A Glorious Return

is the third episode of Exandria Unlimited.

Previously on Exandria Unlimited
''So, we begin again. Pockets full to bursting with loot first pilfered at the behest of, and then from, an organization known only as the Nameless Ones, you all managed through violence and a frankly upsetting amount of sexual charisma from Opal, to make it out of the southern gates of the city and make your way to the southeast, to the Scar of the Cinder King and the Flamereach Outpost. There, you met with Lorkathar, a Fire Ashari known to you, Orym. You were able to reconnect, ask some questions, get literally zero answers, and before anything else could happen, a massive earthquake hit, and an ash-blown mesa rose up out of the ground, dominating the skyline.''

''You, along with some of the other firetamers, went to explore what new landscape there was. At the center of it all, you found a massive burning sigil, that I just remembered exactly right now that you all named an "ash hole". Found it, had a little bit of a scuffle with ya' boy Mister, but he's okay now. You made your way back to the Flamereach Outpost where you're able to sleep off your sundry levels of exhaustion. Lorkathar has asked you to find out the meaning of that sigil, to the person who she knows would have the best chance of knowing what that rune could possibly mean, and she has asked you to return to the dangers of the city in order to find her good friend and Runechild, Shaun Gilmore.

Part I
The party decides to return to Emon through a different gate and to change their appearances. Most of them change their hairdos, and Fearne glues her hair trimmings to Orym's head to lengthen his short hair. They head to the eastern gate where Dariax offers to create a distraction while the others enter.

As they enter the city, Dariax uses his cloak of disguise to change himself into a voluptuous woman and flirts enough with an approaching caravan leader to allow the party to join them. He continues his distracting behavior as they go through the gate. Opal and Orym slide through, but Dorian and Fearne don't. Opal creates another distraction by claiming to be looking for her lost toddler, Nancy (as played by Orym), while Fearne plays Dorian's borrowed flute.

They all enter the city, but Fearne is shot with a poisoned dart by a black-hooded person. They are followed as they beeline toward Gilmore's Glorious Goods, and eventually duck into an alley. Dariax uses his cloak to disguise himself as an old dwarf and when their pursuers question him, he sends them off in the wrong direction. The group doubles back and reaches Gilmore's safely.

They are greeted by a clerk, Inanna, and ask for Shaun Gilmore. Inanna tells them he is in Marquet but takes them to speak to the manager, Sherri. When they tell Sherri about the new plateau and show her Opal's drawing of the mysterious rune, Sherri does not recognize it but leads them upstairs, where she uses a magical plume and candle to send a message. Gilmore appears a moment later.

The party introduce themselves. Dorian starts, "I'm, uh, Br--" before catching himself. They tell Gilmore that Lorkathar sent them, and the details of the new mountain and its sigil. Gilmore casts Lesser Restoration on Fearne, curing her poison. When they tell Gilmore about meeting during the Everdawn party, he mentions it ended a few days ago with a big fire in the area.

Dariax takes out the Circlet of Barbed Vision to show him, and Gilmore asks if he's been touching it. When Dariax, who is unaware his eyes were transformed into solid black when he touched the Circlet, looks in a mirror, he sees illusory spiders on the faces of the others in the room. Gilmore identifies the Circlet as one of the Vestiges of Divergence linked to Lolth, one of the Betrayer Gods known as the Spider Queen. He tells them that although Lolth is evil, the Circlet is simply power. It was brought to Tal'Dorei for research reasons by a very powerful mage friend of Gilmore's living further inland. Gilmore gives them a magical box, telling them that if the Circlet becomes too much at any time, they can use the box once to send it back to him. Dariax promises not to touch the Circlet anymore, and Gilmore restores his eyes to normal.

Going back to the mysterious sigil, Gilmore identifies it as truly ancient magic from a very old civilization in the south, lost in the jungles of the Rifenmist Peninsula. This civilization, the Qoniira, was an ancient culture that was neutral about the sources of magic, uncaring whether it came from good or evil, nature or humanoid-wrought, respecting and honoring it all. The Quoniira were lost in the Calamity, but if the party can find the ruins of their civilization and find some of their runic writing, Gilmore could use it to translate the sigil.

In return, Gilmore offers the party a friends' discount on the merchandise in his store.

Break

 * Merch Alert! Ceramic camping mugs for Nicodranas, Tal'Dorei, and Xhorhas; new bumper sticker sets; and Dwendalian Empire minky blankets available in all four Critical role shops.
 * Crit Recap Animated, Episodes 26-35.
 * Excerpts from '''Critter Hug: Impossible Bard Make Up.
 * Commissioned art montage.

Player Characters

 * Dariax Zaveon
 * Dorian Storm
 * Fearne Calloway
 * Little Mister
 * Opal
 * Orym of the Air Ashari

New

 * Cuthbert
 * Eduard
 * Inanna

Returning

 * Lorkathar
 * Poska
 * Shaun Gilmore
 * Sherri

Mentioned

 * Darius
 * Lolth
 * Lothar Cirrospect
 * Tharla Starr