to have him killed.
Rhi: Oh. Smart.
Navi: Oh no! It’s a triple cross!
Drake: But that’s not what has Wren excited. They’re excited because the Prince is planning the same thing.
Paulomi: Oh ho! Quadruple cross!
Paulomi: Everybody’s gonna die!
Navi: Good old quadruple cross.
Drake: You got a crit here, so I just wanna lay this out: Wren is working for the prince, under the auspices of working for the Brizolattos. Brizolatto is excited because the prince, or the envoy, is going to be killed as a show of strength, the prince is actually going to be the envoy, and despite all of this acre of muscle that Apollo is bringing, he is going to murder Apollo Brizolatto in front of his thugs and take control.
Navi: So, for Aurelia and Inanna, and I just want to mention that Lucy’s face is flashing through so many, like, emotions. You can read expressions, there’s just a rollercoaster happening as this is unfolding. I cannot wait to spill all of these amazing, juicy beans. And I think that pretty much answers everything, but I’m absolutely just eavesdropping at this point.
Josie (as Inanna): Will you deign to let us in at some point?
Paulomi: I think on some level Aurelia is used to this and just generally just finds it irritating.
Josie: You’re gonna need to spill at some point.
Navi: Oh, no, I think that, like, she’s doing the pantomime thing of, like, I need paper and pen, right. She’s writing down these, like, horrible, like, they’re notes, but they’re mostly caricatures that are drawn poorly, and she’s holding them up to you-
Paulomi: She’ll leave a paper trail. Oh sure, I’ll go get you some paper and a pen to write with.
Drake: This is a flow chart, my master stroke.
Navi: It’s okay, they’re gonna be incomprehensible to anyone but Lucy. There’s, like, doodles for each individual.
Rhi: You will only understand who’s who if you understand Lucy’s butt-rating system.
Navi: Yeah! And it’s like a flow chart, and like a string theory, and, like, these terrible characters that look like they’ve been drawn by a seven year old, and it’s magnificent what she is putting on for you guys.
Drake: A little puppet show.
Rhi: Meanwhile, Alessa and Wren are still at it, having a very stilted conversation.
Drek: Right.
Rhi (as Alessa): It was a popular revolution when the dread emperor fell. You’re swapping seven princes for one again. That’s your proposal.
Drake (as Wren): No. no no, ALessa, the prince is one of us. As soon as the prince takes power, he’ll take the mask off. All of them will take the mask off.
Rhi (as Alessa): Oh, hun.
Drake (as Wren): And then we can be free again.
Navi: Oh babe.
Rhi (as Alessa): Yeah, and the heads of the noble houses were one of us once, too.
Drake (as Wren): You can’t see yet but it’s going to be different.
Rhi (as Alessa): You’ve hitched your wagon to this particular prince, and i’ve hitched mine to the sure bet, the one that’s got the power already and the money, and the security, and the stability. And that’s where I’m staying.
Drake (as Wren): Alessa.
Drake: They reach out a hand, but then kind of snatch it back as if thinking better.
Drake (as Wren): You’re gonna see. I hope you see before it’s too late. Now I’ve got things I need to take care of. I’ve got another appointment any minute now.
Rhi (as Alessa): Yeah. Try not to get yourself killed.
Drake (as Wren): You too, kiddo.
Rhi: And Alessa will stand up and slip out. Look towards the bar, note that her friends are not at the bar and sort of look around like okay, where did they get off to?
Josie: I think Inanna will appear beside her as if from nowhere and be like:
Josie (as Inanna): Is everything alright?
Rhi (as Alessa): Ah! You are so tall, how are you so sneaky?
Josie (as Inanna): I know how to keep quiet.
Navi: And then you’ll hear from the other side of the curtain:
Navi (as Lucy): I was just about to win! You can’t just get up and-
Paulomi (as Aurelia): Put the cards down.
Rhi (as Alessa): What are you doing over there?
Navi (as Lucy): I was eavesdropping.
Navi: There’s chicken scratch all over the cards.
Rhi: Alessa just drags her hands down her face like alright, come on, shoves the curtain aside.
Josie: Inanna pinches the bridge of her nose and sits down.
Rhi (as Alessa): We are not staying here! Come on! Come on, come on!
Rhi: Forces them all out.
Navi: Total bean spillage in excruciating detail, everything that’s going on.
Rhi: I feel like we cut to our room at the-
Navi: The ravioli shack.
Rhi: Whatever the bar is.
Drake: The postern.
Rhi: The postern, yeah. We cut to our secure room with our food and our ravioli and our drinks.
Drake: And our brooding corner.
Rhi: And our window, yeah. Lucy takes- Lucy doesn’t even bother with the brooding window. Alessa wants to go to the brooding window, but-
Josie: There is space for two.
Rhi: There’s no time.
Drake: It’s a bay window, everybody except for Lucy in the brooding window. This City.
Paulomi: Sadly munching on ravioli while staring out the brooding window.
Drake: These are delicious.
Rhi: Anyway, yeah, so Lucy spills everything.
Rhi (as Alessa): Okay, so-
Navi (as Lucy): We’re going, right?
Rhi (as Alessa): Yes, but what do we do?
##Outro [00.57.18]
Thanks for listening. The coterie of House Battalia will return in two weeks. In the meantime, check out our other shows on clevercorvids.net and follow us on Twitter @clever_corvids.
Court of Blades was GM’d by Shawn Drake. Follow him on twitter @drakeanddice.
Alessa Cavalcante was played by Rhi, who also edited and produced the show. Follow her on Twitter @Rhiannon42, and check out her accessibility work at rpgskillcheck.net.
Aurelia Fiorelli di Battalia was played by Paulomi Pratap. She’s the art director of Descent into Midnight, and you can see more of her work on her website paulomipratap.com and follow her on Twitter @paulomisp.
Inanna was played by Josie. Follow her on Twitter @DragonGirlJosie, and check out her art portfolio at josie-art.com.
Luciana Fiorelli was played by Navi Drake. Follow her on Twitter @navimusing.
The opening and closing credits music is Epilogue, by Dee Yan-Key, and is used under a Creative Commons License. Court of Blades is a Forged in the Dark game and is the creation of A Couple of Drakes. More information about the game can be found on their website acoupleofdrakes.com.
##Blooper [00.58.49]
Rhi: Probably help if I had my character sheet up again.
Drake: Yeah, hardly ever need it.
Rhi: This isn’t a game with dice.
Drake: I mean, I guess it doesn’t have to be but- We can draw straws?
Rhi: Let me open that up real quick.
Drake: Make a TTRPG that does nothing but crack wishbones.
Rhi: I mean, that’s a way to do it, yeah. That’s a 2d.
Navi: Way to make a non vegan friendly game.
Drake: I know, I’m terrible.
Paulomi: You can get plastic ones, it’s just not very great for the environment.
Drake: That’s also true. We’re gonna have the market corner on 3d printed wishbones, that’s what it is.