Benny Barsotti tasks the Whisky Jays with a job that none of them will do: reignite the gang war between the Breakers and Brigantines so the Nightcaps can profit. What lengths will they go to stop his plans... and what schemes has he already set in motion?
Benny Barsotti tasks the Whisky Jays with a job that none of them will do: reignite the gang war between the Breakers and Brigantines so the Nightcaps can profit. What lengths will they go to stop his plans... and what schemes has he already set in motion?
Featured Charity: Sunrise Movement
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Transcribed by Michelle Kelly.
## Intro
Rhi: Welcome back to Imperial City, and to the Season 1 finale! The Kickstarter we ran in March 2021 was intended to get us here, and thanks to those backers and our wonderful Patreon supporters, we’re just getting started with the story of the Whisky Jays. Thank you all so much for your support.
A few announcements about what’s coming up after the Season 1 finale! First, we’ll be taking a break between seasons. This was something I didn’t do with The Magpies, our previous show, and while I never got completely burned out, I was definitely feeling the lack of a true break for myself and the cast by the end. We’ll be back on November 22 with Season 2.
In the meantime, though, we still have things going on! There is of course the other ongoing show here at Clever Corvids: Love & Hellfire. Josie is GMing a story that smashes Forged in the Dark mechanics with the stories of identity, faith, heresy, and betrayal of White Wolf’s Demon: the Fallen, all against the backdrop of modern-day Miami. It’s a fantastic show, and if you haven’t listened yet, our upcoming break is a perfect time to jump in.
We’ll also be doing a cast Q&A now that the first season is done! We’ll have posts on our Patreon and Twitter inviting people to submit their questions. Once the Q&A is edited, it will be a Patreon exclusive for one month, then it’ll be shared with everyone. Patrons can also hear our Season 1 blooper reel, which should be live right now!
Finally, we are still partnering with startplaying.games! If you want to fill the time between seasons with a Blades in the Dark game of your own, click the link in the show notes to get a $10 credit to spend on a game run by a professional GM. Start Playing has thousands of games run by experienced pro GMs in countless systems. Check it out and get into a game today!
Next, Kim is going to tell us about this month’s featured charity.
Kim: The Sunrise Movement is a nationwide, youth-led organization that advocates for climate justice. Through phone banking, protesting, and educating, they aim to urge people to treat climate change solutions as a priority. They are avid champions for the Green New Deal, fighting against facism, and pressuring leaders at the local and federal level to endorse climate justice legislation. Volunteer hubs are also made accessible by holding both in-person and virtual organizing activities, and there is no pressure made in regards to how much or how little of your time you can commit to the cause. If you are under the age of 35 and would like to join, visit sunrisemovement.org/take-action/, and if you are over the age limit, check out their sister organization, Arm in Arm For Climate. To donate, visit sunrisemovement.org/donate/.
Rhi: By the time we come back, the midterm elections will be over in the US. I encourage our American listeners to vote, especially for local candidates. While the national elections get all the attention and are important, local candidates have a huge impact on state, county, and city-level policies, and changing those is a way to directly benefit your community. Voting is, of course, not the only thing to do–continue to organize in your communities to support and help each other in whatever ways you can. Donating money, volunteering, researching, helping with caretaking: no matter where you are or what your situation is, you can pitch in. And you can find ways to get support that you might need, too. Things are hard for so many people, and the best thing we can do is to lift each other up as much as we can.
Now then. Let’s get started, shall we?
## Story continues [00.04.19]
Rhi: We open up on Imperial City, the lights of the various districts gleaming in the darkness. The skyscrapers of Portmarch, the businesses of Corvus Row and Kestrel Heights. And we zoom in through the buildings and streets to find the Drake as it pulls up outside of Nightcaps headquarters. And the Whisky Jays, all five of you, Pearl included, pile out. Darling, have you shared anything about what you were up to when you were absent last time? Or did you just sorta come back?
Aki: I think I would share since we are aware of, you know, our little assassin problem. I think I would’ve come back a lot more, um, a lot less paranoid and a lot more like I took a vacation that I deserve.
Rhi: [laughs]
[laughter]
Aki: And I come back and I’m like:
Aki (as Darling): So, I bought us like, two months.
Rhi: Okay. So, the crew is— the crew has been made aware of what Darling was up to. So you all may be feeling a little more relaxed. Darling certainly more relaxed than she’s been in weeks. Bailey greets you at the doors. Bailey does not look relaxed. Bailey looks, uh, almost haggard.
Kim: Aw.
Rhi: She’s been looking increasingly stressed every time you’ve seen her of late. And you know, she’s got kinda some dark circles under her eyes. Her normally very, like— she pretty much, every time you see her, she’s in a very nice finely tailored three-piece suit. And she’s still wearing the suit, but it’s a little rumpled, like maybe she’s been— like, she slept in it the last couple days, or she just hasn’t gone home and she’s just been sleeping here. She doesn’t look great. And she’ll greet you and be like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Hey, uh, thanks for coming on such short notice. Grandad said he’s got some kind big… job for all of you. So…
Kim (as Val): How big?
Rhi (as Bailey): [sighs] Uh… really big? He was cagey on the details. Said he wanted to wait to explain until you all were here.
Kim (as Val): Alright.
Josie (as Echo): Are you alright?
Rhi (as Bailey): Eh, hanging in there. It’s, uh, been pretty busy around here lately. Trying to keep everything running.
Kim (as Val): Well, we’re here to help ya. Whatever weight we can take off your shoulders, we’re here. Alright?
Aki (as Darling): You should stop on by one day for just, tea. You look like you need to vent. And I don’t think you believe in therapy.
Rhi (as Bailey): [dry laugh]
Rhi: She gives you kind of a tense smile and is like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Uh, yeah. Next time I’ve got time for a break I’ll keep that in mind. Come on.
Rhi: She’ll lead you back through the warehouse slash distillery, which is a scene of organized chaos. Barely organized, as it’s been the last few times you all have been here. Understaffed and overworked is kinda the theme. There’s just a lot of, uh, lot of people rushing around, lot of stuff piled up. It just— the first several times that you all came here when you started working here, it has the feeling of a well-oiled machine. Things were, you know, running smoothly. Stuff was organized, everything in its place. Now, it’s just do whatever you have to to get things done. Things are just kind of stowed carelessly, crates shoved in corners or against walls. Nothing’s really as well taken care of as it should be.
Bailey leads you back to Benny’s office. He is behind his desk standing up, leaning over a map of the west side of the city. So that’s the side that Corvus Row and Veldaire Hill and Bayrise and Robelston, a few other districts, are on. It’s a large map and it’s clearly pretty old. It’s been marked up with, you know, various colors. Some things have been scratched out. It looks like he’s been using this map for probably years as his criminal empire has expanded and changed hands and things. And he looks up as you all come in and nods to you, is like:
Rhi (as Benny): Ah. Good. Thank you for coming. I have, uh, as I’m guessing Bailey here told you, a very big job for you all. One that I think is going to change all of our fortunes.
Kim (as Val): Well, I’m all ears.
Rhi: And he looks down at the map and points at Bayrise. Is like:
Rhi (as Benny): There’s a lot of potential here. Bayrise. Lot of infrastructure, lot of potential customers, lot of potential buyers. And we can’t get into it because the Breakers and the Brigs have it all locked up. So, what I need you all to do is clear it out.
Kim (as Val): Clear it out?
Josie (as Echo): [simultaneously] What?
Rhi (as Benny): Well, more specifically, get them to clear it out for us. Everybody knows that they’re just barely holding themselves back from open war, and all it will take is a little spark to get it going again.
Kim (as Val): Benny, I’m with you in theory, but we’re not exactly militia.
Rhi (as Benny): No. You just need to go be a spark. Figure out what it’ll take to reignite the fight up there and let them burn themselves out. Then we’ll move in.
Josie: What gang is Arlene’s girlfriend in, again?
Rhi: The Breakers.
Josie: Yeah. Echo just gives a side-eye to Arlene like, ‘Are you okay?’ [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah, how is Arlene reacting to this?
Minna: I think Arlene’s fists are clenched. [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: She is doing her best to keep her face straight, but that was never her strongest suit in the first place.
Minna (as Arlene): We’ve been very careful in other jobs to try not to reignite this.
Rhi: Yes. Yeah, and as you all are kinda being like ‘Um… are you sure?’ even Bailey is like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Um… Grandad I… that’s… I don’t know about this one.
Josie (as Echo): No offense, but we are not ready for a gang war. Directed at us or not.
Kim (as Val): Yeah, and if we’re not careful about this, we could get hit with the blowback. What happens when they find out we were pulling the strings and then we’re pulled into this? Have you really thought this through, Benny?
Rhi: He doesn’t respond to Echo and Val right away. He looks at Bailey first with this sort of like wounded expression. When she has expressed the mildest of doubts. [laughs]
Kim: Good God.
Rhi: And then looks back at the rest of you and leans forward and plants his hand on the desk, is like:
Rhi (as Benny): I didn’t get to be in charge of this gang by not thinking things through. I didn’t bring you all here to question my orders. I brought you here to follow them. This is the job that you’ve been given. So either you do it, or you can find yourselves someplace else to set up shop.
Josie (as Echo): I see.
Josie: Echo will look at Val.
Kim: Yeah. No, I’m just out of character thinking about what Val says.
Rhi: If it makes a difference, Bailey is kind of like standing— usually during these meetings, Bailey kinda takes up a position, you know, behind him, sort of doing the right-hand-man pose behind him at his shoulder. Bailey has… Bailey’s got her arms folded and is giving him a very worried look. Which, yeah, is unusual for her.
Kim: I think Val is going to plant their hands on the desk and lean forward a little bit and look Benny straight in the eye and just say:
Kim (as Val): We’ll do this for ya Benny. But after this, we are having a very thorough conversation about what your expectations for us are. You got it?
Rhi (as Benny): Sure.
Kim (as Val): Alright.
Rhi (as Benny): [flatly] Looking forward to it.
Rhi: He gestures sharply at the door as just kind of a ‘get out’ thing. Doesn’t even say anything.
Josie: Echo doesn’t like the tension in the room so she is probably the first one to leave. [laughs] She’s like ‘woop’.
Rhi: Yeah. [laughs] Is everybody else heading out?
Kim: Yeah.
Aki: I think it’s safe to say Darling is the last one out, because this is the kind of tension she is very used to and um, she girlbossed her way last time. So this is 100% a very silent display of strength before slowly getting up, slowly ushering Pearl out and then tapping Bailey on the arm and going:
Aki (as Darling): I believe we need to speak to our handler to talk more about our next, well, our planning phase.
Rhi: Yeah, Bailey kinda like blinks at you and is like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah… of course.
Rhi: And will follow you all out. And will, like, once you all get out into the warehouse again, she’ll kind of like sidle around you all and will gesture just kind of like ‘follow me’ and will lead you all back outside. Like, ‘I don’t wanna talk in here’. [laughs]
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: And will wait until you get back outside by the Drake and then she just like, rakes her hands through her hair, scrubs a hand over her face is just like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Ah, shit.
Josie (as Echo): So this job is suicide, yes?
Minna (as Arlene): It’s worse than that.
Josie (as Echo): Yes. It can hurt people we care about, too.
Rhi (as Bailey): It’s bad. It’s bad in a lot of different ways. For all of the reasons that you all have said and more. It’s gonna piss off the Sovereign, on top of everything else that you’ve said.
Kim (as Val): You don’t have to listen to him, alright? If you want in on this, you can be on this.
Rhi (as Bailey): In on what?
Aki (as Darling): Um… well, we, to put it lightly, were thinking of… quitting? But in a less— in a more union way.
Kim (as Val): I think we should have this conversation in the car?
Aki (as Darling): I think we should have this conversation in our hideout, where we can have an appropriate amount of tea and Bailey can change into something that does not— poor thing, your wrinkles and you kind of smell.
Rhi: [wheeze-laughs]
Kim (as Val): Yeah, Bails, come on.
Kim: And Val—
Aki: I really don’t mean to hit you while you’re down, but I just— it’s— oh. You need a good fucking shower and something comfortable to wear or else I think you’re going to just blow up. Spontaneously.
Rhi: Bailey just sort of blinks at Darling for a couple seconds and then just manages:
Rhi (as Bailey): I’ve slept here for the last three nights, so…
Josie (as Echo): We should go somewhere with a shower. The garage does not have one.
Aki: Okay no, everybody comes to my house, it’s fine.
Rhi: Smash cut to Darling’s house.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs] Tell me about the entirely too big— because I wanna remind you, in terms of size, Darling: tall and long. Bailey is a short, fat woman. [laughs] So what is the robe situation like, or the borrowed clothes situation like that you arrange for her here?
Aki: Well, luckily Darling is broad-shouldered and buff.
Rhi: Okay. Yes, alright.
Aki: So it would totally fit that way. However, the hems are far too long.
Rhi: [laughs loudly]
Aki (as Darling): So, the best way to put it is Bailey is 100% living her ‘My husband died but these are the family pearls’ kind of life, you know?
Kim: Yeah, see—
Rhi: Oh God, so yes, very long sleeves and the robe has a train. Incredible.
Minna: Is it like some kind of like, very pretty fabric as well? Because this is Darling?
Aki: Oh, yes.
Minna: She does not do terrycloth.
Aki: Exactly. This is like, this is pristine red velvet, imported silk, that kind of vibe. Okay, like, if Bailey was feeling like shit before, she’s gonna feel a little bit fucking good because she’s gonna look so cute coming out and like, wearing this. And it’s soft as fuck and Darling’s got extra rooms too, because she totally bought this place.
Rhi: Yeah, it’s a house.
Aki: So it’s like, it’s like yeah, Bailey, stay a couple nights too. The beds? Immaculate and soft. Like, everything is very nice, it’s very made, Darling cleans regularly. This is a nice fuckin’ place with nice fuckin’ things.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie (as Echo): I should have expected it, but I was not expecting your old job to have paid quite this well.
Josie: Echo seems like, scared to sit down on anything. [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): Oh, sit, sit, sit.
Rhi: Yeah, have Echo and Val been to Darling’s house before?
Aki: Never.
Josie: I don’t think so.
Kim: No.
Aki: You wouldn’t have even fucking known where Darling lived.
Minna: Oh wow.
Aki: Because Darling wasn’t, like— not to say she didn’t trust you trust you, but it’s more like it never came up.
Kim: Right, right.
Rhi: Yeah, so Bailey is— comes down from the shower, like, a little uncomfortable in the way of like, ‘this does not fit me’ sort of way, of like, ‘this is somebody’s else clothes and it doesn’t fit right’, but is just like:
Rhi (as Bailey): [sighs] Well, Darling, if nothing else you have exquisite tase.
Rhi: Just sort of like pushing the sleeves up carefully before taking a teacup and then sits down and is like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Okay. So what is going on with you all quitting?
Kim (as Val): Well, uh… I think it’s obvious that we haven’t necessarily been very thrilled with Benny as of late. I don’t think you have either. And uh, well, Echo here came up with something interesting.
Josie (as Echo): We were thinking about encouraging your grandfather to retire.
Rhi (as Bailey): Huh.
Josie (as Echo): Whether we stay after that depends on many things. But I do not think we will be able to simply quit without bad blood under these circumstances.
Rhi (as Bailey): No… uh, I mean, one, he would kick you off the property and take it pretty personally.
Minna (as Arlene): Every time he’s done something dumb, you’ve been right there, like, knowing exactly what a dumb job he’s doing. Like…
Aki (as Darling): Do you want a promotion, is what we’re asking.
Rhi: I think Bailey had started to take a sip of tea and kind of [choking sound]
Rhi (as Bailey): What?
Aki (as Darling): A promotion, darling. Like um, you know, we have your grandfather retire because clearly he is senile. And you can take over. Because you— actually no, you have pretty good leadership skills so far.
Rhi (as Bailey): I… oh wow. Um… I mean… he hasn’t really been setting me up to take over for him. He hasn’t really been setting anybody up to take over for him, now that I think about it. Doesn’t really have a succession plan.
Kim (as Val): Exactly our point.
Rhi (as Bailey): Um… uh…
Aki (as Darling): He’s really into the risky business of it all, and yet, no plan B.
Rhi (as Bailey): If it’s gonna be anybody, I’m probably as good a bet as any.
Josie: And we will be there to help.
Rhi (as Bailey): [sighs]
Josie (as Echo): The whole point is we can either stay and improve conditions, or leave on friendly terms. Either way, you have our backing.
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah. Uh. [sighs]
Rhi: She just kind of leans back into whatever nice, comfy, plush armchair she’s sitting in.
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah… sorry, this is just not the conversation I expected to have when I woke up this morning. Um…
Aki (as Darling): Of course we’re not saying you have to— you have to commit to a decision right now. I think we trust you enough to be this openly transparent.
Rhi (as Bailey): I mean… you’re not wrong, is the thing. He’s running the gang into the ground. He just thinks we can keep expanding infinitely and we’re burning out. I haven’t seen all of the ledgers, but what I’ve gotten a look at, it’s not great. I mean, hell, we had to send you out to steal product not long ago because we couldn’t make ends meet.
Josie (as Echo): Is there a merger that could happen?
Rhi (as Bailey): With us and somebody else?
Josie (as Echo): Yes.
Rhi (as Bailey): Hmm. Probably not. Not a friendly one, anyway. It might shock you to know that Grandad isn’t very good at making alliances.
Josie (as Echo): And that will make inheriting his position rather difficult.
Rhi (as Bailey): Personally, I think what needs to happen it we just need to let go of a lot of the recent holdings that he’s taken on. Absorbed a lot of smaller, formerly independent organizations. We just need to cut a lot of them loose. Let them go back to being independent and we’re not as responsible for all of their direct funding.
Aki (as Darling): We could give them to someone else, to secure that nice friendly relationship.
Rhi (as Bailey): Uh, that’s… he’s not very good also at listening to outside views, as you just saw.
Aki (as Darling): Of course, that’s why I’m suggesting it to you.
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah. I think… I think you’re right. I think the only path forward is without him in charge.
Aki (as Darling): I mean, there’s plenty of outfits to help us in this situation. You brought it up yourself, Sovereign would be rather pissed.
Josie (as Echo): Arlene, what are the Breakers like? And are they mad at us after last time?
Minna: Arlene kinda turns to Echo.
Minna (as Arlene): I mean, the Breakers are fine with us right now. They’re not gonna be fine with us if this happens, because do you have any idea how hard they worked to get this piece? How many people died in the process. We’re not— we are not— I’m not going to help.
Josie (as Echo): Oh. Yes. I do not think any of us wish to actually follow through with job.
Aki (as Darling): Oh good. Fuck no. I, look. I’ve rested. I am relaxed. This is not resting and relaxing!
Josie (as Echo): I was simply wondering… they smuggle, yes? But do they have their own brewery?
Rhi: The Breakers… um, no. The Breakers deal mostly in bringing stuff in from outside of the city. They do a lot of like, gun-running.
Josie (as Echo): Yeah. I am simply saying that instead of elimination, either alliance or merging may give us the resources to hold the Nightcaps together. Or those resources under new rulership. And may potentially give them access to our trade. And that way, whether Bailey takes leadership or not, it is more stable.
Minna (as Arlene): [uncertain] I’m only worried about that… look, this stuff isn’t my biggest strong suit, but, I mean, the balance in Bayrise as far as I can tell is pretty precarious. And if we don’t get Benny out and if we make an alliance with the Breakers, he’s just gonna try and throw that shit off more. That’s the only thing I’m worried about.
Josie (as Echo): Yes. Well, we would be throwing Benny out.
Aki (as Darling): That part is my specialty. Though of course, I would rather not kill him.
Rhi (as Bailey): What?!
Josie (as Echo): Yes.
Aki (as Darling): Yes, like I said, I don’t want—
Josie (as Echo): We have blackmail material.
Aki (as Darling): Yes, instead we do that.
Josie (as Echo): That’s what the blackmail is for.
Aki (as Darling): Mm hmm. Yes. Trying to avoid killing the old man as much as possible. I really do like—
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah, no, he’s— yeah. He’s— listen. Do I think that he’s a stubborn old asshole? Yes. But he’s still my grandfather. You can’t kill him!
Aki (as Darling): Like I said, yes, that’s what I trying to avoid! Killing him.
Kim (as Val): I think you should just stop talking.
[laughter]
Aki (as Darling): I would not. I am quite fond of your family.
Kim (as Val): Listen. I know you wouldn’t. I’m telling you to shut up.
[laughter]
Rhi: Val’s just making the like, throat-cutting gesture of like, ‘Stop digging!’
Kim: Yeah. [laughs]
Rhi (as Bailey): Okay, what’s the blackmail that you’ve referenced?
Josie: Echo will pull a folder from within her coat. Yeah, and I think she’ll just let Bailey read it.
Rhi: Alright, so Bailey takes this what I imagine is probably a pretty hefty folder of information.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Rhi: And pages through it. I don’t think— she’s not necessarily reading it in like, you know, every single word on every single page, but she’s reading through it and occasionally will stop to read something in more detail and then there’s just a muttered like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Oh, shit.
Josie (as Echo): Yes. And not only that, but the Bluecoats keep this information on hand. You should not have sent us into that station.
Aki: Okay this is— okay. Darling is going to like, peering over, looking at the information too, because she hasn’t seen this yet. She will just go— she’s just mouthing a bunch of things. All of them translate to, ‘Oh my God… blood of Jesus…’ you know, stuff like that.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah.
Aki: Just, ‘Whoa, you guys found good shit.’
Kim: Yeah.
Minna: [laughs]
Rhi (as Bailey): I don’t think he knew that they had this. Or I don’t think he wouldn’t expected you to go looking for it. I’m not sure which.
Josie (as Echo): Most likely.
Rhi (as Bailey): [sighs] Yeah. Huh. We’re gonna have to handle this carefully.
Rhi: She’ll kind of fold up the, you know, put the papers all back and hand the files back to you, Echo.
Josie (as Echo): So, you agree to it, then?
Rhi (as Bailey): I think it’s the only path forward that… [sighs] avoids just an awful lot of bloodshed.
Kim (as Val): And listen. You know him better than any of us here. So when it comes to certain things, we’re gonna follow your lead on this.
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah. And he’s got my…[sighs] his sister, my aunt, and my mom live in Duskwall. They’ve got an operation up there. He can retire up there. Be their problem for a while. So he’s got somewhere to go. Just gotta convince him.
Minna (as Arlene): Just— I don’t… [sighs] I don’t have a good sense, if Benny’s out, how many people in the Nightcaps are gonna be okay with you being in charge. Are we gonna have to fight for that too?
Aki (as Darling): I thought Bailey was the morale of the…
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah. It’ll— I think it’ll be a relatively smooth transition.
Minna (as Arlene): Okay. I didn’t know. I don’t really do that stuff.
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah. No, it’s, I mean, yeah. You all aren’t too, uh, too involved in all the upper politics of it. There’s a couple people that I’m probably gonna encourage Grandad to take with him when he goes. But for the most part, I think it should be fine. I’m not the only one who isn’t super happy with the decisions he’s been making lately.
Minna (as Arlene): That doesn’t surprise me.
Rhi (as Bailey): So yeah, I don’t think… I’m not gonna have to completely clear house, fortunately.
Josie (as Echo): Is there anything more complicated to this than simply laying out his options to him?
Rhi (as Bailey): I’m not sure. I’m gonna have to think about it some. My fear is that he’s not gonna react in the most rational way. He might double down on holding onto his power.
Josie (as Echo): In what way? If we simply talk to him in his office, what is he gonna do? Pull a gun and hope that works?
Rhi (as Bailey): I don’t know. That’s— I— I don’t know. I—[sighs]
Josie (as Echo): If it is a concern of safety, I could take point. I’m not the best fighter here, but I’m very durable.
Rhi: Bailey kind of gives you a— squints at you, a little confused look. [laughs]
Josie: Echo just looks back like, ‘I’m not gonna elaborate on that.’ [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah.
Kim (as Val): I think what Echo’s trying to say is that we have your back.
Rhi (as Bailey): That’s good to know. I’m just— we gotta approach this right, and right now I’m not sure what the best way to approach it is. Probably because I’m running on like, three hours of sleep.
Josie (as Echo): Maybe we should all sleep on it?
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah. Let’s… let’s get some rest and try and come up with a plan.
Aki (as Darling): You can all stay here if you want. Or go, I don’t really give a fuck.
Kim (as Val): No, we don’t wanna impose.
Aki (as Darling): [forcefully] How are you imposing if I told you to stay here?
Kim (as Val): Well damn, alright.
Aki (as Darling): Yes, that’s what I thought.
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): I’m not even wearing pants right now, but this is what I do in this relationship.
Kim (as Val): [nervous chuckle]
Josie (as Echo): Wow.
Rhi (as Bailey): The dynamic in here just got real weird, I’m gonna go upstairs and take a nap.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim (as Val): Yeah. Nope, you do that.
Rhi: [laughs] And Bailey just wanders off, teacup in hand, robe trailing behind her.
Josie: It is always weird. [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): I just like making it awkward. It’s so much fun.
Kim (as Val): Dar.
Aki (as Darling): You’re so small and then you curl up and you get even smaller. It’s like a dog.
Kim (as Val): Are you insinuating that we’re an item?
Aki (as Darling): No, we’re… no.
Kim (as Val): Okay.
Aki (as Darling): Yes? I don’t know, actually.
Kim (as Val): You know what—
Josie (as Echo): I think you make a good couple.
Minna (as Arlene): You’re not together, but you are the parents. That’s how it works.
Aki (as Darling): Yes.
Kim (as Val): You know what? You know what. Let’s just Echo and Girly to bed and we’ll— we’ll have a talk about this, okay?
Aki (as Darling): [laughs] Alright, time to put the kids to bed. Come now, go get dressed!
Aki: [giggles]
Josie (as Echo): That’s our new radio show. Echo and Girly.
[laughter]
Josie (as Echo): I should have enough juice. Yes, I have a couple days of juice. I can stay over without charging.
Kim (as Val): You can hook up if the car if you want to, if you need to charge.
Josie (as Echo): I will be fine.
Kim (as Val): Alright. Alright, just checking.
Aki (as Darling): Arlene, what about you? Do you need a nap, sweetie?
Minna (as Arlene): I don’t know if I need a nap, but I would like to cuddle with Pearl.
Aki: You say that. Pearl looks up, is ready for the cuddles. Gets ready, is like, ‘Belly. Let’s go.’
Minna: [laughs] Arlene puts out her hands and wiggles her fingers a little like, ‘Come here. Let me pet you.’
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Cuddling commences. So everybody settles in for maybe not the whole night, but for at least a few hours of rest. What does Echo do while everyone else is getting some shuteye?
Josie: Um… hmm. I don’t know. I think—
Rhi: Do you touch stuff? Do you poke at things?
Josie: Yes.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: I think she explores and pokes at things. Despite being big and pretty heavy, I think her footsteps are pretty light.
Kim: Aww.
Josie: So I don’t think people hear her all that much. But those sleeping lightly probably hear her wandering the house a little bit. She’s poking at things and I think she like, sits at the dining room table and pulls out something to tinker with, but is very careful about it because she doesn’t wanna get anything on the table. So, she doesn’t get much progress done.
Rhi: Yeah.
Aki: I probably have a spare gun somewhere. I’ll give it to Echo and be like:
Aki (as Darling): Here you go, dear. Play with this.
[laughter]
Aki (as Darling): You can take it apart, put it back together. Add new shit to it. Whatever you like. I don’t use this one often.
Kim (as Val): Make sure it’s unloaded!
Josie (as Echo): I learned how to handle firearms today.
Aki (as Darling): Today? You— oh, forget this. You don’t know how— I thought— I thought you knew how.
Josie (as Echo): I mean, I can use one. I’ve never constructed one.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, oh, I see. Well then go for it, go nuts. This is just one gun out of too many I have.
Josie: [laughs] She will in fact go nuts.
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie: And really try and figure out how the pistol works.
Kim (as Val): You did take the bullets out of that, right?
[pause]
Aki (as Darling): Yes… oh, no. I always leave one.
Kim (as Val): [furious growl]
Aki (as Darling): Oh dear. Take— don’t look down the barrel!
Josie (as Echo): I took it out.
Aki (as Darling): Thank you.
Josie: And I think once things are quiet and she’s alone, she just like looks out the window a little bit, sadly.
Rhi: Aww. Everybody gets up from their naps and reconvenes. Bailey has gotten dressed back in her suit. And she will say:
Rhi (as Bailey): Okay. I’ve thought it over, and I think… I think the best way is just approach it like a business meeting. He’s not gonna like it. If we have the meeting in the distillery, I’ll talk to a lot of the security beforehand, because I oversee most of them anyway. I can kinda flip ‘em in advance. So he’s not gonna be able to call people down on us. If he doesn’t like what we have to say, well, he knows that five on one fight… even he can see those odds aren’t good. So. I think… I don’t think it’ll get violent if we take it to him there.
Josie (as Echo): Yes. And so long as we stay calm and kind of positive about it, because we are essentially blackmailing him to relax.
Rhi (as Bailey): [small laugh] Yeah.
Kim (as Val): We’re just telling him to take a little vacation.
Rhi: And Bailey nods and is like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Alright. Let me go home and change and clean up. You all grab whatever you might need and let’s meet back at the warehouse at… let’s say about 7?
Kim (as Val): Works for us.
Josie (as Echo): Mm hmm.
Aki (as Darling): Oh wait, wait, wait, before you go, take a bun. I went and got us buns.
Rhi (as Bailey): Oh. Ooh, what kind of buns are they?
Aki (as Darling): We have pork and we have chicken and I wasn’t sure if anyone was a vegetarian, and so I proceeded to get one and I said, “Put vegetables in it,” and they looked at me funny. But they did it.
Kim: Do we have pork?
Rhi: It’s probably full of mushrooms. [laughs] Bailey will take a chicken bun and will nibble on it as she heads out. So, uh, there’s not really a gather info section for this score. It’s all pretty straightforward.
Kim: We have our info. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah, you have gathered your info in the form of Echo stealing blackmail material.
Aki: We just gather our Echo.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: So, let’s talk about the engagement roll. I think this is a social score, I’m guessing?
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: A social score is ‘negotiate, bargain or persuade’. [laughs] That’s more or less what you’re doing here. Loadout. What are you all planning on bringing?
Josie: Normal.
Kim: Normal.
Minna: Normal.
Aki: Also normal.
Minna: Yeah.
Rhi: Okay. Alright. So, let’s figure out the engagement roll. As always, you have one for luck. ‘Is this operation particularly bold or daring?’
Josie: I like to think so.
Rhi: I would argue yes. You are blackmailing the well-established leader of a well-established gang into retiring.
Minna: Who owns our house.
Rhi: Who owns your house! [laughs] That’s pretty bold. ‘Does the plan’s detail expose a vulnerability of the target?’ Uh yeah, you have blackmail on the dude.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: ‘Any of your friend or contacts—’ yes, Bailey is helping you. ‘Enemies or rivals interfering in the operation?’ Yes, that you don’t know about.
Josie: [groans]
Rhi: Strictly speaking, the Nightcaps are a higher Tier target than you, so I’m gonna knock one off for that. So this is gonna be a 2d6 engagement roll. So let’s see where we start. [shakes dice]
Kim: Don’t fuck it up.
Rhi: [rolls] Alright. Good news, I got a 6.
Kim: Nice! Love it.
Josie: Yay!
Rhi: So you’re gonna start in a controlled position.
##The Score
So, a few hours later, full of delicious buns for those of you who are able to eat buns, with a newfound understanding of how to disassemble and reassemble a pistol, for Echo—
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs] You pile into the Drake and head over to the Nightcaps distillery. And you actually park about a block away. You see Bailey’s car parked and you will, you know, park next to her. She hops out, looks, you know, she looks considerably better. She’s changed into a fresh suit. Looks like she’s, you know, maybe had some more tea or some coffee. She looks a little more awake. Or maybe it’s just, you know, the promise of being able to change something [laughs] and not just being stuck in this situation is making her feel better. And so, you all walk over to the distillery. You notice as you approach the building that the interior lights are off and it’s oddly quiet.
Josie: Oh no.
Kim: So nobody’s home?
Rhi: It’s— the look of it is like they’re closed for business for the evening. But that doesn’t happen. Benny runs this on a triple shift. He has people working, you know, three shifts. Just to kind of keep up with demand. Its always open.
Josie (as Echo): Did Bailey clear everyone out already?
Rhi: Bailey, who is standing with you, says:
Rhi (as Bailey): No… I was going to talk to some folks when I got in there, but I wanted people here. Have more witnesses. I don’t know what’s going on.
Kim (as Val): I’m not saying we should split up, but maybe we should just spread out, case this and figure out what’s going on here.
Josie (as Echo): Yes.
Kim (as Val): We need to get in and see if anybody’s home.
Minna (as Arlene): Do you want me to sneak in?
Kim (as Val): If you’re up for it.
Minna (as Arlene): I mean, yeah.
Kim (as Val): Alright.
Aki (as Darling): You can go with Pearl if you want.
Minna (as Arlene): Alright Pearl, you can come with. Just make your way in quietly.
Rhi: So yeah, cause Pearl is shadow-patterned. She’s various shades of dark grey, so she’ll be able to hide in the shadows.
Minna: I love that we can both hide in the shadows!
Rhi: Yes.
Josie: Yeah.
Rhi: So, you know, the Nightcaps warehouse is— it looks like an old warehouse. So there’s not a ton of windows. What windows there are kind of, like you said, they’re more up on the second floor. So, if you wanna go in through a window, Arlene, you need to get up into the second— up onto the roof or up, you know, onto the second floor. But you are in a controlled position, you know this area super well. You have been to the warehouse a gazillion times, when you’ve been bored out here waiting to pick up something you have stared at this building and thought about all of the ways that you could climb over, on and through it.
Minna: Yeah. I would like to do a sneak.
Rhi: Yeah. And since you are doing this with Pearl, let me look at cohorts… so you have either do this as kind, uh, you can roll Pearl’s quality if you want her to act on this as she’s doing it separately, or you can do it as a group action. You can do a sneaky group action with her.
Minna: [sighs thoughtfully] Let’s do a group action.
Rhi: Okay. So, I’ll roll for Pearl then. So this is gonna be controlled, standard effect, unless you wanna use anything to bump it up to greater, I know you’ve got some gear.
Minna: Uh, I don’t remember what— does fine shadow cloak do that? Let me look at—
Rhi: Fine shadow cloak would bump you up to—
Minna: Yeah, I’m gonna do that, then.
Rhi: Okay. So we’ll make this controlled, greater. Pearl’s coloring essentially gives her the same benefit.
Minna: Yeah, yeah.
Rhi: By default you have to lead because you’re the PC. Pearl can’t lead this. [shakes dice]
Minna: I rolled a 5.
Rhi: She doesn’t have a stress bar. [rolls] Pearl got a 4. So your result is a 5. You don’t take any stress. So you can choose here. Either you can withdraw and try a different approach, or you can do it with a minor consequence. Which would you like?
Minna: I think because we have time and the ability to do that, I think I’m gonna withdraw and try a different approach.
Rhi: Okay. So I’m imagining that like, you and Pearl are creeping around the side of the building looking for entry points. What do you see that makes you hesitate and realize that this is not— going in this sneaky side way is not the right way?
Minna: Could there be a light on where there usually isn’t?
Rhi: Okay, yeah.
Minna: I don’t know if that’s something that makes sense with the situation inside.
Rhi: Or maybe just one— there’s just like one light.
Minna: Yeah, that’s what I meant.
Rhi: Yeah, yeah. So you kind of climb up, I think, on one of the trucks that’s parked along the side and haul yourself up to peer in one of the windows, um, and you see it’s not totally dark inside the warehouse. Everything is powered down, like it looks like the place is closed down for the shift, which again, weird, but there’s a handful of lights on and you can see some people inside moving around like they’re on patrol. But something’s wrong about them. You can’t pin down exactly what’s wrong. They’re not the normal Nightcaps people.
Minna: Yeah so I think she— you kind of see her on top of that truck that she’s perched on and she kinda flattens herself down and puts her hand on Pearl’s face.
Minna (as Arlene): Ssh, baby. I don’t think we want them to see us coming in this way.
Minna: What if I use, like Survey to try and see— like, to try and guesstimate a better route in that would not be in their sightline?
Rhi: Um, yeah. You could do that.
Minna: Cause I think different approach means different action, right?
Rhi: Yes, that’s what a different approach means. You gotta roll something else.
Minna: [sighs]
Rhi: [laughs] Alright. So that is a 5. So again, you can either withdraw and try a different approach, or do it with a consequence. Minor consequence.
Minna: I’ve got a suggestion for minor consequence.
Rhi: Hit me.
Minna: I can find a way in, but it’s not a way that Pearl can use.
Rhi: Okay. So Pearl can’t come with you.
Minna: Yeah.
Rhi: In this way. Okay.
Minna: And the big sad Pearl eyes.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: Aw!
Rhi: So I think that what you spot is there is a, uh, there’s a roof access panel.
Minna: Ooh, yes!
Rhi: That you can get up to, but Pearl, it’s too small. Pearl would not be able to squeeze through.
Minna: I leave a very sad tiger on the roof. [laughs]
Rhi: Yep. Or, you know, on the truck.
Minna: That works too.
Rhi: Or padding sadly back to Darling.
Minna: I give her a kiss on the nose before she goes. [laughs]
Aki: She tells Mom everything. [laughs]
Rhi: She’s so sad. She gives you the saddest— this is the eyes of little sister is being left behind. She just wanted to go and do something cool with her big sister, but no. She doesn’t get to go.
Minna: Aw!
Aki (as Darling): Oh no, poor thing. It’s okay, dear. We’ll work on the phasing through things. Okay? That’s what we’ll work on next, so that way you can go anywhere you’d like, okay?
Aki: It’s very hard to be like, okay, time to be serious now. No, the baby is sad. The baby needs some affection.
Minna: [laughs]
Rhi: So Arlene, you slip in through this roof access and drop onto one of the catwalks that criss-crosses sort of the upper levels of the warehouse. And these are largely left unused these days. People don’t really come up here very much. And yeah, you can see down to the warehouse and yeah, there’s— it’s kind of effectively like emergency lighting. There’s, you know, maybe every fourth or fifth light is on. And then there’s just a handful of people pacing around. And you can see that the— because for Benny’s office what I’ve always imagined is he’s got a big window that looks out over the factory floor, essentially. You can see that the light in his office is on. But otherwise, you can’t really get a ton of information about what’s going on below you.
Minna: Am I in a position to see what’s wrong with the people who are patrolling? Or is that not— is that part of what I can’t see?
Rhi: You would need to make another roll.
Minna: I can Prowl? [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah, to try and get closer? To see?
Minna: Yeah…
Rhi: Yeah. I’m gonna say at this point, because you are now inside, it’s gonna be risky.
Minna: That’s fair.
Rhi: This’ll be the old risky, standard.
Minna: Oh… oh no!
Rhi: Oh no…
Josie: [groans]
Minna: Oh no.
Rhi: That’s a 3.
Josie: [sucks air through teeth]
Rhi: So, because these catwalks are not used very often, they’re not well maintained. And as you are creeping along you step and something is just rusted through.
Minna: [gasps]
Rhi: And with a shriek and clatter of metal, it gives out under you and you fall.
Minna (as Arlene): [yelps]
Rhi: You don’t fall, like, you don’t fall a full two stories, this is just, this is level 2 harm. You kinda clatter and bounce down some of the machinery. [laughs] Some of the distillery machinery that’s in here. But it makes a lot of noise, you’re gonna take level 2 harm, and you have been extremely spotted. So, now I will remind you, you can resist consequences. Any consequence.
Minna: That’s true…
Rhi: But basically, you’re gonna take level 2 harm and be in a desperate position.
Josie: Great.
Rhi: So I will also add the group outside will hear all of this and will know that things have gone wrong. But lemme know if you wanna resist one or both of those.
Minna: I wanna resist the harm for sure.
Rhi: Let’s start with that.
Minna: That’s my Prowess, right?
Rhi: Yes indeed.
Minna: Goddammit.
Kim: Oof!
Rhi: You got a 3, so you’re gonna take three stress to knock that down to level 1 harm. So yeah, you kinda, you feel yourself falling, you tuck and roll.
Minna: Bruised?
Rhi: Yeah, yeah.
Minna: Oh, I forgot I had a level 1 harm already. That’s fine. [strained sigh] I don’t feel confident in not gaining trauma if I try and resist the other one, and also I think it’ll be fun. So I’m gonna leave the other one alone. [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs] Okay, yeah. So, you clatter your way down onto the factory floor and I think we’re gonna cut outside to where I think the rest of you are kind of, have sort of been huddled around the outside of the front door, sort of waiting for— I think the plan was maybe Arlene would sneak around and let you all in, and instead, you hear this dramatic clatter of metal and probably a distant muffled shriek of Arlene. What do you do?
Aki: Oh shit, mom mode is activated.
Josie: Uh huh. [laughs]
Kim: Yeah. Same with Val.
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim: Their ears perk up.
Rhi: Yeah. Bailey is gonna go into their coat and pull out the keys and will unlock the door and just haul it open and then get out of the way. [laughs] Because they— Bailey knows better than to get between angry mom and kid. [laughs] And as you all rush inside, what you see is a similar scene to what Arlene saw. The lighting in here is very dim, it’s kinda like emergency lighting. You can see kind of part of one of the catwalks swinging precariously overhead where it fell. You see Arlene, like, not sprawled but you know, down prone on the factory floor where she landed. And walking towards her are a couple people in suits that you can just kind of tell, like, from the way that they’re moving and— they’re not moving the way that the Nightcaps people do. And as they are approaching Arlene, they pass under the light. And everybody can see this, but Echo, I think, if the one that knows what this means most profoundly. They pass under the light—
Josie: Uh oh.
Rhi: And their masks become visible.
Josie: [sucks air through teeth]
Rhi: They are wearing— both of them— identical suits and identical masks that look like vultures.
Josie: Echo immediately pulls a gun and starts shooting.
Kim: Oh, fuck!
Rhi: Okay! Gimme a roll. [laughs]
Kim: Who are these people?
Rhi: [laughs]
Aki: Well, since I did the reading—[laughs]
Josie (as Echo): Kill them. They can’t leave. Kill them!
Josie: And her voice is like scratchy, cause it’s going outside her normal allowed vocal range.
Kim: Oh no.
Josie: I’m bad at Hunt, so I’m gonna push myself to have a die in it.
Rhi: Okay.
Kim: Would you like an assist—
Rhi: This is—
Kim: Oh, okay.
Josie: I got a 5 anyway. Sorry.
Kim: You didn’t need it. You’re good!
Rhi: So, this way gonna be risky… I’m gonna say risky, reduced, since you’re trying to hit two targets. You got a 5. I think… I mean, I think the complication is that they see you, Echo.
Josie: Yeah. I mean, that’s gonna happen. Yeah. Mm hmm.
Rhi: Yeah. Yeah, they see you.
Josie: Oh, like they see me specifically and know it’s me.
Rhi: See you. Specifically, Echo.
Josie: Okay. I see. [laughs] Okay!
Rhi: [laughs] Yeah.
Josie: That’s fine.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: Echo’s not thinking straight at the moment.
Rhi: Yeah. Echo just draws a gun and starts firing. One of them, you know, gets hit sort of center of mass and takes the shot, kind of staggers back a little bit. The other one, you can tell by the way the mask turns that their attention has just locked straight onto Echo. And basically, step over Arlene and start— they’re reaching under their coat for probably a weapon of some kind and start running towards Echo.
Kim: Not if I can help it!
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: Oh no. [laughs]
Aki: I love each of us like, ‘No! Don’t touch them.’
Kim: Yeah. I think I’m going to mark off… you know what? No. Fuck it. It’s the finale. I’m going to mark off a large weapon and just have it be— would that count as like a machine gun or something, or…
Rhi: Yeah, like a two— like, you want a tommy gun?
Kim: Yeah. Yeah.
Rhi: Yeah, that’s a two-handed weapon.
Kim: Okay. I’m gonna mark off a large weapon to have a tommy gun.
Rhi: Yep.
Kim: And I’m gonna get ahead of this guy that’s going for my kid. [laughs]
Josie: Aw.
Kim: I’m gonna roll Hunt for this. Also I’ll push myself.
Josie: Aw, Dad. [laughs]
Rhi: [laughs]
Kim: A Dad!
Josie: Ma Dad.
Rhi: Let me— so this is gonna be— you’re just aiming at one target?
Kim: Yeah, just the one guy that’s going for Echo.
Rhi: Okay. So this is gonna be then, risky… the Vultures are a Tier IV gang…
Kim: Oh what?
Rhi: So this is gonna be risky reduced. Yeah, risky reduced.
Kim: Jesus. [shakes and rolls dice]
Rhi: You are punching a little above your weight class, but again, it’s the finale.
Kim: I rolled a 4?
Rhi: Okay. So, you do it but there’s a consequence. So… so, you pull out your tommy gun and just sort of unleash a spray of bullets at this person. And the bullets hit, but they don’t seem— like, again, I think you kinda hit in the chest, but it doesn’t seem to like— maybe they’ve got some kinda armor on or something, but it doesn’t— it doesn’t slow them down the way that a whole bunch of bullets from a machine gun should.
Kim: Is it armor, though?
Josie: [worried moan]
Kim: Is it armor? Or are these more hulls?
Rhi: [cheeky ‘I dunno’ sound] Shrug.
Josie: Oh no. [laughs]
Rhi: They keep coming and they keep pulling out the weapon that they were drawing out from under their suit jacket. They basically pull out, you know, an electrified stun baton and crack you across the head with it.
Minna: [yelps]
Kim: Oh…
Rhi: So you are gonna take level 2 harm. Zapped.
Kim: How can I resist that? Can I have armor? I’m having armor. I’m marking armor.
Rhi: Yeah, you can have armor. Yeah, bring your arm up to block it with something that’ll soak that.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: So that’ll drop it down to level 1.
Kim: Zapped. Cool.
Rhi: Darling.
Aki: Hello. Yes.
Rhi: What would you like to do?
Aki: Is it a free action to yell at Echo and go:
Aki (as Darling): Dead or alive?
Josie (as Echo): Dead.
Aki (as Darling): Good.
Aki: I have a pair of fine pistols. They have made it quite— if they attacked Val then that means they’re quite close to me.
Rhi: Uh huh.
Aki: And I’m shooting to kill.
Rhi: Okay.
Aki: And since they’re so close, point-blank pistol shot.
Rhi: Alright. You’ve got fine pistols, this is gonna be risky, standard for you. Yeah. I think that’ll be it. Unless you wanna do anything to push yourself, Devil’s Bargain, etc?
Aki: No, I think I’m okay right now, considering I have like, three dice in Hunt.
Rhi: Are you— okay. Are you aiming at one or both?
Aki: Uh, it is a fine pair. Uh…
Rhi: Okay, yeah. In that case, you could aim at both without it necessarily impacting your…
Aki: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just wanted to mark it as I have it in my load.
Rhi: Yes.
Aki: 6. It’s just one 6, don’t worry.
Minna: [laughs]
Rhi: I know, it’s just—
Kim: Just the one.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: Don’t worry.
Rhi: [laughs] It’s just— it’s unbelievable, your dice luck. It’s just incredible. So, okay, I said that was risky standard. They’ve both been shot. Okay. So, Darling, describe— you get clean kill shots on both of them, but they don’t die. Describe what that looks like.
Aki: So, I think Darling is big enough and, um, very well trained with firearms, so she knows how to conceal it quite well. And so you just don’t notice when she pulls them out. And she pulls them out, like, crossing her arms style. So, it really is just a cool pullout and then a shot— two shots fired immediately, almost in sync. And I think the bullet, just considering where they would be, one definitely was aimed at like, a temple. Probably the one that is going at— that went after Val. And the other one is more like, I wanna say just straight on the face or head area.
Rhi: Okay.
Aki: Cause these were— these were very much like, she got permission to kill and she’s shooting to kill.
Rhi: Yeah. So, you aim a pair of headshots and the shots land. However, what you see is the bullets dent into the masks and there’s sort of a, like, you see this best on the one closest to you. There’s like an impact pulse of electroplasmic blue and like, these arcane runes flare up for a second. And like, it clearly hits because the person’s head jerks to the side, like, there’s an impact. And you can kinda hear, like, a pained grunt. The bullet bounces off. [laughs] It does not impact. And these runes flare up real bright for a second and then fade out as some kind of arcane, occult magic has taken the hit.
Josie: [groans]
Kim: Hmm…
Rhi: I will tell you what’s happening here is there’s a clock you have to fill to beat these two. You’re very close to filling it, but there is a clock. So, Arlene?
Minna: Hi.
Rhi: You can— you have been, you know, scrambling up. This has all been happening very fast. I think you’ve been kind of scrambling up from getting off the floor as this has been happening. What would you like to do?
Minna: How many of them are there?
Rhi: There’s just two.
Minna: I would like to jump on one of their backs and try to attack them that way. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Okay. Are you going bare-handed or are you using a weapon?
Minna: I feel like I’m using a knife.
Rhi: Okay. So, this is gonna be risky, reduced, then.
Minna: Oh boy. Can I try and distract one of them and like, get close enough to like, see if there’s some kind of weak point that we can hit?
Rhi: Yeah, absolutely.
Minna: Okay. I don’t know what that would be. A Skirmish?
Rhi: Skirmish is more just straight-up fighting.
Minna: Yeah. Maybe a Finesse? Because that’s like the kinda thing you do as a pickpocket.
Rhi: Yeah. Yeah, I could see Finesse for that. Finesse, Study, Sway even. If you’re trying to be manipulative and distracting. Any of those. It’s all still gonna be risky, reduced.
Minna: [whines]
Rhi: You can push yourself if you’d like to get up out of reduced.
Minna: I don’t feel like I should push myself at this point, but what does a Devil’s Bargain look like?
Josie: Hmm.
Rhi: Um… I think the Devil’s Bargain is that your— the fall and the shooting, the various things that have been happening in here have damaged some of the equipment and it is going to put the Nightcaps in further financial stress going forward.
Minna: How do you guys feel about that?
Kim: I’m okay with that, honestly.
Josie: Yeah, I mean, it makes Bailey’s job harder but…
Minna: It makes narrative sense.
Josie: Yeah.
Kim: Yeah.
Aki: I’m also okay with it, because collateral damage does make sense— you broke like a whole area already. You might as well just Marvel it up, y’know?
Minna: Yeah.
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna: Hey!
Kim: Hey hey! There we go!
Aki: Ay!
Rhi: Alright, that’s a 6. Okay. So, you are trying to distract one of these guys and look for—
Minna: And like, open up a weak spot for somebody else to get.
Rhi: Okay. I think what that looks like is you saw Darling shoot both of these guys in the masks and it didn’t work, so using your skill of like, being very quick on your feet, you get in and you don’t pull one of these guys— like, the one that’s closer to you, you don’t pull the mask entirely off, but like, you grab the beak part and yank it around to the side so that this person can’t see and [laughs] so like, the front part of the mask with the eyeholes is now like, over on their ear. [laughs] So, they’re kind of flailing a little bit and you can sort of see now that you’re closer that that front part is where all of the like, all the runes are. And now a lot more of their head is exposed for a shot.
Minna: Yeah. So who’s the best shot?
Rhi: Darling.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Kim: Yeah.
Minna (as Arlene): Dar. Get him where the runes are. Get him here, here!
Minna: I think she points and then like, bounces away.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, excellent!
Aki: If anyone else wants to go, go for it. If not, I think it’s very obvious what I will do.
Josie: Real quick, what’s Bailey doing?
Rhi: Bailey is hanging back, because this is— Bailey is a fisticuffs fighter and you all have gone in with guns. And so Bailey is hanging back. Bailey doesn’t wanna get in the way of bullets.
Josie: Good call.
Rhi: Is basically what’s happening. Yeah. [laughs] Like, Bailey was ready to run in and start throwing punches, and then the tommy gun came out and Bailey’s just like, ‘Okay. I’m gonna stay back here. I don’t wanna get shot.’
Josie: I want to kinda set up Darling here a little bit.
Rhi: Okay.
Josie: I want to use my Interface ability to connect with the local ectoplasmic power field and control something connected to it. I essentially wanna grab them by the magic runes.
Kim: Yo!
Minna: [long gasp]
Josie: And just lock them up.
Kim: Josie, that’s big brain.
Rhi: Oh. Interesting. Lemme read that description real quick. I just wanna see what it says. So tell me what you’re trying to do? You wanna grab their— the…
Josie: Yeah, I wanna like, mystically Attune to the runes and then just like, hold them there with it. Just like, grab on to whatever shit is powering these runes and just hold them there.
Rhi: Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead and roll Attune. This is gonna be risky… for you it’s gonna be standard, because you are familiar with stuff. You’ve worked with these things before.
Josie: I’m gonna push myself for a die.
Rhi: Okay.
Josie: Welp. I got a 2.
Rhi: Okay…
Kim: Oh…
Josie: So I think Echo’s eyes start to glow and where there would be divisions in her porcelain plates start to glow a little bit too. And she reaches out her hands to try and grab on to the mystic energy, but I don’t think she can overpower stuff The Vulture has done.
Rhi: Yeah. I think that you just get hit with some, like, electroplasmic backlash. Just like a big, like, shock. So you’re gonna take level 2 harm.
Josie: I’m gonna mark off armor.
Rhi: Alright.
Josie: It says Zapped.
Rhi: Yeah. As just something in this, the link, maybe goes too well and just bzzt! Zaps ya. So yeah, unfortunately setup action does not work, but Darling can still take that shot.
Aki: Do you wanna do anything, Val?
Kim: I mean, I might still just have Val try and shoot where the runes aren’t. Because they were around when Arlene, you know…
Rhi: Yeah, you would have heard that.
Kim: I’m still not a great shot, but I also don’t wanna push myself. I’ll just use the one die.
Rhi: It’s gonna be risky, reduced.
Kim: Actually, you know what? What does a Devil’s Bargain look like?
Rhi: I think after this your gun’s gonna jam and it won’t be of use after this roll.
Kim: That’s fine with me. I can always mark off another gun. I accept.
Rhi: Okay.
Kim: Okey dokey. Risky, reduced, you said?
Rhi: Yes.
Kim: Alright, let’s go. [shakes and rolls dice] 5.
Rhi: Okay. So, do it but there’s a consequence. It’s reduced effect. So, I think that what happens is you hit the— you get a shot in on the guy in front of you, but— and it’ll take him down, but he’s gonna hit you again as he’s— just kind of as this is happening. So that’s gonna be level 2 harm.
Kim: Oh, that one’s level 2?
Rhi: Well, the other one was level 2, you just marked armor for it.
Kim: My armor isn’t good for a second go?
Josie: Nope.
Kim: So any— can I roll resistance?
Rhi: Yeah. You can roll resistance.
Kim: I see. Okay, let’s see what happens here. [shakes and rolls dice] Ooh. Okay, that’s only a 4.
Rhi: Okay, so you’ll mark two stress and drop it down to a level 1.
Kim: Getting spicy up in here.
Rhi: Alright. Darling.
Aki: I have been pointed to. Yes.
Rhi: One guy by Arlene is left.
Aki: Mm hmm. Going for it, ha ha ha.
Rhi: It’s gonna be risky… I’m actually gonna say risky, greater, because Arlene basically did do a setup action for you on this guy.
Aki: 6.
Rhi: And you’ve got fine pistols. I don’t know why I even ask any more.
Aki: [laughs] What’s funny is that it’s the first die that’s been getting 6s so far. So technically, the other two are for show. Though the last one of my three dice has been giving me 1s, so thank God it’s not that one.
Rhi: [laughs] Just pulling the negative energy. So yeah, Darling like, there’s, you know, all this clamor of Val and Echo struggling with this person who’s closer and you just line up this shot and fire, and because the mask has been turned, pew, perfect shot. Right through the head. So these two fall. Which means now I have to start a clock for the Death Bell.
Kim: I guess I just wasn’t clear, they were human, right? Okay.
Rhi: Yes. These were human. Just well protected.
Aki: Just in case, I’m gonna fill one of my pistols with ectoplasmic ammunition.
Rhi: Okay. I’ve started a clock of Spirits Wardens Arrive. Let’s see, the Death Bell is up in bell— the crematorium is gonna be in Belltower, you’re in Corvus Row. We’re gonna make this a 6-tick clock.
Josie: Guess we’re gonna have that conversation somewhere else.
Rhi: Well, here’s the thing. You can now see, looking down kind of the factory floor, you can see that the light is on in Benny’s office and you can see that there are figures in there. One of them looks like Benny. And one of them, at least one of them, looks like these vulture mask people.
Josie: Great. Fun. I love everything about this.
Rhi: [laughs] Echo’s having a bad time, y’all.
Kim: Yeah. We’re gonna have to have a talk about this. [laughs]
Aki: Mm hmm. I think—
Josie: Are both of them down?
Rhi: Uh huh.
Josie: I think Echo is just— Echo is kind of— I don’t think she really processes the stuff through the door, because she’s kind of sweeping around looking for more, and despite her expression being normal, she looks absolutely terrified and paranoid.
Aki: I think Darling will literally grab her face, um, look directly at it, like make uncomfortable eye contact and just go:
Aki (as Darling): Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey, now. You’re gonna take a deep breath. I know you probably don’t need it, but you should.
Josie (as Echo): I don’t breathe.
Aki (as Darling): Take two seconds anyways and focus. We don’t need you to panic right now. You can panic later.
Josie (as Echo): [loud breathing in and out noise]
Aki (as Darling): Yes.
Josie (as Echo): [loud breathing in and out noise]
Aki (as Darling): Get a little zen.
Aki (as Darling): Focus on what you can hear and see and stuff.
Josie (as Echo): I can see that The Vulture’s people are here. That’s not good.
Aki (as Darling): That’s fine. They’re killable.
Josie (as Echo): Thank you for killing them.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, you’re more than welcome. This was fun. Speaking of, what should we do with them? Because I could always just wait for the ghosts to come and kill them again.
Rhi: Uh, Bailey will kind of step in the conversation.
Rhi (as Bailey): We’ve… bodies, body disposal we can take care of. We gotta get Grandad, now.
Kim (as Val): Yeah.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, right.
Rhi: Pointing at the office.
Aki (as Darling): Okay, okay, should we split up? Because I can take bitches in the office for sure.
Josie (as Echo): Split up where? I’m going.
Aki (as Darling): We’ve got to get rid of the bodies before more people show up.
Kim (as Val): Dar, you should take point with Benny, Bails, you should go with her too. I’ll watch over Echo. Arlene, up to you.
Josie (as Echo): No. I need to know what’s going on.
Kim (as Val): Alright, let’s al go in.
Rhi (as Bailey): No, we just— all stay together. Don’t worry about it, we’ll handle the bodies later.
Rhi (as Bailey) and Kim (as Val): Let’s go!
Rhi: Bailey’s gonna start heading down towards the office.
Aki: For record showing, I’m going to put the pistol that is full of ectoplasmic ammunition right now, put that way, and instead I’m just gonna have a blade or two just ready.
Rhi: Alright.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Knife and gun.
Kim: Business versus personal.
Rhi: Great combo.
Aki: Exactly. It’s a very— it’s one of those stiletto knives, too. It’s nice and pricky.
Kim: [exhales] Nice.
Aki: And 100% personal.
Rhi: So, what is your plan for going into the office? Are you just gonna— are you gonna try and sneak in or are you just gonna kick in the door? What’s the plan?
Josie: Echo’s just going in through the door.
Kim: I was thinking we were gonna kick in.
Rhi: Okay. You kick in the door. [laughs] It flies off the hinges, I imagine, if Echo’s doing it, thanks to the spring-loaded legs.
Josie: Yes.
Kim: Oh God.
Rhi: Actually, give me… give me a Prowess roll. Just roll me your Prowess dice.
Josie: Oh, okay.
Rhi: As if you were making a resistance roll. This is just a fortune roll. [laughs] I just wanna see— I wanna see something here.
Josie: 6.
Rhi: Okay. So, it collides with one of the two Vulture agents that are in here [laughs] and knocks them back a little bit. So, you’re gonna get a little bit of damage on their clock to start with. [laughs] Because they just hit by a door and were not expecting that.
Josie: Can I do something I’ve been wanting to do all season?
Kim: [gasps]
Rhi: Yes.
Josie: I really thought this would come up earlier, but I was like, there hasn’t been a situation where revealing that she has a robotic arm is advantageous.
Rhi: Do it, do it, do it, do it.
Josie: So Echo’s left glove just tears apart as several pieces of her hand part, and out of her forearm and through that gap slides a blade which then folds out into a longer blade.
Aki: [delighted squeal]
Josie: And she’s gonna try and cut the neck of the Vulture soldier who’s still standing.
Kim: Shit…
Josie: I finally get to use my arm blade! [laughs]
Rhi: Yes!
Josie: What’s a Devil’s Bargain look like?
Rhi: So, I’m gonna start by saying this is gonna be risky… I’m gonna give you risky, greater. I’m gonna allow you to have given your— do your own setup action [laughs] by kicking in the door. You have the element of surprise by throwing a door at your foes. A Devil’s Bargain is… um, one of them is going to reveal something about Echo’s past—
Josie: Taking it.
Rhi: —to the group. Yep, DM me what you would like the reveal to be. [laughs]
Josie: Oh. Uh… I mean, surprise me.
Rhi: Or I can open up your backstory document and pull from there.
Josie: Surprise me. I’ll link you my document.
Rhi: Yeah, shoot me the doc. [laughs]
Josie: Um, yeah, I’ll take that to get myself some more dice. 6!
Kim: Woo!
Josie: [excited cackling]
Rhi: Hell yeah.
Kim: Well done.
Rhi: With a risky, greater, I’m just gonna give that too yeah.
Josie: I get to lop their head off?
Rhi: Yeah. You can just, I think… uh, especially since now you know where to, uh, you can um… yeah, you just, you kick in this door and then just with this, with your arm blade, you can just dive in and stab this person in the neck. So, tell me what that looks like.
Josie: Yeah. Echo just— there’s an exhale or air as she kicks the door in and her spring-leap pistons activate to send it shooting across the room into the other guy. And she just immediately wheels on the other one, her trench coat trailing behind her, as the glove shatters, the blade folds out and she just drives the blade through the guy’s neck into the wall behind him.
Kim (as Val): Damn!
Josie: And like, she is not used to being that violent, so it kinda takes her by surprise, too. But she is still in ‘I am in incredibly desperate and need this to stop’ mode. [laughs]
Rhi: So as the rest of you pile in, Bailey basically dives for Benny, who is behind the desk looking a little worse for wear. It’s clear that they were roughing him up. He’s got some bruising and cuts on his face. And the one who is thus unharmed looks at Echo and says:
Rhi (as Vulture Agent): Still putting the skills that you learned with us to good use, Helena.
Josie (as Echo): Shut up.
Rhi: Anybody else wanna act?
Aki: Yeah, because I thought of something cool and I wanna see if I can get a kill off.
Josie: [laughs]
Aki: However, it’s a nice wombo-combo.
Kim: [laughs]
Rhi: Alright,
Aki: This is what the wombo-combo is, so that way I can figure out if I’m actually allowed to do it. I have a knife. Or a blade.
Rhi: Yes, you have a knife.
Aki: I have something. I throw it. It hits the mask where the beak is and it pushes it to the wall, therefore exposing the rune and making them in a really uncomfortable situation as they’re low-key pinned. And because the runes are exposed, I just shoot real fast, ba-bam, John Wick style. Nice and clean.
Rhi: You can try, but it’s gonna be very difficult to pull off.
Aki: Yeah. Is it Hunt, right?
Rhi: Uh, it’ll be Hunt. It’s gonna be risky, reduced, even with the fine pistols and whatnot. Just because of how complicated this maneuver is.
Aki: It’s very complicated, but I just wanna John Wick it. Um…
Rhi: Yeah.
Aki: Just because I would like to ask before I roll anything, what do— what do Devil’s Bargains look like?
Rhi: I’m gonna add two ticks on the Spirit Warden clock.
Kim: Oof. 2 out of what, remind me?
Rhi: 6.
Aki: Are we okay with that, or…?
Kim: I’m okay.
Josie: I’m fine with that.
Kim: Yeah.
Minna: Yeah.
Rhi: Alright.
Aki: Yeah. So does that… wait a minute. Does that give me—
Rhi: You can use that to give yourself another die or you can push the effect up by one, so you can give yourself standard effect.
Aki: Yeah, gimme another die, because I’m cheeky.
Rhi: Okay.
Minna: [laughs]
Aki: So, would you like a picture?
Josie: God dammit. [laughs]
Aki: I rolled two 6s this time.
Rhi: Uh, yes. Of course you did.
Kim: Oh my God.
Aki: Yeah, it’s 6, 6, 3, 2. [laughs]
Rhi: Jesus Christ. I’m just— it’s…
Minna: Very good.
Rhi: It’s just so statistically improbable. Yeah, well that pushes you up to standard effect by getting a critical. So, uh, you— it goes exactly as you described. You throw the knife, it whips the mask around, you fire the shot and this person, like, slumps down dead. And the four Vulture agents who had been sent here are deceased. There’s a long silence in the room and then Benny just kinda leans forward on the desk and goes:
Rhi (as Benny): Oh, you should not have done that…
Kim (as Val): You mind telling us what the hell’s going on here, Benny?
Aki (as Darling): Wait, wait, wait! First, first the bodies. [nervous laugh] I love shooting ghosts as much as the next person, but—
Aki: I’m saying this while I pull my knife out of the wall, put it back in, and I’m just gonna pick up this one.
Josie: Echo gives Benny just the longest, hardest look she can. Like, I imagine it’s pretty unnerving. She just killed someone and is looking with like, you know, dead doll eyes.
Rhi: Yeah.
Josie: And then she’s just gonna go up against the wall, slide down and curl up.
Minna: Oh, baby.
Kim: Aww.
Josie: And rest her head on her arms.
Rhi: We’ve got— Bailey is kind of fussing over Benny. Benny had just said “You really shouldn’t have done that”. Echo is curled up in a sad ball on the floor. Darling is trying to haul corpses out. [laughs]
Aki: Yeah, I know how this part works. I’ve probably had to get rid of corpses several times.
Rhi: Yeah.
Aki: So yeah, that’s what I’m gonna do while I, um, hell, if people aren’t— I’ll try to lift up two bodies if I have to, just to run all the way to the furnace and just throw them in there, you know.
Rhi: Yeah, Bailey will, like, basically just pull out Benny’s chair, kind of… not forcefully, but she will kind of push him into it, just:
Rhi (as Bailey): Sit here. [sighs] We’re gonna talk.
Rhi: And then yeah, will grab a body and start dragging it out. Looks at Echo, just kinda like shakes her head and then will look at Val and be like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Can you— down the hall there’s a closet. Can you grab the mop? We’re gonna need to clean up some blood.
Kim (as Val): Yeah. Sure thing.
Kim: And— they have their eyes on Echo, but they have a job to do and they know it so, you know, gaze lingering but as they leave the room. They’re still gonna get the mop.
Rhi: Yeah. So yeah, I think that, um, let me do a quick roll here to see how the Spirit Wardens are doing. [rolls dice] Okay. So, yeah, Spirit Wardens are… clock is now at 3 out of 6. They’re on their way, but you all are— Darling and Bailey have experience with this.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: There is indeed a furnace in the basement. The two of you are quite efficient at getting the corpses in there and starting to mop things up. Um, and so we’ll cut back to the office. I think Benny is just like, sitting at his desk with his head in his hands, just kind of ignoring everything else around him. Leaving Echo and Arlene.
Minna: Okay. And I think Arlene sits down next to Echo and kinda like, like on the side that is closest to where the blade still is and she kinda like very gently is like:
Minna (as Arlene): Echo?
Josie (as Echo): Mm?
Minna: And I think you see that she— if you look up, you’ll see that she is holding out like a handkerchief and kind of nodding to the arm.
Josie: Echo takes it and slowly wipes the blood off before the blade retracts back into her arm with a shink-shink and her hand closes up. She hands the handkerchief back.
Josie (as Echo): Thank you.
Minna: I think Arlene like, sticks it in her pocket and kind of offers her hand for like an awkward high-five. [laughs]
Josie: Echo just looks at it for a long moment and then just gently places her exposed hand there.
Minna (as Arlene): You doing okay?
Josie (as Echo): I don’t know. Hopefully us killing them means she doesn’t know I’m around again.
Minna (as Arlene): She’s the person in charge of them?
Josie (as Echo): Yeah. Um, The Vulture is the person I need to kill.
Minna (as Arlene): Oh.
Minna: Does Arlene know who The Vulture is?
Rhi: Yes. The Vulture is very well-known in the criminal underworld for being fuck-off terrifying.
Minna: Oh. So I think she’ll kinda like, do a little like:
Minna (as Arlene): [shudders] I can see why it’s such a— I mean, obviously it was a big deal, but yeah.
Josie: And she leans over to Arlene so Benny can’t hear:
Josie (as Echo): And I… I didn’t want them to know I’m around cause she knows who my family and girlfriend are and I don’t know what she’ll do to them if she— if I act against her openly.
Minna (as Arlene): Echo, holy shit.
Josie (as Echo): Yeah.
Minna (as Arlene): So probably at least nobody can take this back to her.
Josie (as Echo): Hopefully. She is really good with magic stuff, as you saw.
Minna (as Arlene): Uh huh. She uh, really good with uh—
Minna: I think she kinda glances at Echo’s arm.
Josie (as Echo): Yeah. She um, yeah, she put me in this.
Minna (as Arlene): [exhales] Well, you’re stuck with us now instead, so hey.
Josie (as Echo): I do like being stuck here a lot more.
Minna (as Arlene): Let’s deal with this situation and then we’ll talk more, okay?
Josie (as Echo): Okay.
Rhi: So I think shortly after that everybody else comes back, free of corpses, with a mop that is gonna have to be thrown out. [laughs]
Aki: Um, I did have a question for the corpses. As I’m, um, you know, taking them down and stuff like that, could I perform quick pat-downs to see if we could grab anything from there? If not, you know, I chuck ‘em. Chuck ‘em in the furnace.
Rhi: Hmm… you can. Um, what are you looking for?
Aki: Literally anything. Anything that could possibly be of use to Echo.
Rhi: So, the only things that you find on them are… they’re almost interchangeable. They’re all dressed identically, their masks are identical, they have identical weapons. Then don’t, like, the only thing that seems to be different is that they have, like, slightly different amounts of loose change in their pockets.
Aki: Well, at least the change might make Echo feel better. [laughs] Like, here’s your lunch money.
Rhi: Yeah. Like, that’s about it. Um, there’s really— like, they’re not carrying IDs, they’re not carrying written orders, there’s really not any concrete information on them.
Aki: Okay. We chuck them.
Rhi: Yeah. So yeah, you all reconvene in the office and Benny will kind of raise his head and be like:
Rhi (as Benny): [sighs] So… did you all come down here to break up this meeting on purpose? Because I didn’t tell anybody about it.
Kim (as Val): We didn’t know about this meeting.
Rhi (as Benny): [doubtfully] Uh huh.
Kim (as Val): We didn’t. We came here to try to have a meeting with you about something else.
Rhi (as Benny): Okay…
Rhi: He kinda starts to like, sort of sit up straight and then winces and puts a hand to his ribs.
Rhi (as Benny): Uh, so… what is this about, then?
Rhi: Sort of glancing around at all of you a little suspiciously.
Kim (as Val): Does the name Zaryah Pond ring a ball for ya?
Rhi: Benny’s mouth kind of presses into a thin line.
Rhi (as Benny): Maybe. Why do you ask?
Kim (as Val): Because we happen to know a little bit about her, and lots of your other friends that you’ve screwed over.
Rhi (as Benny): [cold chuckle] [wince] Really? You’re uh…
Rhi: He kinda looks are Bailey.
Rhi (as Benny): You’re doing this now?
Rhi: And she shrugs. [laughs] Just like, ‘Yeah.’ [laughs]
Josie (as Echo): If you were meeting with The Vulture, it should have been done earlier.
Rhi (as Benny): [sighs] Look, you take loans where you can get ‘em.
Aki (as Darling): [amused] Did you like what you received after getting those loans?
Rhi (as Benny): Well, uh… turns out they’re pretty, uh, strict about their repayment deadlines.
Minna (as Arlene): How much do you owe?
Rhi: Oh, what a good question. Let me roll some dice.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: [rolls dice]
Minna: Because this is a debt that Bailey’s also going to take on if we—
Rhi: Uh huh.
Minna: Uh huh!
Rhi (as Benny): About 18 coin.
Kim (as Val): [gasps] [long exhale on a high note]
Josie (as Echo): What the fuck.
Rhi: I mean, you have to remember, Benny is taking out loans at a bit like— he’s running a full business, here.
Kim: That’s still really step.
Minna: So best be a loan from The Vulture. [laughs]
Rhi: Uh huh. [rolls dice]
Kim (as Val): Jesus.
Rhi: Is it— do I wanna say 18? That might be a little steep. Hang on.
Kim: No, I kinda like it.
Josie: Yeah, keep it at 18.
Rhi: Yeah, alright. I rolled 2d6 and then doubled the result, so.
Kim: Jesus. [laughs]
Rhi (as Benny): Listen. They were the only ones willing to make that kinda loan, so here we are.
Josie (as Echo): You don’t know how dangerous The Vulture is.
Rhi (as Benny): I’m starting to get an idea. [sighs]
Rhi: Looks back at Val.
Rhi (as Benny): So, what is this about Pond? You blackmailing me? Because I’m gonna tell ya I do not have a lot of money to spare.
Kim (as Val): Frankly, yes. But we don’t want your money. Either way, we’re done after this. You, unless you want this going to the press, you’re taking a retirement now.
Rhi (as Benny): Ah.
Rhi: He looks up at Bailey.
Rhi (as Benny): So it’s a coup?
Rhi: She kinda shrugs again and is like:
Rhi (as Bailey): If that’s how you wanna call it, yeah.
Josie (as Echo): We like to think of it like a union.
Rhi (as Benny): [sharp laugh] [sighs] Fuck. You know, I… you might be doin’ me a favor at this point, getting me out of town. Because between either your blackmail or uh…
Rhi: Kinda gestures at the hole in the wall left by Darling’s knife,
Rhi (as Benny): I think I might not be long for this world staying in Imperial City anyway, so…
Kim (as Val): We’re not doing this for you.
Rhi (as Benny): Oh, I’m aware. I wouldn’t expect you to do this out of the kindness of your hearts, but uh, makes me a little more inclined to go along with it. [pained sigh] Lemme guess, you’re taking over?
Rhi: And Bailey nods. And Benny actually looks kind of sad.
Kim: Oh.
Rhi (as Benny): Sorry, kiddo. I wish I was leaving you something a little better.
Rhi: Bailey just kind of nods and is like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah, well. I’ll see what I can do to clean it up.
Rhi: Then she’ll reach into her jacket and be like:
Rhi (as Bailey): Got you the ticket for the 10am to Duskwall. Tell Mom I said hi. I’ll come help you pack, since it looks like you’re pretty banged up.
Rhi: And Benny just kinda:
Rhi (as Benny): [laughs] Ow. Aw, fuck. Laughing. Alright. [sighs] Well…
Rhi: He’ll very stiffly stand up and look around, be like— take the ticket from Bailey’s hand and be like:
Rhi (as Benny): Well, good fuckin’ luck. Y’all are gonna need it.
Rhi: And he will open up a drawer, grab a couple things out of it. It looks like it’s, you know, just a couple notebooks. Grabs a couple photographs, framed pictures off the desk, sort of tucks everything awkwardly under one arm, grabs his baseball bat [laughs] that he keeps propped up next to the desk and will kinda limp out. Bailey is gonna follow him and will pause in the door and be like:
Rhi (as Bailey): I’m gonna get him on his way. We’ll touch base after. You all should get outta here and lay low.
Josie (as Echo): Thank you, Bailey.
Rhi (as Bailey): Thank you.
Rhi: And yeah.
Minna: [whines]
Rhi: You all can still hear the Death Bell ringing as you head out into the night and back to The Drake.
##Downtime
Rhi: So, The Drake pulls up outside the garage. The Death Bell has stopped ringing. You just sort of have to hope that everything was cleaned up well enough that they’re not gonna find anything. You head down into the garage and yeah, I imagine folks have a few questions for Echo.
Josie: Echo immediately goes into her room. Comes back out in her sweat pants and tank top. Like, it’s scary fast how quick she got comfy. She needs to feel safe right now.
Kim: Gotta love a good quick change.
Josie: And sits on the couch with her Cool Tires just in her hand. Like, mm.
Kim: Can I sit next to her?
Josie: Yeah.
Kim: Val sits down next to her and I think slings an arm around her shoulder, if she’ll allow it.
Josie: She will.
Kim: Yeah.
Josie (as Echo): Sorry I kind of lost my shit there.
Kim (as Val): I mean, it’s fine so long as you can just tell us why, Because if this is gonna happen again, if we’re gonna keep running into these people, I think we have a right to know what we’re up against.
Josie (as Echo): Well, um… I said I have to kill someone. And that it’s someone I can’t really talk about unless I endanger people. Um, so the person I need to kill is The Vulture.
Kim: Out of character do I recog— does Val recognize…?
Rhi: Ever— yes. Again, everybody, Darling also, you’ve been in the underworld here long enough. The Vulture, you all would know, is sort of a boogeyman in the underworld, except they’re very, very real. They are— they run a gang, a pretty powerful one, that kinda straddles the line between crime family and cult. They are very powerful, very scary, and not a lot is really known about like, what they do. They’re generally known for being kinda spooky, into occult stuff, but their actual, like, how many people in the group, what they do, who their allies are, who their enemies are, how much influence they actually have is pretty unknown, because they’re very anonymous and secretive. But they are, like, they’re very scary. [laughs]
Aki: Anyways, would the Market have had any dealings with them before?
Rhi: I’m gonna put that one to Josie. Do you think the the—
Josie: I think it’s fun if they have. They’re both super secret, super scary, like, crime cults.
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: I feel like on a level that Darling might know about, but Arlene wouldn’t.
Josie: Yeah.
Aki: Yeah, that is— that’s the next thing I was going to ask, specifically what do you— would I know anything more or less or have I had any, um, field experience, squaring up? I don’t know.
Rhi: I’m going to say Darling, no. You have had no personal experience with them. They would have worked with the Flower Market. But the name was familiar to you before you got to Imperial City. You’d heard rumors about them through just the Market gossip network in general.
Aki: I like to think that the Market would actually have like— like, Market heads would have actual little meetings every now and then that’s based on, like, what their vibe is. So everybody comes to Darling’s old place for tea.
Rhi: Mm hmm.
Aki: They go to the Flower Market to pick fucking flowers, I dunno, press them, I dunno.
Josie: [giggles]
Aki: All the good stuff. There’s gotta be a Spice Market somewhere, too.
Rhi: Yes. Yeah. So that’s kind of— everybody knows about The Vulture, everybody is scared of The Vulture.
Kim: Mm hmm.
Aki (as Darling): Oh… Echo, dear. What were you doing messing around with them?
Josie (as Echo): Well, I didn’t know she was The Vulture at the time. But I trusted her. We worked together on this body. And then she killed me and stuck me in it.
[horrified gasps]
Josie (as Echo): We were close. She knows who my family is and who my girlfriend is. So, I think she’s counting on the fact that if I move against her too openly, she can threaten them. And I definitely can’t tell anyone her true identity, because I am positive that if that gets out, she’ll just kill them and be done with it.
Minna (as Arlene): [sighs] So you got out, but they’re kinda still stuck.
Josie (as Echo): Yes. And I don’t think they know they are stuck.
Kim (as Val): That’s even worse.
Josie (as Echo): Yes.
Aki (as Darling): So you actually made this body with them? Like a… oh, I don’t like calling you a project because you’re living in it currently, but the circumstances of your work is a little bit important.
Josie (as Echo): Yes. We started out designing prosthetics, but we started to work on designing hulls that didn’t need ghosts. Or at least, that’s what she told me. That’s what I was working on.
Kim (as Val): Gods.
Josie (as Echo): Well, people wouldn’t need to work long hours in factories with that sort of technology, right? My Dad could finally retire. But she had other plans. I don’t know what they are exactly, but she had me around as a hull for a while before I escaped. So that’s why I need to get enough power to match her gang and then kill her.
Kim (as Val): We’re in this fight with you, alright?
Josie (as Echo): Are you sure? Because I don’t— this is a bit more than just getting rich. Although that helps.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, getting rich is just a fun thing. And a good way to ease off of other problems. I don’t mind cooking a good bird.
Minna: [laughs]
Kim (as Val): If they’re coming after your people, we’re gonna be on your side.
Josie: She shakes a little bit. She can’t cry, but that’s probably what she’s doing. And says:
Minna: [sympathetic]
Josie (as Echo): Thank you.
Aki (as Darling): I… hmm. I’m not going to press this now, simply because I’m not going to promise I’m going to go out and Hunt right now. But you do know their secret identity, yes?
Josie (as Echo): Yes.
Aki (as Darling): We’re going to need to know that. Doesn’t have to be now, but that is very vital information for someone like me.
Josie (as Echo): I can tell you, but it can’t leave the four of us. If Bailey learns that, if anyone knows that, if anyone who could leak it knows that— and to be honest, I’m uncertain of saying it now, because I do not know what kind of rituals and devices she has. I have checked myself, there’s no mechanical bug in me, and I’ve tried to keep this place warded against ghosts, but she’s scary.
Aki (as Darling): Can you write it?
Josie (as Echo): It’s probably better to say it and not leave a paper trail.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, I can get rid of paper, don’t worry.
Aki: And I pat Pearl.
Josie: [laughs]
Minna (as Arlene): We can light it on fire and that would probably be easier than making Pearl eat it.
Minna: [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah, Pearl [laughs] makes a face. Pearl doesn’t like eating paper.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: Echo will grab one of her notebooks and just write out ‘Pandora Slane’.
Kim: We’ve heard that name before, haven’t we?
Rhi: You have. Pandora Slane was a name that came up a long time ago.
Kim: Yeah…
Rhi: That was the person that the stuff you stole from the train was supposed to be delivered to her.
Minna: Oh holy shit, yeah.
Kim: Yeah.
Rhi: She is the, uh, dean, right Josie?
Josie: I have it in my backstory as headmistress, but sure.
Rhi: Headmistress. She’s the headmistress of the College of Glass, which is one of the most prestigious universities in Imperial City.
Kim: Damn.
Minna: Holy shit.
Kim: Damn!
Aki (as Darling): Oh Echo, I knew you were a little nerd, I just didn’t know how big of a brain you had! So wrinkles, wow.
Kim (as Val): Big-brained.
Josie (as Echo): I am pretty smart.
Aki (as Darling): Little genius, ah! Okay, I’m gonna stop. Because if I praise you too much, it’ll go to your head.
Kim (as Val): IQ off the charts.
Josie: [laughs] She just kinda stares ahead. She would be blushing right now.
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna (as Arlene): So…
Minna: I think Arlene’s gonna slide the paper away and hold it up to the nearest flame, if there is one nearby. If not, she’ll make one.
Josie: [laughs]
Rhi: Yeah, you can grab a lighter and take care of the—
Kim: Val can have a lighter.
Rhi: Yeah. Take care of the paper very easily.
Josie (as Echo): She is also very powerful in that form. Very influential.
Minna (as Arlene): Mm hmm.
Josie (as Echo): So yeah.
Aki (as Darling): Super secret double life. I like this. I read a book once, it was called… Anna… von Damn.
Kim: [laughs]
Minna: [laughing] Anna von Vanna.
Josie: [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): It was a Skovlan book. Several books.
Josie (as Echo): I am going to dodge past the fact that I have read that as well and say I figured you might like this. There’s lot of drama with me.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, so much drama with you. Ah, I love it. Don’t worry, I’ll kill the bitch for you, but like, oh, this is nice.
Rhi: [laughs loudly]
Aki (as Darling): I was worried you would say something like, the cabbage man of Cabbage Corporation. I’d be like, ‘Okay… so a deep line of very rare vegetables’. That’s still good you know, that’s dramatic a little bit, you know. Economy shifts and what-not. But I don’t— education! Wow.
Josie (as Echo): Yeah.
Kim (as Val): If we play our cards right, us having this information is a real good way to spook her, if we catch her unawares. Not saying we have to do anything now, just saying that’s in our hand.
Josie (as Echo): Yeah.
Aki (as Darling): We could send Arlene to school undercover.
Josie (as Echo): I’m not gonna lie, I feel a lot more comfortable having you all around. Which is really saying something, since two of you are assassins.
Aki: Darling’s just gonna smile in a, like, Whomper, the Pokémon. Whooper, the Pokémon.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: Oh!
Aki: She smiles and just goes:
Aki (as Darling): Oh… I— I’m going to apologize now for the future. Thank you.
Josie (as Echo): Actually, the assassin thing makes me feel safer.
Minna (as Arlene): Yeah, I mean, if you wanna kill someone it’s good to have us on your side, right?
Josie (as Echo): Yeah, I suppose so. Although we do need to be very careful whenever we move against her. I think we just need to build ourselves up first. I really don’t want my parents and girlfriend to die.
Kim (as Val): We’re gonna do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Aki (as Darling): Do they know that you’re like this right now?
Josie (as Echo): No, I’m pretty sure they think I’m dead. Tabby probably suspects something. She was also close with Pandora. It’s just, she’s— honestly, I think she’s smarter than me. But Pandora zeroed in on me.
Kim (as Val): Well, whenever you think it’s safe to do so, we’re gonna make sure we get you back to your family, alright? And your girlfriend.
Josie: She seems to think about that and says:
Josie (as Echo): Thank you.
Rhi: And form there, everybody rest up, recover and spend a couple days just sort of patching up after all of this. And let’s get— we’ll sort of see a few brief scenes over the next couple days. Yeah, we wanna start with Arlene, since we know I wanted to have a very short little scene with her and Leona?
Minna: Okey dokey.
Rhi: Yeah. Uh, you wanna just kinda set the scene of wherever they are on their date?
Minna: Hmm, where do they go on their date? Are the rivers super polluted and/or haunted?
Rhi: Yeah.
Minna: Okay.
Rhi: [laughs]
Minna: I was gonna say if not it might be nice to be on a boat. But nah. If it’s super haunted, no thank you. [laughs] Um, I don’t know. I do think they’re on like, a nice little patio or something.
Rhi: Yeah, so I think maybe we find Arlene and Leona at like, a gazebo in one of the parks in the city.
Minna: Oh, yeah.
Rhi: Having a little picnic lunch.
Minna: I think Arlene just kind of like leans herself against Leona’s side when neither of them is actively eating anything and is like:
Minna (as Arlene): Oh my gosh, I am so glad that everything is normal right now.
Rhi (as Leona): Yeah, it’s really good to be back in the city. This last trip was so long.
Minna (as Arlene): [casually] So, funny story. My boss really wanted to start up that war again, and I’m rally glad we convinced him not to.
Rhi: [choke-laughs]
Rhi (as Leona): What?!
Minna (as Arlene): Uh… oh, you know how he sent us into that situation before? It seems like he was not really worried about poking that bear and really thought it would be fun to do it and then take advantage. But that’s not a thing you have to worry about any more, so I’m relived about that.
Rhi (as Leona): [long stressed exhale]
Rhi: [laughs] She just reaches into her coat and like, glances around, unscrews a flask and pours it into whatever non-alcoholic thing she’s drinking, puts it back, takes a big swig.
Minna (as Arlene): It’s not going to happen now.
Rhi (as Leona): [strained] Okay…
Minna (as Arlene): Is my point.
Rhi (as Leona): That’s very good to know.
Minna: [laughs]
Minna (as Arlene): I was really worried about it for a minute there, okay?
Rhi (as Leona): Yeah, I mean… yep. Okay. Hoo. I’m retroactively worried about it.
Rhi: Takes another swig. [laughs]
Minna (as Arlene): Well, don’t spread it around yet, but he’s not in charge anymore, so.
Rhi (as Leona): No shit?
Minna (as Arlene): Hopefully some better management.
Rhi (as Leona): That’s good to hear. I’ll keep it quiet, but uh, yeah. That’s— he wasn’t the easiest guy to work with on our side, so hopefully that’ll be an improvement.
Minna (as Arlene): Yeah. He made some pretty bad decisions.
Rhi (as Leona): Yeah. [sighs] Okay.
Rhi: Downs the last of her drink and is like:
Rhi (as Leona): Aside from that, how have things been with you?
Minna (as Arlene): Eh. Y’know. Same old.
Rhi (as Leona): Wanna hear about Whitehollow?
Minna (as Arlene): Yes please. Tell me all about Whitehollow.
Rhi (as Leona): [laughs] Alright.
Rhi: And so, the conversation will turn into Leona’s latest trip up through the Deathlands up to Whitehollow. And from there, who do we go to?
Kim: We could have a parent talk. We could have a parent meeting. Does the garage make sense?
Aki: You could literally also come over to my place. You know where I live now, so it’s like…
Kim: Yeah. How about I come over to your place? Let’s have a parent conference.
Aki: I make tea, then.
Rhi: Yeah. So, we then find Darling and Val at Darling’s kitchen table, drinking tea, having a chat.
Kim (as Val): So, Echo’s in deeper than I thought.
Aki (as Darling): Oh, yes. That’s some deep shit.
Kim (as Val): Yeah. And uh, I was actively making sure not to like, loose my cool back there because, you know, she was having her moment, but uh… holy hell.
Aki (as Darling): Yeah, no, no, loose your shit here if you want. I don’t… um, I don’t mean to assume, but I mean, you’re sus as fuck, but I don’t think you’re on murderous intent level yet.
Kim (as Val): You think I’m ‘sus’?
Minna: [laughs loudly]
Aki (as Darling): Yes. Oh, ah, gosh. Okay, sus-picious.
Kim (as Val): No— no, I know what sus means.
Kim: [laughs]
Kim (as Val): You are among friends here.
[laughter]
Aki (as Darling): Yes, but you’re older than me.
Minna: [wheezing]
Kim (as Val): [affronted] Eh!
[laughter]
Kim (as Val): Look, I’m just trying to vent—
Kim: [laughs]
Aki (as Darling): No, no, vent. Vent. I’m telling you to vent, I just wasn’t sure if you knew—
[loud laughter]
Aki (as Darling): I’m not even trying to do the hip cool thing. This was a genuine, like… if you were— if we were to like, rank ourselves in age, I think you’re much older than me. So, I wasn’t sure.
Kim (as Val): No, I uh— I get around. I uh—
Kim: [laughs]
Kim (as Val): I know what sus and venting is, all that. I know. I hang out with Echo, she explained it all to me.
Aki (as Darling): Alright. And yes, I think you’re very sus. I think you’re, uh… I feel like you would offer me, like, candy, but it would not be candy. It would be like, a swig of the weed.
Kim (as Val): I don’t— I don’t drug people without their permission.
Aki (as Darling): Oh no, no, like that would be your side business. You know? It would be like, ‘Would you like some candy?’ and I’d be like, ‘Sure,’ and then you’d show me a bunch of, a bunch of… weed!
Kim (as Val): Edibles?
Aki (as Darling): I don’t know.
Kim (as Val): Well, I mean, I’ve thought about, you know, doing that as a side hustle, but I feel like we’re getting beside the point here.
Aki (as Darling): Yes.
Kim (as Val): The Vulture’s a big fuckin’ deal.
Aki (as Darling): Incredibly so. I’ve, uh, while I’ve not had any run-ins or business with them, I do know that they have partaked in, um, well, I know which groups that they are with that isn’t their gang that if they needed a bit of… a bit of an… a bit of a murder, I know where they would go, okay?
Kim (as Val): Yeah, I’m just trying to scratch my brain as to how we go about this and I’m coming up short, because it’s gonna take a lot of firepower to go up against something like this. And I know I made a lot of promises to Echo and I don’t wanna let her down, but… my gods, I don’t know how we’re pulling this off.
Aki (as Darling): Mm. Well, I actually have some ideas on that. But I would have to run it over with Arlene of course, and I don’t want to do this without us having a little bit more of a safety net.
Kim (as Val): Yeah, no, this is gonna take some time to build up.
Aki (as Darling): But I think we can do it. I’ve killed worse.
Kim (as Val): No, I know you have. It’s just a matter of having the manpower to do it. Bein’ very, very smart about how we do it.
Aki (as Darling): Just don’t stress too much over it. You, you think a lot. You think too much, even.
Kim (as Val): Well if I don’t, who will among us?
Aki (as Darling): Me! I think… well now— well, you know what? Now— never mind. I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t want you to get any more stress greys,’ but grey it up, you old fuck.
Rhi: [bursts out laughing]
Kim (as Val): Wow. Wow. Alright, I see how it is. You know, this tea’s been lovely, I think I’ll see myself out, Dar. Thank you.
Minna: [gasps] I love them so much.
Aki (as Darling): You can come back any time you want to, this has been fun.
Kim (as Val): [grumpy] Uh huh. Uh huh.
Aki (as Darling): Bye!
Kim (as Val): Yep. Talk to ya soon.
Aki (as Darling): Make sure you take the elevator. I know you go out of breath when you walk down the stairs…
Kim: Slams the door wordlessly. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs loudly]
Rhi: Wow.
Aki: [laughs] I hope you’re okay with that.
Kim: I’m perfectly okay with that. Excellent parent meeting.
[laughter]
Aki: Oh yeah, oh God.
Kim: It wouldn’t be a Darling and Val parent meeting if there wasn’t a little bit of a dig.
Aki: Exactly.
Rhi: I like that when Darling feels like things are getting too, uh, emotional, just starts throwing out the barbs. Just like, ‘Mm, this has gone on too long and I feel like we’re bonding too much, I have to start being hostile’.
Josie: [laughs]
Kim: ‘I need to start insulting you.’
Aki: Exactly.
Rhi: Yeah. So, um, Josie, did you have ideas for a scene for Echo?
Josie: Yeah, like a 30-second one.
Rhi: Okay, that’s kind of what I was gonna say, I feel like a short scene with Echo that we can kinda transition into Bailey showing up.
Josie: Yeah. I think Echo’s getting ready to leave to go do that, but through a complicated series of panel removals, part of her chest is open and she pulls out a little bell on a string. Which I think we’ve seen before. And just like, holds it there, reassured by its presence. And I think without her ringing it, the bell rings slightly.
Rhi: Aww.
Josie: And that— that makes her feel a lot of positive emotions and a lot of sadness as well. So she kind of puts it back in her chassis and closes herself up and does up her tie and goes to the meeting.
Rhi: Yeah. So, I think Bailey has come over to the garage. It’s been probably about three or four days at this point, which was longer than I think Bailey had expected. She sent over a note being like, ‘I got a lot to deal with, I’ll be there when I can!’ [laughs] She looks tired, but not in the same way as she had when you all had come over to the warehouse, you know, just a few days ago when Benny had given you that job. And she is— she’s sitting on the couch, I think fiddling with one of the Cool Tires that had been left out. And when Echo comes out— I think Echo is sort of the last one arriving, she’ll kinda nod and then give her a smile and be like:
Rhi (as Bailey): So, um… I got word from Duskwall, from Mom and uh…
Rhi: Uh… let’s see… Benny and what do I think his sister’s name would be? Somebody give me another B name since that seems to be a theme this family is going with.
Kim: Barbara?
Josie: Berry?
Minna: Bertha?
Rhi (as Bailey): So I heard from Mom and Aunt Bertha up in Duskwall. Grandad has arrived and is settling in. He’s gonna be probably frustrating them and trying to take over their branch of the family business, but that’s not my problem. So. What is my problem is this branch.
Josie (as Echo): Congratulations.
Rhi (as Bailey): Eh… [uncertain laugh] Thanks. Um, I’ve inherited a lot more problems that I think any of us realized. Um, there’s a lot of debt. Everything’s overextended. Um. I think that he was trying to just drum up enough business that he could somehow get out ahead of everything he owed and somehow he’d make enough money to pay it all off. It’s a very, very flimsy house of cards. So, I am going to be cutting a lot of things loose. A lot of his more recent acquisitions. Part of the distillery’s gonna be closed for a little bit – there was some damage from the fight the other night – before I can get that back up to full capacity again.
So basically, what this all means for you is I would love to have you stick with the Nightcaps. You have been an incredible help, you’re incredibly skilled. But I don’t have a lot of money to pay you right now. I can find other ways to reward you for any work that you do. But it’s gonna be a while before I can pay you in actual cash. So, if that doesn’t work for what you’ve got planned and you all wanna split off…
Rhi: She will reach into her jacket and take out kind of a thick envelope that sort of thunks when she sets it down on the little coffee table in the midst of the sitting area. Is like:
Rhi (as Bailey): That’s the deed and the keys to this place. It’s all yours. Regardless of what you decide, I’m leaving that here. I don’t want to hold this place over your heads. Consider this,
Rhi: Kinda gesturing at the garage,
Rhi (as Bailey): Payment for everything from the other night.
Josie (as Echo): Thank you.
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah. Seemed like the least I can do.
Josie (as Echo): I suppose… well, I would feel bad just leaving you to it. But I suppose it’s a question of are we any better off leaving than staying here?
Rhi: I think Bailey is gonna like, kind of brush her hands on her legs and stand up and be like:
Rhi (as Bailey): I’ll let you all talk it over, I feel kind of weird sitting here and listening to you all decide if you wanna stay or go while I just sit here, so you all talk it out. Lemme know what you wanna do.
Josie (as Echo): Well, if we stay, we… I… have issues with The Vulture. That’s why we did what we did.
Rhi (as Bailey): I kinda figured.
Josie (as Echo): If we stay, that could potentially fall back on you.
Rhi (as Bailey): Well, uh, I’ve inherited Grandad’s debts to The Vulture, so I’ve got issues there as well.
Josie (as Echo): I see.
Aki (as Darling): Are you prepared for all of our baggage?
Aki: Darling like, sort of raises her hand.
Josie: [laughs]
Aki: Like this is a class thing.
Rhi (as Bailey): Uh… I don’t know what the baggage is, so… maybe?
Aki: Will look at Arlene and be like, with a look of, you know, ‘Should we… tell her?’ That kind of look, you know. That look.
Minna: I think Arlene will be like, get kind of a look on her face like, ‘I don’t know… it’s up to you, man.’ [laughs]
Aki: Hmm…
Aki (as Darling): So you know how like… you’ve watched me murder at least two people.
Rhi (as Bailey): Uh, yes.
Aki (as Darling): I might be very good at that.
Rhi (as Bailey): You did seem to do it pretty skillfully. You’re a very good shot.
Aki (as Darling): That might be a problem with certain people and they might show up every now and then.
Rhi (as Bailey): Okay…
Aki (as Darling): That is the baggage. So if you’d rather not, I…
Rhi (as Bailey): I mean, was this a problem before? Is this new? Is this a new development?
Aki (as Darling): Uh…
Rhi (as Bailey): It seems like all of the issues that you all have are things that you had before I took over, so…
Aki (as Darling): Yes.
Minna (as Arlene): Nothing’s changed.
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah. Yes, that’s kind of my point. I am fine. You all are very skilled, you’re good at your jobs. I’d like to continue working with you if you all are fine continuing to work with me on the understanding that I don’t have money to pay you with right now.
Josie (as Echo): Well, if we strike out on our own, we still need to find money.
Rhi (as Bailey): Yes. And if you strike out on your own, that doesn’t mean we can never work together again. I would be happy to contract with you as independent smugglers once things are a little more stable around here. Just, I just wanna be upfront about where the Nightcaps are at.
Josie (as Echo): Val, what do you think?
Kim (as Val): I’m thinking money is nice, but at the same time, I really like ya, Bails. And would really like to continue working with ya.
Josie (as Echo): Then maybe we should go independent? We can still work with Bailey, but some shorter-term gains quicker?
Kim (as Val): Yeah. And I think… I think it’s right that we should still help, because we did kinda put you in this position, Bailey. So we kinda owe it to ya to help fix it. So we’ll be contractors for ya, if that makes sense?
Rhi (as Bailey): Yeah. Yeah. No, I’ll definitely be in touch with some work that needs doing, because there’s plenty of it. Just… honestly, given the state of things right now, I feel a little bit better not having you all stuck in a situation where you’re doing work and not getting fairly compensated for it. So.
Rhi: She’ll, I think… I think actually go to Echo, because Echo was kinda doing a lot of the talking, and hold out a hand to shake.
Josie: And she’ll shake back.
Rhi (as Bailey): It’s been a pleasure working with all of you and I’m looking forward to working with the independent Whisky Jays in the future.
Josie (as Echo): Thank you.
Kim (as Val): Um, yeah. Glad we came to this agreement.
Rhi (as Bailey): Stay safe out there. Sounds like y’all need it.
Rhi: She will give you all a nod and head up the stairs, leaving behind the deed and the keys to your garage.
Aki: And I go:
Aki (as Darling): Bye! Thanks for the house!
Rhi: [laughs]
Josie (as Echo): So, we’re on our own now.
## Outro [02.09.43]
Thanks for joining us! The Whisky Jays will return in two weeks. The City That Never Dies is a Clever Corvids production. Visit our website at CleverCorvids.net and follow us on Twitter @clever_corvids for the latest on this and other shows.
The City That Never Dies is GM’d and edited by Rhi. Check out her business Skill Check for copyediting and accessibility consulting for the RPG community at RPGSkillCheck.net.
Arlene Graeme is played by Minna Reilly. Find her on Twitter @mynaminnarr.
Darling Tsering is played by Aki. Find her on Twitter @akinomii_art for more TTRPG Content.
Echo is played by Josie. Find her on Twitter @dragongirljosie, and check out her art at josie-art.com.
Valerie Sullivan is played by Kim. Find her on Twitter @kimdianajones.
Our opening and closing theme music is from Something by Kai Engel and is used under a Creative Commons license. Blades in the Dark is the creation of John Harper and is published by Evil Hat Productions.
Rhi: If you’d like to dedicate a personal message to a friend, family member, gaming group, or other special Clever Corvids fan in your life, you can do so right here! Visit clevercorvids.net and click on Jumbotron Messages under the Support Us menu to buy your very own message. As always, thanks to all our Patreon backers, whose ongoing support makes this show possible.
## Blooper [02.11.35]
Rhi: So okay.
Aki: Martha Stewart taught me how to make a shank.
[laughter]
Josie: Store-bought is fine.
Kim: And Snoop Dogg taught me how to bake cookies.
Aki: [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]