Shadows in the Smoke S1E34 - "An Encounter With Hidden Truth"

Shadows in the Smoke S1E34 – “An Encounter with Hidden Truth”

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 the last time we checked in on the Hunters of Hargrave House. First things first, at the top of the Day Phase… T. Last night, you advanced and took a custom move. We did some chatter off-mic about what that was, but would you care to share your brand new move with the class?

T.
This is Non Sibi Sed Aliis, which is the original motto of Savannah, which means “not for self but for others.” When another hunter in a scene for which you are present would invoke a Janus mask to increase a roll from a failure to a mixed success, you may choose to invoke one of yours instead. Describe how your help amends fate in their favor.

Kim
I love it. Next, because we have fewer than three active Threats, I get to introduce a brand new one.

T.
No!

Natalia
No…

Cassandra
Oh, boy.

Kim
This threat is called The Whateley Camera.

[Chopin’s Funeral March in C minor]

Kim
The Hargrave House library contains research on the so-called Whateley Camera, one of the first wet plate-type cameras ever produced. People who are photographed by the camera have been know to disappear without a trace. An American scientist and philosopher, Atticus Whateley, studied the camera for a number of years and proposed that it was some sort of entity – a demon, or even a god – and that the people who went missing had been transported to another dimension. Whateley advanced an idea called the Fragrant Void, a sort of proto-Earth that existed in near total darkness, and that was home to powerful entities who were banished by God on the first day of creation. He believed some of those entities could still operate in our world, hidden from view – perhaps in objects like the camera. While his research couldn’t prove the existence of the Fragrant Void, he did manage to show how the camera caused people to be whisked away to another dimension. Unfortunately, before he could present his work for review, he was killed, his notes were destroyed, and the camera went missing.

One week ago, a beautiful actress, Penelope Levy, disappeared. She was last seen at the Society Obscura, an exclusive and secretive club for wealthy photography enthusiasts located in a converted townhouse in Kensington. A missing actress wouldn’t merit attention from Hargrave House, if not for the fact that her lover, Burt Broadswell, sent the hunters one of the pictures taken of her at the Society Obscura.

I now pose the following to a hunter who has the Cosmic Passage marked. Mr. Lloyd, something unusual about the photo unmistakably confirms that the photo of Penelope was taken with the Whateley Camera. What is it?

Robert
An interesting fact about all wet-plate photography is that it doesn’t quite have the same visual range as the human eye. It picks up things in the infrared spectrum a little less, and things in the ultraviolent spectrum a little more. The Whateley Camera is unique in that it can seem to pick up things from the spiritual realm as well. And there is a ghostly figure hanging just over one of the shoulders of Penelope Levy.

Kim
There is one single question for the Whateley Camera. It is, “What circumstances will cause someone photographed by the Whateley Camera to disappear?” It is Complexity 8. Answering this question unlocks two different opportunities, one of which resolve the Threat. The first opportunity, resolve the Threat by reversing the process and bringing Penelope Levy back to the world. And the second opportunity, use the camera to transport yourself to the Fragrant Void and make contact with the Entity there. Doing so gives you access to the special move, Voidwalker.

Cassandra
Ooh, I like that.

Natalia
Don’t tempt me with a custom move!

T.
And a nice title!

Natalia
The Fragrant Void is weird as fuck.

T.
I’m always trying to get into that Fragrant Void, you know me.

Kim
The Whateley Camera is also unique in that it does not have a Threat-associated mask, so proceed with caution.

Cassandra
[Gasps]

Natalia
Great.

Cassandra
Oh, wow.

T.
The Fragrant Void took the mask!

Kim
Another word of warning: after five Night Phases, the camera will fall into the hands of the Mastermind. The Entity becomes a servant of the Mastermind, and the Threat can no longer be resolved.

Natalia
No! We can’t have that.

Kim
So the Whateley Camera joins our list of active Threats, along with Figgs Piggs. One Night Phase has passed. You have four more remaining before the remaining Figgs escape London, and the Threat can no longer be resolved. And we have The Nutcracker. Three Night Phases remain before the Sculptor completes his master work on Christmas Day, plunging London into years-long despair, and the campaign ends immediately.

T.
I feel like we gotta kind of focus on that one.

Natalia
I’m going to try and get Clues for that today, I think.

T.
Cool.

Kim
Does anyone feel like some breakfast?

T.
Honestly, is this a reflection on where we are in the arc? We’re not coming together for breakfast anymore?

Cassandra
I’m not planning to be at breakfast this morning.

Natalia
Yeah, I also don’t think I would be there.

T.
I think breakfast was from a simpler time.

Kim
Alright, then I will leave you with one more little tidbit.

Mr. Hutchinson, descending the stairs to an empty breakfast table. Something catches your – admittedly, more refined than the rest of the hunters’ – senses. You smell something. The smell of rotting meat and flesh, emanating from the Larder.

T.
That’s not great! But dogs love rolling in things that smell bad. I’ll go scope out the Larder.

Kim
Opening the door of the Larder, the smell of rotting flesh grows stronger, and you see the body of James Whisler.

[Low, dreadful ambient tones]

Kim
He is naked. His throat has been neatly cut, and it look as though the blood drained out of his body. His hands are bound, and he is hanging from a meat hook in the middle of the Larder. All around his limbs and body are small dotted lines, crisscrossing and encircling parts of his body, as if to denote cuts of meat. At his feet is a large rectangular wrapped package.

T.
[Sighs] I lift him off the hook, first and foremost, and set him down on the cold stone floor.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Shouldn’t have been like this. I wanted to show you the Red Hills of home. I’ll make sure they pay for it.

T.
And I unwrap the package.

Kim
The first thing you see is a folded piece of paper. Unwrapping it, you see that it is a note that was wrapped around a butcher’s knife.

T.
What does it say?

Kim
“Eat up. We want our piggy nice and fat before the butchering.”

Also in this package is a framed portrait of Miss Ena Thanero, signed from James Whistler.

T.
I look at the portrait, swallow hard, pick up the butcher’s knife, and rend it through the portrait. And then I lean down to Whistler and kiss him gently on the lips, then bite his lower lip in mine. And with a quick jerk of my neck, tear it, swallow it, and say…

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Alright, where are you, you fucking pig?

Kim
Alright. So what is everyone doing this Day Phase? Mr. Hutchinson I know, but everyone else?

Robert
I’m hoping to have an early morning chat with Greco.

Natalia
I’m gonna go to probably my first rehearsal at the ballet since joining the company.

Kim
Miss Douglas, you’ve probably received several letters in the mail saying that if you do not show up to rehearsal, you will be cut from the corps.

Natalia
I’m busy! I’ve got things to do!

Cassandra
I think to start my day, Ena would like to do a vulnerable scene with Augustus.

T.
Yes, please.

Kim
Sounds good. Let’s resolve Augustus first.

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. Roll with Sensitivity. If the flesh belonged to a humanoid creature, roll with Advantage. I’m going to put you at disadvantage, because of Blood On Your Hands, in this case very literally. So it’s just going to be a flat roll.

T.
[Rolls dice] 2+4 is 6, +1 is 7.

Kim
Take the Condition: Ravenous.

T.
[Quietly] Fuck.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Little pig, little pig, let me come in.

[Low rumbling roars]

Kim
Once again, the raw meat on a large shelf in the Larder starts to congeal together into an enormous boar head, though this time more monstrous. It has too many teeth.

Moc’h (Kim)
Yes, child.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Somebody came into my home under your upturned snout and murdered somebody I cared about. Where is he?

Moc’h (Kim)
Correct thyself. A worshipper of mine came into my house.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
If you don’t want your fucking house to get blown down, you’re going to tell me where I can find this worshipper of yours. I’ll give you a bloody fucking Sabbath.

Moc’h (Kim)
One does not find my worshipper. Rather, he finds you. There is something special about you, little piglet. You are delicious. Yes, you would make a fine pie. But it is a break from the pattern…

Kim
Mr. Hutchinson, you find your body somehow possessed. You are now moving, not of your own accord, back to the unwrapped package, and you are reaching into the wrapping paper. And you find, buried within the paper, a carefully folded bundle of long blonde hair, tied in a ribbon. That is a Clue for Figg’s Piggs.

T.
Do I feel control return to my body?

Kim
You do.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Don’t ever fucking do that again.

Moc’h (Kim)
I will do what I please, little piglet.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I keep telling you, wrong animal.

T.
I look around at the thick flagstone of the Larder, this rock that keeps the cold in. And I’m pissed, and I’m hungry, and I skipped breakfast. So I go upstairs.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Merricat! There’s a lantern out downstairs. Do we have any kerosene around here?

Merricat Ovelia (Kim)
I believe I might have some down in the basement, sir.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I’ll grab it. As you were.

Merricat Ovelia (Kim)
Yes, sir.

Kim
She disappears. Probably back to the Conservatory.

T.
I’m gonna go back down to the Larder with kerosene, douse it on this flesh pig, and set him on fire and close the doors behind me. I’m sure I can’t kill this guy, but I’m mad. So wakey wakey, eggs and bakey.

[Fire crackles and rumbles, a strained roar is heard]

Kim
Indeed yes, you cannot kill Moc’h. But you do hear the most horrified, monstrous screaming emanating from the Larder, and the smell of charred meat.

[Dreamlike ambience slowly fades in]

Kim
Mr. Lloyd, you ascend the stairs to Greco’s quarters, knock on the door. You hear a dreamy voice say…

Greco (Kim)
Enter, please.

Robert
Morgan opens the door softly and steps into the room.

[Wind rustles, and mixes with the dreamy ambience]

Kim
Except you don’t step into the room. You step, and you feel a hand on your back, pulling you a few steps back. For indeed, you were about to step off of a cliff. Greco is behind you, shaking his head, saying…

Greco (Kim)
No, not yet.

Kim
And you realize that you and Greco are posed at the top of a very tall cliff. There is a little dog next to you. It appears as though you are in a portrait from the tarot deck. You and Greco are The Fool, ready to step off the cliff into oblivion.

I have a Paint the Scene for you all, here. Greco’s dream tarot features cards not found in a standard deck. Name one of these secret cards. What mysterious aspect of life does it stand for?

T.
One card is -1, below even The Fool, and it is The Beggar. And this represents life’s unexpected setbacks, upheavals, and resets.

Robert
One of the cards in Greco’s deck, when turned over, is entirely blank. Representing things that exist outside the normal flow of reality.

Cassandra
Another card in Greco’s deck is called The Veil. It represents the moment just before a revelation. If you were to see it upright, you would have an encounter with hidden truth. But reversed, it means that you refuse to see what is already obvious.

Natalia
And not the final card, but just one more in Greco’s deck, is simply The Door. Which represents a choice before you that you have to either actively choose to make, or actively choose to ignore – either opening or shutting the door before you.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Well, this hasn’t been my card in quite some time. Hello, Dream Sovereign. I was, um… Well, to put it bluntly, I was hoping to use you for a moment.

Greco (Kim)
Ah… In what way were you suggesting, Lord Shaper?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Recently, there’s been someone messing about in the land of dream. An intruder. And, well, I was hoping to try and maybe understand a bit more about how this… man, let’s call him, is able to do this. Unfortunately, I am still myself unable to enter this illustrious realm of my own. So I’m just hoping to use you as a bit of a stable point while I set up something here.

Greco (Kim)
It would be an honor to assist you in walking the ways, Storyteller.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Well, I suppose the first thing I can ask you: have you, in your nightly travels, encountered a man calling himself The Sculptor, or perhaps The Nutcracker?

Greco (Kim)
Miss Douglas spoke of him. I believe I have seen him. Dream of him. Mayhaps his dreams.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Good, good… No, that’s exactly what I need. I don’t suppose you would care to journey with me, deep into the land of dreams and nightmares, and take a peek at one or two of those?

Kim
Greco offers his hand to you and then moves closer to the cliff.

Greco (Kim)
Shall we begin the journey?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
The best way to begin is with a step.

Robert
And Morgan takes the step, right off the edge of the cliff.

Kim
Please roll the Information Move with Sensitivity.

Robert
[Rolls dice] Ooh! That is a 10 on the dice, for a 13 in total.

T.
Let’s fucking go!

Kim
Alright. So on a 13, that’s not only a Clue for the Nutcracker, but also a Mastermind Clue. We shall revisit both shortly.

Miss Douglas, you find yourself in the ballet studio of the Royal Ballet. You arrive just as Zelia Gagnon is about to close the door. You know not to be late to class. Every rehearsal starts with a lengthy, exhausting class at the ballet barre, and then at center. You are among several dozen dancers, all of them stretching. You see very steely, stressed eyes gazing at you from the many mirrors in this place. People are cracking their knuckles, sewing ribbons onto their ballet shoes. All around you are bruises, injuries, bloodied toes. But you take your spot at the barre.

I have a Paint the Scene, here. Chopin’s Etude Opus 25, no. 11 “Winter Wind” plays down the hall.

[Chopin’s “Winter Wind” begins]

Kim
In what way does the studio echo the dramatics of the piano?

T.
The very beginning of the piece has almost a sustained breath, as before a storm. And all of the dancers know that when Zelia Gagnon is ready to begin class, all she needs to do is stand. And when her posture reaches its zenith, as the dancers’ flurry begins, she, much like the left hand in the piece, is a constant refrain, revolving around them, waiting to strike out fiercely at any moment. And the mirrors around the room revolve around in the opposite direction, as she walks.

Cassandra
So if one were to hear this piece, you would hear a whirlwind of notes – very, very fast. And it feels almost as if the music itself is spinning. And in the studio, we see the dancers almost in a battle with each other, to see who can do as many fouetté turns as fast as  humanly possible. So you see all of these dancers just spinning and spinning and spinning, and then there are moments when they fall to the ground, until only one remains.

Natalia
Much like the underscoring notes underneath the flurry, these very solid constant thumps of the bass notes, Zelia’s staff taps into the floor of the studio, keeping the dancers on time and occasionally striking out against a dancer who stumbles or fails – in whatever way she sees as a failure.

Robert
And as suddenly as it began, the frenetic energy of the dancers ends, and everything is still once more.

Kim
Miss Douglas, you have the last spot at the barre, because you were the last to arrive.

[A Chopin Prelude begins]

Kim
In front of you is a young boy who looks to be about 12 years old. He’s pulling off some rayed socks that were over his soft ballet slippers.

Young Ballet Boy (Kim)
[With an Eastern European accent] I hear you are our new Sugar Plum.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Yes, that is me. I am doing that. I just auditioned, so it’s very new.

Young Ballet Boy (Kim)
Oh, welcome. Were you taking a lot of private instruction? I don’t mean to ask, it’s just you have not been to many rehearsals, that I could see.

Miss Doulgas (Natalia)
Right. No, I just… I have a very complex schedule. And I don’t always… I know that, you know, there’s been rehearsals outside of class time. That’s mostly what I do.

Young Ballet Boy (Kim)
I see.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
What’s your name?

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Sacha Delov.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Nice to meet you. I’m Maesie.

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Hi, Maesie.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
How long have you been here?

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Several years, now. Last year I was just a party guest. And I thought I was going to be so, this year.

Kim
He looks around the ballet class, and is content to see that Zelia is currently correcting a grand plie from a dancer on the other side of the room, before he turns to you.

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Don’t tell. But I was glad when they announced that Basil had died. I could finally take his place as the lead mouse!

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Well then you definitely probably require more practice. Would you like to rehearse after class with me?

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Yes, miss. I’ve watched the ballet several years. I know all of the roles.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
If you need anyone to practice with… Yes, that would be great. Most of my practices have been without people from the company. So it’d be good to learn how you guys do all this, and just get a feel for everyone.

Kim
Let’s pick back up with Mr. Hutchinson.

[The sound of flames gradually fades away…]

T.
With the smoke beginning to coalesce in the Larder behind him as Mr. Hutchinson pulls the door shut, he tears up the stars toward Ena’s room. Having her be as scarce as she’s been would be something that he noticed but is trying to be respectful of in giving her deference. But seeing this portrait that he commissioned of her and having this vengeance fueled within him, he is forgoing decorum and goes up to her room, but does knock on the door.

Cassandra
Ena is sitting in a chair reading her beautiful copy of The Iliad. She recognizes the franticness of the knock and knows who it is, and for the first time in many days, decides to let him in.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Enter.

T.
And so he does.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
[Clears throat] I know you’ve been keeping to yourself as of late, but things out there is getting worse, and I think… I do think it would be good for the two of us to take the air. Nothing else, for a change of scenery.

Cassandra
Ena doesn’t look up from her book, and turns a page and continues to read. She looks sadder than Mr. Hutchinson has seen her, in the time that they’ve spent together. She’s grieving the misstep that she took with Theodora and this young boy that was killed for no other reason than to observe her and take stock of her – which, as we know, she does not like to be looked at. Finally, she looks up at him, and her eyes are dark. Darker than you’ve ever seen them.

She closes the book, sets it on a little side table. She stands up and walks towards Mr. Hutchinson and just surveys him for a moment.

T.
She can see he’s also in a bad way. Has not been sleeping well, and the dark circles have returned under his eyes. Also, there’s a thinness to him. A sort of hollowness that maybe she sees on a spectral level.

Cassandra
She takes all of this in, and then moves her eyes back to his.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
You look like you’re in need.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Need of something, that’s for sure. Bite to eat, for one. And there are other ways I typically relieved myself.

T.
He fidgets, and doesn’t stand his ground. He’s restless, even trying to stay still in front of her.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I’ve been not doing that so much, lately.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
And you have my thanks, for that.

Cassandra
She cocks her head and kind of smirks, and then she turns and looks out the window for a moment. The sun is high in the sky. It’s a beautiful day out. And she turns and looks back to him.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I think I have the answer to what ails you. And I think taking the air is a good idea.

Cassandra
She lightly squeezes his arm and goes to the door and calls for Merricat to pull her carriage around. She walks over toa  dresser and opens a drawer, pulls something out of it, and puts it inside her bag, and grabs her bag and gloves and walks back to Mr. Hutchinson.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I’ve got some place I’d like to take you. I think it’ll help.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Anywhere you go, you know I will follow.

[Dreamy ambience]

Kim
Mr. Lloyd, before we get to the Clues that I owe you, I’d just like to take an opportunity for you to describe some of the dreams you and Greco wander through, as you’re making your way towards your target.

Robert
Most dreams, as Rabbit well knows, are fairly mundane. They are simply the stresses and memories of the day, reflected upon the sleeper. These are the chaff that he would have had to sort through to find the wheat of the truly good dreams. Dreams that tell extraordinary stories, that show people for who they really are. Nightmares that, if left on their own, could become terrifying monsters in their own right. Today, it is late winter. Most of the dreamers’ dreams are being affected by this. Snow storms that prevent people from getting where they need to go. The idea of it being Christmas Eve, and you still haven’t done all of your shopping. And even a jolly old man, dressed head to toe in red, who seems to be doing something similar to Morgan and Greco, peering in on the dreams of the sleepers and judging their souls.

Kim
I like you mentioning this ice and frost.

[A cold wind blows, ice crackles]

Kim
Going off of that, Greco leads you onto the deck of an enormous ship. All around you are men in thick furs, pacing about on the deck, looking nervous. Looking over the railing, you see several more men with pickaxes, trying to hack at the ice that has frozen their ship in place. One of those men is the Sculptor themselves.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Now this is interesting, isn’t it? A rather mundane dream, for one who fancies themselves such a horrific artist.

Greco (Kim)
A reoccurring dream of theirs. I cannot say if it is a memory, or simply fantasy. There are always stories of doomed voyages to the Arctic.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Well, let’s play a little game with him, shall we? Let’s see if we can’t help him resolve this dream a little bit.

Kim
Greco looks at you and bows.

Greco (Kim)
It would be an honor to watch you work.

Robert
With that, Morgan takes a step forward – and in doing so, changes form. He is no longer the young, skinny man dressed in cheap workwear and various shades of grey. The man that steps forward is this enormous, muscle-bound giant of a man, dressed in what appears to be peasants garb, though medieval in its nature. A pair of plain brown trousers, a leather apron, an unbleached cotton shirt. And over all of that, because of the setting, an enormous fur coat. His hands are calloused, his face is lined with age.

This is a form that Morgan has not taken in many years: The Keeper of Her Majesty’s Stables. The Dreamkeeper. For in the realm of the Queen of Dreams, nightmares are tamed, shod, and use to carry her carriages, and one of Morgan’s many duties when he lived in that realm was to take care of those.

And so he walks up to the ship, pulls an enormous blacksmith’s hammer out of seemingly nowhere and strikes the ice, which shatters.

[Ice cracks]

Robert
The ship lurches, and begins to move very slowly forward.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
[In a gruff voice] Right then, that’s got you moving now. Let’s see if we can’t get up on that ship and get it where it’s going!

Kim
The Sculptor looks at you and nods in thanks, its lips blue and chapped from this arctic air, pulled back off of the teeth.

You and Greco board the vessel as it sets sail through this ice, through the water, and you dock in the most curious of places.

[A string quartet plays]

Kim
Your ship arrives in the middle of a grand masquerade, and everyone is wearing a sapphire blue venetian mask.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Well that’s a good bit of information right there, but I feel a bit underdressed for this situation.

Robert
And Morgan takes another step, and changes form again. This time, he’s almost recognizable as Rabbit. He is the Rabbit that we have seen before in some of his memories. Happy, young, strong, powerful. Wearing tight fitting breeches and a flowing tunic, that at first both appear to be black or midnight blue, but as he moves and the light bounces off of them, you see the colors of the aurora reflected in the threads of the weave. And above all of that, a simple black domino mask.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
This feels a bit more appropriate for where we’ve landed.

Kim
You look, and Greco’s wearing a white domino to match yours.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
So tell me, my friend.

Robert
Morgan says, talking to The Sculptor.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
What is this party that you’re so eager to attend?

Kim
The Sculptor is also now earing a sapphire blue venetian mask, and he raises a long finger to his lipless mouth.

The Sculptor (Kim)
Shhhh…

Kim
And then leaves the ship, and joins the dancers.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Well, as they say, when in Rome…

Robert
And Morgan jumps off the ship in a balletic move, in something that does not seem like it would be possible for a normal person. Something out of like an Errol Flynn swashbuckler.

Kim
There is this held breath amongst everyone in attendance as you leap and briefly appear weightless, hanging in the air for far too long. And then you land very softly.

Greco extends a hand to you.

Greco (Kim)
Would you care to dance?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
I would be delighted. It’s been far too long since I’ve been able to properly dance at one of these parties.

Kim
For those of you keeping score, the dream or story of a doomed voyage to the Arctic is a Clue for the Nutcracker. This odd place where everyone is wearing a sapphire blue mask, no one is speaking or explaining themselves, that is a Mastermind Clue.

[The music fades…]

Kim
Miss Douglas, class has concluded, and you and Sacha Delov are now in a smaller, empty rehearsal room. There is a small ballet bar, and a very large mirror in front of you.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
So, how long have you been dancing?

Sacha Delov (Kim)
I suppose since I could walk, honestly.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I mean, you’re not from here originally, I assume.

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Ah, no. I am… trying to lose the accent.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
You’re doing great. I can barely tell. I have a really good ear, so.

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Thank you. I am trying to… [Struggles a bit with the accent] I am still working on it.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Can I be honest? I like the one you already have.

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Thank you, miss. How about you show me what you know so far of Sugar Plum?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Right. Okay.

[The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy plays]

Natalia
Maesie does a version of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy that is very fluid, and mimics the movement of snow whipping through the air. She’s been practicing it on her own since she was instructed about it, but since she hasn’t really been to class, it’s kind of taken on its own flavor of what she thinks it should be. And when she’s done, she turns to Sacha and says…

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Right. So that’s what I’ve been working on, but I know the company’s very demanding, and I’d love it if you could help me get more, like, flavor or elements of the way that you dance here.

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Yes, miss. The company style. I would be happy to. Although if I may, I like the way that you do it.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Thank you. [Stifles a small sob] It’s very nice of you to say. Sorry, I just…

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Oh, no. I’m sorry, I made you cry.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
No, it’s… I cry a lot. It’s really not you. Um, I just… The las time I that I danced here, it didn’t go so well. I’ve sort of noticed that this place is not really the least toxic environment, and it doesn’t really encourage friendliness. Have you experienced that?

Sacha Delov (Kim)
It has been feeling sadder, recently. More despair, I suppose you would call it.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Is that because of all of the sculptures?

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Yes, miss.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
But you said that you get to be the lead mouse now! That…

Sacha Delov (Kim)
I do! Now that Basil was… Well, what happened to Basil.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
That’s exciting, at least.

Sacha Delov (Kim)
It is! Although I am a little nervous. There has been talk that on Christmas there will be a final performance. Miss, surely it’s just of the season, right?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I would think so. I don’t think that the company would be over. That doesn’t sound very good for business.

Sacha Delov (Kim)
I hope so. I am very far from home. If the company closed, I don’t know where I would go.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Well, you could always come live with me. We have a really big house, and there’s a lot of rooms, and I don’t think there’s someone living in every single one.

Sacha Delov (Kim)
Is there a dance studio?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Probably! It’s… I haven’t explored the whole thing. It’s a really big house. There’s a ballroom! That’s kind of a dance studio.

Sacha Delov (Kim)
I have never danced in a ballroom before.

Miss Doulgas (Natalia)
Well, you should come by.

Sacha Delov (Kim)
This would be very exciting. Come, come. I will teach you the rest of the pas de deux.

Kim
And he’s sort of, like, trying to be like a good frame, even though he’s like several inches shorter than you.

Natalia
He’s doing wonderfully, okay?! I love him.

Kim
It kind of feels like we were setting up a bit of a Vulnerable Move here, with young Sacha.

Natalia
I hope so. I was confiding a little bit in him.

Kim
Go ahead and clear a Condition.

Natalia
I think I’m gonna clear Lost Girl, because I Think I feel a little bit less lost here at the ballet than I did before, if that makes sense.

Kim
You’ve confided in him, and you have someone literally showing you the steps. And you get to define a Clue for me, for any of the active threats.

Natalia
Toward the end of our rehearsal, Sacha tells me about the competitive goings-on a the ballet, and suggest that I never eat or drink anything that is given to me by someone else at the ballet, either staff or student. And to just always keep track of anything that I bring, so that it is not tampered with by other members of the ballet.

Kim
I love that. Stories of sabotage at the ballet.

Finally, because you are doing the Vulnerable Scene with a Side Character, I need you to make the Day Move.

Natalia
Okie-doke.

Kim
What are you afraid will happen if things go wrong here?

Natalia
Honestly, I kind of worry that the same thing that happened to Albertina will happen o him. This place is weird, and weird things happen, and I’m not always in control in my actions. And I worry if I get too close to him, it’ll end up badly for him.

Kim
I like that. This is a Day Move, with… Let’s say Vitality, because you’re dancing. Let me take a look at your conditions… I like Dependent, because you are kind of dancing with Sacha in this moment.

Natalia
He did just tell me not to eat or drink anything that anyone else brought, and I have a meat pie.

Kim
Oh! So go ahead and eat that as a little snack.

Natalia
Eat that as a little snack, to boost up my energy.

Kim
Alright, so this will be a flat roll.

Natalia
Love it. [Rolls dice] Oof, not good. Oh, I got a 5 + 1 is a 6.

Kim
Alright. So something bad will happen to Sacha Delov.

Natalia
Fuck. Why?!

Kim
Unless you spend a mask.

Natalia
I… And here’s the thing, though. I love Sacha, but I don’t think I’m going to use a mask for that.

T.
For this boy we’ve just met? Yeah, that’s fair.

Natalia
Yeah, I’m so sorry.

Kim
Alright. Cool. Mr. Hutchinson and Miss Thanero.

[Inside a horse-drawn carriage]

T.
Riding along in Ena’s carriage with no idea where they are going, Hutchinson is feeling a level of trust being given that he’s not used to. And he’s still continually fidgeting. He’s playing with the fabrics inside the carriage, looks over to you, and…

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Just feel like I ought to be blindfolded.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
In a way you are. But that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I suppose so. Not used to people throwing surprises for me.

Cassandra
Ena reaches over and takes his hands to stop him fidgeting with things, and just puts one hand on top of both.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Still yourself. You’ll need your strength.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Uh, what for?

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
You’ll see.

Cassandra
And as the carriage starts to slow, we find ourselves in front of a very ornate townhouse that sits on the edge of Limehouse. You can see that some of the finishings on the outside are gold, and they capture and reflect the sun.

[Otherworldly ambient tones]

Cassandra
Ena squeezes Mr. Hutchinson’s hand.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Come now, we have things to tend to.

Cassandra
And gets out of the carriage, and walks very purposefully towards this townhouse.

T.
He scampers after her.

Cassandra
Ena walks up to the door, does not knock, just opens it. And inside, we see a beautiful, bright sitting room and foyer, with more of these ornate gold finishings. The room feels almost too bright. And she bids Augustus to come in, and closes the door and calls out…

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Brother!

Kim
The Man in the Sun Mask appears at your side, Miss Thanero.

The Man in the Sun Mask (Kim)
You called, sister?

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Yes, I did. I have something of a request, though I really shouldn’t have to ask it.

The Man in the Sun Mask (Kim)
I will hear it.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Of course you will.

Cassandra
And she puts an arm around Sunny’s waist and kind of turns them bodily towards Agustus. And looking directly into Agustus’s eyes, Ena says…

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
My brother has always been loyal to me. One might say he’s been known to worship.

Kim
… Miss Thanero, are you using Giveth on the Man in the Sun Mask?

Cassandra
Yes, I am.

[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 Purplepanda and all of our incredible Kitten Marlowe patrons in supporting artist-driven storytelling. Thanks for listening.