Shadows in the Smoke S1E4 - "In the Night, Under the Moonlight"

Shadows in the Smoke S1E4 – “In the Night, Under the Moonlight”

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
Hunters, we are now in the phase of play known as the Dusk Phase.

[Soft, contemplative piano]

Kim
The Dusk Phase is a pretty short, out of character phase which is intended to set up our upcoming Night Phase. The idea is that before night falls in London, the four of you meet in Hargrave House to share what you’ve learned during the Day Phase, make plans for what to do next, etc. This daily recap is not roleplayed – we just assume that you all have shared with each other all of the Clues and important information you have gathered from your individual investigations.

The first thing that we do in the Dusk Phase is resolve any playbook moves or custom moves that are rolled during the Dusk Phase. I believe we have two of them, belonging to The American and The Selkie. Mr. John, could you read the details of The Quickening for us one more time?

T.
The Quickening. You live with a curse that causes you to become savage, even feral, to the point where your body physically changes. At the start of the Dusk Phase roll with Composure or Sensitivity, your choice. On a 10+, your body is stronger and faster, and you manage to keep the Quickening in check. You roll with advantage when taking actions that use Vitality until the next Dawn Phase. On a 7 to 9 you manage to keep the Quickening in check, but just barely. Take the following Condition: Drained. If you’re already Drained, put on a Mask. On a miss, you’re gonna lose control.

Kim
Mr. John, go ahead and roll The Quickening. This is with Composure or Sensitivity.

T.
Both are +0, so let’s just, uh… just let fate go. Come on, fate. Let’s do this. [Rolls] I love you, fate. That’s a 12.

Kim
[Gasps] So on a 12+, you can control your transformation. If you wish, you may change into the feral beast. It is totally up to you, T, if you wanna drop this reveal this early or if you wanna hold onto it.

T.
As gloaming sets its way over London and the stars begin to twinkle out in their spheres, the moon hiding her face lest it be taken by this killer in Whitechapel itself. A streak of her light shines in through my casement window. My teeth sharpen for a moment. Then inhaling deeply, I know there is work to be done this evening, and I keep the transformation in check, but allow my sense to heighten.

Kim
All right. So, you are not choosing to transform, that’s fine. But your heightened sense of hearing and smell, even in your mundane state, will help you uncover an additional Clue no other hunter would be able to detect. During the Dawn Phase, you get to tell me what that Clue is. So this is your opportunity to kind of pt your finger on the scale and help point you and the rest of the hunters in a particular direction, should you choose to. It just cannot conclusively answer a question by itself. Like it can’t be a strip of paper being like…

T.
“The killer is…”

Kim
“Sally No-Face’s true identity is this.” Or, you know, whatever.

Let’s speak of the other transformation that might be happening in London tonight. Miss Douglas, would you like to do Moonlight Upon the Waves this evening?

Natalia
I would love to invoke Moonlight Upon the Waves this evening.

Kim
Okay. So that means your Night Phase is somewhat spoken for. We will talk about your boons and complications when we get there.

The next part of the Dusk Phase is I would like to give you all the opportunity to try to Answer a Question, if you would like. You do not have to. Right now, for the current Threat Sally No-Face you have five Clues. How are we feeling about answering one of those questions, or do we wanna hold off until a later day?

T.
I will pitch to the group that we hold off. Especially since we have at least one more Clue coming to us. It would be cool to have as many as we can to tilt the hand in our favor.

Cassandra
I’m in agreement with that.

Nat
Good with me

Robert
Sounds good

Kim
Alright. Next, we will go around the table and all of you will tell me what it is you would like to do for your upcoming Night Phase. “Would like to” is kind of an important turn of phrase. Because while the Day Phase belongs to you, the Night Phase belongs to me. You are more than welcome to tell me what it is you would like to be doing, or what you intend to be doing tonight, but it’s entirely possible that I will have other ideas as to what you will find yourself actually doing tonight.

We will go around the circle. Everyone will get to speak once. We will have no discussion. But then there will be one opportunity for revisions, should you wish to change the activities of your Night Phase because something else said something that you would like to go off of.

How are all of you spending your evening tonight? Or intend to spend your evening, rather.

Robert
I think given that I was told the river was speaking to someone, I’d like to go back down to the river when it’s a bit quieter and maybe get it to try to speak to me.

Cassandra
I do have somewhere to be, and that place that I need to be is a meeting of my cult followers. And we’re going to go ahead and say that that meeting is actually happening in Whitechapel.

Natalia
Having invoked Moonlight upon the Waves, Maesie is gonna make her way down to the Thames to try and speak with any sort of sea creatures that may know something about what’s going on.

Kim
Nothing could compel me to swim in the Thames, so you’re a brave, brave girl, Miss Douglas.

Natalia
I miss the water so much, you don’t even know.

T.
The sea, she longs.

[Natalia laughs]

T.
Mr. John will be returning to Vera Hale to pay her for the disrespect he showed her this afternoon. And to indulge in his vice with my move As Cruel as the Harlot’s Curse.

Yeah. Dapper Boy be damned. I’m going back to Whitechapel.

Kim
Finally, the last part of the Dusk Phase is I introduce the Unscene. The Unscene is a unique mechanic in The Between. It’s pretty dissimilar to anything that you have maybe played in other, more traditional ttrpgs. The idea of the Unscene is that on this night there is something else going on in another part of London. And we are going to all collectively tell that story, in addition to roleplaying out your hunter scenes in the Night Phase. The purpose of this is to expand upon and flesh out our version of Victorian London, particularly its seedy underbelly.

The events of the Unscene have no direct connection to the Threats, the Mastermind, Hargrave House, any players or side characters, or any other element of the “main plot.” The Unscene is an entirely separate story. What the Unscene can have are thematic connections to our hunters’ stories, which we call in The Between Echoes in the Night.

All of your playbooks have “Did you get an Echo in the Night?” marked as one of your Dawn Questions. What that means is, did you narrate something – either in the Unscene or in one of your hunter scenes – that reflected the other. Here are some examples:

Let’s say that T. in an Unscene describes a woman dying of consumption, who is coughing blood into a bowl. And then Natalia, during her Night Phase, describes her character walking past a bowl of beautiful red roses sitting on a table. She would have achieved an Echo in the Night because the red flowers are a thematic reference to the bowl of blood.

Or, Echoes in the Night can be more direct and more literal than that. Maybe I describe Mr. Lloyd walking past rich, red velvet curtains in one of his hunter scenes. And then Cass mentions lush velvet curtains in her Unscene prompt. That would count as an Echo in the Night for Cass, because I mentioned velvet curtains and she invoked velvet curtains.

Echoes in the Night can be thematic, they can be visual, they can be a motif, they can be any kind of sensory reference. But if you have managed to work an Echo in the Night in either direction – either by incorporating something from the Unscene into one of your hunter scenes, or vice versa – you get one point of experience at the end of the night.

The other purpose of the Unscene, mechanically, is that it acts as a timer for the Night Phase. The Night Phase is a pretty fast phase of play. And the way that we keep track of how quickly the Night Phase is going by is that we will begin our Night Phase by doing the very first prompt of the Unscene, followed by a round of very brief hunter scenes. Then we will do the second Unscene, followed by more scenes. Then the third prompt of the Unscene, followed by more hunter scenes. Then the fourth and final prompt of the Unscene. Once we have reached that fourth and final prompt, we will go around the table one more time to do the conclusion of your characters’ Night Phase. So when we start getting to prompts 3 and 4, start seeing if you can find a way to wrap up your actions in the Night Phase, because the night is very quickly drawing to a close.

[An ominous, rumbling woosh]

Kim
Tonight’s Unscene is called Tuck Chester’s Curiosities and Taxidermy.

[Somber harpsichord]

Kim
The taxidermist’s workshop is cloaked in murky light, casting long shadows over countless glassy-eyed creatures resting in still, eternal poses. Shelves bow under the weight of owls with wings half-spread, foxes caught mid-prowl, and rabbits forever poised to flee. The air is thick with the scent of formaldehyde, leather, and something faintly sweet, almost comforting but not quite.

Natalia: Tuck is preparing to close up his shop when a customer slips inside, cradling their newly departed pet. Their eyes meet Tuck’s, filled with raw, pleading intensity. What do they say to compel him to begin his craft right away and finish it this very night?

Natalia
As Tuck is about to close up shop, back turned to the door, suddenly he hears the tinkle of the bell and turns to see a small little girl, tears streaming down her face, cradling a little dog, its white fur glistening in the candlelight. And she looks up at him and she says, “Please, sir. He’s my best friend in the whole world. Please, will you take care of him for me so that I may have him forever?” And he carefully takes the dog, ruffles her hair a little bit, and begins working.

Kim
Miss Thanero, I would like the fit check, please.

T.
[Laughs]

Kim
As you’re heading out to a party thrown by your cultists.

Cassandra
Ena is draped in this black, watery fabric. It has one shoulder and just crosses, like, her breasts and goes down and wraps around her waist. And then it fans out, and there’s two slits for her legs so that you’re just getting ga peek at this incredibly sculpted, eternal body that she has. Up one arm there is some of this fabric wrapped gently, sensually, all the way down to her wrist. And so it’s tied at the wrist and up on her forearm. She has a gold cord wrapped around her waist, and it matches these very, like, Grecian-style flat shoes. And they have this gold cord just snaking up her calves to her knee. She’s also accompanied by a long black cloak of the same fabric. And its very billowy. Like in the night, under the moonlight, it just looks like the black water of the ocean at night.

Kim
So, you’re off to Whitechapel tonight. I’d love to hear the details of where it is specifically you’re going.

Cassandra
In Whitechapel, near the tenement houses, there is a very old brothel. It’s been there longer than anyone can remember. And as you go around the side of this brothel and to the back, there’s a set of stairs that goes down under the brothel. One would assume that it goes to a cellar. And it does, in its own way. But in this cellar we find that the walls have been dug out, and the room has been widened. Inside, there are columns that have been built out of, just, the detritus that anyone can find or come across. Old rocks. Like, old wood. They’ve just built these pillars. And then at the back of the room, there is this throne-like structure. And this is by no means a rich area. These people are poor. But they take everything that they can find, and anything, and as long as they place it in this space to honor the Mistress, then it is considered a perfect offering.

Kim
Miss Douglas and Mr. Lloyd, your activities this evening are taking you both to the River Thames. Are you traveling together or separately?

Robert
I think together, until we know that we’re gonna be separated.

Natalia
I agree.

Kim
I think we find the two of you in a carriage, heading towards the Thames.

[A carriage quietly moves down the street]

Natalia
Maesie is sitting on a million questions that she feels like she cannot ask. She’s just kind of like staring at Rabbit, and like is just holding in every desire to ask things. Because she feels like it will be bad.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
You look like you’re about to burst there, love. Got something you want to say?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Me? No, I’m fine.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Alright.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Why is your name Rabbit?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Well that’s a bit of a story, innit? Well, it’s mostly because I’m quite good at it, you know? Rabbiting. Doing the rabbit, you know? The old rabbit and pork? Talk? I can speak well, for the lads in my neighborhood.

Miss Doulgas (Natalia)
Oh. Right. No, that makes sense.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
And then there’s other reasons too, but you know…

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Like what?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Well, you know nicknames. They have their own history, don’t they?

Miss Doulgas (Natalia)
Yeah.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Let’s just leave it at I can talk my way out of most problems. Most problems.

Miss Doulgas (Natalia)
Have you had a lot of problems?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Haven’t we all? I mean, look. Miss Thanero, she’s rich and beautiful and whatnot. I’m sure she’s had fewer than most of us. But you and I, we know what it’s like to have to live in a less than desirable situation. Am I wrong?

Miss Doulgas (Natalia)
You’re not wrong.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Tell me. I’ve always been a bit curious. What’s it like? What you do, what does it feel like?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Um… Well. It used to be wonderful. Um… But recently it’s… it’s… has become alittle bit worse, as my pelt is not intact as it used to be. Um… But it used to be freedom. [sighs]

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Sounds nice.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Yeah. It was.

[Sounds of the carriage fade away]

Kim
Mr. John, also making your way to Whitechapel, although perhaps not to the party that Miss Thanero is attending. I’d love to hear about the beginning of your night.

T.
The transformation bridled and the senses heightened, there is a hunger that always fills Mr. John in the night. But with the rare occasion that he can control that, he takes full advantage of satiating it in an upper class establishment.

[A gentle Schubert quartet]

So I think he would, on the way to Whitechapel, stop by a fine restaurant to avail himself of things of the river, things of the sea, some

thing salty, something briny, something meaty, but not red meat. Oysters and champagne.

Mr. John (T.)
You know, I thought one dozen would be enough to bed me down, but I’ll take another twelve I you’ve got them. Keep them coming, garçon. And a fresh bottle as well.

Waiter (Kim)
Quite, sir. Yes. If you have money, we have…

Mr. John (T.)
If I have money? You think I’d be in here if I didn’t have money?

T.
And I show off the ring.

Mr. John (T.)
A pittance, in my line of work. I made it big today, boy. And I’m seeing fit to celebrate.

Kim
Let’s go back to the taxidermy shop.

[Somber harpsichord]

Kim
Cass: Tuck works meticulously, hands moving with quiet reverence. Describe how he weaves a unique personal touch into the creature, ensuring this remembrance is unlike any other.

Cassandra
Tuck possesses a very special skill for his line of work. And as he is deftly going about this grim business, he gently removes the eyes from this beloved dog, and sets them in an ornate gold bowl. And then he proceeds to pull out the glass eyes, and he meticulously paints these eyes to look like uncannily identical to the original eyes that now sit in this gold bowl. And once they’re painted, he gently puts them back in, and that likeness is unparalleled. And he knows that the most important part for anybody who has a pet is making that eye contact, and that that will matter to the child for the rest of their life.

[The River Thames at night]

Kim
Mr. Lloyd and Miss Douglas, the carriage slows to a stop, and the two of you go your separate ways. I would like to linger with Miss Douglas for a second. I would love to hear a description of your transformation.

[Gentle harp music]

Natalia
So Maesie walks to the water’s edge, and first checks that there’s no one around, and removes her clothing and pulls out her pelt. And, very caringly, now that it’s started to be joined a little bit by this golden that she got from the modiste earlier, wraps it around herself. And as she does, it sort of begins to, like, fuse with her skin. And where it used to be sort of just covering her torso, starts to spread throughout all of her limbs. And she walks slowly into the river as this happens, and then dives in. and as she reemerges, she emerges as a harbor seal.

Kim
So, Moonlight Upon the Waves. Whenever you transform, you may choose two boons and one complication from your list. What are the boons you would like tonight?

Natalia
I would like to clear one physical Condition. I think I would like to clear Homesick, having donned the pelt and gotten into the water.

Kim
Ordinarily, physical conditions are more like “twisted ankle.” But I think especially Homesick, that kind of heart pain that you feel when you miss things so much? That totally tracks for me. What’s the second boon you would like?

Natalia
I would like to find a Clue.

Kim
Marvelous, a Clue…

Natalia
The Keeper will describe what it is.

Kim
Dropped on the bottom of the Thames… Okay. Now, tell me the complication.

Natalia
I think I will attract the attention of a Danger.

[Harp music fades, replaced by the river]

Kim
Mr. Lloyd, I think you caught just out of the corner of your eye the sight of Maesie Douglas going into the waters of the Thames, and then you lose her amidst the rushing waters of the Lady Thames. Tell me about your night.

Robert
Rabbit also takes off some of his clothes. But in this case, specifically his boots and socks. He then rolls his trouser leges up to the knee, and as he does so, an observer would notice that the blue lines of tattoo ink go all the way down his leg. He then puts the boots and the socks in some secure location, and wades into the muddy banks of the Thames. Finding a stick and beginning to draw circles and patterns around himself. He takes a small bottle out of one of the pockets of his jacket, and a knife out of another one. He cuts not his finger, not just a small prick of his finger this time, but takes the blade against the flat of his left hand and draws a deep gouge, squeezing his palm and retracing the circle with the dripping blood.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Spirits, I give you this gift of myself

Robert
He then takes the bottle, opens it up, and pours an amber liquid in the same circle.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Spirits, I give you this gift of drink.

Robert
And then taking a little bit of that, splashes it on the hand where he cut himself and ties a handkerchief around it.

Kim
Please roll Rites of Salt and Smoke.

Robert
[Rolls] That is a 10.

Kim
What is it you would like to be doing tonight?

Robert
One of my options is “communicate with someone or something you do not share a language with.” I don’t believe I speak the language of the River Thames.

Kim
You do now.

[The sounds of the river fade]

Kim
Mr. John. Back to you.

T.
There’s other appetites that must need be satiated, once this first one is taken care of and seen to.

[Moody guitar]

T.
Leaving now this upper crust side of London, north of the Thames, Mr. John cuts off into Whitechapel, and to a familiar tenement where he has frequented many a time. And strides with the confidence of a predator in their own territory. Like, there is no competition here for me. So I throw open the door, walk on over, and I can hear even from coming down the hallway that Vera is alone, there are no other clients with her at this time. And almost go to push the door of its hinges in my lust, but then check myself. Remember some comportment, because I’m trying to make amends for my behavior earlier, and knock on her door.

Vera Hale (Kim)
Now who would that be now?

Mr. John (T.)
Your favorite John.

Kim
The door opens and Vera Hale leans her shoulder against her doorframe.

Vera Hale (Kim)
I wouldn’t be saying that you’re my favorite, now.

Mr. John (T.)
Really?

Vera Hale (Kim)
I think I’m owed an apology.

Mr. John (T.)
And I’m here to give you one.

T.
And I take a parcel from under my arm, wrapped in the familiar Vittorio Clemenza’s wrappings, and I pull off the cover to reveal this velvety red dress to replace her ratty and tattered one.

Vera Hale (Kim)
How much did this cost, Mr. John?

Mr. John (T.)
A trifle. Nothing that’s worth so much as you in it. Which I’d like to see right now.

Vera Hale (Kim)
Well. This dress was getting rather uncomfortable.

Mr. John (T.)
Then we should probably get you out of it.

T.
And I reach in and I take it by that same hole that I gently fingered early, and I rip the dress of her body. Push her backwards, and close the door behind me.

Kim
Miss Thanero, tell me more about this party.

[A Chopin etude]

Cassandra
I think at this point in the evening, we find Ena atop this throne in this huge space under this brothel. And all around her are mostly men in various stages of undress. We get the vibes that there are many sensual things occurring at this time. And Ena just kind of watches it, rather bored, until a woman draped in a similar blue fabric as to what we see in the portrait, blindfolded – no longer able to see – walks up with a gold bowl and the tip of a gold spear. She hands these things to Ena very reverently.

Ena takes them, and she sets the bowl on her lap. Silence goes through the room. She holds up the tip of the spear and slices across her hand and drops the blood into the golden bowl. Her servant, her worshipper, one of her high priestesses if you will, takes the bowl, sets it down on a pedestal, and gradually adds crystal clear water. Swipes her hand around it three times, and then starts to send it around the room. And all of these gentlemen that have paused in the silence reverently take this bowl, and take a very small sip.

Kim
Back to the taxidermy shop. Robert.

[Somber harpsichord]

Kim
The former owner returns to claim their beloved pet, now stilled and perfect in its preserved form. As they cradle it, the creature’s eyes seem to catch the light, gleaming faintly. Describe the reunion that unfolds. What subtle signs suggests that their bond, once forged in life, will endure until the owner’s final breath?

Robert
So the young lady who brought the dog into Tuck’s shop comes back a little while later, her face still stained with tears. But upon seeing the master work that this artist has created, her face immediately brightens up in a wide smile, filled with the warmth of love behind her eyes.

“You did it. He looks just like he used to!”

Tuck smiles, proud of his work, and she begins scratching it gently behind the ears and whispering little things to it, as though it were still alive.

[Sounds of the Thames]

Kim
Mr. Lloyd, tell me what magic is performed here that allows you to communicate with the River Thames.

Robert
Mr. Lloyd is quite adept at dealing with the odd spirits that inhabit the less civilized corners of the world. And while the River Thames is not one that he’s particularly familiar with, such a powerful river must have a powerful spirit.

[The Thames fades away, replaced by airy, mystical drones]

So we see through his eyes almost a humanoid form, composed of the murky, oily, filth-ridden water of the Thames, rise up, leaving that detritus behind, and a being of pure water steps out of the banks. And as they step towards the circle where Lloyd stands, the water turns into flesh and blood, or at least, a simulacrum of so.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Hello. I was hoping you might have a little bit of a chin wag with me, seeing as you’ve given to taking to talking to some of the locals around here.

The Lady Thames (Kim)
It has been some time since I have met one that talks to me in my mother tongue.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Well, I learned from a young age that beings with your sort of power deserve a certain modicum of respect. And as such, I give it to you. Queen of the Thames, Lifeblood of London, river that has seen countless generations live and die by her banks. I have come here to ask you about one such who lived by her banks and has now died by it. What can you tell me of the death of Miss Clara Yarborough?

Kim
Go ahead and make an Information Move with Presence, please.

Robert
[Rolls] That is a 6. I think I will bump that up, using a Mask.

Kim
Marvelous. Mr. Lloyd, are you interested in spending a Mask of the Past, a Mask of the Future, or the Threat Mask, the Mask of Beauty?

Robert
I think I will use my first Mask of the Past.

Kim
Alright. We will come back to that momentarily.

[The sounds of the river fade away]

Kim
Mr. John, I would like to roll As Cruel as the Harlot’s Curse. When you indulge your vice with no other hunters present in the dark and seedy underbelly of London in order to deaden your senses, roll with Vitality.

T.
That is a 4 + 2 for Vitality is 6… Uh, I would like to spend my first Mask of the Past, if I may.

Kim
Absolutely. So, that bumps that roll up to a 7 to 9. We’ll go ahead and get those masks on our next go-around.

T.
Okay.

Kim
So on a hit, you may clear a Condition which is Marked by the Dapper Boy. Of course, that’s the only one you have. And, you may choose one from the list below: you don’t draw any unwanted attention, you befriend a Side Character, you gain some mastery over your curse – on your next Quickening roll, increase your success tier by one step, or you stumble on a Clue – tell the Keeper what it is.

T.
I was mulling this over, and I really hoped that I got to choose two, but I don’t. So unwanted attention be damned, I think we’re gaining some Clues tonight. I think this is our first mystery and we’re clue-hungry. So I’m gonna stumble upon one of those. So I’ll tell you both the Clues that I’ve discovered at the next session.

Kim
Sounds good. Miss Douglas.

[Ambient underwater sounds]

Kim
Swimming through the waves of the Thames, a small object is dropped into the water and sinks to the muddy floor of the river Thames. As it fell past your vision, it glinted this gold light.

Natalia
Maesie dives down after it.

Kim
You do, and as you are nosing your way through the mud, you uncover a gold-embossed invitation inviting the owner of this invitation to “An extraordinary new exhibit of art and medicine.” Though curiously, no address or date is given on this invitation.

That is a Clue for Sally No-Face.

Natalia
Can I take it?

Kim
Yeah, of course you can.

Natalia
Okay. Yeah. She absolutely scoops that up and tucks it away under a flipper.

Kim
As you crest the River Thames, you see a figure watching you.

[A Beethoven string quartet plays]

Kim
They are wearing a long, white coat that hugs very close to their body. Their hands and arms are covered in black rubber gloves. And most interestingly, their face is covered by a featureless wooden mask.

Natalia
Maesie spots that, knows that a seal in the Thames is not unheard of but really not a commonality, and just sort of slinks back under the water and swims back to where she came from.

Kim
As you are slipping beneath the waves, you hear that figure speak, their voice slightly muffled from behind the mask:

Sally No-Face (Kim)
I do hope you will come to my party.

Natalia
Oh lord. Oh no. Oh no! Um… Maesie doesn’t respond. And also gives no indication that she’s heard that. She just leaves.

Kim
Miss Thanero. Back to a different sort of party.

[A Chopin etude]

Cassandra
Absolutely. I think at this point, Ena has gotten bored watching this indulgence. And without so much as a word, just stands up very quietly and begins to exit. And as she does so, I think all of the people worshipping around her – all these men, primarily – they all stop, avert their eyes, and quickly begin to gather their clothing. But no one will leave before her. She has to make it all the way out in order for them to go. But the party is over. It’s done.

Kim
Our final trip to the taxidermy shop.

[Somber harpsichord]

Kim
At last, Tuck closes his shop and returns home, where his family waits in patient silence. In what ordinary scene are they arranged, lovingly preserved for eternity? Paint the Scene: How does this quiet evening pass?

T.
I think his wife and two children, positioned as they were when he left them at breakfast, are now sitting down to dine at their dinner table. Silverware in hand, no food on their plates, smiling, their head slightly cocked toward the door – expectant, waiting for him.

Cassandra
Yeah, I see the mother in the middle of the action of like putting a bowl on the table. And as he comes in he just kisses her on the cheek and says, “How are you, love?”

Natalia
I think he then goes to a cabinet and pulls out a glass and a bottle of amber liquid, pours himself a drink, and sits down at the head of the table.

Robert
Finally, he raises that glass. “A toast to family, to hospitality, and to respect where it is deserved.”

Kim
Miss Douglas.

[Ambient underwater sounds]

Kim
You have slipped away from this masked figure. Tell me about the end of your evening.

Natalia
Maesie, having slipped away from this encounter, tries to find a seagull or at urn or some sort of creature and asks for directions to a rock nearby that might host mussels or oysters or something of the kind, just to grab a little midnight snack.

Kim
A little seagull takes off into the air leads you towards where they know there are very fresh, very delicious little mussels.

Natalia
Having had her fill of oysters, Maesie swims back towards where she’s left her clothing on the riverbank. And then within the water removes her pelt, rises from the water – fully naked – and redons her clothes to wait for Mr. Lloyd to be done, so they can return to Hargrave House.

Kim
Mr. John. We’re not gonna roleplay exactly what you and Vera get up to…

T.
Sure.

Kim
But I would like to catch after the main event, so to speak.

T.
I think we cut in with her hand around his throat as she’s finishing on top of him, and he finishes. And she pulls herself off and goes over to a pewter bowl, a wash basin that she keeps for after Johns, and splashes some water in her face, lets her glassy eyes of the work fall off of her, and puts some more under her armpits where the sweat stains were just starting to threaten the edge of her new dress. And as she’s going through her ablutions, One Shot sits up in bed and comes up behind her. And he’s a loud, boisterous man. But spent this way, he kind of whispers in her ear and kind of holds her from behind in a rare moment of tenderness for him.

Mr. John (T.)
There’s this, uh.. little boy plaguing your streets. I’d appreciate if he didn’t know I’ve been by. He’s a ponce, but commands the respect of a couple of toughs, and they wouldn’t give respect to someone that didn’t deserve it.

Rare, though, for a child to wield respect like that. You know when I was 16, 17, I went up to St. Louis and joined up with a paddleboat gambling show. Spent six years going up from New Orleans to Vicksburg, Memphis, Powderco – where the Mississip’ gets fucked by the Ohio and spills their bastard, Cumberland… Hannibal, Twin Cities, then back down to heathen New Orleans.

When I was running with Captain Horace Bixby on that steam powered boat of his, I was dogged by this kid no older than that one dapperin’ up on your riverbanks earlier today. Sammy. He wanted desperately to pilot that boat, and he pestered anybody working on it to see if he could get his chance. He was fine. We entertained him for a time. Even made him go fetch us snacks and the like.

One day, we’re down in Missisip’ proper, where the river gets her name. And I see him off on the shores, going off after some rabbit he don killed for himself, when I notice he’s standing by a gator. An American gator ain’t like a wolf. Doesn’t work with his fellows to hunt for prey. He’s an ambush predator. He lies in wait for you to come to them. I saw that boy heading right for that gator’s mouth and I leapt over the railing, grabbed it right between its teeth, and held its jaw open long enough for him to get back on shore. It’s how I got that cigarette burn-sized hole in my palm.

T.
And I slap her on the ass with that same hand, kiss her on the cheek.

Mr. John (T.)
See you soon, Vera.

Kim
If you come bearing gifts like that, you can come any time.

T.
Shoot her a wink.

Kim
Mr. John, I believe you still owe me a Mask of the Past.

T.
I do. I have that, if you like.

Kim
Yeah. Go ahead and read the prompt, and let’s get into it.

T.
Narrate a flashback to your childhood that shows the high level of privilege you were born into.

[A gentle Schubert quartet]

T.
And we go to a proper southern state, and the sea-swept town of Savannah, Georgia. Where a – speaking of poncy – dressed up like a little dapper gentlemen, maybe twelve years old… Little Augustus Beaufort Hutchinson sits at a restaurant, dining with all the proper manners and forks that he’s been taught over his life. His life has been completely soft-handed. He’s had piano lessons, drawing lessons, riding lessons… all sorts of lessons to make him great.

And as he’s at this restaurant, silk napkin tucked in to provide the lobster from spewing all over him. He orders, “More caviar, Michael. More caviar.”

And the restauranter, wringing his hands, says, “I am so sorry, but you have eaten us out of all of the tinned sturgeon roe that we have, my dear Mr. Hutchinson.”

And Augustus sets his knife and fork down, pushes himself away from the table. “Well, I am terribly sorry to hear that. But it has robbed me of my appetite.”

And he leaves and goes to his father, a well-to-do textile tycoon, and convinces him that he should buy this restaurant on the waterfront… and demolish it. And turn it into something more suitable for their own purposes. Which he does.

Kim
Miss Thanero, how do we end your evening?

[A Chopin etude]

Cassandra
I have arrived back at Hargrave House, and it’s quiet. And even before I reach my room, I start very slowly just shedding everything that I have on. Just leaving it on the floor, don’t care. So I take off the cloak, cloak hits the floor. Start to unwind this ribbon from my arm and drop it. Untie my cord and throw it in the corner.

And then I go into the room, shut the door. And naturally in my room I have a large, luxurious, white marble clawfoot bathtub. And I start to run some very hot water, take off my dress, climb into the water. And then I just set my hand on top, like I’m just laying in this bathtub with my hand out, letting the water just course over this semi-clotted open wound.

And as I’m laying there, the wound starts to close.

[Airy, mystical drones]

Kim
Finally, Mr. Lloyd. The Lady of the Thames draws close to you.

The Lady Thames (Kim)
I pray you, sir. See what I have seen.

Kim
And she kisses you. As she does so, a vision overwhelms your senses. You see a shadowy figure wearing a long coat and gloves, ranting, whispering… You hear them say, “I’ll get even with those who have rejected me.”

As the Lady Thames leaves your lips, that vision fades. And this figure, with a small little smile, moves to slip back into the water.

Mr. Lloyd, I have a question for you. How is it you know that the dark entities that have claimed you are expressing their jealousy that someone else dared to kiss you?

Robert
The wind picks up, the clouds move across the sky, and the last little bit of moonlight that had been shining upon the Thames goes dark.

Kim
Mr. Lloyd, take the Condition: Jealous Lovers.

Robert
Makes sense. With that moment over, Rabbit breaks the circle with his toe, puts back on his boots, and accompanies Maesie home.

When he gets there, he goes up to his room, opens up a long ebony case inlaid with silver, and he pulls out a pipe that looks like it was make with a twisted tree branch. Fills the bowl with opium, and as he drifts off to a dreamless sleep, I think that would be the perfect time to give you my first Mask of the Past.

Narrate a flashback to the time you were in your mother’s womb that shows, even then, dark entities were interested in you.

[Melancholy, droning cello]

Robert
So we see a small cottage, nestled in the rolling hills and forests of southern Wales. An anxious looking young woman walks purposefully towards the door. She probably should have gone to the doctor or the convent, but Sally Lloyd was raised to respect the old ways. So she walks past a garden overgrown with herbs and alive with bees, and knocks on the heavy oaken door.

The room she is led into toes the line between cozy and cramped, but is warm and smells pleasantly of wood smoke and pipe tobacco. A large black cat lies purring in the corner as Grandmother Carys pours out two large cups of tea. Sally drinks hers, and stares deeply into the dregs, looking for some hidden symbol. But Carras stares through Sally, and asks about the child.

Sally bursts into tears. She’s all alone, the father was killed during the uprising and she doesn’t know what to do.

Carys’s hand gently touches her, soothing the distraught young woman. There is an answer, though maybe not the one that Sally had been expecting. Grandmother Carys offers to take the unborn child, and have him raised as one of the cunning folk. And in return, Sally will never have to worry about going hungry or homeless.

Sally smiles to herself. This was a much better outcome than she was expecting. She may never know her son, but at least he will have a home, she tells herself as she walks out the cabin.

As Grandmother Carys sits in the silent moment after she leaves, the darkness smiles.

[An ominous, rumbling woosh]

Kim
Before we end tonight’s session, I have one more scene to show you. You four are not the only ones doing dark work tonight.

[Moody piano]

Kim
Travel with me, if you will, to a lavish mansion situated in the countryside just outside of London. As we enter a well-appointed study, we see a figure seated in a tall wingback chair upholstered in blue velvet. It is a woman we recognize. The woman, who watched Miss Thanero with such intent earlier today.

Her butler, a man so old he seems to be shrinking into his immaculate livery, has just slowly crossed the room to serve her an evening drink: spiced rum, always neat. An unusual choice, perhaps, in the English countryside.

We can see her more clearly now: mahogany skin, age lines around the eyes that only just dimmish her beauty. Her dark curls, falling over her shoulders. She’s wearing a dressing gown of dark blue satin, but more striking is the enormous sapphire at her throat, sparkling in the candlelight. A gem that could easily be traded for a fleet of ships or a small army, should either need arise.

As she sips her drink, the woman ponders an enormous map of London mounted to the wall of this study. The map is covered in brass pins shaped like daggers, each one denoting a location of some importance to her. One location, we recognize: the Whitechapel tenement house, where the latest victim of Sally No-Face was found.

In one smooth motion the woman rises, sets down her now empty glass, and picks up two of those brass dagger pins. We watch her cross the room towards the portion of the map that shows Westminster and Belgrave Square.

With a small, satisfied smile, she stabs one of the pins through Hargrave House. She then raises the second brass dagger, and plunges it into Buckingham Palace.

[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 Kellye G, Alex, Karen Healey, and Jessica Jones in supporting artist-driven storytelling. Thanks for listening.