William Adler

*This article is about William Adler, the character in The Smoke Room. You may be looking for Willem van Dijk from Glory Hounds.*

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## Physical Description

### 角色名用色

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> *...and if my job is worth anything, it's to make sure good folks don't suffer."*
>
> *― William Adler*

**William Adler** is one of the love interests in The Smoke Room. He is the sheriff of Echo, and a friend and client of Samuel.

## Appearance

William is a tall, burly coyote with tan and white fur. He has dark brown fur on his head, with mutton chops and some stubble. He has gold eyes. William also has numerous scars, including claw marks on his muzzle and a notch in his left ear.

He wears a slightly unbuttoned white dress shirt, with suspenders and black pants. William also wears a watch on his left wrist, which is set to the time zone of the city where he used to live.

## Personality

William is a no-nonsense type of man, and Samuel remarks that he almost never relaxes. He acts professionally and has strong convictions about justice. Despite his rough exterior, William cares for the town of Echo and its inhabitants' safety. He is rational and perceptive, and very good at reading people.

Despite his attraction to other men, William views homosexuality as unsightly and does not identify as a homosexual himself. This denial of his identity has led William to feel a strong sense of guilt regarding his past marriage and family, and sometimes causes him to lash out at those who more freely express their sexuality.

### Early Life

William Adler was born on December 18th, 1880. Not much is known about William's early life; Cynthia mentions that he is of Native descent, but from a tribe on the east coast and not of Meseta heritage like herself. William's father is dead by the events of The Smoke Room.

At some point during his younger years, William was a baseball player. He then became a detective in the Windy City, a large metropolis east of Echo controlled by organized crime. He also had a wife, Hattie, and a son, Andy. At some point, after exposing a number of criminals involved in the mafia, William was forced to retire from the police force for his own protection. In the process, he left behind his family, who went on living under new names. He relocated to Echo and became the town sheriff two years prior to the start of The Smoke Room.

He later became a client, and then close friend, of Samuel Ayers. Sam at one point recalls that William was much more strict when he first took the job as sheriff, but began to slightly relax over time.

### Prologue

William is first seen talking with Murdoch in the town square, after Jack's body is discovered. He spots Samuel and beckons him over, enlisting his help in gathering information on Jack. He promises to elaborate further when he pays a visit to Samuel as a client later.

That evening, Samuel performs fellatio on William before the two of them meet with Murdoch in the Saguaro's Hip saloon. Cynthia leads the three of them into the powder room, where William meets with Madam Dora. After a gunshot is heard outside, William orders everyone in the powder room to stay put.

### William's Route

William announces to the powder room that his deputy Todd has handled the riot, and that it is technically safe to leave the Hip. As everyone disperses, Will begrudgingly follows Samuel up to his bedroom, and Sam confesses to killing Jack. To Sam's surprise, William believes his side of the story, and even congratulates him on the act. When Will brings up the all the blood that has been spilled by others before Samuel throughout Echo's history, a skeletal bull appears in Sam's mirror behind him.

William refuses to take Samuel in, believing that James Hendricks III would quickly have Sam hanged to provide the miners with a convenient outlet for their anger. Will tells a relieved Sam not to cry in front of him, and resolves to help him cover up his crimes.

To corroborate Sam's story, Will escorts him back to the crime scene so he can explain exactly what happened. Will also solicits the help of Nikolai and Murdoch, for their expertise at navigating the mines and documenting evidence respectively. The group runs into Todd on patrol near the mine entrance, who reports that he saw three dancing ladies enter it, though he is unsure if they were real. William is bewildered and admonishes Todd before sending him back to the station with orders to put a warrant out for Samuel's arrest if their group doesn't return before dawn. As Will leads the party into the mines, they are briefly startled by the sounds of women laughing.

Nik directs them to the hollow where Jack's body was found, and Sam's story appears to hold up. While Murdoch is taking photos, William spots one of Samuel's coins lodged in the wall and takes it. As they leave the mine, William hears a voice call out "I love you," and he shouts back a warning to what he assumes are trespassing youths.

William and Sam return to the station, where Todd is waiting for them. Will dismisses him, and obliges when Sam asks to spend the night. To keep Sam from having to sleep in a jail cell, William converts a desk chair into a bed for him and chooses to sleep in the cell bed himself. He returns Sam's coin, then tells him he is a good person and promises to resolve the issue of James still seeking a guilty party on which to pin the crime.

The next morning, William cooks breakfast for Samuel before he wakes up. Will calls Sam stupid for falling for Jack but also cautions against excessive paranoia, and urges Sam not to give up on trusting his friends. He invites Sam to a poker game in the evening so he can learn how to tell and detect lies better, as well as train his intuition and perception. During their conversation, Will defends Echo, and says he favors its growth into a larger settlement, if only because more industry would check James Hendricks' mining monopoly.

Before the poker game, Will tells Sam not to bother trying to win, and focus instead on reading the other players. When Murdoch and Cliff arrive together, William appears to intuit their mutual attraction and treats Cliff tersely but allows him to stay and join the game. Will then wins the first hand by bluffing convincingly. When a figure outside the window that Will has been monitoring suddenly fires a gun at Cliff, Will immediately leaps to his feet and fires back. He kills the assailant, a young delinquent named Jimmy Fisher. Will surmises that Jimmy must have followed Cliff and Murdoch to his office.

The others depart, escorted by Todd, and Will tells Sam he believes the recent strange happenings in Echo may not all necessarily be connected, but James Hendricks is nonetheless likely involved in some way. He also concludes that someone gave Jimmy the gun and sent him after Cliff.

The next day, Will brings Jimmy's body to the coroner and purchases a new window to replace the one the bullet shattered, then visits a pawn shop to try and track the gun Jimmy used. He is successful, and returns to report to Todd and Sam that the gun belonged to Huxley Greene, who had recently purchased it back from the shop. Huxley has been missing for days, however, and so Will, Todd, and Sam question Huxley's wife Marcy about his whereabouts. She mentions that her husband often spoke about hopping a train out of Echo, and so Will plans to scout the train tracks.

Before the investigation can proceed, Will and the others are stopped in the streets of Echo by James Hendricks, who wants to 'exchange information' and in return promises to share news about Hattie, William's ex-wife. During their conversation, William calls James out of touch for his deluded assertion that Echo is a stable and prosperous town. When James tells him that Hattie has come to stay in Echo, Will appears to nearly pull his gun out but stops himself when James' bodyguards react. With an expression of shock and dread on his face, William sprints off to the Hip where Hattie is staying. As reciprocity for the intel, James tries to give Will a list of people he wants the sheriff to investigate, but Will is gone before James can get him to accept it.

At the Hip, Will gets into an argument with Hattie and then storms out. Sam follows him back to the police station from a distance, remarking that Will is in a mood he has never seen. In his office, Will explains that Hattie and their son Andy have followed him to Echo. Will suspects that James Hendricks was involved in bringing his former family to town to hinder his investigation, but is skeptical that James could find them in witness protection and believes that another party must be involved. Sam is able to get William to open up about his past, and Will admits that he never loved his ex-wife and was bitter and miserable in their marriage. Depending on how Sam comforts him, Will may kiss him for the very first time.

Murdoch arrives at the sheriff's office and reports that while at Lake Emma recovering from his injuries he overheard what sounded like a struggle, followed by a body being dumped from a minecart into the water. Will resolves to investigate, and invites Nik because of his familiarity with mining equipment. Sam agrees to tag along reluctantly, since Will wants to 'keep him close' and plans to stay away from the Hip while Hattie is there. Will is troubled by the implications of CSCG equipment being used for a potential crime, since prosecuting the mining company would likely bring economic ruin to Echo.

In the morning, William is already posted outside on a stakeout of the Hip when Sam leaves to come meet him. He mentions his past as a baseball player as he and Sam walk to Lake Emma, and talks about how boring Echo is in comparison to his home city. At the lake, Will and Sam meet up with the rest of the main cast. Cliff and Murdoch stay behind with a picnic while Sam, Will, and Nikolai cross a river in order to reach the area where Murdoch witnessed the possible crime. Will quickly hones in on a small gap in the cliffs concealing a cavern and finds a minecart inside, likely the one that was used to move the body to the water's edge to be dumped.

Will suddenly hears voices talking in a mafia code he recognizes from his home city, and follows them deeper into the cave. Sam and Nik are incredulous and cannot hear what Will does, but he insists that the voices are real, and then sees two figures crossing a bridge that Nik swears is rusted through and unfit for use. Will trusts his own instincts over Nik's warning, but when he decides to test the bridge by throwing a baseball from his pocket at it, he is baffled to find that it crumbles instantly. Nik realizes that the cavern they are in could potentially collapse and threatens to drag Will out by force if he tries to keep going, but Will relents and they leave.

Will apologizes for his behavior and Nik supports him, calling him a good friend. After Nik leaves, Will admits that the ball he tossed at the bridge often made him feel angry and he wanted to throw it, even though doing so felt like a loss of control. Sam may either help Will come to terms with his hallucinations in the mine, or try and excuse them by insisting that nothing is wrong with him. At the picnic, Murdoch invites William and Sam to The Stag that evening. Nik cautions against coming to the bar, which is a known gathering place for the miners' union, as a representative of the law, and Will agrees not to wear his badge.

On the walk back to Will's office, in response to Sam sharing that he feels stuck in Echo, William admits he would leave the town if he lost his job as sheriff. Will then gets lost thinking about how much of his life has been spent in transitional places, and has a flashback to Hattie that he is snapped out of by Sam.

That night, William requests Sam's services and the two have sex. Will reveals that his sexuality is based largely around what he perceives as the inherent depravity of male intimacy. He binds and gags Sam and may then choose to help him get off, which brings the two closer, or may continue to keep Sam at an arm's length physically. The next day, Will pays Sam for his time.

Todd finds Huxley Greene's headless body offscreen in an unknown location and arrives at the station with it in the morning. Will determines Huxley was decapitated with ripping force, and concludes that since he evidently died before the hit was placed on Cliff, someone else must have hired Jimmy and given him Huxley's gun. He and Todd go to question Cliff, whom they find still on edge from an attempted break-in by Reed Morris, a friend of Huxley's who suspects Cliff in his disappearance. Will learns that Cliff is secretly working for James Hendricks, and so anyone hoping to disrupt James' enterprise might see Cliff as a target, and invites Cliff to stay at the sheriff's station for protection.

The rest of the day follows William as he carries out his investigations at City Hall, The Stag, and Saguaro's Hip. Going to The Stag in the morning prevents talking to Felipe, Dimitri, and Paul, but going to City Hall in the morning instead means missing out on a conversation with Porter Moore in the library that occurs after speaking with James. Porter teases that there is a mole in the Hip leaking sensitive information to James, which is all but confirmed to be Ethel if Will then chooses to speak with her at the Hip. Alternatively, the union miners tell Will that James frequently argues with Harlan, the barman at the Hip, and this intel allows Will to later get Harlan to divulge his deep-seated grudge against James.

In front of City Hall, William encounters Reed Morris. Reed admits to trying to break into Cliff's home, but William overlooks the crime in exchange for an account of Huxley's behavior before he went missing. At Will's prompting, Reed recounts that Huxley pawned his gun to support his alcoholism but had recently become paranoid and bought it back to defend himself. He also mentions that Marcy Greene might know how the gun left Huxley's possession, and Will makes a plan to speak with her again.

Whatever order William follows, at the Stag he will encounter a man named Kane, who behaves flirtatiously towards him, and also Chang, who explains that James and his business partner Gregory Briggs play favorites with their employees. At City Hall, Will is disgusted to find that Mayor Testerman is mostly preoccupied with keeping James happy and the public calm by preserving the CSCG corporation's image, rather than making a plan in case tensions escalate. James himself denies sole responsibility for bringing Hattie to Echo, although he admits facilitating her move once she reached out to him initially. When James slurs Will's Native heritage, Will flicks a pebble at his cheek with enough force to draw blood.

Will goes to the Hip, where he is shocked to learn that Sam has confessed his murder to Cynthia as well. Cynthia is very mistrustful of William, and threatens to make him pay if she catches him using Sam's secret to manipulate him. If Will then talks with Dora, she mentions blocking James from sleeping with Sam, seemingly on Will's orders.

While looking for Sam, Will finds Hattie in the Hip, and she explains that back east someone stalked her and sent her a threatening letter with James' contact information, which ultimately led her to relocate to Echo. If Sam has spent the route encouraging William to overcome the guilt he feels about leaving his family, and if Will also chose to reciprocate sexually towards Sam, then Will is more honest about his motivations with Hattie during their discussion, and does not cling to the self-deluding notion that he is a dutiful family man. Hattie begs William to look after their son if anything happens to her, but he excuses himself without giving her an answer.

Outside, Will finds a furious Andy, who blames him for the sudden relocation to Echo. William warns his son that Hattie is not safe in the town, and tells Andy that the only way to convince her to move somewhere else is to give up on his dream to enlist in the army, because his mother will do whatever he says if he grants her that. Andy is unconvinced, to Will's exasperation.

Back at the station with Sam in tow, Will learns that Todd found Huxley's corpse in a nearby ditch along the side of the road, meaning that it was most likely dumped there by an automobile. Todd is exhausted and distracted, so Will dismisses him for the night. Much to Will's frustration, Cliff has departed from the protection of the station, and before leaving decided to tidy up the sheriff's desk and office. Out of concern that Cliff may have accessed sensitive documents, Will remarks that he will have to review all of his paperwork to ensure nothing is missing. Sam tries to downplay the risk, but Will reminds him to always 'prepare for ugly possibilities.'

Will fills Sam in on the results of his investigation so far and invites him along to visit Marcy again in the morning, since he feels that Sam notices things that he himself misses. Sam mentions that Will used to be much more uptight when he first moved to Echo, and Will reflects on how much all the places he's lived, including and especially the places from his past, continue to shape him. Will asks Sam to stay the night again, simply for company instead of sex, and is so excited when Sam agrees that his tail wags, although he tries to downplay it. Sam insists on still being paid for his time, and Will playfully obliges.

The next day during the interview, Marcy suspects that Huxley is gone forever and demands to know the truth. Will tries to focus on the questioning, but Todd blurts out that Huxley is indeed dead, causing Marcy to become closed off and despondent. Will asks for permission to search her home and property and Marcy vacantly agrees. Outside, Will snaps at Todd, reminding him that Marcy is herself a suspect, then sends Todd and Sam to go scout the property while he takes some time alone to think about their next steps.

On the road not far from the Greene cottage, Will finds a gum wrapper that he suspects is evidence that someone else has been near the property, since it looks new and neither Huxley nor Marcy chew gum. Suddenly, Will is startled by Kane, who appears and admits to trailing him. Will learns Kane is a bounty hunter looking to profit off the capture of criminals in Echo, and that he has sought Will out because he hopes to collaborate. Will is initially dismissive but Kane is flirtatious and persistent, and so after some banter Will offers payment if Kane can turn up useful information about the gum wrapper. Will notably disappoints Kane by stipulating that he cannot resort to violence or killing while working on behalf of the law. After leaving Kane, Will also finds an empty canister used for camera film.

Will returns to discover Marcy Greene bleeding and in pain, and is horrified to learn from Sam that she has gone into labor. He helps comfort her, and watches with the others as the baby is delivered small and stillborn. He then goes into the Greenes' kitchen to get some water and finds a jar containing mugwort, and concludes that Marcy was inducing abortions to spare her children from whatever abuse Huxley was putting her through. In the bedroom, he sees a moldy shroud on Marcy's bed and realizes that it likely contains the remains of other stillbirths. He clears the couch of Marcy's dolls and helps Sam move her onto it.

In the kitchen with Sam and Todd, Will realizes that the floorboards beneath him sound hollow and investigates to find a disguised trap door leading down to a room containing Marcy's icebox. Notably, the icebox itself is too small to have stored Huxley's corpse, but the strange room also contains a crib, a chest, and an ornate doll. While alone with Sam and Todd, Will realizes from the way they smell that the two have been intimate, and makes a note to bring it up later.

Will instructs Sam to go to the Hip so Dora can help find a discreet doctor for Marcy. Her condition continues to worsen, but Will gently continues his questioning, and eventually Marcy reveals that on the night Huxley disappeared, she last saw him take his gun and get into a carriage with a red fox. The film canister and the reference to red foxes both appear to implicate the Byrnes family, so Will directs Todd to stay and comfort Marcy while he leaves to question Murdoch.

Will is blocked at the door of Red's General Goods by Ralph, who insists that the store is closing for the night. A curious Murdoch hears that Will's business is urgent and may lead to arrests, and invites the sheriff inside despite Ralph's objections. Will and Murdoch go to the darkroom for privacy, and Murdoch confirms that the film canister matches the ones sold at the general store, although Marcy and Huxley were not known customers. He also discloses that his mother and possibly his father attended a party at the Hendricks mansion on the night of Huxley's disappearance. Will concludes Murdoch is likely not lying, although he may be covering for his family in some way. Suddenly, Gretchen herself appears and demands that any further questions be directed to her.

### Murdoch's Route

Sam and Murdoch develop the crime scene photos from the mine for William and then arrive at his office one night to deliver them. William answers the door smelling like alcohol and, according to Sam, looking scared and disorganized. He accepts the photos and tells Murdoch to pay Sam what he's worth for his time. Sam hears the voice of a woman, presumably Hattie, calling for William from inside, and William bids Sam and Murdoch an abrupt goodbye.

Murdoch reports a possible murder that he, Sam, and Ralph witnessed at Lake Emma to William. Will directs Todd to investigate the water where the body was dumped, but to no avail.

Later in the route, Red Byrnes believes his staff is acting strangely and summons the sheriff to his general store. Will is sober and focused, unlike he was when Sam saw him at the station previously, and leads Sam and Murdoch into a back room for questioning. Will is apparently satisfied by Sam’s claim that he has no memory of sustaining his head wound, and flirts with Murdoch as he departs.

### Cliff's Route

The night before Sam and Cliff depart on their expedition, they stumble upon Will questioning Reed about Huxley Greene’s disappearance. After Will notices them, he advises Sam and Cliff not to venture out into the wilderness, because once they leave Echo they will be out of his jurisdiction and away from his protection. Will acts dismissively towards Cliff and belittles his research and pampered upbringing, which causes Cliff to react indignantly. The two begin shouting at one another, culminating in Will calling Cliff a gay slur and asking Sam to get the weasel out of his face.

### Nikolai's Route

Sam refuses to confess his crime to the sheriff, and so William becomes a notably adversarial presence throughout the route.

The morning after the miners' riot, William comes to Sam's room at the Hip to question him and Nik, who has stayed the night, about Sam's injury. Will is annoyed by their attempts to obscure what exactly happened, and assures them that he will figure out whatever they are trying to hide on his own. Before leaving, he warns Nik not to become complicit in covering up a crime. Shortly after, Sam realizes that William is surveilling him from a distance as he walks around town, and successfully shakes off the sheriff's pursuit.

William is waiting for Sam and Nik when they emerge from the mines later that day, and demands to know why Sam is in the vicinity of the crime scene. James Hendricks interrupts to chide William for bothering his workers, and then falls for Yao's claim that Sam is simply touring the mines because he is a prospective employee. Will seems unconvinced, but lets Sam and the others depart. Later, Nik and Yao encourage Sam to accept a job in the mines partly to avoid further scrutiny from Will.

That night, while Sam sleeps over in the miners' bunkhouse, William comes by the Hip three times to ask Dora when Sam will be back.

Several days pass, until Will once again catches Sam and Nik as they leave the mine, this time late at night long after their shift has ended. He coldly informs them he knows they have been lying, and mentions that people in town are more on edge every day that passes without the murderer being caught. However, he does not arrest them, and after expressing that it would not be justice to see them punished, he warns the two that the most important thing they can do is survive. He also advises Sam and Nik that they should just ask for his help next time, then leaves to head back to the station.

### Echo

During Flynn's route, Chase Hunter stumbles upon two pictures of William during his research into Echo's past. One was taken after a partial collapse of the Hendricks 'Castle,' and the other features William and Clifford Tibbits at a town meeting discussing Echo's relationship with the Meseta tribe.

## Relationships

### Samuel

William is a regular client of Samuel. He enjoys the services provided, but much to Sam's disappointment, he does not reciprocate sexually during these meetings and remains prickly even when expressing affection. Despite this, the two of them are close friends, and they are often forthright with each other. William feels a "harsh protectiveness" of Sam, and uses his position as sheriff to look out for him, but in return expects Sam to act cooperatively as a potential informant for his investigations.

In his own route, Will says that he considers Samuel's passivity one of his worst qualities, and is surprised and impressed by his use of violence against Jack. As they grow closer, William becomes more comfortable outwardly expressing affection for Sam, and the shift to Will's perspective reveals how much he enjoys things like Sam's rare laughter and his smile.

### Murdoch

William and Murdoch have a professional, working relationship. The two infrequently interact outside of work, but Will enjoys Murdoch's company enough to regularly invite him over for poker.

### Cliff

William and Cliff have a tense relationship. William seems to think Cliff is ill-suited to life in Echo and considers him unable to protect himself, and Cliff feels patronized and demeaned by Will's attitude of gruff superiority. Their dynamic is complicated by William's complex feelings towards his own sexuality, which contrast sharply with Cliff's flamboyant self-expression and conspicuously homosexual behavior. Will is frustrated by Cliff's lack of discretion because the hostile attention it attracts endangers Will and those he cares about. Combined with Will's own internalized shame about his sexuality.

In Cliff's route, Cliff erupts at William for looking down upon him and William fires back with slurs that target Cliff's orientation and mannerisms, but in other routes the two are more neutral towards one another.

### Nikolai

William and Nikolai are acquaintances. The two seem to have a mutual respect for one another, though on Nikolai's route the badger is willing to lie to the sheriff to keep Samuel safe. William is known to play poker with Nikolai, and the sheriff is among the very few to be aware of the badger's relationship with Samuel.

### Todd

William readily depends on Todd and appears to consider him a trustworthy and reliable deputy. Will especially considers Todd 'good with people,' and, since Todd is a lifelong resident of Echo and has been in local law enforcement longer than Will, values his popularity around town. He is also, however, very aware of Todd's occasionally simple-minded worldview and seems to consider him unsuited to tasks that require more guile, such as interrogating Cliff.

Will tries to temper Todd's zeal for his duty, and often has to overrule Todd's insistence that he can still work in order to send him home to rest.

### Kane

William quickly grows impatient with Kane's flirtatious behavior, and remains wary of his possible inclination towards violence, but is nonetheless charmed by him to some degree and warily agrees to use Kane's services as a bounty hunter to aid his own police work.

### Madam Dora

The Hip is an important source of information in Echo, and so William often collaborates with Dora during his investigations, and is willing to use his influence to grant her favors in return for information. The two have a working relationship, but are at odds whenever Will’s pursuit of the truth clashes with Dora’s obligation to maintain discretion for her employees and their clients.

### James III

William considers James Hendricks frivolous and self-serving, but recognizes the ruthless streak that James demonstrates when it comes to protecting his image and endearing himself to the leaders of Echo. He also thinks James overstates his own importance in the town, as well as the importance of Echo itself, and characterizes James as suffering from 'small city brain rot.' He believes James is an inept manager of the mine, and that he would be unable to maintain the operation without Briggs' expertise.

Will favors the expansion of Echo into a larger settlement to bring competition to James' mining operation.

### Mayor Testerman

William has a very low opinion of Echo's mayor, describing him as 'thick as pig shit' and considering him basically an apparatus of the mining barons who indirectly control the town by influencing him.

### Hattie

William is Hattie's ex-husband, but he married her out of obligation and while in denial about his sexuality, rather than as a result of actual attraction. The marriage was miserable for Will, but he bears no ill-will against Hattie

Depending on choices made during William's route, Will may gradually shed the self-justifying belief that he left Hattie to protect her, and instead begins to accept that his decision to leave his marriage was selfish but necessary to save himself.

### Andy

Despite Andy's eagerness to prove himself a capable man, William still very much sees him as a boy, and remarks that his son is in over his head when Andy naïvely claims to be able to protect Hattie all on his own. William has very little interest in raising Andy as his son, and would rather see him and Hattie living safely together somewhere far away from him.

## Trivia

* William was the first character ever revealed for The Smoke Room. Because of this, fans assumed him to be the game's protagonist. This isn't strictly the case, although William does become the point-of-view character for a portion of his route.
* According to the writer, The Windy City where William is from is the Echo universe's version of Chicago.
* William is an ancestor of Janice Adler, a character in Echo.
* William's favorite book is *The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes*.

## References

1. ↑ GeorgeSquares' CuriousCat
2. ↑ GeorgeSquares' CuriousCat
3. ↑ GeorgeSquares' CuriousCat

ru:Уильям Адлер