Session 4.1: No Prospects
The boys make arrangements to depart their old home. Laroze reveals Emma's whereabouts.
Last installment, we did some light planning for Session 4, which ended in a dilemma — to continue their journey through (and hopefully up) Duskwall’s underworld, the Jesseks need to secure a patron. They don’t necessarily know this explicitly, but it’s a natural next step both narratively and mechanically — right now, they have no one with real influence looking out for them, and it’s time to change that. Before we begin, a quick note — this episode is going to be a bit shorter on fiction, unfortunately — I was traveling this weekend and writing time was scarce while chasing two feral children around the mountains of Tennessee.
We ended the prep with a poll, deciding who we’d pursue as a patron — Roric, the ward boss of Crow’s Foot, or Madame Dalmore, the occult headmistress of the Dalmore School where Emma has been captive these last dozen years. To kick off the episode, let’s take a look at the results:
A strong majority in favor of a turn towards the mystical and the occult, and an alliance between our heroes and the Dalmore School. That means this next session should answer a bunch of big questions through play:
How did the boys leave things in Crow’s Foot? What loose ends do they leave behind?
What Emma’s situation at Dalmore House, having disobeyed Madam Dalmore and left the school grounds a second time?
How do the brothers find and reunite with her?
How does the Burnt King reward Emma for collecting Chael’s soul? What, if anything, does he reveal about why he has chosen Emma in particular to clean up Crow’s Foot?
Some of this can be answered during Downtime — Chael’s murder constituted a Score, so now we have to run through all the post-score rules: Payoff, Heat, Entanglements, and Downtime Actions. I thought a bit about whether the siblings could be reunited during downtime actions, but didn’t feel right — their reunion should be a risky, dramatic, high-stakes moment, so I decided it probably should be a score, so the downtime actions will be focused on setting the stage for a job to resolve whatever trouble Emma’s last escapade has gotten her into and secure Madame Dalmore as a patron.
Before we dive into our first scene, let’s talk about the Downtime actions we’re going to abstract. This is a big chunk of FitD mechanics minutiae, so feel free to skip the below if you’re just here for the fiction.
The Fisher’s Court Job: Downtime
After the last score, there’s some recovering to do. Emma has Level 2 Harm from when Chael caught her with his stilletto in his last moments on earth, so her first downtime action will be Recover. The recover action involves identifying a PC or NPC who can heal the particular injury (“Stabbed in the Arm,” in Emma’s case) and then making a roll based on their action rating or quality. We’ll envision that Emma, now under house arrest, is taken from Dalmore House to a trusted physician by Flint, her closest ally within the household, under the watchful eye of Mr. Seek.
Emma is also carrying 9 Stress, and the brothers are struggling here, too — Rian ended the last score with 7 Stress, and Aldo and Carver with 5. Everyone is going to use the Indulge Vice action to destress, but we won’t be setting a specific scene envision it — we’ll just look for opportunities to mention these events in the fiction. Making a few rolls, Rian clears all 7 stress (thanks to his Functioning Vice ability), and Carver does as well — we’ll envision that Carver takes on a few late night fights at the Red Ring as he did back in Session 1.4, and that Rian spends coin like water to prepare the gang to leave Crow’s Foot, including some partying with Carv (which allows Carver to also make use of the Functioning Vice ability). Emma manages to clear 4 Stress, leaving her very much in the danger zone, and Aldo clears all five with a lucky roll.
More Money, More Problems
As part of Rian’s Indulge Vice move, we’ll also make some moves with the gang’s coin. So far, we’ve largely abstracted their lifestyle — up until recently, they haven’t had enough coin to sleep anywhere but in the meanest conditions, likely a flophouse or a bunkhouse with dozens of other Duskwall working folk. But they’ve accrued a lot of coin - each character is sitting on the maximum allowed amount (4 coin) and the gang has 4 as well. The most recent score paid the minimum (2 coin), since it wasn’t very lucrative. We’ll envision that money coming from Rian’s recent takings from the Strand Bridge trade — there’s more than usual, because Chael’s not taking a cut this week! Rian steps up to manage all that cash, and he dumps it all into his personal long-term Stash. This has the effect of filling up the first row (of 10) and raising Rian’s Lifestyle to 1. Lifestyle is a secondary stat in Blades in the Dark that can be used when trying to overcome obstacles with cold, hard cash rather than a scoundrel’s cleverness, and it also defines the character’s living situation. Rian can now, perhaps, secure some halfway decent lodgings for the brothers, likely outside of Crow’s Foot, so that they can avoid the fallout they strongly suspect is coming. Again, we won’t dwell on this in the fiction, instead mentioning it in passing in one of the early scenes of the session.
We’ll close out Rian and Carver’s downtime actions with some Training — both men will mark 2 XP on their Prowess track, bringing them a little closer to improving their action ratings. Both Carver and Rian looking to get better at Prowl, so we envision them sneaking around and keeping a low profile as they go about their business in Crow’s Foot and beyond.
That leaves Aldo with one Downtime action, and we’ll use this one to set the scene. Aldo has an active long-term project, “Find Emma.” He added two ticks back in Session 1, and is due two more ticks for ‘free’ as a reward for completing the Laroze Job back in Session 2. For the first scene of this session, we’ll envision a meeting between the brothers Jessek and their friendly Inspector. This also gives us a chance to explore the brothers’ decision to leave Roric behind, so we’ll set the scene shortly before Laroze is due to arrive, with Carver and Aldo present, and Rian on the way.
Scene 1: An abandoned greenhouse in Crow’s Foot
It's been raining for days, and the city is dark and cold. The clouds started gathering as the Jesseks were leaving behind Chael's body at Fisher's Court, and now a dark mist lours low in the sky, sparking against the lightning barrier high overhead and punctuating the quiet night with little claps of thunder and quick flashes of sickly-green arcing bolts.
The rain leaks through the cracked glass ceiling and drips down onto a tangle of dead, dry twigs, choked with strangler vines that thrive in the dim light of the moon. Once, this place was a greenhouse, lit with electroplasm lamps to feed the folk of the Foot, but it fell into disrepair and was abandoned years ago. The rusted metal shells of dead grow lamps still hang overhead, stripped for every useful or valuable piece of scrap. Aldo still remembers playing here when he and Rian were boys, swinging from those lamps and hiding among the barren garden plots when his father was on a job site and couldn’t bring them along.
Carver stands watch at the rusted iron gate, peering out into the dark night, while Aldo sits on an upturned mushroom crate, puffing on the Weeper. The greenhouse is out-of-the-way, and folk think the farmer who died here haunts it, so they stay away. True or not, his spirit is quiet tonight, leaving no one to witness their rendezvous.
“Word in the Foot is that Chael’s boys are scattered to the winds. Most of ‘em went over the canal to the Billhooks, and the Skov cutters that Chael scooped off the docks are running with a man they call ‘Ironborn,’” Carver says, pitching his voice to be heard over the rain tapping on the glass. He gives a low, satisfied chuckle. “Roric really did need our help to hold them together, didn’t he? Us three small-timers?”1
“We’re not so small-time anymore, Carv. We’ve taken rich scores from fat marks, we took down that dirty Bluecoat squadron when no one else could. We’ve gotten our hands bloody. Roric needs scoundrels like us. But we don’t need him — before we found Chael dead, he was ready to feed us to the eels, even though it was Chael who did wrong. It’s not proper, and we’re getting out.”
“I can’t rightly credit it,” Carver says, his hand curling into a fist around the iron gratings. “Roric’s always had a rep as a proper villain. He won’t be happy we left him without a lantern at midnight.”
“I was watching him close when we told him about Chael. Saw what passed between him and that old scoundrel, Mardin Gull. Our lives were balanced on a stiletto point that night, and it was Emma who saved us. For the second time, in my case.”
Carver shifts uncomfortably and turns away from the door, walking over to where Aldo sits. Rainwater drips from the vines overhead, pooling on the cracked stone floor.
"I don’t like it, Aldo," Carver says quietly, after a long silence. “Why would she come for Chael? If she’s with us, why ain’t she with us?”
Aldo takes a long drag on the Weeper, exhaling wisps of acrid smoke that curl and fade into the damp air. "I mean to find out."
Carver crosses his arms and returns to his self-appointed post, standing silent guard as the rain patters against the glass roof.
Aldo can tell someone is coming by the change in Carver’s manner — the big man tenses, and his hand goes inside his greatcoat where he conceals razor-honed chopper.
“Just me, brother. No need for iron on my account.” Rian’s playful tone cuts through the noise as his boyish face swims out of the mist and rain. He shoulders by Carver, who peers down the dark alley, looking for any tails.
Rian pauses, looks around, and smirks. “This old place hasn’t changed a bit, has it?” He reaches under one of the grow beds and rummages about, coming up with an old, rusty pocket knife. He tests it, and it opens with a rasping protest.
“Right where I left you,” he says with a bit of wist.
Aldo clears his throat. “Good news about our lodgings, Rye?”
We’ll make a Lifestyle roll to establish the answer to that question. Rian rolls 1 die, and we’ll accept a Devil’s Bargain to get a second die. The bargain is that their new lodgings will entangle them with a new faction in their new district — whether that entanglement is profitable or problematic depends on this roll, and subsequent events.
Rian rolls Lifestyle (Risky Position, Standard Effect)
Dice Pool: 2d = 1d (Lifestyle Rating) + 1d (Devil’s Bargain)
Result: 5, 2, Partial SuccessWith a partial success, I’ll envision that the other faction is neither well nor poorly disposed to them. Now we just have to envision their details. For this one, I decided to use some of the random tables2 included in the BitD. First, I wanted to envision which faction their new landlord is tied to, using the table on page 307 of the BitD rulebook, and I got the Silver Nails.
The Silver Nails are a group of Severosi3 mercenaries who fought on the side of the Empire in the Unification War against the Skovs. They don’t do a lot of business within Duskwall proper — their interests lie in the Deathlands and the Lost District of the city that lie beyond the Lightning Barrier. Our boys don’t have a lot of interest in venturing out among the restless dead, so hopefully their interests won’t conflict much with those of their new landlord. Since we’re dealing with the Silver Nails, it makes sense for the Jesseks’ new digs to be in the Six Towers district This is also where Dalmore House happens to be, which tracks nicely with our goal of reconnecting them with Emma.
About the landlord specifically, I rolled a few times on the table on page 302 and my results indicated that he is Male, and Dark, Stout and Strange — not unlike the author himself! For his goal, I got Knowledge. We don’t quite know what that goal means yet, but if the crew ever needs to do a job for them, we’ll draw on that result.
To bring this all together, we’ll envision a Severosi slumlord who has secured a few of the abandoned manor houses in Six Towers, chased out the squatter gangs who previously occupied them, and has begun renting and selling them to ‘reputable’ tenants.
One important question: How much of this does Rian know? We’ll have him gather information to find out:
Rian rolls Consort (Gather Information)
Dice Pool: 2d = 2d (Action Rating)
Result: 5, 4, Partial SuccessHe knows a bit, but not everything — he’ll share some details in the fiction:
“Decent, decent, all our woes considered. Six Towers seemed the likeliest place to lay low a spell, away from our old stomping grounds in the Foot,” Rian says with a grin, brushing the beaded raindrops from his shoulders. “I found lodgings with a Severosi named Sartak who’s chased out some of the squatter gangs down on Rowan Way. The garret of old Kinclaith Manor is ours — might be a bit chilly, but there’s plenty of room for the three of us.”
“Who are his friends?” Carver asks with narrowed eyes. “He didn’t chase out those squatters on his lonesome.”
“By no means. I, your humble dogsbody, have already made inquiries. It seems he’s a Silver Nail — those mercenary horsemen who gave the Skovs such a devil of a time out in the open deathlands. Belike he’s retired from haring about in devil country — he’s got one leg and a twisted hand, black and twisted like a tree branch.” Rian shudders theatrically as he describes the old nomad.
“The Deathlands takes its due,” Aldo mutters. “He sounds dangerous.”
“I should hope so!” Rian snaps back. “Best that everyone else thinks so too, lest we wake up with a squatter’s blade at our throats.”
“He has a point,” Carver adds with a shrug. “The Silver Nails keep to their business, whatever that is. I’ve never heard of them getting into scrapes with the likes of us and ours.”
“Just so,” Rian says, taking a thick slab of blackcap jerky from his coat pocket and taking a healthy bite from it. “What about our friend in blue? Has she come and gone, or am I in time?”
Aldo checks his pocket watch. “Just in time. She should be here any minute.”
‘Any minute’ turns to another hour before finally Laroze shows herself. She arrives in full uniform, a fine dark navy greatcoat and an Inspector’s tricorn keeping the rain from her eyes, and in the shadows behind her are a pair of dark, imposing bully-boys in blue. As she approaches the greenhouse, she waves the two men off, and they wait at a respectful distance as she approaches the greenhouse door.
“You were supposed to come alone,” Carver growls, barring her way through the door.
“Have you seen the state of things in the Foot? The Billhooks are crossing the canal from their haunts in the Dockyards every night, looking to make trouble with Roric’s boys, and but they aren’t shy about bloodying a blue coat.” A distant shout and the crack of a pepperbox somewhere out in the night adds weight to Laroze’s protestations. “These men are my bodyguards, and they’re new to the foot — replacements I brought in for the squadron you three helped bring down. Honest, loyal, discrete.”
“An ‘honest’ Bluecoat is one who stays bought,” Rian says with a smirk.
“Indeed. And I have bought them,” Laroze replies dryly. Her dark eyes dart to Carver. “May I enter?”
Carver looks to Aldo, who gives a near-imperceptible nod, and the big man gives way.
“Where’s our sister, Laroze?” Aldo says, his voice tight and eager.
“I owe you an answer to this, for the good turn you’ve done me. All three of you,” she says carefully. She looks to Carver and Rian. “But I hope you’ll all think very carefully before you act on this information. As best as I can tell, your sister is safe, and living in far more comfort than you and your brothers. I’m not sure you’ll be doing her any favors if you come after her.”
Aldo doesn’t respond to this. After a few moments of listening to the rain beat against the roof in silence, Laroze continues. “I hadn’t worked with the sergeant I entrusted Emma to that night for many years. He was a trustworthy and meticulous man, or so I thought. When I began to make inquiries, I discovered that he took his own life five years ago.”
Aldo leans in, his eyes narrowing with interest. “Guilty conscience?”
“Perhaps. His widow kept his effects, and among them, I found a diary. I was wrong about his honesty but right about his meticulousness — he recorded every bribe he took. That night, he accepted a payment from an unnamed party to convey Emma to a place called the Dalmore School for Young Women.”
“Never heard of it. Where?” Aldo asks.
“The Six Towers district. The Dalmore family used to be one of the wealthiest in the city, but about thirty years ago there was some family tragedy that never quite became a scandal. Most of the male line ended up dead or exiled for reasons not made public. Their manor house still stands, on the shores of the Mist River, by the western edge of Mistshore Park.”
Aldo nods along. Not far from where he caught up with Emma after the Molino Job. And where that strange assassin had Aldo under his knife.
Laroze continues. “Best I can tell, it’s a maidservant school for some of the finest families in the city. They are very expensive, and very discrete. If Emma is there, she’s bound for service in some grand manor house. But if you three make trouble for her, you may get her back, but she’ll be out on the streets with the three of you, and no prospects but… your prospects.”
Rian sniffs. “Oh, detective. How can you be so cruel? We’re young, ambitious scoundrels — our prospects are princely!”
Aldo gives his brother a sidelong smile, before pressing Laroze further.
“Why would they want a Crow’s Foot orphan for this school? Surely there are easier ways to find girls for aristo households.”
“They want girls with no connections. No families to speak of, no alliances or rivalries, no hooks attached.”
“She’s got a family,” Aldo says.
“Does she? Things have changed. You go by Jessek, not Ridley. And wherever she is, she’s safer than you three.”
Rian snorts. “Safer than us. That’s rich.”
Laroze’s eyes narrow. “What does that mean? What do you boys know? She’s been missing for 15 years, what put the devil in you to find her, Aldo?”
“Is that all you found out?” Aldo says. “It’s not much.”
“You asked me to find where she went, and I have. Further inquiries will be complicated. Reading a dead man’s journal is one thing, but if I ask questions about an institution that the great households patronize, well…”
“You’re worried about how hard they’ll tug on your leash, eh Laroze?” Rian jabs.
“You should be worried too. I don’t know who funds Madame Dalmore, but I have no doubt they could find a way to put a leash around your necks, too.”
“Thank you for your concern, Detective Laroze,” Aldo says flatly. “We’ll be careful.”
Laroze peers searchingly at him for a moment before putting her tricorn back on and adjusting her collar against the rain outside, and then she is gone, leaving the brothers alone.
“Well, Aldo? What’s the play?” Rian asks. “I don’t think they’re training ladies’ maids at that school.”
“No,” Aldo says, taking a meditative puff on his pipe. “I’m going to find a bolthole near this Dalmore House and keep watch a few days. Get the lay of the place, get a look at their security, and see who comes and goes. Carver, you game for a stakeout?”
“‘Course I am. Count on Carv.”
We’ll close out the episode there. Next week, the boys will see if they can find a weak spot in Dalmore House’s security, and, if the dice are kind and the writing time plentiful, we’ll see the family reunited soon!
Here, we’re representing an answer to the first question on the PTFO list in the episode setup: How are the boys leaving things in Crow’s Foot? At the gaming table, this might be answered by asking a player what rumors they’ve heard about the aftermath of Chael’s death. Carver would be a natural person to pick up such rumors, especially since he spent some downtime at the Red Ring.
I used a ton of Oracle tables for PTFO:Stonetop, and have yet to use them in BitD because stuff has largely followed from the initial prep I did in Session Zero. Now that we’re going farther afield, it seemed the time to bring them back!
The Severosi are nomadic steppe people who have found ways to maintain their wandering lifestyle despite the breaking of the world. Their shamans are adept at abjuring spirits, and their warriors are trained to hunt ghosts and the abominations of the Deathlands outside the safety of the Lightning Barrier.
Very exciting developments!