Pyrrhic Return

is the 35th episode of the third campaign of Critical Role.

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. 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.

Player characters

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

Returning

 * Ariks Eshteross
 * Armand Treshi
 * Ishir
 * Gordi
 * Jiana Hexum (via Sending)
 * Keyleth
 * Milo Krook (in Ashton's memory)
 * Orlana Seshadri
 * 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, a former member of the Nobodies
 * Sylas Briarwood (unnamed)
 * Will (unnamed)

Trivia

 * This is the first episode of Critical Role for which Marisha Ray was absent from gameplay, due to her character's death in the previous episode.