The Journey Home

is the thirtieth episode of the second campaign of Critical Role. Reunited at last, the Mighty Nein journey back to Zadash, hoping to find closure with those they've lost and the contracts they've made...

Pre-Show
We have returning from their first foray into parenthood: Travis and Laura! Matt asks how's the kid, to which the sleep-deprived couple responds, "No, he's great..." Ronin is at the studio right now, so you might hear crying. If Laura suddenly gets up from the table, it's because she has to go feed him. Travis confirms that Ronin dictates all. Matt says they missed them at the live show. Laura says they were with them in spirit. Travis loved the audience singing "Happy Birthday" and the live show had such great energy. Laura says they all looked wonderful...Sam especially.

Announcements

 * Tonight we have TWO fantastic sponsors:
 * First, our wonderful returning sponsors for Campaign 2...our friends at D&D Beyond! Sam thanks D&D Beyond for sponsoring and helping out with the live show. Your sponsorship dollars will help the cast pay for the therapy they need after seeing Sam's junk so up close and personal. It's been a while since Travis and Laura were here, and this is their first show at the new studio, so D&D Beyond wanted Sam to catch them up with all things CR:
 * Laura: The new Wi-Fi password is "Dallassux".
 * Travis: The rest of the cast rented Travis's parking spot to Brian Foster. The cardboard box he lives in will be parked there until September 15, 2018. Laura thought he was living in the cage? Matt clarifies that Brian works in the cage.
 * "The Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron" and "Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica" are both available on D&D Beyond.
 * Travis: While he was gone, the rest of the cast discovered that Fjord's middle name is "Bronco", so that's canon now.
 * Laura: While she was gone, all of her dice were loaned to Wil Wheaton for a little while, to her horror.
 * The studio's break room is open to all, but from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, Producer Max uses it to poop.
 * We have a code system for reserving the makeup room, so no one walks in by accident. If you're breastfeeding, hang a sock on the door. If you're waxing Sam Riegel's chest hair, you hang a bandana on the door. And if you're having sex, leave the door open, 'cause that's kinky!
 * Travis's chair has been reinforced to accommodate his "baby weight", to which Travis emotionally admits, "It's real...guys can get it too!"
 * Laura is a perfect creature who creates magical life with the power of womanhood. (*harp music* to be added in post-production)
 * Taliesin's new character is a Cleric too, so Jester doesn't have to heal anyone. (to which Laura excitedly shouts, "F*** yeah!!!")
 * Liam shaved.
 * It's Ashley's birthday!
 * Marisha no longer thinks "Sleeves Are Bullshit. Now she thinks they're assholes.
 * All "firblogs" know each other. (Liam had a firblog in the early 2000s.)
 * If you go #1, please use the bathroom marked "Peeastok". If you go #2, use the bathroom marked "Hupperdook".
 * And there are flies motherf***ing everywhere in this studio.
 * And our second sponsor for tonight is our fantastic friends at Dwarven Forge! The Critters may have seen some of their products used pretty consistently on the show. Matt has hungered after their work since he was a mid-20s-er, and used them from the moment he could get his hands on their sets. Thanks to their Kickstarters and their update to resin, they've become more affordable and Matt loves using their hand-sculpted and hand-painted terrains! They are Critters too, and are invested in the show. They've launched another Kickstarter recently for their "Caverns Deep" set: it offers 15 different distinct encounter areas like "The Webbed Layer", "The Mushroom Grotto", and "The Dread Hollow Forest" (a brand-new forest terrain that got unveiled at Gen Con during a live game in which Matt and Liam were players). Liam backed that s*** on the Kickstarter. So did Matt, and you should back it too! Dwarven Forge put out another video yesterday that unveiled another one of their terrains: "The Prison Passage" (you get to watch Matt, as a mini, get imprisoned, brutalized, and murdered). You can become a backer now by going to critrole.com/dwarvenforge for all the information about the current Kickstarter. It ends August 14th, so it's ending REALLY soon! So if you want to get in there at the current price that only the Kickstarter enables, go check it out!
 * "Honey Heist 2: Electric Beargaloo" will air tomorrow (August 10, 2018) at 7:00 pm PDT at twitch.tv/criticalrole.
 * Also, if you haven't seen it yet, Matt's Fireside Chat is available on YouTube, where Matt drank a lot of really nice port and talked questions and fun stuff. It was a good hangout time. Matt hopes to do those more in the future as well: Matt enjoyed just sitting there and getting mildly tipsy with the Internet.
 * Laura is surprised that her hit points got updated already. That's what happens when people aren't updating their character sheets fast enough and the DM has to do it for you. Laura blames the baby. Liam asks for a show of hands for everyone who got max HP when they leveled up. Marisha, Travis, Laura, and Taliesin all raise their hands. Liam tells each of them, "Fuck you", and Matt agrees that is fucking bullshit. Ashley rolled an eleven, so whenever they get her back, Yasha is going to be a little beefier.
 * merch update from Laura: Last but not least, Matt announces a bunch of new items in the shop...before Laura angrily cuts him off and shouts that's her job! Matt thought she said she didn't have anything to update, to which a frustrated Laura clarifies that she meant she didn't have any copy to read off of! Matt encourages Laura to go for it, to which Laura in anger and desperation begins shouting all the new merch items at the audience. Marisha points out that she's been gone so long that they took her job. As Laura keeps going, she starts tearing up. We have new shirts, we have new hats! There's a bumper sticker that says "Traveler is my co-pilot"! There's a Mighty Nein shirt! We have a pin that will be coming back to the store (it's not in the store at this moment). And there's other things that will be coming to the store, and you can find those at shop.critrole.com. Travis says Laura did top-shelf for Day One.
 * Critical Role has its Wyrmwood giveaways at the break. There will be more information when we get to the break, but remember to hop over to the Critical Role Twitch chat to jump in and be a part of it. Matt will tackle that when we get to it.
 * Travis asks how to add the +2 to Strength that Fjord gets from the "Dad Strength" that Travis has now?

Reunion
Jester and Fjord both are in their chamber, enduring the sounds of other captives being punished and tortured. A nearby friend endures it silently, just to frustrate the Iron Shepherds. Jester has been trying desperately to contemplate ways of escape...to try and find a way to relieve herself of her bindings...to no avail. Suddenly, there's the sound of battle: weapons scraping on stone, metal, and flesh; screams and familiar voices; flashes of light; and the air rushing warm and cold with the nearby blasting of arcane energies and divine forces and powers brought in to sustain and snuff life. And then silence...Jester hears the voices come close, as she barely manages to glance over her shoulder and watch the bars to the chamber where she's held swing open. The tiny form of Nott the Brave rushes over and embraces Jester, saying: "Case closed."

Nott takes the gags and manacles off Jester. Jester and Nott together untie Fjord. He immediately asks where the Iron Shepherds took Yasha. Beau goes to the other chamber to free Yasha. She finds Yasha manacled and unconscious with gashes and dried blood all over her. Caleb casts Knock to get the manacles off Yasha. Caduceus does not have any healing left, but Jester volunteers to heal Yasha. Beau wordlessly hugs Jester. Jester casts Cure Wounds, sealing up some of the scars, but Yasha is still unconscious. As Jester begins to thank them, Nott tells her they had help from Caduceus, Nila, and Shakäste.

Fjord and Jester are introduced to Caduceus. Fjord thanks Caduceus for helping. Jester tells Caduceus she likes his hair then asks where Molly is. Beau tells them Molly did not make it. Fjord and Jester partially heard the fight where Molly died but couldn't do anything because they were tied up inside one of the carts.

Caleb says he is sorry, they tried but their best wasn't good enough. Beau blames the death on them getting cocky and underestimating the enemy. Fjord becomes angry and blames himself for not seeing the Iron Shepherds coming when they were kidnapped. Beau tries to reassure him it's not anyone's fault, but immediately agrees with him that it does not feel that way. Caduceus says this is good from a certain point of view. Bad things have happened to Fjord and Jester, but it is a great thing that people cared enough to come and save them. He goes upstairs to give the group some time to talk. Keg awkwardly joins him.

Jester thanks Beau, Caleb, and Nott again for coming to save them. Nott says it wasn't really a choice. Jester says they did have a choice. They could have let them go. Fjord admits there were a few times during their captivity he thought they had. Beau says she would have died for them. Jester says she would have tried to heal Beau back. Beau shows them Molly's sword and tells them she believes one of them should have it. Fjord says he would be honored to have Molly's sword and thanks everyone again. Jester begins joking about her and Fjord being locked up together, implying something sexual happened between them. Fjord denies it and becomes uncomfortable. Nott joins in and eggs Jester on, joking about people in captivity resorting to primal instincts.

A New Mystery
The Mighty Nein check the rest of the basement. Shakäste has taken all the rest of the captives. They bring Yasha upstairs with them to recover. Caduceus has gone up to the kitchen to try and cook food for everyone. Caleb sits with the unconscious Yasha while everyone else searches the rest of the Sour Nest.

They find armor, gold, torture implements, and weapons. Beau finds receipts from the Iron Shepherds selling to House Jagentoth, confirming what Ophelia Mardoon told them about the Jagentoth family sponsoring the Iron Shepherds. In Lorenzo's room, they find a mysterious empty leather looking sack. Jester and Nott make several attempts to magically pull things out of the bag but nothing happens. They give up and decide to have Caleb take a look at the bag. Fjord awkwardly asks Caduceus if he would like help cooking. Caduceus asks him to check the basement for roots, confusing him even further.

The Mighty Nein come back together. Caleb casts Identify on the bag from Lorenzo's room, learning that it is a Bag of Holding. Fjord flips the bag inside out, dropping the contents all over the floor. Inside was 101 platinum, 4 sets of manacles, 24 teeth of various species, a rusted meat hook, a red gem, and a wax sealed envelope. Jester recognizes the coin pressed into the seal as a galley- a gold coin that is produced along the Menagerie Coast. The letter says:

Jester recognizes the name Wayfarer's Cove. It is one of the main shipping yards in Nicodranas, her home city. Fjord points out that the drawing in the letter looks like the yellow orb from the merrow lair that he absorbed. However none of them recognize the names Avantika or Marius LePual.

Caleb casts Leomund's Tiny Hut, a magical bubble of orange-brown energy. The party has never seen this spell before. It is a protective shield that Caleb can control who goes in and out. The party can sleep safely inside the bubble so no one can be kidnapped the same way the Iron Shepherds got Jester, Fjord, and Yasha. Caleb spends time casting more Identify spells on everything they found. The manacles used to hold Yasha have the capability of putting someone to sleep for a day. Fjord puts them in his bag of holding. Caleb gives Beau the red gem, which can be used to summon a fire elemental. Fjord attunes to Molly's sword. As he sits with the Summer's Dance blade, he feels the essence of the sword he bound with before leave him. He feels a strange hunger. Fjord blinks while looking at Summer's Dance and opens his eyes to see himself inside a dark, endless ocean. He looks down to see Summer's Dance in his hand. Fjord blinks again and opens his eyes back in the Sour Nest. The sword is gone. The rest of the Mighty Nein saw the blade in Fjord's hand turn to ash and crumble, but nothing hit the ground. At this point, Keg awkwardly signals Beau to follow her. Beau needs a minute to take the hint then follows Keg.

Jester leaves the magical bubble for a bit with her sketchbook. She tries to think of how to tell The Traveler about the last few days. Unable to think of anything to draw, Jester only writes "Well, why didn't you come?" and closes the book.

The Morning After
Beau half wakes up early in the morning to hear Keg leave. When Nott wakes up, she finds a piece of paper near where she was sleeping:

Underneath the paper is a medallion of a multi pointed star that used to hang from Keg's warhammer. Nott puts it on. Beau discovers she has a letter as well. Her letter is addressed "For Beau", with her name spelled wrong. The entire letter is crossed out except for the word "Thanks". Fjord puts Lorenzo's glaive in his bag of holding to give to Yasha when she wakes up.

Fjord and Jester ask about the job for The Gentleman. The Gentleman's job was to make contact with Ophelia Mardoon, find out what job she wanted done, and then bring her back to Zadash when the job was complete. Ophelia wanted them to kill the Iron Shepherds, so it ended up being very convenient. Jester begins to tease Beau, Caleb, and Nott that they really only saved them for the money. Nott reassures her the money was not the point. Jester knows. She was just joking. Caleb very seriously tells Jester that the money did not mean anything.

Fjord asks Caduceus what his plans are now. Caduceus responds that he needs to head east at some point and he believes the signs are telling him he should go with the Mighty Nein. Caduceus tells Fjord and Jester that the tea he gave them for breakfast was made from dead people. Fjord seems confused and a little disturbed whereas Jester thinks it would be funny to set up a shop and only tell people what it was made of after they drink the tea.

The Mighty Nein find one of the Iron Shepherds' carts and discover it has illusory magic on it. No matter what is in the cart, it looks like it is filled with a stacks of ordinary looking boxes and bundles. Caduceus and Caleb guide the two horses pulling the cart. Jester and Nott ride in the cart with the still unconscious Yasha. Beau and Fjord ride two other horses they take from the Sour Nest. The group heads back to Shadycreek Run to report to Ophelia Mardoon and complete their mission.

Return to the Empire
The Mighty Nein go back through the Savalirwood towards Ophelia Mardoon's estate. Caduceus and Fjord both cast Disguise Self to look like humans as they go through Shadycreek Run to avoid attention. The guards allow them inside the estate, but say that the cart has to stay outside. To keep up appearances, Jester, Nott, and Yasha stay unseen on the cart while the others go inside to meet with Ophelia.

Caleb tells her that they have completed their task. When Ophelia asks for proof, Fjord shows her Lorenzo's glaive. Ophelia is convinced. She tells her guards to mount the glaive in her collection. Beau asks if they could keep the glaive in memory of their fallen friend. Ophelia agrees, but tells Beau to consider it a favor and remember it. She tells her servants to have things ready so she can leave at dusk. The Mighty Nein get ready to finish the last part of their contract with The Gentleman, bringing Ophelia back to Zadash with them.

Ophelia's carriage is prepared to leave for Zadash. During the journey, Ophelia will be taking the name "Lady Quinn Denzala of Nogvurot". She is claiming to be traveling to Deastok to see her sick mother. The Mighty Nein will be her personal guard. She tells them they cannot keep all four horses from the Sour Nest as it will look suspicious. Nott wants to keep all four because she named them (Dancing Queen, Fernando, Mamma Mia, and Waterloo) while being hidden on the cart but agrees. Caduceus explains to Fernando and Waterloo that they are free to go and tells Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia they are going to be pulling the cart.

As they ride through Shadycreek Run, Caduceus and Jester notice some suspicious figures standing by a tavern having a meeting. Two of the figures have heavy cloaks and hoods but they can make out fine features and grey-is skin tone. One of them is wearing armor that appears similar to the assassin who had the dodecahedron. They seem to meet two other armored figures, shake hands, and go their separate ways. Jester points out the "shady deal" to a confused Caduceus, who has never witnessed one before.

When they reach the gates at the border of the Dwendalian Empire, Ophelia hands the captain of the guard some scroll cases and coins. They are all allowed to enter without incident.

While they are alone, Caleb asks Beau to tell a little more about herself since she knows so much about him. Beau tells him that her father sent her to the monastery. She never wanted to join The Cobalt Soul or be a monk. Beau tells him that she ended up with them after running away from the monastery. Running away ended up getting her a promotion in rank. Beau tells him there is an underlying faction of the Cobalt Soul that fights corruption from within. She is gathering information on the ground in places that monks who publicly show their allegiance wouldn't be able to gather information. Caleb still seems uncomfortable, but does not press Beau any further.

Farewells
About two days later down the road, the group passes by Molly's grave. The coat is still there, lightly covered in snow. Beau grabs Jester's hand and walks her to the grave. She hands Jester Molly's deck of cards. Jester pulls a card: The Moon, the same one she pulled when she first met Molly. Jester leaves the card by the grave, saying "Well, this is his card."

Fjord stands by the grave and summons his pact weapon. The weapon now looks like a blend of both Fjord's original falchion and Molly's Summer Dance blade. Fjord salutes the grave with the sword, saying "I've met a lot of people, but I don't think I'll ever meet another character as unique as you, Molly."

Yasha steps out of the cart and asks what happened. Caleb and Nott tell Yasha he tried very hard to get back to her. She walks towards the grave ignoring the others, kneels in front of it, and says "It happened again." Beau and Jester put their hands on Yasha's shoulders. They feel her starting to shake. Yasha stands and screams. Her black, skeletal wings emerge from her shoulders. Off in the far east, blue lightning flashes. Yasha begins to walk towards the storm. She tells the group she will find them when she is ready.

Caduceus digs his hand as far down as he can and casts Decompose. He tells the Mighty Nein the earth will remember Molly. Next time they come back, there will be something there. Caduceus goes back to the cart, giving those who knew Molly a chance to be alone.

Fjord again apologizes for not being able to help Molly. He promises to return the favor for the kindness his friends have shown him. Beau insists it was not a favor; the Mighty Nein are the only friends she has ever had. Everyone else in her life has left or she has driven away. Jester says she is going to get some diamonds so she can prevent another death from happening.

Return to Zadash
After another eight days of travel, the group arrives in Zadash. The carriages go to the Evening Nip. Kara is playing the harp in the underground bar. Kutha, the ogre, is keeping watch. The Gentleman, guarded by Sorah, is playing a card game. The game ends as they arrive. When The Gentleman sees Ophelia Mardoon, he gets up from the table and kisses her. She kisses back, but also bites his lip, drawing a little bit of blood.

Ophelia tells The Gentleman the Mighty Nein proved themselves, suffered a loss, and she would like to see them get their money. The Gentleman realizes Molly is missing and tells the group he is sorry for their loss. He gives them an additional fifty platinum on top of their payment as compensation.

The Gentleman turns his attention to Caduceus. He presents the same deal as the rest of the Mighty Nein: they will kill him or take some of his blood. Caduceus agrees on the condition The Gentleman promises not to cast anything strange on the blood. Cree, the tabaxi woman, comes over to collect the blood. Cree asks the others where "Lucien" is. Caleb lies that Lucien had his own business, and they parted ways. Cree asks them to tell Lucien that she wants to see him again if they run into him again.

The Mighty Nein stay in the Evening Nip for a drink. Jester and Nott introduce Caduceus to milk and whiskey, respectively. Caduceus does not like either one.

Beau asks Fjord how is dealing after the trauma of being kidnapped. Fjord says he still feels like he let the group down. Both Beau and Caleb tell him he cannot continue to blame himself. Beau says the only people at fault are Lorenzo and the Iron Shepherds. Caleb insists Fjord cannot blame himself for being taken advantage of. Fjord says he has spent his whole life always looking out for danger, but feels guilty that he got comfortable with the Mighty Nein. Beau says if Fjord was at fault for not seeing the Iron Shepherds coming then she, Caleb, and Nott are also at fault for making the plan that got Molly killed. Fjord says the experience has put things in perspective for him. He is not sure he wants to go to the Soltryce Academy anymore. There are people he wants to find and things he wants to make up for. Beau asks about Jester. Fjord says he is amazed but disturbed at how well Jester seems to be doing. He says Jester would try to cheer everyone up and sing, even though her mouth was gagged most of the time. He looks over to see Jester dancing alone by the end of the bar. Fjord thinks it's also a little inspiring that nothing seems to get Jester down. Caleb says he thinks Jester's happiness is an act.

Meanwhile, Caduceus has continued to drink but is not getting drunk. He is confused because none of the drinks taste good. Beau calls the whole group back together. Caleb, a little drunk, tries to get Jester to take a shot. Nott questions her about why she does not drink. Jester tells her milk is just so good. After Beau, Caleb, and Nott all assure her that there is no pressure, Jester does not take the shot. Caduceus tells the group he wants something that tastes good. Jester suggests they take Caduceus to the bath house because it was what Molly would have wanted them to do.

Everyone raises a glass to Mollymauk Tealeaf.

Before leaving the Evening Nip, Jester and Nott try a little detective work. Nott wanders over to The Gentleman and tries to subtly drop the names Avantika and "the captain". Nott's name drop is very obvious, but The Gentleman does not pay much attention to Nott. Jester tries to read The Gentleman's reaction but he is more interested in talking to Ophelia Mardoon.

As the Mighty Nein head towards the Pentamarket, Beau throws a few cherry bombs in honor of Molly.

The Mighty Nein

 * Beauregard
 * Caduceus Clay
 * Fjord
 * Frumpkin (absent, mentioned)
 * Jester Lavorre
 * Nott
 * Yasha Nydoorin
 * Caleb Widogast

Returning

 * Cree
 * The Gentleman
 * Kara
 * Keg (played by Matt)
 * Kutha
 * Ophelia Mardoon
 * Sorah

Mentioned

 * Avantika
 * Marius LePual
 * Lorenzo
 * Nila
 * Protto
 * Ruzza
 * Shakäste
 * Pumat Sol
 * Mollymauk Tealeaf
 * The Traveler

Quotations
Jester: "Caduceus?" Caduceus: "Hello." Jester: "Hi." Nott: "We met him this morning." Fjord: "It doesn't feel that way." Beau: "No, it doesn't. I was lying." Fjord: "Okay. None of that happened. No." Jester: "Lots of eye contact happening. Just between me and you." Nott: "I've heard stories about people in captivity sort of resorting to primal instincts." Jester: "Yeah, yeah. I noticed him rolling over towards me several times, if you know what I mean." Sam Riegel: (reading the letter) "'Beau', everything's crossed out. 'Thanks.'" Beau: "I don't know she looks fucking stoked to me right now." Beau: "To the Tealeaf." Fjord: "Hear, hear." Beau: "Now to our *new* Tealeaf." Caduceus: "(laughs) That's funny." Caleb: "That's ironic." Fjord: "Yeah, it is." Caduceus: "Purely coincidental." [Taliesin turns his eyes straight to camera and in his regular voice says] "Really, purely coincidental".
 * Beau: "This is Caduceus. He also came with us to help out."
 * Beau: "It's no one's fault."
 * Jester: "Me and Fjord spent a lot of time together in this cell."
 * Fjord: "Well, I have the cloven crystal. I do not have access to it at the moment."
 * Fjord: (bonding with Molly's sword as his pact weapon) "Thank you. You were very kind to me. I hope to do right by you and make it up to you one day."
 * Marisha: "Hang on, you've got to have the full experience." (shows the folded up outside of the letter) "First off, 'For Beau', spelled wrong." (opens letter)
 * Caduceus: "Everything's telling me that I should stick around and see where you're headed. I think that's where I'm supposed to be."
 * Beau: "It's not that we don't care for these animals. It's just that we cared for Water Closet, and Loo, and John way more."
 * Beau: "My whole life was dictated by establishment that I didn't have a lot of control over, and The Cobalt Soul has this underlying faction that helps uproot corrupt establishment. I know, I scoffed at the idea of being a part of a system that's supposed to take down systems. It doesn't really make sense, but uh . . . you know. Maybe you, if anyone, can understand the idea of fighting fire with fire. That's why I'm doing this."
 * Fjord: "I felt like I almost died, and I hadn't take care of any of the shit that got me here in the first place. I was so worried about trying to learn about these new abilities that - I felt like I got distracted. I have people I want to find and things I want to remedy."
 * Caleb: (about Jester) "She's an amazing woman, but talent is different than . . . than happiness, I guess."
 * Caduceus: "I've had six drinks. I'm in the biggest city I've ever been in. Everything tastes terrible!"
 * Caleb: "Oh. To that purple devil. To Mollymauk Tealeaf."
 * Liam: "Every 50th episode, Critical Role has to have a drunken bar night. It's in a contract somewhere."

Inventory

 * The Mighty Nein took one of the carts from the Sour Nest. The cart is enchanted with illusion magic. No matter what is in the cart, it will appear to be filled with ordinary looking bundles and boxes.
 * Horses: (taken from the Sour Nest and named by Nott) Dancing Queen, Fernando, Mamma Mia, and Waterloo.
 * Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia pulled the Mighty Nein's cart to Zadash.
 * Fernando and Waterloo were let loose in the Savalirwood.

Trivia

 * Ashly Burch wrote the prop letters of Keg's notes that Sam Riegel and Marisha Ray were given during the game.
 * Nott's names for the horses (Dancing Queen, Fernando, Mamma Mia, and Waterloo) are all titles of ABBA songs featured in the 2018 movie Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
 * Sam's giant flask says "Happy Bee Day Ash!". This episode was on Ashley Johnson's birthday.
 * The in-game date of the Mighty Nein's arrival in Zadash was 13 Quen'pillar 835.