Maritime Mysteries

is the one hundred third episode of the second campaign of Critical Role. Wrestling with the dangers of spending too much time on Rumblecusp, the Mighty Nein travel to the Heavenfalls, seeking a weak point in the island that could be used against Vokodo...

Previously on Critical Role
''So, last we left off: The Mighty Nein. You had made your way to the island of Rumblecusp to prepare the coming of TravelerCon, where all the various followers of the Traveler are to convene and celebrate him, and, as the Traveler would want it, probably also convince them to stop following him in such a large number. He can’t quite deal with the responsibility. It’s driving him a little insane, and as an archfey, not his thing anymore, as much.'' ''Upon arriving, you set your crew to watch the ship, you head into the village of Vo, where you discover there are people who live on this island, an entire village of individuals, from different walks of life, different age groups, different backgrounds, and all seem to have lost their memory. But they live as a positive community, they support each other. A very simple lifestyle, bereft of trinkets and wealth, and you find it’s because these are given to the god of the island, a fire god known as Vokodo, that lives within the volcano of Rumblecusp. You wanted to go speak to this god, to get permission to bring the Traveler here and have this event, and as such, you had Viridian, the druidic spiritual guardian of the Vo, guide you through dangerous territory to the exterior or the volcano itself, traveling through the tunnels and the various challenges that await.''

''You met with Vokodo, this strange entity that existed in the breathable warm waters underneath the mountain itself, gave gifts that were accepted eventually for some of you, and were given permission to, "Yes, bring them here. Bring everyone to be part of this event." You all then exited the mountain, and decided to stay the night at the cusp of the tunnel’s exit. As you all began to bed down, sneakily placed a Greater Restoration spell upon Viridian, cleansing her of the foggy memory that has kept her from understanding who she was and where she was from for well over two decades, and it was revealed that Viridian was not her name. Her name is Vilya, and apparently is from Tal'Dorei. And that was where we left off.''

Part I
Vilya tells the party that she's been on Rumblecusp at least twenty-five years. She is a member of the Ashari, and was on her journey to prove herself to become her people's leader when, while facing a kraken in the Elemental Plane of Water, she was seriously wounded, losing her leg. She managed to flee, being drawn by the currents to a tear between realms, and was jettisoned onto the island near the Heaven Falls. She was found there and brought to the Vo village where she was unconscious for more than a week, and when she woke her memories were already fading.

Vilya believes that shards of other planes are either being created or expanding on the island under the influence of Vokodo. She believes there are now close to 120 Vo villagers, and Jester worries that all of the TravelerCon attendees will also be at risk of losing their memories and joining the villagers in the worship of Vokodo. They discuss various possible ways to proceed. Everyone is agreed that Vokodo must die. Jester suggests the Traveler could tell his followers to aid the attack. They discuss the possibility of the villagers themselves being recruited, or approaching Terra about joining them.



Beau suggests to Jester that the Traveler may have known about this island and suggested it in order to offload at least some of his followers. They all eventually agree they need more information, and since Vokodo forbids going to Heaven Falls, that's where they should go. They decide to use the Ball-Eater for transportation there, and Jester uses Sending to contact Orly, who tells them the crew is safe, but the dragon turtle has destroyed their ship. They decide to change into giant owls, and transport the party via flying to Heaven Falls.



Reaching the Falls, they set up camp on the nearby beach. In the dark, Fjord summons his sword and makes it glow, noting that reclaiming the gift he offered Vokodo may anger him. Jester, still a giant owl, carries Beau fifteen minutes out to sea, but the feeling of being watched does not subside. They do, however, notice that the volcano is now glowing red at the tip and there are angry rumbles from it. On the way to shore, they misjudge the ending time of the spell and find themselves plummeting, but Jester is able to grab Beau's hand and Dimension Door them both to safety on the beach.



Veth and Beau go to check out the Falls, leaving Fjord and Yasha to guard Caleb as he sets up the dome, and Jester and Caduceus as they Commune with their respective gods. Jester summons the Traveler, who admits that he knew the island would steal the memories of his followers, but assures Jester that he was not planning to abandon her or leave her there. She makes him promise and he does, but it's unclear exactly what that promise is. He seems unworried about the prospect of leaving his other followers on the island, however, and Jester begins to realize his true, self-centered nature. When she asks if he will fight with them against Vokodo, he refuses. She is in tears when in an effort to comfort her, he creates an image of the googly-eyed tusk-toothed face on Catha, the full moon, and disappears. Caleb, noticing her distress, assures her the party will support her in whatever she decides to do.



Caduceus also casts Commune, learning from the Wildmother that Vokodo's influence extends over the whole island and beyond, and that he knows where they are. Beau and Veth's exploration of Heaven Falls, an upside-down waterfall or water spout, reveals that its source is a large crack deep within the pool from which the water rises with great force. The rest of the pool is undisturbed by the water rushing up from beneath.

When they rejoin the party, Caleb asks for Veth's stolen jade rabbit statue, uses Fabricate to crush it, then casts Programmed Illusion to create on the inside of the dome a kaleidoscope of amber-colored images of the party's adventures together, and bits from their pasts before they all met, in an effort to have their memories before them during the night and possibly stave off their loss. Those he has seen personally are clear, and the others are in silhouette. The whole party is entranced, and deeply moved. Yasha requests the image of her and Zuala be placed where she can see it as she falls asleep, and Vilya requests an image of herself with a man beside her as she walks on two intact legs, and a red-haired fourteen-year-old with them.

Break

 * D&D Beyond animation.
 * Merch Alert! Button-down Mighty Nein weapon shirt, face masks, and Nott the Brave flasks are now available in the U.S., U.K., and Australia critrole.com stores. Vex Funko Pop Limited Edition available at Funko.com and BestBuy.
 * Taliesin Jaffe is in the B&W Twitch subscription zone.
 * Critters' art montage.

The Mighty Nein

 * Beauregard Lionett
 * Caduceus Clay
 * Caleb Widogast
 * Frumpkin
 * Fjord
 * Jester Lavorre
 * Veth Brenatto/Nott the Brave
 * Yasha Nydoorin

Returning

 * Vilya/Viridian
 * Orly Skiffback (via Jester's Sending)
 * The Traveler

Mentioned

 * Vokodo

Quotations
Jester: Everyone else, too? The Traveler: "Everyone else of import." Jester: (tearfully) Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just drawing. Caleb: Maybe it didn’t go as well as you were hoping. Jester: Um... in some ways it went better. But no. Caleb: I can’t speak for him. But you do have us. Jester: I know. Caleb: So whatever you land on, Jester, we’ll make it happen. Jester: I have to figure out what I want to land on. Veth: Sure. But it’s nice to look back every once in a while. Caleb: Impossible not to. Veth: No, it’s good. It’s good to look back. Even back on the painful stuff. That’s how you know you’ve moved forward, and you’re different and better. It’s good to look back. Caduceus: I've got to go there. Fjord: Nothing but danger lies ahead. Stop fighting me! Caduceus: I've got to go there.
 * Veth: Captain, how long, in your esteemed nautical mind, would it take us to sail around the island? Fjord: Such knowledge can only be gained after years upon the sea, the wind in your face, the brine in your gums. I have no clue.
 * The Traveler: (to Jester) "Please, don’t ever think I’m not looking out for your best interests. And I wasn’t planning to leave them all here. It was more of a backup plan if things didn’t work out well with the TravelerCon thing. You have to have a series of layers for something like this. Oh, dear thing. I don’t mean to put you through this. I was never going to abandon you or leave you to this. If things went sideways when we arrived, I would have just plucked you and everyone else of import and–"
 * The Traveler: "I don’t fight. I hedge my bets on those who fight for me."
 * Caleb: (immediately after Jester's conversation with the Traveler) You okay over there?
 * Caleb: (showing Veth the Programmed Illusion) Look at what two small-town kids have accomplished. To date. Much more to do.
 * Beau: (handing Caduceus the board she found) What is that? Caduceus: That’s wood. Beau: Yeah. I know. Caduceus: Then why did you ask? Fjord: What kind of wood? Caduceus: Wet wood. Fjord: Wha... Beau: Wet wood... Fjord: What about wood? Caduceus: It’s wet. It’s wet wood. Fjord: Why did you grab the wood? Beau: We found this wet wood. Caduceus: Where? Matt: The wet wood is well-worked.
 * Fjord: (trying to stop the Vokodo-controlled Caduceus) Why are you doing this? This is ridiculous!