Worlds Beyond Number: WWW #005 Recap and Review

Author's Note: This article will contain spoilers for Worlds Beyond Number's main campaign, episode 005.

Episode 5 of The Wizard, The Witch, and The Wild One continues where Episode 4 left off. We arrived at Finley's to find a gruesome scene with a potential escape route.

Episode 5 reminds us that Mister Brennan Lee Mulligan is sneaky and can breathe life into the most devious beings. Yet, it's all worth it in the end.

Let's dive right into it!

Exploring Finley's Apartment

So Finley is dead on the floor. Everything looks like a mess. There's a locked door that Suvi is trying to get into while Eursolon looks for WaveBreaker.

After Fox can't find a scent as to who did it, and there's no blood on the floor around Finley's body. Something is off.

And I gotta say, I totally believed it in episode 4. There wasn't much time, but I totally thought he was dead. I was suspicious When Brennan started saying that the body wasn't warm, that it looked like someone did it instantly, and that it should still be warm. When Fox couldn't see blood and had no scent to follow, the players concluded that the perpetrator was still there, but I already thought Finley wasn't dead.

We only go into initiative when Suvi screams that he's alive.

So Finley Wasn't Dead After All

When the group realizes that Finley is still alive, we are introduced to a character reminiscent of a particular dwarf from Fantasy High personality-wise. I am, of course, talking about Chungledown Bim. I feel like Brennan loves creating those kinds of characters to harass Lou. Heck, maybe Lou likes it; I don't know.

A battle ensues that our heroes deal with very quickly. Suvi discovers a construct in the other room and, in addition, a little employee of Finley called Ghost.

Introducing Ghost The Spirit Offspring

As the episode progresses, we discover Ghost, who Eursolon recognizes as the child of a human and spirit. She, much like Eursolon, suffers in this world. She has bone-white hair, eyes that are pure white with no irises, white skin with blotches of darker colors, and she walks with crutches.

And while Suvi's chaotic nature guided her not to pay for the blue cloak she gifted Eursolon, her friends recognize that Ghost, much like anybody else they meet on their journey, has a life outside of their quest.

If they disrespect the machinations that govern her life, it might mean that it feels good at the moment, but later, after they're gone, she will pay for their atrocities because that's who Finley is.

And I love that this came up because it usually doesn't come up in ttrpg campaigns or video games. The protagonist comes, disturbs the way of life with their adventure, and leaves the local people to deal with the changes they caused during their visit.

To acknowledge that, even in a big city such as Port Talon, where our heroes don't hold much influence anyway, makes the story more real.

The other moment that makes it more real is Suvi and Ame's private discussion about Suvi inviting Ghost to the citadel.

That Suvi and Ame's Heated Moment

Finley asks Ghost to "run" and tell the authorities and Will Gallows about what happened. That is so funny and shows what type of boss Finley is to order an employee with crutches to run.

Our heroes, who discovered that Will Gallows holds WaveBreaker or at least the next clue about where to recover it, decide to go with Ghost so they could spy on Will Gallows' men to lead them to him.

On the way to a meeting place where Ghost needs to signal with a bone in the ground, a conversation between our heroes and Ghost develops, and Suvi invites her to the citadel to hone her magic skills.

The persuasion check works and Ghost is influenced. We don't know what will come of this in the future, but the more important thing that came of it more immediately was Suvi and Ame's first fight.

Ame, who learned from her mistakes and waited for our heroes to be alone, asked Eursolon and Fox to give her and Suvi a moment. At that private talk, she vocalized her concern that The Citadel is not a good place for Ghost because she will be made a tool. And Suvi is an exception to this rule because she was helped.

So, essentially, not only did Suvi not "deserve" what she had, but her place of origin - where her parents are from and held in high regard - is a place that makes little kids tools.

Ame's words hurt Suvi, but she explains that she won't take it personally because the curse on Ame they're trying to remove is about who Ame can trust, which is a lot of BS if you ask me. Suvi is pissed. She even tells Fox that Ame is "a little bit of a liar" sometimes when he complains they won't return to the trash he found while exploring the yard beyond the broken window earlier. He was looking for the fake intruder, but it turned out it was just Finley's work to try to lead our heroes away. When called back, he made Ame promise him they would return for the trash.

That vulnerable moment between Ame and Suvi, when no actual resolution came from that argument, aside from Ame's reconciliatory apology, showed us the human side of these characters. They can fight, and hopefully, they can reconcile. But they don't have to agree on everything. Suvi is a wizard, and Ame is a witch. They both deal with magic in very different ways. And both are their own person. Suvi grew up in the citadel, while Ame grew up in a village.

So, while Ame apologized for her words, we aren't convinced she changed her mind.

Why You Should Not Mend The Faces of Statues

After Ame and Suvi return, the group discovers a window with a good vantage point on the bone that Ghost left in the ground. Eursolon makes a perception check and clocks that there are people in the house.

Our heroes check it out and come to a little plaza where Ame discovers a statue with its face ripped off. Being the witch she is, Ame decides to cast mending via the fox, who quickly climbs the tall statue.

Ignoring Suvi's plea for stealthiness, Ame casts mending, and as the fox starts licking the statue's face, the stone regrows. Ame is attacked by visions of chaos over the seas and experiences pain but thankfully succeeds in her wisdom saving throw.

The episode ends after Eursolon tries to cast Lay On Hands on Ame but discovers that the vines that show up immediately shrivel and die. What's going on? Can Ame not be healed? I'm excited to learn more about what occurred and what's in the house in front of this plaza. And who is this "god" whose statue Ame just mended? Was he Evil, or did he just want retribution? Lots of questions for the next one.

What did you think about this episode? Let me know in the comments below!

Read the next episode review right here.