Episode 1

MAURA: Greetings Ministers, and welcome to the City of Spire, and to the story of Her Dark Ministrations. This is a game about oppression, racism, and colonization. We advise our listeners to take care before proceeding. More detailed content warnings can be found in our episode description.

I am Maura Lydon, I'm going to be the GM today, and we are going to introduce ourselves going by furthest geographical distance to me. So Brigid, do you want to go first?

BRIGID: Sure, I'm Brigid Lydon, I'm going to be playing Zyrel the Deathless, Knight at the Order of the Spider's Eyes.

BRENDAN: My name is Brendan Ziebarth and I will be playing Greta Malrique, or better known as Eclipse-Awakening-Twilight-Symphony.

JAMIE: Extremely pretentious. My name is Jamie Moffa and I will be playing Arsène Lightsbane.

NICK: And my name is Nicholas and I'll be playing Joseph Moses Hearst.

MAURA: Joseph Moses?

NICK: Joseph Moses.

MAURA: All right, so let's go ahead and get started.

The sun sets on an impossible city. Over a mile high, the city of Spire towers out of the earth around it. Quickly we approach the wall, stained orange and red by the fading light. We catch a glimpse of the smoke-shrouded district of Perch, clinging to the eastern side, and then we dive through one of the Wandering Windows into the district known as Ivory Row. We arc over the buildings of this half-ruined neighborhood, hearing the sounds of one of Lady Theron Thorns-On-Silk's endless parties. Violins wail and out-of-fashion aelfir laugh, but our vision is caught by one singular drow currently dancing in a strange spotlight. Brendan, what does your character look like?

BRENDAN: Eclipse-Awakening-Twilight-Symphony is about 6’3” with heels on and wearing a very fashionable black dress. You know, a high waist and long skirt, and she has a beautiful ornate mask in the aelfir style. And what's striking about this mask is that there are red ribbons tied to the outer points of the mask. It's almost like a basket weave of a mask, and it extends out several inches past the edge of her face, and the red ribbons are looped through what appear to be holes that go all the way through her body.

MAURA: And you are dancing. We skip past this spotlight and are torn away, down further into the city. We catch a glimpse below you of the terrifying prison known as the Hive before falling cleanly through an enormous hole in the center of the level.

Everything goes black. There's only a sensation of rushing, rushing downward. There, a flash of light, there a glimpse of something wet and pulsing. Until we are snagged once again by the sight of a single drow standing thoughtfully at the edge of the Witchy Wood. Jamie, what does your character look like?

JAMIE: Arsène has long, white hair that's pulled back into a ponytail and shaved sides and back of his hair. Otherwise he looks handsome but plainly dressed. Just with a very plain white shirt suitable for working and very durable pants and boots, also suitable for working in the Garden District where he still works in order to make some amount of money.

MAURA: A small amount of money.

JAMIE: Very.

MAURA: And so you're standing at the edge of this enormous hole and we, the viewers, fall backwards into it again, deeper down into the Works, the industrial level of the Spire. The sounds and stinks are everywhere and the prevalent light is given off an ominous low burning red from sconces of spireblack. As we wind through this district at top speed, we see drow workers in heavy leather aprons overseers with spidersilk coats, and catch a glimpse of a brightly polished brass sign proclaiming this the offices of the Daily Torch. Emerging from this illustrious building is another friend of ours. Nick, what does your character look like?

NICK: So Joseph is on the short side; 5’ 6”, 5’ 7”, with some very dark black, close cut hair and a long mustache with no beard. His eyes are dark, his face is rushed, and he's wearing a bright, somewhat tarnished pinstripe three piece suit. Clearly on his way somewhere higher up in the Spire.

MAURA: Just then a terrifying engine rumbles across our vision, breaking contact with Joseph. We fall down through the metal floor, seeing a cutaway of an access tunnel below with a brief view of a gambling gutterkin group, before reaching the light and verve of Pilgrim’s Walk. Here we snake along the ground through lines of dark elf supplicants, avoiding the hobnail boots of the City Guard, and fall once more down to St. Perdita's Circle and the North Docks. We land at ground level with a heavy jostle, then set off, catching a glimpse of the Blue Market off to the left. Entrances to our true destination abound on this level, but we are looking for a specific bar, outside of which is a rather striking figure. Brigid, what does your character look like?

BRIGID: Zyrel is on the tall side, being around 6’ 6”, with a head that is almost entirely shaved, with only her bangs and two braids to frame her face. She is covered in scars, some of them cuts, some look like just bites that were taken out of her and she has a large lance slung over one shoulder, a mug of ale in her hand.

MAURA: We skip past this interesting character, catching just a glimpse of the rickety tavern interior, then hurry inward onto the dark earthen staircase at the basement, down down into the earth below the Spire, where the real fun begins. The staircase drops into a rickety ladder above the slums known as the Stacks. We slide down past several homey scenes: a blind old drow drinking a cup of malak, children dancing naked while their mother points at a tub, and a three-eyed goat eating someone's laundry, before we land on a wooden platform.

Streets among the Stacks are more like extra wide floors and leftover ladders, but we move confidently along them into the Fractal Gardens of Red Row. Mounds of crystals here have been polished to a knife-sharp shine. We catch glimpses of our reflections, (or are they?) in many-colored facets, a trembling funhouse made entirely of stone. In the center of this terrifying garden rests the Winters Mansion, a building carved from the crystals of the garden itself. Protrusions like minarets are etched with fanciful designs, and the gates are deep, dark, red like ruby.

A crowd has gathered outside, but we needn't bother with them. Inside, the legendary Mr. Winters is hosting a lovely birthday party, and you all have contrived to attend. We start in media res, which means you are here, you just determine how that came to be. Let's again start with Brigid.

BRIGID: I definitely took out one of the local guards, put on their uniform. It's a little small, muscles are well defined and it has a few buttons, don't quite fit but I'm just going with it and making my way into the party. Confidence is going to sell it.

MAURA: Are you bringing all of your weapons with you or are you using the gear that you took from the guard?

BRIGID: I'm going to use the gear that I took from the guard and stash my weaponry elsewhere where I know I can get to it if need be.

MAURA: All right, so that's fine. I will tell you what you have when it becomes relevant. What about Eclipse?

BRENDAN: Well, of course, I may have slept with the promoter of the party, the booking agent as you might say, and found myself a place on the bill, so I shall be performing tonight.

MAURA: Excellent, so you are there under your real name and you have a performance later. You are the main star and the opening acts are just getting started, so you have some time before you will be expected on the stage. All right, Arsène?

JAMIE: So my friend Esmerelda and I won an invitation off of a very naïve drow who decided to come gambling on a particularly inopportune evening. Esmerelda was sitting at the table and I was being a spotter and, man, do I tell you, we swindled this guy out of the ticket and also much of the silver that he owned.

MAURA: All right, and Joseph, what are you doing here?

NICK: Joseph is expected, one of a couple of media figures that could be here to report on the success of this soiree, report back up and put some puff pieces out for some of the more prestigious guests. However, Joseph was not specifically the yellow journalist who was supposed to show up. Someone else from a competing newspaper inconveniently had to cancel. No one's entirely sure why just yet, but Joseph was more than happy to

MAURA: Fill in.

NICK: Fill in…

MAURA: That sounds great. Now, you all know each other. You've been given a mission by your Minister in the Ministry of Our Hidden Mistress, which works to restore drow rule to the Spire, which is currently ruled by the aelfir. Your job tonight is to take out the titular Mr. Winters in as messy a way as possible. He's been selling goods to the city guard on the cheap and the Ministry simply can't keep up.

All right, so you are in a huge mezzanine room, slightly dilapidated, but again, everything is made of that beautiful crystal of many colors, which fades cleanly from greens to purples and back into reds all across the floor and walls of this room. There is a large center area where people are mingling. And there's also a mezzanine level above that. So there are some people up on the mezzanine. There are a couple of balconies and the movers and shakers of Red Row are all here in one form or another. If anyone wants to start identifying guests, you could make me a roll. Let's see. It's going to be Investigate and Low Society.

JAMIE: Well, I've got Low Society. I feel like this is, some of these are the kinds of riffraff that I would know.

MAURA: Sure. Yeah, these are basically mobs--

BRIGID: I would concur with that. I probably have had a few drinks with these people.

MAURA: Yes. Well, I mean, probably not with these people. These are definitely a little bit higher than Zyrel's level. But how rolling works in Spire is you start with 1d10 and you get to add a d10 for every skill or domain that you have access to. So if you have access to just Low Society but not Investigate, you can roll 2d10 and pick the highest. 8 to 9 is a success with no stress. 10 is a critical success. On a 6 to 7, you'll succeed at a cost. You'll take stress, but you will get to do something that is what you wanted to do.

JAMIE: Cool.

MAURA: So you get to pick the highest number in your pool as your result.

JAMIE: Excellent. All right. I'm going to go ahead and roll these 2d10 and see what happens. Ooh. Well, that was a 9 and an 8. So 9.

MAURA: Nice. All right. With 8 to 9, you succeed and you take no stress for doing so. You recognize several of the people here. You see off on a balcony, like up on the mezzanine, you see Devlin Winters, Mr. Winters' son.

You see Elizabeth Threadneedle, one of the trio of sisters who run Threadneedle Square. She's a bit of a drug dealer and runs sweatshops in Threadneedle Square.

You also see a number of unfamiliar guards and, ordering them around, you see Sal Griswold, who is Mr. Winters' second in command, his lieutenant. You also see a bunch of other people you know from Red Row.

There's no one--like, you are a Firebrand, which is a kind, literally a revolutionary. These aren't exactly the circles you run in because this is kind of the underbelly version of the establishment. The people here make their money with the order, the way it is, and they like it that way.

JAMIE: Fair enough.

MAURA: So who would you guys like to talk to?

JAMIE: Hmm.

MAURA: Basically, the door is open. You do not see Mr. Winters.

JAMIE: Okay.

MAURA: He's conspicuously absent.

JAMIE: The man of the hour is not presently here.

BRENDAN: Are we going to bring it at the same time, as if we're together?

NICK: I don't think we are. In fact, I'm already talking to Sal…

JAMIE: Griswold.

NICK: Griswold.

MAURA: All right. Yeah.

MAURA: You guys all show up separately. And Sal is busy. So how exactly do you, with your press pass, approach her?

NICK: Okay. Do I know Sal from previous encounters, or is this the first time I've tried to get her attention before?

MAURA: Oh, go ahead and make a roll for it. It's going to be Low Society and Compel.

NICK: Okay. That means I roll three dice.

JAMIE: Whoa.

NICK: I made for this encounter, guys. That is a 9.

MAURA: Okay. Yeah. So you have met Sal before. Now, she's not the public face of the Winters organization, but you tell me how you've run into her in the past.

NICK: So Sal's a bit of a fixer, I take it. And the last time that the Winters organization ran into a bit of a run with the law, I had to work with her closely in order to seam things over in the realm of public opinion. That sort of stuff, like, oh, Mr. Winters is doing the best to supply the local guard with the best supplies around. And this allegation of corruption and illicit firearms being brought into the city is preposterous and dangerous to our community. That sort of--

MAURA: You did some propaganda work for them. Yeah. So she thinks favorably of you.

NICK: Yeah.

MAURA: So you see, she's talking to a couple of guards, as you are walking up, she says, “Fine, just get it under control.” And she turns to you and says, “Oh, hey, Joe, I didn't know you'd come to this place. They didn't exactly give me a list of guests, but I'm just supposed to take care of everything, not know what--whatever. What are you doing?”

NICK: “Well, I actually came to thank you. One of your underlings is the reason why I got this gig. And I'm sure the Torch will be happy that I'm the one pulling the story.”

MAURA: “No, no, no, you probably want to talk to Patricia. She's the one who organized the guest list and everything. I'm just, you know, shoveling shit as always.”

NICK: “I was interested in some of that shit. Anyone here that could use some help out of a bind?”

MAURA: She rolls her eyes a little bit and she says, “I mean, no offense, Joe, but these people aren't exactly the type that care what the folks up-Spire think. They make their money right down here in Red Row where it's local. Winters branching out isn't necessarily their gig. And none of them are really happy about it either.”

NICK: “And that's why I choose to work so closely with you in the past. Winters has ambition. I trust that you won't let your ambition get in the way of me finding anyone else who might need my services in the future, though. We can all work together up the Spire.”

MAURA: She kind of rocks back on her heels a little bit and takes a look at you. Go ahead—What do you want to do here? Are you trying to find another client? Are you trying to threaten her? What is your goal?

NICK: I want to find another client and sort of give myself cover for being here. I'm not here for Winters. I'm here for someone who I think is going to be in a bad position in the future.

MAURA: Okay. Go ahead and roll a Low Society and Deceive check for me.

NICK: That's another three dice. That's another 9.

MAURA: Nice.

MAURA: Yes. She nods at you kind of seriously, narrows her eyes and casts a look over the crowd.

And she says, “Well, I mean, if there's anyone who really does need your help, really do go talk to Patricia. Patricia Yssen. She—whatever the fuck she's doing down here working as Winters’s assistant, she's got the bloodline to be doing something else. And I don't know what her deal is exactly, but if you find out, you let me know.”

NICK: “Thank you. I'll be sure to do that. And to repay you in kind, I'd watch out for…” I'm just going to list a random guest here, “Oswald Dryker. Something tells me that he could use my services in the future and you don't want to be anywhere nearby when he does.”

MAURA: “Noted. Noted.” Sal kind of nods to you seriously. And then we see, like, we follow her gaze as she looks across the room and see Zyrel standing across at the doorway and she's like, “Oh, give me a second.” And she, Sal rushes off to go talk to Zyrel. So we're going to skip over there real quick.

So Zyrel, you've just arrived, you're kind of standing awkwardly in the doorway in this too small armor, and a very small feisty drow comes up to you and, like, gets in your face a little bit. And she says, “What the fuck are you doing in that gear? I thought they gave you gear that was better fitting than this. You look like a--shit. You look like shit.”

BRIGID: “I'm a little aware of that.”

MAURA: “This is, this is, this is absolutely, absolutely not—Fuck, fine, get back into the, get back, get back into the room and find something that fucking fits.”

BRIGID: “Thank you.”

MAURA: “Well, yeah, no, don't thank me. You people need to know how to do your job.”

BRIGID: I'll just give a short nod and wander off in the direction that, that she pointed means like.

MAURA: She does point you towards a back guard room.

BRIGID: “Fucking armor is too tight.” Is there anyone in the guard room?

MAURA: There are. There's, so not only do you see, there's quite a few guards like at the perimeters of the party, but there's also probably three or four of them back here that are, that are gambling. They've got like a set of bones out and they're doing, they're playing some dice. You can see that they've got quite a pile of gold on the table. There's a lot of money up in this pot. You walk in and they kind of look at you. But I think one of them laughs.

BRIGID: I'm going to take off a bracer and toss it at their heads. “Don't laugh. Just give me a set that fits.”

MAURA: Roll me a Low Society—Nope. This is a Fight and a Low Society check.

BRIGID: All right. That's three dice. Oh, that's an 8.

MAURA: Okay. Yeah, you succeed. So you, this guy, like, doesn't quite manage to get his hand up in time and you bean him directly in the face. And he's like, “Aw, shit.” He falls off of his chair and now everyone is laughing at him instead of at you. And one of the guys says, “Fuck, they sent you out looking like that? All right. All right. We got, we got some shit for you. We got some shit.” So they have like a kind of pile of extra gear. Go ahead and make me a Investigate and Order check real quick.

BRIGID: Okay. That is one dice. Which is fine because it's a 7.

MAURA: Okay. So a 7 is a mixed success. So you succeed, but you do take some stress. I'm going to say in this situation, it's probably Reputation stress and it's just going to be a d3. So you take 1 stress to your Reputation and the, the, the kind of like they're sorting through this pile of armor and like tossing stuff at you. Something fits and, like, you have to take off the gear that you're wearing in order to put the stuff on that they're giving you. And as that happens, they like kind of slowly, the banter kind of falls away as you just like, you look like shit. The sheer number of scars and bite marks and like… you are a drow who has lived a very hard life.

And instead of impressing these guys, you kind of scare them a little bit. So they find you some gear that fits, but they, like, kind of pass it over to you without looking at you very hard. And you've been around like, you know, armor and gear pretty well. And this is not typical Red Row gangster makeshift stuff. This is decent armor, which means it's a, it's a 2 armor and it's clearly a serial—like, serial brand has been filed off guard stuff. This is all, like, extra guard equipment.

BRIGID: “Forgot the boss has us wearing decent shit.”

MAURA: They kind of look at each other and one of them says kind of bravely—because again, they're not super into you right now—One of them says, “I mean, it's pretty normal shit, like, what are, what exactly are you used to?”

BRIGID: “Ahh before I got this gig, had to scrounge for some leather stuff, just, I know some and had to deal with some cultists who could just bite right through it, you know.”

MAURA: “Shit. Yeah. Uh, how long have you had this gig? I don't think I've seen you around before.”

BRIGID: “Ah, brand new. Finally got something that was worth pay and worth all the things that they have to put us through.”

MAURA: “Right. Right. Well, uh, better get back to it.” And they all, like, leave the room.

BRIGID: Now that I'm alone. I'm just going to give a giggle.

MAURA: Yeah. Kind of snigger to yourself. Arsène, what are you doing?

JAMIE: Um, so what was the drug dealer person's name?

MAURA: Elizabeth Threadneedle is one of the three sisters who run Threadneedle Square. She is an older drow woman who is kind of, like, spindly and she's, uh, she's already had a little bit to drink. There are waiters passing around trays of drinks and drugs. And you can see, like as you're watching, she takes like a little cup of glimmer and, like, just tosses it back.

JAMIE: I'm going to, um, kind of walk up and say, “You working or enjoying yourself this evening?”

MAURA: Um, she kind of eyes you speculatively…Go ahead and make me a, let's see, this is going to be Compel and Low Society.

JAMIE: Well, cool. Three dice. 7. Wait. Oh, 10. Shit. Okay.

MAURA: And this is a critical success.

JAMIE: Hell yeah.

MAURA: You, I want you to tell me who you look like that makes Elizabeth like you.

JAMIE: Ooh. Um, huh. So I've definitely kind of changed my appearance in order to show up here and not be like--

MAURA: Kicked out instantly.

JAMIE: Kicked out instantly. Um, and I look like, because I'm trying to be a little, a little bit more put together than I usually look like. I look like one of her more well-to-do clients.

MAURA: You definitely, like, she has clients. She and her sisters have clients throughout the Spire, whether or not they acknowledge that they, they buy her drugs is another story entirely. So I'm going to say she looks over this little shot glass that's empty now and she gives you a speculative look. And then she smiles and you see that, like, some of her teeth are golden, and her eyes have this, like, cold predatory look to them. But she reaches out and touches uh, your cheek and she says, “Why can't it be both darling? Have I seen you somewhere before? You look so familiar to me.”

JAMIE: “Oh, I'm, I get around, you know, how it is.”

MAURA: “Oh, uh, yes. Especially I—” so she kind of like leans forward on her bar stool and says, “Are you here for business or for pleasure?”

JAMIE: “Why can't it be both?”

MAURA: She laughs and beckons over a waiter for another shot of glimmer. Have you ever done any of these drugs? Like, there is a wide variety on display.

JAMIE: Oh boy. Um, I'm assuming Arsène has probably dabbled. Yeah.

MAURA: Okay. So, drugs in Spire. Glimmer is what she's drinking, prismatic crystals which grow in the recesses of shrines to Demos, a goddess from a distant kingdom that was buried beneath desert sand long ago. Instills a blistering euphoria in users and an urge to dance and sing. Which explains the colorful displays in the streets or in the temples of Demos and Pilgrim’s Walk.

They also have a wide variety of hallucinogenic fungi, a tray of dagger, which is a more common mixture of drugs very, like… there's a lot of stimulants. And dagger’s sold as brown, a brownish crystalline dust which could contain upward of 40 individual chemicals, depending on how many hands it has passed through before it ends.

JAMIE: Oh Jesus.

MAURA: Users probably get into a lot of fights and have a hugely over-inflated belief of their own combat abilities when they do. So there's some dagger. There is a, like, a couple of glasses of Glimmer.

 There is also a small tray of what you recognize as Godsmoke, a fungus that grows around churches and holy sites is harvested and dried to make this reeking dust that is smoked rolled into cigarettes or packed into the bowl of a pipe. It offers euphoric and pain-dulling effects, making it popular with workers in the Gardens and the Works. The number of injuries sustained is part of their job. So there are, like, there's basically a number of blunts.

There's a small tray of hallucinogenic mushrooms that you can nibble on, like, series of shot glasses containing this Glimmer. And you see Elizabeth takes another shot of Glimmer and then looks expectantly at you.

NICK: I love the vibe of the charcuterie board of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

JAMIE: Amazing. I'm going to reach for one of the blunts and light it with a very fancy lighter that I definitely won off of somebody.

MAURA: All right. So yeah, this is the Godsmoke. It takes a little while to hit you, but it gives you this like very free, floaty, pain-dulling effect. We'll determine what the mechanics exactly of that are going to be as the thing progresses.

Yeah. Is there anything you want to ask Elizabeth? She seems to be pretty enamored of you.

JAMIE: Yeah. Well, while we're shooting this shit, I'm going to just ask, like, “Have you seen the man of the hour around yet?”

MAURA: She pouts and, like, looks around the mezzanine to see if she can see him. You notice that her gaze lingers on a particular hallway that leads to a set of recessed double doors that presumably leads to his office. “No, he hasn't made an appearance yet. I'm actually, I'm a little bit surprised that he invited me. We are technically rivals, but you know, can't turn down a free chance to sample one's own wares. Am I right?”

JAMIE: “Right. And, you know, keep your friends close. Keep your competitors closer.”

MAURA: “Exactly, darling. You know exactly how it is in the business. What business exactly is it that you're in, if I may ask? You know, we're always looking for collaborations over at Threadneedle Square. We are in need of young drow who can easily navigate between the levels, so on and so forth, couriers, delivery boys.”

JAMIE: “Honestly, I win a lot of my money at the table.”

MAURA: “Oh, gambler, but how, how do you make your money? Not even a priestess's luck is always good.”

JAMIE: “Yes. Well, you know, I work odd jobs here and there. Nominally, I have a steady job over in the Gardens, but that doesn't earn me much.”

MAURA: “Oh…”

JAMIE: “I pick, I pick up work, listen around at the bars. I'll do basically a little bit, a little bit of mercenary work, you know.”

MAURA: So you're telling her the truth here, but you're trying to make it a little bit more palatable to her. So I want you to make a Compel and Crime domain check for me.

JAMIE: That's another three dice. We do like, we do like. And that, ooh, that was less good. 6 was the highest there.

MAURA: Okay, so I'm going to say you do, you succeed, but you do take a little bit of stress here. So I'm going to give you also a little bit of Reputation stress here, just another d3 because it's pretty low stakes right now. So you take 1, you also take 1 stress to your Reputation as she kind of looks you over and it's like, “Oh, a steady job…In the Garden district, you said?” So she's, she's, she's still buying it. She's interested, but it's definitely… you have not necessarily endeared yourself to her.

JAMIE: Yeah. I just tilt my chin up like confidently and say, “You know, nothing wrong with little manual labor to supplement.”

NICK: So you're playing one of like a bit of hired muscle that's like on display, trying to find a boss here?

JAMIE: Sure. I'm just trying to find information right now.

MAURA: Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah. So--

BRIGID: I will also say, it was definitely the mention of a steady job that caught—like, cooled her off.

JAMIE: I know, I know.

BRIGID: Like, is that steady employment? What's that?

MAURA: She's not a fan of manual labor either. Let's skip over to Eclipse. You are in a dressing room area with several off-shift musicians and another dancer who is absolutely enamored of you. What is the name of this dancer? She, she's a young drow woman.

BRENDAN: Celeste.

MAURA: Yes. Perfect. You are pretty big news compared to her. She is kind of, she's a young ribbon dancer. This is her first professional gig and she is kind of begging you for tips. “I mean, I just don't really know how to attract the right kind of patrons without, I mean, obviously I'm here. So, you know, rich patrons and the right kind of patrons aren't exactly…the same circle, I guess. And I just, I really need the money and I just, I don't necessarily want to get into the culty shit. Do you have any tips?”

BRENDAN: “Well, darling, the right patrons come with performing at the right venues. Where have you been performing?”

MAURA: “Oh—I—mostly just in, like, ale houses… And I've been trying to get a place at the Bat’s Ears over in the Docks. I hear that they've got some rich patrons there sometimes that come in. I don't know, listen, I live here in Red Row. It's really hard to get anywhere up Spire.”

BRENDAN: “How would you like to come dance for me on one of my shows?”

MAURA: “Oh, my goddess, seriously? Really?”

BRENDAN: “Sure, we'll consider tonight a trial run.”

MAURA: “I mean, yes, absolutely.” She goes to start bothering some of the musicians for their best songs and it's just like, “Okay, so what songs do you know? You just need to be perfect.”

What do you want to accomplish back here? You're also free to go out and mingle with the rest of the party.

BRENDAN: Where are we in the house?

MAURA: So the dressing room is located near the guard room at the back of the house. The rest of the mansion is pretty labyrinthine, but the party is gathered in this, like, major ballroom area and the dressing room is right off from that. So basically the door leads out and there's like 10 feet and then there's the stage, which is currently empty.

BRENDAN: Oh, I can't believe they haven't brought us any drinks back here. I guess I'll have to go get my own up front.

MAURA: (Celeste) “Oh, I can get you. I mean, what do you want? I can go and get it for you.”

BRENDAN: “No, no, dear. I mean, we have some time before the show begins anyway.”

MAURA: “Yes, yes, you're right. I should start warming up.” Celeste starts to do some stretches.

BRENDAN: “Yes, you do that, darling. Excellent form. A little to the right with your foot there. Yeah. A little deeper.”

MAURA: “Oh, yes.”

BRENDAN: “Excellent. Excellent. Okay. Do you want anything? Nevermind.” And I'll just head out the door.

MAURA: All right. And you head out into the rest of the party. You definitely eyeball Arsène at the bar, not far away from you, talking to Elizabeth Threadneedle. Zyrel is out of sight right now, and you might catch a glimpse of Joseph who's over by the front doors where Sal was a minute ago. And so you can definitely clock some of your teammates in this room. I don't think—do you guys want to do a flashback? Do you guys have a plan or did you just go in here guns blazing?

NICK: Definitely no plan.

JAMIE: No plan.

NICK: Definitely no plan, but I'm formulating one and I'm going to walk over to Redbeetle with--

BRENDAN: Because we’ve never worked together before, have we?

MAURA: So you are functioning as one cell of the Ministry. So you were definitely given the mission plans by your Magister all in one location. Whether or not you guys did any planning is up to you.

NICK: But we know who the players are in this game, right?

MAURA: Yes.

NICK: Perfect. That's all I need to know. I'm going to walk over to Redbeetle and Arsène and start striking up a conversation with Redbeetle.

MAURA: Threadneedle?

NICK: Threadbeetle. Thank you.

MAURA: Threadneedle.

NICK: Threadneedle. Jamie, your writing!

MAURA: All right. So Eclipse, are you going to get some drinks?

BRENDAN: I'm going to take a Glimmer off a tray, maybe nibble a little bit of mushroom. I mean, this is stuff that I'm –

MAURA: This is very commonplace to you.

BRENDAN: And I want to look around for the booking agent who was my ticket here.

MAURA: Yes. So you want to look for Patricia Yssen. Go ahead and make a – let's see, what is this going to be? Investigate and Low Society roll.

BRENDAN: That would be one die for me. A 6.

MAURA: Not your normal crowd. But with a 6, you do succeed. You take a little bit of stress. So I mean, I've been giving everybody some Reputation stress. Let's give you a little bit of Shadow stress. You are a very noticeable person. It's hard to keep a low profile when you have this beautiful mask on.

You take 2 stress to your Shadow and are kind of, like, going through the room. All eyes are turning to face you. And people are kind of muttering a little bit. They're not sure what someone like you is doing at a party like this. I mean, even Mr. Winters would have had to pay through the nose to get someone like you. And there's just a little bit of people noticing that you're here and wondering why that is. You do find Patricia, who is an elegantly dressed drow woman. She's got a long, very strict ponytail and a black pantsuit with big shoulder pads. She's currently looking at a guest list and muttering to one of the guards. She's, like, checking names off of a list.

BRENDAN: “Darling.”

MAURA: “So that's what—What?”

BRENDAN: “Won’t you introduce me to, I don't know, someone interesting?”

MAURA: “Oh,” she puts her pen back in her breast pocket and rolls up the guest list. Shoos the guard away hurriedly and kind of, like, looks at you. She's blushing a little bit. “Well, I, there are lots of interesting people here. I, I, I did my best to kind of acquire a diverse spread of the players as it were. I mean, all on Mr. Winters’ requests, and he had some pretty specific invitations to issues to this particular party. I mean, gosh, there's a Threadneedle sister here. Let's see. There's, oh, um, there's somebody, there's, there's somebody from the Azurites. I don't know if you know any of them. They do wonderful things with money, the banking, the banking, but you're not into that. Shit. Um, yes, there's, there's all sorts of, of, of people who, who, who, who, who, who…”

BRENDAN: “What about Mr. Winter's son? Is he around?”

MAURA: “Devlin? I mean, of course he's here, uh, probably jerking off somewhere if he can't be found doing something else irresponsible.” She kind of, like, looks around, um, takes a couple of steps into the party too, and then, like, points up at a balcony where you can see Devlin is, like, smoking dramatically at a balcony. She says, “Well, I can introduce you to him if you want, but he's a little bit, um, what's the word…not up to par? He's not his father.”

BRENDAN: “I just like to have a beat on my, um, employer and it might help me to know what the son likes so that I know what the father likes.”

MAURA: She kind of like, she gives you, uh, a little bit of a, of a head tilt. Like she looks at you a little quizzically and then she says, “Well, of course I'm, I'm happy to do it. Um, yes. Okay. Let's go on up.”

Before you follow her around the staircase and up to the mezzanine, we're going to skip over to the conversation with Threadneedle, Arsène, and our new player, Joseph.

NICK: All right. So before I say anything, I have, uh, essentially wrapped up my earlier conversation as I just got into the building. I've written down a little scrawl on a piece of yellowing paper and I've pocketed it and I head over to, uh, Threadneedle and Arsène.

JAMIE: Arsène slides over at the bar when he sees you and says, “Oh, a member of the press.”

MAURA: Threadneedle kind of narrows her eyes at you. She and her sisters have not gotten a good beat in the press recently. Go ahead and make a roll for me to see if you've written anything bad about them. This is going to be, um, Compel and Crime.

NICK: So a high roll means I've written good things and they like me or—

MAURA: Yes, a high roll means you've written, you either haven't written anything or you wrote something good that they liked or you wrote something about their competitors. A low roll means, uh, you bashed them in the press.

NICK: So Compel and what else, Crime? Okay. That is two dice. That's a nat 10. All right. So I've got an idea.

MAURA: Do it.

NICK: Yeah. I don’t think I’ve written anything specifically about them, but they're very aware of the success Mr. Winters has recently gathered as the result of a little bit of placed advertisement. Not so much directly in the papers, but there's other sources I have outside of my news network suggesting that Mr. Winters is not to be trifled with. And at this point, Elizabeth Threadneedle has been made aware, maybe with her dealings with Mr. Winters, maybe with some of the stuff coming to light, that I am looking for similar allies and wants to get in, but hasn't gotten in yet.

MAURA: Absolutely. Yeah. So Arsène slides over and lets you come and sit at the bar, and Elizabeth latches a long-nailed hand onto your shoulder. “And it's just the friend I was looking to see. Mr. Hearst is it? Is it Mr. Hearst?”

NICK: “Yes. My favorite drug dealer at this party at this moment. Nice to meet you. Yes. Finally face to face.”

MAURA: “Yes, I don't think we've met before, but it is good to know that our reputation precedes us.”

NICK: “Oh, of course. I have so many whispers, so little information that can be validated yet about you guys. It would make an excellent story if you'd sit down for a puff piece one of these days. I'd love to know what makes the Threadneedle Empire tick.”

MAURA: “Yes. Oh, so, I would love that. We could have you over with me and my sisters, we could do a little interview, a little wine and dine as it were.”

NICK: “And it's interesting. Your sisters are all three co-partners in your business?”

MAURA: “Yes. Well, we all came up together in Red Row. It's very difficult to find family ties as tight as ours. You know, blood is thicker than water, as they say. Have you met my friend? Oh, oh, oh, dear. I think I've forgotten your name already.”

JAMIE: “Oh, Arsène.”

NICK: “Can't say I have, although I overheard something about hired muscle and steady work. You're not one of the guards.”

JAMIE: “No.”

NICK: “Are you aiming to be?”

JAMIE: “No, I do my own work.”

NICK: “So what brings you here?”

JAMIE: “An invitation.” I flash a little piece of paper.

MAURA: It's very shiny and gilt. It's like, all done in red. Elizabeth looks a little defensive and, like, a leans her hands on Arsène's shoulders. “Well, you know, my business and the pleasure, we all admire a go-getter as it were. Someone starting their own business and looking out for their own interests.

NICK: I'm going to lean in closer to Arsène and say, “Well I'm—," still quite loudly so as Threadneedle can hear— “Well, I'm sure Mr. Winters has his own reasons for inviting each and every one of us here. I can't wait to find out what your purpose is.” And I'm going to reach out and offer a hand to shake.

MAURA: She's watching all this with big eyes. I mean, her eyes are super dilated anyway.

NICK: As this is going on, I'm offering one arm around Elizabeth's waist, sort of implying that we're going to walk off and talk privately in a little bit. But before we go, I am offering a hand to you, Arsène.

JAMIE: Arsène's going to, like, raise an eyebrow. Like this is super weird, but take his hand and shake it tentatively.

NICK: I grip your hand firmly, shake, and roll to pass a note to Arsène.

MAURA: Oh, yes. Roll me a Steal, and I am going to call this Low Society as well, because I believe you both have Low Society.

JAMIE: Yes.

MAURA: Yeah. So a Steal and Low Society.

NICK: All right. Two dice. That's an 8.

MAURA: Yes. Success.

NICK: All right, so the note that Arsène gets, whenever they choose to read it. When they find a spare moment to take a look at it, after we walk away. It’s going to say, the character I just made up, Osgood Dryker, back with my earlier conversation, ‘O-D is the mark, E-A-T-S is the distraction, Z is the muscle, I will pinch. Tell the others.’

JAMIE: Okay.

NICK: That sounds like I'm just going to walk off with–

MAURA: Yep, Elizabeth will happily come with you, chattering volubly about how wonderful it is to be taken seriously, and, “It's so hard for a woman in this market.”

NICK: We banter about the intricacies of mushroom development.

MAURA: Zyrel, what are you up to?

BRIGID: I've probably found a post where I can view the party, but I'm not super obvious. At this point, I am just cracking my knuckles. I'm not one for leg work, I just want to punch something.

MAURA: So you do clock the rest of your teammates kind of mingling on the floor. You kind of also have free rein of the mansion because as a guard, no one is going to really look twice at you. So you could try and, like, find his office or try and, like, corner someone. You have a lot of options to get information out of people besides talking to them nicely. I'll just say that.

BRIGID: Being polite is for people with time to spare. I'm going to wander off to find the office, and if I can't find the office or Mr. Winters, I'm going to beat it out of a fellow guard.

MAURA: Go ahead and make me an Investigate and a Low Society check.

BRIGID: Okay. That is two dice, they're both 9.

MAURA: Nice. All right. So you, you've never been here before, but you---I want you to tell me about a time that you tossed another rich drow’s house.

BRIGID: I would say it was on Knightly business, quote unquote. I was with my squire Fineas as a sort of learning opportunity. They forgot to pay their dues. And some of their belongings and internal organs were consequence.

MAURA: Perfect. So you have been in mansions like this before; a little bit smaller, but same general layout. After all, you reason all rich people seem to think the same way. You easily find the large double doors that are set in a hallway off the main mezzanine of the party. It's in, it's like, the doors are situated in such a way that they can't be seen from the main room, but they could—like, someone on the mezzanine could conceivably look down this hallway and catch you at whatever it is that you plan on doing. The doors are very thick and heavy. They're all, they're made of wood, which is fairly rare in the Spire, and they are securely locked.

BRIGID: Okay. Hmm. In that case… sorry, just trying to figure out…

MAURA: I mean, you could, like again, you could try and find someone who has the keys. Like, there are several people: Sal certainly has the keys, Patricia probably does as well. Devlin, the son, might have access to the room. You're not going to necessarily be able to kick down the doors, but you could certainly try.

BRIGID: Uh, let's try and find the son. We haven't talked to him yet and I feel like he's enough of a shithead--

MAURA: That you might be able to talk him into doing something rash.

BRIGID: Yeah.

MAURA: All right. So let's actually skip back to Eclipse. You and Patricia have actually gone to talk to Devlin Winters, and you guys are all up on a balcony that is overlooking the mansion and the rest of the Fractal Gardens. You see, there is a little bit of rabble rousing at the gates around the side of the mansion from you, but it looks like the guards are kind of taking care of that. There's a couple of people, like, beating back some commoners and Devlin kind of looks over, sees Patricia, and rolls his eyes. But then, like, his eyes catch on you and he looks arrested. Um, Patricia looks a little nervously between the two of you before she says, “Uh, Devlin Winters, this is, uh, my dear friend Eclipse-Awakening-Twilight-Symphony. You may have heard of some of their performances before?” And Devlin kind of shrugs and he says, “I mean, I'm not an artist, uh, but, uh, I can appreciate art just like the next person.”

BRENDAN: I'm going to go ahead and use my Glamor ability.

MAURA: All right. Why don't you tell us what that does?

BRENDAN: Glamor is a black magic occult ability that I have to transform myself into the ideal partner of whomever I'm speaking with, and it's not that I physically change so much as that I appear more like their preferences in their, in their own mind.

MAURA: So because you are kind of doing this as you walk up, uh, I want you to make an Occult and Compel check.

BRENDAN: Who am I compelling?

MAURA: Devlin.

BRENDAN: Then I roll with mastery, because of my ‘Who Are They’ ability. The first time you meet someone who doesn't know your name, you roll with mastery to Deceive or Compel them.

MAURA: So you did just get introduced to him.

BRENDAN: Only with a stage name.

MAURA: Yeah. I, I, that…mm-hmm. That is, I mean, a stage name that you go by 90% of everything in your life. I'll, I'll let it slide this time, but I, I don't think I'm going to give you free mastery every time you talk to someone because you never introduce yourself with your true name.

BRENDAN: Well, then I'll only roll with three.

MAURA: Three dice is pretty good. I'm just going to say that.

BRENDAN: Nat 10.

MAURA: Yeah, there you go. All right. So with a natural 10, I will let you tell me what Devlin's ideal partner looks like.

BRENDAN: Devlin's ideal partner has kind of grayish skin with lavender serpentine tattoos coming from behind the mask, down the neck, down a, like, deep cut bosom, and is taller than him. And very, like, slender and elegant.

MAURA: Okay. Okay. So Devlin is not a very tall man to begin with. And you are tall enough naturally in your heels that the magic doesn't really change much of that. And it's almost like—it's not quite enough that even Patricia, who was just looking at you, would notice. But you can kind of feel this kind of crackling energy under your skin, and your breasts get a little bit fuller, and you feel the skin of your face and neck begin to, like, heat up.

It grows almost uncomfortably hot as there's this, like, prickling, needling sensation. And it doesn't look like you have tattoos necessarily, but there is like the shadow, the possibility of tattoos there. The, like, natural patterning of your skin takes on that kind of serpentine tone and your shoulders, like, crack a little bit uncomfortably, you feel your joints give as you become a little bit more slender. And you kind of, you have done this many times before, and don't even miss a step as you finish the transformation just as Devlin turns to look at you.

And he is absolutely blown away.

So you and he are standing right at the edge of this balcony and Patricia is standing a couple of steps behind and not looking particularly pleased by this turn of events. But Devlin reaches out a hand to take yours and, like, kiss the back of your hand and he says, “I've never been to one of your shows, but I have heard of you. You know, I spend a little bit more time up-Spire than my father would perhaps appreciate, but I know what circles to move in to progress our business.”

BRENDAN: “I see. You are a man of ambition like your father.”

MAURA: “Exactly.” He kind of, like, glares at Patricia and just kind of turns to exclude her from the conversation that you two are having. And he kind of leans towards you conspiratorially—also so he can get closer to your boobs. And he says, “I know exactly what direction we should take our business next. My father just doesn't want to see it.”

BRENDAN: “Is that so? Tell me more.”

MAURA: “Well, he's been in the gun business for a long time. That’s how the Winters name got made.” He glares at Patricia again, who hasn't moved and, like, makes a little shooing motion with one hand. And she just huffs and scowls at him and just, like, turns on her heel and walks off back into the party.

BRENDAN: I pretend not to notice.

MAURA: Oh, yes. And Devlin puts one hand around your arm so you guys are, like, hooked together. And looking out across the gardens, kind of does the little ‘imagine’ hand. And he says, “Now what if we expanded the business into real manufacturing? You know, the kind of thing that everybody in the Spire needs, not just criminals and not just guards and not just violence, but real tools that we can sell to the everyday drow and open up a real market value.”

BRENDAN: “My goodness, you want to become legitimate money, don't you?”

MAURA: “Well, I mean, we could, you know, legitimate money has—even for laundering. I mean, my dad's got a couple of laundering schemes, but we do most of it now through a lot of like store, fake storefronts and stuff. If we had a legitimate business, we could be making money in those storefronts as well as laundering the money that we've already made on our more sketchy goods, as it were. We just need to, you know, get the market coming and going.”

BRENDAN: “I think this sounds like a brilliant plan. You could even open boutiques, up-Spire.”

MAURA: “That's what I'm saying. My dad doesn't really want to get into any of that up-Spire business. He says we've got enough contacts down here, but I say: that's where the real fucking money is.”

It's about this time that Zyrel appears at the edge of the balcony. Like, Zyrel, you are just outside the balcony on the mezzanine itself.

BRIGID: Am I out of sight of Devlin?

MAURA: You are out of sight, but also Devlin's not looking at anything else right now.

BRIGID: He's still caught up in his monologue.

MAURA: Yes.

BRIGID: So I'm just going to make a little fist to hand gesture, like, I can punch him.

MAURA: Eclipse, you catch out of the corner of your eye, you see your hulking friend. Devlin is still talking. “And I just think that if we really wanted legitimate money, it would not be hard to get. I know people who know people in the Silver Quarter, we could open those shops. It's just like you're saying, like, you know, we need this kind of opportunity. And I'm not saying get rid of the gun money. Fuck no. I'm just saying we diversify. You don't want to get all caught up in one market.”

BRENDAN: “Of course, of course. Absolutely. I totally see a market for, you know, hand watches and bags and scarves and beautiful things.”

MAURA: “The Winters logo could really become something is what I'm saying.”

BRENDAN: “Absolutely.”

MAURA: “And my dad just doesn't see that. He's just obsessed with the past. He's only thinking about what got him here and not what is going to take him forward. Besides, you know, I'm an adult now. I could do this business. He could let me into a little bit more responsibility. That's all I'm saying.”

BRENDAN: “I admire your, your drive and your, your, your ambition. And, you know, it would be absolutely dreadful for anything to happen to your father. But I, I think that you have a good head on your shoulders.”

MAURA: “I’ve got the business sense.”

BRENDAN: I'm like, motioning, like, wait, wait.

BRIGID: Zyrel's just like, tugging out her braids now. It's just like, why are you fucking doing this? This guy’s an idiot.

BRENDAN: If there's a waiter coming by with a tray, I would love to grab some dagger and some glimmer.

MAURA: I will say, yeah, there are, there are definitely waiters circulating. Now the thing is that you guys are looking out over the balcony, which has kept Devlin from noticing Zyrel. If you turn, he's probably going to come with you to, like, walk back to the mezzanine to get some drugs. And he may notice one of the guards just standing there and he'll either tell her off or notice that something is wrong.

BRENDAN: Then I'm going to, like, kind of head waggle, like, around the corner, go around the corner.

MAURA: Go ahead and make a sneak check for me to, to pass this--it's going to be Sneak and Crime.

BRENDAN: So one dice for me. That is a nat 10.

MAURA: Hey, I don't think you guys have failed at literally anything you have attempted so far.

JAMIE: No, we're very good.

MAURA: You guys are very good.

BRENDAN: Wait, wait, wait. Okay, wait, back up. I rolled a percentile dice and it is a, and I rolled a 10. So that's actually a 1.

MAURA: 10 is a 1, which means that not only do you fail, but you take double stress from this. So I'm going to say it's going to, it's going to have to be Reputation, which, good news. You're pretty good at. And this is going to be a d6 of Reputation stress. So you take, you're going to take 6 stress.

BRENDAN: I get 3 free slots in Reputation.

MAURA: Yes.

BRENDAN: So that means I only took 3?

MAURA: Hold on. So yeah, you're taking 6 stress in your Reputation, but because you have 3 free slots, it only counts as 3, like, towards the fallout. But you also had 2 stress from earlier on your Shadow.

BRENDAN: Correct. I have 5 total right now.

MAURA: Yes. Let me just update that on our little tracker sheet. And I am going to roll a d10. And if it is under 5, you're going to take fallout. If it is 5 or under. If it's above 5, then you're fine.

It's a 4, which means you are going to take some fallout from this.

BRENDAN: I know that this is not my moment to blow it because I'm Haunted by my demise.

MAURA: Okay. So why don't you read that move to us?

BRENDAN: Because I am a member of the house Malrique, I am plagued by visions of my potential demise. And sometimes it proves to be useful. So I don't take fallout the first time I would normally take fallout in a session. I ignore all of its effects. I suffer no setbacks and my stress is not reduced.

MAURA: Yes. So instead of taking fallout from this, I want you to tell me what you dreamed about that allows you to avoid this moment.

BRENDAN: So in my dream, I'm at a party. And I've completely forgotten to get dressed before I leave the dressing room. No one seems to notice. I'm just going about my business. I'm talking to somebody who I'm trying to use for information. And suddenly they seem to become aware of the fact that I'm not wearing any clothes and I'm terribly embarrassed. But I realize that with my charms and wits, I can just conjure what I need for them to see so that I smooth everything over.

MAURA: Perfect. So in this moment, you are turning to get some drugs and, like, trying to signal Zyrel to get out of the way so Devlin doesn't notice them. Devlin is turning, like, a little bit quicker than you expected, and his eyes are fixed on you, which means that he's going to notice whatever actions you take that try to alert Zyrel.

In this moment, you remember your dream and you're like, oh shit, it's like I don't have any clothes on, and you turn instead with a flourish of your hand that both distracts Devlin…I think you, like, flourish and then reach out and put a hand on his cheek. And he is so blown away by this that with your other hand you're shooing Zyrel out of sight. And Zyrel, like, you see that immediately. Because you're holding on to Devlin's face, you can prevent him from looking in the direction that you don't want him to look.

BRENDAN: Yes, yes, yes. I trip a little bit and I'm like, oh, oh, I have to catch myself.

MAURA: “Oh, are you all right?”

BRENDAN: “There must be an uneven stone there or something.”

BRIGID: You can see Zyrel over his shoulder just making a very rude gesture before turning and leaving out of sight.

***

MAURA: We have been playing Life and Soul by Grant Howitt, which is a premade adventure that can be found in the Shadow Operations sourcebook.

Zyrel the Deathless was played by Brigid Lydon.

Eclipse-Awakening-Twilight-Symphony was played by Brendan Ziebarth.

Joseph Moses Hearst was played by Nicholas Wolslegel.

Arsène Lightsbane was played by Jamie Moffa. They can be found on Twitter @PlainEnglishSci and on their podcast, In Plain English.

Music and sound effects for the show are courtesy of Tabletop Audio. These and many more tracks can be found at tabletopaudio.com.

The logo for our show was designed by Kate Lydon. More of her work can be found @lydonart.

That's all lowercase L-Y-D-O-N-A-R-T on Instagram.

I have been your host and game master, Maura Lydon. You can find me on the official Discord for Her Dark Ministrations by following the link in our episode description. Or on Facebook @HerDarkMinistrations.

Until next time Ministers, remember: The City Must Fall.