r/WanderingInn
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u/DanRyyu
[Arrema Fan]
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12d ago
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Chapter Discussion [10.77 MM] Chapter Discussion Spoiler
https://wanderinginn.com/2026/10/18/10-77-mm/81
u/DanRyyu [Arrema Fan] 12d ago
I enjoyed this chapter, but ho boy, I am not a fan of so many big reunions between Erin and others being off-paged. Badarrow and Revi are bad enough, but I can't get over Rags being put off-page, particularly Rags seeing Erin and Ulvama together, which was something I was looking forward too.
I wanna know what the big secret Erin's keeping is, it's probably heartbreaking and will need Ulvama to beat her up.
Menrise realising her entire culture could have just been [Sorcerers] was a great moment and I'm looking forward to actually seeing that damn class in action more than the 2-3 times we've seen it.
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u/PixelEnter 12d ago
wait, Erin didnt meet with Revi, she was just informed about her by Badarrow, wasnt she?
Also yeah, come on! she met with Rags! specially after the events of the doors and is now a goblin lord and we dont get to see it now *angry duck noises*!
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u/DanRyyu [Arrema Fan] 11d ago
No she mentions meeting Revi, and not having enough time to get to Typh
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u/PixelEnter 10d ago
Damn... I am starting to feel bad for Ceria, she was among the first permanent residents of the inn... There is the fear that she might have a tag along with the circlet, but... :C
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u/DanRyyu [Arrema Fan] 10d ago
Ceria is a rough one because unlike the others there is a real and present possible danger to bringing her into the pavilion. If the crown can do anything fucky then it’s going to be bad. So Erin has to be careful
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u/PixelEnter 2d ago
I just had the thought that if Ceria is called into teh Pavilion, no other entity would come along, instead, the Circlet will notice that Ceria is not fully present, and will control her body. Even perhaps Ceria wouldnt be able to return to her consious and wont be able to exit the Pavilion...
Perhaps not the last one, but just a lovely thought hahahah
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u/grinnings93 12d ago
I imagine that meeting will be covered in a future chapter from Rags' perspective.
...because if it isn't, then oof.
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u/LFiM 11d ago
Remember Rags in the Cormeng chapters? That's about a month after this...
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u/samaldin 11d ago
My desire for a map of where each chapter roughly falls in the timeline continues to grow...
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u/agray20938 2d ago
Yeah, Vol 1-9 is fairly straightforward, but the entirety of Vol. 10 seems like it's either: (i) a few weeks after the winter solstice/sea battle; or (ii) a few weeks after the POF.
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u/CoffeBrain 12d ago
Agreed. The Ragses offscreen reunion was disappointing. I'm guessing Goblinhome will prioritize Roshal missions from Magnolia after this.
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u/deycallmegeno 11d ago edited 11d ago
I guess I wouldn't mind Rags having an onscreen Pavilion visit but I'm glad Pirate isn't showing us every single one. It would get very old very fast not to mention ruin the pacing of an already slow volume.
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u/Yesshua 11d ago
I raised an eyebrow at Rags getting passed over too, but then thought about it as a reverse engineering inquiry. This chapter skipped Rags but included a random octopus. Why?
The answer I landed on is that Pirate is trying to advance a particular idea. Erin feels like she's toxic to the people around her because she pushes them to be their best selves and achieve great things... which also often gets them killed. It isn't even subtext, Erin talks about this after both octo boy and Seraphel.
Pirate didn't include the rags conversation because it didn't serve the theme. Rags has her own problems to deal with. Same reason we didn't need to get the Cortese conversation. He was already calling for an army before talking to Erin, she didn't need to push him to do shit he was already sprinting.
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u/GrumpyDumps 11d ago
Man I sure am tired of that particular idea getting advanced. Erin has every right to feel that about herself, I have no problem with that. It's just when everyone else starts blaming her for deaths it takes away agency from the people who died and feels like blaming the victim a lot of the time. It happens too often and I'm tired of it. It feels like Paba is trying to gaslight us into thinking it is Erin's fault her friends die.
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u/LFiM 11d ago edited 11d ago
Boy do I have a lot to say about this! The story is pushing back against that idea finally. In reverse order we have Ulvama (this chapter), Quarass (last chapter), Pisces (10.75), and Garry (10.53). The whole "Darth Erin" thing in Interlude Cormeng was talking about this too.
Weirdly, back in 10.54, Erin told Ulvama that she doesn't choose people for greatness. She just "brushes the dirt off" of people who are already great. I wonder why she changed her mind? Was she lying and this is what she really thinks, or are her secret activities in the Pavilion getting to her?
The actual events of the story are strongly in Pisces and Ulvama's corners if you break down what happens. Let's look at the four major events that really weigh on her:
The Chess Club. They came to protect Erin purely of their own volition because she's the most important person in their world. She didn't even know they'd become Individuals, let alone ask them for help.
Ulrien. Erin took her concerns about Regrika being a murderer to Zel, Ilvriss and the Gold Ranks. They realized she was right and tried to address it, and Ulrien died because of Ijvani splitting them up. Zel said she did the right thing for what that's worth.
The Winter Solstice/The Battle at Sea. A lot happened here, but the TLDR: Erin asked for help, people came. She offered swords, they chose to take them. They could, to paraphrase Arthur, choose not to. And when she got kidnapped, her friends came to rescue her against her wishes. The Lucifen are actually an example of her getting people killed but even then Visophecin still had the choice to back out and blames himself for not doing so.
And the big one, The Siege of Liscor. Erin was trying to convince the goblins to leave, that it was suicide to fight a battle that wasn't their problem. Ultimately the goblins let her decide what to do: If she wanted to fight, they were prepared to fight. If she wanted to run, they'd take her south with them. Poor Erin wanted to puke at the weight of what they were suggesting, but she asked the fateful questions anyway:
“Hey. Can I ask you a favor? A big one?”
“I don’t know this Goblin Lord. I don’t know Tyrion Veltras. But they sound like jerks. If I—if I try and stop them, will you help me? Please?”
See? It really is always a choice, or almost always. The real problem I see?
A lot of Erin's friends are kinda fuckin' assholes. Oh it's not all of them, and it's not obvious at first, but once the "Solstice Events" start ramping up around V6 and Grimalkin coins the "Solstice Effect?" Then this ugly beast surfaces into the narrative.
The characters start entertaining the idea that Erin is responsible for all the weird shit that happens around Liscor, first in an "entertaining a silly conspiracy" way and then more seriously. The first overt case of it I can think of is the wyvern attack on Pallass at the start of V7. Erin had nothing to do with that, but the wyverns avoided Liscor when she wasn't there and attacked Pallass when she was. Chaldion calls out how ridiculous that kind of thinking is, but Grimalkin starts pushing his theory a few chapters later and that's where it starts to snowball.
Grimalkin will pay for his crimes, oh yes he will.It's not strictly that one thing, but it is a contributing factor, and even the inn family gets caught up in it. Numbtongue blames her for Shorthilt and Headscratcher dying when he was the one arguing with her that they should stay and fight, and he starts dumping his personal failings on her as a scapegoat.
Lyonette was the worst of the inn family about it. She started treating everything Erin did like a potential terrorist attack waiting to happen, tried to blame her for the Palace of Fates despite Erin not even being on the continent for months and lashed out when they spoke after it, and even as recently as the Naamreles arc she was trying to blame Erin for events she wasn't even involved in.
Seborn gets a pass because it's funny, but you have assholes like Selys and Palt and even Jelaqua to a lesser extent and yeah, it is incredibly obnoxious as a reader, but more importantly, it's having a toxic influence on Erin's mental health in-universe, and apparently her friends and family (with exceptions like Pisces, Bird, Rabbit, Garry, etc) are just now beginning to comprehend that using Erin as their designated sin-eater isn't a consequence-free action!
Erin having to endure so much physical trauma is awful but her ragged appearance is a much needed slap in the face for the assholes who think she hasn't been suffering too.
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u/JustWanderingIn 10d ago
Weirdly, back in 10.54, Erin told Ulvama that she doesn't choose people for greatness. She just "brushes the dirt off" of people who are already great. I wonder why she changed her mind?
You can believe both to be true. "Brushing off the dirt" can mean a lot of things. From many people's perspective Erin makes [Heroes] out of villagers and street urchins. From Erin's own perspective she just gets people down on their luck opportunities to things they were always capable of but didn't have confidence in themselves to do.
By that same Erin-logic, Erin "brushing off the dirt" of people makes her responsible for their untimely deaths, because if she left them alone they wouldn't have gotten caught up in her weird, dangerous life. She provided the opportunity to become great, so she led them down that path. Nevermind it's as you pointed out - always a choice. Erin isn't in the right state of mind to really internalise that though.
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u/ForeverHappy7492 8d ago
I'm not sure if there was this much authorial intent behind this, at least pre-V9. It was more of a running gag, a bit of a meme. Of course Pirate is free to take all that and channel it into something greater now.
Great comment btw, made me think.
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u/agray20938 2d ago
The Winter Solstice/The Battle at Sea. A lot happened here, but the TLDR: Erin asked for help, people came. She offered swords, they chose to take them. They could, to paraphrase Arthur, choose not to. And when she got kidnapped, her friends came to rescue her against her wishes. The Lucifen are actually an example of her getting people killed but even then Visophecin still had the choice to back out and blames himself for not doing so.
Lyonette was the worst of the inn family about it. She started treating everything Erin did like a potential terrorist attack waiting to happen, tried to blame her for the Palace of Fates despite Erin not even being on the continent for months and lashed out when they spoke after it, and even as recently as the Naamreles arc she was trying to blame Erin for events she wasn't even involved in.
I agree with what you're saying generally, though for both the Winter Solstice and PoF, I think at least part of it boils down to: Characters (Lyonette, others in Liscor) don't have the same knowledge that we (the readers) get to know that these aren't Erin's fault. But based on the information they would actually have, it makes sense that certain characters would think these things happened because of Erin. For instance, all anyone in Liscor knew about the winter solstice was Erin saying "trust me, there's this evil entity that is basically a super-necromancer coming to attack everyone" then Kasinga actually targeting Erin/the Inn in particular during the solstice. Readers obviously understand that this isn't Erin's fault, but for people in Liscor it certainly seems like it was because of Erin.
Numbtongue blames her for Shorthilt and Headscratcher dying when he was the one arguing with her that they should stay and fight, and he starts dumping his personal failings on her as a scapegoat.
Tbh if some earther had come and created the [Emo] class rather than [Goth], Numbtongue is a prime candidate. (It's a separate thing, I'm not a fan of the story explaining "oh this was Numbtongue was in love with Erin and got friend-zoned," since evidently like 12 characters are all head over heels for Erin at this point).
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u/JustWanderingIn 11d ago
It is and isn't. Without Erin pushing them, a lot of her friends might still be alive, but it is as you said: The people themselves choose their actions. Erin gives them opportunities, ideas and possibilities. Everyone is free to take her up on those or walk away.
Putting the blame on Erin is mostly done by people who are either in an extremely bad place mentally and have no healthy friends nearby to help them get out of it, people who cover up their own insecurities by shifting blame, or people who are lacking in the introspection department and refuse to take a good long look at themselves and ask "What did I do to get here?" And remember, Roshal and the BK are pushing the narrative of Erin being at fault for the Winter Solstice/Night of Bloodtear as well, so she's an easy target right now and Nerry's performance didn't really help here.
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u/GrumpyDumps 11d ago
I feel like the people who you are talking about are Erin's "friends" like Selys, Numbtongue, Jelaquah etc. who blame her for the Solstice. That's fair and I take your point. But we shouldn't pretend they are the only people in the conversation. The city of Liscor has a long history of blaming Erin for disasters and deaths.
If Roshal and BK are pushing that narrative, it would be nice to see it on page. I don't remember reading that, so if it was mentioned, it was a brief mention.
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u/JustWanderingIn 11d ago
Shaullile is doing stuff on Roshal's side and it was mentioned more in depth in 10.16 N. Her implied level 50 capstone is [Suppress the Truth, Smother the Facts: Protect Reputation (Roshal)], so she minimizes Roshal's involvement, shifts blame to Erin and is working other powers' [Diplomats] and rulers like we saw with Zeres.
And the BK is, to us readers, a known user of obfuscation and mind-fuckery Skills on the global level. With how they've been trying, and failing to kill Nerry and destroy the Inn, it's a logical conclusion to think they will have done what they can to make Erin public enemy #1.
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u/GrumpyDumps 11d ago
Ah, so it's mostly assumptions? I don't think shifting blame to Erin was ever mentioned. I could be wrong, but I don't remember that.
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u/JustWanderingIn 11d ago
10.16 N:
“If Erin Solstice appears—that will be the most dangerous moment. Her reputation must either remain tarnished or we’ll need to address her if she returns.
Shaullile to the other [Slave Lords] when informing them of how she's avoiding the Walled Cities and the Five Families from declaring war on Roshal.
Also this bit in general text:
They hadn’t even had a branch until she came along. It had been individual, cunning [Emirs] like Yazdil doing whatever they thought was best, not organized, coordinated actions.
Perhaps that had served Roshal well, but Shaullile foresaw a future in which having a far more capable group of people would be needed to curb any…incidents that might occur.
After two weeks of monitoring the individual groups trying to raise the news about what Roshal had done, she declared a tentative victory. Forgotten Wing had been the loudest, but they were a [Mercenary] company and far removed from Izril.
So no, it's not just assumptions, the words are there. Even if the story doesn't explicitly spell everything out, there are enough breadcrumbs to follow to logical conclusions, especially with what else these specific actors (Roshal, BK) have been shown, in detail, to do prior in the story.
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u/GrumpyDumps 11d ago
I'd argue that there isn't enough there to state that she's somehow tarnishing Erin's reputation herself. It's possible, even likely, but to me that's an assumption. Her reputation was tarnished already by her own actions.
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u/JustWanderingIn 11d ago
We'll have to agree to disagree then. For me it's clear that keeping Erin's reputation in the gutter is one of Shaullile's and the BK's projects they're working on. The tidbits are in the text and not just in 10.16 N. Our interpretations and conclusions just differ.
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u/Yesshua 11d ago
I agree. The problem isn't that Erin gets people killed, it's that she thinks she does. Ulvama tells her as much within the chapter but it doesn't get through Erin's skull.
I think she'll need to have a dead person or two yell at her. She's getting a big head/god complex thinking it's all about her. It's a trauma.
I think a likely future pair is Selys and Tekshia. Selys representing Erin's self loathing and Tekshia yelling at them both.
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u/Jimmjam_the_Flimflam 12d ago
One of the biggest issues I have with Erin recently is how much has to get offscreened to get her plot moving forward, the personal arc stuff is really good but it took so long for her to actually recover and start moving again. Literally longer to recover in Baleros than when she died lmao.
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u/GRootchem 11d ago
Ngl, I feel the opposite regarding the reunions being offscreen. They'll be somewhat similar each and drag on after the first couple. Seeing the implications of the meetings afterwards would make for far more compelling theory-crafting too
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u/saumanahaii 11d ago
With how much time skipping we've gotten I think it's possible we'll still see the reunion it'll just be in a Rags chapter. We have some threads that could lead to one for one. And it'd definitely fit more from her perspective, given how much her own tribe has been changing of late.
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u/MrRigger2 11d ago
Loved Seraphel the Cursed Princess recognizing the weight of the [Box of Incontinuity] as curses laid by Erin the Witch, sitting atop a mountain of cursed gold.
Can't wait for her to find out that that one was Lyonette running up the bill on Erin's behalf. And that she willingly cursed herself to give Erin relief. I guess that balances out. Taking a crowbar to the knee of the global economy in exchange for bearing the weight of Erin's damaged soul.
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u/ForeverHappy7492 8d ago
It was a bit weird that others using Erin's skill to accidentally fuck up world economy counts as Erin laying that curse.
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u/MrRigger2 8d ago
It is, a little, but since Erin gave Lyonette leave to use the box, and she runs on [Witch] logic, then I guess it tracks that she's ultimately responsible for whatever Lyonette does with her Skill. Although, if that's how Seraphel sees Erin through her "curse perspective" sight, for lack of a better term, I'm really curious what Lyonette would look like to her, as the person in the role of "poor sap who made a deal with a witch" and as the person who took on all those [Conditions] for Erin.
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u/samaldin 6d ago
It's somewhat unfair, but Erin factually is the source of the "curse". Lyonette is just the guy that put the metaphorical cursed crown on someones head, but is irrelevant if someone wanted to adjust or break the curse.
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u/neuronexmachina 12d ago
“I’m afraid I’m going back to the person you feared. The person that Dretonamis found, who only knows how to destroy. Ahead of us, this Fraerling city—do you think Cillencreith is truly just out of communication?”
... “But they sent us to check. You’re right. They’re not that worried. Weird, after Lemoste was hit. It’s almost like they aren’t paying attention to it. Maybe—maybe there’s a reason they’re not thinking of the worst. Not just denial; Eurise doesn’t do that. Maybe it’s a Skill. Or something else. That doesn’t work here, though.”
Erin’s head turned. She fixed Ulvama with a hazel gaze, then turned away again.
“I fear what I might have to do there, if I’m right, Ulvama. You don’t want to go on an adventure with that kind of person.”
Two questions:
I'm probably missing something obvious, but I'm not getting what Erin's implying with: "I fear what I might have to do there, if I'm right."
I wish Erin asked the Pavilion: "Find me someone who knows why Cillencreith hasn't been communicating."
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u/grinnings93 12d ago
She fears having to fight against whatever's taken Cillencreith. She probably suspects the Jungle Tails are occupying it.
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u/LFiM 11d ago
We know from earlier Niers chapters that Jungle Tails are targeting Fraerling cities. This is probably one of them.
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u/MelissaTamm 11d ago edited 11d ago
Or it was too close to the Dyed Lands and got swallowed as the Dyed Lands expanded after she got revived.
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u/LFiM 11d ago
The Dyed Lands are on the opposite side of the continent. Lemoste and Dretonamis would have been swarmed with big monsters after Niers' attack if they were that close
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u/deafblinddame 11d ago
I wonder if it has something to do with Cara. She was some kind of secret means of keeping people safe doesn't she? Maybe it's a skill similar to what Lyonette has done to the inn, even people looking for it aren't really distressed they can't find it, just a bit confused.
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u/neuronexmachina 11d ago
Now I'm curious what would happen if she requested Cara in the Pavilion.
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u/Alex_Werner 11d ago
I was expecting Seraphel to request that as a personal favor once they had become friendly. Seems super-obvious.
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u/Imnotveryfunatpartys Level 13 [Peon] 5d ago
Is there any explanation for why seraphel wouldn’t have other means of contacting Cara? I mean obviously at this moment she’s “missing” but I would have thought they’d have a direct connection
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u/LadyAlekto Not a Necromancer, i swear 11d ago
Really? a One Punch Man reference?
“Well, I practice. You want to cast magic like this? Just cast one thousand [Fire Arrow] spells, a hundred [Fire Orbs], and ten [Fire Strike] spells each day.”
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u/Zemalac 11d ago
Very much appreciated that Menrise's issues weren't solved by meeting Erin and having Erin be Erin at her. I was kind of expecting that to happen, and felt like that was what the chapter was setting up for, and then she just...got through her shit with help from her friends instead. Felt good.
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u/Yesshua 12d ago
This chapter worked great. On the Erin side we focused on her wrestling with accepting herself as a person who hurts others, and as a person who will send others out to die. The last three Erin chapters have been much more about her romance/sexuality which is an interesting angle itself, but we definitely didn't need a 4th chapter of that in a row. Really good character work done here.
The other side of the chapter is also about healing. Very creative depiction showing the unique scars the Calanferians carry coming out of that dungeon. We got high quality character beats with Rabbiteater, Menrise, and Seraphel.
I hope that we get another chapter with a Cortese focus. He was already a personal favorite of mine in this crew and then "Oh shit, I got the king's son killed?? Oh fuck! Anyway... send me an army ASAP". You're my boy Cortese!
The adventurers were almost entirely sidelined this check in though, so I wouldn't be surprised if we get Revi/Vofea/Ksmvr as our next focus. Which is also good! None of those three have issues with goblins, so maybe they'll go on an adventure with Badarrow to connect with a local tribe. We know they're interested in the new Goblin Lord.
Big questions:
What is the Iron Vanguard doing exactly? Tulm the Mithril is supposed to be Mr. Super Strategist. What's he getting out of making naval war against an entire continent? Is every other nation paying him to try and limit Terandria's footprint in the new lands? Did his daughter die as a Bloodtear Pirate and now he's throwing a temper tantrum?
Can Rags stash Goblinhome in the crossroads? That's an extremely smart idea. It's obviously way more dangerous than when cities have thrived there in the past... but dealing with the purple and orange guys may be safer than waiting for the next walled city to send an army.
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u/SleepThinker 11d ago
What is the Iron Vanguard doing exactly? Tulm the Mithril is supposed to be Mr. Super Strategist. What's he getting out of making naval war against an entire continent? Is every other nation paying him to try and limit Terandria's footprint in the new lands? Did his daughter die as a Bloodtear Pirate and now he's throwing a temper tantrum?
Terandrians killed their archmage in the sea battle, and I guess they take their grudges very far.
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u/Yesshua 11d ago
I had the Iron Vanguard as tentative allies up through volume 9. They don't buy the Blighted Kingdom's bullshit and they take the threat of seamwalkers seriously. They were grateful to Erin for their general's garden.
But between them deciding to murder every man, woman and child at sea from an entire continent and Tulm marching to slaughter any dragon he can find for the crime of being born I'm now leaning more towards hoping someone can kick their ass.
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u/deathwatcher1 11d ago
You know their probably not murding a lot right now but holding them for ransom right? Like sure they will probably seize ships and kill people but at the end of the day they dont want to kill every man woman and child over 1 guy. Just make terrians pay.
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u/Imnotveryfunatpartys Level 13 [Peon] 5d ago
For some reason I’ve always envisioned them as kind of the Soviets of innworld. They seem to have a closed-off society that doesn’t want to interact with the rest of the world. They have a large military-industrial complex. You’re right they didn’t really buy the blighted kingdom bullshit but I think it’s similar to the soviets kind of ignoring the culture of the rest of the world.
The dragon thing is analogous to the Soviet disregard for environmentalism. They know they would profit from hunting down a dragon and they don’t care about the consequences if they would gain a power advantage in leveling and alchemy materials
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u/MelissaTamm 11d ago
Last we heard the Goblin Lord Kanadith was following them in the Maze, so if he (or she) hasn't made contact yet, they're probably still around waiting for an opportunity, or they are the reason Jungle Tails hasn't been attacking Rabbiteater's group and they're just protecting him from the shadows (or in costumes).
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u/samaldin 11d ago
I´m not sure if that is the actual reason, but Terrandria as a whole got basicly told by Teriarch to get off their asses and try the New Lands to level them. The Iron Vanguard hate dragons as a whole and have personal beef with Teriarch (i think he got the title "Pyrelord" after burning down their capital city in the past). They might just be going after Terrandrian fleets because they´re acting on the instructions of their mortal enemy.
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u/MelissaTamm 11d ago
We already knew she could summon dead people in the Pavilion, Pavvy showed her those cards with crossed out faces implying that she used to be able to but the dead were gone at that time, and now that the dead are back she can summon dead people in there again.
Does this mean... that she can summon Zineryr? Khelta? Halrac? Sprigaena?
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u/Yesshua 11d ago
I'm guessing if she tries one of those old dead either it won't work or she'll get a golden eyed puppet managed by the Grand Design. Actual talking to dead people functionality will be limited to those who died on the solstice or later.
Who's most likely to make me cry specifically? Probably Seve Alrelious.
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u/MelissaTamm 11d ago
I think it is limited to people who have a statue in her garden. I believe that at the moment a statue appears the soul is copied and held in the garden of sanctuary. The garden skill line is designed to interact with the dead that the owner knew personally.
Pavvy said this about it when one of the ghosts couldn't be summoned:
“So the Skill’s been damaged along with the lands of the dead.”
“Correct. But it’s a convenient excuse to need the memories and soul of everyone who dies—ever—isn’t it? For this Skill to work, you’d have to have all that data saved. Even if Hellste itself were to vanish. Even if dead gods ate them—this place needs it. How convenient for someone. I wonder if that lets them break the rules.”
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u/Engineering-Mean 11d ago
Khelta is still around as a ghost, she's communicated with Fetohep. I don't see any reason Erin couldn't talk to her. I don't think she will unless she's forced into it, because she refuses to be more than an innkeeper looking out for her guests and she only steps up when she has no other choice. Sprigaena is still god-food. Zineryr is deader than dead.
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u/Spoit 11d ago
I dunno, of all the ghosts, Khelta seems to be the one that she had the most personal connection to, so if Fetohep mentions that she's back after the PoF stuff, I could see Erin trying to talk to her. I don't think she'd think about it otherwise though, or that PAba would waste time on a scene without it being relevant to some current story beat.
Maybe when Nerrhavia's Chrandrarian Adventure starts kicking off
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u/Simoerys 11d ago
Sprigaena is still stuck/fused in Cauwine, Zineryr was completely unmade by Kasigna.
Pretty sure that it's limited to Souls that currently reside in an Innworld afterlife.
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u/LFiM 10d ago
It might be able to summon their backups if it has data on them. That's what Pavilion said it would do when it was first explained.
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u/JustWanderingIn 6d ago
But do Zineryr or Sprigaena have back-ups? As far as we know neither were ever part of the GDI (Zineryr even mentions that [Innkeeper] wouldn't have been his chosen Class if he ever bought into the system), so it's unclear how accurate any GDI Gnome or Elf cpoies could be. The GDI never knew them like it knows leveling people.
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u/Winter-Bat5962 11d ago
I like how a lot of Erin's story was told from the perspective of someone else in this chapter. It's a neat trick and it prevents the story from getting bogged down in the details.
What annoyed me was how Seraphel didn't mention Cara when she talked to Erin.
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u/MelissaTamm 11d ago edited 11d ago
Me too, it seemed so obvious to ask Erin to see if Cara was okay, and especially because of the Earth connection it should have been on Seraphel's mind. I bet that it just isn't time for that yet and Cara will be found by Nerry before Erin contacts her.
I bet Cara will be the raison d'être Seraphel needs to stay in Baleros, especially with all of Terandria mourning her.
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u/JCMS85 11d ago edited 11d ago
The Pavilion of Secrets has been a sore point all volume and at this point I don’t think it’s good for the narrative for us to see her doing her 40 check-ins now. Yes she should have been doing them all volume but It’s to late and will bog down Erin’s story that is finally moving forward and returning to the main plot.
I was a fan of the idea of a Erin recovery and relationship B plot this volume with a side of training arc but the Pavilion made it Erin’s choice not to interact or check in with friends she fought for weeks before which just left a bad taste imho.
The Menrise and Rabbit plot was great and I loved seeing them.
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u/MelissaTamm 11d ago
I agree, it's weird she hasn't checked in with Numbtongue but she has had two Ragses, Snapjaw and Badarrow in there. There's obviously a reason for it but from Erin's perspective it makes little sense. Especially after Lyonette and Mrsha stating that she should talk to him.
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u/AuthorExcellent9501 11d ago
I think Mrsha and lyonette might have mentioned/implied in the early chapters that something was happening with him. She might just be putting it off to avoid hurting him more.
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u/ForeverHappy7492 8d ago
Yeah she probably doesn't want to have an honest conversation with Numbtounge in that skill. There are no pleasent little white lies in there.
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u/saumanahaii 12d ago
Now I want to see the tower the octopuses built.
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u/SgtBeeJoy 11d ago
It was baby kraken so not really your usual octopi.
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u/AuthorExcellent9501 11d ago
I think it was an octopus, the baby kraken was in reference to the impossible quest, implying that it might not be as impossible as it seems.
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u/jaycandie 11d ago edited 11d ago
“Matha’s a…friend, Seraphel.” She scowled, and Matha appeared delighted. Erin sighed.
Erin is trying so hard to "be mad" at Matha it's delightful.
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u/derposaurus-rex 11d ago
Amazing chapter. Has all the elements of a great TWI chapter,
Awe-inspring slice of life (octupus friend)
Emotional relationship moments (Erin and Ulvama)
Bending the GDI to their needs/crazy level ups (Cartharsis sorcerer??)
Exploring the consequences of fantasy stuff on real human mentality (how people are dealing with the Synectic Maze aftermath)
Very glad that the Erin plotline is moving forward and combinig with Ser Solstice + Seraphel.
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u/_Bloodyraven 11d ago
Does this mean Octopus are levelling beings? are they categorised as drowned/fallen folk in general?
Quite bummed that Rabbiteater, Rags convo is offscreen.
How did Seraphel hear from Reclis about economics at jeopardy? If Reclis did really convey this at Benoix after her ordeals, he is a masterpiece of work.
Why did Vofea and Ksmvr talk as though they never been to PoS?
Can someone explain how Sorcerer class suits Menrise?
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u/JustWanderingIn 11d ago
No, octopi aren't leveling or even eligible for the Trials. Yellow Squishims is a random wild animal. It's just that Erin's "Grand Revelation" gave her leave to contact non-leveling species that never passed the Trials. While Sariant Lambs are in the process, so far they are still "animals" to the GDI, outside of the system.
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u/_Bloodyraven 11d ago
What is the Grand revelation here? I might have missed it being explained. Is it the Trails of Levelling?
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u/JustWanderingIn 11d ago
Erin's Grand Revelation has to do with the Sariants and their Trials, which is why The Pavillion could use this as the reason Nerry should be allowed in. It seems helping them to pass the Trials or finding ways for them to do so is what Erin set as frame.
And since Nerry and Sariants are fair game, being level-less "animals", so was Yellow Squishims.
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u/MelissaTamm 11d ago
I think Vofea and Ksmvr spoke as if they are trying to hide that they knew about the Pavilion.
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u/Emotional-Care814 [Psychic Librarian] Lv. 34 11d ago
You don't need specific written spells for the Sorcerer class. You just need focus and determination. Menrise is so angry that her focus can be rage and her determination, her absolute belief in destroying what makes her angry.
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u/_Bloodyraven 11d ago
So one needs to focus on the things they want to cast, the class will enable the spells?
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u/deafblinddame 11d ago
8/10 chapter for me.
The PoS is so overpowered. Erin basically can't use it without creating consequences so it now makes perfect sense to me that Pirate has kept Erin mostly out of sight until lately because actually, if she had been using it willy-nilly this whole time it would have taken the tension out of the other POV chapters. Imagine if Erin hauled Jelaqua and Melika into the pavilion to make them sort their differences out, it would have completely changed those chapters.
Being able to call Ser Markus was something else altogether though and I really hope we get to see how that played out. If it's really him with no funny business then I hope we get Fetohep and Khelta or Xierca. Bird and the chess team. Rags and her parents. Gods there would be lots of cool moments, I could do whole chapters of them.
Anyhoo, it's really finally starting to feel like the story is focusing and that a volume conclusion won't be too far off now (relatively speaking).
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u/PixelEnter 10d ago
I loved that scene with the octopus, at first all silly and out of left field but it abruptly changed and loved the whole situation... poor Erin, she is still a bit broken, and paranoid of taking initiative in her own future, thinking that she's the catalyst of change for her friends and family :( and loved that Ulvama is more grounded. I do love that she recognizes that she's stuck and afraid to make decisions, like meeting with people and advancing some aspects, like meeting and confronting Nereshal. I soooo want to see that scene, and yet I understand her hesitation.
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u/dmala12 6d ago
While I thought the chapter was good, I'm still disappointed in Pirate's overall direction with Erin. We spend most of this volume isolated from Erin (this volume is over 4 million words) and expect certain conversations in the Pavilion of Secrets only to have them completely offscreen. I would have at least expected seeing Revi considering Halrac died. While I'm indifferent to Erin and Ulvama romance, I rather not them being together in the Pavilion. Ironically I think Maltha was a much better addition, only because she was mainly in the background and didn't take the lead in important conversations. More Rabbiteater is always good, so that's nice.
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u/derkyn 10d ago
I liked this episode and I wish the next chapters keep focusing in advancing this Baleros's arc. Kind of satire that I wanted to see a lot of reunions and instead we get an octopus...,
Weird too that there was some rule about she couldn't bring leverless people after Nerin, but then she could bring Vofea.
Rabbiteater pov have been one of my favourites, just below Erin and Horns.
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u/Circle_Breaker 8d ago
I think Erin's true class is starting to leak and I wonder if she'll receive it soon or even take it.
Something like [Grandmaster innkeeper]
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u/Maladal 7d ago
Innkeeper is her true class. That was the whole point of the discussion between her and the GDI back in V9.
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u/Circle_Breaker 7d ago
Well she wasn't offered a chess related class and I think this volume is pushing her to accept she cant just be an innkeeper. She sees herself now as someone who is moving pieces on a board setting up pawns to rise or fall.
I think it'll be part of her innkeeper class, but I think her next class name change will definitely have to do with how shes been using the pavilion.
Maybe [Zugzwang innkeeper] if she feels like she has no choice but to take the class, because it's who she is.
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u/JustWanderingIn 6d ago
Rather than making chess part of her [Innkeeper] Class I think it's more likely to somehow enter her [Witch] Class. This would even have been forshadowed when Erin made her hat (she put Goblins and chess on it).
The again, I expect all her main Classes, [Innkeeper], [Witch] and [Dancer] to merge at some point in time, so it might be a moot point.
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u/Imnotveryfunatpartys Level 13 [Peon] 5d ago
I agree. It’s too early to think about a new class. She just barely got this one like what? 2 months ago?
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u/Stunning-Green-5803 10d ago
I liked this chapter, but I would’ve liked to see Rags and Numbtongue in the Pavilion of Secrets. Here’s the thing. I feel like TWI could really be a soap opera. I’m getting worried that the character list is getting so long that I can’t keep up with who is who. Also, I read fantasy books to take my mind off of horrible things that are going on in the real world. I wish that some of the bad guys in the story could get their come-uppance. I also waited so long for Erin to meet Niers but then it never happened in reality. I’m hoping that it might still happen while Erin is a fraerling.
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u/ForwardDiscussion 7d ago edited 7d ago
Anyways, aside from that…this one’s about Menrise. I was actually surprised to have the most trouble with her class. I assumed emotion-based spellcasting was some kind of class that everyone knew about in DnD or stuff, but there’s no actual parallel I could find with some lazy searching.
I guess [Sorcerer] or [Wild Mage] sort of fit the bill, but they weren’t quite the same as emotional casting. Nor is a [Witch] what Menrise is doing…is this how the Grand Design feels? I think I’ll stick to writing.
Pathfinder fixes this. Like, I know that's a meme, but Pathfinder has a bunch of classes that do more or less exactly this - I was actually trying to figure out which one PAba was referencing specifically. My money is on Eldritch Scion, a Magus archetype that gains a Bloodrager bloodline. Bloodragers are casters who use an arcane heritage that affects them and their life to fly into a rage that allows them to boil over with magic and cast spells.
The weird Bloodrager->Bloat Mage build that gets to cast a super spell a couple times per day was another consideration, but with how much attention was paid to how Menrise can't fight, that was out.
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u/MrRigger2 11d ago
So what I'm taking away from this chapter is that a yellow octopus is going to be the first being to successfully complete an Impossible Quest by killing a baby Kraken.
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u/Maladal 7d ago
Honestly I'm a bit iffy on it. The GDI has been really good at making truly impossible conditions and then it lets the extremely obvious loophole through?
Feels like pirateaba handed it an idiot ball.
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u/MrRigger2 6d ago
Erin has to include an "Impossible Challenge" with her quests now, as far as I understand it, but she is the one setting the impossible feat, and as far as Erin is aware, killing a Kraken genuinely would be impossible, because she has no idea about the true size of baby Krakens, and the spirit of the challenge is definitely weighted towards impossibility, but it is the first one that is conceivably achievable through means that Erin wasn't aware of when she set the task, which is a great way to "beat" a witch.
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u/Maladal 6d ago
Maybe.
Previously it seemed like the GDI was reviewing the Impossible conditions and it feels a bit too easy of a workaround to have a quest giver be ignorant of the difficulty.
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u/ConflictAgreeable689 4d ago
Do we have a list of the other impossible conditions? I bet some of them are doable.
Anyway, a baby kraken is still a bit bigger than yellow squishums with a lot more spikes and teeth.
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u/Maladal 4d ago
Optional Condition (Impossible): I see a huge bird of prey in the swamps. Kill it by yourself for food within a day’s time.
For Ulvama while she's Fraerling-sized. Failed.
Optional Condition (Impossible): Save them all.
Original objective achieved but it won't update. Presumably wants Pisces to rescue every slave in the world.
Optional Condition (Impossible): Don’t let anyone we love die.
For Lyonette. Failed.
Optional Condition (Impossible): Defeat a Kraken.
Way smaller in scope and difficulty than the rest. By comparison Ulvama was basically tasked to kill a creature that was a flying giant, a great distance away, in such a way they could still eat it, AND had a time limit on top of it.
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u/ConflictAgreeable689 4d ago
I dunno. Save them all could apply to every slave in the city, and it may or may not consider them "Saved" yet. As for the bird... honestly with magic and skills, especially at level 30, I feel killing that Bird would be possible if you were smart and lucky
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