Pyrrhic Return

is the 35th episode of the third campaign of Critical Role. Bells Hells sail the stormy skies as they return to Jrusar and reconnect with allies in a race to keep hope alive...

Part I
Xandis begins flying the ship away from Bassuras, and the party tells him to get away from the city and steer towards Jrusar. Ashton opens up the portable hole to let out Armand Treshi, and Bells Hells begins their interrogation. Treshi does not want to go back to Jrusar, and offers the party 10,000 gold, but they ask for more information. After they take a brief pause to clean out the portable hole to put Laudna inside of it for the time being, Bells Hells continues on Treshi, with Imogen casting Detect Thoughts. She confirms what they learned the previous day, that Treshi's goal had been to improve his own station within House Treshi and that he made deals with the Paragon's Call in order to do so. She sees him engaging in some smuggling and fraud to bring the goods the Paragon's Call was bringing into Jrusar. He is also very scared of Otohan Thull, and has not pried into such topics as the apogee solstice as a result. Imogen's impressions from Treshi's recollections are somewhat scattered; the conspiracy was deliberately kept as such. She does verify again that Jiana Hexum was involved and held many of the goods. Finally, she realizes that Treshi was terrified while at the Seat of Disdain, particularly of Otohan, and believed himself to be likely to die there. He is relieved to be going back to Jrusar, even if it is to be imprisoned.

Chetney and FCG attempt to intimidate Treshi some more, even as he tries to convince them to take him elsewhere on the continent, and he ups his offer to 13,000 gold, or a favor, but the party is not interested. They question him about Otohan, and confirm she does have physical form, and about Ruidus, about which he is mostly ignorant. As they do this, Imogen goes into the portable hole and takes the orb from Laudna, and finds it to be dark; either Otohan did not wear the ring Laudna had planted, or they are out of range. Orym then requests of Xandis a place to keep Treshi, and Treshi is put in a moldy storage room for the journey.

Bells Hells then discuss next steps, agreeing that the first step is to deliver Treshi to Eshteross, and the second, to find resources to resurrect Laudna, before considering visiting Yios, trying to find Liliana Temult, looking into FCG's past in the Rumedam Desert, finding the Gorgynei, and various other tasks. They confirm that FCG's Gentle Repose will preserve Laudna for the journey and prevent undeath. Ashton's connection to Hexum is brought up, and Ashton says that while Hexum is not moral, she has many connections and will provide them for a price. Imogen considers talking to Delilah again, and Fearne agrees, though Chetney is less confident. Orym confirms that Delilah Briarwood is dead, which Imogen refutes, saying that she spoke to her a few times, and Laudna talked to her even more frequently. They all decide that Delilah is perhaps lower on the list of resources, however. Orym suggests bringing Laudna to Whitestone. After some more discussion on priorities, Imogen casts Sending to Keyleth, telling her that they've found the Gray Assassins but need help with a resurrection. Keyleth responds that she's in Vasselheim, but can meet soon, and to pick a tree. Chetney is impressed by Keyleth's use of wood.

FCG then contacts Jiana Hexum, as another option. She responds saying that these magics are rare...but perhaps she can help. FCG brings up that they might be the thing Jiana wants in exchange for Laudna, which Ashton angrily refuses to consider. FCG stays with Imogen and casts Shared Dream, as Chetney looks up at Catha and finds himself unable to suppress a howl, realizing that the time of transformation is near.

On the next day of travel, the Silver Sun is overtaken by a sandstorm, worse than the one they experienced in Bassuras, and while the party attempts to help the ship steer through it, Ashton is unable to prevent the sail from breaking, Chetney is able to stabilize but not fix it entirely, and despite Imogen and FCG using their abilities to help the crew, Fearne is not able to keep the sail attached and they begin to lose height. FCG is thrown off the ship and lands, injured but conscious, in the sand below. The ship then pulls up out of the dive and everyone but Ashton falls off as well. Ashton tells Xandis that he refuses to leave without the rest of the party, and Xandis agrees, though tells him to wait until the storm dies down.

Once the storm has lessened, Fearne calls out to the rest of the group and uses her panflute to signal her position, and they begin to move towards her. She then realizes she had landed in a pit just above the jaws of a strange, massive, lobster-like monster (possibly a sandkheg). She is able to leap out, and Orym gives her the opportunity to escape by wedging his shield into the creature's mouth. Imogen casts Fly on herself and FCG, and Fearne uses her Ring of Telekinesis to pull the shield out so Orym can escape when Imogen flies down. The party all makes it back onto the ship, and they continue their journey, battered but alive. They find Treshi unconscious but alive in the moldy storage room.

Part II
The next day, they notice a second sandstorm, but coming from behind them, and Xandis is able to use the wind from that storm to their advantage to push them on towards Jrusar. They soon pass into the Oderan Wilds, leaving the Hellcatch Valley, and the remaining two days of travel are uneventful. The orb that tracks the ring is still dark. They land in Jrusar along with another airship, the Herald's Breath. The leave a friendly but tired Xandis. While on one of the gondalas, FCG requests, and finally receives, the coin of the Changebringer back from Fearne, who had kept it. Chetney meanwhile asks Imogen if she'd communicated psychically with Otohan, which she denies. They all eventually reach Eshteross's manor.

The manor is dark and boarded up, but Orym notices a slight movement from an upper floor after they knock. Imogen eventually messages Eshteross, telling him that they're here, and after a moment during which Bells Hells hears many gears and metallic sounds, the door opens. Eshteross cautions them, telling them to follow him exactly as the house is extensively trapped; he has given his housekeeper Evelyn some time off. Once they are in a safe room, Ashton opens the hole to show Treshi to Eshteross, who is very happy to see they were successful. He tells them that they can either anonymously drop him off to the Wardens of Jrusar, or bring him directly to Orlana Seshadri, and provides the party with a box of platinum coins as payment. After some brief consideration the party decides to go to the Chandei Quorum and Seshadri. Imogen then messages Keyleth again, begging her to come; Keyleth tells her that she is almost done in Vasselheim. Imogen tells Orym that she's worried Keyleth won't agree to bring back Laudna, and Orym tells her that while he does not think this was the case, Keyleth was unable to bring back Derrig and Will after they fell in the attack on Zephrah. Imogen is worried, given that Laudna was killed by the same assassins, and Orym doesn't know if FCG's spell would counteract the effect given that he doesn't know the cause of the resurrections failing in the first place.

They ask Eshteross if they can keep Laudna's body here, and he agrees. The party also takes a few of her items; FCG takes her Pearl of Power; Imogen her Bloodwell Vial; and Ashton her Immovable rod. They also provide Eshteross with more information, telling him of the connection to the Cerberus Assembly, which appears to frighten him for the first time. They show him a Potion of Possibility and the residuum as well. Eshteross warns Bells Hells about the extreme danger, given the powers involved, but they tell him they're already extremely involved anyway. Eshteross tells them that his home is well-trapped should Otohan pay him a visit, and while he is intrigued by Jiana Hexum's involvement - particularly because she seems to have been becoming wealthier, despite having no apparent source - his influence is limited. However, he will support Bells Hells as much as he can, and mentions a friend, Manaia Turei, who might be able to help transport them to someone with more abilities. Fearne asks him if he can bake some cookies, in case Laudna wakes up. Chetney asks for, and receives, a Potion of Greater Healing from Eshteross, and they all warn Eshteross of some of Otohan's abilities before leaving. Orym counts the money and determines it's about 750 platinum.

They then go to the Core Citadel, seat of the Chandei Quorum, where the masquerade ball had been held. They are met by guards, who bring Orlana Seshadri over once the party mentions that they are delivering on a bounty. She is initially skeptical, but once Ashton opens up the portable hole to reveal Treshi, is very appreciative. She asks Bells Hells how they came upon him, and they tell her they work on the behalf of Eshteross, which she appreciates, though she mentions in passing that she is a bit disappointed in Artana Voe.

The party bring up what they know to Orlana. She is well aware of Ira Wendagoth's involvement, particularly as a free agent during the Apex War, and has met with representatives of the Paragon's Call on Treshi's advisement, which she intends to cease now that they know his motivations. FCG brings up the Cerberus Assembly. While Orlana is interested, the party is unable to provide proof, and so while she takes it into consideration she admits to them she has no reason to believe them and no ability to act upon it. She provides them with their payment. Fearne tries to ask her about the apogee solstice and the Seelie Court, but Orlana becomes somewhat curt with the party's continued demands and leaves. Chetney opens the box of payment and finds 12,000 gold inside. The party discusses dividing the money, and heads to the Spire by Fire to rest.

After a drink, Ashton asks Imogen and FCG to again probe into their memories of the night the Nobodies attempted to rob Hexum Manor. They see the events they previously saw when probing Ashton's mind, and then attempt to go further. Imogen seems to be blocked out at first, but FCG is able to hear the Nobodies screaming to leave Ashton for dead, and then Milo trying to heal a dying Ashton with molten glass, adding the liquid from the vial, and Ashton gradually stabilizing.

Imogen meanwhile pushes into the glass and begins to see various different iterations of Ashton - some of them as a politician or warrior, some of them as destitute, some with the same damage Ashton has now, some with more human-like flesh. It is an infinite series of possible Ashtons, none matching the one she knows. In the outside world, Chetney, Fearne, and Orym notice that Ashton's nose has begun bleeding. They tell Imogen and FCG to stop, but they do not respond. FCG, inside Ashton's mind, experiencing it as Ashton, tries to find Imogen, but cannot. Imogen feels a similar panic to the one she finds in her dreams of the red storm and tries to escape. However, FCG is now trapped behind that glass or crystal barrier, and casts Sending to Imogen. The two look at each other from opposite sides of the glass, and FCG tries to Command Ashton to awaken, but fails. Imogen casts Sending to Ashton, but it also fails to awaken him. Orym tries to staunch Ashton's bleeding with nettle leaves. Meanwhile, Ashton is stuck in a loop of their memory, and feels FCG and Imogen but cannot stop anything from happening. Fearne, looking at the crystal inside Ashton's head, notices two shadowy figures that seem familiar, like FCG and Imogen.

Imogen casts Command again, and it finally takes: Ashton wakes up. FCG quickly heals the damage. He and Imogen tell Ashton about their experience, and that they think the potion of possibility has affected them. Imogen notes that if Ashton can control the trapping of people in his mind, it could potentially be used against Otohan. FCG tells Ashton of their experience, that they felt strong, but also in pain. Ashton admits this is how he always feels, and FCG is sympathetic. The party then takes their rest. Imogen, in the night, casts Sending again to Delilah, promising to do anything to bring back Laudna. Delilah's response seems weak and fading, and she tells Imogen she will take Laudna with her when she goes; she is unable to do anything and does not take up Imogen's offer.

The next morning, the party goes to the Collective of Bodhan to find Manaia. It is a garden full of various foreign trees, where the city's architects and designers work. Manaia greets them, but as she does, Orym saves against an unknown effect, and Imogen messages Keyleth again. Keyleth tells her that she unsuccessfully tried to Scry on Orym to locate their position, instead asking Imogen. Learning they are at Bodhan Collective, Keyleth replies that she's familiar with the location and can come there. She shortly after comes through one of the trees. The party introduces themselves and tells her about Laudna's situation. She offers to take them to Whitestone, and casts Transport via Plants to there as the party leaves a very confused Manaia.

Bells Hells and Keyleth arrive in Whitestone, with Whitestone Castle in view.

Bells Hells

 * Ashton Greymoore
 * Chetney Pock O'Pea
 * Fearne Calloway
 * Fresh Cut Grass
 * Imogen Temult
 * Laudna (corpse)
 * Orym

Returning

 * Ariks Eshteross
 * Armand Treshi
 * Gordi
 * Ishir
 * Jiana Hexum (via Sending)
 * Keyleth
 * Khalil Benes, first mate of the Silver Sun
 * Milo Krook (in Ashton's memory)
 * Orlana Seshadri
 * Port Captain Tang (unnamed)
 * Terana
 * Xandis

New

 * Manaia Turei

Mentioned

 * Ajit Dayal
 * Artana Voe
 * Bertrand Bell
 * Delilah Briarwood
 * Derrig (unnamed)
 * Dorian Storm
 * Emoth Kade
 * Evelyn Wress
 * Ira Wendagoth
 * Little Mister
 * Ludinus Da'leth
 * Otohan Thull
 * Sally, member of the Nobodies
 * Shithead
 * Sylas Briarwood (unnamed)
 * Will (unnamed)
 * Zeeland, member of the Nobodies

Trivia

 * This is the first episode of Critical Role where Marisha Ray was absent from gameplay since and, where Keyleth is in an off-screen half of Vox Machina. She is the third main cast member to be absent from gameplay for an entire episode due to character death, following Taliesin Jaffe in  and Travis Willingham from  to.