Planescarred: Episode 2 (raw)
Source: collected/032-planescarred-episode-2-raw.mp3
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Model: scribe_v2 | Transcribed: 2026-10-10T18:15:43.792321+00:00
Machine transcript — uncorrected. Speaker labels are local to this recording and do not identify people.

[00:00:00.080] Speaker 1: [electronic music]

[00:00:53.560] Speaker 1: Chapter Four: Collateral. From Nikolai's Journal of Forbearance: "Forbear emotions at your own peril. All human cruelty starts with forbearing emotions. There is no good way to use this magic." Mother Lysandra simply wished everyone around her understood how painful it was for her to be here, how much she had given to be a part of this arduous and increasingly futile mission. She tapped one of the couriers on the

[00:01:28.260] Speaker 1: shoulder as she passed. "Have you seen the Wellstone?" "No, ma'am." So she found a member of another house, House Greenside by the look of the man's attire. An actual member of House Greenside, too, not just a representative. Not an important one, though, because she didn't remember his name. "Excuse me, uh..." "It's Ulric, Mother." "Ulric, thank you. Ulric, have you seen the Wellstone?" His eyes went right to her hair. Why did they always look at the hair?

[00:02:03.400] Speaker 1: It wasn't her hair that was hurting. It was literally everything else. "No, Mother, but I can ask around." [sighs] Lysandra closed her eyes and took a slow breath. She searched for a response befitting her station. "Ulric, do you know of any other Wellstones?" He grinned at her as if she were in on the joke. Wellstones were their only sources of magical power in this plane. It was being strictly rationed for both

[00:02:38.040] Speaker 1: martial and practical reasons. The gigantic Wellstone they'd brought was a figurative lifeline for this delegation, but a very literal lifeline for her. Ulric must have access to other, smaller Wellstones. He wouldn't give that information up without a twist, though. Hence the smile. "I would like to think on it, Mother." [sighs] Composure. Composure. Keep it. "Please do so. Immediately."

[00:03:13.960] Speaker 1: Ulric looked around as if expecting to be a part of some prank, and at any minute, one of his friends would jump out and surprise him. "You're serious?" Mother Lysandra ground her teeth. Little red sparks flew from her mouth like a saw cutting through iron. Ulric's eyes widened. That was one perk of being Ethereal Planes Guard. People always assumed you had supernatural abilities. She could use that against him, and for the most part, it wasn't true. She did have supernatural weaknesses, though.

[00:03:49.300] Speaker 1: Her body depended on magic to survive, and it was making that known very clearly now. "Do not make me stick you to the floor and drain it out of your very body, Ulric. Your back pocket. Give it to me." Ulric reached into his back pocket with a shaking hand and gave her a small blue rock. Lysandra could see the power wafting off of it. Her body hungered for it. She swiped the stone from the man's hands and drank in the power. The pain eased at once. A

[00:04:24.280] Speaker 1: dozen years fell off her in a moment. [sighs] Ulric watched it happen with a mix of annoyance and awe. She put the emptied rock back into his outstretched hands. "Thank you for your donation to the House of Commons." "Of course, Mother." She left him standing there. The recess was already over, and she still needed to find the large Wellstone. She couldn't keep shaking down nobles all day. Someone jostled her as they jogged past. She shouted at their

[00:04:59.100] Speaker 1: back, "Excuse you." A middle-aged man with dirty blonde hair and tired eyes looked back at her. The wraps around his hands indicated he was a Burstmage, not the kind of person most people confronted. He was probably used to others backing down when they noticed those wraps. Mother Lysandra was not most people. She pointed at the man, who continued to jog away from her towards the exit. "You, hold on." The look in his eyes stopped her short. This man was on edge.

[00:05:34.340] Speaker 1: She watched him leave the building. He leapt into the back of a hay-filled wagon with three other people. All of them had the same wraps around their hands. All of them had that same determined, intense look on their faces. Mother Lysandra watched a team of horses pull the wagon away. She was still standing there when the first gunshot rang in the theater dome behind her. What? Soldiers in black uniforms streamed into the hallways outside the dome. Was this security? What was happening?

[00:06:09.128] Speaker 1: Ulrich Greenfield spoke with a group of friends just outside an entrance. He walked towards the first soldier and pointed a stern finger. The soldier raised his gun and Boom, boom, boom. Ulrich and his friends fell to the ground. The entrance doors behind Lysandra flew open. She spun and sprayed a wave of grist across the opening. It knocked the first soldier back out the door and sealed the other doors. She dropped to the ground and sprayed a short wall of grist between her and the soldiers who'd shot Ulrich. Bullets sunk into the black substance as a pitter-patter of wet

[00:06:43.748] Speaker 1: thuds. They were shooting at her. They were shooting at her. By the Original's grace, she was going to die. She was going to die. A soldier tried to crawl under the hardening grist she'd sprayed across the door. She kicked him once in the face, then raised her hands and covered him in a torrent of liquid black rock. He flailed on the ground as it entombed him. Bullets bounced off the wall above her head, and Mother Lysandra ducked back behind her wall. More bullets hit the low wall, sending chunks of grist flying as the soldiers already

[00:07:18.408] Speaker 1: inside the building advanced on her exposed position. She huddled against the ground. It was only a matter of time. This couldn't be happening. It was so senseless, such a pointless way to die. She should never have come here, should never have tried to make peace. That only she seemed to want. Mother Lysandra wrapped her arms around her shoulders and waited for the soldiers to come. Killing them wouldn't save her. If she surrendered, perhaps they would take her prisoner. Did she want that? What was it like to be a prisoner of war? Not good, surely.

[00:07:54.228] Speaker 1: A warped scream shook her from the dark fantasy still forming in her mind. The bullets had stopped, but the guns were still firing. Tentatively, she peeked over the grist barrier. A man in shredded clothing crawled along the wall towards the soldiers. His skin was chalk white, his eyes a solid bloody red. The man leapt from the wall into the group of soldiers. Their bullets went right through him, but he didn't seem to feel them. He tore the arm off a soldier like a child tearing apart a toy. Bones broke and people went flying, slamming into the brick walls with a

[00:08:29.248] Speaker 1: crunch. The demon spun, noticed her, and took a few running steps towards Lysandra, murder in its eyes. Lysandra was very careful not to move quickly. Ymir, Ymir, it's me. You know me. She raised her hands, palms out, placating. You know me. I'm Lysandra. The demon stopped, its head twitching in the fight for control. The bullet holes on his bare chest healed in the short time it took him to speak. Lysandra, we need to run. There are too many

[00:09:03.688] Speaker 1: soldiers. Where are the others? Others? Mother Trista, Father Katar, where are they? Dead. We need to go. Now. As if to emphasize his point, gunshots sounded again in the dome next door, much closer. Lysandra jogged over to him on shaking legs. Soldiers were beating down the entrance doors behind her. Where's the wellstone? I don't know. Father Ymir brought his elongated pale hands to his face and covered his eyes.

[00:09:39.008] Speaker 1: We were betrayed. Mother Lysandra placed a hand on his back, and he shivered. Come. He followed her into an administrative office near the entrance. She did her best to barricade the door with grist. Then, for good measure, she used a piece of chalk to draw a rune of repulsion on the floor, then stepped back. It was dark in the office with the windows and door sealed. How long would this defense hold, though? I am Ymir. I am Ymir. I am Ymir. Lysandra folded her hands and paced

[00:10:13.788] Speaker 1: around the dark room, uncertain what to do next. Why? Why? And something else nagged at her. Those burst mages in the wagon. Were they part of this, somehow? What was in that wagon? Surely not hay. Realization crept into her mind then. Cold, terrifying realization. Ymir, we're in danger. He was still gasping for air. I know. No. Not just us.

[00:10:49.308] Speaker 1: Everyone. The whole city. What? Just before the soldiers attacked, I saw four burst mages leaving. I think they took the wellstone, Ymir. I think they took the wellstone. He was silent while gears turned in his mind. A moment later, he had connected the same dots. Oh, no. You don't think We need to get out of here. Somehow. We can stop it. Lys We have to! She would not

[00:11:24.348] Speaker 1: be complicit in this mass murder. Whether these soldiers were attacking in response to their betrayal, or simply attacking out of a betrayal of their own, she didn't know, and it didn't matter. The ulterior motives of the peace talks were becoming clear now. It had never been about peace. It hadn't even been lip service to peace. Somewhere in this city was a bomb. The largest bomb she could conceive of. Attended by four people who, now that she understood, knew they were going to die. If there was any hope

[00:11:59.308] Speaker 1: at all for peace, she would need to escape this place, find the bomb, and somehow save the lives of the people who had murdered her friends. This could have all been so much easier if only they had all been willing to listen. "Ymir, I'm sorry, but I need you to change back again." And then she heard a shuffling sound inside the room. She walked around the small office looking for the source. In the meek light cast by her glowing hair, she searched the room. Hiding underneath a desk was a man in robes.

[00:12:34.684] Speaker 1: Mayor Rex Cobbler shrank away from her, wrapping his arms around his legs. "I'm guessing you heard all of that, right?" Rex nodded slowly. "Are you going to kill me now?" "Of course not. I'm not a monster." Father Ymir squatted down beside her. "I am, sometimes." "Mr. Mayor, you're going to help us get out of here." Chapter Five: Apprentice of

[00:13:09.424] Speaker 1: Burdens. From Nikolai's Journal of Forbearance, page twenty-one. On a more practical note, if you forbear digestion, be prepared for extra debt when you release it. A good novel and some laxative can be invaluable tools of magic. Kelsey dragged the stranger up the final step. He was leaking something onto the stoop. She just hoped no one was around to see this. Some things you just couldn't talk yourself out of. Xavier unlocked the door and helped her pull the man in. Fortunately, they had been close

[00:13:44.364] Speaker 1: to Brown Street, and no one had seen them. Probably. What were they doing? This was supposed to be their night out. She'd planned it weeks ago with Maria. Where this night was going next was anybody's guess. Xavier wanted to play hero with the enemy, though. Kindness truly was his weakness. As much as she hated this idea, there was no way she was letting him do it alone. "Come on. We'll put him in my room." Xavier's room was on the ground floor. She lifted the stranger into a wicker chair in his room.

[00:14:19.564] Speaker 1: Given the smell of the man, they'd both wordlessly agreed not to put him on the bed. They had barely finished hauling him into the chair when there was a polite knock on the door. Miss Maria pushed open the door. "Back already?" And then her jaw dropped. Xavier and Kelsey took turns wiping their hands off on their clothes. "Oh, dear Lord. Who is that?" "I am Father Nikolai Common of the House of Commons, Master of Burdens." Maria looked at Kelsey first.

[00:14:54.544] Speaker 1: The expression stung. Somehow, in a single glance, she'd been able to say, "I expected this from him, but not you." "Hey, Maria." "When I said do something stupid, this is not what I meant." "Sorry." "He's a magician?" "I am, my lady." Kelsey and Xavier sat on the bed. She wasn't sure how to explain this. Actually, she wasn't even going to try. "He needed help." "I should say so, but why did you bring him

[00:15:29.464] Speaker 1: here?" "I couldn't think of anywhere else." "Sorry to interrupt, but you two need to decontaminate immediately." "You said it was safe to touch you." "Safe is a relative term. There were people with guns running about then. Unless you want to look like me, you should bathe in vinegar. Burn those clothes as well." "You brought him here, Xavier?" Xavier deflated some. It wasn't all his fault. Just mostly his fault. "I'm sorry, Maria. They were going to

[00:16:04.544] Speaker 1: kill him. I just couldn't leave him." "Also, my case of magical diseases was stolen. These two offered to go find it for me." "I- I need to sit. Is it even safe to be in here?" "As long as you don't breathe near me, probably." Maria sat down in the rocking chair across the room. She rocked slowly back and forth, though the stunned look still hadn't left her face. Kelsey wiped a bit of black slime off onto her dress.

[00:16:39.844] Speaker 1: Great. Father Nikolai pulled the mask off his face with one hand. His face was nearly as misshapen as the rest of him, though the scar tissue looked old. He looked at them from under a swollen eyelid with one pale blue eye. Part of his face was still covered in those blue crystals. The four of them sat in awkward silence for a moment, taking in this new display. The weight of what was happening to her still sank in. This man was an enemy magician. Kelsey didn't know if there were laws

[00:17:14.564] Speaker 1: against hiding him, but there had to be, right? So instead of coming at that issue head-on, she did what she always did when she was making a sale at work. Whether you were selling fabric or interrogating the enemy, the concepts were roughly the same. She started with smaller talk, actually tried to understand the other person before putting the squeeze on them. "You said 'father.' Are you a priest?" "No, not that kind of father." "Do you have children?" "Alas, I

[00:17:49.424] Speaker 1: have none. I don't mean to sound piteous, but as of yet, the opposite sex remains as much a mystery to me as it always has." He waved at his disfigured body. "And between us, I don't think my odds of mating have improved today." "Sorry, I wasn't trying to make you feel bad. I'm sure there's someone..." Kelsey looked down at his legs and grimaced. They had begun to shrivel and turn black, rolling up on themselves. I'm sure there's someone out there for you.

[00:18:24.540] Speaker 1: Nikolai grinned. I hope not. If it's true, I shall continue to evade them. Kelsey shook her head. What a strange man. Were all the people of the other planes so strange? Nikolai was frightening, but he didn't seem evil. In his own way, he was kind of adorable. The tip of Father Nikolai's nose fell off. It bounced on the floor and rolled to her feet. Oh dear. Let's get your mask back on. Once the two of them had finished decontaminating,

[00:18:59.940] Speaker 1: they returned to Xavier's room. Father Nikolai insisted that they could simply pour the vinegar over him. He didn't want to be a bother. It did help the smell, a little. The three of them drank tea while Father Nikolai sat propped up in the chair, still dripping vinegar onto the wood floor. Are you sure we can't help you somehow? The best thing you can do for me also happens to be the best thing you can do for the city of Everton. Beautiful city, by the way. Be careful of the

[00:19:34.920] Speaker 1: alleyways, though. Rough part of town. Can you help us find your case? Hmm. Start by contacting my peers in the House of Commons. The rest of my delegation are all staying at the theater dome. Contact them directly. They'll know what to do. Now that sounded like something they could handle. She walked towards the door. Kelsey was ready to be on with it. The sooner they untangled from this, the better. At least the night's entertainment had come cheap so far.

[00:20:10.280] Speaker 1: Come on, X. Wait. He stayed on the bed, a pensive look on his face. Where was this going? Can you teach me magic? Kelsey slapped her forehead. Seriously? Was he nineteen or nine? Sometimes it was hard to tell. No more than I can teach you to fly. Can you? Fantastic question. An acceleromancer could, but I am not that kind of mage.

[00:20:45.840] Speaker 1: I deal in burdens. The most mysterious and most underutilized of magics. He waved one hand in an arc. Kelsey guessed that was supposed to add mystery. But no, I cannot teach you any magic because you cannot do magic. It is the hand of fate that deals those cards. You must be magical plane-scarred. Born on the right plane, that is. Xavier bowed his head in defeat. Kelsey elbowed him. Ah, cheer up, you've still got me.

[00:21:21.280] Speaker 1: He gave her a lopsided grin. Guess I'll have to settle for that. Maria stopped rocking in the chair behind them. That might not be necessarily true. They all turned to look at her. Xavier, your mother worked here for only a few months before she died. You were nearly three by then, and, well, I never told you the rest of the story. Xavier glanced at Kelsey and grabbed her hand, sensing that

[00:21:56.180] Speaker 1: something with real impact was coming. You were living here. She was pregnant, but died in childbirth. You should have had a little sister. Half-sister, I suspect. Before she came here, your mother did the kind of work, well, the kind of work she had to in order to survive. I won't dirty her name with it. But suffice to say, she was running from someone. She ran an entire plane to get away from him. Away from your father.

[00:22:32.100] Speaker 1: I don't know who he was. She never told me. But he was someone who could not allow you to continue living. Xavier had confided that he'd always wondered about his father. Every orphan did, probably. He never talked about trying to find him, though. Would that change now? Xavier got up and stood over Maria, his face difficult to read. She looked up at him, stoically. Then he leaned down and embraced her. I did keep living, though. And I'm going to keep

[00:23:07.180] Speaker 1: on living. Then he spun to face Nikolai. So does this mean... And even though she knew it was foolish, and incredibly selfish, Kelsey couldn't help but feel jealous, if only a little. Father Nikolai tried to sit up in his chair. If you are a magician, then I shall name you Apprentice of Burdens. Xavier seemed to expand upon hearing the words, pulling his shoulders back and rising to his full height, lifted an inch

[00:23:41.980] Speaker 1: higher by a purpose he hadn't known he'd needed. Nikolai pointed at Kelsey next. How about you? Do you have some secret parentage as well? Nope. Then I name you Apprentice to the Apprentice of Burdens. No, just Kelsey's fine. In that case, I name you Kelsey. Thanks. You are very welcome. Now, if you will all excuse me, I have some debts to pay back, and I believe I will lose consciousness.

[00:24:17.760] Speaker 1: Miss Maria shooed them all from the room. Go. Be careful. If there's trouble, you run. And do not bring back more like him. Kelsey grabbed Maria's arm before she could close the door. Wait. I need to know. Was that story about Xavier true? Maria gave her the faintest of smiles. Xavier was on the street below. Xavier was already on the street outside, just out of earshot. The story was true, yes,

[00:24:52.900] Speaker 1: but the implication? I don't know where he was born, but let him have this. That boy needs a dream.