You're listening to Twisted Tropes. Familiar
settings. Wild new tales. Now on with the story.
Scandals and Scavengers. A post -apocalyptic
Regency romance. Episode 5. Mix -ups and meet
-ups. Or a whole lot of skin. Last time on Scandals
and Scavengers. After the opening of the secret
room, Ruby's father had suddenly slipped into
a coma. Despite receiving a tempting invitation
and gift from someone she assumed to be Mr. Ruben
Weller, Ruby decided to stay home for the evening.
An examination of the secret room revealed that
the cribs were both monogrammed with the letters
RG, and a single porcelain doll had a damaged
arm. But unfortunately, that's not all she saw.
While perusing, Ruby heard a smash, and one of
the two mirrors in the room was suddenly broken
as if someone had thrown something at it. As
she peered into the smashed mirror, Ruby saw
her own hand perched on her shoulder. She wrote
a message and held it up to the mirror. Hello?
Are you there? If so, please respond to this.
But it became, Hello? Am I here? Can I please
respond to this? A now manic Ruby began feverishly
cleaning the room, recruiting Edgewater with
Gladstone as a proper chaperone to assist her.
Meanwhile, at Promenade, Salt spotted Fiona and
Beadere strolling with Oscar Henson. In an attempt
to direct Fiona's attention to Lefroy playing
pall -mall on the green, Salt yelled, That's my
boy! Unfortunately, referring to his charge as
my boy nearly garnered them the wrong type of
attention. Samuel searched the green for his
dismissive brother -in -law, but found no sign
of him, and Mary, in disguise, listened for rumors.
That evening, Mary visited her assistant Nicodemus
at her office, and discovered that they were
contracted to conduct a seance at Lady Gadwallow's
ball in a few days' time. They decided to bring
the juice. And just as we were about to leave
our protagonists for a night's rest, we saw Salt
peering at a mysterious letter emblazoned with
the insignia of the Neo -Britannian military.
Now, let's find out what this morning will bring.
All right. Welcome back. The sun rises. It's
a new day. And awaiting all, you know, good people
of the ton, there is an invitation to a ball
at the estate of Lady Gadwallow the following
evening. So that is, that invitation has been
extended, but you do have a day to prepare. So
anybody have any burning morning phase actions
they would like to take? Any doors to kick down?
You know, just speaking of that, I guess I'll
have Samuel speak up here. I do have a couple
things. So yesterday I did send out a calling
card to Mary Smith, inviting her over today during
calling hours, as well as I did send, it wasn't
really a calling card, but a response to Belladonna
asking when we could set up a seance. Okay. Just
things to remind. This morning, I am sending
two letters to the Rhinelander estate, one for
Ruby to just check on her father, and the other
because I'm assuming Edgewater is still there.
So either, hey, deliver this to Edgewater if
she is there. If not, please forward this to
the Clarence residence. But that is basically
asking her to come during calling hours today,
requesting, one, our introduction got cut short.
You seem to know a lot about proper etiquette
and I could use some coaching. And three, I would
also like to really fit in for the party tomorrow
if you could help me find an outfit. You can
change him. So hot. Fashion show. Fashion show.
Fashion show. This is incredible. This is your
dream of all dreams. That's all my morning actions
is getting out those correspondence. And then,
did my husband's stuff arrive yet? That will
be coming in today. Later. Okay. Then that's
it for this morning. Oh, I'm so sorry. One more
letter to my dearest brother -in -law. Not sure
if you've heard yet, but I am in town. And I
am having your brother's effects brought to my
residence in town if you would like to one day
come by and see if there's anything you would
like to take to remember him by. So noted. Tension.
Okay, we're starting hot. All right, cool. Cool,
cool, cool. You said if there was any burning
things I wanted to do. And that'll be it for
my morning. Haven't stirred anything up. No.
All right. Anyone else have anything to do for
the morning hours? Gladstone did bring a bag
with him. So you do have a change of clothes.
Oh, wonderful. Because right now I feel like...
Not good. Ruby, we need to go to sleep. All right.
Yeah, we should probably get some rest, I guess.
I feel like Edgewater's hair normally pristinely
in an updo is sticking out all over the place.
Their faces are covered in dust and dirt. Yeah.
Their dresses from the day before are absolutely
ruined. And I'll say, oh, you can take the...
You can take the... third guest room on the left.
All right. Thank you. And Gladstone, you can
take the seventh guest room on the left. Perfect.
Good night, day. And the funny thing is that
probably would have taken the servants like two
and a half hours. And it's probably still a mess.
Yeah, not very good. It's still going to take
them another two hours. Yeah, and I think I am,
once they leave, I think I sleep in, I think
I fall asleep on the floor. Thank God you said
the floor. I don't crawl in the crib, but I do
think I fall asleep on the floor. That would
have been horrifying. Let me crawl in here. Sorry.
And everybody else would have gotten to stretch
their legs. All right, so how long are we looking
to sleep? You probably are going to go through
to Promenade to get enough rest? Oh, no. Wait,
did we get the letters? They're not delivered
yet. It wouldn't be because he's got to write
them, and then they have to be delivered, and
if we're starting the morning phase, then you
would be making this decision at that point.
I mean, she's an... upper class lady she's just
gonna sleep there's no there's no alarm going
off. All right cool. She's just sleeping if someone
wakes her up because there's a message or something
that's great if not, still sleeping. Okay fantastic
all right so that will wrap around this way then
I think Salt will quickly draft a thank you letter
to Samuel for his suggestion on the flowers.
Tell them that they were a big hit and that Lefroy
is very grateful for the assistance. And then
as a phase action, I would like to... Listen
for rumors, try to hear rumors. Excellent. What
skill would you like to roll? And actually, you
know what? Just roll the appropriate skill, tell
me what it is and whatnot in the text, and we
will go from there. And remind me, can I try
to listen for or suss out specific information
or targeted information? Basically, you tell
me that you want targeted information, and if
there's something of that tier that works, then
I'll tell you. If there's something lower than
that tier that works, I'll tell you. Gotcha.
Otherwise, you get the highest tier that you
roll. Okay. I think he's kind of asking around.
Since it's the morning, I don't think he's left
the manor. I think Salt's kind of asking some
of the other employees of the Seltzers. He maybe
goes to speak to Ford, who I think gets out and
about town a little bit more than he does as
the carriage driver, as the carriage. The coachman.
As the coachman. Looking for anything that they
know, because I don't think Salt knows too much
about the Hensons. Specifically if he knows anything
about Oscar, but anything about the Henson family
generally. Okay, cool. And so I think this would
be probably maybe either perception or investigation.
If you're having a conversation with Ford, it'd
be investigation. Perception is more like, I'm
going to listen at the shops and see if anyone's
talking. Gotcha. That's a nat one. Yeah. Well,
I... don't like to spread rumors. So, uh, I don't,
uh, I don't partake in that kind of stuff.
An attitude that's appreciated in the house
Ford. Do you need anything while I'm here?
Uh, no, I'm good. You know, plus there's a too
much of a joke about, you know, straight from
the horse's mouth and that kind of, that gets
under my skin. Sure. But, uh, Makes a quick mental
note to avoid those in the future. And then I
guess that Salt, I think, goes in first for a
handshake, but it's a little too broad for a
hug. I don't think he and Ford have quite figured
out how to do this yet. It's still a little awkward.
And stops like a couple inches away, calls it,
and just walks out of the room. Yeah, there's
kind of a nod that says, yeah, for the best.
And then, yeah, he'll just spend the morning
kind of attending to housely duties around.
Fantastic. Cool, cool. Mary will respond to Lord
Drake's calling card and say that she'll be by
for calling hours. And I think I would like to
also try to hear a rumor. Maybe I'll go, you
know, see if my adoptive family benefactors are
in the sitting room or if they're having breakfast.
And, you know, I often I'm kind of off on my
own, but sometimes I'm, you know, I make an appearance
because they hate when i'm there, but they also
kind of expect me to show up sometimes. um so
i'll go and like you know sit in the corner and
you know read demurely. Where is that person we
usually ignore? Yeah exactly, like wow so rude
of her to not show up even though we hate
her. Yeah all right. um fantastic so uh that would
probably be a perception check. I think that would
be perception yeah uh 16 plus six So 22. All
right. So do you like odds or evens? I'll do
evens. Okay. That's fantastic. No, I'm just kidding.
Evens. Oh, no. Odds. Evens. Final answer. I just
realized I can't just cut and paste or I'll give
you too much information. That's fine. That's
fine. I want all of it. So that's out in the
world. And yeah, then I'll, you know, at the
appropriate time, go call on Lord Drake. Okay.
So we're going to move forward to calling hours
now. Before we get into that, Salt, calling hour
shenanigans. I think Salt is going to spend the
afternoon. He's going to go out shopping during
call. I don't think anyone's called for his attention.
I don't think he's needed at the house. He's
going to try to find a more appropriate outfit.
for Lefroy for this somewhat more formal event
we'll be attending without fully squashing... I
think he wants to find something colorful that
his ward would like, but maybe a bit more reflective
of some of the flowers he saw in the Blightwind
garden when they took their walk around. Okay.
All right. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. That
is fantastic. Now, everybody remember to roll
your wealth for today. Thank you. Because folks
are going to be buying things. So just so you
know, an appropriate ball outfit would require
uh four um unless you want to get cash from Lady
Pilar or oh uh yeah i'll ask them if they would
like if uh maybe i'll uh because i think if i
remember she had a similar reaction to to uh
Lefroy when we walked in. Yes. Letting him express
himself but concerned that he
was expressing too much. Yes uh so i think before
he leaves Salt will walk in um first let
Lady Pilar know. My lady I'll be leaving for the
afternoon if there's anything you need to call
for me um i'll be uh heading out to the to the
shops um is there anything you'd like me to pick
up for yourselves or for Lord Lefroy for the
ball tomorrow? Oh ah well, he made a splash. He
made quite the splash. Just, you know, burst
onto the scene. But maybe it is a ball. The queen
could be in attendance. So maybe that much of
a splash, you know, you don't want to splash
upon others. So maybe we could find him something
a little more refined. I think that's a wonderful
idea, my lady. I'd be happy to pick something
up for you. Excellent. You know, maybe something
that's a little bit of a pop or, you know, a
fun accessory or something. You know, something
that doesn't, you know, scream, I'm... Extremely
special. Something that tilts a little less,
perhaps. Yes. I'd be happy to. Yes. Maybe let's
avoid headwear. Sounds good. It wouldn't be
appropriate indoors, and also it just, I think
it made his dancing suffer. I think it added
a level of difficulty we had not prepared for
in our lessons, yeah. So I would be happy to.
Good man. Uh and yeah he'll turn
and leave and uh you you are given uh sort of
outlay of of wealth to cover- Cool. -an outfit for
Lefroy um because mom is very invested in him
finding someone so um yeah i would like each
of the the door kickers to No, there was just
one door kicker. The instigators. Could Ruby and Edgewater
make con saves for me? That is a 15. Seven. Ruby,
you awake just at the beginning of calling hours.
All right. And get the letter from Samuel. I
read it. Remind me what it says. It's just kind
of similar to his prior letter the day before.
Just a kind, I hope everything's okay. Please
let me know if you need anything. But there is
also the instructions of, I also sent a message
to your estate for Miss Clarence. If she's still
out here about, could you please make sure that
gets to her? Ruby gets very excited at that.
And she will grab that letter as well. And she
will run upstairs and will burst into the room
that Edgewater is sleeping in and go, Edgewater!
I have some very exciting news. You have been
called upon by Lord Drake. What? He sent a letter
for you. I can only assume you certainly hit
it off last night, right? For me? Yeah. Okay!
He wants me to help him choose an outfit for
the ball. Wait, what ball? Oh, I got this invitation,
too. I can only assume you got one as well. Oh,
I'm sure it's at home. Oh, okay. All right. All
right. What do I do? What do I do? Stop making
so darn much noise for one thing. Wow. What time
is it? Oh, what time is it? Oh, I believe it's
just at the beginning of calling hours. I have
to hurry. Oh, nuts. All right. You need to take
me to the modiste now. Oh, fine. All right. So
he hails a coach and you head down to the Modiste.
I'll see you later, Ruby. He is grumbling the
entire time. Hope your dad's all right. Oh, man,
I should check on him. Oh, right. Yeah. Golly.
I forgot about that. I'm so busy with cleaning
this creepy room last night. Oh, my Lord. All
right. Cool. So you're going to go check on dad.
He is much the same. If you'd like to make a
medicine check to see if he is possibly improved
with some rest. I would love to. That's a negative
one. Oh, my God. Is he dead? He actually looks
like he's getting better. Oh, all right. Okay,
this is good. Yeah, this is great. All right.
Good. Amazing. Is that all I can do for calling
hours? Oh, no, no. Cool. Oh, actually, there
is another package for you. Oh, all right. I
will go get that package and open it up again.
It is a small set of... Earrings. Oh. I mean,
earrings in the most technical of senses. Actually,
it looks like they're blunted fish hooks, but
they've been attached to small metallic six -sided
dies. Oh. Pushy. All right. Is there a letter
with it or? Nope. All right. Okay. And I'm going
to take them. I'm going to put them on. And I'm
going to go buy an outfit that specifically matches
these. Ruby! I think. Oh, I make sure to tell
everyone in the house to make sure my dad is
well taken care of. I need to run out for a bit.
And I'm going to go shopping. And I'm going to
spend some money on an outfit that matches these
earrings. Because I can't wear something I already
have in my closet to the ball tomorrow. All right.
So you're basically chasing Gladstone and Edgewater
to the modiste. Exactly. Okay. Fantastic. So shopping
can be done. Running down the street. Then you're
going to have to hightail it if you're going
to make it to the Drake estate. Thank goodness.
I'm just picking up the dress that I've already
ordered. Not trying to find something new. No.
Not for me. For Drake, of course, later. Excellent.
But Mary will make it to the Drake Estate first.
Now, could you roll me... I am going to... All right.
I want to have Johnny look at this. We're going
to go evens or odds. You don't want to match
the even or odd that I'm showing on my die. Okay.
I'll try. Are you evens or odds? Not the same.
Fantastic. As you are leaving the house, you
see a card, a calling card, and it is just poking
out from behind a piece of furniture in the front
hall where correspondence might be left. Okay.
Trudy is dusting. And she looks at you and winks.
I wink back. Wherever you're going, have fun
dear. It's so untidy here. Trudy, you work so
hard. You work so hard. I'll finish that up for
you. I'm sure you have something else. I'm sure
someone's hounding you to do something else around
here. So I'll finish dusting around here and
then I'll head out on my way. Excellent, excellent.
You're a dear. You're a dear, Trudy. You get
out of here. You crazy. And I will swipe the
card and see who it's from. It is a matching
calling card from Samuel Drake that has been
sent to Lord Edison Sparks. Ah. Interesting.
Well, I think... I know that my benefactor will
be reaching out regardless because he wants this
deal. I think that on my way out, I will bring
him this card to try and ingratiate myself somewhat
and see what his vibe is today. Do a vibe check
on this horrible man. Excellent. Okay. And I
assume this is the one that he sent saying like,
you know, let's meet soon and kind of start negotiations.
I mean, do you want to crack the seal on it to
read it? Ooh. You know what? Now that you mention
it, I sure do. And I would love to do that. Can
I do a sleight of hand check? Oh, to separate
the seal without actually breaking it? Yeah.
Yeah. And I assume I can just breathe on it really
hard to reseal it or whatever. Wax or I don't
know how this works. I mean, this is mostly crayon
-based sealing wax, so it's not the best. I'll
just get some more crayon. That is a 16. Or a
17. It beats the 14 I had in mind, so yeah. Excellent.
So I take one of my teeniest, sneakiest daggers
and kind of... open it up in a way that i can
reseal it afterwards excellent and you can you
you read the uh the note that that samuel sent
okay yeah if you need a reminder it's basically
we look forward i look forward to having that
business talk with you i'm doing preparations
on my end to ensure that goes smoothly okay um
and i am curious at this point in and know that
i'll be talking to lord drake you know once i
go out to visit And don't necessarily want to
interrupt whatever he's doing because I feel
like he might be an interesting ally. So I will
still bring, I'll reseal it and I'll bring it
to Lord Edison Sparks. Excellent. I'll say, sir.
Mary, I'm trying to work on the accounts. My
deepest apologies. I would never interrupt you.
in your sanctum of business without proper need.
This had fallen onto the ground and I did not
want you to miss any important correspondence
from Lord Drake. Oh, ah, I see. I cast my eyes
down demurely. Well, um, thank you. Thank you
very much. And do remember that we have the ball
tomorrow night and we'll be expected. You will
be in attendance. But yes, I must deal with this.
He probably wants to see figures or something,
although I don't understand what he would know
of how we do business here. Truly. I'm sure you
will have much to teach him. I gag behind him.
When he's looking away. I make a gaggy face.
Okay, cool. So he's got that. While I'm there,
do I see anything on his desk or anything? I
feel like that would be a whole other roll probably.
I mean, you can try to do a perception check
just to kind of get a general feel. Or if you're
trying to hone in on something and quickly read
it upside down. you could make an investigation
check whether it would be disadvantaged because...
I think I'll just do perception at this point
because I already opened this mail. I've already
been doing some lurking, so I'm satisfied. That
is a 16 plus 6, so 22. Actually, there is one
sort of... Because he's working on his books,
there is one column that seems a little off.
I mean, you're not a forensic accountant, but
you have a business that you generally keep expenses
for. And there is one column that has very few
transactions in it. And it is like maybe every
three months or so. And it's just a red number.
You can't see what the number is, but it's like.
You think three digits? Yeah. And it just says
CC at the top. Good thing that narrows it down.
Someone in that dumb C family. That double C
family. All right. I will tiptoe out. Apologies
again for the interruption, sir. I will be on
my way. Yes. Have a good day. Oh, that was kind
of nice, actually. That was almost polite. Remember
to shut the door. Yes, sir. Fine. Yes, sir. Had
to ruin it. Yeah, you had to ruin it, man. All
right, and then we'll head over to Lord Drake's
for calling hours. Okay. You get there and you
are met at the door by Lucas. You would be? Miss
Smith, ward of the Sparks family. Ah, yes, yes.
Returning a call. His Lordship is expecting you.
Please, follow me. I'm sweating. Mary Smith does
not really call on people all that often unless
she wants something or is curious about somebody.
She'll occasionally call in a group. She'll get
dragged along with her adoptive siblings as a
default chaperone or extra body. She'll try to
scope out... clientele, things like that. But
she doesn't often just show up as herself, as
the person who's expected. So she's sweating
a little bit. She's pretty visibly uncomfortable.
Ah, sir, Miss Mary Smith to see you. Excellent.
Thank you, Lucas. I'll be right down. And could
you tell Miss Worley, she does not need to bring
in the snacks into the room. I'll carry those
in. Ah, excellent, sir. I will relay the message
and then I will be right outside the door inattentively.
I appreciate that. I think when you walk into
the room, Mary is picking something up that she
probably shouldn't be picking up and is just
kind of trying to keep herself busy and putzing
around. What kind of thing do you think would
be in the sitting room? Well, so I'm thinking
this is all Henry's things. So I imagine it's
actually, like, from pre -tearing, like, maybe,
like, a globe that's kind of messed up. So everybody
was just kind of, like, in awe of, like, is this
really what the world might have looked like?
Like, we only know, like, how much has it changed
since then. Oh, interesting. Yeah. Yeah, I'm
looking at the globe. What the fuck is this?
And then just a voice from behind you. I never
understood my husband's fascination with things
like that. Hello, sir. My Lord. He'll actually
bow to you and Lady Smith. Jesus, I mean, St. Linda.
And he will set down a tray of food that is what
he has requested be made. So it's not like the
classic little finger foods. It's like day one.
It's like chunk of cheese, chunk of jerky, and
then a nice hearty piece of bread. And he is
specifically wearing, again to stand out more,
more of what he's used to wearing. So it's actually
like a kilt -ish hide. uh bottoms and then that
classic vest that he loves to have and the fang
necklace on uh uh thank you for uh your card
i love your necklace that's uh very kind of you
and no thanks necessary uh I feel I owe you an
apology. I felt I may have made you uncomfortable
at the ladie's garden party. And that was not
my intention at all. I myself was already feeling
out of place and I would hate to have done that
to someone else. Mary is just kind of like staring
suspiciously at this man who's just being polite
and considerate. What's the angle? Wow. I mean,
indeed. I was not. I mean, okay, no, I was uncomfortable,
but it wasn't, you did nothing wrong, sir. And
I am simply unused to being addressed in public
gatherings. Is there something you would prefer
to be addressed as? You can just call me Mary,
I guess. I, listen... A gag. I glance around because
I don't normally have a chaperone anyway because
no one really cares what I do. But even I know,
I'm like, is this a setup? Is this a sting operation?
So I'm glancing around and I'm saying, when appropriate,
I would be perfectly comfortable with you calling
me Mary. Excellent. Well, again, I appreciate you
coming here, Mary. He'll take a chunk of the
meat, take a seat on the opposite side of the
room to give you space. Can I have a chunk of
that cheese? I mean, I brought enough for both
of us, hopefully. I take a chunk of cheese. I
just scarf it down. Trudy forgot to bring me
breakfast this morning. There's like a little
tickle on your right arm as Gus comes out. I'm
like, oh, sorry. Don't mind Gus. No, I miss having
animals in the living arrangements. I set Gus
down on the table to go say hi if he decides
to be friendly today. I mean, he's a mouse. He
sees there's a chunk of food in your hand. He
skitters right on up and, you know. Purposely
just like peeling things off and just kind of
dropping them on the floor. He'll get them or the
servants will. How has your
time been in our ton so far? I'm sure it's different.
It's an adjustment, yes. And I'll just cut to
the chase, Mary. Oh, it's...that's good. I had somewhat
ulterior motives inviting you here. I'm potentially
entering a business arrangement with your adopted
father, Lord Sparks. That's a way of putting
it. He said some things that felt uncouth towards
you, and I took offense on your behalf. Mary
starts just blinking rapidly, processing. She's
doing the mental mathematics of like, okay, how
is this a bad thing for me? And she kind of stares
and... Doesn't quite know how to respond without
kind of blowing up her own spot. Yeah. And so
I'd like to offer you a proposition. You can
always come to me if you need assistance in any
way. I'm sure while my title is nothing of great
import compared to others, I do have a little
more leaning now in the ton than perhaps you
find yourself in. I could be an ally to you if
you'd be willing to be an ally towards me and
perhaps give me... an inside look to see if I'm
being taken advantage of by a future business
partner. A slow Cheshire Cat smile spreads over
Mary's face because now she's in familiar territory.
And I would like to make an insight check of some
kind to see if this is a genuine offer. He is
genuinely interested in a kind of mutually beneficial
arrangement or if there's some sort of ulterior.
motive at play again. Persuasion or deception
versus your insight and I gotta say I am uh i
could not have predicted that turnaround with
exactly what Edison said to you right before.
It was perfect. Oh I set my guy up. 17. 18 persuasion
I will let that be above table yeah yeah he's
on the level. And you know a thing or two about
lying. Yeah I'm going to say, I know a thing or
two about lying. If we're being candid here. Lord
Drake, I am interested in this offer, and there
are many things I do not know about Lord Spark's
business ventures. I know that he is distracted
often. I know that he has... Other people who
are more powerful who lean on him when necessary.
I don't know always why or how. But I believe
that getting into business with Lord Sparks means
getting into business with others that you may
not know about right away. Well, then I'm glad
I'm making allies early. Will you be attending
the ball tomorrow? I will. Will I happen to see
you there? I haven't decided yet. Yes, maybe.
I think at least for part of the ball, I will
be there. And I think that if you're invited
to the seance, that it may be worth attending.
It is an interesting...There's a seance? ...maybe revealing. I think
there will be, yes. Uh, that's what I've heard.
In the rumor mill. Definitely wasn't on the invitation.
Oh, I mean, I just heard someone talking about
it. And that actually brings up another interesting
point. Unfortunately, I don't have, what's the
best way to put this? A lot of people pining
for my ear at this moment. If you could just
keep your ears open for any talk about my house,
myself, or those you see me conversing with.
If you wouldn't mind just making that known to
me. Of course. And is there anything in particular
you would like me to be listening for? Any concerns
that one might share with a listening ear? You
are very good at what you do. What? I am not
doing anything. I drop the cheese. Nothing in particular
at the moment. I just know I am a new face and
to some an unwelcome face. Although if you could
hear, if you hear anything specifically, I have
yet to be contacted by my brother -in -law, Nathaniel
Drake. Lord Drake. Well, as you may have noticed,
the ton communicates indirectly and those of
us that are not in the spotlight sometimes overhear
things that others do not. I have yet to notice
that, unfortunately. Yes, you are right in the
spotlight, my guy. It is kind of alarming to
witness. Anything you'd like to share? I just
am a normal, just ward. Oh my gosh. Doing ward
stuff. Hello, fellow human. Yes, I also do normal,
non -lying. Now if you could give me back my
mouse, please. My mouse, sir. I would also like
to ask, and this may be a, I could also do a
religion check or anything else that might help
in this, but I'd like to ask about the magic
of your homeland, if there is any. Any impression
that you have of the magic that you may have
seen here? Well, I myself was not gifted with
the gifts of the land, but there are people from
where I come from in the wildlands who are gifted
with the powers of the natural forces all around
us. Some are extra connected to nature and the
plant life. Some master the elements that surround
us, the wind, lightning. the fire that warms
us, things like that. I will say I did happen
to see a bit of a demonstration of Miss Rhinelander's
magic, and that was a new experience for me.
I did not realize that she had magical abilities.
Apparently it's new, six months ago. Okay, six
months. So specific. I wonder what happened six
months ago. It's a lot. We may never know. That's
a lot. Curious. Yeah, I met Miss Rhinelander just
at the garden party for the first time. She was
unique. You don't know the half of it. I don't
want to take up too much of your time. You're
welcome to stay. however you like, but I do have
other company I'm expecting this afternoon. That's
wonderful to hear. Who are you expecting? Is
this information sort of a quid pro quo to seal
the deal on our arrangement? I'm just, you know,
asking follow -up questions. I'm also, I think,
that Mary is making sure that she doesn't overlap
with anyone who would be very shocked to see
her here and maybe report back. to the Sparks.
Well, I believe there might be a familial relationship,
actually. Yes, Miss Clarence. Edgewater. Now,
why do you say it like that? Oh, I said it normal.
Actually. I mean, actually, technically, yeah.
For you. Well, no, I mean, a lot of people say
it like that. Edgewater. Oh, yes. She's great.
Super helpful. Super helpful. That's the impression
I got. Yeah. Super helpful. On that note, Gus,
we're going to roll. Is that the mouse? Yeah.
Oh, yeah. Sorry. That's the mouse. He skitters
back up into my pocket. And I think that I will
take my leave. Good evening. And again, should
you need anything? Likewise. Oh, if you need
to send me a message. Obviously, I'm happy to
come call. I think that that is probably easiest
rather than you coming to visit me specifically
at the Sparks residence. But if you need to send
me a written message, you may address it to Trudy
um one of the staff at the Sparks residence.
Interesting. I will keep note of that. Listen,
she's an absolute gossip. So don't put anything
super important in there. Would it maybe be easier,
do you happen to frequent the promenade? I've
been there once or twice, yes. If something comes
up, perhaps instead of official calling hours,
we can try to arrange a meeting there. Excellent.
I will likely see you at the promenade, and if
not, I will see you at the ball tomorrow. Have
a good evening, Mary. Indeed, I do a weird bow
curtsy. Fuck. Bye. Almost stuck the landing.
Almost stuck the landing. So two things happen
somewhat simultaneously. Okay. As you are leaving,
there is a crash in your library and you see
Ryland coming out. And behind them, there is
a stack of trunks. So it seems like Henry's personal
effects have made it from the country estate
to the city mansion. Was the crash purposeful,
or was that an accidental, this was a lot of
stuff, and it kind of just fell in? That was
the, I think I tried to lift too much, and I
got it, I got it. I got it. I don't got it. Samuel
will thank Ryland for going to fetch all
that and bringing it over. And then we'll just
easily heft up two of the trunks and organize
them. Whoa. Ryland just sort of like, their
head just sort of tilts, the mandibles click,
two sets of arms shrug, and they walk away. Deeper
into... The estate towards the servant's entrance
exit. Meanwhile, Edgewater is arriving for her
meeting. And we're going to do a stealth perception
roll off. Fuck, I knew this was going to happen.
13 perception. Yes! Got a 6 stealth. I open the
door and I'm like, Edgewater! It's me! It's bad.
There's no explaining this. Hey. Hi... Is that...
there? You're here. We're here. Both of us are
here. I was just on my way. You're here. You're
on your way to... You're on your way to... Just
home? I don't know. around. You came here on your
way home? Yeah um no? yes? You did as well I assume
Here on my way on my way home? Yes, yes I'm on
my way home wait what? yeah uh that's what i thought
uh and glad to hear you're well. You as well. Excellent.
Yes good day Miss Smith. Are you you look tired
are you okay? Do I look tired? Not in a bad way.
Not in a bad way. Not in a bad way. Not in a
bad way. Just in a good way. A good way. Yeah,
like a chic, sleepy kind of look. All right.
Thank you, Miss Smith. You are always a balm
to the soul. Yeah, thank you. I love our conversations.
I get that a lot. I do get that a lot. Is that
balm or bomb? Yes. It could be either way. Wow.
I look over my shoulder to see if Lord Drake
is catching all this or if he's just busy... He's
in the library... masculinely lifting boxes or
whatever. I believe Lord Drake is inside because
he was there when I was in there. And he was
busy. A coincidence then. Yeah. It was unexpected.
I'll say. Just sweating so hard. Are you going
to the ball? Yeah, probably. Probably, yes. I
am expected. And I got invited. Wonderful. I
will see you there. Yeah, I'm really happy you're
going to be there as well. Yes. Wow. This has
been exactly what I needed. Farewell. Good, good,
good. I'm glad I could help. Farewell. Anytime.
Yes, farewell. Oh, my God. I start walking in
the wrong direction immediately. I just am walking
straight as if I know where I'm going. I turn
away from the door and start walking away. Yeah.
No, you can do this. Turn around, back to the
door. I think that went really well. I would
like both of you to make insight checks. Okay.
Dirty 20. 13. It is a little bit easier for Edgewater
given your area of specialty. While, you singularly
were leaving, you singularly were arriving to
the home of a single individual. Oh my. Miss
Smith? Yes? I was wondering. Yes? I had an invitation
here, you see, and I lost my head. I'm still
running back from the edge of the block. I forgot
to bring my chaperone. I was just wondering if
you would accompany me in to see Lord Drake.
That does seem like what's happening, and so
how could I say no? How could I say no? I didn't
understand. Of course Lord Drake invited you to be
the chaperone. That's what i think too. Yes okay.
I assume that's what's going on right
now. Okay well let's go in. Okay it's wonderful.
So good. I'm so glad uh that it worked out
this way. Oh me too. Okay I had originally thought-
never mind, never mind. Okay, we knock on the door
at the same time, I guess. The front door or
the library? The front door. Ah, yes. Miss Edgewater
Clarence, you are... Oh, Miss Smith, did you...
I am here to chaperone young Miss Clarence. I
was not informed about this. Not a worry. I shall
bring you to the library and actually let's go
to the sitting room and I shall summon his lordship
from the library. Yes, of course. As his proper.
Yes. We love propriety. We do. We love it. Okay.
I'm so glad you love it too. I didn't know that.
We should talk more. No. This has gone so badly.
You are shown into the sitting room and Lucas
goes to the library. Your Lordship, Lady Clarence,
Miss Clarence is here to see you with Miss Smith
as chaperone. There is something going on and
I am not entirely sure what. Nothing's going
on. Well, thank you, Lucas. He looks down. Time
got away from me. Oh, no. He's still in the...
Yes! On the plus side, I don't think Dragonborn's
sweat. Not even a little bit. Not even just a
little bit? So you're not like glistening? Yes,
glistening. He's always glistening. It's sapphire.
Oh, true. Very true. But he's just like, he puts
down a box and just... Right. If you could let...
I hope Miss Smith had her fill, but just in case,
Miss Worley, if she could bring the second round
of snacks that we agreed upon and maybe see if
she has time just for a few extras. Not a problem,
Your Lordship. I will make the arrangements immediately.
Thank you. You're a good man. Good luck. I walk
to the door. And enter proudly. Miss Clarence?
All right, as soon as you walk in, you make an
insight check. Edgewater is sitting there with
her mouth hanging open. I have my head cradled
in my hands. That's a nine. Somehow you don't
read the awkward in the room. Miss Smith? Lord
Drake. Pleasure to see you again. Indeed, since
the last time. Yes. You're a visitor, and I'm
here to be here as well. Oh, Miss Clarence,
I would have had the head of my staff chaperone
us, but... For those of you who can't see, Edgewater
is fanning herself frantically. I see you must
have run into Miss Smith on her way home. That's
a lot of skin. I apologize. This is more customary.
No, don't apologize. Don't apologize. Okay. Hi.
Yes, I ran into Miss Smith on the way out at
the door where she was. Thank you so much for
inviting her to be the chaperone for this. So
proper of you. I'm not sure you need as much
of my assistance as you...Mary's just nodding repeatedly...
as you say. No, I cannot let you assume too much
of me. No, I had called upon Miss Smith earlier.
Unfortunately. I believe it would be your uncle.
Lord Sparks, unfortunately, had some interesting
words about Miss Smith at the party. And I felt
it would be unhonorable of me to not let the
Miss Smith know that such words were said behind
her back. Oh, so you invited Miss Smith so that
you could let her know that you were standing
up for her. I'm like picking at like a bit of
wallpaper. Just, like, trying to be invisible.
So bad. But knowing that also you would likely
be here. And two birds, one stone. I could be
your chaperone? Yes. Oh. No. No, no, no. No,
no, no, no. Actually. No, it's more of a mutual
chaperoning. A mutual chaperoning. No, it's completely
fine. Sir, the second round of snacks and a carafe
of juice has been included as the jerky is a
bit salted. Would his lordship like me to stand
at attention outside the open door as is customary?
Yes, thank you, Lucas. Yes, sir. I think I need
to clear the air, so to speak, here. Miss Clarence,
I had my full intention to spend the rest of
my afternoon with you, if you would be so willing.
That was my intention. I would have had Lucas,
the head of my staff here, chaperone us, as I
am sure is appropriate from my understanding.
Oh, of course, yes. Yes, Lucas could chaperone
us. Everybody knows how knowledgeable you are.
And you know, I just, I, you know, I'm not, I'm
not getting trained up all the way all the time.
And, and it's so... My attentions are torn amongst
the ton, but I assure you, I will help you
as much as I possibly can. God. And why did I,
why did I talk? Miss Smith? Uh, this is in no
way meant to be an affront to you so please I
hope you do not take it so as I said my intention
was to spend the rest of this afternoon with
Miss Clarence. Yeah absolutely, and I love that for both of you.
I had said my piece to you and I'm sure
you have things you need to attend to tonight.
Uh and that is so gentlemanly thank you and thank
you Edgewater. I can't wait to see what you wear.
I'm sure it's going to be so good. And I am going
to go. Well, you have a wonderful day. You have
a wonderful day. And I'm speedwalking out of
the door as fast as I can. And I'm mouthing thank
you to Lord Drake. Goodbye, Miss Smith. Bye.
I'm already out on the street. The Doppler effect
kicks in. And with the eight insight, he has no
idea why you're thanking him. He was like, this
was for me. God. Close one. That could have been
really bad. Thank you for coming. I suppose that
means you received the letter. I did. Thank you
so much, Lord Drake. I would be so happy to help
you. It is my calling in life. I love the tenets,
and I am so pleased to share them with everyone,
and especially with you. It was so kind of you
yesterday, what you did for Ruby and kicking
down that door. How loudly was that just said
with the open door and Lucas right outside of
it? You have a feeling that attentive Lucas is
as inattentive as he possibly can be. Amazing.
There's no need to dwell on past actions. A favor
done is a favor done. That is very kind of you.
But I guess, please enjoy yourself. We have a
few more minutes. I figured we could... if you
don't mind accompanying me during promenade hours
to help me do a bit of shopping. I'm really not
accustomed to the fashion, as you can see. I
know all the best modistes in town. I would be
so thrilled to help you. I made a wise choice.
And she will not eat anything because the women
in Bridgerton and Austin, never eat unless they're
at a dinner. And then we'll sit there quietly
just staring. She will stare at you probably
too much. He will make awkward attempts at small
talk. You mentioned you and Ruby have been friends
since childhood. Oh, yes. We grew up together.
Our fathers being close business associates.
And, of course... Just our proximity as well.
And I mean, you've seen the two of us together.
You know, we must be like peas in a pod. I mean
this as a compliment. I actually don't think
you two could be more different. Oh, in what
way? How to say this... When I first met you,
you were very respectful. It felt immediately
you knew all the proper decorum and somehow made
me feel more like a lord than I have since I
arrived. Ruby asked, sorry, Ruby stated that
the party, the summer, the garden party would
have been more lively with some libations. She
said that? Messy. I'm sure you misunderstood
her. Perhaps. Well, you see, Ruby is a bit of
a, well, she's like a firebrand. She's very excitable
and can sometimes say the wrong things. When
she means one thing, she says another. And then
I point it out to her and she's, oh, yes, yes,
of course. I meant that other thing. Exactly.
So it's probably one of those situations. You
just need to point it out to her. I'll make note
of that in the future should she ever call upon
me again. And you did bring up something that's
a good point. I don't know if today is a proper
time, but there is still the matter of the...
Business arrangements I had mentioned yesterday.
I know probably you had spent all of your evening
caring for your best friend, so I'm sure you
haven't had any time to look that over. But when
you have the chance, feel free to call upon me,
and whatever time would work best for you to
discuss that. Yes, I did spend most of the evening
with Ruby, tending to the necessities of the
household at the moment. So, yes, as soon as
I get home, I'll be able to go over these proposals
and get back to you as soon as possible. You
do me too much of a kindness. Not enough. Well,
shall we? We shall. All right. Cue shopping montage.
Speaking of shopping, we are going to do a quick
bounce actually to Ruby to see if there was anything
else you were going to try to accomplish other
than shopping while you are out. I think if I
really want to make some sort of splash, can
I use this since I'm out shopping to use my Rakehell
ability to make an investigation check to see
if I can find any sort of magical item that might
add some flair? Okay. Keep in mind the cost associated
and make sure you have enough cash to float your
new outfit and whatever you're looking for. How
much does an outfit cost? It would be four for
this kind of an event. Oh, that's right. Because
this is an official ball. All right. I should
be able to do something. I have enough money.
Of course I do. Yeah, that's great. I will do
an investigation check to try and find a magic
item. Okay. Fantastic. Let me know what you get.
Let's see, everyone. That is a 14 plus 6 for
a Twisted 20. Very nice. Now, what kind of thing
are you looking for specifically? Because I can
have you find loads of things. It may not actually
be what you need. I think I am looking for something
specifically that is going to... I really want
to make an impact. So I want like a magic item
that is going to look really cool, if that makes
sense. And what kind of a budget are you looking
at? I have a total of seven wealth to spend on
this. In addition to the four you are... I rolled,
I had six wealth today and I've banked five.
So I have seven wealth. Wow. So you have some
sources and we will get back to that in a bit.
Great. But you'll have a delivery. At home. Amazing.
I love it. I love new things. I forgot you're
rocking all the way up to Earl status. I was
like, yes. Yeah. Ruby's rolling in it. Yeah,
she is. Baby. Wealth. It's its own superpower.
You got like a Scrooge McDuck pool. So uncomfortable.
I actually just, I just buy another doll. No,
no, no, no, no, no. Fantastic. And what would
we like to find for Lefroy? Gotcha. So I think
for an outfit, one of the flowers that we both
noticed in the garden were daffodils. So kind
of matching that, Salt would like to find a high
-vis construction vest. I know where you can
find one. It's in Gladstone's closet. I'm sure
of it. Yeah, it wouldn't look like an actual
full -on mage robe on Lefroy. I think he's going
to rock a high -vis construction vest, yellow
rain boots kind of cinched around with black
trash bags at the top so that he can still dance
in them, and then a pair of black nitrile gloves,
like lab gloves, to wear on top. And then from
home, he's going to have, at least for his entrance,
a bubble wrap cape to wear behind him in the
style of his house. Oh, very nice. Really going
into the whole look. Fantastic. All right. Cool.
Mary, are you in promenade or are you heading
back to the house? I think I will probably be.
I'm going to stop by the shops as well and just
like. I don't know, get a new like, you know, studded
belt or whatever, you know, for the for the ball,
because I'm mostly going to be wearing old clothes.
I'm not going to get a new outfit, but I'll get
like a new accessory or something. OK. And then
I'll probably head straight over to the promenade.
I assume that I can have, you know, whatever
I purchase sent to the house or whatever. So
I'll head to the promenade and I will go as myself.
All right. What was that? You did. It was to
figure out how fast something could happen. And
unfortunately, it only hits just about the time
you're reaching the park. And that would be a
breathless tap on your shoulder. Right. So I
got some... You turn around and there is Nicodemus. Nicodemus!
I grab him by the shirt collar and drag him like...
to like behind a tree or something I'm like desperately
quickly like disguising myself this you know
power that I kind of don't... like I have control over
but I don't really know what it is and I just
am like my eyes are like green now I have like
you know like short hair and like you know I'm
like my eyebrows look crazy because I'm just
trying to like change everything really quickly
while I'm running dragging behind a tree wait
right I mean Cool. I swear to God. We've talked
about this. Do you see where we are? Yeah. You're
not making it very easy for me to actually get
you the information. Okay. Honestly, I dumped
you out of your hammock last night. I've been
running around. We're admitting it now. Very
nice. Fantastic. Truce, I guess. Look, we've
got access to the seance room for the afternoon
before the ball. Okay, so it's pre -ball. I explained
to the lady, Gadwallow, that we have to purify
the spiritual essence so there's nothing blocking
the access of the spirits we're channeling. Yes,
that is so true. So we can set up... Excellent.
Okay, good to know. So we've got the entire afternoon
to get things moved in, get things set up. Perfect.
Okay. I'll come with you then. My eyebrows are...
Tomorrow. Three inches thick. Oh, tomorrow. Okay.
Jesus Christ. Okay. Sorry. As usual, a busy day.
We just stare at each other behind this tree.
It's so hard being you. I know. We don't have
to get into it, but honestly, there are highs
and lows, Nicodemus. I'm not going to lie to
you. Right. You pay me to scam people. You like
when I say cryptic stuff like that, right? In
the business. Look, you pay me to help you scam
people. I'm not your therapist. Scam's a strong
word for it, okay? We don't scam. I say it in
like a fake whisper. We don't scam. We perform.
And provide closure and spiritual comfort. Yes,
yes, yes. I read the business card. For money.
Yeah. So. Anyway, going big on this one? We're
going big on this one. Fantastic. I think it's
time we start really leveling up. And from what
I could gather, you might have up to seven possible
requests. For the group seance tomorrow. Yes.
Okay, excellent. But there will be an audience
past that. Okay. So how big do you want me to
go? audience audience size-wise? no no no in terms
of the- Oh just juice wise? Yeah. We want to be
drowning in juice on this one. Fantastic. Drowning.
For the first time you feel like a genuine smile
like not a sarcastic smile. This is the one thing
that we both can like bond over. Yeah. Just going
absolutely hog wild for this crazy stupid business
that we run together. Uh so uh Nicodemus is like,
Right. I've got something I've been wanting to
try. And it's going to make it really easy for
me to, you know, do my work. Okay. Can I get
a clue? Can I get a hint? We're going to bring
in one of our special channeling idols. Okay.
I can't wait. I want these people to be shitting
themselves. Drowning in juice and shit. That's
where we're aiming for this one. This is great.
Fantastic. Right. I've got work to do. Excellent.
I love it when you say that. Please let go of
my neck. Oh, right. Thank you. That's my bad.
I'm going to go do a... Very important work of
walking around. Got it. Listen, it's sort of
important. Sometimes. Sometimes it's not, but
mostly it's not. Okay. You go do you. I'll see
you tomorrow. Already gone. Mwah. Such a weird
dynamic. It really is. I don't know why it's
so combative with Nicodemus, but also he's my
best friend, but he's not. He's also my enemy,
but also my assistant. That's right. It's complicated.
So, speaking of Beadere... Are you accompanying
Lefroy on the promenade today? I think I'm maybe
meeting him and his parents there, coming back
from shopping, meeting them in the park, and
then kind of taking over chaperone duties as
the parents head home. Allow them to have their
time. Fantastic. Okay. I'll give the boxes and
stuff, the shopping to Ford to bring home and
square away so it stays clean for tomorrow. All
right. I'll give it to a footman because I...
Can't actually fit through the door. Thanks,
buddy. Yeah. Must be tough. You're looking big.
Thank you. Do good work. You too? Alright, I'm
out of here. That's the love Ruby wants. It is.
You want that level of awkward tension. Just
abject tension. As you begin to walk, and Lefroy
is looking about, he is approached by a young
lady. A sort of a peach to pinkish -hued hobgoblin.
It's like half dress, half armor. It seems to
be the bodice seems to be a hammered out like
classic trash can. And the skirt is just loads
and loads of trash bags. And there are like the
long yellow cleaning gloves that she has. So
breathable. And she. approaches and makes an
introduction on her own behalf. Am I close enough
to hear it, or do I recognize? I mean... So if
it's a hobgoblin, I am assuming this is one of the
Hensons. Do I know if it's... I know they have
two daughters. Do I know which is... She comes
up and is like, Oh, Lord Lefroy! I'm sorry, Mr.
Lefroy. I am Zoe. Zoe? Zoe Henson, and I've heard
so much about you from my brother, I just had
to meet you myself. Okay. She's not accompanied
by anyone? No. Okay. If it would be possible
for your very burly valet to accompany us, I
would love to hear more about your experiences
and your interests. That's terrifying. I'd like
to hear about your cups. I'd be happy to, Ms.
Henson. Mr. Lefroy, does that sound all right
with you? And I look to him for a genuine, like,
give me the signal and I can pull you away. He
seems taken aback. Give me an insight check.
This is on Lefroy, so we'll give it an advantage.
You know this kid's facial expressions backwards
and forwards. That was a three. Let's do better
than that. That was a two, so total is a seven.
You can see he's, like, the wheels are spinning,
but you don't know which wheels. Gotcha. I think,
yeah, the mention of the brother has me a little
preoccupied that I'm running a little too much
of my own calculus to notice. I'll maybe give
him a kind of gesture of, like, somewhere between
you might as well and encouraging, like, this
would be the proper thing to do right now if
we can take a short walk. Absolutely, Miss Zoe.
So, please. Come this way. You have to pardon
the pace because I have little legs. While I
walk behind them, can I try to hear a rumor if
she mentions anything else about her brother
or family? It seems like if there is something
around, she's kind of letting slip already. If
anything comes up. Yeah, make a perception check.
That's better. 15. She is doing more sort of
quizzing Lefroy about himself than she is talking
about her or her family. Gotcha. I think at the
first kind of opportunity where there seems to...
where it wouldn't be too assertive, I'll kind
of lean in and say, Mr. Lefroy, it would be polite
for you to inquire after the lady as well. Maybe
ask about some of her interests. And just try
to guide the conversation away a little bit.
Oh, of course, Mr. Salt. And so what are you
looking forward to doing later in the season?
And what do you fill your time with? And she
gives very boilerplate sort of banal answers.
You know, I sing. Are we going to hear some?
Stay tuned after the episode. Who do you think
the headliner is at the ball? I have a keen interest
in cartography because of, you know, my family
takes care of a lot of the day -to -day stuff
that keeps Neo Britannia working. So I like to
be up on maps and, you know, the best routes
hither and thither. And yeah. Can I roll a quick,
it feels pretty genuine, but can I roll a quick
insight to see if she's boring or hiding stuff?
Oh, sure. She's so up to something. Where's Fiona
right now? That's a 13. Why does it have to be
one or the other? Okay, gotcha. The vibe you're
getting is she's clearly like, this is not going
anywhere. This would be a terrible match. But
also, this isn't necessarily her interest. Yeah,
okay. Can I look around and see if I see either
Miss Sweetly or staff or members of the Henson
family elsewhere in the promenade nearby? Excellent.
Yeah. Good. Give me a perception check. That's
a 19. Yes. On both counts. Together. And just
kind of thinking ahead a little bit, I've obviously
known this young man for most, if not all, of
his life. taking care of him, and I assume that
encapsulated watching him with some of his friends.
Who is his most annoying friend? Tit for tat, baby.
Hopefully about the same age and perhaps on the
mark. Ah, okay. You're going to have to give
me a hot second. Smelly, sweaty, and snotty would
be my... Actually, it's not that he is the most
annoying friend. He is the... He is the young
gentleman that is on the mart who you would most
like to see punished. One, Ellsworth Abrams.
Yes! Is that the kid that was bullying your charge? Yeah.
Throw him under the bus! If I recall from a previous session,
the one thing that Salt and Sweetly seem to have
agreed on is that that boy and his father are
entirely insufferable. Absolutely. Kick ass. I'm going to
count this as a success and I will continue to
watch LeFroy and Zoe and as best I can kind of
gauge whether or not LeFroy is genuinely having
a good time. I'm rooting for him and Fiona but
if... Whatever the boy is happiest with that is
my goal so if this seems to wind up going well
I doubt it but if it seems to go well I'd like
to clock it. As you're spending more and more
time kind of watching this interaction this like
only the second most forced interaction that
has occurred in this narrative space so far today.
It is clear that he is doing this because it
is proper and expected and not because he's in
any way, shape or form enjoying himself, but
he also knows that it would be rude to cut it
short. Cool. So he is going to let it go until
its natural painful end, whenever that may be.
Gotcha. At any point, do we kind of. as we are
circling the promenade, do we come near to the
Hensons or particularly to, to Beadere? Oh,
when I said you see both of them in the same
place, Oscar and Fiona and Beadere are walking.
And yet they seem to be walking... They're
counter-circling the reservoir. Yeah. So they are trying to keep as
much space, it seems, as possible. And I say they,
I just mean the, the parties seem to be moving
in that way. Who is motivating that? Who can
say? Gotcha. Then I guess as a last thing, at
some point, either by happenstance or by intent,
catching Sweetly's gaze, I'll give her a look
of like, you got me on this one. It feels like
two Cold War spies in the same city. All right.
Good. That's good. That was good. That's a good
one. And the visuals, him standing and all you can
hear. is Zoe, of like you got Lefroy and you kind
of got me on this one. I want to jump into this
lake and never come to the top of it again. Um that's
that's a lot a lot to communicate for a look
um but you know i'm gonna um oh you know what
you're you're both of similar oh not uh not great
for Beadere because it is a very long distance
and she she just gives you a look and sort of
puts a hand to her chest with a - Moi?- shrugging I don't
know what you're talking about and just turns
her attention back to maintaining
uh Fiona's virtue um that is what's going on
she does not stop it is amazing she has said
so much and nothing at all. Can I, I don't know
if it would be I mean I guess it could be insight
from the interaction or what skill would be associated...
Do I get the sense... She seems to be trying very
hard to turn Fiona's attentions elsewhere. Do
I get a sense it is an animosity towards me?
An animosity towards the family? Or an animosity
towards Lefroy? Or even if not animosity, like
seeking advantage somewhere? Do I get that it's
the family, Lefroy, or me? All right. You are
going to roll an insight check after you roll
an intelligence check. Okay. It's not too shabby.
So first make your intelligence check. That's
a five. Oh. Okay. And then, sorry, it was an
insight check? Mm -hmm. That's an 11. Okay. I
was inciting you against yourself. Oh, okay.
Because sort of you're trying to like think this
through. You're both cut from the same cloth.
Yep. So you're going to. Kind of, why would I
be opposed to something like this for my ward?
Not ward, my charge. Yeah, yeah. And there's
nothing inherent in the family. There's nothing
inherent in Lefroy that would motivate this level
of acrimony. Families are... Even -ish station.
Yes, they're very even -ish in station. They
seem to enjoy each other's company. And Fiona
seems as legitimately happy in the presence of
Lefroy as Lefroy feels in Fiona's presence. You
haven't interacted with her except the first
time at the garden party. So that seems like
it would be an awful lot of very swift hatred.
for you know one person. Now that doesn't feel
tactical um so you don't know what it is because
you didn't roll great on intelligence yeah um
but there's something else there's something
else at play here that is making her, if not sabotage,
make Lefroy's job harder in this courtship oh
okay interesting that is that is what you get
if she wanted to she could shut it down- Yeah-
entirely. This is this is making it hard. There's
a reassuring way to take that but i don't know
if that's the one that i was meant to receive.
Okay that's interesting I mean Immorton has seen
some things. He can take it however he wants. Cool.
um okay i think that's that's how he spends his
promenade. All right fantastic um and i think
that wraps up our uh promenade shenanigans for
the time being any night time uh activities we
want to get into there is there's nothing going
on tonight so you have free reign to walk about
the city and make all of the best safe choices
for yourself. Ruby. Yeah. I'm going to go and I
am going to get dressed in an outfit that I have
worn out before, but still kind of fits the vibe
of the earrings because I want to wear the earrings
tonight that I got. It is a gown that is completely
made out of tire rubber. Again, except it is
like a rubber and partially metal dress that
comes down when I hold up my arms. There are
like... fake wings that comes up to and attaches
to a half mask and it is resembling a magpie.
I was going to say Batman. Ruby. I didn't get any correspondence
back, but I'm going to go to that address because
my dad is doing fine now. He's getting better.
But before I leave, what I am going to do is
I'm going to walk by the room again. Having gotten
dressed in my room, I'm going to go into the
room. I'm going to look at my reflection in the
shattered mirror, and then I'm going to look
at both dolls, and I'm going to start to walk
out, turn back in, and take both dolls and put
one in each crib. And then I'm going to turn
to leave. That fucking sucks, man. I hate that
so much. Do we need to leave the room again?
We're all going to die. No. No, we don't. Nobody
has to leave the room. I'd like to leave. Can
I? I would like to leave. Oh, wow. That was a
lot. That was a lot. But it's okay. It's good.
You're fine. It's all good. All right. So you're
going to track down this address. It is not in
an area that you're super familiar with. Cool.
Only child. Protective dad. Right. You get out
and you get yourself into some situations. But
this is, you know, just a different part of town.
Yeah. Different part of town. So, yeah, there
is just a single sort of it's one of the classic
like steel doors with one of those eye slit things
in it. And the little eye slot opens up and there
is a hem. It shuts and the door opens as if you were
expected. Ooh, I will shimmy a little bit to
get myself ready and I will walk in through the
door. So the, I'm still trying to picture this
outfit and it's simply horrifying. This is a,..
if there was a non -copyrighted post -apocalyptic
Vegas speakeasy, this would be it. There is a
lot of loud music playing, which is weird because
you didn't hear anything outside the door. As
soon as you walk in, you can hear it. But even
when the eye slit opened up, you couldn't hear
anything coming out. There is a low -lying haze
of smoke of some source. It has a smell you're
unfamiliar with. There is loud music. There are
several dancers of all body types enjoying themselves
on raised stages. Nothing lurid, but clearly freer
than a typical ball dance might be. And there
are numerous poker games. there's a billiards table there
is a dart board kind of thing but people are
throwing like spears and axes and so it's a kind
of a longer uh longer throw kind of a situation
and there is a very very full bar that is very
busy um amazing do I... I'll look around. Do i see
uh reuben anywhere uh you do not but he sees
you you you hear a... Ah rain check. And then you
look up and there's a balcony. And he's looking
down. And he's at a table. And he's kind of like,
Stay put! And he gets up and hops over the railing,
walks a few - Wait, hold up. He might be cool.
Walks a few steps and then grabs onto sort of
a decorative hanging tapestry and sort of slides
down and makes his way over to you. Definitely
cool. Ruby, she gets flushed. No one bats an
eye at this. He landed on somebody's table and
hopped off. They're like, hey. Oh. This seems
to be a very painfully relaxed area. Ruby is
screwed. Not yet, but...Yeah, I love it. Well, let's hope. The
night is young. I toss my hair. Toss, toss. Again.
And I just try and look very cute. As he approaches.
Now, half mask magpie. Yeah. Hair toss. Are we
talking like a beak? What's happening? Yeah,
like I think the mask is like a half mask with
a... It's the lower half? Yeah, it's the lower
half. It's not like a Venetian doctor? No, I want
my eyes. I want my eyes. It is extraordinarily
hard to look cute in this leather, like tire
rubber demon. Is it like a plague mask? Yeah,
kind of, but the bottom half of it. And I feel
like I would take it off as he approaches because
I know I put it on so I'm obviously... not noticeable
i can get through the city and i will take it
off now that i'm in the presence of a very fine
young gentleman. What do you do with it? I imagine
you know how that it um it hangs like you know
how there are sunglasses that have like the chains
so i imagine it just hangs on my body. It's it's
actually weird because like magpies i believe
they don't have like super extended beaks They're
fairly short. So it literally just kind of hangs
and nestles. Yeah, you have a third pointy boob
now. Even better. Or maybe it goes down so it
really boosts them up. Ah, you made it. Fantastic.
So how's your father feeling? Oh, actually, today
he's doing much better. Thank you so much for
asking. Excellent, excellent. But, uh... I'm
sure you could probably do with a little relaxation.
I would love that. I am in deep need of a stiff
drink and I am so excited just to see what this
place has to offer. Well, I can never turn down
a lady's request for a stiff one. So quick to
the bar. Goes right over Ruby's head. As a halfling,
most things do. So you are shown to the bar and
he's like, so what do you fancy? Or would you
like the mixologist to work their magic? That
one. Fantastic. Gladys, two house specials, please.
Get creative. And there is a fire genasi who
is working the bar. She is older, not like senior
citizen, but like middle -aged -ish, older than
most of the people in this crowd. just wearing
like a super heavy like almost like a blacksmithing
apron and has like uh her hair is kind of constantly
like dancing in flames with both sides shaved
uh and she just starts tossing various uh alcohols
and things that are in non -labeled bottles so
who the hell knows what you're about to imbibe.
Even better. Into two sort of mismatched, slightly
cracked drinking glasses. One has like a sort
of weird like tri-circle kind of like imprint
that's kind of been scratched on it. The other
one has like a it looks like some kind of like
a green like alien thing that has like pointy
legs coming out of just a head. It's very bonkers.
Then she puts her hands down and brings them
back and they burst into a quick gout of purple
flame and then die down and she hands them across
the bar. I am taken aback. I give her, I applaud.
I applauded her making that. It is what I do
all day. Yeah. It is on your tab, Ruben. All
right. And I will grab one and I will hold it
up to cheers with Ruben. Plinks glasses with
you and takes... It is not a shot. It is a fairly
substantial drink, but he takes a long pull on
his. I will, out of habit, I will bring the glass
down to the table and I will bring it up and
I will similarly take a huge swig, probably more
than I should have. It is spicy. It is spicy.
It is smoky. There is something that... The initial
spice and smoke subsides and your mouth is cold
and numb. And you exhale and there's a little whoosh
of condensation. And he's like, oh, that never
fails to impress. Oh, do you always get this
one? Oh, no, it rotates what the special is.
And I'm really happy that that's what was tonight.
Oh, it was great. What else is there to do for
fun around here? Oh, name it. Cards, dice, billiards,
darts. Take in some music. Just relax and have
a smoke of whatever you like. There are some
rooms for private conversation where you don't
have to be bothered. But really, it is the lady's
choice tonight. Well, I say let's play some dice
and then maybe we can inquire about one of those
private rooms just to get to know each other
a little bit better. As you wish. And he leads
you to a sort of like crazy craps table that
it looks like you can have like three different
sets of bets and be tossing three different sets
of dice. And it's very complicated. You watch
for a few minutes to kind of get a feel for it.
And you think you pretty much have the odds figured
out. Yeah. Do you want to play or do you want
to just, you know, watch? I think I'm going to
be Ruben's biggest cheerleader first. I'm going
to let him see how well he does first. Okay.
So let's say he's going to put down the equivalent
of like, you know, we'll say two wealth on this
and we'll see what happens. And we're looking
for a 14 or higher. Oh, he comes so close. Oh,
wait, no, he gets bonus. I forgot he has stats.
He's actually a character. And quite a character
at that. So he makes it. He wins the two back
again. And it takes a little while. He's like,
Are you sure you don't want to find something
more active to do? I feel like you're always
relegated to watching at functions. Let's do things.
Sure, let's, why don't we dance? Fantastic. And
we go to the dance floor and I start dancing,
but not proper. This is like I have finally let
loose and I feel everything, the stress of the
past few days coming out of my body and just
living for the first time in what feels like
a very, very long time. He is matching your energy.
There are definitely a couple times you are lifted
and spun. Oh, man. There is a full on absolute
arm raised over the head, time of your life kind
of a thing. It's happening. That's what I was
thinking. I'm glad we both went there. This isn't
like a, oh, they're dancing. Yes, how nice. There
are people who are whooping and hollering, and
you're getting extremely dizzy because that drink
is hitting you like a ton of bricks. And after
a little while, he's like, I need a breather.
Same here. Oh, do you think we might be able
to retire to that room? I'm feeling a little
dizzy. Oh, you're not feeling well. No. Hold
up, hold up. And he sort of clicks his fingers
at the bar and kind of makes a couple of quick
hand signs. And somebody brings over a couple
of cups of water. Oh, thank you. Thank you very
much. I appreciate it. I will take one and I'll
just take a few sips of water and take a breather
for the first time. Yeah, the water helps. Um,
you're still like a touch swimmy, but, uh, you're
not like the room's not spinning. All right.
Um, ah, so, so the, uh, look into a room, you
say I can, uh, uh, hold that thought. And he,
uh, seems to have seen something. Do I, can I
look and see if I can notice what or who he saw?
Uh, in this room and at your height? No. Not
really. Yeah, makes sense. So he kind of weaves
through the crowd a little and make a perception
check. You can't see faces, but you can see lower.
Nine. You recognize that crotch. No, no, we're
not going in that direction. But you do, in fact,
see a... You kind of like track his movement.
and there is a, as, you know, sort of roguishly
tousled as he is, and, you know, like, you know,
he's not unkempt, but everything he has looks
like a little worn, like it's been through a
little bit of a scrap. He stops to talk to someone,
and their boots are, like, pristine. Everything
is, like, put together. And he comes back, and
those boots, you know, walk away. And he's like...
Ah, I hate to cut the night short, but if you're
not feeling well, perhaps it's better for everyone
if we were to cut the night here before any regrettable
yet enjoyable mistakes were made. At least for
tonight. Sure, that sounds good. I unfortunately
have to do a bit of damage control for some other
regrettable decisions I've made. So I think this
was a good introduction to our little club. Yes,
this was great. Will I see you tomorrow night?
Oh, without doubt. Well, it has been a pleasure,
sir. A starter one, yes. Have a good evening
and until tomorrow. I look forward to it, my
lady. I will curtsy and I will... Sit there,
sip my water, watching him leave. He takes your
hand and bows. And instead of kissing your hand,
gives you a little kiss on the cheek. And then
disappears into the crowd. I'm flustered. And
I'm going to do something really... I'm going
to try and follow him because I want to know
where he's going. Okay. You can make a... I'm
going to say you can do perception or investigation,
whichever you want to try to follow him through
this crowd. I'm going to do investigation. That's
a natural one. Oh, wait. I'm a halfling. I get to
re -roll it. 19. Okay. You actually, it is hard
because people are having a great time and are
not looking down towards knee height. So you
have to do a little ducking and weaving. But
you see him going into one of what you assume
to be the private rooms for a talk. And you do
catch the sort of back leg of someone walking
in in front of him. Whoever it is is armed. Clearly
there is a holster with a pretty angry looking...
It would be the equivalent of a sawed -off. Oh,
all right. And a saber of some sort on his other
hip. All right. I'm going to look at those as
best as I can to see if they're like military
grade or something like that. If I would know.
What is your context for something like that?
Having just met Lord Drake yesterday. I'm going
to require a history check on this because you
are trying to make a pattern out of one data
point. History. A 15. I mean, they are similar.
All right. Lord Drake was not carrying a firearm,
and it is a similar style. All right. The ornamentation
on the scabbard was not nearly as ornate, but
the style of weapon was appropriate. All right.
Cool. I will take that information. I'm not going
to press my luck. I'm going to turn, and I'm
going to put my mask back on, and I'm going to
leave. Okay. Back home you go. I think we are...
Anybody else have any interesting nighttime activities
they want to get up to? Any shenanigans? We all
love a good shenanigan. So sorry to cut back
a little bit. I don't know how long the shopping
montage would have gone for Edgewater and Samuel.
Oh, I skipped you for Promenade. I assume they're
just shopping. But one thing I would have tried
to do two things during that. If I could have
used a phase action, I am talking to Edgewater
about this, but I'm purposely trying to be louder
so that people passing by might overhear this
about how unhappy I am that my brother -in -law
never sent condolences to me about the passing
of my husband. So I'd like to start a rumor.
How improper. So improper. Oh, no. Oh, no. Yeah.
So why don't we roll that then? That is going
to be. Can Edgewater accidentally give him the
help action by being so scandalized and so loud
about it. Yeah. Yeah. Actually, this is really Edgewater's
bread and butter. So I would say because you're
not saying something that is untrue, this would
be a persuasion roll and you do have advantage.
Amazing. Now you are trying to beat a DC 10.
because it's very easy to start idle chit -chat.
The first roll's already an 11 total, and then
the second's a 14 total. Okay. That is now out
in the ether for good or ill. Cool. Set the warning
letter, and then later in the day, just spread
the fire. And then the second thing I would have
done, besides just the polite chit -chat and
actually trying to get a lesson for the ball
tomorrow to make sure I don't embarrass myself.
The second thing I would have done is, I don't
believe I noticed you didn't partake in a dance
at the garden party the other day. Oh. Well,
you know, I can get quite busy at the balls helping
people. Oh! Wait! I did have one dance. You didn't
see me dancing with Mr. Lefroy, did you? I
might have been tied up with Ruby at the time.
Oh, good. Good. Well, if time permits, if you're
not too busy, I know I've taken up a lot of your
time already, but if you would do me the honor
of finding me at the ball, it would be my pleasure
to sign your dance card tomorrow. She can't talk.
She's like holding her breath and nodding, and
that's all she can do. Oh, my. All right. Fantastic.
In the absence of any other nighttime shenanigans.
Do you want to do one last thing? I just want
to send a letter to Lord Drake. I won't sign
it. I'll sign it like M or something. And I want
to include a Hydra note in the letter, kind of
fold it up in a bit of paper and just say, you
know, looking forward to a beneficial friendship.
In the future. Interesting. Huh. More of a gesture.
It's only one of them. Okay. So not even really
enough to be considered a wealth. No. All right.
It's one that I have. One of my floorboard notes.
From my stash. You're throwing in a fiver. It's
more of a gesture. And to kind of leave a hint
that I have these. Got a nice crisp George Washington
for you. That's a $1 bill for you. There might
be more where that came from. That will arrive
in the morning with the first round of messengers.
Nighttime actions going once. Going twice. And
episode closed. We are going to pick up next
time with... the day of the ball, any of your
preparations, and some grand entrances. Things
are about to get interesting. All right. We hope
everybody catches us next week and is continuing
to enjoy. Have a good one. Bye. Bye. Bye. Will
Salt ever discover why Beadere doesn't want Lefroy
to court Fiona? Will Mary ever escape Edgewater?
Will Edgewater be able to hold it together during
her dance with Samuel? Where is Samuel's brother
-in -law? Has Ruby found her Mr. Right in someone
who seems so very wrong? Perhaps we'll discover
one, or two, of these answers on the next episode
of Scandals and Scavengers. Thank you for listening
to Scandals and Scavengers, a post -apocalyptic
Regency Romance with Daniel Began as Ruby Grace
Rhinelander, MattstheLast as Lord Samuel Drake,
Johnny McElearney as Second Lieutenant Immorton
Salt, Emily Carmen Weldon as Mary Smith, Bo Powell
as Edgewater Clarence, and Evan Kelly as the
Game Master. Produced by Evan Kelly, Trope Warden,
Bo Powell. Hey, this is Daniel. Thanks for listening.
If you're enjoying what you're hearing, consider
supporting us on Patreon where we release episodes
early and you'll get access to our post -show
cast discussions, Twisted Talks, our Discord
community, and more. Oh sweet mystery of life
at last I found thee. I know at last the secret
of it all. All the longing, seeking, striving,
waiting, yearning. The burning of the joy and
I...