In which our hunters seek solace among the sinners. Ms. Douglas spends some time at the Hotel Palais, while Dr. Branford and her associate introduce Ms. Thanero to a soul in need of rest.
---------------------------
Content Warnings: Suggestive Comments, Descriptions of Gore, Medical Horror, Dental Trauma
Shadows in the Smoke S2E4 – “Safe as Houses”
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]
T.
The city is filthy with the cost of keeping the empire running.
[dark piano music]
You can taste the ash in the air, in the water. It stains the cheeks of the children and poisons the bodies of the great unwashed. They'd all be doomed, if not for the hunters of Hargrave house, but few of them know that. Of course, they're all doomed anyway, these Londoners, these mundane mortals.
In the streets of Camden Town, the soot falls on a redheaded girl, kissing a John on the cheek and sending him back into the smoke. On the outskirts of Limehouse, a pack of orphans unbury themselves from haystacks in a disused stable and take to the cobblestones for their enterprise.
In Shoreditch, a butcher props open the door to his store, a fresh spatter of blood on his apron. While in Islington, a governess closes the window of her employer's kitchen and makes porridge for her charges. A pickpocket in Southwark pardons himself for bumping into a merchant setting up shop before turning his attention toward the tower. A barkeep in Bishopsgate tosses an old man wearing a priest's uniform into the gutter where he lays stinking of gin. And in Soho, a colossus of a man scritches the head of a canary before returning him to his cage. Every one of them blissfully unaware of the threats plaguing the city they call home.
Each of them, as the saying goes, safe as houses for the time being.
Kim
Please welcome T. Wade back to the table.
T.
Hi, everybody.
Everyone
Yay.
Natalia
Welcome back.
T.
I’m here! We’re doing it.
Kim
Yes. So, before I kick off this day phase in earnest, we have a little bit of character upkeep to do.
Namely, T. needs to introduce their characters. T, who are you playing?
T.
I'm playing a brand new playbook called the Informals.
Kim
Go ahead and read the flavor text.
[light piano music]
T.
You are the Hargrave House Informals, a group of people in London who assist the hunters with their investigations.
You don't know each other, and you don't live in Hargrave House, but you are each in the employ of a resident of the house and provide them with valuable skills and street-level knowledge they can't get anywhere else. Let's meet each of you in turn.
So the first of my ensemble, this is Elsie Willow, a prostitute. The first thing you notice about Elsie is her hair. The flagrant color that was so common it was barely noticed back in County Wicklow is treated with reverence in the sooty downs of the rookery. Now it's the part of her what draws in the most clients. A luscious sea of red. Red as that that Moses parted himself in the good book. She never wears it up. Most of her money is spent on the upkeep of her hair and consequently, her out of doors dress is moth-eaten, and whatever color it once was has been lost to time. The first wrinkles she'll get are still years off, but to be sure, there'll be laugh lines from her constant smiling and chuckling. And the men she tends to tend to leave feeling they've been let in on the joke. Elsie's vice is helping the poor.
Kim
My other players, here's how this works.
T's got seven people for you to meet, and each of these people has an employer.
It can be spread out and distributed amongst all three of you any way that you would like. As T. introduces people, if that individual speaks to you, you can go ahead and claim them.
T.
Claim me.
Kim
And you can become their patron. When you do that, T., you can ask that hunter something that the hunter gave that specific Informal and then add it to that Informal's personal quarters.
So who is employing Miss Elsie Willow?
Madeleine
Definitely Dr. Branford.
Kim
Alright.
Cassandra
Oh.
T.
Hell yeah, girl.
Madeleine
Absolutely. Laying claim early.
T.
Let's go.
Kim
Dr. Branford, what personal quarters item did you give Elsie?
Madeleine
I think something a little personal but not useful for Dr. Branford, something that she would have passed along: a hair comb with painted wisteria on it.
Cassandra
Oh, pretty.
T.
Lovely
Madeleine
For that beautiful red mane.
Cassandra
I mean, hello.
Kim
T, I will note that due to the numerous characters that you could play, you only have two lines on each of your Informals personal quarters’. They can only carry two things on their person at any given time.
Casandra
Oh, wow.
T.
That is right. And each of them can only take two conditions.
Kim
Yeah.
Cassandra
Oh!
T.
So - I am I am squishier.
Kim
Uh-huh.
Natalia
(laughing)
T.
I'm I'm I'm I'm playing support, but I'm kind of like a side-screen summon in Marvel versus Capcom.
Kim
A little bit.
T.
Like, you bring me on, I do my shit. I leave.
Natalia
I like it. I like it.
Kim
We'll get more into the actual structure of the Informals shortly.
T., who's next on deck?
T.
Kip Longfellow, a street urchin.
[light piano music]
The child you see is so little, you wonder if he was given the name Longfellow or if he took it on as a joke. Standing one hundred and forty centimeters if he's placed on an apple box, Kip wears an oversized British officer's red coat, its sleeves pulled up to give him access to his hands.
His ears like barn doors thrown wide open that no matter the temperature are as red as if they'd just been boxed. His nose is a similar ruddy hue as are his cheeks but nobody calls him the “red dwarf” to his face. Not anymore.
He runs the cobbles from the Isle Of Dogs to Victoria Park. If you need something found or lost without drawing much attention, leave it to him. Rumor has it, he has a network of carriage drivers on the take and collects information on the wealthy even as he receives their charity. His vice is gorging himself.
Kim
Who would like to employ Kip Longfellow?
Natalia
Me. Me. I want him. Please, God.
Please let me have him.
Kim
(laughing) Maesie is collecting the urchins.
Natalia
I heard sweet urchin.I went, give me the boy.
T.
Add another one to my collection. Ena collects knives, Maesie collects little boys.
Natalia
But not like that.
Kim
Not like that.
Cassandra
But not like But not like that. The phrasing of that really could be reworked.
Kim
Ever since Maesie tragically lost Rag in the assault on Hargrave House
Natalia
She's been looking to fill a hole in her heart.
Kim
Yeah. So, Miss Maesie Douglas, what have you given Kip Longfellow?
Natalia
I would like to give him a loaded set of dice. I think it's important that a child gets to play, and also that a child gets to win.
Kim
T., Let's go. Who's next?
[light piano music]
T.
Third on the list, we have Silas Gren, a butcher.
What a piece of meat. Silas is easily 20 stone, much of it muscled under a big pot belly. Most of it favoring the sinister side: he's left-handed. What little hair he's got on his head is ashy gray. He's got perpetual deep, dark circles under his eyes. His ramrod posture suggests he served in Her Majesty's armed forces. And his nose has been broken several times, and he has a dark stern brow and jowls that look like they're trying to beat him to the underworld.
His boots are shined and well conditioned. He wears gray trousers, and he's usually wearing a plain brown shirt with the sleeves rolled neatly up above the elbow. And though his hands are immaculately clean, he wears a thick leather apron that is stained with the blood of… animals.
Kim
Who would like to employ Silas Gren?
Madeleine
Butcher sees butcher.
T.
Nah.
Kim
Branford's getting a lot of these folks. I like it.
T.
You know, because the meat.
Cassandra
No one's speaking to me yet. I don't need someone who's associated with Moc’h potentially, and I don't need a child. So-
T.
You don't need anything. His vice is good books, if that informs the personal quarters item at all or not.
Kim
Dr. Branford, what have you given Silas Gren?
Madeleine
I am going to give Silas something that was recovered from the resurrectionists at some point, a silver set of wedding spoons.
T.
I love. While we're there, if you want any of them to be resurrectionists or know about them, will you just let me know? I think Silas knows. I think Silas gets things that I don't need anymore.
T.
Hell yeah.
Silas Gren (T)
I know, Harley.
Kim
Lovely. Alright. How - how many have we done so far? Three?
T.
We've done three.
Cassandra
Three
T.
We've got four to go.
Kim
Let's go.
Natalia
Whoo.
Kim
Number four.
[light piano music]
T.
Velma Thenwicket, a governess.
Some strands have flown away from the otherwise tight braid of black hair of the young governess. She wears a stiff canary yellow jacket with immovable shoulder pads and matching yellow floor length skirt. She carries a brown leather briefcase and opts for sensible shoes. To get around the city, she travels on her French pedal velocipede. And though attractive, her employers agree she is heading down the path of a confirmed spinster. When she concentrates, she bites the tip of her tongue and frowns. A smile rarely graces her face because there's not much in the city that brings her happiness or rest. Her vice is naughty books.
Kim
Oh.
Madeleine
Good books, naughty books.
Kim
I love her already. Who's employing Velma Thenwicket?
Cassandra
I think I'm gonna take Velma. She speaks to me.
T.
Yeah.
Natalia
Spinster.
Cassandra
Yeah. The spinster.
Kim
Spinster to spinster.
Cassandra
Spinster to spinster, girl.
Natalia
I keep identifying, like, words that I'm like, ah, that is immediately going to be this person.
I mean, Ena is not a spinster. Okay? Let's be real. But the “forever virginal” aspect of things is absolutely perfect, so she belongs to me.
T.
Maesie, I'll explain when you're older.
Natalia
Yeah.
T.
What ”confirmed spinster” indicates.
Kim
Miss Thanero, what have you given Miss Velma Thenwicket?
Cassandra
I'm going to give her a beautiful ancient book of erotic Greek poetry.
T.
Hell yeah.Smut. Smut.
Cassandra
Smut! Smut. Smut, smut, smut, smut!
Kim
We can never get away from the smut on this show.
Cassandra
No. We can't. And neither do we want to.
Kim
T, who's next.
[light piano music]
T.
Coming around the horn, we've got Pig's Ear, a pickpocket.
This wee hairy fucker is as like to headbutt you as he is to kiss your hand. He's a gentleman, but quick to anger and slow to forget. He's an older man in his late fifties or early sixties and stands all of one and one-half meters tall when completely upright. He is bald above his ears, sports a thick black beard streaked with white and clothes himself in layers and layers and layers of furs, so it is difficult to get an accurate sense of his build. His vice? It's romance.
Kim
Oooh.
T.
He's a lover.
Kim
Who is employing the pickpocket pig's ear?
Natalia
I feel like if Rabbit were still here, Rabbit would employ him, and thusly I must have him.
Kim
Alright.
T.
Yeah.
Kim
Makes sense.
Cassandra
That’s sweet.
Kim
You've, like, inherited his Informal?
Natalia
Yeah. Essentially.
T.
Actually, that, like, that kinda slaps if I had a relationship with Rabbit, and then among the many things that Rabbit passed on to you was just my card.
Natalia
Yeah (laughs), it's like, if you need anything pickpocketed, call this guy.
Kim
I'm down with that. What did you give Pig’s Ear?
Natalia
I think I'm gonna give him something that he couldn't necessarily have gotten himself through his pickpocketing: a waterlogged box of jewelry.
T.
Ooh, yeah. Emphasis on waterlogged – being from you.
Natalia
Oh, yeah.
Kim
Alright. Next up.
[light piano music]
T.
Brother Samuel, a disgraced vicar.
Though it has been some time since his excommunication, Samuel Willis still prefers to be referred to by his title of brother, insisting that we all are in God's eyes. He is a clean-shaven, dark-skinned man with hair cropped close to his head, a broad, kind face with a deep sadness to his eyes. He's very clean and takes pride in keeping his appearance neat and tidy. Though his monk's robes are a vestment of his past, he still wears a modest brown suit. His hands, he keeps to himself. But if you were to touch his, you would find them unusually soft. The faint odor of gin wafts from him at all times. His vice is the occult.
Cassandra
Give this man to me.
Kim
Alright, I didn't even have to ask.
Everyone
(laughing)
Cassandra
(laughing) I love a fallen man. Give him to me.
Kim
I love Brother Samuel. Miss Thanero, what did you give this disgraced vicar?
Cassandra
I also am feeling a little sentimental about Rabbit. So let's do a tarot deck. But instead of it only being the high priestess, let's do it has only the hermit.
T.
V. appropriate.
[light piano music]
And lastly, rounding out the pack, we have Barrel Staves, a hooligan. He is an absolute unit. His vice are small, pretty things.
Kim
That's it. That's all we get.
Natalia
Oh, I love him.
Cassandra
He's just a big old guy. That's the one that you narrated that had the canary. Right?
T.
Yeah. He's a big old guy who likes tiny, nice little things.
Natalia
Oh!
Madeleine
Person who keeps a little thing in a cage at home? Yeah. I'll take that one.
Cassandra
Yeah. That seems a lot like you.
Everyone
(laughing)
T.
We have so much in common.
Kim
Dr. Branford, what have you given Barrel Staves.
Madeleine
For an absolute unit, a very small pretty thing: a tiger's eye cabochon.
T. & Cassandra
Oooh.
Kim
So, yes, T.is playing 7 characters. How is this working? Each of them have their own stat line. Each of them have their own personal quarters section. Each of them has their own conditions section. Each day and night, I will ask T.who they are deciding to play.
Each of these 7 characters has a move or an ability, whether active or passive, that they can do during the day and during the night. So while that individual Informal is active during that phase of play, that move or that benefit is also active.
There's also some interesting fun stuff that they do during the dawn and the dusk phase, but we will get to that when we get to that.
I'm very excited.
T.
Me too. I'm just happy to be back.
Kim & Cassandra
We’re happy to have you.
Kim
So, you all mentioned that you miss Robert. I have good news for you. I have a brand new threat for you today.
Cassandra
No.
Natalia
No.
Madeleine
Mmmm….
Natalia
No. No.
T.
What does that have to do with him?
Kim
It's a threat that Robert wrote.
Everyone
Ooooh!
Natalia
That's awesome.
Kim
Today's threat is called East End Ghouls.
[moody string music]
Even though the Limehouse Lurker has met the proverbial sun, they are still causing problems for Hargrave House and London herself. Several vampires either turned by the Lurker or attracted by their presence have attempted to usurp the Lurker's former hunting grounds in the East End.
I now pose the following to a hunter of my choice, Miss Maesie Douglas. Recently, there have been a handful of stories in the Illustrated Police News detailing assaults and murders that to your trained eye were clearly the work of vampires There was one in particular, though, that made you sit up and take notice. What was it about this attack that forced Hargrave House to get involved?
Natalia
The murders have been going on consistently, but the degree of the brutality of the murders has been getting worse and worse. And the point at which Hargrave House got involved was when a corpse turned up completely desiccated, sucked entirely of all of the blood in their body.
Kim
Through your connections in the East End's underworld, you have learned that there are currently three vampires that are vying for control of London.
The Crimson Gentleman in Whitechapel, the Minister of the Mire on Jacob's Island, and the Nightingale in Limehouse itself. Battle lines have been drawn across the slums of East London, and it is up to Hargrave House to put an end to this blood feud. There are three questions for East End ghouls.
Cassandra
Oh, no.
T.
Damn it, Robert.
Kim
The first one, how can we overcome the Crimson Gentleman's defenses? It is a complexity 2.
Upon answering it, you unlock the opportunity to confront the Crimson Gentleman and kill, drive off, or otherwise neutralize him.
The next, very similar. How can we overcome the Minister of the Mire's defenses? Complexity 2.
Confront the Minister of the Mire and kill, drive off, or otherwise neutralize them.
And how can we overcome the Nightingale's defenses? Complexity 2. And we confront the Nightingale and kill, drive off, or otherwise neutralize her.
Alternatively, the hunters may choose to replace one of the above questions with the following. What is this vampire's deepest desire? It is a complexity 4. This unlocks the opportunity to make a deal with this vampire to align them with Hargrave House as the new vampire regent of London's East End.
So long as the deal is kept, Hargrave House may access the custom move, “The Favor of the Vampire Regent.”
T.
I said it once, and I'll say it again, Kim, the custom move.
Natalia
Guys, custom move.
T.
This is - this is nutso. I'm here I'm so here for it, but also, like, goddamn it.
Kim
This was our homework this summer.
Cassandra
I love it.
Kim
So all three vampires must be dealt with, but not necessarily all three of them have to be killed or driven out of London. You may choose to ally yourself with a vampire, which does come with its own risks and rewards.
The special rule for this threat is that the questions may be answered in any order but must be answered for each vampire, and all three vampires must be eliminated or one allied for this threat to be considered resolved.
While the first two opportunities may be pursued at any time after answering their respective questions, the third opportunity to be pursued must be completed during the night phase.
T.
Got you. So, really, the choice is exterminate all the vampires or - leave one good vampire that we have something on.
Kim
Mhmm. Much like every threat in this game, this one also has a timer. If Hargrave House ignores the vampires, the vampires will wage war against each other using lesser vampires and mortals as pawns until one emerges from the bloodbath. If 5 night phases pass before the threat is resolved, 1 of the vampires will kill any remaining rivals and claim all of the East End as their territory, becoming too powerful for Hargrave House to confront directly. They will bear a grudge against Hargrave House, stalking the hunters and attacking them at their most vulnerable. For the remainder of the campaign, you have access to a new keeper reaction, “The Fury of the Vampire Regent.
Natalia
That's horrifying.
Cassandra
Wow. You and Robert really did your big one here. Jeez.
Madeleine
I'm feeling really good about taking Most Beloved, right now.
Cassandra
I bet you are. I was just thinking about you. I was like, oh, it's not gonna be good for you.
Kim
This threat also has a unique mask. It is called the Mask of the Sun.
T.
Uhh - Like the other one was?
Kim
Yeah.
T.
Okay. Okay.
Cassandra
Fascinating.
Kim
So East End Ghouls joins your 2 active threats, that being the Cursed and the Whateley camera.
The Cursed, you have currently 1 clue for your complexity 4 question, What is the creature's weakness? And you have two more night phases before the Cursed inevitably attacks Hargrave House. And the Whateley Camera. We're actually doing pretty good on the Whateley Camera.
I have to give you your flowers,
Natalia
Surprisingly enough.
Kim
It took you several night phases, but we finally got it together. However, 1 more night phase remains before the Whateley Camera falls into the hands of the Mastermind, whoever they may be. You have amassed 7 clues for this complexity 8 question, what circumstances will cause someone photographed by the camera to disappear, which unlocks 2 separate opportunities.
One of which allows you to resolve the threat by reversing the process and bringing Penelope Levy back to this world.
The second of which just gets you a cool custom move. In order to get that one, one or all of you must use the camera to transport yourself to the Fragrant Void and make contact with the entity there.
Doing so gives the entire house access to the special move, “Voidwalker”.
[birds chirping, fire burning]
Alright. So my hunters who are residents in the house, who's feeling up for a little bit of breakfast?
Madeleine
Branford is already at the table with a small triangle of toast hanging out of her mouth and a cold press on her head. She is very overworked, overwhelmed. She had a lot of physical activity recently.
Natalia
Maesie pops into the kitchen humming a little song.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Dr. Branford, hi. How how are you today?
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
I'm quite well. Miss Douglas, you look well.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
You look not well. Why is there what's on your forehead?
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
Oh, this is nothing.
Natalia
Maesie starts, like, getting up close. She's not sure how to bond with this person yet.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Can I help you, with - Can I get you something?
Madeleine
Branford's reaching across pouring tea for Maesie, sliding it towards her.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
No dear. I'm quite fine.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Okay.
Natalia
She starts, like, leaning away, takes the tea, she starts sipping it at the table.
Cassandra
At this point, Ena comes into where they're having breakfast, and she is on edge.
The ravenousness that she is experiencing has only increased since her conversation with Moc’h. And so she's very, like, precisely moving, but it's aggressive. And so she just books it straight for the coffee. She's already fully dressed. Like, she's about to, like, walk out the door and just goes for the coffee. She does not sit down. She is just, like, almost for her – frantically pacing the kitchen. And she doesn't say a word. She's just sipping her coffee and pacing.
Kim
I like to imagine that your blinded servants are just kinda placing, like, plate after plate of breakfast in front of you, Miss Thanero.
Cassandra
Yeah. They're trying to get me to sit down and eat, and I'm just, like, not having it.
Natalia
Maesie’s, like, reaching over and taking food off of that plate.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Ena, what's going on?
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I just there's a lot on my mind, little pearl, and I'm just feeling - I'm just -I'm I'm over I'm overwhelmed. I'm overwhelmed. Alright? I'm overwhelmed.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Uh I yes.I- I can see that.
Cassandra
And she just keeps, like, drinking her coffee, but you could see, like, her hand is, like, shaking.
Natalia
Maesie comes over and just delicately takes the coffee out of her hands.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I don't think you need this right now. This is making it worse.
Cassandra
Ena swiftly grabs it back and steps back, like, five paces.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Don't tell me what I need, little pearl. Don't.
Cassandra
And just continues to, like, drink the coffee.
Madeleine
Tipping her glasses down a little bit looking towards Ena.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
Miss Thanero. Might I suggest then something that, not a prescription, just a suggestion might calm your nerves, perhaps restore you to a bit of yourself today?
Cassandra
Dr. Branford is well aware of what it takes to get Ena to a calmer, more centered state because I would assume the amount of time that they have spent together that sometimes there are things that they do together in conjunction with one another. So Ena looks at her, her eyes are kind of bulging out of her face a little bit, but she takes, like, a very short inhale.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Yes. That- that might be helpful.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
Yes. I have something I need to attend to could use your particular brand of expertise.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Wonderful. Well, when- when shall we go?
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
I'm thinking sooner rather than later.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Yes. Quite right.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
What are we talking about?
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Don't concern yourself with it, little pearl. It has nothing to do with you.
Cassandra
And she slams the coffee cup down so hard on the table, it shatters and walks off into, the sitting room.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Great.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
You're welcome to come, Miss Douglas.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Am I?
Natalia
Maesie also walks out of the room.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
Mhmm.
Madeleine
Branford scoops up a couple pieces of toast and gets them to go.
Kim
So now I must ask, what are we all planning to do in London today? But before that, I should ask, T, who are you thinking of playing today?
T.
Since we do work with a system that uses a D6, I would leave it up to fate.
Kim
Oh, jeez. Okay.
Cassandra
I love that.
T.
So one person's not going to be a candidate, but let's see who's gonna be. First one we met was Elsie Willow. I rolled a 1, so we're gonna play Elsie today.
Kim
Alright. Our quartet is complete. What are our plans in London for this first part of our day phase?
Madeleine
Dr. Branford would like to take Ena and Elsie to visit one of Elsie's friends who is a patient of Dr. Branford's and is currently on her deathbed.
Cassandra
I think that's perfect.
Kim
Oh, to do a vulnerable scene amongst the three of you.
Madeleine
Yes.
Kim
Fabulous. Miss Douglas, what about you?
Natalia
Now that I have seemingly been uninvited from the
Madeleine
Sorry
Natalia
No- no, it's okay. I'm gonna go see the Crimson Gentleman is what I'm gonna do.
Cassandra
Oh, what about that camera?
Everyone
(laughing)
Natalia
Oh, I'm mad now.
Cassandra
What about the camera!?
Natalia
Hey. Hey. Hey. I'm gonna do a vulnerable scene with him, and the clue can still apply.
Cassandra
Uh-huh.
Madeleine
Yes. Perfect.
Kim
I love this. Let's begin with our trio.
[a street in London]
T.
Elsie's going to be at this person's side providing nursing to her, so that house is going to be in her old neighborhood somewhere in the East End.
Cassandra
Ena has called for her carriage. It's a rather tense, fidgety carriage ride, but then they pull up in front of this brothel. And Ena flings the door open and gets out very quickly, but does hold the door for Dr. Branford to descend the steps and step out onto the street.
Kim
Ena, is this a good opportunity to ask what you're wearing today?
Cassandra
Oh, of course.
T.
(laughs) As the door of the carriage flings open.
Cassandra
Yeah. No. She's stepping out.
Kim
Let's get the sort of pan up from the shoe up.
Cassandra
Much like her mood having very sharp angular qualities to it, she is wearing an all-black, essentially, mourning ensemble, but it's incredibly sculptural. Heavy silks wrap asymmetrically around the body. She does have one shoulder left bare beneath sheer black tulle, and the bodice is covered in intricate black beadwork that resembles coiled serpents only upon close inspection.
Instead of Victorian curls, her hair is braided in dozens of sleek ropes pinned tightly against her head like sleeping snakes. Jewelry is dark emerald earrings, a collar of oxidized silver scales, and long black leather gloves.
Madeleine
Branford steps out of the carriage wearing what she wears every day. As she makes her way towards the front door-
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
Miss Thanero, this way.
[a crackling fire]
Cassandra
Ena turns and falls in line behind Dr. Branford.
Madeleine
Pushing into the room, she opens the door, sees Elsie.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
Hello, dear. How are you?
Elsie Willow (T)
Doctor, thank you for coming. She's taking a turn for the worst. The last quack that came by here pumped her full of Quicksilver, and I'm not sure she's gonna make a recovery.
Madeleine
She takes both of her hands in her ungloved hands.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
Don't worry, dear. Recovery isn't always what the body needs. Sometimes it just needs a smooth exit, and I brought someone here to ensure that that is as smooth and delicate and beautiful as possible. Um - This is Miss Thanero.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Hello.
T.
Elsie grabs either corner of her moth-eaten dress. It's so threadbare, you can almost, like, see through it, and she curtsies down to you.
Elsie Willow (T)
Ma’am, thank you for coming. Leslie, dear, there's a doctor here to see you and- and a friend of hers. They're gonna make you feel better. Alright?
Kim
Leslie is pale and sweating. Her eyes are moving about the room, but you can tell that she sees very little now, and she is clinging to Elsie's hand.
Leslie (Kim)
Hello, ladies. Sorry, I'm not in a fit state for visitors.
Elsie Willow (T)
Shh - You don't need to apologize to them, girl.
Cassandra
Ena looks at them holding hands, and her shoulders start to relax. And she grabs a wooden stool and sets it next to the head of the bed and sits down and starts to slowly pull off her gloves.
Elsie Willow (T)
They’ll just talk to you for a little bit and give you some medicine - What you need.
T.
I kiss her knuckles and smooth her hair. And go to stand by the doorframe with my arms crossed.
Madeleine
Branford nods her head to Elsie, produces a small vial from her Gladstone, puts a few drops into a dusty teacup that she quickly handkerchiefs clean before she puts it in with some brandy, places it in her hand, tucks a sprig of lavender and something green under her pillow
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
For your lungs and to clear your airways, dear.
Kim
Miss Douglas, stepping outside of Hardgrave House, heading towards Whitechapel where you have heard the Crimson Gentleman is calling home nowadays.
[a London street]
In fact, possibly has sent a couple letters or calling cards to Hargrave House with his current haunt available.
Natalia
I would say I've definitely been there at least once.
Kim
Alright. Then you are probably familiar at least a little bit with the Hotel Palais, a former tavern in Whitechapel. That's how the Crimson Gentleman has turned into his pied-à-terre for now.
As you step out of Hargrave House and walk along Belgrave Square, you see one of your neighbors, your next door neighbor.
[dramatic music]
He moved in several months ago, but Hargrave House has yet to receive any formal invitation to his home. Men go in and out of it, day and night. All of them look like craggy, aging sailors.
You've heard that your next-door neighbor is an admiral, a man of some considerable wealth and a bit of a legendary reputation from his time in the Royal Navy. He is an elderly man whose age is belied by his tall, broad-shouldered physique. He is walking next to a very young officer dressed in the uniform of the Royal Navy.
The young officer is talking very excitedly to this older admiral. The admiral, while listening and nodding, has a little bit of a vacant, dead-eyed stare as if he is always somewhere else.This goes completely unnoticed by the young mid-shipman.
You just hear a scrap of their conversation as they pass you.
Mid-shipman Miller (Kim)
Well, Admiral Flagg, I cannot thank you enough for letting me stay with you. How nice to have a family friend who is so established in the navy before I myself am about to report to my first assignment. It is a great honor to learn from you and to learn about navy life firsthand from such a legendary figure.
I cannot thank you enough for taking me in.
Kim
He passes you and tips his hat to you.
Mid-shipman Miller (Kim)
Miss, lovely day today.
Kim
And as this young midshipman introduces himself, Admiral Flagg sort of reaches over and knocks him heartily on the shoulder.
Admiral Flagg (Kim)
That's enough, Midshipman Miller. Let us not disturb our neighbor. She clearly has places to go.
Kim
And that vacant dead-eyed stare breaks as he stares at you with this startling clarity, and then keeps walking towards his house.
Natalia
It's scary. I don't like it.
Kim
But let us not concern ourselves with this admiral and this young midshipman. Let us instead go to the Hotel Palais.
[a string ensemble, bustling hotel]
Miss Douglas, you make your way to Whitechapel and to this former tavern, the Hotel Palais.
The windows have been bricked up since the Crimson Gentleman has taken over this establishment, and you can smell this very exotic smoke drifting out from the door. You enter into a space that is sumptuously decorated with lace curtains and velvet cushions. All manner of people are lounging here.
The Crimson Gentleman only associates himself with the beautiful and the interesting, some of whom he has turned, all of whom he considers largely disposable. Many of his guests wear masks and nothing else.
A mask is offered to you.
Natalia
Maesie takes it, but doesn't undress further.
Kim
I have a “paint the scene” for all of you. The Hotel Palais offers almost every form of debauchery that a depraved mind could conceive of. What here would tempt you to abandon your hunt and give in to pleasure?
T.
As a courtesy laid out for his guests, not for his own enjoyment, there is a decadent feast with suckling pig and all the trimmings. If Elsie were to come in here and see this, she might consider living here to feast, or she might consider letting herself be bit by the gentleman to trade the hunger she has now for an entirely different one.
Madeleine
Behind a nook encased in very, very thick curtains, there are a few people who are manually removing their fangs to see if they grow back, and they always do. And they have jars of the ones they remove, and they keep them with them as souvenirs. And every time they do it, it hurts a little less, and they feel a little stronger.
Cassandra
There is a room several floors up in this hotel that has a barred door that can be locked. And within, there is a wall of stakes. And in this room, you could take any vampire and end their existence. And perhaps one could comfort them before that happened.
Natalia
For Maesie, it is simply the look the Crimson Gentleman gives her from high above on a balcony as she enters the room.
Kim
Miss Douglas, the Crimson Gentleman is, as you described him, posed on a balcony observing his kingdom of indulgence. He has very elegantly tousled hair, one of the only people here not masked. He wants everyone to look upon his beauty. He's currently wearing a velvet dressing gown and a very tight-fitting pair of pants and nothing else.
Natalia
Maesie walks in accepting a mask at the door and walks into the room as she ties it behind her head, looks up at him, and pulls out the handkerchief that he gave her once, waves it in the air at him to say hello.
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
It has been some time since you have brightened my door, and here I am not in a state for beautiful guests.
Kim
His hand is at his waist loosening the tie of the dressing gown. He takes it off and then pulls on a flowing silk poet shirt, the neck of it extremely undone, showing off his chest.
Natalia
Maesie starts marching up the stairs, just grabs him by the wrist and goes -
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Do have somewhere we can go to be alone?
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
For you. Of course.
Natalia
She lets him lead her down the hall into a more private room. And as he closes the door, she throws herself onto the bed.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I am so tired of Ena. I'm so tired of it.
Kim
I think there's a moment where he sees you throw yourself onto the bed, and he gets an impression of how this conversation is about to go or sort of lack of conversation and then is surprised in the moment that you came here to vent and not to, uh partake in other activities.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Oh, don't look at me like that.
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
I sense that you grow tired of your roommates. I have offered to let you stay here.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I know. I know. I just… obligation and loyalty and whatnot. There are things I have to deal with over there, and until that's done, I simply can't leave as much as I would like to.
Natalia
She gives him a little wink.
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
Ah, my little hunter, always so busy, always so tormented. Why do you struggle so? Why when it would be so easy to relax? The only thing that really matters in this world is sensation, pleasure, pain, so long as you can feel something and to know you exist.
Kim
He takes your wrist and smiles a very charming rakish smile at you, and you can see his teeth.
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
Come, join me, and truly live.
Natalia
Maesie lets him lift her up to her feet by her wrist. As he starts to pull it towards his mouth, she delicately pulls it away but uses the movement to grab him by the waist and kisses him lightly.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Not today.
Kim
Let us return to another room in London's East End, though this one much less sumptuous and elegant than the Crimson Gentleman's quarters. Leslie needs help taking the tea. It's hard for her to hold the cup and bring it to her lips.
Cassandra
Ena being sat next to her puts one of her now ungloved hands behind Leslie's head to kind of hold it up and then uses her hand that has the Mark of Aegis on it to hold the teacup and move it to her lips.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Just take a sip, love. Like the doctor ordered.
Kim
She drinks first hesitantly, then deeply. Immediately, you see her visibly relax.
Leslie (Kim)
What happens now?
Cassandra
Ena takes the cup and hands it to Dr. Branford and looks at Elsie for a moment, not making eye contact, but giving her a once over and then looks back to Dr. Branford.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Can she keep her mouth shut?
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
Of course.
Elsie Willow (T)
And she can also speak for herself. She's loaded with talents.
Cassandra
Ena, makes eye contact with her in this moment, and it's not malicious. It's a warning, but also respect at the same time because you spoke up. Doesn't say anything and then slowly starts to lower Leslie back down to the bed and puts that hand with Aegis on it over her heart.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Now I'd like you to tell me your favorite memory.
[music of a memory]
Leslie (Kim)
When I was a girl, I was on a walk with my mother and my younger brother. We had a bit of extra money that week, and I had ice cream.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
And what flavor was it?
Leslie (Kim)
Strawberry. It was so pink and so sweet.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Think about that for a moment. Can you taste it?
Leslie (Kim)
I can, miss.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Alright. Close your eyes and think about what the sky looked like while you were eating that ice cream.
Kim
She closes her eyes and you hear her try to answer, but it's almost more like mumbling at that point.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Just keep thinking about that sky and the ice cream and how wonderful you felt and just walk into that.
Kim
Her hand that was holding yours, Miss Thanero, loosens, droops back onto the bed. Her chest that was only lightly rising and falling with shallow breath falls still.
Elsie Willow (T)
(sniffling) ‘S it done then?
Cassandra
There's a very faint breeze that kind of swirls above Leslie's body, and then it goes and wraps itself very gently around Elsie as it makes its way out of the room. And in that moment, Ena's eyes go gold.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Yes. It's done.
Madeleine
Branford opens her eyes knowing that that was going to happen. She can't bear to witness, walks over to Leslie, grabs her wrist, confirms, nods to Elsie.
Elsie Willow (T)
Thank you, ma'am. She were sweet girl. Gives me comfort knowing the last thing she had on her mind was strawberry ice cream. Sweet like her. (sniffling) Doctor, if it's all the same, just if you could leave her eyes intact, they're my favorite part about her her eyes.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
I wouldn't dare touch this beautiful soul.
Elsie Willow (T)
That means a lot. Always tell myself not to get attached to them, but I always do.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
Attachments are what keep us human.
T.
She turns to Ena.
Elsie Willow (T)
I appreciate someone who knows the kind of things to say, saying the things you said. If there's anything I can do to repay you, I don't have a lot but-
T.
she can't help but twirl with her hair.
Elsie Willow (T)
If there's anything in my power, just name it.
Cassandra
Ena takes that offer in and smiles to her herself.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Darling, there is nothing I could possibly ever want to take from you. I have more than enough, and I've had more than enough for a very long time.
T.
Without taking her fingers from her hair, Elsie flicks her eyes up and down your person, taking in your extravagant wealth as presented in your outfit.
Elsie Willow (T)
Well, if you ever feel the need to give anything else, you'll know where to find me.
Cassandra
Ena looks at her again and just nods.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I will keep that in my pocket for future use.
Elsie Willow (T)
It's a lot of women around here, could use help from the likes of you before they need the help you gave to Leslie, that’s all I mean. I'll let you tend to your business if you'll excuse me, and she makes her way out the door.
Cassandra
Ena's very still on the stool but looks to Dr. Branford and simply says,
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Thank you. I'm sorry I lost myself this morning.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
It's an amazement that we are able to find ourselves in others sometimes, giving what we can when we can, taking what we need when we need it, but never too much. You're very good at that.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Some of them deserve a peaceful exit. Some of them certainly do not. It's fascinating, though.
And I do wonder what it feels like to know that you are disconnecting yourself from this mortal passing finite form. I wonder so intensely sometimes, but I don't know if I'll ever find that path for myself.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
Miss Thanero, we've done this together a few times, but I've never asked you. When it happens, do you feel changed? Do you feel them?
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
When it happens, I feel everything. I feel them the strongest in the moment that they leave this plane, but I feel everyone that has gone before. Some of it is painful. Some of it is quite pleasant. But it's really the only time anymore that I feel anything other than anger at the situation I'm in. I realize I hide it well, but there are so many pressures from so many angles, and they just keep coming. And I'm tired. I'm tired of constantly having to sort it out and figure out my next move.
I used to love chess, and now I despise it. And there are times when I just want it to be done, when I just want what is destined to happen to happen so that I can finally rest.
Madeleine
Bradford is still for quite some time taking all of this in.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
Yes. Well, you know I should never prescribe you anything, but rest sounds good.
Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
It sounds wonderful, but I won't be having time to rest. There are new things constantly coming up that I have to deal with, but thank you for this very small respite.
Dr. Branford (Madeleine)
If it helps with what ails you, I shall always oblige.
Madeleine
And she grabs her Gladstone bag that's out on one of the small end tables, pulls out several bottles and cleaning supplies and pads to leave for whoever has to deal with the body, nods, and leaves.
Cassandra
And I think Ena stays for a moment longer with Leslie just gently running her fingers over this girl's forehead.
Kim
So at the conclusion of a vulnerable scene, all of you may clear conditions as you wish.
T., you're good. Fresh up. No conditions.
T.
I’m fresh. I'm out the box.
Kim
But what would you all like to clear? Dr. Branford, I suppose you're somewhat spoken for because you have two conditions, one of which you can't clear.
Madeleine
Yes. I would like to clear Marked by the Cursed. I think in this scene, Branford realizes because of who she is, because of the field she's in, she's marked by her patients. She's marked by the people who call on her whenever they need her. So being Marked by the Cursed is just just another patient that needs helping.
Kim
Kind of nothing new. Yeah. I like it. Miss Thanero.
Cassandra
I have one condition, and I think this absolutely cleared it.
So I will be clearing Ravenous.
Madeleine
So full.
Cassandra & Kim
I’m/She's so full.
Kim
And all of you may collaborate on a clue for a threat of your choice. It can be anything you want as long as it does not conclusively answer any of our questions by itself.
Cassandra
I feel like it should be for the Cursed given clearing Dr. Branford's mark. And, also, like, this is the place he would have come.
T.
For sure.
Madeleine
Yeah. Way back when.
Kim
Oh, absolutely. He probably knew Leslie.
Cassandra
Yeah. Probably did. Absolutely. Probably knows Elsie.
T.
He does for a fact. What if it's something about, like, the strawberry ice cream?
Cassandra
I do really love the strawberry ice cream. I think it's a very, like, sweet thing to figure out how to tie in potentially.
Natalia
I was gonna say it could be something that's tied to a memory
Cassandra
Yeah.
Natalia
Of, like, his past.
Cassandra
Yeah. Because I asked her about the memory.
T.
And maybe something about, like, what the sky was like at her happiest moment, bringing him back to his human side kinda thing. You know?
Cassandra
Okay. So what if the sky that was described was something like, like, either sunset or sunrise where the sun is meeting the horizon of the water kind of be?
T.
I like that.
Madeleine
It could be in the perpetual.
You can't tell if it's sunset or sunrise.
Kim
Crepuscular?
T.
Mhmm. Mhmm. The quickening always happened during the dusk.
Kim
Yeah.
Cassandra
Yeah. So maybe it was, maybe it was a sunset.
T.
What about just a strawberry colored sky?
Kim
Oh, lovely.
Cassandra
Oh, I love it.
Madeleine
Perfect.
Cassandra
Give it to me.
[a gentle piano melody]
Kim
Let us return to the Hotel Palais.
Miss Douglas, distantly, you hear someone downstairs in the parlor of the hotel palette start to bang out a fairly pleasant melody on the piano. The sounds of it drift upstairs.
Natalia
Holding on to the Crimson Gentleman's waist, Maesie places her head on his chest and begins to guide him about the room to the beat of the music.
Kim
He leans his cheek against your hair.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I think I just I feel myself leaving more and more these days, and it's hard to let go knowing that when I do leave, it's I don't know where I'm going, because it won't even be home then. I won't get to go home, and I won't get to stay here, and I won't know what it is. I don't like feeling lost.
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
Young lady, when last we spoke of your plight with the pelt, it was your fondest wish to go home, to return to your family. Are you having second thoughts?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Oh, no. It is my fondest wish to go there. That's just not where I get to go when it's done.
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
Oh, where are you going? Where can I find you?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Don't think you can. Ugh. I'm going where you don't come back from anymore when this is done.
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
Maesie, you are a young lady of many talents. Do you consider yourself a seer?
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
No.
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
Then do not trouble yourself with absolutes about your future. It is still yours to be written.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
This is true, I suppose. How did you decide? Well, I don't know if you decided to be this. The interminability of what you face.
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
It was not my choice. A very powerful man thought I was very beautiful, took me under his wing, sought to make me like him, to make me beautiful forever, to make me his forever. I had a different plan in mind. I did not choose my present circumstances, Maesie, but I did choose to embrace them and to take advantage of it.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I can see that. You know, we might have to do something about all of this.
Right, Hargrave House?
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
I am not a seer, but it has crossed my mind that one day you and I might meet under less romantic circumstances.
Natalia
Maesie puts a hand up to his cheek.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
What? You don't think it's romantic when I threaten you with death?
Crimson Gentleman (Kim)
You would not be the first, but you are the most lovely. Let us not trouble ourselves with future events. I can promise to put up a good fight should you bring one to my door.
Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Let us not trouble ourselves with future events.
Natalia
And with that, Maesie breaks apart from him, ends the dance, but still takes his hand and leads him to the bed.
[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, exclusive cast talkbacks, TTRPG materials, and more, visit patreon.com/kittenmarlowe and join The Gauntlet and all of our incredible kitten marlowe patrons in supporting artist driven storytelling.
Thanks for listening.