Shadows in the Smoke S1E20 - "This Pile of Meat"

Shadows in the Smoke S1E20 – “This Pile of Meat”

Kim
Shadows in the Smoke is intended for mature audiences and may contain material that some people find disturbing. Please see the episode description for content warnings, and listen with care.

[Shadows in the Smoke theme]

Kim
Good morning, Hunters. I would say about a week has passed since we last checked in on the residents of Hargrave House. And, in that time, Robert, you can go ahead and clear your permanent condition, A Voice In Your Head, as you have had time to recover from the demon that was inside of your body. Now, we have two active Threats that we’re currently working on, which means that the first thing that I do in the Day is introduce a brand new Threat.

[A Mozart adagio]

This Threat is called The Limehouse Lurker. Jenny Johnston, the proprietor of an opium den in Limehouse, tells you a story that has not yet reached Scotland Yard or the papers. Three people have been found dead in recent days, their bodies completely exsanguinated. The first was a sex worker called Soft Jimmy, found in a dark corner of the opium den. The second was a young mother, Charla Bell, found in an alleyway behind the Limehouse school. And the third was a Chinese sailor, Zhao Donghai, found outside a pub near the Regent’s Canal dock, The Dog and Whistle. Jenny, an informal community leader at Limehouse, has been keeping the bodies in her basement. She’s hesitant to go to the authorities because she feels it will cause trouble for the small but thriving Chinese immigrant community in the district. She heard that Hargrave House has experience with matters such as this and has asked for your help. I now pose the following question to the Hunter with the highest Reason, which is Miss Douglas. [laughs]

T.
That is bonkers.

Cassandra
That’s wild.

Natalia
It’s unnatural, honestly.

Kim
Baby genius: Miss Douglas. Miss Douglas, Hargrave House knows about the creatures that drink the blood of their victims; they’re called vampires. One detail in Jenny’s story convinces you this particular vampire has the body of a small child. What is it?

Natalia
While the victims of most vampires have bite marks at their neck, the three victims of this vampire in particular have bite marks on their lower legs.

[The adagio fades]

Kim
Now, just because the vampire is physically a child, that doesn’t mean it’s young. As we all know, vampires never physically age beyond how old they were when they were turned. And an old vampire has to be handled in a very different way than a young one. There are three Questions for the Limehouse Lurker, but I’m only going to tell you the first one right now because it’s another threshold question. This Question is, simply, is the vampire young or old? And that is a complexity 4. Answering that question either way will lead to the next corresponding question, which will allow you to resolve the Threat.

I also get to tell you one unique facet of this Threat, and this is brand new to the new rules of The Between. If five Night Phases pass before the Limehouse Lurker is resolved, other vampires are drawn to the city, either by the novelty of this young vampire or the power of an ancient vampire, and become a recurring problem for Hargrave House for the remainder of the campaign. You now have a new Keeper reaction: Reveal a Vampire.

T.
Sweet. Ticking clock.

Kim
And let me tell you, the vampires have some excellent names.

Natalia
Aw, now I just want to meet them.

T.
Kim, will you promise to tell us the names if we don’t have them all revealed anyway?

Kim
Yeah, I’ll tell you.

T.
Okay. [laughs]

Natalia
Yay!

Kim
They’re really good. The Limehouse Lurker also has a unique Mask associated with it. This is called The Mask of the Sun.

T.
Kim?

Kim
Yes?

T.
How are we spelling “sun”?

Kim
S-U-N.

T.
[inquisitive hm’s] Mhm. Mhm mhm.

Kim
Well, we are full up on Threats, Hunters. As a reminder, we have the Creature of Cremorne Gardens, which we have determined to be real and now we are trying to figure out what the creature wants. We have the Spidersilk Seamstress, which has three questions associated with it; any of them could resolve the Threat. We have four clues for Spidersilk Seamstress currently. And the brand new Limehouse Lurker. But that’s not all. Before I pass the reins over to you, I’d like to remind you all that you got a mixed success on answering the question concerning the Creature of Cremorne Gardens last night. Thus, I get to make your lives a little more complicated.

Cassandra
Uh oh.

T.
They’re already so complicated, though.

[Prokofiev’s Atumnal, Op. 8]

Kim
A brand new issue of the Illustrated Police News arrives on your doorstep. The front page headline reads, “London in a Frenzy Over the Creature of Cremorne! Fish-Fiend Spotted Twice in One Night — Is No Riverbank Safe?

The Creature of Cremorne Gardens, already the subject of wild speculation and riverside panic, has plunged the city into full-blown mania after two new sightings rocked Chelsea on Saturday night.

Witnesses claim the now-infamous half-man, half-fish monstrosity emerged from the Thames near Cremorne Gardens just as an eerie, melodic wail rose from the water. Mere minutes later, a similar horror was seen slinking beneath Battersea Bridge, raising the chilling possibility that London faces not just one—but a host of river-dwelling sirens.

From East End pubs to Mayfair salons, the city is abuzz. Children sing twisted rhymes about “the fish-man’s call,” fashionable society ladies carry smelling salts near the Embankment, and river traffic has slowed to a crawl. The beast—or beasts—have become the talk of every drawing room, dockside tavern, and gentleman's club in London.

A Thames boatman declared: “It ain’t just a monster now—it’s a blooming sensation.”

Authorities maintain their usual silence, but this paper has reported on the creature’s escalating appearances for weeks. With crowds now gathering nightly along the river, desperate for a glimpse—or a warning song—London teeters on the edge of supernatural hysteria.

How many creatures are there? What do they want? And why now?”

Well, Hunters, the Day is in your hands to do with as you please.

[Music fades]

T.
Before the Day, though, I gotta break my fast.

Kim
[laughs]

Cassandra
Oh, yes, our new phase.

Natalia
Our classic phase.

Cassandra
The phase we’ve added that will be a part of the 2026 edition of The Between.

T.
You can’t just skip right through.

Kim
[still laughing]

Cassandra
The Breakfast Phase.

Natalia
If they don’t make this a part of the actual game, riot. I’m rioting.

Kim
[still more laughter] Jason, hit me up if you wanna know the rules for the Breakfast Phase.

Cassandra
[laughs too]

Kim
Okay, fine, the Breakfast Phase. Proceed.

[Fire crackling, birds chirping]

T.
I don’t think it’s out of character for Mr. John to be bringing in the morning paper. This is the first time that One Shot has been home since the abduction by the Sendulla Sisters. So the other Hunters have not seen him in the intervening nights, but as one of you is coming down for breakfast, you do see John coming out of the larder holding just a scrap of raw meat that may or may not be bacon. There’s blood in his mustache, which is no longer its usual pencil thin, and he’s sporting a five o’clock shadow. There are deep, dark circles under his eyes, which are bloodshot. He’s wearing his same suit but it looks like it has not been changed; there are sweat stains around the armpits, there are tears around the threads of the lapel. He both appears not to have slept in this past week or done much of anything else.

Natalia
Maesie walks into the kitchen, not expecting One Shot to be there since he hasn’t been around. But she doesn’t care what he looks like at all. And she just starts shoving his chest, with every shove marking it with a punctuated:

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Where. Were. You?

Mr. John (T.)
Out.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
You’ve been gone for days and we were supposed to be helping Rabbit and for someone who claimed that they wanted to be my friend, um, it seems like you really were not around when we needed you to be around to help Rabbit get a literal demon out of him.

Mr. John (T.)
Think you got water in your ears there, girl. I never said I wanted to be your friend. I said someday I hoped that you would wanna be mine.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Oh, well, you’re doing a wonderful job at that. Wonderful job.

Mr. John (T.)
I’ve been preoccupied. I can’t be returning to my room every night. I’ve been sleeping in different locales. There’s these two women…

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
There’s two women! There’s always women, John! There’s always women with you.

Mr. John (T.)
No– [scoffs]

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
There are people here who need your assistance because not all of us are strong and big and can carry Rabbit, apparently, except that we have! Because we don’t need you, actually.

Mr. John (T.)
You don’t. You seem to be doing just fine without me.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Right.

Mr. John (T.)
What do I bring to this here table?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I genuinely do not know.

T.
I throw the raw meat on the table.

Robert
The table at which Rabbit has been sitting this whole time, ignoring this fight as he stares deeply into the eyes of Cait in a staring contest. And he’s attempting to cheat by waving little bits of his breakfast under the cat’s nose.

Mr. John (T.)
See? He’s fine. He’s got his magic, you are what you are, Miss Thanero is what she is.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
And you are a coward, John. And you abandoned us.

Mr. John (T.)
It’s not safe here.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Just a little bit of bacon. Just look away and it’s all yours.

Cassandra
At this point, Ena comes down the stairs, sees the scene in front of her. For a moment, there is a whisper of concern that crosses her face taking in Mr. John’s appearance and how tired he is. But all she does, without making eye contact, walks over to him, plucks the paper out of his other hand, and walks over to get her morning cup of coffee. A wall is up. She is having nothing to do with him this morning.

Mr. John (T.)
Besides, seems y’all looked real hard for me. All this concern’s very convenient.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
We went to your room. And sorry that we were busy with trying to get a demonic entity out of Rabbit as presently as possible. You were not there. You did not leave a note. How were we to know where you were?

Mr. John (T.)
That took all week did it? I thought you were the mighty hunters of Hargrave House. Can’t even find one man? Besides, I’m not the only one who’s out late. Nobody’s jumping down your throat.

T.
I say to Rabbit.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
No, that’s true. There hasn’t been anyone in my throat in quite some time.

Mr. John (T.)
So now we’re all just concerned about where a person sleeps. Sorry, I couldn’t be there for the demon exorcism. I’m sure I would have been of great use to you.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Considering we haven’t needed you all week, I find that highly doubtful.

Cassandra
And Ena takes her coffee and sets it a little harder than normal down on the table, and pulls out a chair and sits down and opens the news article to read more about the Creature of Cremorne Gardens. No eye contact, nose in the paper.

Mr. John (T.)
Nah, I can tell from those headlines that you’ve been hard at work putting a stop to this mystery sea creature.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
And what exactly have you been hard at work doing? Fucking your way through London?

Mr. John (T.)
I’ve been staying alive. That’s what I do.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
And yet you have three other fellows who would happily help you should you ask. Are you so proud that you can’t ask a single person for an ounce of help when you need it?

Mr. John (T.)
Are you so proud you can’t look me in the eye when you’re talking down to me?

Cassandra
At this point, Ena drops the paper. Her eyes flash gold, and she looks right at him. And is now having her own staring contest with Mr. John.

Mr. John (T.)
Well, serves me right for thinking I could be a part of something.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Yes. It does.

Natalia
Maesie grabs the meat that you threw on the table and stalks out of the room.

Mr. John (T.)
I never should have left home. See you around. Like I said, it’s not safe here.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Little bit of sausage? Come on.

T.
And on the way out, One Shot looks down at Rabbit, looks over at Cait. There’s this deep animal noise that begins in the bottom of his stomach, and he swallows it, wipes his mouth, spits on the floor near the table, and leaves Hargrave House.

[Fire crackling and birdsong fade away]

Kim
After a very tense breakfast, where does the day take you all?

T.
One Shot’s going back to Limehouse, if for no other reason than I need to see Philomena and de-drain.

Natalia
Maesie is going to the Larder.

T.
Oh, word!

Kim
My love, I’m obsessed. Alright. [laughs]

T.
Work.

Kim
I love that. Work.

Cassandra
Well, I have an appointment with Miss Beaumont at her new modiste that I’ve borrowed from Sylvia Belrose, so I will likely be heading that direction.

Robert
I think I’ll join One Shot heading towards Limehouse.

Kim
[laughing] By join you just mean, like, follow.

Robert
Oh, no. I will appear at some point along his walk.

T.
Love that.

Kim
Then I think I want to start with that scene. I want to start with Mr. John and then eventually Mr. Lloyd heading to Limehouse.

[people walking, children laughing, general hubbub]

T.
Mr. John is tearing down the streets, looking wearily, eyes darting at every passerby, assessing them for various threats, especially women and especially women walking in pairs, but nobody is safe from his scrutiny. He looks to all the world a madman. But he is heading for Limehouse and for the Songbirds of Shanghai show.

Robert
John hears a voice in his ear unexpectedly, because he is looking around so paranoid.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
So.

Mr. John (T.)
[startled] Ah!

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
What was all the fighting really about then?

Mr. John (T.)
Where were you all?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Where were we? Oh, you know, London mostly, I think.

Mr. John (T.)
You think. I’ve been gone for a week and running from den to warren, trying to keep my neck. London’s not that big a city. You’ve been distracted.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Distracted is a word for it. I like to think of it as being open to experiences.

Robert
Rabbit starts walking ahead of Mr. John a little bit and follows behind a fairly well-dressed man who surely won’t be going the same way that we are for very long, and just surreptitiously slides his hand into a pocket, pulls something out, sticks it back into his own pocket, and jumps back to join Mr. John.

Mr. John (T.)
New experiences. That why you let a demon inside your own flesh?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Oh, I don’t know about that. That was a smart choice, I think. I think I’ve been making too many smart choices recently and not enough right ones.

Robert
And he pulls out from the pocket that he had stuck whatever bills that he had stolen out of the man’s pocket, and a couple moths fly out.

T.
One Shot takes that wrist and looks at the scar. Is there any mark remaining?

Robert
Yes. Actually, I would say that there is a pale outline, as though it is well-healed scar tissue, but it is in the shape of the spiky foreign odd writing that was on his arm at one point.

T.
John looks down at that, looks back up at Rabbit. You’re, like, a hundred pounds soaking wet, right?

Robert
Yup. Small man.

[People sounds fade, ominous ambient drone rises]

T.
With his free hand, John grabs you by the neck, wheels you around, and pushes you up against a wall, and grabs your cuff of your collar, and holding you against the stones says:

Mr. John (T.)
There are two women in that house that don’t want nothing to do with me, and they’ve both sworn to me that they don’t need my protection, but they’re gonna get it anyway. You ever keep a secret like this that could jeopardize them, if you treat them like they’re moths and lead them to flame, I will personally set you on fire. Do you understand me?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
That’s funny. You, talking about keeping secrets.

Mr. John (T.)
I’ve shared with you everything you need to know. I’m not the only one keeping late nights.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Late nights are when the most interesting things happen in my experience. It’s when we dream the deepest, when we’re the closest to that other realm.

[Ambient drone fades, people sounds resume]

Mr. John (T.)
You ain’t been dreaming, boy.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
More than you would think.

Mr. John (T.)
There’s something about you that unsettles me, moreso than usual.

Robert
And the sort of dreaminess that Rabbit has had, this sort of lackadaisical attitude drains out of his face in a moment, and just steelily stares into Mr. John’s eyes.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Good. I should. [voice becomes dreamy again] Only if you do something wrong, though. I have no reason to frighten you at the moment.

Mr. John (T.)
I saw you. When I was in the Other Place. You appeared to me.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
I go a lot of places, not exactly sure where you’re talking about.

Mr. John (T.)
Where you been going lately?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Oh. Here and there, hither and yon.

Mr. John (T.)
Morgan.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
I’ve been trying to find my way back to one place where I was before, but those doors aren’t quite open yet. I can see ‘em, though. For the first time in a long time, I can see the doors.

Mr. John (T.)
To another world?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
To a better world.

Mr. John (T.)
A while back, a fella said something to me along those lines. That there are other worlds, and that he’d seen them. It was around here. I think the three of us should have a chat.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Always happy to meet new friends.

Mr. John (T.)
I’d like to meet one of yours.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
No, my friends are not nice people. In fact, very few of them are actually people.

T.
I let him down from against the wall, adjust his waistcoat, give him a knowing nod.

Robert
And Morgan hands back Mr. John’s billfold that he stole from him while he was up against the wall.

Mr. John (T.)
Keep it. I got no use for those on this side of the ocean.

Kim
Let’s go to the Larder.

[Ethereal rumbling drone]

Natalia
Yay.

Kim
I assume that you are invoking the unlocked move from the Larder. Let’s go ahead and give it a read: Whenever you succumb to the sudden urge to consume raw flesh in the Larder, you draw the attention of the pagan swine god, Moc’h, whose influence is still felt here long after the reckless hunter who venerated him was banished from Hargrave House. Roll with Sensitivity. If the flesh belonged to a humanoid creature, roll with Advantage.

So, before we get dice on the table, I just want to hear what this scene is.

Natalia
Maesie leaves the kitchen, having taken that bit of whatever John was eating, and storms down into the Larder in a huff. She is so angry, she is so tired, and she’s just, like, angrily eating things. She’s eating whatever this piece of meat was. She’s reaching into her fish tank and pulling out, like, a shrimp. She is just cramming, like, so many different things. And then, she goes to the wall and pulls out what she thinks is a tin of kippers, and opens it, and just starts shoveling them into her mouth. And it is a little too late before she realizes that this is a tin of actual human fingers. And she’s chewing on it, she’s like:

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
There’s– the bones in this are way too big to be a fish… Oh, no. Oh. Um. [clears throat]

Natalia
Delicately puts that tin down.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Why do we have these things in the larder? Who is eating the fingers? I am eating the fingers. Oh, lord. It’s fine. It’s [gags]. It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m okay.

Natalia
Proceeds to, like, swirl some saltwater in her mouth and, like, spit it back into the tank.

Kim
First of all, I’m so proud of you. You went there. [laughs]

Natalia
I’ve been planning this for so long. [giggle] The minute that was described, I was like, “Aha!”

Kim
That was, like, one of the Larder prompts. I love that. T. manifested that.

T.
I didn’t know. I didn’t know anybody would go for the strange delights.

[low porcine grunting]

Kim
Miss Douglas, as you are muttering to yourself and trying to remove the taste of human flesh from your lips, you begin to hear this low rumbling laughter coming from a pile of raw meat on one of the shelves in Hargrave House’s larder. Go ahead and roll with Sensitivity and roll with Advantage.

Natalia
[rolls dice] Please, god. Please be good to me. That is going to be a 10 plus 2. A 12.

Kim
Alright, Natalia. So, on a 10+, Moc’h reveals secrets in the meat. Ask the Keeper for a Clue. And you are sated for now. You may clear an appropriate condition. What condition are you interested in clearing here?

Natalia
I feel like Hesitant is the one that is giving me the most trouble.

Kim
Yeah, you can go ahead and clear Hesitant.

Natalia
Yes, thank you.

Kim
I’m curious to know, what Threat are you interested in getting a Clue for?

Natalia
I mean, I feel like Maesie is constantly Creature of Cremorne Gardens on mind.

Kim
Let us go now to Savile Row. Miss Thanero, first of all, what are we wearing today?

[Carriage wheels rolling on dirt]

Cassandra
Knowing that she’s going for information and knowing that this seamstress is making such a splash in the fashion scene, Ena has gone all out today. She is wearing a structured walking gown in deep plum purple moire silk. The crinoline is unusually angular, its pleats edged with metallic thread mimicking owl feathers. At the bodice, a corsage of olive leaves cast in bronze spirals over her heart paired with a collar stiff. Beneath the skirt, glimpses of storm gray satin. Her hat is a towering sculptural piece veiled in translucent silk with a single sharp Gorgon cameo at the brim. She is also wearing the string of pearls in lieu of her normal gold cord that she was given by Maesie.

Kim
Miss Thanero, you arrive at Mistress Beaumont’s shop. You see the veiled windows, the closed door, that silver plaque that reads “By Appointment Only.”

Cassandra
Ena walks up to the door, not wanting to be too aggressive as she’s coming to this appointment, and knocks three times on the door.

[Ethereal ambient drone, wind chimes tinkling]

Kim
The door opens slowly of its own accord, and you step inside. This is a very luxurious, well lit space. While the windows have been covered in scarves and veils, all the light here is this beautiful candlelight flickering off of colored glass and mirrors that are all about this space. We see mannequins that are wearing gowns that seems impossibly beautiful and impossibly crafted. You’ve never seen such fine clothes. Clothes that you could have only dreamed of. In fact, clothes that you mayhaps have dreamed of.

Cassandra
Taking all of this in, Ena walks over to a gown that is the most beautiful blend of whites and grays. It looks as if it’s been spun from storm clouds. And as she runs her hands through it, it almost looks like the clouds curl around her fingers as she caresses this garment.

Kim
Miss Thanero, Mistress Beaumont emerges from her private workshop. This woman of captivating beauty wearing layers of fine silk veils and scarves and gowns. She is almost cocooned in finery.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
Do I have the honor of entertaining Miss Sylvia Belrose?

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Unfortunately, my very good friend Sylvia has taken ill, but we didn’t want to waste your time and I’ve been trying to get an appointment. So, Sylvia lent me hers.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
Oh, what terrible luck for dear Sylvia.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
She is absolutely devastated.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
Well, miss, I’m afraid that you’ve caught me on my back foot. I had prepared a gown made for Sylvia Belrose. I hope you won’t mind trying it on nonetheless.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I would be happy to oblige. Anything to see your masterful craftsmanship.

Kim
Mistress Beaumont wheels out a mannequin wearing a very fine gown. I have a Paint the Scene for all of you. As Miss Thanero eyes this gown, what details in its construction inform us that this gown was made for none other than Miss Thanero?

Natalia
The bottom edges of the dress shift like water and are the color of the sea, very much like the painting that was made of Ena that serves her cult.

Robert
While it has a lot of lace details, as dresses of this period would, if you look closer, what appears to at first be floral lace is actually the branches and fruits of olive trees.

T.
There are structured shoulders, almost like epaulettes in their rigidity, and embroidered into both of them are women at looms, and they meet together in the back as the threads from the looms join to become the legs of a spider.

Cassandra
And instead of a traditional fabric corset, there is instead a gold armored piece that is immaculately sculpted to show off all of the wonderful skin one might see if they had seen Ena without her clothing.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
I dare say, my dear, I believe this suits you better than it would Miss Sylvia Belrose.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Yes, it does seem that you somehow knew that this was going to be for me, and that I was going to be gracing your door today instead of my dear friend, Miss Belrose.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
Mistress, it is my duty to anticipate my client’s every need.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
And you are very skilled.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
I am the best.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Yes, it appears you do think so.

Cassandra
Ena walks over and starts to gently tug at this garment, almost as if she is testing it for the quality of the sewing.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
I trust you can find no fault in its construction.

Cassandra
Ena goes around to the back and takes in this connection between these two stories at the shoulders.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
It does seem remarkable. One might say better than the gods’ work themselves.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
You flatter me, mistress. But, I dare say you might be right.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
It’s lovely to see you taking pride in your work. But one must be careful. Humility is always just around the corner.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
Darling, the people I dress are far too fabulous to be humble. Come, let’s see you in it.

Cassandra
Ena starts to take off what she’s wearing. She’s not modest in this moment. She knows what’s underneath here. And all of the windows are blocked off anyway. And even if they weren’t, she still wouldn’t care. So she just starts to take everything off and gets down to her bare essentials. And stands there, looks Miss Beaumont in the eyes, and says:

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Whenever you’re ready.

Kim
Mistress Beaumont takes the garment off of the mannequin and begins to dress you, almost kind of reverently, like she’s touching a priceless statue.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
So, tell me: where did you practice this magnificent skill before you came to London?

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
I’m afraid that’s my secret, mistress. I trained in far-off places.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Well, surely your reputation must carry given how much coverage you’re receiving for your work here in all of the papers.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
[titters] Well, I do make it a point to introduce myself to the best people, the most interesting, the most beautiful.

Kim
She says, as she’s fastening the gown about you.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I think beauty is a very, very important thing. Probably the most important thing to look out for in who you decide to take on as clientele. Naturally, you wouldn’t want to be dressing someone from, say, Limehouse or otherwise.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
I offer more than beauty, mistress. I offer transformation. I ask you, dear, if you could be the person you always dreamed of, who would you be?

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Well, dear, I think that’s a secret that I’ll be keeping to myself. You seem to have yours, do you not?

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
Alright, I won’t press, Miss Thanero.

Cassandra
Ena turns towards one of the mirrors, inspecting how immaculate this fit is.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Now this was supposed to be for Sylvia, but I fear I simply must have it.

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
I wouldn’t trouble yourself with Miss Belrose. It was made for you, dear.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
How much do I owe you, then?

Mistress Beaumont (Kim)
Consider it my gift to you. You would honor me by wearing it, to have someone as beautiful as you wearing the work of the finest weaver.

Cassandra
I think as they are going through this fitting they fall into, I wouldn’t say a comfortable silence, but a very professional, respectful moment of quiet. And Ena starts to look around to see if maybe she can find anything of Richard Harlowe’s, maybe left here, because obviously she’s aware that the two were seeing each other. Potentially anything that might give a clue as to why she is here in London.

Kim
This sounds like a Information Move with Reason, please.

Cassandra
I feel, in this moment, as I’m about to do this roll, Ena walks over to her clothing as it’s laid out while she’s wearing this other outfit, and reaches into her pocket and touches one of these coins from a forgotten civilization. And, as she’s holding it, is going to give it to Mistress Beaumont as a form of payment but also as an acknowledgment. And I’m going to then take this roll with Advantage.

Kim
Absolutely. Mark that Personal Quarters item.

Cassandra
I would love to. That is a 10 minus 1 is a 9.

[Birds chirping, people walking, dog barking]

Kim
Let’s return to Mr. Lloyd and Mr. John. So, as a result of the Vulnerable Move, both of you can clear conditions, should you wish to.

T.
I wish to.

Kim
What would you like to clear?

T.
After that confrontation and feeling now like he has something to fight for instead of just run from, Mr. John has got a little bit more pep in his step and is no longer feeling drained.

Robert
And after having spent the morning pickpocketing, Rabbit is not feeling quite so conspicuous.

Kim
Makes sense to me. And, the two of you get to give me a Clue. It can be for any of the active Threats, as long as it does not definitively answer a Question.

Robert
So I had a thought, because I specifically said I took your billfold out of your pocket.

T.
Yeah.

Robert
What if there’s some remnant, some token left over from your evening with the Sendulla Sisters in that wallet?

T.
That’s so funny. I was thinking as I was pulling my hands away from your waistcoat I would see, like, some sort of leftover from your time with Miss Beaumont.

Robert
[laughs] What if a sewing needle made of electrum or some other rare metal ended up in Mr. John’s pocket?

T.
We were talking about dreams so much. What if it’s a sewing needle made from a nightmare?

Robert
Okay, yeah. A sewing needle made out of a nightmare.

Kim
Lovely. Alright, what about the rest of your day?

T.
Now that Rabbit is tailing Mr. John, he’s not feeling too inclined about going to see Philomena anymore. So, turning the bent to the investigation and going to Jenny Johnston’s opium den and ask her about these murders firsthand. But on the way, no longer looking at everybody as a potential threat, but keeping an eye out for any glints of gold, trying to see if I can’t spy the Man in the Sun Mask.

Kim
Mr. Lloyd, are you tagging along?

Robert
Absolutely. Morgan is still very much in his own little dream world, only partially in London at the moment. He is tagging along with One Shot, but he’s doing so in a weaving. He’ll disappear for a moment into the crowd and then reappear. It’s almost as though he coincidentally happens to be going to the same place One Shot is, not actually following him.

Kim
Alright, off to the opium den you go.

[Ominous rumbling ambient drone]

[Low porcine grunting]

Kim
I’d like to return to Hargrave House itself. Miss Douglas, that laughing sound grows louder and this pile of meat in the larder begins to congeal together, forming into the visage of this enormous boar made out of raw meat. This entity looks at you with these blazing yellow eyes.

Moc’h (Kim)
How did it taste, little piglet?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
The, uh, the fingers? Um…

Moc’h (Kim)
Yes, child.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I won’t lie, it was better than I thought it was going to be. It was moreso the surprise [Moc’h laughs] of it being a finger. Um, but, you know, all canned goods taste about the same. Do you also live in the house, are you also a hunter? And do you just live in the larder?

[Low echoing growling]

Moc’h (Kim)
I am everywhere where there is hunger, where there is the hunter and the hunted. There was a worshipper of mine who lived here once. Foolish hunters thought they could cast him out and cast me out, but I remain. And you have called me, little piglet. Lucky you. Lucky you that you are joining me, happy, feeding at the breast of the great he-sow.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
The who?

Moc’h (Kim)
You stand before Moc’h, child. You have called him to you with your delicious act. Ordinarily, when I am called, I ask a task of my little piglets, but Moc’h smiles on you today, child. Tell me, what is it you would ask of me?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Well, first off, my name is Maesie. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to our home. Glad to have you.

Moc’h (Kim)
[slowly] Maesie.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Um, I guess, I don’t know. Well, we’re working on a lot of different investigations in the house. I don’t know if you’re aware of them. Did you just come into consciousness now or is this sort of like a you’re always around sort of situation and you know what we’re doing?

Kim
Your senses are overwhelmed with the smell of rotting meat and this enormous boar head grows larger, now taking up one entire wall of the larder.

Moc’h (Kim)
Do not insult me, child. I am older than this world.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Right, I’m so sorry. That was not my intention. I was just curious. I’m so sorry. Um, how can I help you, oh mighty Moc’h?

Moc’h (Kim)
Do you wish to worship, child?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Uhh, mmm, what would that entail exactly?

Moc’h (Kim)
An offering.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Could you be more specific?

Moc’h (Kim)
I would ask of my worshippers a sacrifice of riches, status, or blood.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Right, well, I mean, there’s…

Natalia
She just reaches, like, into the tank and pulls out a fish and just sort of, like, bursts it open and the blood spills out onto the floor, and she’s just like:

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
There you are.

Moc’h (Kim)
Yours, little piglet.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Oh, my blood. No, that’s going to stay inside of me, thank you very much.

Moc’h (Kim)
[chuckles] You amuse me, Maesie. You will not always have my goodwill. But today, I come bringing a gift.

Kim
This enormous pig thing opens its mouth.

Moc’h (Kim)
Reach inside, child.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
[clears throat] Um… Alright.

Natalia
Maesie, no longer hesitant, full arm straight into its mouth.

Kim
You reach in, like, to your shoulder, and you feel something small and smooth and hard at the back of this swine god’s throat. And when you pull it out, it is a large, flawless pearl.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Is this for me? How did you know?

Moc’h (Kim)
It is for you, but not from me. It is a gift from one that swims and sings in the Thames.

[Shadows in the Smoke theme]

Kim
Shadows in the Smoke is a Kitten Marlowe production. This episode was edited and produced by Kim Dalton, and featured a theme song by Jake Pierle. You can find out more about us by visiting kittenmarlowe.com, signing up for our newsletter, or following us on socials. For Discord access, an exclusive behind the scenes show, and more, visit Patreon.com/KittenMarlowe and join Aaron Neslin and all of our incredible Kitten Marlowe patrons in supporting artist-driven storytelling. Thanks for listening.