Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #11: Promises Promises

Episode Date: July 18, 2023

Here we are, at the altar, and who could object to these sacred vows? Promises promises. Easy to break'em easy to make'em. What's your word worth, anyway? Do you mean what you say? Can we forgive those who trespass against us, or do they, like us, deserve what they get? And who's gonna give it to em, you?  It's bad over here, sure, but the only way out is through. Any volunteers? Worlds Beyond Number is:Brennan Lee MulliganErika IshiiAabria IyengarLou Wilson and is produced, designed, and scored by Taylor Moore at Fortunate Horse.Transcript of this episode available on our Patreon.[BREAKING NEWS: Our first mini-campaign HAS DROPPED. The entirety of A COUNTY AFFAIR is now available on our Patreon! Go sign up before they raise interest rates again, am I right?  Let's see, what else is in the news..]We have so much more to show you. An entire campaign about Suvi, Ame, and Eursulon meeting for the first time as children, for instance. And would you believe, even more? Please, join us at Patreon.com/worldsbeyondnumberOur album art is by the great Corey BrickleySome additional ambient sound design comes from Michael Ghelfi Studios. You can get their sounds and music for your home games and VTT as well, which we enthusiastically recommend. .

This is the sound of worlds beyond number. The line of the great spirit orima, shrouded in darkness. The only light issuing magically from those artifacts of our traveling companions. The door shrouded in vines and leaves. Amé Suvi and Ursulaan and the fox, behold the most, the massive image of wild vine hair, the relief in stone of the great spirit orima, her feet as sharp talons

and the branches and vines of the forest echoing out from her. At the altar in front of that carving, there is a small block of incense and a single bowl filled with a humble meal as offering. Rima's voice snakes out.

Tha mighty. When I am let upon the arts desire, deserved enough for what they let before my husband. If you will not release me because you fear the people of poor talent,

then we are at an impasse. For as you can, cannot seem to find it in your heart, to let me free. I am certain then that I cannot find it in my heart to let you walk from this shrine alive. Who wants to can make any kind of check for gathering information if you would so desire. What a terrible role, a 12. Again, Sue, you can continue to speak. You don't know what's going on with this, whether you were put on mute or not.

Like, it's very obvious. I don't have anything good to contribute. And I think she's just muttering under her breath. We know what's going to happen. She will kill count. It is the fault of the spirit that allowed himself to be trapped in the first place. Have Ursula and Suvi interacted with the plant spirits in any way? I think Ursulaan is a bit in his own space,

but the threat to Amay's life kind of zooms him into the present a little bit and is now actively seeking danger. Give me perception. Oh, and I actually have advantage. That's a natural 20. More than 30 moving creatures are outside of the shrine. Oh. You hear them rustling. You hear the weight of their steps.

and on a nap 20 I will tell you that these things are called Undre Undre? Undre is a word which to mortals like speaking either Imperial or some other language would sound very like mystical

you would not have that association with it because it's just in your language it means stranglers Oh shit! Hey can I cast a little identify on the like the shrine and that setup that somehow is keeping her from the world.

What's the casting time on Identify? One minute unless I use it as a ritual. It's 11. Okay. So you can start casting. Yeah. Amé, were there any roles from you? I had a 14 on a survival check to see where is her spirit housed right now?

beyond. Like her, she is a great spirit. So she can have her sight or her voice or her eyes or her hearing go out into the mortal world, wherever she wants. It can be a numeric and be in the vast realm of the spirits. It can, you know, but her true self, uh, seems to be unable to appear here. And you see, the reason she's asked you to take the offering off the shrine is the offering is a very good offering. And like a lot, like, orima is a spirit that is not just, like, offered prayers, but is also propitiated. Some spirits, uh, are so nice that you could just get to have kind of like a prayerful, thankful relationship with them. And other spirits, you need to keep satisfied. Uh, that offering being, uh, there's a small bowl, uh, with a lovely little home-cooked meal in it.

If we beg aid from you and time, would you entrust us to free your husband? Give me an insight check. Can I make an insight check? Yeah, give me an insight check. Modified 20. Oh! She scoffs. Amai, your training is working here, but you already see, you know, in all

the training grandmother Wren gave you growing up. She was like, when you talk to great spirits, it can start to go pretty bad. Like working with smaller spirits is all, there's, they can be hostile, but you, when, yeah, when you're a witch of the heart, it's very easy to be heartful when something can't eat you. And then when something can, it gets very, so just this thing being like, well, it seems like, an impasse, but I'll just kill you. And I think you're just realizing, like, it's almost like when you're a textbook and you're like,

okay, we're in the bottom five worst options of the flow tree. I'm still in my training, but it's starting to go pretty bad. I have never done this before. I am still not fully accepted into my role. I can barely

don the title of which, of a small little province, much less broker, the fate of an entire city. But you have asked the question. You have asked. In the face of her saying there's an impasse, you have done your wichly duty of negotiating the boundaries between the spirit and the world of mortals.

And you see that in her scoff, you miss it because I think you're just... I am so scared. You see, actually, you looked down and see the fox has wrapped around one of your feet and has his ears back against his head. And for the first time, you see the fox just sort of staring, thousand yards stare out, just dissociating. Oh, no. He's like, this is really, you know, this is bad.

This is really bad. Ursula. I nudge him with my toe. On that modified 20, she scoffs at the idea, but you can hear in her voice, we don't let her out. She kills us.

us. We let her out. She kills thousands of people. She kills thousands of people. But there's also a part of you that goes like, well, wait a minute. She, the world where she just kills you for not doing what she wants is really bad for you. And you can kind of tell there's some part of you of your, you just find a piece of your spine again. And you go like, okay, so we're all dead. And now there's still nobody to help you. Like, we're all dead, and you're trapped in this shrine. Or just trapped on the other side of the shrine in the world of spirits. So it's a big threat that really could do a good job of rattling you.

But ultimately, like, for all of her venom and her voice, there's something where you're just like, well, that doesn't get you, that moves you so far away from what you want. Yeah, Erslan, say it the nice way before I threaten this bitch. Uh-uh. Great spirit. What I'm saying is, what I'm saying is the best offer that you have. You are more than welcome to end us. We will.

Suvi. Suvi. You say Suvi and you see, she goes, what is Suvi? What? You look over at Suvi, Suvi's pendant has changed color. her sapphire raindrop amulet has become a darker shade of blue and you can see is

drinking up light it just looks like there's a little bit of shadow around it there's like an almost imperceptible little piece of wind Bri is gasping up for the corner no I'm being very normal and kill Brennan don't tattle the listeners can't see

what I can see Arcana check? Yeah, you can give me Arcana if you want. But also, I would say, wait, give me actually insight first. Okay. That's another not one. You got no idea. You're like, you know that Orima, like, Suvi's in the shrine.

You don't know what's going on. But you can give me Arcana as well, if you'd like. 15. I'm going to say you become totally distracted from everything in the room as you're just, you can feel sweat running down your face. Your body is entering kind of like a... Right now I'm just trying to focus on breathing. And breathing at, I nudge the fox with my toe as I'm not sure if I'm trying to comfort myself or him. You look up, you look at the bowl on the altar.

It hasn't crossed your mind before. As you're looking at the bowl, you finally like take a better look at it because the outside is white, but you look over the edge at the interior rim and see the little crest of, you see a little top, like, hidden partially by the food inside, of, like, some rice and eggs and other things like that. You see a little rooster's crest,

and you've washed that bowl hundreds of times. You look and perceive that pendant doing that, and Oremah says, It is the year. You knew Grandma Wren? She was my mentor. She's gone now, and I am

the witch of Toma. Why are we negotiating with her? I think I'm on mute so I can say whatever the fuck I want. Tell her that if she wants her husband alive ever again, that she's going to let us out because I can guaranteeing fucking tea

if she thinks... No, there's something happening here because she's... I heard it. I could hear... I can hear... I don't know I can hear me. If you respect... Grandmother Wren and her legacy. Fine.

Fine, let's be nice. Please. Please, I beg of you. Mother. As Sufi yells more, Ursula, you see that the sapphire pendant grows a little bit darker and drinks in a little bit more of the light in the room. You have a spirit. We have a spirit, and you've told us how he can claim his breath again.

The one who surrendered the sword at once? The one who put it on the altar? The moment, it seems that there might be some trouble in his way? Yes, me, I'll do it. I will free Neuron. You hear the venom begin to leave her voice. They're traps. You, there is uncertainty.

If you can do what you say. Me, there is none. If you remove the offering from my altar and leave the sword with me, you can go. I will give you safe passage. You can know a life of ease. You need not trouble yourself with these things. Oremah, what you say is true.

I am trapped. Chains on either side. Leaving here would not be a life of ease. I've made clear that this might be a way out, but is in my honor. And this act is choice to free your husband. It would bring me closer to that. And you would meet my friends as safe. The sword, your husband will be freed.

You see the sunlight hit, and you see the undre gathering at the door begin to step back into the dark shadows of the forest. Her voice, the carving once more as the white light fades. You said, not a way out has been shadowed, but behind you closed. I'm going to stay and finish my identify, because I don't like the way she talks. to my friends. Your identify concludes, and you behold an incredibly powerful piece of which is magic on the bowl. That is just a simple ritual of giving an offering to a spirit to keep it satiated. but in this instance, it is preventing Orima from manifesting in the world,

which, again, is not, that sounds very, like, abjurative and restrictive, but you see it's not like a wizard would have built a wall here. This is more of a promise. It's like, this is not Oremas, her shrine is here, and she can speak in her shrine, but this is the village of Lamry in the, the land of Akam and the world of Umura. This is the mortal world. And so there's just sort of a deal here of like, oh, but the food's still here.

You said you wouldn't, you said you wouldn't come through with the offering here. You wouldn't attack the people of this land while there was an offering. So in a weird way, it's almost like, it's not a firm, it's not like a barricade. You almost think like a barricade could actually keep, like Arima could knock down. this is like something a little bit just more clever if that makes sense and you do see that you're looking for sort of the lingua arcana you're looking for any kind of ruins or something that would like spell that out for you and you don't see any sort of reading witch magic which you haven't read for a long

long time you just see a little glimmering shape in the smoke in like incense smoke and the incense is not lit here but there's still almost like magically a little bit of incense smoke, just in the shape of a rooster. I think there's a moment where Suvie, like, sees that and wants to feel it. And then just like all of the training sort of kicks in to keep her focused in the moment, she puts that love and longing and memory of grandmother ran away and does what a wizard does, which is look for a loophole in the deal. What can I do?

that fulfills this contract that keeps this bitch out. Give me an Aracana check. It would be so nice to roll well ever in my life. 12. It would be so cool. I will say this under 12. You start looking for a loophole. So again, the issue is like, you're like, where's a loophole in the contract?

Flip page, flip page, flip page. Set your oven to 350. You know, and you're like, it's like, where is the? So it's, the language is so different. You're like, how do I take it? You know, it's, you know. But I will say, looking for a loophole within the contract. And you also do, the identify also sort of works on the carving behind,

which you just see, the carving is just an ancient piece of spirit magic. It's just, you know, like, it's the same reason that names are important. Images are also important. Like, you believe that this spirit can see out of any of her eyes anywhere, depicted, drawn, uncarved, like any idol to her is an extension of her power. Moving of the face from the fountain. So much better. There you go.

Got it. Okay. You also see something as well. On a 12, you don't get the loophole you're looking for. You don't see a way that you can get Orima right here. There's something with that rooster. And Amay turns. turned to leave.

You know how like when you walk by smoke, it'll just like move in the wake of you? Yeah. When Amé turned to walk, it rippled almost like it was following her. Like she could create something. And a 12, like a 12 is not high enough for you to know why.

You don't get the answer, but you do get the question. The question you get is, if Grandma Wren passed, why are her spells still? working. And I think just the churning on that puts her into autopilot and she'll turn and walk out. As we exit the shrine, I turn and I spread my arms and I clap twice and I bow. And I cast a spell of mending and a gust of wind blows the detritus from around the temple, from around the altar.

stones clatter back into place. Carvings are shined up and grooves deepened. The plants remain untouched, so there's still a wild beauty about it, the roots and the foundations, and the twining vines around the columns. But anything that human would normally touch has been restored as much as I can. up around Amay's hair. Stones move back into place. Something in your heart lets you know that you have done everything

right. Care for the shrine. Ending to it is itself a prayer. As a young witch, it is the most meaningful sort of prayer. That which is a place of importance, clean and cared for. We have much work to do, and I have much to learn. but I can at least renew that promise.

As you walk from this place, I think for Suvi and Ursula, there's this huge offer made by Ursulaan to take the sword and free Naram. But I think both of you look at your friend Amé, because after all, there is between the three of you as this group of friends, like, you know, Ursulon went off and was running around

a calm having these nightmares, you know, like saw some of them. the bad side of the world and Suvi went to the great citadel and Ami stayed home and I think you both look and see you like Suvi you have your staff of the citadel and you have your golden paldron but I think you see Ame walk out of this shrine and the wind kicks up and you feel a breath from the forest of relief and acceptance and you know that Amé is not an apprentice anymore. Without those words

carefully chosen and interjected, it is possible you would never have arrived at the knowledge of the type of offer you could make to save Port Talon and potentially the spirit trapped within the sea. You see... Serotonin.

Blood in my body. Yay. And you see the fox comes out and goes, we should never do. that again. I'm going to pick him up by the scruff of the neck. You did this.

No, I didn't. Yes, you did. No, I didn't. I didn't do all that scary stuff. Did you see her? She was a lady. She was the stone lady. I gently put the box back down.

And I walk away. Are we in a village? Oh, yes. You were in a village. the village of Lamry, somewhat on the, like the shrine sort of just outside the village in a place of honor,

but also it's all overgrown with Kudzu. So it's like very, um, it's wildly overgrown. All the people have evacuated or sadly not. But like most of the people have gotten out of here. I'm going to make a survival check for any sort of shelter in the area. Um,

give me a survival check. Uh, Big 12. Big 12. Um, excuse me. Big 13. Change everything.

Changing down the hill from the shrine you see the sort of they're kind of the most horrifying shapes which are the places where Kudzu has overtaken buildings because it's plant matter in geometrical forms right

so like it's the idea of like oh look at that big mound of green with a perfect angle of a long roof you know that like a long slanted roof and uh plants don't go that way plants don't go that way unless they're eating something that went that way um so there are a couple of those that you know you'd probably be able to like kick a door open and find shelter inside of them yeah yeah i'll hit the nearest one cool um what are you doing i'm so hungover and so tired and just made a promise i don't know if i can

fucking keep. Yeah, why? Why did you do that? Why? Ask me after I've had a nap. We have to go back. Oh, I lied to steal again. Have some electrolytes. Give them the wizard.

Ursula, as you're getting ready to head to bed, you do see that the effect on Sufi's sapphire pendant has stopped. It is now just a beautiful sapphire raindrop. Has Suvi ever told her friends about the raindrop? Let me be very clear.

No one's more surprised than I am that it was showing. I've been hiding it from everyone. So I like that it came out. Yeah, we've been marching for a day and a half. I wasn't thinking about that. Okay. We can say that it popped out unintentionally. So no, she hasn't mentioned it to anyone.

In that case, Suvie, I think you noticed that you're, just sort of like, like as you're coming into the village notice that your pendant is showing. Oh, fuck, hold on. And I try to, like, slip it back. Do I catch any of the, like, changing color? Give me either Arcana or a perception, whichever one you prefer.

We have to stop making me roll. That's a natural one. Oh, my God. I'm going to say, we actually have to address these roles all in a row. Give me a wisdom-saving throw. Oh, no. Same diet every night. Okay.

22. Great. And I want insight from Ursulaan and Amay. Dirty 20. Also dirty 20. Give me a deception. Hey, Brandon, you gotta stop making me roll. 10.

Suvi, you don't notice anything on your pendant, but you can put it away as you... Yeah, I'm just talking it back. Your identify spell worked, but you didn't find a loophole. Your pendant came out. Some muting thing happened. where you knew that this, this, you know, for some reason, and I guess you're assuming it was the goddess. I think she was just ignoring me, which is from real shit behavior.

Yeah. And I think on Dirty 20s with Insight, both of you notice, Suvi, and I'll turn this over to you, Abria, but on this dirty 20, the thing I know as a dungeon master is that the emotional state that Suvee got into in that shrine, and I will say the mixture of the emotional and ideological state that Suvi got into in that shrine, preempted losing track of her magic. There was an element of losing the grip there.

But I want you to describe, what does that look like to Amé and Ursula on 20 side checks? Yeah. I think this is the first really obvious sign that Suvi for all of her training is a very young wizard and can only really focus on one thing after marching for a day and a half with Ursula. Like, it's very obvious that her rage and indignation, all of that, was the thing that was sort of keeping her aloft in the moment. So she clung to it to stay awake and alert in the event of a fight. but that means all of the subtlety and like intellect of her,

the thing that makes her clever and good at magic had to be put away because she can't hold both. So you just see the scatteredness of her. We also talked about in this campaign and these these homebrew rules are like forthcoming as you guys get a little higher and level. But we talked about for witches and wizards having that like secondary ability score. Yeah. You know of like for witches because their primary is wisdom, their secondary is charisma. their secondary is charisma of like, yes, you're listening to the world of spirits. Can you do so without losing yourself?

Right? For wizards, it's intelligence, but that secondary one is wisdom, which is what that wisdom saving threat was about. And there's an element here, I think, of actually, and you give me, I know you hate me, has several rules. Give me one more insight check here. Eleven. Cool.

So you don't catch this, but there's a, there's an element for both of you looking, which is like, yeah, the flaw of a witch is all wisdom, but you need some charisma so that you remember who you are while you're listening to and mediating between everybody. And for a wizard, it's all about intellect analysis, putting things together and solving puzzles. But of course, the shortfall is if you've shut off your ability to gain new information, aka wisdom,

then you don't have, it's like trying to do a puzzle without having all the pieces. You see a group of, so both of you observe, to be going through that and you don't see the pendant anymore. You do as you approach the village. Ursulaan is going to kick in a door. First door he can find. Ursulaan is desperate to be horizontal right now.

He, like, yeah, so I'm kicking in the first door I can find, if only so we can have a moment of rest. Kick in the door, find a kind of rotting vegetation through the broken windows, but otherwise a totally acceptable old. As you walk in here, you see the sort of dust-covered tables of an old tavern that you can see got abandoned so quickly that there is like rotting food on plates and like mold on glasses of cheap wine. I'm going to find a table and just push all of the food and everything onto the

onto the ground and then just take my cloak off, make a small pillow, throw it on, and just immediately go supine across my hands over my chest, and just kind of half, kind of glaze over. Just, and I think Ursula's not checking out, but just needs to be, needs a break. Yeah. Suvie walks in and is kind of like a dog sort of pacing, torn between also a desperate desire for rest. But a, like, the worry that like, you know, they're like, I can't take a nap right now. If I lay down, I'm going to bed.

Kind of problem. So I think she's just kind of pacing around and doesn't know if she should try to recover at all or stay up. Suvi, I took a little nap in the temple, so why don't you rest your head for a little bit, and I'll take first watch? We have to get back to the city. Absolutely. But when we go back, we need to know what we're doing. But first, rest.

Thank you for coming to save me. Just don't make a habit out of it. Suvie and Hercelain sleep. So you're just sleeping, Sue Pynon. on a table. Where does Suvi post up? You've been sleeping in nice, comfy beds in Citadel Chantries. It's bad here. I have a bed roll. Why were you out with a bed roll? I had all my gear on me. Why? What does Amé's bedroll look like? Oh, it's about her size. That's not helpful. Thank you for a miniskirt of a sleeping bag.

shorter. Christ than what Suveen needs? Thanks. I'm good. And I just go and sit in a corner and kind of push, like I want to go to the like sort of tactical best spot, which is back against a wall facing out towards the main door,

sitting upright and I will just rest a little bit. Got to get back. Just a little bit. Look, you guys don't understand. Steel's coming. She's going to beat my ass if we're not back. Incredible. Amay, where do you post up to take your...

And are you taking the first watch? Yes, I said first watch, but I have no intention of waking them. You see, where do you post up to take your watch? I'll sort of be mobile and sort of wander from place to place. I have a feeling that completely surrounded by the Kudzu, this place is not going to be very... assailable. There's no, you know, the only things here that would kill you were, would only kill you

if they got ordered to and you took care of that earlier today. Like, like, part of the nice thing about being in a strange, choked, like, plant kingdom come to life overtaking villages is just you kind of know where the threat is. Both of you got choked out by plants today and you're just so chill about it. As you move around kind of keeping watch, you see the fox looks up and says, Hey, if you need to sleep, you know, I can keep watch too. Thank you, and I appreciate that. I'm fine, but so I don't know that I necessarily trust you to not go wandering off or do whatever it is that you want to do. If you died, I wouldn't be able to talk anymore, right?

That's correct. And I wouldn't remember any of the stuff that happened? Yeah, you'd just kind of go back to your life in the forest. Make an Arcana check for me. As you're saying that, you kind of don't know if that's, you think that's true. Yeah. Like, you're not actually sure if that's true. I don't know if that's true.

But, but I, I agree. Yeah, I'll probably, you'll probably return to your life in the forest and forget all about me. and and, you know, beds and human food and my friends. Even if I wasn't magic anymore, I wouldn't forget you. You always just say things. That's so true. Well, look, if you don't trust me, that's fine. But I'll tell you this.

I'm better at smelling than you. And I'm probably better at hearing and seeing than you. That's true. I can make you a promise Yeah I learned about those You don't actually make them You don't need hands for them

No They're just something you say There's something you say But that mean a lot to you Yeah I promise I'll always tell you what I want to do I want to make sure that you're safe

While you're asleep Okay I'll take it Okay And you see the fox Just sort of trots off And he looks around and says Besides

you can't sleep when we're walking. I can just curl up in Ursulaan's hood and snooze in there. You're very generous, Fox. Yeah, I am. I'm great. Catch him, I'm going to give him a little nuggie. Comes the next day and you depart, presumably for poor talent. Is there any manner in which you are traveling or any checks you are making as you travel? I'm feeling pretty comfortable.

I feel like Ursula, I feel like until we get to the edge of the kudzu, I don't think there's I don't believe there's any reason to be careful. Oh, I agree. I agree. I, um, yes, we just, I think we go along. If he has any objections? Nope. This is spirit shit.

That's all you. You journey through the paths as best you can, walking through the kudzu, trying to avoid the deeper thickets. Your journey as quickly as possible, but your rest means that you are sort of disembarking at night. So you're like walking through the Kudzu woods at night. The noises you hear are strange here because it's, greenery is so thick that it's just sort of a chorus of crickets.

Like the insects have really thrived in this new world of Kudzu. Move through this space and I'm going to need a group survival check. I would be excited, but I know how I've been rolling today. Oh, okay, never mind. 22. 30-20. Big 12. Okay, the median role is 20.

You quickly and swiftly make your way through the countryside and actually managed to make pretty good time. Meaning, however, that you are arriving back at Port Talon. with basically like at most hours to spare before when Steele said she was going to arrive. So in other words. Have you told us? You have not, right? You haven't had time to discuss just the days of travel. Yeah, I told you.

I will actually ask too, like as you begin to approach Port Talent, is there anything, because like there are some bits of information that only individuals of you have. Is there anything that realistically would come up on the road that you would find, like in the long quiet, you would find reason to divulge? Wait, do we know about you about Steele coming to town? Yeah, I definitely at the very least would have told you about it on the walkover. Got it. Oh, yeah, I would have mentioned it on the way back, too. Like, if you're wondering why I was like, no, we can't stop for a minute to take a break.

I have to get back into the city. Why? Because my guardian is coming. Oh, yeah. Is it she? Are they Furious? Mad?

Yes. Oh. Deeply. I was supposed to check in when we got back to Toma and then A lot of things were happening. Yeah.

She doesn't care. I didn't do what I was supposed to do and I've just been gone and apparently they were searching for me. It's bad. And then I was supposed to keep it on ice. at three days, and then I immediately did not do that. On ice.

Yeah. You know, lay low. Chill out. Don't immediately walk through the kudzu to treat with a great spirit. That. Well, she'll be glad to see that you're alive. We'll be back, and she doesn't need to know. I mean, we can clean ourselves up afterwards, and, you know, right?

Yeah, we can go back to the place where you have, where you've reserved the entire floor. We can take a quick shot. Oh, my God. You both can bathe there and then we can head down. You pretty firmly anti-bathing at this point? I mean, firmly anti-bathed. Don't put me in a corner. No, I get it.

I just, you know, when I have to. Like, I'm having a very good time talking about my problems, but at what point are we going to discuss the fact that you promised the meanest? thing I've ever seen that you would free her husband from, you know, the wizards. Well, her, Ahme did not put us in a situation

where we had much of a choice. She would have killed all of those wizards. I'd let her out. I mean, she would have killed everyone. I wouldn't have let you let her out. Let me be very clear. Uh, no offense, but this is our world.

You get that, right? This is the world for, Humans. You have a world. And it is, it is as much, they are intertwined, Sufi. We don't go there. Well, you can't go there, but we can come here. Okay.

And maybe if you come here, you get what you fucking get. I don't even know where to stop. Ursula? It is... What do they teach you at that wizard school? To mind your fucking business, which is more than Naram can say. The people who trapped the guy at the bottom of the sea were taught to mind their business? Yeah.

Stuff in Umora is human business. Except for when the spirits affect the seasons and the tides and the weather and, and teach the people to fish and live off the land. Okay, but they also choked a village to death in their age. So, you know, little of both. That's why you have to have some consideration for them, at least. I mean, I just... No, that shrine was deference, was begging a spirit to not ruin lives and destroy civilization.

Do you think that's fair? Really? You think that's fair To beg to be allowed to live? That's what we do of nature. Nature has no ill intent, just as Orima was saying, she has no cruelty in her,

but neither does she have care. She is cruelty. She's a spirit. And we are people. You are people. The fox looks up at you, Amay. Is Umura just for humans? No, no, not at all.

That's what humans have called this world. But it's, you know, no more theirs than it is ours. Ursula. Give me a, give me, give me, like, a insight check. Six. Suvi, you had that earlier 20 where you noticed how, how emotionally charged Suvi has been in this leg of the journey. And hearing her talk about steel and the fact that she was supposed to keep Port Talon on ice,

there's maybe some of that that comes into focus, sharper focus for you. As we all tell this story together, Suvi's words were so clearly about Orima and Naram in this situation and her lens being a wizard of the Citadel and looking. through it that way. But her exact words were maybe if you come here, you get what you fucking get. And I cannot help but wonder how those words impact Ursula. Or maybe he doesn't make that connection to himself. I don't think so.

I don't think in this moment those words hit his brain and he goes to that place. Yes. Yeah. I totally, that makes perfect sense to me. Um, you, it's, it's so, I think there's like, very clear. If you're not focusing on the words and you're just following Suve's emotion, what she's saying is so clearly about this other thing. Yes.

Um, uh, you continue through the long road towards Port Talon. Um, as you do so, you begin to smell it long before you can see. see it, the choking salt fire. You approach the edge of the kudzu, and now it is, the weather has sort of turned around here at Port Talon. It's a rare sunny day in Port Talon, so the sun is beating down on a plane filled with fire, so it's all of the normal, like, sweat and heat of like a bright noonday sun, but you're

also looking at this pale, like tan brown soot covered with. wasteland where all the plant material has been destroyed and that weird thing of fire just you can't see fire in bright daylight so it's just columns of smoke coming up from something out there in the distance and then you then you see the tall slate gray walls of port tall tall tall white walls of port tall you get here about midday you know the latest steel's going to arrive here is tomorrow morning I'm going to disguise self again as Ursulant's pregnant sister I'll throw my glamour up as we as the walls come into view I think Ursulant's glamour fades into appearance he drops that about foot

and looks like Sufi's brother I'm just going to sort of tuck myself away and not show myself. Great. Go ahead and give me like a group persuasion role as you approach the city.

Yeah, that's crazy. You can't stop rolling. Natural ones. Oh, no! I got an 18. You got an 18. Okay, copy that. Any chance is the same guards from yesterday?

Well, that's what we were rolling for. And the median roll is a 10. So as you guys are just walking under the hot sun, you get closer to one of the big bonfires, and you see some of the Azure Battalion walk over that are guarding that sort of, like, you know, that witch fire out there, walk up with some of their matchsticks over their shoulder and say, stop, Holt, who goes there?

Memory's gone. My feet hurt. Sorry, sorry. We, we departed the city the other night. This is my sister. And she was hoping that her babe could be born in the village from whence we came. Whole thing's gone. It is gone.

Give me a deception check. I will start to cry if I can give it advantage. What did you want? Deception. Do I have a bad idea tonight? No. Why? Any chance I have double?

Give me a performance check. You've got to beat a 10 to give advantage. Come on, please. I did it. Okay, you have advanced. Thank God. I didn't do it. Oh, you didn't do it.

Okay. So you start to cry super hard. And I think your like pregnant tummy like renders through your clothes for a second of like the video game graphics of your own illusion as you like throw your back too hard. It's like, oops, that does the physics engine broke for a second. Six. Oh my God. Had to fight for it. Had to fight for it.

So you see the guard goes, oh, I understand. So you, your pregnant sister. Sister. Not my wife. Not your wife. Your pregnant sister.

And then who's this? You can see my hat sticking out from behind a barrel by the wall. Oh, no, you're not even near the wall. You're in the like DMZ. You're in the like, you're in the wasteland of witch fire between the wall and the kuzoo. Oh, that's my, that's my shy wood.

I have a ward and they're very shy. He got around the corner and I wave. Downward, down, down. All right, you're all under arrest. What? Stop! You're all incredibly under arrest. No.

Why? Anything coming out of the kuzuzuzza spirit. What? What? Do I look serene and magical? Spirits don't exist. That's exactly what a spirit would say. And you see they say, all right, please, kindly, you are all right, you are all.

No, no one has come out of the kudzu in weeks. Well, if you ask a couple of your friends, the two of us went running into the kudu last night. And I stowed away in the back of a wedding. Why are we confessing? Because my ward is so shy. Why are we confessing? So you broke curfew, you ran into the wasteland, you've come back. Yes.

What's your name? If you wish to know, my name is Lieutenant Briggs. of the Azure Battalion, a soldier of the Imperium, and I am placing all of you under arrest, at the very least on breaking curfew, but certainly under suspicion of being a spirit with ill intent towards the mortals of Port Talon. You think if we were spirits, we would waste our time arguing with you, or, like, I don't know, be a wind to death of you? Well, if you knew the first thing about spirits

Yeah, explain to me how spirits work And I would tap my staff How spirit will Spirate explain to us Come on, little matchstick Spirit Splane, so you're admitting you're a spirit What? No, no, no, hold on. Let's let Lieutenant Briggs, who bombed out of the Citadel

in what, two years, Explain to me what a spirit is. Give me a deception, check. Sister? Uh-huh. Not gonna be good. 13. He rolled to two.

He says, he says, I didn't, I wanted to be in the Azure battalion. Listen, the guy next to him goes, all right, Briggs, you're gonna have to, you're gonna take a step back. And he's like, what? He's like, you always do this. You always turn arresting people into a conversation. And we're gonna have to talk about it again because it's not how this goes. You're all under arrest. Put your hands behind you.

We're going to manacle you right now. And then, you want to slam the staff. What's that? I slam the staff and drop the form and go full Citadel Wizard's Sube. Okay, you're going to have to give me an intimidate check. Because given the story they're running in their mind, that you are a disguised spirit? Here, roll.

Running. Nine. Nine? Okay, see he goes, okay, so we've all but confirmed you're a trickster spirit. God's dear this is so stupid. Great. They're going to come over. There's four of them here.

And they're going to come over and start to manicure you. I'm going to kill these guys because I'm in a bad mood. Back up. And I want to send an Erulyan bolt across the front of them. Okay. Everyone here, roll initiative. Hey, did you think my bad mood would suddenly stop or get worse? So, Suvi, you are going first.

You send a bolt as a warning shot over. I'm going to let you know. Killing these soldiers will change your life forever. I'm not going to kill him. I want them to be, I want them to not arrest me. Brennan. Okay. That's what the intimidate check was for,

and it didn't work because they think of spirits. So you are first to act. You see that they just see you unleash a harmful spell. They are going for their weapons. Please, okay, okay. We have to... Here's the thing, here's the thing. I can't kill you without having to do a lot of paperwork.

Steel will be here soon. Oh, God, I just... Please, I am begging you. Please don't make me kill you. Please. I go here. I hate spirits so much. They're so stupid and I don't want to fight you.

but I will. Great. Give me a, give me, we're just going to say, we're going to say persuasion. Perfect, nine. Great.

Cool, that's your turn. They do not seem to be swayed by it. The thing that really they seem to be clocking is the powerful spell that just happened. That seems to be taking most of their focus rather than what you're saying. Great. I think it's Ursula Arameh next.

Five. Five. Eight. Ame, you are next. I put my hands out and I slowly step out from behind the pile of wood that I'm in. And I was like, don't look at me, but also you can arrest me. We'll go quietly. We'll go quietly.

Okay. First the line. No roll on that. No roll on that? You're surrendering. So they're going to walk over to you and... I said, we'll go quietly. Yeah.

See, he's actually crying now. Don't cry. And I get in trouble because I'm going to murder them. Inside check on how they're responding to Ame surrender. Yeah, give me an insight check. 21. They appear to be going, finally, they're seeing reason. This was a really dangerous situation.

There is a curfew. There's a bunch of guards. We're at war with this forest, and people walking out of it are maybe spirits. Great, I'll also drop to my knees. I want to be included, me, as me, Brennan, I am an anti-fascist and an anti, and I don't like cops. But these guys straight up are like, hey, come on. Yeah, no, of course. We got to do our job.

I'm going to drop on my knees and say, I'm not going to call you my pregnant sister anymore. Sufi, please, down. On your fuck time to get back. It doesn't need to know about it. It doesn't matter, because now Steele's going to know either way. so dumb, I might as well just kill them. Don't. Don't do that.

Don't get. What is wrong with you? Why is that your option? You know, we're normally a lot more jumpy than this, but we're going to let that slide. Do you see that the, uh, as your battalion comes around, uh, you are manacled and they get you on a wagon headed back towards Port Talon. Uh, the gates open to the city. Uh, what is Sufi saying?

You mean, you're just, you're just manical, you're just here in this thing, you're just moving along. What does Suvie say? Is you just like weeping tears streaming down your face? What are you saying as the wagon sort of trundles along? It's so in trouble, and I'm going to take it out of your ass breaks. If she doesn't kill me,

I'm going to have your fucking stupid little matchstick. Suvie, please stop threatening. You said it out of breath. I hate you. Honestly, you should have shot me out there. I don't. What's that? Eric.

That is 17 on a nice light of hand. Can I get out of my cups? A-17 does not get out of the manner. Dang it. The wagon trundles along. The gates of Port Talon open, and you advance through the streets of Port Talon. Now, with the rain gone and the sunlight on it,

it has all the sort of appearance. Like, the sunlight in this city kind of turns it from this, like, oppressive, rainy cobblestone place. And it kind of feels like a weird, museum or an old abandoned castle with the bright sunlight on it. But you see busy people moving around, shifted into their lighter clothing. Port Talon has like a big swing of temperatures,

like very freezing when it's raining and the sun comes out and it's hot as hell. I'm going to need a luck check and I do want a Briah to roll it. That's so fucked up, Renan. God. I don't know why. Ew. I don't know what's going on over there. It's bad here.

It's bad over there. The dice can go higher, but I don't think they were really. This is a, this is going as poor. We just had to walk back home. That was it. That was the goal. The goal was just to walk home. I was wondering, I was wondering about it because I was like,

I was like, they know there's a big old wall. 100%. We thought we could go back the way that we came. It was so silly and fun to get, to leave. Yeah. We assumed it would be just as whimsical on the way back in. Exactly. You set our expectations.

My pregnant sister meets me. It was a good bit. You got to know that the dice protect you guys a lot. Brennan doesn't respect bits. I want that on the record. Oh, Brennan respects bits. The dice don't respect this. Don't talk to my dice like that.

You need to talk to your dice in some kind of way. You're my special little snowflakes just for this, and you're being bastard people. Villains. Billing is dyes. You know what's bad when Brennan. has to write a bunch of stuff because it's that bad. It's like, oh, all right, well, they've now...

I have to create a penal system because... Exactly. Even my worst PDF is not enough. I assume they'd at least roll a six on the luck. So tell us about the school to prison pipeline in Umora Brennan. Campaign shift. Two years later after you... Where you walk through the garden.

So you arrive at the edge of battalion, and the first thing they're going to do is start to disarm you, which means taking wavebreaker. Okay, okay. We can't kill them. We can. It would just be... Well, now you're in a barracks with like a couple hundred of them.

Said what I said. No, hold on, hold on. And I want to just try to stop before they take wavebreaker and offer up my staff first. Maybe if you touch it, you'll realize that this isn't a shitty little spirit trick, and I'm a wizard, and you're on my last fucking nerve. Great. Well, we'll go and run some tests on it to... Oh, my God, don't take my... Well, we absolutely will, so we're going to take that.

Why are you like this? Someone go get Galani. Give me a persuasion check, but we're going to do disadvantage because you've had a lot of chance. Thanks, bud. Oh, shit. Okay, dice. 17. You see they look and say Galani. Yeah.

She's at the governor's mansion. Where I was, two days ago. Yep. Put it together. I can hear your little brain spinning. Come on. Hold the prisoners here. Don't call me a prisoner out loud to my face.

I don't like that. You see that one of the guys turns around. You see this is one of like the guards who looks like he's going to He's going to be aggressive and violent. And you see that the guy goes, uh, uh, uh, the, just the prisoner doesn't like it and that we're just going to sort everything out. Keep the prisoners here.

The guy goes, in the courtyard. And he says, yeah, keep him in the courtyard for a second. You guy, what's your name? Huh? What's your name? Oh, uh, uh, you see. The PDF throws. The PDF pros.

Sorry, I'm sorry, sorry. We're fully, we're fully off the map. He says, I'm Sergeant Laplow. Sergeant. Yes. So you're supposed to be smarter than the rest of them? Yes. Lean in real close.

This is going to go real bad. If y'all don't tighten this up right now. I've had a very bad day. Kind of cute. We can just, don't, don't make this worse. Mommy leans a little closer of this. Oh my gosh. This is so interesting.

You call him cute? Yeah, like, kind of. He's like a good nose. But like in a very aggressive way. Yeah. Sergeant Laplow turns and says, respectfully, we're going to go get this sorted out.

You see, he takes the staff. Please don't make me let go of this. Because it's going to be a lot of people's jobs when I get it back. I'm not going to cast any spells. I'm not going to hurt anyone. I didn't before.

We could both stand here together holding it. You see, you see, Sergeant Laplow leans into you. And he goes, I've been working at the Azure Battalion for about four years. Respectfully, people who threaten the jobs are going to get lost usually have to ask someone permission to make that happen. Okay, I understand that. And I know you're trying to check me on status here.

But even if I ask permission, I bet it fucking happens. Uh, give me persuasion. Oh my God. What's happening? Don't make the rility words bad. There we go. Five. He says, he says,

I gotta stop talking you. Someone has to stop me. He says, I'm taking the staff now. All right. And pulls the staff away and walks off. What's going on with Amé and Ursula? You're watching Sufi deconstruct.

She is spiraling. Holyto we've never been out of Tomo before. I don't know how hierarchy works or pulling rank. Yes, I... This is terrifying. Suvi? Oh. Hey.

What? Took my step. It's okay. You'll get it back. I just got it. Yeah, yeah. It's okay, though. It's okay.

He's going to check it out. And then we're going to, they're going to let us know. What? He's not going to get it dirty. We can clean it. He's not going to chip it. Okay, you're doing great, okay? I'm not.

This is so bad. It's okay. I don't know who I am and I don't know how to have any authority other than what I've been given. It's okay. Well, the fact that you have had any authority before, your authority, the authority you had got us on a boat. And it got us. And they tried to kill us on the boat. Yes, but then it, but then it, but then it,

got us rooms and it's got us food. Then we got a place there too. I don't like it outside of the synodal. It's all right. The world is a big place with a lot going on. I move us as close as they, you know, I look at the big start to come and I'm like, it's okay, it's okay. Yeah, you can cry.

Okay. You just can't leave, but you can cry if you want. Thank you, sir. I get close to see if you. I'm like, hey, it's okay. It's okay. We have gone through an awful lot in the last couple of days. You're doing so great.

Just promised the scariest thing. I think anyone in this part of the world has ever been up against that we would do the impossible. It's okay to be scared. And it's okay to be scared of that. Can't let that stop us. Doing what we need to do. Yeah.

You're doing fine. You appreciate you. And it's good for you to have this little cry. And maybe you should consider doing that now and again. Okay. Thank you. I'm just going to hug me. Okay.

I love you. I love you. I love you, Ursula. I'm sorry. It is fine. God. We'll be fine. We're going to be okay.

You're saying that, but I'll be dead. Very soon. No, no. I won't let them kill you. No, you steal is crazy. She's not. No, she is. A big

carriage rolls up of the governor's mansion. So it has all the like the Saraz Imperium gilding. It looks like a giant Fabergette egg music box kind of carriage. Six white horses with feathered plumes rolls up.

You see Laplow comes in holding the staff now wrapped. It's wrapped up in like white silks. And you see Galani steps out of the carriage. Anyone who wants to give me an insight check. Oh, God. 30, 20. 19. 22. Ursulan and Suvi. Galani has been crying recently, like red bloodshot eyes. She goes to the carriage and pulls out wrapped in sort of a blue covering cloth, like a velvet covering cloth, a massive shape. And you see some stewards of the Azure Battalion

wearing those stewards ring come, lift this heavy thing up, move it over, put it in front of you. It's a flat thing about like 10.5 feet tall. Stand it in front of you. You see that your staff

is handed over to Galani. Galani does not make eye contact with you. One of the stewards pulls the drape off of the shape in front of you, and you see the standing mirror from the wall. And you see a mirror reflecting the deck of a ship with no ocean behind it. Instead, clouds racing by in a bright blue sky. And there are some people gathered

on the ship. But standing there is a woman in gold armor. A woman you have not seen since she came to deliver heartbreaking news to a young Suvi at the end of that magical summer when Suvi had to learn that her parents were not. Steel, now older, with white scars across her face, white streaks and her auburn hair, and one of her irises gone partially white with that same same sort of almost like weird arcane scarring. Suddenly is staring at you. She is standing closer to her. mirror than you are. So she is right now about nine feet tall. And she looks and says, On ice is what I said. I don't think I could have been much clearer. And I had the courtesy to do this in private last time. Oh, you could, yeah. I understand you gave Sergeant Laplow a hard time

about your staff. What exactly is yours? Because I don't have anything that belongs to me. I have the tools of the citadel. That's what I have. And it's a privilege to wield them. Every word is like a physical hit to Suvi. Think we could not.

There were extenuating circumstances. Amme, shut up. No, no. I'd like Amme to talk. In fact, let's do this right here. That was Lou Wilson as Ursuland, Erica Ishii as Amay, Abria Ayn Garh as Suvi, and Brennan Lee Mulligan as everyone and everything else. Worlds Beyond Number is edited, designed, and scored by Taylor Moore at Fortunate Horse, with additional sound designed from Michael Gelfy Studios.

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