Ralph Walker

**Ralph Walker** is a character in The Smoke Room. He is the pharmacist at Red's General Goods, and a coworker, roommate, and close friend of Murdoch Byrnes.

## Appearance

Ralph is a tall, thin rat with black and gray fur. He has hazel eyes, pronounced teeth, and well-groomed white whiskers. Ralph wears a gray vest over a white buttoned shirt and a black tie, with black pants. When going out at night, he wears an olive green trench coat.

Sam observes that his accent carries a 'twang.'

## Personality

Ralph is blunt, sarcastic, and prone to making scathing remarks. Ralph's tendency to say exactly what is on his mind causes him to be perceived as rude at best, and he appears to enjoy getting under people's skin. He is also quite persnickety, often fretting about potential consequences and preferring to keep his actions (especially those of a sexual nature) a secret.

Despite this, Ralph does have a soft side, especially where Murdoch is concerned. He consistently attempts to look out for his best friend's well-being, even suggesting that their bond is the only thing still keeping him in Echo. At times, Ralph's withering remarks are a guise for him to give genuine advice or speak up on behalf of those he cares about.

Ralph is a talented pianist. He once finding dreamed of fame and adventure as a traveling musician, and seems to still long for a less tied-down life than the one he has in Echo.

### Early Life

Ralph hails from Southland, the in-universe equivalent of Australia. He knew his mother, who made him learn to play the piano from an early age, but also says that by 1915 all of his immediate family members have been dead for a 'long time.' As a preteen he immigrated to Echo, where he has relatives, and he grew up alongside the Byrnes family's children, becoming especially close with Murdoch.

Ralph was present at the time of Seamus' death in 1905 and saw how the family began to treat Murdoch differently in the wake of the tragedy. At some point Ralph got into an unspecified dispute with Holly that left them on bad terms, possibly related to his belief that she lied to cover up her whereabouts on the day Seamus died.

Nine years before the events of The Smoke Room, shortly after Seamus died, Ralph and Murdoch began visiting a cavern on the shore of Lake Emma, close to where they used to fish and play with Seamus as children in order to process their feelings. It is here that they seem to have gradually become aware of the supernatural forces warping the moods and perceptions of those living in Echo, and they began experimenting with drugs and other methods to test and resist them.

Ralph eventually went back to Southland for his higher education but later returned to Echo. Murdoch had nascent feelings for Ralph when they were younger, but this time apart seems to have stopped a romantic relationship from ever developing between the two.

Five years before the events of the game Ralph became the pharmacist for Red's General Goods, maintaining his close ties to the Byrnes family and becoming Murdoch's coworker. He and Murdoch moved into a shared apartment near the store. The two at some point took notice of Samuel, a gay prostitute and newcomer to Echo, and began admiring him from afar. Ralph claims to be saving up money to escape Echo as soon as he can, but he appears conflicted about leaving Murdoch behind with no support system aside from his overbearing family. Ralph has supplied Murdoch with opium, but urges him to quit the habit.

### Prologue

Ralph is first mentioned offhand by Murdoch, who jokingly suggests framing him for Jack's murder.

### Murdoch's Route

#### Chapter 1

On Samuel's first day working at Red's General Goods, Murdoch warns him that Ralph can be hard to get along with. True to form, when Ralph appears he immediately identifies Sam as a prostitute and rudely asks Murdoch if it's a good idea to hire him, since it means risking the three of them being outed as gay. Murdoch insists that he wants Sam in his life and Ralph relents, but afterward Ralph warns Sam that he is good at sifting through Murdoch's 'bad investments.'

#### Chapter 2

Ralph and Samuel meet again on picture day at Echo School. Ralph looks alarmed by Sam's reaction when Holly introduces her fiancé Jim, and likely surmises that Sam has previously serviced Jim at The Hip. When Cliff finds an already overworked Murdoch and tries to hire him for an expedition, Ralph sharply criticizes Cliff and sends him away with such rudeness that Murdoch then goes to apologize. Ralph remarks to Sam that Murdoch needs someone who will say no for him sometimes.

Ralph retires to his office upon returning to the store, but Murdoch calls on him again that night, insisting that they show Sam 'their spot,' and Ralph obliges reluctantly. The spot is a hidden cavern on the shores of Lake Emma, near where Seamus died, where Ralph and Murdoch have been coming for nine years in order to take drugs that seem to help them ward off Echo's baleful supernatural influence.

Ralph asks Sam to think of his worst memory, which causes a seemingly ordinary picture that Sam is holding to suddenly reveal a massive slug-like monster. Ralph explains that the picture is a useful gauge for whether Echo is tainting one's perceptions. He reveals that he comes with Murdoch to the lakeside because the reminder of Seamus' death reliably puts them into the state of despair that makes Echo's influence more potent and observable. Ralph gives Sam some marijuana to smoke but the picture does not revert to normal, and Murdoch mentions sexual release can sometimes work just as well as drugs.

Suddenly, a noise from outside the cave alerts the group, and they watch a figure dump a body in a sack into the lake. The figure smells Ralph's marijuana and runs off into the night, and Ralph, Sam, and Murdoch bolt in the other direction. They encounter Blithe, who is out at night searching for a friend of hers who has gone missing. Ralph talks down to her for being out so late and she spits on him, then flees before the adults can agree what to do with her. Later in Ralph and Murdoch's home, the three realize that they can still see the monster in the photo. Sam and Murdoch have sex, partly to try and correct their perception of the image, and Ralph declines to join them but masturbates as he listens to them through the bedroom's thin walls. After their climaxes, the picture appears normal again.

The next morning, Ralph plays a song for Sam on the piano, and explains it is about a man who chooses a free death over being taken prisoner. Ralph admits he doesn't intend to stay in Echo forever, and warns that if Murdoch chooses to remain in the town under his family's thumb then Ralph will have to leave him behind. Ralph also requests that Sam treat Murdoch better than how the other people Murdoch loves typically do.

Ralph works in the store with Murdoch and Sam on Monday, and treats Holly coldly when she comes in to invite Sam to dinner. When she leaves Ralph retreats to his office, and Murdoch explains that the two have been at odds for a long time.

Ralph minds the store with Red the next day while Sam and Murdoch go with Jim to buy suits for Holly and Jim's upcoming wedding. When Sheriff Adler comes by in search of Sam, Ralph acts impertinently towards him and recommends that instead of questioning Sam, he continues looking for the body they witnessed being dumped in Lake Emma days prior.

#### Chapter 3

On the day of Jim's bachelor party, Ralph accompanies Sam and Murdoch to the Byrnes residence. From the bathroom, Ralph overhears Murdoch and Holly talking, and learns that Holly is keeping Jim interested in their upcoming marriage by pressuring Murdoch into regularly having sex with him. Ralph goes into the basement to help Alfred unpack things for the festivities, then departs for the Hip with Sam and Murdoch, who have been charged with entertaining Jim and his friends Neil and Reubin. Ralph is testy towards Jim's high-class companions, especially after they assume he is a caterer, but seems willing to moderate his behavior after a warning glance from Murdoch.

At the Hip, Ralph banters with Reubin and Neil, impressing them with his wit and audacity. He ridicules their cushy, urban upbringings and even gets a laugh out of both by teasingly bringing up a recent scandal that Neil has gotten into in the city, but nonetheless once again eases up at Murdoch's behest. Murdoch and Sam soon excuse themselves but Ralph stays behind, evidently enjoying himself.

Later, Ralph walks in on Murdoch and Sam having a clandestine conversation with Cynthia in a washroom of the Hip, where Murdoch reveals that he and Sam are hoping to escape the party without Jim noticing. Ralph volunteers to keep Jim and his friends busy, and confesses that he previously overheard that Holly has been coercing Murdoch into a sexual relationship with Jim.

Cynthia suggests a diversionary "hootenanny," and Murdoch and Ralph agree to use their musical skills to distract the Hip's crowd. With Cynthia's help, Murdoch stages an impromptu performance and then cues Ralph to keep it going by tossing him a guitar. Ralph successfully keeps the attention of Jim and the others, covering Murdoch and Sam's getaway and granting the two a private moment together. Later on, Jim separates from his friends and mentions that he left them in the care of Ralph, who promises to make sure that they make it to the wedding.

After establishing that Reubin and Neil have made it to their lodgings for the night, Ralph returns to the Byrnes household in time to catch the end of the argument between Murdoch, Holly, Jim, and Sam that results from the revelation that Holly is using photographs of her brother and fiancé having sex as blackmail to keep Jim from calling off the wedding. He announces himself just after Holly is struck in the arm by a stone presumably thrown by Dahlia; Holly assumes Ralph is to blame and hits him in the face with her bag. Ralph is irreverent throughout the confrontation, earning a slap from Holly as well, and clearly enjoys antagonizing her. At one point Holly indignantly says that he has no right to accuse her of anything, and in response Ralph raises his voice immediately to taunt her about potential accusations he believes he *can* in fact make, causing her to back down.

The subject changes, but then after Jim leaves Ralph suddenly returns with uncharacteristic seriousness to the accusation he was likely referencing: Holly's contradicting accounts of where she was when Seamus died. According to Ralph, Holly has previously claimed that she was there on the shore of Lake Emma all day, but also that she did not see what happened to Seamus. He points out is impossible given the clear vantage from the beach to the boat Seamus fell from. Holly admits that she was off enjoying herself with her friends but her continued resistance to actually go into specifics frustrates and confuses Ralph. After she leaves he remarks that Holly's coyness about the timeline of such an important day, even if she feels that the possibly embarrassing truth is important to conceal, is deeply strange behavior.

That night, as Sam and Murdoch are in bed together, Ralph listens through the walls of the apartment to their conversation and overhears Sam encouraging Murdoch to use Jim's affection for him as leverage. In the morning, once Murdoch leaves early to assist with Holly and Jim's wedding over Ralph's objections, Ralph disagrees with Sam's advice, insisting that instead of continuing to be complicit in the family's mutual coercion Murdoch should simply have called Holly's blackmail scheme a bluff and not cooperated. Ralph points out that leaking the pictures would lead to an unacceptable scandal that would affect Holly's own prospects and standing, and insists the scheme only worked because everyone performed as she expected they would.

Ralph angrily reiterates that Murdoch's only hope is to establish boundaries by leaving Echo outright or by standing up to his family, rather than continuing to engage with the cycle of manipulation, even to his own benefit, like Sam suggests. He gives Sam a day to help Murdoch disentangle himself, warning that the Byrnes family is overdue for an inevitable 'blowup' and he will not wait forever for one, even if he has to start it himself. During their dispute Sam stands up so that his size becomes more intimidating, but Ralph does not flinch.

Sam storms out, forgetting his formal wear for the wedding, so Ralph brings it for him. Ralph later serves as an usher for the guests, but the ceremony is interrupted when a fire suddenly breaks out at James Hendricks' mansion.

### William's Route

After Murdoch sustains a gunshot wound, he mentions that Ralph helped patch him up. He recounts that he and Ralph then went to Lake Emma, where they overheard a struggle and a splash likely related to the dumped body they also witness at the lake during Murdoch's route.

Later, Madam Dora briefly alludes to Ralph, whom she calls the 'reedy pharmacist,' while discussing possible candidates who could replace Harlan as her bartender at the Hip, but rejects the idea of hiring him almost immediately.

Ralph makes his first appearance in the route when William comes to Red's General Goods to interview Murdoch about the murder of Huxley Greene. Ralph stops Will at the door and informs him that the shop is closing for the day to try and turn him away, but Murdoch invites the sheriff in upon hearing his business is urgent and may end in arrests. As Will follows Murdoch into the darkroom so the two can converse in private, Ralph glares at him.

## Relationships

### Murdoch

Ralph claims to know Murdoch 'exceptionally well.' Based on the way he takes it upon himself to 'test' the people who Murdoch befriends, including Sam, Ralph sees himself as something of a check on Murdoch's overly altruistic inclinations, and works to prevent people from taking advantage of his childhood friend. Ralph believes Murdoch is addicted to working and overly beholden to his family's expectations. Murdoch, in turn, sees the best in Ralph's prickly demeanor, and assures Sam that he shouldn't take Ralph's harsh words personally. Ralph takes hiding the fact that he is gay very seriously, since he does not have the institutional protection that Murdoch enjoys because of his influential family, and so often cannot abide by Murdoch's more openly flirtatious behavior.

Ralph and Murdoch are both adept musicians, and often played together growing up. Ralph credits Murdoch with introducing him to jazz and thereby helping him realize that playing piano could be expressive and more just than a chore. For a time, Ralph hoped to travel the country with Murdoch as musicians, but came to abandon this dream after settling on a more respectable profession and witnessing Murdoch's overriding commitment to his family.

Ralph supplies Murdoch with some of the drugs he takes but seems selective about what he prescribes, and tries in vain to get Murdoch to give up opium in favor of marijuana. Because of this, Murdoch has apparently come to rely on Chang for opium instead of Ralph.

### Samuel

Ralph is well aware of Sam's profession despite having never used his services. He believes that hiring Sam to work at the general store is a bad decision that Murdoch has made to lash out at his parents, and that Murdoch's desire to befriend Sam is not worth the danger it could mean if they are outed by their association with him. He treats Sam crassly when they first meet, and afterward Sam believes Ralph hates him, but Murdoch assures him that Ralph simply tries to get on everyone's nerves and bears no grudge against Sam in particular.

As Murdoch's route progresses, Ralph realizes that Murdoch cares deeply for Sam and begins to value him as a supportive presence in Murdoch's life, although he remains wary that Sam will take advantage of Murdoch's love in the same way that the Byrnes family does. After hearing Sam encourage Murdoch to reframe his coercive relationship with Holly and Jim into something he can benefit from, Ralph gives Sam an ultimatum: either Sam helps Murdoch definitively stand up to his parents and sister and cut ties cleanly, or else Ralph acts out to shatter the veneer of respectability holding the family together and ensures that their simmering resentments can no longer be downplayed or ignored.

Ralph appreciates Sam's attractiveness, mentioning soon after they meet that he has been ogling him for months, but so far has avoided becoming intimately involved with him aside from voyeuristically masturbating to the sounds of Sam and Murdoch having sex.

### Holly

Ralph's close relationship with the Byrnes family means that he and Holly grew up together, but the two are curt with each other as adults. According to Murdoch, this is an 'old dynamic' between them, and is due to an unspecified event that he leaves it to either Ralph or Holly to explain to Sam at some point.

Gradually it becomes clear that some of Ralph's grudge against Holly may come from his belief that she has repeatedly been vague and misleading about where she was when Seamus died, possibly in order to spare herself some guilt or embarrassment that Ralph considers to pale in comparison to the importance of properly accounting for the events of that day. Ralph's awareness of Holly's contradicting accounts seems to hold some sort of particular leverage over her, to the point that she backs down from berating him when he taunts her about it. After confronting Holly about her caginess on the subject, Ralph tells Murdoch and Sam that he just wants to know that she 'really felt something,' perhaps indicating that he resents what he perceives as coldness on Holly's part towards Seamus' death.

Once Ralph learns Holly has pressured Murdoch into a coercive bargain in order to keep Jim satisfied, and that she is using this arrangement to blackmail them both, his opinion of Holly degrades even further. He claims that her blackmail scheme is nothing more than a bluff and is frustrated that no one is willing to call her on it. Ralph is disgusted by the way Holly takes advantage of her brother and considers her to be responsible for keeping him tethered to their parents and trapped in Echo, despite her claims that her manipulations are in service to a plan to eventually resettle the family elsewhere and improve their lives. Conversely, it is eventually revealed that Holly considers *Ralph* to be one of the main things keeping Murdoch in Echo, since she believes he gives Murdoch the drugs he is dependent on and notes that he stands to benefit financially from continued employment at the Byrnes' store. This is despite Ralph's own claims that he wants nothing more than for Murdoch to escape. Sam is struck by this contradiction at one point, and is startled by the depth of the mistrust between Ralph and Holly.

### Will

Ralph is unintimidated by the sheriff and treats him as coarsely as anyone else, especially in regards to standing up for Murdoch. The two have evidently played poker together before, though Will seems annoyed with Ralph's snarky personality at best.

## Trivia

* Unlike Yao, Jeb, and Todd, the major side characters of the other routes, Ralph is not based on a Patreon supporter's design.
* Ralph is currently the only one of the four major side characters to make an appearance in a route other than the one that introduces him; so far Yao, Jeb, and Todd are each confined to a single route, but Ralph appears in Murdoch's as well as William's. He is also the only one of this group to be featured in the official promotional art accompanying a new update, and the only one who has yet to appear in a CG.
* Ralph's nude sprites show that he has two sets of thin scars on his right arm and right inner thigh, which have not yet been acknowledged by the story. He notably keeps his right arm tucked behind his body in all of his poses, but it is unclear if this is related.

## Gallery

DefaultTalkingAngryFrowningLaughingSmilingStoicSurprisedRalph shirtlessRalph wearing his coatRalph in his wedding attireArtwork of a younger Ralph with Murdoch and Seamus, posted alongside the April 12, 2021 build of The Smoke Room.Ralph's default outfit in the modern-day fall special.