episode 009 | village witch 03

INTRO

SATAH: Welcome to Folio, an actual play podcast about solo and epistolary TTRPGs. I’m your host Satah, and I’m showcasing multiple possible experiences of self-paced games by inviting guests to play them alongside me so I can compile our stories together.

Today we’re continuing our game of Village Witch, a solo journaling game about a witch finding a home by Eliot Crow. With me again are Agatha C and Rhiannon Daly. Check out all the relevant links in the episode description.

I’ve decided that this is as good a time as any to finally mention on air that there is a Patreon for the show. I’m keeping it very low key for now because I’m trying a new fun experiment where I don’t immediately burn myself out on every single project I ever do at any point ever. But there is a monthly stream for patrons where I play a solo game, which patrons also get to vote on. The VODS and edited audio version of those will be publicly posted at some point, probably a few weeks after the stream. You can get those by signing up on Patreon as a free member. I’m kind of a weirdo about paywalling stuff, so figuring all of this out is awkward for me, but I appreciate whatever support you’re able to give me. At the time of writing, I’ve spent 23 hours editing these five episodes, and I haven’t even started to make the music yet, or obviously edited all of these interstitials and things, so like, you know, it’s a lot of work! And it’s fulfilling. And also, if you can throw me a couple bucks, thank you. If you can’t, thank you as well for being with me right here, right now, in this exact moment that we are sharing together.

So last week was spring, this week is summer. Two of our witches are going to try their luck in a new village, and one is going to stay right where they are. Let’s hear those second towns get built, and then see if we can’t bask in that heat a little.

GAME

RHIANNON: Alright, let’s move on to summer.

SATAH: So it’s summer, and I’m moving on, baby. I’m gonna roll a d6 to get a new location. [Die clatter] Two. Forest. Great. I already answered a few of the sort of location questions. Leaving one village to find another because the last one is a different type of movie than I want to be the protagonist in. It’s a political thriller, and I’m, uh… I’m just not an action type, you know? I I– I don’t have– don’t have the head for it, for the conspiracy and the intrigue.

AGATHA: I did not decide at the end of season for spring whether I was going to move on from my last village or not. And I don’t think I will, actually. I want to stay in the swamp land village for another season because we just did the dry season, so now I want to do the wet season, which is summer. Yeah, so Ginkgo’s journey continues.

SATAH: “Who will you miss?” I don’t think I’ve… I didn’t make like close-close friends, but I’ll miss the villagers. We started getting along really well, you know, in that second month, and started to really form good friendships. And so I think like– I’m not swearing this town off, by any means. It’s like, I will be traveling back through here again, and I will visit all of you, and I’m sure there’s a few of them even– probably the person who came in with the emergency, you know, just for the narrative circles and whatever, is like, “Hey, after we get all this sorted out, maybe you can come back!”

And I’m like, “Maybe. I don’t know if the dry air agrees with me, but… you know, I know that I’ll see you again.”

And what’s my new house like? I’m going to do it again. I’m going to roll a D4 on their examples. I got “built into a cave!” That’s so… it’s very funny that I got “house on stilts” for the desert and “built into a cave” for the forest.

I think– given that, it’s– the image I’m getting is that this village is in sort of a glade in the forest, and so I’m in a cave just inside the forest. I’m technically on the outskirts, but like, truly not very far. Everything has to be quite close because there just isn’t that much space, and things feel more private than they are. The denseness of the forest makes it very easy, actually, to get privacy even in such a small amount of space. Um, but, still, be careful, because you’re not that far from other people, and voices can carry, depending on the wind.

RHIANNON: Okay, I’m going to roll another D6 for the location that she ends up in in the summer. Four. Okay. So that’s the mountains.

And… let’s see. “What is the house like?” I think– I’m imagining this image of, as she’s kind of leaving the swamp village dejected, feeling like she just wasn’t the person they needed for the kind of problems that they had, she ends up flying a pretty long distance, maybe making a couple of stops on the way there, maybe it’s like a several day trip. And flying eventually up to this village on a mountainside, right? And so…

I think in this case, the house is– it’s like a sort of cottage built on like, like a terraced flat area on the mountainside in– not on the mountainside, but you know, up there, on the outer edge of the village, right? I’m imagining it sort of being like– she has this, um– this house that is a bit higher elevation than the rest of the village, so the people have to kind of walk up uphill to get to her, and she can see the whole place from where her house is, from where this cottage is, and she has like this terrace, this like sort of like earthen terrace that’s built up so that she can have like a garden up there.

SATAH: “Do you have a garden?” Not so much a garden, just the like– the natural plants that grow around the cave. I– oh, I like the idea that there just like, there’s sort of a mud room of the cave that has like– there’s moss being cultivated on the inside, very specifically, like moss varieties that have been like– of different colours that have been cultivated to do like artwork on the walls. It’s all natural, made of moss, and it’s essentially self-sustaining, but it’s the kind of thing that like, as a person living there, I can sort of like mould and like shift a little bit, like depending on which areas you like pay more attention to, it can look a little bit different.

And I think actually, for some reason, what I’m realizing there is, I don’t think I’m the only one living here specifically. I think that this is actually one of those things where like, I got roomies. I got witch roomies. And I think that what it is is that they are not focused on the people of the village. These are like, forest-ass witches. Maybe one’s even an elf. Like, they’re very much like, “We are here because this is a source of immense natural power and all of these people live here– that is also why they live here, even if they don’t realize it–” I think that’s probably the elf, they can be a little condescending– “and they need help, and they deserve it, and somebody needs to take care of it, and them. It’s not going to be us. We sort of got– we have some high level stuff to pay attention to.”

Again, higher stakes. Something I seem to be establishing about Duck is that they have a tendency to be just on the sidelines of movies that are a lot more intense. Like their roommates probably have saved the world a couple times, or are going to, and that’s sort of like what they’re paying attention to, and Duck’s like, “Ooh. Haha… Uh, no, I would love to… so you have to go save the world. Are your shoes comfortable? Or do you need insoles? I can make insoles. Somebody needs to make you some insoles. I’ll do it.” You know? So that’s what they’ve got going on.

RHIANNON: And let’s see, “is it haunted or is there an animal friend that comes to visit?” I imagine there are probably… I’m going to say there’s a goat here. Not a goat that’s like, you know, magical in any way. It’s just– they’re up in the mountains. There’s a goat. There’s a goat that won’t stop hanging around her house and isn’t really anyone’s livestock. It’s just there.

And she sees– I think this goat is who she sees first as she gets in, right?She knows where she’s going. She kind of bypasses the rest of the village. She’s maybe a little afraid to talk to the people there after her first experience in the swamp village. So she just goes right up to her cottage and there’s a goat standing right in front of the door, like, blocking her way, and she has to kind of like negotiate the process of convincing this goat to get out of her way so she can get in. And, you know, maybe she’s eventually able to do this. She offers it like some kind of snack to kind of lead it away from the door a little bit, but the goat’s still just standing there outside once she gets in. She’s like, well, okay. I guess that– I guess this goat is here. Just going to hang out in the front yard.

Yeah, so I think that’s her initial impression of the village, is meeting this goat and being like already less alone than she was, but also without having met a single human being yet. And also it’s not like the goat is super friendly. It’s just very stubbornly sticking around. So that’s kind of what I’m imagining for her as she gets there.

SATAH: “Is the house haunted or is there an animal friend?” I think the house is probably a little haunted, but not in a way that is kind of my concern. You know? Like, again, that’s sort of the stuff that my roomies are dealing with. And so it’s like, “Just so you know, on the full moon, like, if you don’t fall asleep by a specific time, you will see an apparition. Don’t believe it’s lies. Don’t promise it anything.” And it’s just kind of like, “and we really prefer to have dishes done sort of at the end of the night to wake up to a clean kitchen. Uh, and that’s it.” That kind of thing.

“Initial impression of the village and who do you meet first?” I think it’s beautiful. For some reason, I very much like have been assuming that Duck is from somewhere a little bit more woodsy. And so I think that there’s there’s an enormous amount of like– there’s– there’s some comfort that comes here. And so I think it’s like, ah, yes, this is beautiful.

And I think that it’s– something that really impresses them is how compact it is. Like I think they’re from somewhere that’s woodsy, but elevated, you know, like it’s kind of like everybody lived up in the trees and whatever. And here, it is a glade. So everyone’s living in this forest, but on the ground and very close together. And that’s like new and exciting and cool for Duck.

And I think the first person I meet… I think that I just like– I like the image of, um– like what I said earlier about the… there is privacy to be found in the forest, just because it is so dense, but people are still very close together. The idea that I was sort of like coming up through the path and there’s like some sort of goofy thing… like, somebody pops out onto the path and is like, “Hi! Oh my god, are you the new– are you the witch? We heard that you were coming in.” and I’m like, “Oh, yeah, hi. Uhh! Nice– nice to meet you.” Like these people just, like– somebody literally popped out of the forest, and so I’m like, you know, trying to just catch up and they’re just kind of gossiping a little bit.

And then somebody like pops out on the other side of the path and is like, “Deanna is that you talk– oh! Oh my god, you’re the new witch!” And like just three different small groups of people all pop out because they were all like quietly having their own time. And so my first impression of like all of these people is like, they are very curious. And incredibly nice! Um, but it’s like– I think I quickly am like, ooh, I should, um– I should be prepared sort of at all times to like, not know if I’m alone, because I thought that I was, but then six people popped out with a seltzer in– they’re– they’re all having picnics. Or fucking. Or whatever they’re doing. I don’t know. You can do both of those things at the same time, if you’re brave.

RHIANNON: See, as far as some of things in particular…

SATAH: “The warmer winds of summer swirl around you, embracing the world so full of life that was nurtured through spring. The sun kisses the earth as barefooted children delight in running through the warm dirt.”

SATAH & AGATHA: “How do you prepare your home for summer?”

AGATHA: “What do you enjoy about summer?”

SATAH: “What is something you’ve learned since you started your journey?”

AGATHA: Preparing for the wet season has a lot to do with patching the roof to make sure that it can withstand day after day of rain? And heavy rain, too. This is not the kind that gently mists down. It’s the kind of rain that every day when it when it falls, it kind of pelts your skin and– and it’s a little bit painful because they’re just so heavy. So the roofs definitely need to be redone generally. I don’t think I’ve decided on what kind of roofs they are, but I imagine that they’re just thatched in some way from the materials that are nearby.

So this is kind of like a village wide activity. I think it’s actually– uh, it’s not exactly like a festival, but it is– there always gets to a point in the seasons when people are like, yes, OK, now it’s time for roof thatching. And then everyone pitches in to help, uh– help do it for each other. And it’s kind of like, uh, yeah, like all the kids get involved as well, and then probably at the end of it, everyone tends to sit down for shared meal and Ginkgo takes part as well.

I don’t think she’s very good at it. She again came from a family that is better off than the general economic status of this village. So they I don’t think they had an activity that was similar to this, or like it wasn’t a group activity whenever they needed to trash their roofs. They had different materials, as well. And whatever was needed– needed to be done was usually done by servants. So Ginkgo is kind of like, “Wow, this is all very new!” And she struggles a little. But I think the the villagers actually find it kind of endearing that– that she’s bad at this. And there’s definitely some bonding time where her and Peony get to do that together.

SATAH: “How do you prepare your home for summer?” I like the idea that I– you know, come up to the cave and the other two witches are doing some sort of prep labour? Like I’m thinking of this as like– I mean, we live on the ground, so it’s probably not super rainy. But, like, they’re sort of like shifting plants around in a way that– ooh, I bet that– I mean, they’re they’re doing plant magic that’s like, coaxing vines to sit slightly differently to like, give more shade. And they’re, um, establishing anti bug charms and that kind of thing.

And I walk up and they’re like doing this. And they like greet me and they’re excited to see me and I just hop in because this is something I understand. Like, this is very, like, practical hands-on stuff that I’ve done a lot of. And so I’m able to like, just hop in and start just bug proofing and– and temperature proofing the– the– cave in a way that has to happen at the beginning of summer.

RHIANNON: “How do you prepare your home for summer?” Summer up in the mountains is interesting. Right? In that kind of high elevation environment, it’s– I imagine that the summer is probably kind of like wet and temperate, right? Yeah, I think it’s like a little bit humid, but it’s not it’s not that hot because of the elevation. Right. And so I think it’s probably a lot of like, maybe she gets in and the sheets on the badge are, you know, like the really heavy winter ones that whoever was here last was using, right. And all of the things in the house indicate that like the last time someone was living here, it was winter. And so she has to kind of air things out and get rid of the dust and make it less oriented around dealing with the cold and like sealing the whole place off and stuff. So she’s opening the windows, she’s sweeping, things like that.

SATAH: “What do you enjoy about summer?”

I immediately have the thought of Duck, like, waxing poetic about light fabrics? Like, it’s established that they like– their favourite season is fall. But, you know, they admit in almost a like guilty pleasure kind of way that there is something that is so wonderful and appealing to them about fabrics that are designed to be seen through? That, like, there’s something so fascinating and beautiful about fabrics that exist almost to pretend to hide the thing that they cover? To provide protection for the thing that they cover and to decorate the thing that they cover, but also to allow the thing that they cover– the body they cover, the house they cover, the window, whatever– to show through naturally. And so I think there is something that’s just very appealing about that to Duck.

AGATHA: So what does Ginkgo enjoy about summer? I think she doesn’t mind the rain and how heavy it gets. It’s relentless, yes, and it does tend to be pretty hot. But the heat doesn’t bother her, really. She’s used to that. And I think she finds the noise very comforting, actually. So every evening when the frogs just get so loud during rainy season, and then also during the day when the rain is just hitting the roof, there’s something about the rhythm of it that is very comforting and very familiar for her that she tends to like. And there’s also– when you’re falling asleep and you hear the sound of the rain and you know that your roof is thatched, that is also quite comforting.

RHIANNON: “What do you enjoy about summer?” I think for her, the thing she enjoys about summer is, like I was saying before, she has this kind of rhythm to the year where during half the year she gets to focus on her sort of magical specialty because, like, people are more likely to get sick or hurt in a lot of places during the winter. But then this is where she is in full swing in the other direction and is focusing on her more mundane housekeeping tasks and things that she does for villages, things that she does for herself, taking care of the garden and stuff like that. So I think something she enjoys about summer is being able to swing fully into that side of what her job is, I guess.

SATAH: “What is something you’ve learned since you started your journey?” Well, gosh.

I think that– this is interesting because it’s getting reinforced here, where like, you know, at the last place– they started to really learn, like, that the position they occupy might not always be the one that they think they’re occupying? That they might not only be in the shadow of the person who came before them, but they might be forced, just by virtue of how other people see them– how other people– the way that other people assume that they are, the position that other people assume they’re occupying– they might be forced to do that. Like, in the last place, they were forced to be a part of politics because the mayor kept asking for help with stuff, and that that happened because that was just an assumption that the mayor made, that this is something that somebody in Duck’s position does. And so they’re just learning a lot about, like, being careful to… understand the assumptions that they’re working with and that other people are working with? And I think that this is being reinforced just in like, moving in with these two other witches, right, who have these really like grand scale concerns. Um. Just seeing the contrast there, like seeing where their focus is, makes Duck like, “Whoa, yeah, okay, I have to be really careful about setting expectations and making sure that I understand other people’s expectations. Otherwise I can get caught up in something without even knowing that it’s already happened.”

RHIANNON: “What is something you’ve learned since you started your journey?” I don’t know about that. I think that something she’s learned is that just being interested in what’s happening around her and good at what she does doesn’t feel like enough to her in the way that she kind of expected it would. So she feels a little bit of a pressure to like, figure out what it is that she’s missing, about what it is that makes a good village witch.

AGATHA: Um, what she’s learned since starting her journey is that people are very resourceful, even without– even without magic and even without wealth, necessarily, and better resources– for example, the building materials that she’s used to– but people are still able to figure out a way to live with nature, to live amongst their environment by working together. And that has been, I think, a bit of a humbling experience for Ginkgo.

SATAH: So let’s do some cards.

RHIANNON: Okay, so–

AGATHA: Okay, so I have that set.

RHIANNON: Going back to the cards.

AGATHA: Now it is time to draw my card.

SATAH: Because they’re tarot cards especially, I really just feel like they should be laid out and then flipped, you know?

RHIANNON: Let’s draw our first card for summer. I’ve drawn the ten of swords. Well then, that’s a much less scary prompt than I would expect for the ten of swords, which is really a very negative looking card. “You take a spell bath using herbs, crystals, and maybe even some fruit to prepare the water. What comfort or healing do you hope to receive from the ritual?”

I think what she’s doing here is she gets in and the first thing she notices is that the mountains, like, look and feel and smell very different from where she just was, but she still kind of smells like the swamp. And she feels like, you know, that’s weighing on her in a way that’s more– more metaphysical, maybe, than just the literal, like, she kind of smells bad. [Laughing] So, she kind of wants to wash that off of her a little bit and sort of integrate with her new environment instead of carrying the old one around with her so much.

So yeah, I think that’s what she does. I think she maybe looks around her garden, sees what, like, local plants there are, like local herbs that she could use to kind of infuse it with the– with the vibes of what’s going on outside her house instead of way back where she was. And she just wants to kind of sit in this mountain environment. And it’s probably one of the first things she does as she gets in.

You know, at the last place, I kind of imagine that she never fully unpacked her personal stuff, even the small amount of it that she had, mostly just unpacked her work stuff. And again, she’s, you know– we’re getting this kind of first card situation before she’s unpacked anything that’s really personal to her.

AGATHA: The first card I draw is a nine of diamonds, which is also an around the village card. Nine of diamonds. “Take a walk around the outskirts of the village, circling the community with protective rituals and blessings.” Okay.

Um– yeah, that’s what Ginkgo does. I think it is just a standard day. And Ginkgo does that. She would go around and place specific herbs and then also like specific materials in the four corners of the village that correspond, um, to… there’s like a directional aspect to it. So the north, south, east, and west. In each of– in each section, she would place different materials because they are for either inviting good luck or for warding off bad luck.

And when she does this, the kids in the village that are more used to her and also find her not very scary would kind of follow her around and like– they want– they would be hounding her with questions, but she would tell them that she needs silence and that this is very serious. And then they’re kind of like, “Aww…” but then she would be like– I think she would reiterate her point and then try to be serious about it. And then maybe one of the parents that are around would take pity on her and then shush all of the kids. Because really, Ginkgo does not have that kind of authority with the kids, specifically.

SATAH: So our first card is the nine of cups. This is around the village. Nine is, “You find an item someone lost. What is it? Do you return it to them?” Huh.

An item someone lost. So– my thought of this is kind of a sad one for some reason. Like, I’m thinking that like– I mean, it’s a piece of clothing, right? Like it’s a hat that just got blown off and I find it in the middle of the woods. And I don’t know why this was my first thought, but it’s like– I find this hat and part of the– there’s like a ribbon on it that is falling off. And so I fix it and then go and find the person whose hat it is. And I’m like, “Hey, I found your hat and don’t worry. I fixed that ribbon that was falling off.”

And they’re like, “You what?! No! I swap that ribbon out almost every single day. This just like… it’s supposed to be loose. I’m going to take it off. Like, like this just made it, you just made this worse.”

And I don’t know why I want to put Duck in that position. Sorry, Duck. But I think that’s what it is. I find this hat and I think that I’m fixing it, but I’ll– actually, I’m like doing something that I haven’t been asked to do. And this person is like upset with me when I return it.

And I think like this person also is being a bit of a jerk, I think, because I’m like, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed. I’ll fix it.”

And they’re like, “No. You’ve done enough.” which is like a very overdramatic thing to do when somebody’s just like put a couple stitches on your hat they could just take out. And so like, they’re not being nice. I shouldn’t have done it without asking, but also like, they don’t have to be such a jerk to me. But still, it’s kind of a like, Oh, right. Okay. I got to be careful about also assum– right, again, setting expectations and all that kind of thing– like I have to be careful about assuming that–

[Loud Garold meows] Hi buddy. Um…

Yeah, I just have to be careful about assuming what is what is desired from me, because everyone is– everyone is– is– is individuals and has their own specific things. And even if I’m trying to be helpful, I have to ask first.

[Gentle Garold purrs]

AGATHA: So yeah, I will move on to my second prompt, which I will take from the– the major arcana. And that is a seven, the chariot. “You find yourself in a situation where you need to take charge and lead. How do you feel about that? Is leading easy or difficult for you?”

I think that one of the young people in the village has been plagued with nightmares recently. Is it a youth or is it a child? Let’s say that it is a youth actually that has been plagued with nightmares. And it is the kind where they– they sleep and they cannot awake, but they’re clearly experiencing nightmares and thrashing around and crying out. And during these nightmares, they just cannot be woken up. And then later on, when they do wake up, they’re exhausted and just sort of haunted and they can never explain what they experience in the nightmares. It’s unclear whether they don’t actually remember or whether it was just so upsetting or disturbing that they can’t or won’t put it to words.

Let’s say that it is actually, um– Peony’s younger brother. So Peony, the village elder’s daughter, um, her younger brother is the one that’s experiencing this.

And it’s gotten to the point where it is clearly a thing that is not passing and the whole family is getting very concerned. So they ask Ginkgo to come and deal with the situation.

I think this actually is much easier for Ginkgo to deal with. Ginkgo tells the family– well, Ginkgo goes– I mean… she’s heard about this. She’s heard the screaming at night because this is not a big village. And so she kind of already knows a little about the situation and she also hears the kids talking about it or some of the other villagers gossiping about it as they go around their work. They still view Ginkgo as an outsider, somewhat– an assigned witch from the government, basically. But she’s kind of done enough things with everyone and kind of proven her worth in a way where they won’t avoid her when they’re gossiping.

So yeah, she knows about it and she goes in. I think she’s comfortable telling the village elder and also Peony what to do. Maybe this is one of the evenings where things are kind of escalating, where he is thrashing around so much that they’re scared that he’s going to hurt himself; it’s so violent. So yes, Ginkgo goes in, tells them to hold him down and then ask them very briefly what kind of things have been happening. What has he been saying, the frequency, the usual doctor things that you might ask. And then she makes everyone gather the things that she needs.

And then also I think she, um– it’s probably a combination. It’s not exactly an exorcism, but she does a combination of applying herbs and then also, um, performs a ritual to kind of clear this building, this house, of– of the bad energies that could possibly be there. And it does involve getting people to go and stand in different places while she chants. She chants and then applies the herbs that are needed.

And yeah, I think this is the first time that she has ever told the village elder what to do. And I think the village elder is uncomfortable with it, but also is more concerned about his son than what is basically the change in their power dynamics. But Ginkgo is not uncomfortable with it. She has grown up with the expectation that she will be in charge in one way or another, to the point where she kind of expects it, and then when people don’t give her the respect, that’s what makes her uncomfortable, because she doesn’t know how to fight for it, because she never had to. So yeah, in this situation, she’s like much more in her element, when everyone just– would listen to her.

RHIANNON: Second card. That is the page of pentacles, which is “Wild card. Choose any prompt from this suit.”

I think I’m going to take something that gets her more socially involved with people around here. So I’m going to pick five. “You visit the village bakery. What is your favourite food there?”

Let’s see. I think something that she sees in the village bakery is like a bread that she kind of doesn’t know what to do with, but she’s curious about it, right? She goes in and she sees this bread that’s, like, a little bit tougher than she would normally expect for a bread that you’re supposed to eat on its own. So I think this is kind of what gets her to start opening up to people a little bit.

So she asks the baker, what’s the deal with this? Is this like, a local specialty? And the baker explains to her that this is a bread that is specifically made to be put in a bowl with, like, a soup that is common in the area, right? Thinking about the mountains, I’m thinking about people needing kind of this like very hearty food working outside at high altitude, right? And so I’m imagining the baker just explaining to her, yeah, like there’s this soup that is a very common meal around here. Normally people will put this bread in there and it’s tough because it’s expected to get softer as it kind of sits there. And it’s also like strongly flavored because it then like gives some flavour to the soup and things like that. That gets her kind of asking questions.

And I think, you know, maybe the baker is somebody she feels a little bit more comfortable around now and can kind of start to make friends with, um– as they’re talking about the way that the local climate affects people’s food habits, affects agriculture, stuff like that.

Again, it’s summer, right, like, so that outdoor work portion of her job is in full swing. And so she’s really interested in getting more involved with that here than she did at the last place.

SATAH: The second card is a… not an actual card. It is a little title card that was in the pack still. So second card is the ten of wands. So wands are around the house. Ten is, “Someone comes for help on something you won’t do.” Ooh!

Clothing is so linked to like appearance and stuff that my first thoughts were like, territory I don’t really want to get into of like somebody being like, I need you to change that make it so this scarf makes my face look different because I hate my face. And I’m like, no, I love your face or whatever. Um, I don’t really want to go into that territory. So like, I was thinking this earlier when I gave like an example of a date, there’s like love spell type stuff, but I don’t know… that’s not super interesting to me.

So what is a limit that I have? Huh. What do you think, Garold?

Maybe it’s a– my next thought is that it’s something to do with like somebody bringing me a garment from someone who died. And they’re not asking for like, a resurrection, but they’re– I think that they’re basically like… you know, “I’ve, I’ve heard of, I’ve heard that you can put parts of someone’s spirit into–” not quite have the person possess their old sweater or whatever, but like that it– there are rumors it’s possible to have a little part of them stick around and tethered using the emotional connection of this garment.

And I think that I, I confirm that those rumours are true, that there is like part of a human spirit that, you know, even if you’re not fully resurrecting somebody, you can– you can call part of their spirit and you can bind it to this plane in that way so that they are around, still, in some form. And that I absolutely won’t do it because it’s cruel to both– to everyone involved. Like, we don’t know how that feels for the spirit, but probably not great, because these things tend to end poorly, you know? It often gets blamed on like, well, sorry, I, yep, I did pull it a little bit of your wife in that dress forever, um, and within a couple months, that dress did, uh, go on a killing spree, strangle a bunch of people and burn your house down. But that wasn’t your wife. Uh, that was, that was just, you know, life and death, energy, complicated, uh, demons, unrelated demon happened. That’s the story that gets told, but it– it seems to me, at least– to Duck and to a lot of people who also won’t do this and who consider people who do it kind of opportunist grifters– that it seems possible, maybe even likely, that that is– that destruction is being caused by the spirit of your loved one? ‘Cause it isn’t pleasant to just be trapped forever?

And that ultimately it isn’t even fair to you because it doesn’t provide any more comfort than just having the garment would. It doesn’t bring them back. The only thing that it does is let you know that they’re still there in some form. But they aren’t. And so it– it interrupts your grieving process and your life and ties you to a version of your life and yourself that isn’t there anymore. The version that still had that person. But that isn’t the case. And it always ends poorly, because it isn’t fair to anybody involved, when it even works. And so I won’t do it.

And you know, this person like begs and pleads and says it’s going to be different. And I’m just like, Nope, I don’t do it. But what I can do is like, sew your wedding ring into a little thing that you can wear around your neck that makes it so you’ll always remember her laugh or whatever. You know? Makes it harder to forget it. That’s something I can do, but I won’t do the other thing.

And I think they reject that and they leave. And then a few weeks later, they come back and– and they take the ring thing. And they’re not happy with me about it still, but they do come back.

RHIANNON: Ooh, five of wands. “Write a letter. Who is it for and what do you want to tell them?”

Oh, interesting. I guess as I’m getting to my third card, there’s a decision of whether to make this the last one for summer, and I think so.

Can I– something I haven’t considered is whether she can stay in the same location for two seasons. I just want to check that. Okay, you can stay in the same location for more than one season. Yeah. All right.

So I think– this is going to be the last card for summer, but I’ll stay in the mountain village for fall as well.

So let’s see. I think, here, Viv is writing a letter to a mentor of hers, you know, whoever trained her, right? Like, an older witch who she maybe apprenticed under, and she’s kind of asking for advice. She’s talking about how she hasn’t really felt like she’s had a place or found a place in any of the places she’s visited so far, but she’s not sure what it is she’s looking for, or what would make her feel like this is the place she wants to settle in, right?

And I think that what her mentor writes back to her is that she should try staying in the same place for two seasons. And try to see what that’s like for her, if she has a bit longer and doesn’t just give up as soon as she doesn’t feel entirely at home somewhere.

AGATHA: This is a five of spades. “You perform a ritual. What is the purpose of it?”

I think this is a communication ritual. This is one where you send tidings, either good or bad, to someone further away. It’s faster than mail, but you also can’t communicate any words basically. It’s just like a feeling that you’re sending. So she is performing a ritual to send good tidings, uh, to her– to her family, to let them know that she is fine and that things are generally going well.

And I think that marks the end of the season. And it’s been nice. Again, the weather is something that she’s used to and she’s starting to get comfortable within the village. She’s understanding how to handle the dynamics between her and the rest of the villagers.

But I think she’s also growing a bit restless. She’s like, okay, I think I know how to handle my job now. And she wants to go somewhere where the climate feels very different. So I think she is going to bid this village goodbye. And they are sad to see her go, I think. They like her. She’s good at what she does, and there is that unconscious sort of attitude that she has of not quite thinking of the villagers as her equal– maybe it’s because she comes from a city, maybe it’s because she comes from a higher class in her background– but they kind of expect that. That’s not unusual for an assigned witch. So I think they generally wish that she would stay.

And I think especially Peony is actually kind of upset about it because they’ve grown closer and she thought that there was something between her and Ginkgo. And I feel like it became this very awkward conversation where, when Ginkgo reiterates that yes, she will be going, then Peony leaves and is clearly upset about it.

I think that Ginkgo will miss this village, actually. And she won’t realize this until she has moved away. How much she actually likes this village and how much she will miss it. She’s trying not to regret the way that things ended with Peony. And she’s trying to look forward and think about what she wants out of her assignment.

SATAH: [Card flipping sounds] Card number three is the Empress. “Choose a villager you would like to connect with and invite them over. How do you prepare? What do you discuss? After the visit, how do you feel about the connection?” Ooh.

Villager I’d like to connect with. I’d love for this to be something a little romantic! I think that’s fun. I think it’s– I like the idea that it’s… somebody who was on the path that day– maybe the first person– like the day that I arrived in town. It was like– it wasn’t the first person who popped out. It was somebody who popped out and like pulled everyone else off of me a little bit, you know? Like, came out and was like, “Alright, alright, I think we should probably let them get settled, right? We have a long time to ask them a bunch of questions. It’s what they’re here for.” And gave me like a big smile and pulled me into the forest with them to separate me from the, like, well-meaning but very overbearing other villagers, and brought me to the cave. And we’ve seen each other on and off in the past few months, you know? We see each other around.

I want them to have a similarly like– something crafty about them. I think they’re like a– like a– jewelry maker or a– yeah. They like do rock tumbling and like make jewelry. And so we’ve seen each other at markets and stuff and traded. And I think that when we first– I went to like invite them to talk about the craft or something or like, I was like, “Hey, you should come over and show me how to do this one specific thing!”

And they like, gave me a look and smiled and they’re like, “I mean, I’m happy to show you that, but is that why you want me to come over?”

And Duck is like, you know, flushes and is like, “Okay, that might have been a pretense. Um. I do want to learn that thing though, but maybe we can do that another time. Would you like to come over– would you like t– would you like to come over for dinner with me? To have dinner with me?”

And they’re like, “Yes.” With that said, we do end up talking about that stuff.

But I think, yeah, preparing, I like, you know, make a big lovely dinner. And I think I also pull out some of my collection of like buttons and, and, and baubles and beads and stuff to talk about like different places where I picked them up and like, because I know that they’re interested in– in like the construction of these things. And so I’m like, “Oh, here’s techniques that I’ve seen in other places.”

And yeah, we talk about that stuff. We talk about working with our hands… [Suggestively] eyebrows… and making things and the unique, like fascinating joy that is having your art be something that other people use as self-expression? Like, especially for them making jewelry, like– the fact that they make things that people come to identify with so strongly, like, “I created this as an extension of myself and someone else picks it up and it comes to like, define them in some way or, or be a huge part of their personal style and definition of self.” And what a like deep connection that is and how like– from my end, you know, Duck starts talking about how like, yeah, the the amount of like, just emotion magic and feeling that gets that gets stored in clothing and accessories and things that people wear and things that people use to express themselves… is incredible. And that being able to like, be part of the creation of that is like, unbelievable, and such an honour.

We talk about that. And we talk about where they’re from, which is like a colder climate. We talk about how they got here. A little bit how I got here, but a little bit less, because I think that story already kind of went around the village, you know? People wanted to know my backstory, and then they told everybody. People talk in this town. And so they do ask, you know– they want to make sure that they got it right, and that they’re not just believing what’s been told about me, which I appreciate because as we established earlier… that’s occasionally a problem I’ve run into.

But mostly, I want to hear about them and how they got here to where we both are right now. And we eat dinner, and we go on a walk through the forest. And I point to a bunch of mundane rocks and ask them if it’s a gem. And they laugh every time. And then there’s one time where they start to laugh and then they go, “Wait a second,” and they pick it up. And it is. And they show me how they can tell– like, the little markers of the colour shining through. And they, they– their face lights up and they start talking about the potential of it and what it can become, what it already is, how– how they can just help make it express itself more fully. And they put the rock in my hand, and I look at it and I look up at them and I smile. And we kiss in that forest. And then… yeah. We spend the night together. And they head home in the morning with that rock. And they say that I should come over and they’ll show me how they turn something like that into a wearable piece of jewelry.

And I feel good about it. That’s how I feel. I feel good about it.

[Laughing]

And that’s summer.

OUTRO

SATAH: This has been Folio, an actual play podcast about solo and epistolary TTRPGs. To find where you can find the show, check out foliopod.carrd.co.

We’re on Patreon at patreon.com slash foliopod.

You can find Agatha at mightyshrimp on Bluesky or mightyyshrimp with two Y’s on Twitter.

You can find Riannon Daly at CNIDARIAA on Twitter and find her work at scyphozoan.itch.io.

You can find me at posatahchips on social media generally and check out my other work at gaygothvibes.online.

Next week, Agatha and Rhi and I will continue our game of Village Witch by Elliot Crow, linked as always in the episode description or show notes, whatever they’re called! [Laughing]

Thanks so much for listening, and take care out there.