Shadows in the Smoke S1E42 - "I Will Buy Some Wisdom"

Shadows in the Smoke S1E42 – “I Will Buy Some Wisdom”

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.

T.
Good morning.

Kim
Ordinarily I’d say that a week or two has passed since the last time we checked in on the hunters of Hargrave House, but I think it’s less today. I think it’s only been about a day or two. Things are accelerating. I don’t think there’s a lot of time off for you all right now.

Here’s the point in the Day Phase where ordinarily I’d introduce a brand new Threat if we had fewer than three. But we are full up. We have four Threats currently that we are working on.

T.
That’s the way to break the game! Too many Threats, she can’t threaten you.

Cassandra
We’ve done it. We’ve solved it.

Kim
No. You haven’t solved anything.

Natalia
Don’t say that!

T.
We’re working on it.

Cassandra
I’m trying my best.

Kim
The Threat that you’ve put the most effort into is Figgs Piggs. We have killed Obert Figg, thus resolving 1/3rd of the Threat. But two Figgs are still out and about in London – La Hortencia and Patrick. We have three Clues for the Figgs Piggs threat, so that would be enough to resolve a Figg but not both. And you only have two more Night Phases before the Figgs escape London.

Cassandra
Given how well we’ve been doing on answering those questions, I think we need more Clues!

T.
It’ll happen. We’ll get two for one to make up for all the failures.

Kim
The Figgs are sneakily a really difficult Threat to resolve.

T.
Yeah!

Cassandra
Unexpectedly.

Kim
You don’t think it is because they’re only Complexity 2s, but they can get out of hand really quickly.

Cassandra
As we’ve demonstrated!

Kim
[Chuckles] We have the Whateley Camera.

Cassandra
Do we?

Kim
This is a Complexity 8 Threat, and we have two Clues for it so we can’t even try. And we only have three Night Phases left before the Whateley Camera falls into the hands of the Mastermind. Yikes. That is all I’ll say.

And then we have our playbook-specific Threats, The Coven and The Pinkerton. The Pinkerton we presently have zero Clues for, though Miss Thanero might be getting one today from her servant, former Detective Inspector Pettigrew. And we have The Coven, which we’ve put a lot of effort into. We have four Clues for the Coven currently. Which is good, because in five Night Phases the Coven will complete their terrible ritual.

Speaking of the Whateley Camera. A small envelope is dropped off at Hargrave House.

[Unsettling eldritch ambience]

T.
Hmm… Nothing good ever happens when small envelopes are dropped off at Hargrave House.

Kim
When Merricat Ovelia opens it on your behalf, she discovers five photographs.

Cassandra
I don’t like that. I already don’t like it.

Kim
The first four are of each of you, taken at some point as you’ve been traveling through London. Paint the Scene.

T.
What? [Laughs nervously] Oh, no.

Kim
As you inspect this secret portrait of yourself, how has the photo subtly warped to show some dark, hidden truth about yourself?

T.
I don’t think mine is very subtle. The image is of Hutchinson in the alley, after the transformation, after eating Obert Figg. And superimposed over it is an image of the Creature, standing in the same spot.

Natalia
The picture of Maesie is of her prancing down the street. She’s very light, she’s very happy. But behind her, you can see these ghostly figures of everyone she’s haunted by.

Robert
Everything in Rabbit’s picture is covered by some sort of motion blur, or is out of focus, except for his eyes, which are sharply in focus in the middle of the plate.

Cassandra
For Ena, it would be her walking through London. But instead of her beautiful, untouched face, we see all of the wrinkles and scars from everything that she’s done.

Kim
The fifth and final photo is Hargrave House itself, wreathed in flames.

T.
No!

Cassandra
Oh!

Natalia
Oh, shit…

T.
No, no…

Cassandra
Oh god.

T.
Hey, hey, hey. We’re fine. It’s raining, okay? Can never happen.

Robert
Yes. London has never famously caught fire.

T.
It’s not Chicago, Robert. There are no cows in London.

Kim
So…

Cassandra
[Laughs]

Kim
Who’s up for breakfast?

T.
[Laughs] You’ve taken the joy of the breakfast phase from us.

Cassandra
Remember when I said we should give Kim some stuff, because of how well we’ve done with all these Threats? I rescind that. I take it all back.

Kim
Listen. When you don’t pursue threats…

Natalia
They pursue you?

Kim
Yeah.

[A fireplace crackles. Rain falls]

T.
Hutchinson is sitting at the breakfast table with an untouched cup of coffee in front of him, waiting for the inevitable.

Robert
Rabbit has been absent from Hargrave House largely for these past couple days, as he’s been going all over the Greater London area, talking to and warning every little sprite and pixie and boggle, and whatnot. Every member of the fair folk that he knows of in London. Warning them to keep their heads low, getting whatever information he can from them. So he hasn’t been around a lot recently, but I don’t think his absence is that noticed.

Natalia
Since being kidnapped, Maesie has been in her room, feverishly planning things that the other hunters are not aware of. And this is the first time they’ve seen her, and she is manic. She walks down, and she is… Everything is a slamming motion. Everything has anger behind it. It’s a very clipped…

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Hi.

Natalia
Starts going to the larder, realizes she doesn’t want to go down there, and instead turns to the pantry and just tries to get something to eat from there.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Maesie, have you seen Miss Thanero this morning?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Uh, no. No, I haven’t.

Cassandra
And honestly? You wouldn’t have seen her. I don’t think she’s been around the last couple of days. A little more conspicuously absent. She’s been out in London, visiting her cult members and seeing her worshippers, and being in spaces where she is adored and revered. But she does come downstairs today. And she’s dressed in a very simple white shift. She does not make eye contact with anybody. She does not acknowledge Maesie’s banging around. And she goes over and prepares herself a cup of coffee, without a single word to anyone.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Found her.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Appreciate it.

T.
Hutchinson looks at the cup of coffee that he had poured for Ena, and runs his tongue around his teeth. Says nothing.

Natalia
Maesie looks at that moment, and just grabs the cup of coffee and keeps going on her way.

Kim
[Laughs]

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
You don’t need this, right? Thanks.

T.
When she’s at the door, I turn to Ena.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I ain’t seen you around, the last couple of days. You here to tell me just how deep in the dog house I am?

Cassandra
She says nothing. She just pierces him with a gaze that is madder than she’s ever been, but also scarily calm. And just sips her coffee and looks at him over the rim of it.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
It’s alright. I can handle that. Uh… I’m not used to being this quiet.

Cassandra
She raises an eyebrow.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Well say something. Even if you’re pissed at me. Just… Anything’s better than this.

Cassandra
She doesn’t say anything. She’s leaning against the table where the coffee is, letting him squirm.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
You want me down on my knees?

T.
He gets down on his knees.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Alright. I ain’t too proud to beg. Whatever you need, name it. I’ll make amends.

Cassandra
She looks down on him, pitying him for a moment. And then she starts to walk past him, and head back to her room.

T.
He stands up and takes her by the hand.

Cassandra
She looks down at his hand, and then looks him straight in the eye. But still says nothing.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I’m sorry I kept it from you. I didn’t know what would happen if I told you, and I know it weren’t a wise decision, but… I’m not wise. I couldn’t love you, if I was wise. To be wise and love exceeds man’s might. That dwells with the gods above.

Cassandra
She changes their grasp a little bit, and intertwines her fingers in his. Her faces softens ever so slightly.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Lead me to your room.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I ain’t got no bathtub in there.

Cassandra
She doesn’t say anything.

T.
He leads her to his room. Opens the door, and offers for her to walk in ahead of him.

Cassandra
She lets go of his hand, and walks into the room. She sees this giant cage in the middle of it, takes that in for a second, and then closes the door. And then she notices all of the books. She looks at some of the titles, touches a few of the binds. And then she reaches out a hand and snaps her fingers.

T.
He jumps at that.

Cassandra
But in that snap, she notices how dampened the sound is.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
It’s… very quiet in here.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Yeah. Well, figure y’all get enough earfuls from me during working hours. Wouldn’t want to interrupt your sleep.

Cassandra
She doesn’t say anything to him, but instead goes to the cage and opens the door. And just gently gestures him inside with a hand.

T.
He nods. Like, okay, at least we’re getting to it. [Sighs] And walks inside.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
So this is it? You lock me in here for a spell, make me watch something, and you can forgive me?

Cassandra
She closes the door but does not lock it.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I had thought that I might forgive you. I weighed it very carefully. Considered what amount of justice I might require of your betrayal. Considered that perhaps you were cornered by forces older and louder than yourself, and chosen poorly, yes, but humanly.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Well, to err is human.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
To forgive, divine. Yes, there moments where I think, “Surely, I can forgive you, Beau.” Maybe even forget what you did. Perhaps his love has been twisted by necessity. Perhaps he did not mean to keep the most vital truth folded neatly away, like a blood stain under a cuff. Perhaps he could not tell me. Perhaps it endangers another. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

[Unsettling ambient tones]

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
But then I remember how you smiled when you lied to me most gently. And then I had to wonder if your devotion was not solely to get closer to me. If it was not simply you holding back your cards until the river had been laid, and all my chips were neatly in the middle. Your prize much more easily won. But your hand’s been played, hasn’t it, Gus?

How clever of you. To love me while sharpening the knife. How tender, to kiss me with a mouth that could split into fangs at another’s bidding. You bound yourself in worship, secretly hoping it was enough to bind me. How ardently you promised across bound hands that your life belonged to me. You tell your tales as if the world is something you have survived, rather than something you were hiding from.

Do you know what wounds me most, Augustus? Not the monster. I have lived among monsters since men first learned to pray. No, it is that after everything you’ve seen, everything you know I’m capable of, that you believed there was nothing I could do to free you. To sever the leash wrapped around your throat. You gave me no credit, no respect, no part in your survival. You said you entrusted me with your life, but you didn’t trust me enough to protect it. You did not merely fail to tell me who you are, even with every opportunity before you. You still chose your chains. You chose the pull of deep water over the clarity of air. You chose the command whispered from below over the woman standing before you.

Cassandra
She pauses here for a moment. Walking around the cage, running her hands over the bars.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
This cage… [Laughs] Your clever little precaution. How revealing it is, now. You called it necessity. Men always do, when the intend to betray a woman and still wish to be mourned as good. I see it for what it is. A shrine to your obedience. A kennel for your borrowed fury.

Cassandra
She comes over and stands in front of him, looking through the bars down at him.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I broke my own laws for you. Do you understand that? Men who kneel to me are taught to lower their eyes, to claw the sight from their own skulls once they’ve seen too much. And you… You, I let look. Let you meet my gaze without punishment, let you memorize the shape of my mouth. I treated you not as a supplicant, but as a companion. As something dangerously close to equal. That indulgence alone should have bought your loyalty for a lifetime. Instead, you studied me with eyes I spared, so you could better betray me.

Cassandra
She looks him over. There’s really nothing on her face. She’s not disgusted. It’s just… blank. And she opens the door and steps inside, over him.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
You are not my lover. You are not my equal. You are not even my disappointment. You are the man I met all those months ago. A wild American, with wilder stories. And a talent for surviving things that should have killed him… So long as someone else tells you where to aim, and pulls the trigger.

Cassandra
And at this, she leans down… And it looks like she might go in for a kiss, but she doesn’t. She just puts her mouth right up to his ear.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Where will you point your gun now, I wonder, One Shot John?

Cassandra
And at that, she straightens, turns, leaves the door open to his cage, and walks out of the room.

Kim
…So this sounds like Taketh Away.

Cassandra
You would be correct. Since Augustus has the Condition: Worshipper?

Kim
Here’s the interesting thing. Taketh Away is normally intended to be used with a Side Character. But I think with T’s permission, we can apply it to a fellow hunter. Especially considering that Mr. Hutchinson is a worshipper.

T.
And T.

Kim
Yeah. [Laughs]

Cassandra
I thought about that. And we are not physically destroying him, but we are destroying his spiritual tether to Ena.

Kim
Yeah. I’d say that this was a very thorough spiritual destruction. Miss Thanero, how does this make you feel?

Cassandra
I think emotionally, at this particular moment, she feels very good. Vindicated. But underneath it, there is a twinge of something else. Something a little more akin towards hurt.

Kim
And I would like you to scar your reflection. How has the portrait changed?

[Ethereal, cavernous ambience]

Cassandra
The visage of Augustus clinging to Ena’s leg devolves from his human form to a moment of mid-transformation. Pausing as his back rips open, and he’s dropped to all fours on the crumbling dais. The furious waves rising up to take him. The hand of Ena that once reached toward the heavens is now holding a spear, aimed squarely at Augustus’ head.

T.
Oof.

Cassandra
The spear is coated in a slick smear of blood, but it is not his. It’s hers.

T.
[Gasps] My heart. My whole heart.

Natalia
This is so devastating.

Kim
I know… And, you get rewards.

Cassandra
I get prizes! [Laughs]

T.
[Laughs]

Natalia
Yay. Prizes for destroying.

Cassandra
Prizes, absolutely.

Kim
Breakup prizes.

T.
Yeah. I wish every time I broke up with somebody, I got a prize.

Cassandra
You know what I mean?

Kim
Miss Thanero, you may choose three from the list below because…

T.
[Laughs]

Kim
Mr. Hutchinson was a worshipper.

T.
Because I’m a worshipper!

Kim
No roll necessary.

Cassandra
I’m going to clear Marked by the Lady Thames. I’m going to take advantage on my next roll. And I’m gonna take a Personal Quarters item from One Shot John.

T.
Oh, shit.

Kim
Oh, God.

Cassandra
I wanna see what he’s got, and see what I might like to take as my memento from this moment.

Kim
[Laughs] I can’t believe this. Yeah, go forth.

T.
Well starting off strong, I have a dagger. If you wanna add to your knife collection. I have a luxurious scarf that’s been used as a gag. Silver knuckle dusters. A gold pocket sundial. Vera Hale’s face. Miss Philomena Fu’s daguerreotype. A bottle of ambrosia. A sketch of myself from James Whistler. The corpse of Myfanwy– which is elsewhere, but it’s technically mine. A brass Taraxippus. A gramophone. Dick Harlowe’s monocle. A box with a heart in it. And an 1851 Colt Revolver.

Cassandra
As Ena is leaving the room, she sees this portrait by James Whistler. Pulls it off of one of these bookshelves, folds it, and takes it with her.

Kim
And so you do. Mr. Hutchinson…

T.
Yeah?

Kim
How are you feeling?

T.
Truly devastated. Irrevocably hurt. Not only does that destroy the spirit of the relationship. Hutchinson feels his spiritual connection to the world severed by that takedown. She didn’t say a single thing that was untrue. In fact, she gave voice to many things that he feared were, and didn’t dare say out loud.

As she reaches the door, he says quietly, but clearly enough in this quiet room that she can hear him…

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I thought our mistakes didn’t define us. I don’t deny anything. I told you before, only my mother calls me Beau. The woman I loved, the woman who loved me, called me John. And I don’t deny you may be a goddess, but at least she was a woman. Actually capable of feeling. And I would gladly sacrifice anything to see her again.

[Unsettling ambience]

T.
He raises the revolver to his temple, just in front of the ear that she whispered into, pulls back the hammer… And then shakes his head.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
No. You may have spurt from your daddy’s head, but what’s inside mine is staying there. I will buy some wisdom, though.

T.
And he points the gun up through the bars of the cage and fires one shot. Then, rapidly, the other five, emptying the cylinder. He breathes deep, turns the still smoking pistol barrel around… And jams it into his right eye.

[Thunder]

Natalia
Maesie runs down the hall and up the stairs, and stops just outside the doorway behind Ena. And just sort of leans over her shoulder, as tall as she is, to just get a glimpse. And sees it’s John holding the gun, and not Ena. Breathes a little sigh of relief.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Is he dead?

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Unfortunately, no.

Cassandra
And Ena gives Maesie a little pat on the shoulder and goes down into her rooms.

Kim
Mr. Hutchinson, please clear the Condition: Worshipper.

T.
Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

Kim
And please take the Condition: Abandoned by God.

Cassandra
[Gasps]

Natalia
Ahh!

T.
Hutchinson looks up at Maesie, and she can see the cauterized socket. And he walks toward the door, puts a hand on her other shoulder, nods at her, and leaves.

Natalia
As he goes, Maesie puts her hand on top of his hand.

[Thunder]

Kim
Here’s usually when I ask what it is you all are doing out and about London. Mr. Lloyd, tell me what it is you’re doing this morning.

Robert
I think when we see Rabbit this morning, he’s out and about at one of the many farmers’ markets, traders’ stalls, things that exist about London… Buying up some bread and honey to go perform a ritual.

Kim
Miss Douglas, what are you thinking of doing for the rest of your day?

Natalia
Right now, I am going down to the docks to also hopefully perform a ritual.

Kim
Miss Thanero? Mr. Hutchinson?

Cassandra
I am going to head to the British Museum.

T.
Hutchinson’s going to do whatever he does when he feels like life is slipping out of his hands, and take his frustrations out on a woman. I would like to answer the question about La Hortencia.

Natalia
Ahh!

Kim
Cool. Let’s get that out of the way right now, I suppose.

T.
Heard.

Kim
The Clues you have remaining for Figgs Piggs are: a carefully folded bundle of long blonde hair. Mud on Obert’s boots that included traces of algae. And a report that a bunch of chickens had been brutally killed elsewhere in London, but there were human footprints leading to and from this supposed animal attack. The Question for La Hortencia Figg is, “What did La Hortencia Figg lose that she is trying to recapture or remember?” It is a Complexity 2.

T.
Over the last couple breakfasts, we have established the theory both that Theodora Brathwaite is attempting to maintain immortality, and that she is the puppet master pulling the string of all of these threats. Putting those two together, La Hortencia is looking for her lost youth. And she is searching for a way to regain it. Our theories so far tie a lot to water, which is the algae scum on the mud of her boots. She is hunting on the banks of the Thames in the wild for the fountain of youth, ala Ponce De Leon. And the long blonde hair is a remember of the color her hair used to be, when she was a child.

Kim
Alright. It’s a flat roll. Who’s putting dice on the table?

T.
I’ll do it.

Kim
Is it just T putting dice on this table?

Natalia
I can roll, if you’d like.

T.
Hmm… No, fuck it. I made my bed, I’ll lie in it. [Rolls] 6 and 6 is 12.

Natalia
Oh my god!

Cassandra
Hell yeah!

Natalia
Why was this so hard before?

T.
I had to wrestle fate with my own hands!

Kim
So that is a 12, which means that your answer is not only correct and the opportunity can be pursued, but the answer is also a Mastermind Clue.

Natalia
Which is also so perfect, for the hunting immortality thing.

Kim
Let’s pick back up with our hunters who are doing some rituals. Let’s begin with Mr. Lloyd. Where are you taking this little bounty that you’ve gathered?

[Rainfall, magical ambience]

Robert
At this point, London has a lot of like green spaces that are royal hunting preserves, essentially. And he is breaking into one of those, to try and be a little bit closer to nature in order to do this.

Kim
Why don’t you describe this ritual that you’re doing?

Robert
It’s one we’ve seen him do before. It’s fairly simple. He draws a circle in the dirt. Takes a little piece of the bread, takes a piece of honeycomb. Puts them in the center of the circle. And then, very gently, pricks his finger and squeezes just a few drops of blood into the middle of it. And almost immediately, we see a small man, dressed in raggedy looking medieval garb. Little bit of wings, fluffy hair, saunter into the middle of the circle.

Kim
Is this the same pixie that you talked to before?

Robert
I see no reason why it shouldn’t be.

Kim
This same little man, this lord of the forest, looks at you and pulls off his small little cap and bows in greeting to you.

Robert
Rabbit can’t fully bow, because he’s seated to perform this ritual. But he nods his head and lowers his shoulders in return.

Pixie (Kim)
Afternoon, master. What’s this spread you’ve got for me?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Hello, my little lord. Just some fine, freshly baked bread and a bit of honey. A good breakfast, for one such as yourself.

Pixie (Kim)
I don’t suppose you brought any more of that beer, did ya?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Not today, I’m afraid. But I need you to be fully sober and aware of what’s going on for what I need you for.

Pixie (Kim)
Aye, fine, fine…

Kim
This little pixie sits cross-legged and starts tearing off hunks of bread and mopping it up with some honey.

Pixie (Kim)
I can listen while I eat.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
There are some truly horrible men in London today. Led by a man who has no respect for the bounds between the other realm and this one. A man who sees nothing but power and opportunities to seize it. I’ve seen what he’s done to your kind, and to others of the magical persuasion. I know you cannot leave, tied as you are to the land, but I would ask you to tell all of those you know to keep their heads down, to avoid coming out, avoid mortals if they can, and bring whatever protection they can with them. One way or another, this will all be over tonight.

In order to help you with this task, the noble cait sidhe has offered his services to ferry you from location to location.

Robert
And Cait, fully resplendent, pads up to the circle and lowers his head down, inviting the little man to get up on his back.

Kim
This little pixie starts feeding Cait some of the bread and honey.

[Cait purrs]

Robert
With a normal cat, I’d be worried about that, but Cait’s a bit more than normal.

Kim
[Chuckles] His wings alight, and he flies up and scritches the cait sidhe’s big, bushy cheeks.

Robert
I hate to be rude and run off, but I do have others to warn. More pressing things to do today. But before I go: Malcom Somerset, do you know anything about this man?

Kim
Make the Information Move. At disadvantage, because you’re Marked for Sacrifice. You know the danger of speaking names aloud.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
A little bit of a gift, for any information you might have.

Robert
And Rabbit pulls out a candied moonflower and hands it to the pixie.

Kim
Lovely. Alright. So then you can make this Information Move with Presence, as a flat roll.

Robert
[Rolls dice] that is a 7 on the dice, so a 9 total.

Kim
Miss Douglas. Off to the Thames?

Natalia
Yes.

Kim
Tell me about your ritual.

[The rainy banks of the Thames]

Natalia
Maesie leaves the house, carrying a basket and a small fishing net. Taking on the appearance of someone who’s going to hunt for oysters and clams and crabs and things. And she keeps up that appearance at the Thames, until she gets to a spot that’s a little more secluded. At which point she puts everything down, catches a crab off the rocks with her bare hands, and just lets it sit in her hand for a minute, stares at it. And then grabs it by the middle, walks out into the Thames, and just starts pulling off one leg at a time and tossing it into the water.

[Unsettling ambience]

Natalia
And then once the writhing creature has no more legs to give, she puts it in her palm and just crushes it, and dumps it in the water.

Kim
Are you rolling Rites of Shell and Shadow?

Natalia
Yes, please.

Kim
Please roll with Sensitivity.

Natalia
I am also going to uncork the bottle of fae wine that I have in my bag, take a swig, and then dump the rest into the Thames.

Kim
Please do.

Natalia
[Rolls dice] Um, that’s gonna be a 7 + 3. 10.

Kim
Who is it you wanna talk to?

Natalia
I would like to talk to my mother.

Kim
[Gasps] This is very cool. We will come back to this. Let’s take a trip to the museum, shall we?

[A rainy London street]

Kim
Miss Thanero, it’s been a couple cycles since I’ve aske you this, but let’s hear the fit check. Are you doing a full Revenge Dress moment?

Cassandra
In a way, I think it is? It’s an outfit she has worn before and does wear on occasion, but today she’s putting on, in the full light of day, her ceremonial garb for when she goes to be with her cultists. So it’s that Grecian-style one-shoulder black dress, with all the black silk on the arms, the cape… Created by the one and only Vittorio Clemenza.

Kim
Oh, beautiful.

[Magical ambience]

Cassandra
In this full regalia, she enters the British Museum. She makes her way through the museum, towards the exhibit that is housing the Elgin Marbles. She pauses to admire, to remember for a moment… Does not acknowledge the many glances towards what she is wearing. She continues on through the exhibit, and finds a staircase that leads to a sealed upper gallery that adjoins this exhibit. At the top of the stairs, she reaches a door with a sign that says “Unsuitable for Public Exhibition,” and she pulls out an ancient key. She goes through the door, closes it quietly.

Inside, we find a lofty chamber with coffered ceilings, fluted columns, and tall windows that are softened by gauze curtains, to protect the masterwork from harsh light. A temple that is reminiscent of Athens. The masterwork stands at the center of the room on a large dais, with two large columns draped in black silk on either side. The dais is surrounded by a moat of boiling sea water, with a marble plinth carved over one section to allow for closer viewing. There is a simple stone seat before the masterwork, and a small table holding two gold pins with sharpened points, and a gold bowl. And she walks over. She throws her cape onto the stone seat, and approaches the masterwork for the first time in a while.

Kim
Why don’t you read your Cosmic Passage move for us?

Cassandra
Once per session, when you gaze upon the masterwork in an attempt to uncover something hidden within the world, roll with Sensitivity. On a 10+, the masterwork reveals a Clue or a Mastermind Clue, your choice. On a 7 to 9, as above, but you also scar your Reflection.

Kim
Please roll. And because of Taketh Away, you can make this roll with advantage.

Cassandra
[Rolls dice] 5 + 2 is 7, +1 is 8.

Kim
Miss Thanero, please scar your Reflection again. And how does the masterwork change?

[Ethereal, cavernous ambience]

Cassandra
Seeing as we’re in the museum, and this masterwork is expertly hidden from view… I think in the back of the painting, we see crowds of people start to emerge from the paint, looking on this monster standing atop the pedestal.

Kim
Alright. And now, what Threat would you like to receive a Clue for?

Cassandra
Ena grabs a hold of this now molten frame . Her hands are glowing, but they’re not burning. And as she looks through the scene, she tries to find something that will give her a Clue towards The Pinkerton. Because that is something that concerns her.

Kim
Miss Thanero, as you gaze into the masterwork, it shifts yet again. And very briefly, a new figure is added to the background of this painting: the Pinkerton, Winslow Taggard. In his hand, he is holding a green velvet cloth. And in that cloth are several tiny diamonds.

[Dreamlike, magical ambience]

Kim
Mr. Lloyd. This small pixie flies up and then sits down on the back of Cait’s neck, and scruffs its fur there.

Pixie (Kim)
Are you sure that you’re wanting to leave this little one alone?

Kim
He asks, but he’s talking to Cait, about you.

Robert
Rabbit definitely picks up on that. He just smiles, and he gives Cait a gentle scritch, as well. It’s probably the first time he’s smiled in a couple days.

Pixie (Kim)
Now master, I’ve been hearing a little something about a Sommerset, you say?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Yes. Malcom Sommerset.

Pixie (Kim)
Aye, Storyteller. Though the fair folk have not been saying his name so much. The cats have. I heard from a local clowder. A whole bunch of them are in a trance. Gathering in the same spot every twilight, compelled to gaze up at the stars.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Unfortunately, that sounds about right. His magic is of a particularly greedy and destructive nature, and doesn’t really care much if others are affected by it.

Pixie (Kim)
Now are you gonna be alright, this Sommerset fellow’s about? Doesn’t look like you’re going to ground.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Unfortunately, I’ve already tried that, and it doesn’t work for too long. No, tonight has to be the night. I have to face him. One way or the other, London will be safe for the fair folk tomorrow. Hopefully though, if I end up on top, it’ll be safer for the fair folk for quite some time.

Pixie (Kim)
You talk as if we aren’t going to see each other again, master.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
You know as well as I do that stories must come to an end. But I don’t think this is quite it yet.

Robert
And then the smile, the sort of jovial banter that Rabbit’s been doing… That drains from his face, and he is hard as steel, flinty eyes.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
I must leave you now. You have your job to do. I have mine. Best of luck, and I’ll see you on the morrow.

Pixie (Kim)
Let’s go, wee beastie.

Kim
And he sort of kicks his little heels, not doing anything, and pads away with Cait into the forest.

[Dark cellos]

Kim
Elsewhere in London, the men of the Royal Society for Esoteric Research gather over a charcoal sketch of Mr. Morgan Lloyd. They hold this piece of paper above a black flame candle, and set it on fire. And Mr. Lloyd, you feel your skin burning and sweating. Please take the Condition: Feverish.

Mr. Hutchinson. Are you planning to go after La Hortencia Figg right now?

T.
Yeah. Why waste time?

Kim
Indeed.

T.
Wake up and smell the bacon.

Kim
Tell me how this hunt goes for you. Tell me where you find La Hortencia Figg.

[An echoey cavern, water drips]

T.
The London Underground is many things, but chief among them, it is an access to the deeper, forgotten recesses of London. And as Hutchinson takes to the streets, following the scent of the mud on Obert’s shoes, he goes down into the Underground. But he does not catch a train.

He takes to the tunnels, and then an access hatch, leading to the bones of this new transit system: the Roman ruins beneath Londinium. And an ancient bath, where the waters of a fountain still trickle up from the ground, but they cannot wash away the scent of La Hortencia Figg. And in this spring, with the water dripping down the ancient stone walls, One Shot Hutchinson lays eyes on La Hortencia Figg.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Sooey.

[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 our cats, Virgil and Dante, and all of our incredible Kitten Marlowe patrons, in supporting artist-driven storytelling. Thanks for listening.