SPOILERS for Critical Role Episode 112 (obviously). Go check out the full episode at GeekandSundry.com!
Our recap of Episode 111 can be found here.
Vox Machina reaches Thar Amphala.
Previously on Critical Role
Vox Machina traveled through the titan’s body, hoping to reach their destination of Thar Amphala. They battled undead and Vecna cultists, draining their resources along the way. During their journey, however, they gained a sphere of annihilation.
Now
Vax goes over to Scanlan and heals him, restoring the missing half of the gnome’s face.
The twins take the lead as they move along. Vex casts pass without a trace on everyone. She also brings Trinket out of her necklace.
Moving up the steps, Vax searches for traps, finding none. Eventually, they reach the next chamber. They find the ruins of structures and a courtyard littered with parts of twitching corpses. In the distance, they see torchlight. They realize that they are finally exiting the titan, and entering Thar Amphala.
Scanlan brings the orb to them to clear a path. Vex hands Scanlan one of the cultist robes.
Through an archway to the left, Keyleth sees humanoid figures holding torches. They are surrounded by animated skeletons. She also sees an armored figure, more skeletons, and a ten foot tall creature. In the right archway, she sees humanoid figures hunched over.
Vax takes the scope of Percy’s gun to look more closely at the armored figure. He notices that the figure is wearing armor similar to the figures at the ziggurat in Marquet.
Grog is curious about the scopes, so Percy gives him one to look through. He immediately begins to panic because all of the creatures are suddenly in front of them. Vex quiets him down and calms him before he attracts their attention.
Pike looks through the scope as well.
Pike: “I just see big guys… Though everyone looks big to me.”
Keyleth casts scry on the death knight, hoping he is near Delilah. Her vision leaves her and is pulled up to Thar Amphala. She sees the death knight walking up a stone staircase. Looking around, she does not see Delilah. Two other armored figures stand watch outside of a chamber.
Suddenly, she hears Vecna whisper a single word: “no.” Her vision returns to her.
The party tells Scanlan to go up to the cultists guarding the archways and pretend to be Odell. They tell him to pretend there is a disturbance that requires everyone to abandon their post while the party hides nearby. When they leave, they will continue on their path.
They debate if Odell or Viskorad was higher ranked in Vecna’s army. Vex searches the red robe she took for any indication of a name or rank. Scanlan decides to become Viskorad.
Vex puts Trinket back in the necklace and tries to disguise everyone to aid in hiding. Grog carries Pike on his back to keep her armor from making noise.
Before he leaves, Keyleth casts freedom of movement and enhance ability on Scanlan.
Quietly as possible, they hide, making sure to stay close enough to Scanlan to keep their protection from Vecna.
Scanlan walks to the middle archway, bringing the orb with him. He asks the cultists standing guard for aid.
A rock behemoth comes into view. The armored figure asks for more information. Scanlan explains that Odell needs help, and that the conflict he just fled from changed his voice and features.
The figure pauses. Scanlan becomes increasingly nervous as the moments pass. The cultist agrees to accompany him to Odell. Scanlan, however, tells him to go down while he runs for more help. One of the hooded figures takes the orb.
The cultists leave, but the skeletons and rock behemoth stay behind, still guarding the archway.
They reassess the situation. Scanlan tries to simply pass by the creatures in the middle archway. He passes by the behemoth and suddenly takes a knee, feigning a headache. He whispers to the others through the earring. They tell him to lead the behemoth away.
Scanlan walks back through the archway. Dropping to his knees again, he tells the behemoth that the power is too much for the others. He pleads with it to leave as well. Surprisingly, the behemoth is moved by his impassioned plea and leaves to join the others.
Vex whispers to the others that they should take the opportunity to run through the tunnel and collapse it behind them rather than collapsing all three tunnels. They decide to create a wall of stone over the entrance of the tunnel behind them instead.
Keyleth casts the spell, blocking off the tunnel. Percy, Vex, and Vax take the opportunity caused by the distraction to kill the creatures in front of one of the side tunnels. They kill a cultist and a shadowghast, but one more shadowghast remains.
The remaining shadowghast attacks Vex. Vax kills the creature and pulls it off of his sister.
The others run for the open tunnel. Pike lags behind the group, and skeletons scratch at her armor as she passes.
When they all get into the tunnel, they cave-in the extrance to the tunnel. However, they notice that the integrity of the tunnel is compromised, and it begins to collapse. They run up the tunnel, but the titan takes another step, speeding up the collapse. They are pummeled by rocks as they run. They see a green-blue light in the distance.
They cautiously exit the tunnel. The sky above them is a sickly teal, colored by the barrier encasing Thar Amphala. Winged gloomstalkers patrol the sky above. They see a magically reconstructed spire in the distance. An explosion bursts against the barrier. Wyvern riders circle the sky outside the city.
J’mon flies above them. A blast of arcane energy hits them. They still fly, though they are slightly knocked off course.
Vax looks around the city. He sees many undead dwarves wandering the streets. He also sees a skeletal dragon flying above the city.
Vax whispers to the others to stay behind in the tunnel.
Climbing back into the tunnel, they discuss finding the sword of Kas. Keyleth gives Vex the scrying eye to find the sword. Focusing on the sword, she does successfully scry, but she sees the sword in muck: a molasses-like silt. She does not know where it is.
Having now seen the sword, Vex casts locate object. She senses that it is lateral and down from them, but she doesn’t know the distance.
They formulate a plan to retrieve the sword. Having few good options, they decide to have Scanlan, Percy, Grog, and Pike stay in the mansion while Vax, Vex, and Keyleth search for the sword. Vex will use Vax’s oil of etherealness while Keyleth turns into an earth elemental. As they discuss where to put the mansion, Keyleth and Vex feel the vibration of the sphere under the ground, meaning that the collapsed tunnel is being cleared.
Checking to see if the coast is clear, they rush over to an abandon building. Hiding among humanoid remains in the building, they wait nervously, but they were not noticed.
Scanlan casts the spell to create the mansion, making sure to hide the shimmery door.
Percy hides one of the gatestones in a corner. They give Vex the other gatestone.
The twins and Keyleth run through the city to get closer to the sword’s location. However, along the way, Keyleth trips and catches the attention of some gloomstalkers. She quickly turns into an earth elemental and sinks into the ground. She uses tremor sense to follow the twins.
Eventually, Vex finds the location directly above the sword. Keyleth tries to glide down, but is unable to find it. Vex decides to use the oil to transport herself into the ethereal plane.
Her vision goes gray, and everything begins to fade. As his sister dissipates, Vax hears Vecna in his ear.
Vecna: “Ah. There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you and your friends.”
Vax clicks his boots of haste and runs away to hide. Vecna has not yet moved.
Vex moves through space using the ethereal plane. Eventually, she reaches the sword. It is buried under a few inches of muck. She moves into the rocky chamber and waits for the oil to wear off.
Keyleth wanders into the same tavern looking for Vex. Vex can see Keyleth, but Keyleth cannot see or hear Vex.
Through the earrings, Vax explains to Keyleth that Vex is in the ethereal plane and to stay underground.
Vax goes to the mansion and goes inside.
The undead dragon circles the mansion.
Underground, Keyleth finds the pool Vex described when scrying. She reaches in, and acid immediately burns her. However, she still searches through. She comes across piles of bones. After a while, she finds a hilt of a blade. She begins to pull at the blade, bringing it to the surface. However, the skeletons in the acid begin to attack her, not wanting her to take the sword.
In her elemental form, she beats back the skeletons.
Vex, wanting to give Keyleth a sign, brings Trinket out of her necklace. Trinket appears in the material world next to Keyleth. Keyleth realizes that this is a sign and waits for Vex. After another half hour, the half elf appears. She confirms to Keyleth that the sword she retrieved is the sword of Kas.
Vex teleports back to the mansion using the gatestone after putting Trinket back in her necklace. Keyleth, now alone, begins to glide through the earth. She hears Vecna whisper to her. When she surfaces, she hears wings flapping. She quickly enters the mansion.
Their safehouse now compromised, they begin to come up with a new plan.
Keyleth tells the others that she can planeshift.
Suddenly, there is a whining sound and vacuum. The mansion disappears. A dragon flies towards them. Riding on the back of the dragon are Delilah and Sylas Briarwood.
Keyleth begins to cast planeshift.
Delilah: “Glad you could make it. No. Wait. Wait. Wait.”
Delilah attempts to counterspell Keyleth’s planeshift, but she is unsuccessful.
Vox Machina finds themselves in the Feywild.
Grog sits down and begins to attune to the Sword of Kas.
Sword of Kas: “I get the sense that this isn’t the first time.”
The sword begins to talk to him. Noticing this by Grog’s responses, Vax keeps an eye on the situation. The sword tells Grog that all it wants is to kill Vecna. Grog asks what the sword wants in return, and it says it only wishes to cut Vecna’s throat.
Pike worries about the risks of using an intelligent weapon, but she ultimately agrees that their goals align.
However, Grog quickly realizes that the sword must spill blood. It dominates him, and he turns on his friends. He tries to slash at Vax but misses several times. He then turns around and slashs Vex’s arm. The sword drinks in the blood, and Grog regains control of himself.
Pike watches this worried. She mentally inventories her abilities to help Grog should the weapon prove to be more trouble than it is worth.
They settle down and discuss their return to Thar Amphala.
Keyleth points out that time is not always linear when returning from the Feywild. She wonders if the archfey Artagan can help them with this problem. They decide to summon him to find out. Pike sends a message, including a picture to draw him to them. She promises him a good time.
Artagan appears, standing behind Vex.
Artagan: “Well, show me a good time.”
Percy, having a breakdown, strips down and goes into the pound nearby.
Artagan watches this and then asks for what he was summoned. Vex explains that they need him to manipulate the time passage between planes. Artagan is annoyed by this and the lack of a good time, but the others promise that his favor would not go unrewarded.
He notes the differences in their clothing. They tell him what they have been up to since their last visit. They tell him of their adventures and Vax mentions that he cannot die. This catches Artagan’s interest.
He asks first for a discussion of a doorway between planes. He then asks to strangle Vax to death. They ask him how much time will have passed when they teleport back. Artagan promises that, for the day they spent in the Feywild, only an hour will have passed on their own plane.
Percy comes out of the water, still naked. He takes out the glowing stone they stole from the titan, and he asks what it is. Artagan informs him that it is used to distract undead.
Percy asks if Artagan has had access to their plane before. He admits that he has once before and that he was later blocked by the shifting laylines. Percy tries to think if he read about Artagan, but he cannot recall anything.
Vax tells Artagan that he agrees to be strangled, but he insists that Artagan cannot talk during the strangling, but everyone except Scanlan and Grog must leave.
Keyleth pulls Vax aside. She asks him if he is okay with the deal. He says that he is, and he promises Keyleth that he will be back.
Percy everyone except Grog, Scanlan, and Vax away. They all go into the pond.
Pike: “Don’t you do anything else! You just strangle him until he dies! Nothing else!”
Vax reminds Grog that all Artagan is allowed to do is strangle him to death. He also insists that no one mess with his body once he is dead.
Artagan asks if Vax will really come back if he dies. Vax nods.
Artagan: “To the immortals.”
Artgan grabs Vax’s throat and begins to squeeze. After a few minutes, Vax’s vision goes black, and he dies. Scanlan looks away, but Grog watches.
Artagan is satisified with the outcome. Vax’s body turns to ash. Scanlan and Grog gather Vax’s things.
In the pond, Artagan emerges from the water. He suggests they rest. Near the pond, furniture made from stumps appears.
Vex asks that they prepare a hero’s feast, but she does not want to do it without her brother.
Artagan leaves them alone and retreats to the pond.
They discuss Sylas’s return and their new frustration.
Pike sits with Vax’s armor.
The hours pass, and they discuss what they can do to prepare for the battle the next day. Scanlan tries to convince Vex to turn Trinket into a wyvern, but both Trinket and Vex disagree.
They begin to worry about Vax’s return. But, just as they begin to doubt Vax’s return, their half elf friend turns the corner.
To be continued…
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About the Artist: Nick Uroseva (@Nick_Uroseva)
Nick is a professional graphic artist from Youngstown, Ohio. He has a BA in Multimedia Technology. When he isn’t doodling for one thing or another, he spends is his time writing and Dungeon Mastering several D&D games, enjoying craft beer, shooting zombies with Nerf blasters, and tweeting about #CriticalRole.
