[PUBLIC EPISODE] The Wizard, the Witch and the Wild One: ep040 "Aid and Comfort"
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. And within the rills and jagged boughs, a beckoning abyss drinks in the light. If you are not careful, if you do not listen, if you speak or move without thought, it will gobble you up, like a sweet tomato, or a useful child, or a secret name, or an empty boat, its lines knocking and bobbing unseen down a river, into night.
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Produced, designed, and scored by Taylor Moore at Fortunate Horse with exquisite design and editing help from Jared Olson.
SPECIAL THANKS TO: Tazer Army, Shannon, and Amanda Freberg.
Album art by the great Corey Brickley
Comments (120)
After relistening to season 1 back in the Ace of Wands in Port Talon, I wonder if Arly Price is the Queen of coins 🤔🤔 she’s got the whole gambler aesthetic and wasn’t will gallows also sided with the MIB? Feels like it fits.
Something I choose to believe is that the name Toma comes from whatever the word for Tomato is on Accom. So when Ame is getting offered Tomato seeds from a Hallicker farmer and she responds that he has to try the tomatoes from her home town, it’s like, ‘nonono you haven’t even TASTED tomatoes. They named a whole place after our tomatoes.’
Are we going to get a transcript for this episode? I'd like to read some sections back? Great episode!
Transcript is now up.
Listening again for the first time since it dropped and Brennan says while describing the forest the true name of the forest can only be described by the sounds/songs of the different animals living in it and the first animal he says are frogs when it came out i paid it no mind and honestly didn’t remember by the reveal at the end because a lot happened but wow that lil details kinda hits once you know about the frog fam and im happy suvi has committed treason fuck the citadel i been sayin they were evil since sword tried to get ame and those saying it’s the empire not the citadel taking them the citadel is just as involved as the empire they’re the main fighting force of the empire how can they not know. I pray this is the hard proof evidence that turns suvi finally because omg how evil do they need to be before you flip sides
Oh shit I didn't even catch this !!!! The frogs!!!
When it came to describing taking children away from their parents... that hits hard (perhaps more now than before >_>). A.G.
Imagine a wizard showing you their true name, and then you forget their name again the normal way. Like hey, I know you trusted me with this, but I'm just really bad with names, okay?
I started listening to the Children's Adventure second week of December and I caught up to episode 40 yesterday! Admittedly I only listened to the main campaign episodes because I wanted to catch up to the story before going back and listening to the one-shots and interludes, and also skipped most fireside chats except for the end of arc ones. But goddamn this show is amazing! I actually thought Aabria might have been planning to make Suvi go bad at one point, she's so committed to the Empire and the Citadel that I thought she would turn on her friends. But I think now she's doing a long slow arc of Suvi deconstructing her beliefs and I find that very relatable! I think I relate a lot to Suvi coming from a heavy Christian background and deconstructing my own beliefs.
As Brennan was describing the woods and as the party were talking to villagers and moving through those woods I was flying over the North Island of New Zealand, down at the mixture of wilderness and human dwellings below and over clouds on a very fine Summer’s day - a very epic way to experience an episode!
Oh neat, I was on the North Island of New Zealand at the time as well, sometimes listening to a bunch of WBN content on our trip. We spent a lot of time camping and hiking and in various natural biomes there, including some ancient virgin forests, but also a lot of small towns and rural areas, and I will say it was really something to have Brennan describing old and magical forests and the nonviolent meeting of the human and natural worlds while in a place that felt both so very familiar and incredibly alien at the and time. Like, I like in Minnesota, and so much of New Zealand looks at first glance so similar to parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin with rolling hills and different concentrations of deciduous and coniferous trees - it also reminded me of parts of the British isles that I've been lucky enough to visit several times and feel like I'm coming home - but then there would be palm trees or various other unfamiliar flora and even fauna right in amongst the familiar, and it did give it an extra sense of magic. Last year I was listening to WBN while hiking in the mountains near Denver and then in the Channel Islands in California, and had somewhat similar but less profoundly dichotomously familiar + unfamiliar. Highly recommend anyone to hike while listening to much of WBN, I think it adds to the magic!
This episode was incredible, soooo good at rebuilding tension after the rescue, but I was so struck by the moment Ame first saw Eursulon coming out of the forest, just her reaction and bow to him FULLY made me tear up. This Arc has been a tough one for all of them, but really feeling for Eursulon, that felt like such a moment of witnessing and acknowledgment and the emotion in it from Erika and Lou was just *chefs kiss*
Thank you once again Brennan and the rest for the worlds you help us travel to!🤗✨ ✨ 🧹 ❤️🔥🍀🐸 🦊 🛡️
"You me and the Spirits three" in combination with the music = Ticket right into the heart of the Scariest Set Up. Everything inside goes: Get THE FUUUGHCK OUT! ...KILLER DM MOVE! Queen of Coins - Spirit of Luck, Chance + Trade - Tricky Honesty Great Bullfrog - Music , Art Festival - ....amphibian means DOUBLE LIFE! King of Night - hmmm.... King of Night, what do we really know about him? These three spirits feel like gods to these woods... these spirits make this whole setting seem tied to uncertainty and loss of control. Very different from the Triforce of Zelda. Completely different feel. Even the Lost Woods feel sacred and tied to the triforce in the game. Even when distorted by Gannon theres a knowing to right the wrong and return Kokiri forest to order. ...This setting feels just LOST.... lost of morals and direction ... Whoa! Defining a tone, set and persona of environment with 'spirits'.... Not quite gods, but spirits with the power generate and own outcomes to the point that people dont even know that they are acting out expressions of the spirits !? Tremendous. TRUST NO ONE! Oh, man! I can't tell ...I won't tell! if its scarier to deliberately make a zone a place of overt loss of control or subtle loss of control! Clutch DMing! Whoop Whoop! … HOWEVER! Believe it! Perhaps the Man in Black, Just Perhaps! touches upon something strong, wise and RELIABLE… and that there is misdirection of what we are told about him! Usually there is an entity of strength and substance in trinities. Luck, Art and ..... Death? I don't know.... just maybe .... maybe! instead of representing Death the Man in Black represents.... ... hmmmmmmm *smokes pipe and looks into the fire* ...
phenomenal episode, so tense
Loved this! My first thought upon the reveal abt “soldiers asking abt shape changers” prior to ppl going missing was Gauthmai like essentially forcefully conscripting local/native shapeshifters into their military war effort. (I missed that Cambrion is an imperial word lol) BUT then the dad said the thing abt his cousins calling the Gauthmai shape changers like “the only ones who can save us” (or something) and I was like ah. So it’s the Empire…obviously why the fuck would I not immediately assume that the side stealing kids were ya know IMPERIAL-I feel ashamed of my history degrees-i knew they were fantasy British Empire I j was too focused on the war side of things & not the colonizers side of things :( ***this is suuuch an interesting plot development god this is quite possibly the best story I have ever consumed holy shit*****
We did learn previously that there a spirit experiments going on somewhere in the empire so that could be it.
Starting to listen to this on the way to my improv class was... a choice 🤣 Not me tearing up in the middle of traffic 😅
Such a delicious episode. Eursalon’s scene in the woods was so healing and rich and beautiful. And the ending so haunting and creeper-y! I’m excited to relisten and pick up some things I’m sure I missed.
Love hearing more about the world and THE GREAT BULLFROG!!! 😄 And man, Eursulon's roar at the beginning was so good!
Very impressed by y’all’s theories and research! If you feel lost, get in the comments. People are doing the Lord’s work! Mine won’t be as eloquent but I’ll throw my two cents into the mix. One of Brennan’s strongest skills is his ability to give exactly the right amount of information without showing his hand. It builds suspense to learn information slowly and from “unreliable” (conflicting) sources. I wouldn’t get too worried about feeling like you missed something here, because we’re in a sweet spot where everything the PCs know is what we, the listener, know. According to the father’s side of the story, he was told that the shape changers were the only way to get their people back. Now the Cambion/Greneau may have been lied to in any number of ways, but through his recounting of events (plus 12 brooks) we are led to the same conclusion as the PC’s which is that Silver, Sworn, and the soldiers cannot know this family is here. The Citadel is proving to be more and more untrustworthy… and I’m not an Empire apologist 😂 so I’ll say sinister. Love the socio-political layers of this world. It’s absolutely insane! Brava!
Uhhhhh Brennan… how intentional was the choice of an Irish accent for the first(?) non-soldier person we’ve encountered who directly resists the Empire? Asking for a friend 👀
I died at The Fox going all El Dorado "The STARS are not in POSITION!" 😂
Big same 🤣🤣
I think Eursulon’s paladin oath will lean towards something akin to freedom or liberation
The Fox Appreciation Post🦊 On my relisten I teared up at The Fox’s speech on behalf of Ame. When he says “I am not speaking on behalf of myself, but my Mistress Witch of the World’s Heart” He has grown soooo much. After struggling to “make friends” with the other familiars at the conclave, he picked up a thing or two! I’m interested if they’re Ame will ever choose a name for The Fox. I still want it to happen but I also understand if they keep The Fox. I feel it would be most perfect is Brennan somehow gets them in a room full of foxes to come full circle on the Fox’s initial thought of getting named.
it was surreal for the fox be so formal. no wonder they mistook him for a spirit
GORGEOUS 'SODE. Lovely to have you back, you lovely storytellers you 🌼💖
Wow okay reading all the past comments about Empire vs Gaothmai really helped… think I’m missing something obvious but is the reason the family needs to go into hiding because the forces of Gauthmai will come through after Suvi’s party? Or to protect them from the imperial soldiers in the party?
I think the implication is to protect them from the soldiers. I'm a bit unsure too, about which side was coming and taking the kids.
WHERE IS BUCKLES
how dare you recontextualize the most wholesome side story in umora??? this is twisted?? brennan your MIND?? genius.
I swear when we get back to 12 Brooks it's just gonna be a waste land
That opening monologue on the forest was something special
Question about the family; is the implication that the father sold out his own people to the Empire or to Gaothmai?
Maybe, kinda sounds like it was fine to profit from it until it affected him
1. The amount of times Suvi has not gotten an “I love you” back from silver makes me want to throw up. 2. The citadel is bad-change my mind 3. BRENNAN HOW COULD YOU
Listen to the last fireside chat — it may assuage your silver angst.
Thinking of how all 3 of our PCs have dealt with family separations in their past, Eurselon through magic and traps, Ame through abandonment/neglect/misunderstanding?, Suvi through death. Now they are confronted with intentional separation based on something the Greneau cannot change and in fact embrace, and it's likely that it's the Empire doing it. Is this the first time we see Suvi plan to intentionally mislead her own troops/people? Is she going to lie to Silver about it? Will someone find out???? Is the citadel perhaps still trying to scry on her?
I’m excited to see if Suvi does tell silver or not! I felt like when he gave her his name he could not help but forgo any credit in lieu of the Citadel. The Citadel is great, it brought us together, therefore I have the citadel to thank. And Suvi disagrees! This is tremendous character growth from her part. She allows herself to have something that is not imparted to her by the greatness of the citadel. Then when she discovers this dark truth of the citadel and understands its weight due to her and her true friends’ orphan trauma ?!! Soo good!!!!! I wonder what might happen if Suvi and Eza have to make any big choices about the citadel going forward that the other cannot rationalize! I love this podcast.
At what point do I call a doctor for these goosebumps not going away? That ending... Yikes! Giving off a harrowing vibe of stolen generation. It feels icky but I'm also so enamoured that I need to know more. Cannot wait for the Fireside chat about this one.
That's exactly what I was thinking sounds a lot like Australian history.
What an incredible ep, top to bottom — Eursulon in the forest made me cry almost immediately. I just quit my job to pursue storytelling in my community fulltime and everything in that scene was things i didnt know I needed to hear ❤️ cant wait for the fireside for this one!
*SPOILERS* . . . . Can anyone help me? English is not my first language, so perhaps I missed som nuance, but I didn't understand whether it was the Empire/Citadel or Gaothmai who had been taking people? My guess was the Empire, but I would just like clarification if anyone'd be so kind.
I might’ve also missed something but I believe it’s left a little ambiguous, though it would make the most sense to me for it to be Gaothmai considering the location, but who knows.
The past three episodes? Utter perfection. The scores? Unmatched. I thought 'Abassin' was the peak of podcasting—until 'Into the Woods' sauntered in and asked, “You don't think I know how to get a nut open?" And now? Another banger that has me questioning my ability to pick favorites. Eursulon connecting with the forest is a scene I'll have to revisit again and again. Phenomenal storytelling, phenomenal score, and Brennan... Don't think you're sneaking that 30 people reference past us. Hahaha
Weeping. Whilst stolen people, family and generations aren't things I've survived... this hits me square in the Australian / Stolen Generation history I was taught. They came for the adults, and then they started coming for the children... fuck. Fuck, i hope I can keep listening after the next episode.
Hmmmmmmmm How did the farmer know they had 30 people in the group when neither Ame nor Ursulon mentioned a number? Veryyyyyyy suspiciousssss
Oh yeah I was shouting about that haha
WELCOME BACK EVERYONE I was having a great time, sensing there would be disquiet soon, only to be appropriately uppercutted by the punch of; "Just please don't take them." WOOF. I am in awe of these storytellers' grace in handling such difficult topics with rawness but not gratuitous violence. I'm also struck by how it is never stated from what force or side the soldiers that began to steal children. Is this even an area the Empire had enough control over 3-4 years ago to begin a strategy of what... Studying, recruiting as informants, or murdering? Or is it the Gaothmai forces trying to ally every kind of shape-shifting people for the sake of opposing the Empire who were definitely xenophobic before they began a colonial war. I registered thinking I had missed it, and perhaps it was supposed to be one or the other- but I find myself so intrigued by the vagueness of it instead. No matter which side prevails, citizens in the crossfire always lose. Separately from that, I am deeply proud of Suvi. She is doing so well and at the top of her game that becoming overzealous and "CITADEL HOORAH" would be, I think, the attitude of many a young person in her position right now. But she chooses caution, grace, and humanity before her imperial troops' march and I am so happy to see the growth and the dawning horror at the crimes of the Citadel. She is smart enough to see that even if it was Gaothmai soldiers, the war and pressure from the Citadel still pushed them to commit similarly heinous crimes.
Wow, I'm inspired! Eursalon begins communing with his inner Oath, yeah? Induction of Inner Presence for his initiation into something bigger: dare I say the inner king? I also think it accurate done mostly in private and mostly that Suvi wouldn't be present or immediately feel it. I CAN'T TELL if its designed or there's a natural pervasive wisdom that designs these themes.
Malora - what an episode the RP, the DMing, the MUSIC all continues to engross all my thoughts. Thanks for such devastating fearful joyous storytelling and art ❤️
just thought a little harder about brennan’s offhand mentioning that there are Greneau in Haverward … do they WANT to be there???
Hot. Damn. I just finished and I'm immediately relistening. Unbelievably good!
Idk whether to be elated at more world building or absolutely devastated by the implications. What a way to come back from break!
Hello hello! We’re all back here apart together. Hooray.
Brennan needs to stop hurting my heart.
Fantastic episode! Hope yall are doing well and are safe from the fires!
That ending……my goodness! This was such a good episode!
i’m hooting and hollering but i’m also tearing up a little
Are the ones stealing kids Gauthmei or Empire?
This is what I am wanting to know!
I don't know that I breathed for the last five minutes of the episode. That was terrifying. I hope Suvi can keep them safe.
So proud of Suvi. 😭
We know the Citadel loves their experiments on spirits…I pray Eursolon gets a chance to save some kids
TWELVE BROOKS MENTIONED I just know the missing children is gonna send Suvi on a spiral against the Citadel indoctrination
“The forest certainly sings like it considers you family.” 😭😭 only 8 min in and I’m already crying
Eza, my man, you owe our girl an "I love you"
Taylor seems to have reiterated his "We keep TENSION in this house!" mantra (mentioned on Fireside the first time Silver seemingly left Suvi hanging). 😂
So glad to be back! Not a lot of action but, oh so many feelings! Beautiful work from the whole team!
YESS MY FAV PODCAST THANK YOIUUUU❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
the amount of description at the top here is making me NERVOUS
THE GIANT BULLFROG!! I screamed!!
Any of y'all impacted by the fires? I heard some folks at Dropout were but haven't seen anything.
46:30 Dyyyying that Ame didn't ask more about the witch that came through the village or the Sea Witch! I wonder if the Sea Witch was Uruna, Witch of the Wide Blue Sea.
Amé stays missing opportunities to find out more about lost Coven sisters. Still can’t believe the Keep of the Watching Fire was never investigated!
Oh my god, the description of the forest at the beginning is amazing.
Anyone else annoyed that silver still has told Suvi that he loves her back????
My understanding, based on the fireside chats, is that it was inadvertently cut but I could be wrong
Just got to the Graneu portion. Dang it Brennan!!! I already feel tense
Not sure if i picked up on it correctly but was it the Gaothmai forces or Empire that were taking the Shifters?
Imperial, they said the reason for dealing with Gaothmai was that it was the only way to get them back
We are SO BACK wooo
WHAT A BANGER OF AN EPISODE
So lovely to be back in this world after the break! Can't wait for more!
Whoever writes the episode descriptions has some lovely prose skills.
It’s Taylor Moore!
y'all are so incredible with these scenes. the tension and horror I felt with the Graneu (sp?) family was similar to the illusionist spirit (the fake house on the cliff) encounter, but somehow even greater once the reveal showed it wasn't the party in danger but instead the party could be putting this family in danger. I can't exactly articulate why that's even scarier, but it was, and it's a testament to this amazing story you're telling
I gather it's the Empire disappearing people with the Gift. They assume anyone who can shape-shift is in league with Gauthmai. Then they moved on to taking children. Why? As hostages for their parents' good behavior? And now agents from Gauthmai are recruiting among the Grinot, offering the help of "the shifters from beyond the sea"? An offer that in their place I would be inclined to accept. It's almost like giving people good and valid reasons to hate you might turn them into enemies when they weren't before. Hmmmmm.
So happy to see your return 👍🎉
Taylor, Why would you tease Eursulon's Oath music like that? are you TRYING TO MAKE ME UNWELL?????
It's the weirdest thing, but I always have insomnia the night before an episode drops. I've slept through the night all holiday, and didn't even remember WWW would be back today, and yet. My body knows. Ahuhu and crackle crackle, welcome back everybody!
Honestly thought for a moment at the beginning that Eursulon was gonna F$%k that bear XD
why do i sense some horner corner in our future about conventionally attractive bears
So little happened in this episode, but the implications across the board are HUGE
These episodes are not long enough. I need mooooooooorre! 🥲
The kidnapping of indigenous people (especially children) inspired the deepest horror I've felt to date while listening to this story.
I think Suvi and Ame felt the same.
It's subtly sweet to see Ame put Silver's advice into practice (pulling Suvi aside to voice her concerns about taking too much food), and to see Silver return that goodwill with a playful "don't know if there'll be inclement weather, but as long as the Suvi holds out we should be fine" and a wink at Ame.
i can’t be the only person who first read this as “hurt and comfort”, right?! #hornercorner
I’ve seen an episode called “Safe Harbor” I don’t trust the title
Pocket Cast also has it listed as #40 now! 😁😁
What a wonderful episode to begin the year! I'm just wanna relisten to it immediately
LETS GOOOOOOO
Let's goooo
Welcome back! On Overcast this episode is listed as 39 as well.
Erika's play on "(k)night friend" had me gasping out loud. What a subtly excellent rp moment
'This is my familiar: Ame!' - Love you Fox.
The episode is labeled episode #39 on spotify! Just a warning lol
Can we get a little commotion for Taylor’s episode description?! Poetry.
Indeed "a sweet tomato, or a useful child, or a secret name, or an empty boat,"
Just so you know, Spotify lists this episode as a second #39
Ooooooh!
Ahoo hoo, is this the one where suvi gets her ass kicked
No but it could be the high referenced in it given the convo with Silver going so well and her successes here.
We are so back.
Hallelujah
WOOOOOO
Ahhh it's here ! So glad yall are safe ! Thank you for still posting during all the madness.
And for God's sake skip posting if you need to. And let us know how we can help.