Here you can find recaps on the episodes of Wheel of Worlds.
First aired: 5/9/2010
Previously on... shows highlights of the fight scene from the trailer. The deaths are shown, as is the ending with the heroes plunging in to the vortex.
Teaser: The episode begins as the trailer ends with the three heroes lying in a heap in a metal corridor. They rise to their feet as Taris extracts from underneath him a piece of the metal frame that previously housed the wheel. It seems smaller, and is bent out of shape. Lief spends a moment studying it and fixes it then pockets it. They head round the corner into a corridor with several circular doors, Taris bends down to touch the deck and announces that the whole corridor is filled with the hum of machinery. He thinks they may be on a vessel of some kind.
Opening Credits
Black Rat as Teresu Lief
Cardinal Sin as Karal Adrus
Oneiros as Chan Taris
Also Starring:
Fraxnits as Nerigus Ekara
Learned Hand as Karal Duros
Brave Sir Robin as Man in Black
Act One: The terrestrials begin opening doors, with some debate about politeness vs expediency. They find small cabins, tidied with military precision, but completely empty with no sign of habitation. The entire place seems deserted and is beginning to seem a bit creepy. The heroes find what is clearly a lift, but of course, they don't recognise it as such. The labels seem to be in an unknown script. Adrus manage to break the doors by playing with them. A little exploration leads to a realisation of the size of the place they find themselves in, more cabins some washrooms and the messhall. Adrus notes the whole place feels like a barracks. The messhall is laid out with a large kitchen and dining area, impeccably tidy, fully stocked with equipment but not with food.
The heroes help themselves to some water and wonder what to do next. They go back to a working lift and head for the top floor. The top floor seems much smaller as there are only a few rooms. The rooms are larger, though equally deserted, and Lief hypothesises that they are officers quarters. The frontmost room on this deck is the most dramatic, opening on to an observation chamber, we see the streaming colours and starlines flying past the window. The three friends move to the window in open-mouthed astonishment, and we zoom out to see them dwarfed by the sheer scale of the massive starship they appear to be on.
Act Two: "I don't think we're in Lookshy any more." says Lief, as the characters discuss the implications of what they can see. Adrus plays with some controls next to the observation window, and can accomplish a number of things, but none of them prove useful. Though Lief says the design is more similar to a Skyship than a submersible the best guess the characters have is that they are somewhere in the deep western wyld. Taris points out this means that the ship they are on must be hugely powerful to protect such a large area. Not quite knowing what to do next, the heroes decide to start exploring other decks on the ship and head back to the lift.
They end up on the middle floor, deck 10, which has travellators running along the corridors to allow for easier travelling to different areas of the ship. There is a faint scratching sound on this deck and Taris announces he can hear it, though the other two cannot. It takes Taris a while to locate it but soon the heroes are travelling forward fast, to locate the source of it. The travellators end and in whispered tones Taris says the scratching is coming from around the next corner. The blooded sneak towards the noise, and Lief sees it as we do. An alien creature, looking something like a praying mantis but with a dark brown chitinous exo-skeleton is scratching at a large, square bulkhead door. Taris makes too much noise and the creature turns to look, it's predatory face is recognisable from the opening sequence, filled with too many teeth and viscous saliva.
It rushes at Lief, but Taris manages to interpose himself and parries the attacks and Adrus lands a glancing blow on the creatures back. A brief fight ensues; Taris receives a couple of nasty gashes from the creatures scythe-like forearms. A blow to the neck from Taris begins to drip green blood on the floor and a well-placed arrow from Lief after a goremaul to the face from Adrus drops the creature, a pool of green blood and pink brain matter forming. The heroes retreat into a completely empty room nearby to lick their wounds and rest. They emerge a little while later, but the body of the creature they fought is gone, with no trail to be found.
Act Three: Resolving to proceed with caution the heroes find an air vent that has been forced open but is too small for a human to fit inside. They wonder why the creature was scratching at the square bulkhead. Opening the door they find a huge cargo hold inside, refrigerated and stocked with years worth of food supplies and non-alcoholic drinks. They eat and stock up on provisions, though Taris points out they won't last long outside of a cold environment. Some brief calculations on the size of this room and the size of the ship indicate that it takes up a bit less than half the space, so they set out to find out what else they can.
On deck 19 they find an entrance to a second cargo hold. Unrefrigerated and filled with dried food as well as linens and uniforms. The heroes replace their perishable provisions with these instead. Taris also manages to discover a small stack of medical supplies and pockets some of these too. Deck 19 is also a travellator level and they find a third one on Deck 3. The bulkhead here reveals a small science lab, though again the purpose of the room is not immediately clear to the heroes, Taris again takes some useful items but it seems there is nothing more to be gained from the front of the ship, so the heroes head aft.
Whilst on the travellator Lief takes a moment to again examine the wheel frame, he activates a charm and pitches to the ground in agony. We see a flash of images too fast to recognise, similar to the opening credits. Taris and Adrus help Lief up again as he clutches his head in pain. He explains to them the nature and purpose of the wheel. By the end of this conversation they have reached the end of the travellators and an octaganal bulkhead.
Inside is a room full of computer banks and a large chair on a central dais. It appears to have been carved out of a single piece of blue crystal. Adrus sits on the chair, and it activates leaning back and glowing. The computer screens come on and show a password entry screen. It seems all Adrus can accomplish without a password is to turn the chair. Lief quickly gets bored and heads down to deck 10, finding a circular bulkhead door. He opens it and there is an immediate look of awe on his face.
Act Four: The other two arrive behind Lief and his own amazement is reflected in their faces. They enter the room, a series of gantries and alcoves surrounds a huge towering golden crystal, the size of a building. Taris announces that it is the largest hearthstone ever imagined, and whilst Lief explains to Adrus why he can't steal it they make their way round to the alcove and find their progress once again blocked by the need for a password. The sounds of a door opening from downstairs causes them to freeze in their tracks and they see the Man in Black cross to the alcove on the bottom floor. They quickly resolve to head down in the lift to surprise him, and they begin to charge up their most powerful attack.
At the bottom they don't get the drop on him though. He is holding a frame similar to their own and a single piece of the wheel is slotted into it. He laughs, "You're too late" he scoffs as he presses the piece and the swirling coloured vortex appears behind him, a strong wind filling the chamber. He jumps through the portal and though the heroes try to follow him they find that the portal has no more affect on them than air. It reduces and winks out. Guessing that they also need a piece, and that maybe the frame can lead them to one Lief gets it out, concentrating. Rather than an indication of direction however a spectral from appears before them, Duros! A brief conversation where the heroes learn a great deal follows and Duros indicates he can sense the piece of the wheel that they need. He cannot be very precise however, and before they can learn more he begins to fade again.
The heroes head to the centre of the ship, to try to summon Duros again and get a better description of where the missing piece is. They try to summon Duros but fail, until Adrus realises they could try to summon Ekara instead. The shimmering non-corporeal form of Ekara appears, and a short discussion ensues, she gives them a more precise fix on the piece, but also warns them that an evil entity of some form resides here, and that it is aware of them. Before much more can be learned she suddenly declares they are out of time. From the corridor in front a ventilation panel pops off the wall and three of the aline creature emerge. The heroes look to their left, their right and their back, but a single alien approaches from each of those directions as well.
The words TO BE CONTINUED... appear on the screen.
First aired: 3/10/2010
Previously on... shows highlights of the first episode: the landing from the portal; the heroes looking out of the windows and "I don't think we're in Lookshy any more"; the fight with the first alien creature; the hearthstone to end all hearthstones; and finally the advance of the six aliens at the corridor crossroads.
Teaser: The "previously on..." forms much of the teaser for this episode; the heroes look around themselves nervously and the camera focusses on Adrus as he says, "Guys... I think it's time to bug out."
Opening Credits
Act One: And with Adrus's quip ringing in their ears, the heroes proceed to boldly run away. Seeing all paths blocked, but one more blocked than the others, they courageously take the opposite direction. Fortunately the creatures, though terrifying, seem to have slow reactions and the heroes are able to dart past the one blocking their way, Lief courageously flying first and overhead to distract the beast, his hair flapping gracefully as the air rushes through it.
However, the creatures can definitely scuttle fast enough to gain on the fleeing heroes, and they begin to catch up. Spotting the travelators they'd used earlier, the intrepid adventurers hit on a plan - and jump aboard, instantly shooting off away from the creatures. The bugs are not as dumb as they look, and jump on afterwards, but that merely carries them along at the same pace - despite their frenzied scrabbling to attempt to gain purchase on the frictionless surface.
Eventually the travelator reaches its end, but fortunately there's a lift in sight and now the heroes know how to use it. They dive through the door and desperately mash the buttons - and the doors close, and the lift glides downwards.
Act Two: Out of danger for the time being, the heroes decide to explore for a while to get their bearings. Taris realises with a start that they haven't been into the "wings" of this enormous ship, and promptly leads them in the direction of the port wing.
Trying several floors and several doors, the heroes find smaller, airborne ships in the wing tips, and Lief's eyes light up. He leaps athletically into one, and presses some buttons. Then he presses some more buttons. Adrus walks up to the cockpit and presses the large green button just under the yoke, and the ship jumps off the ground, its thrusters bursting into life. Lief whoops with excitement and spins the craft around. Adrus leaps off and rounds the corner just in time to avoid Lief's trigger-happy (but nonetheless heroic) testing of the weapons.
However, the craft can be of no use to them inside the ship, and Lief is finally persuaded to disembark. Trying the rest of the corridor, the protagonists find some technical and scientific laboratories, plus some empty square rooms, with walls appearing to open to the front of the ship in the same way as the fighter bays. In one room is another small craft, but weaponless this time - appearing to be a small shuttle. The shuttle has little inside it bar crew and cargo space, but Adrus does spot some rifles, sadly with empty magazine holders, which the heroes interpret as a strange version of an Essence crossbow. Searching the racks further, Adrus also pulls out a bandolier with 8 small coloured spheres. He looks up at the others. Lief grins. Taris raises an eyebrow.
Act Three: Correctly guessing that the spheres are some form of ordnance, the trio go a-foraging for some more. They realise the only floor they haven't yet tried is the ominous floor 2 - the floor holding the bugs' hive, but also the piece of wheel that Duros and Ekara had mentioned.
On floor two they discover a number of rooms locked with what appear to be numeric keypad. Adrus guesses some numbers and eventually one door opens. Inside appears to be some kind of physical training room, possibly for the marine forces on the ship. Sports equipment and gymnastics facilities fill the room. The camera focuses as Adrus narrows his eyes. "Guys, the code I used to get in here was the digits of 'e' - the learning curve factor. If the training room uses the learning curve, then maybe the weapons rooms... uses... the explosive coefficient!" Taris raises an eyebrow. Lief grins. They rush out and Adrus starts pressing buttons. Sure enough, a room pops open. The camera pans across inside, showing shelves upon shelves upon shelves of these small spheres.
The three load up with as many as they can carry, but realise that they don't know exactly what the pots do. They've discovered the pins but they don't know the difference between the three different coloured versions - red, yellow and blue. "Well, we know they're some kind of weapon - why don't we test them against the bugs?" asks Lief. "What could possibly go wrong...?"
The scene cuts to a corridor. A horde of creatures approaches the doors of a lift - and another from the other side. Suddenly the doors open and the three stars burst out, and Lief and Adrus each hold up a sphere - one red, one yellow. They fling them in opposite directions and wait, eager. The red one explodes in a fiery blast and the bugs screech as the shrapnel flies through them. Suddenly there's a sharp crack and the screen goes white. The picture fades back in, but clearly not for our heroes who are stumbling about desperately rubbing their eyes. They do, however, feel their way back into the lift before the creatures can regain their senses, and Adrus reaches through the doors to grab his helmet just before the doors close.
Act Four: Having established the tools they have at their disposal, the heroes begin to make a plan. Firstly, Lief takes a daring run on his Windblade through the centre of the bugs' nest to establish the lay of the land, casually flipping grenades at the bugs and darting left and right to avoid their attacks with ease. Horrifyingly, in the central chamber there is a hideous monstrosity which he describes to the others as "the queen".
Inspired by the grenades' effectiveness, Taris begins work on some designs that will enhance their explosive power. The montage music begins. Taris cooks up two "grenade waffles" - multiple grenades hooked together by scrap metal strips, such that all the levers can be released simultaneously. One of these will be delivered by hand from the second lift arriving in the queen's chamber. As for the other... Our heroes run back to a store room and strip one of the forklift trucks they saw, reducing it basically to an engine with wheels. They set this in the lift and weld the second waffle to its shell. They then tie the waffle framework to the ceiling of the first lift, and Lief jams the engine on. The lift doors close. The camera cuts.
We see a brief shot of the queen's chamber, her servants milling around her, chittering gently. The camera swings around to watch the lift doors open, and the bugs' heads lift and watch as well - as the tank of fiery death trundles out gently, much to the beasts' bemusement; they look at each other and chitter some more. The screen explodes in fiery death and screeching fills the air.
Moments later, the second lift opens, and Adrus hurls out another grenade waffle, hitting the queen squarely. She screeches, her mouth opening wide. Lief takes the opportunity to fling two grenades, aiming for the gaping maw. They bounce off her shoulder. Taris raises an eyebrow. Lief shrugs. Adrus hits the "close" button, and the three duck as the doors buckle under the weight of the second explosion.
Cutting themselves out of the lift, they gaze around at the carnage. Nothing moves or makes a sound. Lief holds out the wheel frame and it twitches towards the floor by the Gate of Auspicious passage. Taris reaches down and fishes a jewelled fragment out of the alien goo. They fix it into the wheel, link hands and touch the piece. Effects fly.
Epilogue: The three tumble out of a portal onto a paved street. They get to their feet and look around at the endless vast buildings. They look up, following the buildings higher... and higher... and past the myriad streams of flying cars. A voice that is distinctly Lief's whispers, "Oh... boy..."
First aired: 6/11/2010
Guest Starring:
Luke Judge as Dick Petrol
Helena Weaving as Josephine Markson
David Zachaneidas as Robert Frobisher
Jonathan Pinkton as AC26LY
First aired: 5/12/2010
Guest Starring:
Fraxknits as Nerigus Ekara
Michelle Artur as Lina Kor
Roberto Solas as Sulaman Yarem
Expedition notes - world 3
SUMMARY
Reporting officer: Karal Adrus.
Terrain & resources: Sandy desert/occasional rocky outcrops and oases. Few resources available in immediate area and (if Ekara's wheel-powered senses are accurate, for some thousands of miles around). Main exceptions are an unusual form of tree found at the oases that bears jade fruit. The jade in question is white, but not like white jade as we know it (see detailed notes below). This world also has a second type of unusual jade, black in colour and said to be harvested in underground locations. We also found evidence of unusual mystic geography (see detailed notes below.)
Culture: Two main cultures, the Kor and the Yarem. The Kor appear a largely peaceful nomadic folk migrating between oases to avoid depleting the scarce resources there. Several of their kind appeared to be blooded, though not of an identifiable element (see detailed notes). The Kor travel on foot, presumably because large numbers of horses would present an intolerable drain on food and water supplies. The Yarem meanwhile are based out of the occasional rocky outcroppings found on this world, and live by raiding the Kor. They too have a significant number of blooded amongst their number, again not of standard types. They are a warlike people with a contempt for sorcery and other indirect means of conflict (e.g. archery). Despite the constant threat from the Yarem, the Kor do not appear interested in retaliation or even much in the way of active defence. Note that, if approached properly the Yarem are not dangerous or even threatening. They are interested in trade and have items of the "black" jade to offer. They have a culture of duelling for honour or agreed stakes, as we learned to our cost.
DETAILED NOTES
Geography: See attached map.
Unusual jade types. The two main types of jade we encountered were "black" and "white" jade. I have put these in parentheses because in truth they are not similar to our own black and white jade. In colour, both are closer to their eponymous shades than the black and white jade of our world. In terms of their elemental alignment, it appears related to the elemental poles I describe below. I shall therefore refer to them as shadow jade and light jade. The light jade grows as fruit on certain trees found at oases on this world. As for the black jade, we understood that it could be found underground, though we did not see direct evidence of this. We have not as yet investigated the detailed properties of these substances, though we have taken samples for further study. Finally, it is worth noting that although these were the main types of jade we encountered, it does seem that at least some more familiar jade types exist on this world - we saw a red jade bracer, for instance, though this was the only such artifact we saw, and it was in the possession of a high status individual, suggesting rarity.
Elemental poles. Making use of our natural ability to sense the elemental poles, we determined that the poles on this world are unusual. Two of the five (Fire and Earth) seemed as normal, but the West, North and East poles we sensed as being different from normal. Although we remain somewhat sceptical of what our senses are telling us, as I write this report it appears increasingly likely that the worlds we are visiting represent a fundamental deviation from metaphysics as we normally understand it. In addition to the air pole being in the West rather than the North, two poles on this world appear to be entirely different elements, the North representing light and the East representing shadow. What this implies for wider metaphysical concepts can only be a subject for speculation at this time. Be that as it may, the locals perceived this as entirely normal and had no concept of the elements we are familiar with. (Indeed, the missing elements of water and wood would be extremely rare on the parts of this world that we know of, which is perhaps a direct consequence of the strange metaphysics we observed.)
Unusual blooded types. Just as there were two extra poles, we encountered two different blooded types. I hesitate to describe them as dragon blooded; for there is no dragon of light or of shadow. Again, I leave speculation on the metaphysical implications to others. These two types appeared the most common here (we did not encounter any "standard" blooded at all). They showed evidence of being able to use charms and sorcery, albeit in some cases markedly different from our own. The "light" blooded were prevalent amongst the Kor, and the "shadow" blooded amongst the Yarem. Correspondingly, it is hard to be certain whether a reluctance to use sorcery or similar indirect means of conflict resolution which we observed among the Yarem is something to do with the elemental nature of the "shadow" blooded or simply part of the particular culture of this individual tribe.
The Wheel. Upon our arrival on this world, our fellow officer Nerigus Ekara appeared. As recorded in previous reports, Ekara was killed in action some days previously, but her spirit and that of Karal Duros were somehow stored inside the artifact we carry with us and use to travel between worlds. (To clarify, she did not "materialise" out of the air; she was simply present with us when we arrived, as though she had always been there.) Ekara seemed psychologically well, but seemed physically uncomfortable, even somewhat ill. However, she was able to physically interact with the world around her just as easily as the rest of us. On a personal note, the team benefited greatly from near-restoration to full strength. Unfortunately, Ekara disappeared when we left World 3. It is still unknown how or why she regained material form while we were there.
First aired: 8/1/2011
Guest Starring:
Maggie White as Greta Heppaka
Richard Stone as Edgar Dane
Julia Tremor as Margarita Islet
Johan Denerad as Otto Dane
[Skeleton Recap]
Teaser
Heroes land on mossy stony ground, lost in the mist. Wander a little and head downhill, meet the hunting party, greeted as foreign dignitaries. They join the hunt and approach a clearing arrows whistle past them, one hits Lief.
Act 1
Ther are more arrows and more injuries, the prince rushes into the clearing and a voice screams to stop. More dragon-bloods are met and apologise profusely for the misunderstanding. Heroes are taken through the village to the castle and given quarters. The jumpers have a brief discussion about a gift, and then are presented to the court. They receive maps and summon Ekara to talk about the piece - it is hidden.
Act 2
There is a banquet, the jumpers get to know Otto a bit and talk to other prominent members of the court. They have to deal with quite a lot of flirting by the other terrestrials. They next day they discuss their courses of actions and after consulting Otto go to see one of the wise women who lives in the village. The meeting with this woman is strange and confusing, she knows and awful lot, she tells them to stick with Otto but gives them a strange warning.
Act 3
The jumpers start to investigate the crimes with Otto. They focus on the masonry and the site of the accident, and interview some of the masons involved. They conclude a Dragon-Blood of some kind must have been, and that only a few have the ability, but there is no way to narrow down the list further. They realise that they need to force a confession in some way and bait the royal couple with information, then Lief overhears them discuss their past crimes and plotting to kill Otto.
Act 4
Otto and the jumpers rush to the throne room to confront the criminals. They find the King and Queen as well as two other powerful dragon bloods. An epic battle ensues during which most of the combatants are slain and Taris is knocked out. Lief and Adrus stay to talk to court and fill them in on what happened. They stay for the crowning of new queen. Briefly they meet with one of the other wise women for some advice and some supplies.
Epilogue
Fall into a fountain. Corridors off in each direction, clean tiled floors, strip lighting and clean shiny glass-fronted shop windows all around.
First Aired: 12/2/2010
Guest Starring:
Brave Sir Robin as The Man in Black
[Placeholder recap]
Teaser
Wander around empty shops, turn a corner zombies!
Act One
Hide from zombies. Discover map, decide to get out, fight to doorway, discover more zombies.
Act Two
Investigate further doors, look in a few shops discuss options, check upstairs.
Act Three
Summon Ekara discuss options formulate plan. Cross the bridge.
Act Four
Fight with abyssal. Raid shop.
Epilogue
Snow drift
First Aired: 3/4/2001
Guest Starring:
Timothy Aleph as The Survivor
First Aired: 8/5/2011
Guest Starring:
Learned Hand as Karal Duros
First Aired: 11/6/2011
Guest Starring
Kauket as Astrid Strauss
Joseph Daniels as Samuel
Lucy Vazquez as Emily
First aired: 2/7/2011
Guest Starring:
Kauket as Astrid Strauss
Joseph Daniels as Samuel
David Khan as Magnetic Man
Josh Dreyberger as Power Stealer
Petra Eskellines as Carla
First Aired: 7/8/2011
Guest Starring:
Ian Denheim as Loremaster Voren
First Aired: ?
Guest Starring:
Bryan Fowler as Lord Casrasil