In which our hunters confront multiple threats in one night. Ms. Douglas and Mr. Hutchinson take to the river, while Mr. Lloyd and Ms. Thanero catch a train.
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Content Warnings: Suggestive Comments, Descriptions of Gore, Cannibalism, Reference to the Death of a Parent
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https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
Shadows in the Smoke S1E45 – “A Bad Man”
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
Let us return to the British Museum.
[A Chopin nocturne]
Kim
Nat. Polishing the marble floor in a room of Roman relics, Kamal takes a moment to look around. What items tell the story of the supposed decadence of Rome?
Natalia
Kamal makes his way past large glass show cases displaying hundreds of rings bearing large gemstones, intricately hammered gold arm bands and necklaces, large earrings weighed down with pearls… And more and more jewelry than has ever been necessary. Until he stops further into the room in front of a mosaic depicting a bacchanalia. Food strewn on the floor, wine flowing into every proffered goblet, and expressions of joy and drunkenness across every face. And he finds himself fixated by the contrast between this scene of decadence mirth, and him standing alone in this very quiet room.
[The rumble of a train]
Kim
Mr. Lloyd and Miss Thanero, you push your way forward on this moving train, leaving your empty compartment and entering another – this one, not so empty. In front of you are four young men dressed in mismatched pieces of medieval armor. They have animal skins draped across their shoulders, and their helmets have been affixed with great horns and antlers. They are carrying spears and swords, and other relics of medieval weaponry.
A Member of the Wild Hunt (Kim)
If it isn’t just the creature we wanted to see tonight? Couldn’t stay away, could you? It’s almost like we bid you come, and you answered like a good little beast.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
[In a low, monstrous voice] If he has told you what I am, then you know what danger you are in now.
Cassandra
Ena has never heard this before. And just ever so slightly cuts him a look, and then just stares straight ahead and continues to assess these four. She just stands there after looking at him, composed. She’s already got her spear out and her shield is resting on her thigh, but ready.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
[In a low, monstrous voice] Stand down, and I will let you live.
A Member of the Wild Hunt (Kim)
I don’t know about that. Professor Sommerset said that we couldn’t kill you, no. But we could have our fun.
Kim
And this young man motions to Miss Thanero next to you.
A Member of the Wild Hunt (Kim)
And Sommerset never said anything about her.
Cassandra
Ena starts to just idly twist this spear between her fingers, playing with it. And she gets a very wicked smile on her face, at what they are insinuating.
Robert
The faceless mask that Rabbit is wearing turns slightly towards Miss Thanero.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
They made their bed. Let’s make them lie in it.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
My pleasure.
Kim
This feels like a Night Move from Miss Thanero.
Cassandra
Oh yeah, I figured it was gonna happen to me.
Kim
I think the story that I want to see here is Miss Thanero fighting these members of the Wild Hunt, and Mr. Lloyd using that as a way to get further onto this train.
Cassandra
I’m in agreement.
Kim
Miss Thaenro, this is going to be a Night Move with Vitality. What are you afraid will happen if things go wrong?
Cassandra
Ultimately, I’m afraid that I will be subdued somehow, and they will get ahold of Rabbit and drain him of whatever powers he has, that’s what will happen. Because I won’t be able to protect him or help him, and he’s on death’s door.
Kim
Miss Thanero, it’s worse than that.
Cassandra
Great.
Kim
The gentlemen of the Wild Hunt are thieves of magic. They will subdue you and not only drain Rabbit of his magic, they will drain you of your immortality.
Natalia
Not good.
Robert
Would you like advantage on that roll?
Cassandra
Oh hell yeah, I would.
Robert
Okay. Then as things are just starting to go down, Rabbit reaches into his Witch’s Cabinet – his little carpetbag – and crushes the charcoal sticks within into a powder and throws a cloud of charcoal at these men’s faces.
Kim
Robert, I like this. I think ordinarily Personal Quarters items are supposed to be used for your hunter specifically. However, you are allowed to pass Personal Quarters items, as long as they are unmarked, back and forth between each other. So I think the spirit of that… I’ll allow it. You can go ahead and take it with advantage.
Cassandra
Alright. Here we go.
[Rolls dice] Ooh! Okay. So I got a 6 and a 5 on the dice, for 11. Plus my 1 of Vitality, which is a 12.
Kim
Cass, could you hit me with the montage of you dispatching these members of the Wild Hunt? Not only this train car full of them, but perhaps the next one as well?
Cassandra
I would love to.
[Sinister ambience]
Cassandra
Ena looks at these four men who are currently wiping this charcoal powder from their eyes. She takes Aegis and flings it in a giant arc, and it goes through two of these men, cutting them completely in half. And we just see them topple backwards in a pile of viscera and blood.
She throws her spear into the ground, walks over to one of these men – specifically the one that had the antlers on his helmet – and snaps them off the helmet, into her two hands. Like dual blades. And proceeds to gauge the eyes out of one of these men. He is screaming, blood is dripping down his face. And then she takes the next one and shoves it into his center and twists. And he is just a deer, fallen before her.
For the last one, she has no weapons except her own two hands. She simply walks up to this man, gets nose to nose with him, and strangles him until there is no air left in his body. Picks up her spear, grabs Aegis, looks back over her shoulder, gives a little head nod to Rabbit, and moves on to the next train… And leaves a path of devastation in her wake, and an open path for Rabbit to travel.
Kim
On a roll that good, please add a set of antlers to your Personal Quarters.
Cassandra
Oh, heck yeah! Gimme! It’s going with my collection of blades.
Kim
Mr. Lloyd. While this is going on, what are you doing?
Robert
He is just marching doggedly forward. You know, occasionally dodging an antler flying off or Aegis circling around him. Onward, farther and farther into the train, towards Sommerset. Towards the ritual.
Kim
Miss Douglas. In the waters. You have chosen to invoke the help of a relative. Who do we see swimming up to you?
[Underwater ambience]
Natalia
We see my older sister Lorna. She is also a harbor seal, just like me. In the water, I mean, you know, seals are not that different from each other, but she’s distinctly not as marked by magical scars as I am.
Kim
Yes, indeed. Your older sister Lorna swims up.
Lorna (Kim)
Well now it’s been some time since I’ve seen ya.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
What on earth are you doing down here?
Lorna (Kim)
I had heard that the Thames were a lot, uh… cleaner than they usually are. Something about all the rain that’s been happening in London.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Yeah, there’s been some weird storm things happening. We think it has something to do with the vampire, so…
Lorna (Kim)
Well now where have you been keeping yourself? We’ve all been missing you.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Yeah. No, I’ve been… Um, I’ve been staying in London. In, uh, this house with some folks. Um… Doing some investigative work. Sort of a crime detective, sort of thing, so…
Lorna (Kim)
Oh, miss fancy. Going to the city. Doesn’t have time for her family.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Well, um, it’s not that I don’t have time, um… Sort of a lot of things happened, and my pelt is kind of broken. And it’s – I can’t really stay in the seal form for very long, so I can’t really go back just yet. Um…
Kim
Lorna swims around you and is starting to inspect your imperfect seal form.
Natalia
She notices that there are what seem to be large gashes, where the seal pelt isn’t fully melding back together.
Kim
Lorna leans close and touches one of these gashes with her fin.
Natalia
Maesie flinches at that, because it is painful.
Lorna (Kim)
What happened?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Um… A bad man. Bad man ripped it.
Lorna (Kim)
Well no wonder we haven’t see ya. Pelt like this, I don’t know if you could make the way back to us.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Definitely not. It’s too far. But I want to. Know that I want to.
Lorna (Kim)
It’s a good thing your older and much cleverer big sister is here to help you.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Alright, there’s no need for that now.
Lorna (Kim)
[Laughs]
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I still – clearly I am working on fixing it.
Lorna (Kim)
Oh, I don’t know. You’re so busy, solving all your crimes in London.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Well there has to be something I do while I fill the time!
Lorna (Kim)
Here. Let me see what I can do.
Kim
Tell me how Lorna fixes a piece of your pelt.
[Gentle harp music]
Natalia
Lorna and I, as creatures of the sea, have a general awareness of where other animals find themselves. And we find a pod of whales. And she swims up to one of them and starts scraping barnacles off of it that have planted themselves on its skin. And she brings these barnacles, still alive, back to me, and plants them in my fur so that they hold it together and mend one part of the pelt.
Kim
Miss Douglas, please check another box in Severed from the Sea.
[Rain. Cavernous ambience]
Kim
Mr. Hutchinson. Emerging out of the darkness is this slight, slim young man. Looks to be about Maesie’s age. He is dressed in ragged clothes. He is barefoot. And he is wearing a fur pelt about his shoulders. Slowly, tentatively, he creeps towards the can of marmalade, inspects it, sniffs it… And then reaches a hand in. And as he pulls it back, we hear the tearing of flesh, and Patrick Figg starts to scream this strained, animalistic squeal.
T.
As he inspected the can, Hutchinson was crouched in a nearby bush. And his shoulders rolled, like a jungle cat. But as the scream starts and the chain begins to writhe as his hand is caught in the trap, the predator springs into action.
[Monstrous ambience]
T.
And it is not a kill. No jaws clasp among the throat. But there is still something of the human mind in Hutchinson. And humans are separated from other beasts in their use of tools. And he hefts an anchor that the chain is attached to, and lobs it into the Thames, where it sinks to the bottom, dragging Patrick with it – to be weighed down among the pearls.
Kim
Mr. Hutchinson, as you do this, your heightened senses pick up the soft “click” of a rifle. And when you turn, you see Tatiana Brathwaite brandishing a weapon in your direction.
T.
I narrow my eyes at her. My hand strays near the handle of my revolver.
Tati Brathwaite (Kim)
You’ve grown quite careless. Such a public kill.
Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
It was careless. You wouldn’t be careless like that, would you? My method made a lot less noise than that elephant gun.
[Thunder rumbles]
Tati Brathwaite (Kim)
Above all this thunder? I think I’ll be fine.
T.
I draw my gun and point it at her.
Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
You think you’re quick as lightning?
Tati Brathwaite (Kim)
You know, Mama had some sort of plans for you, but… I think you’d look beautiful mounted and stuffed in my trophy room.
Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Tatiana, I look beautiful fucking anywhere.
Kim
This feels like a Night Move to me. I’m trying to think of what skill it’s with. There’s a case for Vitality, but I feel like there’s also a case for Composure, since we are int his kind of quick draw element.
T.
It feels like Composure.
Kim
Yeah. Let’s do a Night Move with Composure. What are you afraid will happen if things go wrong?
T.
It’s the obvious. I’m afraid that she will get the draw on me, kill me, stuff me, and mount me in her trophy room.
Kim
Mr. Hutchinson, it’s worse than that.
T.
What?
Kim
Much in the tradition of Tatiana Brathwaite’s mother, Hargrave House will start to receive a series of gifts. Your body parts, delivered day after day to the front door of Hargrave House. All except your head. She is mounting that on her wall.
T.
Well. I’m assuming this is at disadvantage, because I’m Most Beloved?
Kim
I think so. But it is with advantage, because you’re using your Colt Revolver, so… Flat roll.
T.
Composure’s +0, so it really is a flat roll.
Kim
Yeah. Although you do have the special ability of the Colt revolver. You can reroll.
T.
Oh, yeah. One of the lower dice. Right. Right, right, right. Thank you for that.
Kim
Mmhmm.
T.
But let’s see. I’m not even gonna need it. Because we’re just gonna get boxcars right now. Ready, set… [Rolls dice] Shit.
Kim
[Laughs]
T.
To be fair, one of these is a 6. The other is a 1. That’s 7. Well, I can mark it.
Kim
Do you want to?
T.
Yep. I’m gonna reroll the 1. I’m not gonna let you have wound, if I can get away with it.
Kim
That’s fair. Go ahead and read the feature of Fastest Gun in the West that lets you do this.
T.
When you take this move, add the 1851 Colt Navy revolver to your Personal Quarters. This item is never marked when using it to take advantage on a die roll. After a roll, you can choose to mark it in order to reroll one die of your choice. I’ve got a 6 and a 1, I’m rerolling the 1.
Kim
It’s only up from here.
Natalia
Unless it’s another 1.
T.
… That’s another 1.
Natalia
No!
T.
It’s fate.
Kim
Let’s return to the British Museum.
[A Chopin nocturne]
Kim
Robert. In the Egyptian hall, Kamal is surrounded by the works of his ancient ancestors, some of them pulled from the sands by his own hands. What here demonstrates inevitable, looming death?
Robert
There are many remarkable pieces in the British Museum’s Egyptian collection. But one of the centerpieces is an enormous stone head, pulled out of the sands of Egypt. And you can actually still see a line across it where half of it was sunbaked for thousands of years, and the other half buried in the sand. By the crown and regalia on the head, the scholars have denoted that this is clearly a Pharoah or a god of some sort – someone of great power and importance. But unfortunately, with nothing else to go off of, the man’s name has been forgotten. Just as Kamal’s name will someday be forgotten. Just as all of our names will someday be forgotten.
[A roll of thunder]
Kim
Mr. Hutchinson. The sky is briefly illuminated by a bolt of lightning, as Tatiana Brathwaite pulls on the trigger and shoots the 1851 Colt Navy revolver out of your hands.
Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
[Cries out]
Tati Brathwaite (Kim)
I thought about going for one of your eyes. But at this point, that just seems unfair.
Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Yeah. My mother always warned me I’d shoot my eye out, playing with one of these things.
Tati Brathwaite (Kim)
[Chuckles]
Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Wish yours had done the same.
Kim
She strolls up to you, tucks the rifle back onto her shoulder. She looks at the Colt Revolver on the ground, kicks it a bit with one of her riding boots.
Tati Brathwaite (Kim)
It’s a beautiful piece. Shame it’s in the hands of such a classless animal.
Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I may not have any class, but you’ve proven money can’t buy taste.
T.
And I lick my lips.
Tati Brathwaite (Kim)
It seems as though you had quite the privileged upbringing.
Kim
She reaches a hand into your pocket and pulls out the gold sundial.
Tati Brathwaite (Kim)
I think I’ll be keeping this. It’ll tide me over before the real hunt begins. Farewell, Mr. Hutchinson. We’ll be seeing each other shortly. I hope you’re a better shot then.
Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I won’t need arms, when next I see you. And be sure, I’ll be reuniting that with its proper owner.
Kim
She smirks, tousles your hair, and walks away.
Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Fucking rich kid.
T.
I watch her go. And once I’m sure she’s gone, I sawn dive into the Thames to retrieve my catch.
[Underwater ambience]
Kim
Miss Douglas. As Lorna fixes her repair of your pelt, she swims back a couple meters and admires her work.
Lorna (Kim)
It’s not bad, if I do say so myself. You can hardly tell at this distance.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
You’re right. It’s not… bad. Thank you.
Lorna (Kim)
Oh, I didn’t mean it like that. You look beautiful!
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I know.
Lorna (Kim)
I’ve never seen a silver seal before.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Well, okay, thank you. I appreciate you saying that to me. You are also very beautiful. I love you.
Lorna (Kim)
Aye, I know. I love you too.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I saw mum.
Lorna (Kim)
No you didn’t!
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I did. I spoke to her spirit.
Lorna (Kim)
Now how’d you go and do a thing like that?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
My friend Rabbit, he teaches me magic, and I did this thing where I killed a fish and I summoned her from the dead.
Lorna (Kim)
You’re friends with a Rabbit?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
No. His name is Rabbit, because he… Well actually, I don’t really know why he’s called that. Because he’s not very fast, but… He’s very small. But anyway, he is… He is a… Well, again, I don’t know if he’s a human man. He looks like a human man. But I sometimes look like a human girl, so. He’s… He’s a guy.
Lorna (Kim)
You’ve made some weird friends in London.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
There’s really only strange people here. But they’re all generally nice, when they’re not trying to kill me.
Lorna (Kim)
Maesie Douglas, you are a marvel. And we miss you very much.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I miss you all very much too. I am working, as best I can, to fix my pelt so I can come home.
Lorna (Kim)
So how was mum?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
She is good. I don’t… It’s weird. She’s not bad. She misses us, of course.
Lorna (Kim)
That’s good.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Yeah.
Lorna (Kim)
Do you think you could talk to her when I’m around?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I could certainly try. I don’t know if I could do it right now, but…
Lorna (Kim)
That’s alright. But maybe later?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I mean, when I come home, you know for certain that I will do it.
Lorna (Kim)
Alright. Well, you better get home soon.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I will. I promise.
Kim
She swims up to you and kind of boops your nose with her nose.
Natalia
Ooh, I boop her back. I boop… I boop her back! [Laughs]
Kim
[Laughs]
Lorna (Kim)
Well, I’ll tell everyone you’re doing fine. Making a big name for yourself in London.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Oh, I don’t know about that. I had to quit the ballet, so… I’m probably not going to be famous any time soon.
Lorna (Kim)
Wait, you were in the ballet?!
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I was! And then someone tried to kill me, so I left.
Lorna (Kim)
People are trying to kill you a lot.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
It has been a pattern! But again, it’s partly because of… You know… I’m involved in all of this work, so it’s… It sort of comes with the territory. But I have people who have my back.
Lorna (Kim)
That’s good. If you cannae be with your family, at least you’ve found one in London.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I have. And they’re good people. People’s not the right word. But, you know…
Lorna (Kim)
Sort of people?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Half people?
Lorna (Kim)
Rabbits looking like people?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Exactly.
Lorna (Kim)
Well, it’s getting late. It’s a long swim back home.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Yeah.
Lorna (Kim)
Are you gonna be alright?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Yeah, I’m gonna be alright. You know, I’ve always been good at figuring things out, and… You know, you always come along and help when I need it. But I can manage on my own.
Lorna (Kim)
Aye. But I worry about my baby sister.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Don’t call me a baby!
Lorna (Kim)
[Laughs]
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I’m seventeen!
Lorna (Kim)
[Laughing] That’s… That’s a baby!
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
No, I’m practically an adult. What are you talking about?
Lorna (Kim)
[Laughter dies down, sighs] I love you.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I love you too.
Lorna (Kim)
And I will see you soon, yeah?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Yeah.
Kim
And Lorna swims away.
Kim
Miss Thanero.
[Inside a train]
Cassandra
Yes.
Kim
Mr. Lloyd has pushed past you, deeper into this train. But you hear the thunder of hoofbeats as members of the Wild Hunt on horseback have pulled up to either side of your train compartment.
[Hoofbeats. Rain.]
Cassandra
Ena looks out the windows on either side, counting how many horses she sees, noting all of the armor and horns and accoutrements that they have adorned themselves in, and looks to the head of the car to find a door to get outside, and hopefully find a ladder to get up on the roof of this moving train car.
Kim
I have to let you find one, because the idea of this scene is too good.
Cassandra
She steps out of the door between the cars. The wind is whipping through her hair. She finds a ladder. And tossing Aegis onto her back and still holding this spear in her hand, she climbs this ladder and is now on the roof of this train car, looking down at all of these men on horseback.
[Mystical ambience]
Cassandra
And she spots one that’s a little too close to the train, hurls the spear at it. But at the last second, with a flick of her wrist, flicks the spear back into a rope so it spears this man, and she yanks him off the horse from the roof of this train. And then proceeds to wreak havoc on these men. Either throwing Aegis in another one of these beautiful, like, sweeping arcs to knock these men off the horses.
I think at one point, one gets close enough that she’s able to jump down onto the horse behind the rider, cracks his neck. She’s in an equestrian vaulting position, riding this horse next to the train, fully stood up. Grabs ahold of the roof and throws herself back on top of it, and just continues buying Rabbit the time he needs to do what he needs to do.
She’s in her element. She is at war. She’s cool, she’s calm, she’s collected. And I think she’s having a little bit of fun, killing these guys.
Kim
It’s been a minute since we’ve seen you so warlike, embracing this aspect of Athena. How is it making you feel?
Cassandra
She spent so much time connecting with the more mortal aspects of being in the human realm. And I think in this moment, she’s very connected to her godhood. And all of the things that she is capable of, all of the skills that she has spent millennia honing. All of that knowledge, the tactician in her, is awake. And I think she feels like she did as a new god. As someone who is discovering what all of this power is that she can harness and use.
Kim
Miss Thanero, take the Condition: A New Goddess.
Cassandra
Mmm, I like that.
Kim
So this is something that can crop up occasionally in Carved from Brindlewood games. This is a positive Condition. So this still occupies a spot on your Condition track. It still can be cleared via the use of a Vulnerable move. But it can also be cleared at any time to give yourself advantage on a roll.
Kim
Mr. Lloyd.
[Dark cello music]
Robert
Morgan opens one final door, as he enters a very different train car than all the others. The walls of this one are inlaid with an intricate pattern made of wrought iron that looks something between Nordic runes and a circuit board.
[Bells ring]
Robert
There are tiny silver bells dangling from the ceiling, and several other places that ring constantly as the train jostles forward. There are jars of various powdered substances scattered out, put on shelves. Each one sealed with a red ribbon. And in the center of the room is a table with a cushion. And sitting on that cushion is a spearhead. It’s actually one that Rabbit has seen before, though we the audience have not. It is not quite as ancient looking as the one that Miss Thanero wields, but not by much. It looks to be maybe Roman, made of brass. Carved with an intricate pattern. And with the cross bar that denotes that this is a hunting tool, and not a weapon of war.
But the weirdest thing that Rabbit notices as he enters this final room is the absolute absence of magic in this space. As though all of the eldritch energy is being funneled directly into this spear. And standing over it, also wearing a horned helm – but over his armor, a red robe with amber beads and little gold medallions al over it – is Professor Malcom Sommerset.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Hello. Long time no see.
Robert
And Morgan takes the mask off.
Professor Sommerset (Kim)
Morgan. You have no power here.
[Magical, dreamlike ambience]
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
No, I can see. I can feel it. Felt something like it recently, too. I have to say, from one craftsman to another, it’s impressive work. But I do have power. You know you taught me something, a while ago. Magic power isn’t the only power that exists in this world.
Robert
Morgan starts rifling through his carpet bag, pulls out the deck of tarot cards.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Hold on a moment. I just want to try something. It’s been a while since I could do this properly.
Robert
He shuffles the deck, pulls a card facing Professor Sommerset. It’s the Magician.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Well now, look at that. It’s been a while since I’ve drawn anything but the High Priestess.
Robert
Draws another off the top, facing himself. The Fool.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Seems about right.
Robert
And the third one. And he throws it on top of the spear. The Tower.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Well. That’s a fun one, innit? As I was saying, power. And in this instance, the power that I hold is I know three things that you don’t.
Professor Sommerset (Kim)
And what’s that?
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Number one: in all of your research and preparations, you never learned my real name. Oh, you got the titles. You got all the little things that Her Majesty called me. And that’s doing you quite a bit of good right now, drawing all for that energy into there. But for real control, you need the true name. And you never learnt that.
Number two: I’m not a fairy. Haven’t been for a couple years, now. Since the last time we saw each other, actually. All the magic that I had was borrowed and loaned out, anyway. So not really mine. I miss it, don’t get me wrong. But, you know. With it all gone, there is still me at the core.
The third thing that I know that you don’t has to do with the people who gave me my name. The woman who raised me, who taught me magic, who gave me this.
Robert
He lifts up the carpetbag, clearly straining, as he is dying of fever as this is all going on.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
She taught me that ritual is the important part, not magic. There is ritual in everyday things. Ritual in healing the sick. Ritual in saying your grace before dinner.
The other person that gave me my name was my father. He was killed in Wales before I was born, standing up to men like you. Standing up to men who grab and take, and never think twice about those that they are killing as they trample over their graves. And those two people, well… I learned a very important lesson from the two of them.
Robert
And Morgan reaches into the carpetbag. And as he does so, I’m going to name the second to last item in my Witches Cupboard, as Morgan pulls out a small Philadelphia Deringer, and points it directly at Professor Malcom Sommerset.
Professor Sommerset (Kim)
Careful, boy. Weak as you are, can barely –
Robert
And before he can finish that sentence, Morgan pulls the trigger.
Kim
Make the Night Move. Feel like this is also with Composure.
Robert
That seems right.
Kim
I’m gonna put this at disadvantage because you are On Death’s Door. But I assume you are invoking the Deringer from your Witch’s Cupboard.
Robert
I am.
Kim
So this is a flat roll. What are you afraid will happen if you fail?
Robert
Well, this is kind of a last gambit. If Morgan doesn’t kill Professor Sommerset, the ritual will complete itself. Draining not only the mystical fae essence of Morgan, but also the last of his humanity. Leaving an empty husk on the floor of this train. And the spearhead for Professor Sommerset, to finish the ritual proper.
Kim
Mr. Lloyd, it’s worse than that. Not only your magic will be drained, but those of your friends. Miss Douglas’s ability to turn into a seal. Miss Thanero’s extraordinary long life and abilities. Mr. Hutchinson’s curse – that one doesn’t seem that bad. [Chuckles]
T.
Honestly, actually, I’m okay with this.
Kim
But also the magic from all of the supernatural creatures in London. Merlin, near Cremorne Gardens. Mistress Beaumont. The Man in the Sun Mask, wherever he is. Rebekka Salomon. Everyone will be robbed of their magic tonight.
Night Move. Composure. Flat roll. As flat as it gets – you’ve got a 0.
Robert
I do. [Rolls dice]
Luck was with me. That is a 5 and a 6. Not quite a perfect roll, but close enough for tonight.
Kim
Our final trip to the British Museum.
[A Chopin nocturne]
Kim
T. Kamal pauses in the doorway as he sees two young scholars meeting beneath the statue of Ganymede, one of them nervously clutching a pamphlet of Uranian poetry. As he watches, how do they awkwardly, wordlessly negotiate their assignation?
T.
Kamal is making his rounds and hesitates in the doorway. He’s familiar with this hall, and its goings-on. While he never partakes, it is something of an anthropological interest.
He sees two young men. One, reed thin. Clearly inexperienced in all ways of the world. Bespectacled. Mousy-haired, and under slept. And another, slightly older. Five o’clock shadow gracing his cheeks and chin. The two of them linger in the gallery for a moment, eyeing without reading the various plaques among artifacts. Until they both find themselves underneath the statue, its cup held aloft toward the heavens.
The bespectacled boy nervously wrings his pamphlet of poetry, smearing the name William Cory, and goes to withdraw from it – without taking his eyes off the statue – a single card. He goes to place it on the pedestal of the statue but, nervously, drops it and chases it as it flutters to the ground. He places it on the pedestal, as he was instructed to do, and busies himself memorizing the number of tiles on the ceiling.
The older boy takes his own card and slides it underneath the first, indicating how he would like things to go. Then exits to the nearby bathroom, and the young boy follows.
Kamal smiles to himself, and continues his walk through the museum.
Kim
Miss Douglas. As you bid your sister farewell and make your way back to the shores of the Thames, describe your transformation to your human form.
[Harp music]
Natalia
Maesie is reluctant to get out of the water. Meeting with her sister has made her very homesick. And it’s difficult to part with the one thing that is still connecting her to her family. But as it has before, and will continue to do until she fixes it, the places where the pelt has been ripped and not fixed start to split open. And she feels her skin rupturing, and knows that it is the pelt telling her that her time is up, and she has to get out.
And she swims to the shore, and drags herself out as the pelt peels itself off of her, as it can no longer bear to be attached. And she climbs up on the shore and collects the pelt in her arms, and sits there for a moment. Just staring at the water. And then goes and collects her clothes from where she left them on the shore, and makes her way back to Hargrave.
[A rainy London street]
Kim
As you redress, you notice something unfamiliar in the pocket of your tartan skirt. And when you pull it out, it is a necklace. A pendant. This center stone is cinnabar – this white and red stone. However as you inspect it you, notice that the clasp of this pendant is broken. That is a Clue for the Whateley Camera.
Speaking of the waters. Mr. Hutchinson. What are you doing here?
[Underwater ambience]
T.
Hutchinson dives down, finds the now sill, breathless corpse of Patrick Figg. And with little effort, wrenches the remains of his wrist from the body, leaving the hand below as an offering to the Thames. He swims up with the cadaver. And the on the shore, piggybacks him on his shoulder and walks brazenly through the streets, back to Hargrave House.
[An abandoned, cavernous space]
T.
Once inside, he proceeds to the Larder. He goes down the cold, flagstone steps. Strips the body. And with some twine, trusses it up like a suckling pig, replete with a red, ripe apple in his mouth. He sets it before the place where Moc’h has appeared, takes out a knife and fork, sits cross-legged on the floor, and begins to carve into him.
As he places the first morsel of flesh into his mouth, he says…
Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
A sacrifice in your name.
T.
And takes a bite.
Kim
Mr. Hutchinson, please remove the Condition: Abandoned by God. Please take the Condition: The Chosen of Moc’h.
[A monstrous chuckle]
Kim
Mr. Lloyd. On that good of a roll, tell me what happens here.
[Magical, dreamlike ambience]
Robert
Sommerset collapses to the ground, his face frozen forever in a grimace of shock – as though he cannot believe what happened. Morgan goes up to the body, roots around in the robe for a little bit, pulls something off, sticks it in a pocket. Goes over to the spearhead. And using the butt of the very small pistol, smashes the spear in two. Breaking this antique, and breaking the spell that was consuming the fae magic.
His job done, he grabs the broken pieces of the spear, turns around, heads back through the doorway.
[Inside a train]
Cassandra
Ena climbs back down from the roof, having seen Rabbit move between the cars and move away from where Sommerset was. She’s windswept, but she is alive when she walks in and meets him.
Kim
And I think just surrounded by the bodies of the Wild Hunt.
Cassandra
Surrounded by bodies. Not a drop of blood on her.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
It’s over.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
You alright?
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
I think so. I’ve got one more thing I need to do, but… Before I can do that, we should get rid of his body. Someone might come looking for him, and I think I’ve got a good idea of what we can do with it.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I’m all ears.
Robert
With magic once again flowing freely in this space, Rabbit says a few words, makes a subtle gesture with one of his hands, and opens up a portal.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Let’s take a shortcut back. There’s someone I think I need to introduce you to.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Are we taking him with us?
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
I think so.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Excellent.
Cassandra
And Ena goes in, bodily grabs this man, and throws him over her shoulder and follows Rabbit through this portal.
Robert
And they walk through a particularly icy section of the feywild before Rabbit opens up another portal, and they are both in the Sculptor’s Lair.
[A cold, abandoned place]
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Well this is a fun spot.
Cassandra
And she chucks this guy on the ground, very unceremoniously. Just drops him in a heap.
Kim
The Sculptor turns and bows to you, Mr. Lloyd, recognizing you as his very gracious benefactor.
The Sculptor (Kim)
You’ve made good on your promise.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Yes. A little gift. I figure someone who held noble titles would make an excellent centerpiece for one of your sculptures.
The Sculptor (Kim)
Yes. He’ll do very nicely. And who are you, fair creature?
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Allow me to make a proper introduction. I’m growing worried that I might not be able to fulfill the promises I made to you. This is my dear friend Miss Thanero. She will step in, should I not be able to live up to my word.
Cassandra
Ena walks straight up to the Sculptor and extends a gloved hand.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Charmed, I’m sure.
Kim
The Sculptor returns your handshake.
The Sculptor (Kim)
I look forward to working together.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I look forward to seeing what you create.
Cassandra
She walks back over to Sommerset and kicks him, and he slides across the ice and lands at the feet of the Sculptor.
Robert
As Rabbit and Miss Thanero leave the Sculptor’s lair, and the portal closes behind them, Rabbit turns to her.
Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
There’s something dark watching over that man, keeping him safe. Don’t play his games for too long.
Cassandra
Ena just nods.
[An ominous, rumbling woosh]
Kim
Welcome to the Dawn.
[Quiet, contemplative piano]
Cassandra
What a night.
Natalia
Oh, gosh.
T.
[Sings] Looks like we made it.
Natalia
We’re all alive!
Cassandra
We did it.
Kim
Congratulations. Two threats, resolved.
Cassandra
Yay! We did it!
Robert
Woo!
T.
It’s our signature set.
Kim
First things first. Mr. Lloyd, you can go ahead and clear On Death’s Door. I think that just resolves naturally, now that the Coven has been dealt with.
Robert
Wonderful.
T.
Got a little ice, and the fever broke.
Kim
Yeah.
Cassandra
Yeah!
Natalia
Mmhm.
Kim
Also. Miss Thanero, you have taken the first step of the Dance of the Nutcracker. I’ll go ahead and re-read that move. When you take one step of the Dance of the Nutcracker, mark it off and add 1 to your next roll that uses Vitality or Composure. The steps must be marked in order. Step 1: Narrate a scene in which you prepare the body of a Threat for sculpting. I’d say that your scene delivering Professor Sommerset’s body to the Sculptor fulfilled that step. So bear in mind that you have a +1 on your next Vitality or Composure roll.
Step 2 of the Dance of the Nutcracker, should any of you choose to do it in the future, require you to prepare an innocent for sculpting.
The first thing we do in the Dawn is collect rewards if Threats were resolved.
[Everyone cheers]
Kim
Your rewards for Figgs Piggs are as follows.
This one’s a little interesting, given where we last saw it… Obert Figg’s butcher knife. Add it to your Personal Quarters.
A large baking peel with the shape of a pig carved into it. Add it to your Personal Quarters.
A holy symbol of Moc’h. Describe it, and add it to your Personal Quarters. And then tell the keeper to unmark the Mask of the Pig.
Natalia
[Gasps]
Kim
The Mask of the Pig can now be marked by any hunter again.
Natalia
[Gasps again]
Kim
While investigating any threat.
Natalia
Ooh!
Cassandra
That’s fun!
Kim
And then a memento from the investigation. Ask another hunter what it is, and then add it to your Personal Quarters. T, your eyes lit up at the holy symbol of Moc’h.
T.
Yeah. It just feels very narratively…
Natalia
I do feel that is very for you.
Kim
Yeah. Very narratively appropriate, given what you just got up to. So if there are no objections, we’ll go ahead and add that to T’s Personal Quarters. And the Mask of the Pig is back up for grabs, for anyone to use.
Cassandra
What a fun little quirk! I love that.
Natalia
What was the second thing you described?
Kim
So a baking peel. That’s like one of those long, flat wooden things with like a paddle? It’s kind of what you see when we’re taking pizzas out of the pizza oven?
Natalia
Mmhmm.
Kim
That’s a baking peel.
Natalia
Oh! Cool.
Cassandra
If there’s no objections, I would like Obert’s knife. His butcher knife.
T.
Yay! Add to the collection.
Cassandra
For my collection of knives.
Kim
I like it.
Natalia
Robert, do you feel particularly attached to the baking peel?
Robert
I do not. I barely touched this threat, though, so…
Natalia
That’s true.
Kim
Also, both of you can generate a Personal Quarters item that’s not the baking peel, should you choose to.
Natalia
I would love for someone to detail a Personal Quarters item for me. Um, Robert. What have you got?
Robert
Well, this is a little less literal. Not exactly an item. But how about something like A Favor From Ragg? Because I feel like you really, you know…
Natalia
He’s my bud.
Robert
Yeah. You got to know that kid. You hung out with him.
Robert
I love that.
Kim
You told him about Hargrave House.
Natalia
It’s true! And that he’s welcome any time. Okay. Ah! That’s so perfect. Thank you, guys.
Cassandra
You did invite a child over.
Natalia
[Laughs]
Kim
Maesie’s befriending all of the children.
Natalia
I have to. Someone has to take care of them.
Kim
Mr. Lloyd, could I interest you in a baking peel? Or do you also want someone to generate a Personal Quarters item for you?
Robert
I think I would like someone to generate a Personal Quarters item for me, if anyone has any ideas.
T.
There’s a good old fashioned jar of marmalade.
Robert
I like it. A jar of marmalade.
Kim
Lovely. And now for the Coven. There are only two unique Personal Quarters item in these rewards. They are a rosary made of tiny animal skulls and finger bones, add it to your Personal Quarters. And a book of spells, written in Old English, add it to your Personal Quarters.
Natalia
I feel like I’m kind of drawn to the book of spells written in Old English.
Cassandra
I feel like that’s very appropriate for you, honestly.
T.
Mmhmm.
Natalia
Yeah. I’ll take that.
Kim
Anyone want an animal rosary?
Cassandra
I think I will take that, to go with my desecrated bible.
Kim
I like it.
Cassandra
I’m all about taking things from other religions that don’t have anything to do with me.
Kim
Mr. Lloyd, who would you like to have define your PQ item?
Robert
Uh, Cass.
Cassandra
Hmm… Okay. What did you pull off of Sommerset’s body?
Robert
A saint’s medal. Specifically, a medal of St. Benedict.
Kim
What is St. Benedict the saint of, out of curiosity?
Robert
He is the saint of protection against magic.
Kim
I love it. Alright T, who’s making your PQ item.
T.
I mean Robert, it feels like yours to bequeath.
Robert
You’ve had a lot of illusions to like knights and whatnot. I think it would be fun if one of the pieces of antique armor that the Wild Hunt was wearing, made its way back to you. So a piece of Anglo-Saxon armor.
Kim
Let’s go to Dawn Questions. Did we resolve a threat?
[A chorus of yes]
Natalia
Two!
Kim
Did we answer a question?
[A chorus of yes]
Cassandra
We answered two!
Kim
Did we get an Echo in the Night?
T.
Yes.
Cassandra
Yes.
Natalia
No.
Robert
I’m just gonna say no.
Kim
Miss Thanero, what was your echo?
Cassandra
My echo was when Kamal was looking at the goddess statue in the museum, her shield was resting but ready. And then Ena on the train, shield was resting but ready while she was getting ready to murder some people.
T.
Somebody used the phrase “weighed down with pearls,” and I weighed Patrick down among the pearls.
Kim
Lovely.
Cassandra
Beautiful.
Kim
Miss Thanero, did you appear in London society wearing risque or avant-garde fashion?
Cassandra
Yes. I worse my cultist ensemble to the museum.
Kim
Did you let someone touch you, and then make them pay the price for doing so?
Cassandra
Yes. Mr. Hutchinson this morning.
Kim
Miss Douglas, did you assert your independence or stand up for yourself?
Natalia
Yeah, with Lorna.
Kim
And did you subtly or not so subtly invoke your oceanic heritage or your love for the sea?
Natalia
Uh, yeah. Yeah, very much so.
Kim
You kinda basically exclusively did that today, in talking to your mom and your sister.
Natalia
Yep.
Kim
Mr. Lloyd, did you have a face to face encounter with a dark entity?
Robert
I mean, given the definition of a dark entity? Maybe? Professor Sommerset certainly is a fucked up person. But no, I don’t think I really did.
Kim
And did you perform a ritual?
Robert
Yes I did, to summon the pixie.
Kim
Mr. Hutchinson, did you stick out in London society for all the wrong reasons?
T.
I think so, dragging a man’s body from the Thames back to Belgrave Square.
Kim
Even Tati Brathwaite pointed out that you were being, like, very…
T.
Loud.
Kim
Yeah.
T.
Yeah, yeah.
Kim
And did you use violence to solve a problem?
T.
That’s my new forever yes.
Kim
Boy, is it... Does anyone level up?
T.
Sure enough.
Cassandra
I do.
Kim
What are your advancements?
T.
I will be unmarking all of my Personal Quarters items.
Kim
There we go! It’s about time. You were basically down to nothing. Miss Thanero?
Cassandra
I will be unmarking all of the boxes on the Reflection.
[Everyone gasps]
Kim
So I will mention that all of the changes that have happened to the reflection stay.
Cassandra
Yes.
Natalia
You just get to do more of them.
Cassandra
I just get to be way worse.
Kim
Yes, and the reflection becomes even more twisted.
Well done, hunters. Two threats down.
T.
Um, Kim?
Kim
Yeah?
T.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but did we not have a holiday party coming?
Kim
I do owe you a holiday party, don’t I?
Natalia
Yes please.
T.
Yes please.
Cassandra
Yay!
Kim
Let’s do that next episode.
[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 MellE, and all of our incredible Kitten Marlowe patrons, in supporting artist-driven storytelling. Thanks for listening.