Trial of the Take: Part 4

is the twenty-first episode of the first campaign of Critical Role. Keyleth, Vax'ildan, and Tiberius, joined by Kashaw and Thorbir from the Slayer's Take, make their way down into the tunnels beneath the Velvet Cabaret, pursuing their mercurial prey. The path is far from easy, but after surmounting a handful of harrowing obstacles, Thorbir leads the hunting party into the hidden lair of the elusive rakshasa...

Announcements

 * Vox Machina is currently split into two parties for their trial.
 * Wil Wheaton and Will Friedle return this week as guest stars.
 * Marisha shows off some TableTop nail wraps from Espionage Cosmetics.
 * For the next 4 hours and 56 minutes, Wil is King of the Internet because he won yesterday on @Midnight.
 * Wil advises everyone to check out What We Do in the Shadows, a vampire comedy movie set in New Zealand.
 * Tomorrow on Gather Your Party, Orion will be joined by Alex Lewis and Keith Habersberger from Buzzfeed.
 * Marisha talks about the charity 826LA. There is a video being planned during which viewer donations will be delivered.
 * Midnight Syndicate, who make music and soundtracks, have given Matt permission to use their tracks on the show. He recommends checking them out for atmospheric D&D music.

Previously on Critical Role
"Vox Machina, put into some sort of legal trouble in the city of Vasselheim, found themselves breaking a contract for a guild called the Slayer's Take that was essentially a monster hunters' guild, and all kills near the city of this magnitude require approval. To make sure they weren't sent to the seat of judgment to essentially be arrested and/or tried for an infraction they didn't realize they made, they were given the opportunity to actually join the guild, which they chose to do. However, as part of joining it they had to go through a small trial in which the party was split and had to go off to their own smaller contracts. One half had journeyed through with our guests Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and Felicia Day, and they went after a white dragon. They were awesome, everyone survived—barely. It was pretty rough.

''"This [current] venturing party met as the second contract and were given the task to seek out, destroy, and harvest pieces from a rakshasa—a demonic entity that stems from the Nine Hells, and apparently was somewhere in the city masquerading as the assistant to the owner of the Velvet Cabaret, an establishment for upper-class pleasure seekers. The party, after essentially forcing this individual to reveal themself, the rakshasa fled through a tunnel underneath its room into a long subterranean tunnel fraught with traps that were set to protect it. The party managed to avoid these rather deftly until the steady decline of the hallway, combined with the increasing moisture and scent of refuse, caused a slick surface and our fantastic cleric, Brother Kash, Kashaw, slipped and fell down. Two party members, Keyleth and Tiberius, deciding it would be a fun time to go Slip 'N Sliding, joined him at the bottom of the tunnel, whereas Thorbir and Vax stayed up at the top, shaking their heads with frustration. Upon splashing down into what appeared to be some sort of underground cistern or a collection of compost and refuse that had been just rotting, food and all kinds of nasty stuff, the party pulled themselves up, now knee- to nearly waist-deep in this nasty substance, began to hear skittering and screeching sounds throughout the room, hundreds of small ones, while two large thorny tentacles jettisoned out of this dung heap and pulled itself to the surface with its central body full of teeth, one giant toothy maw."''

Part I
Tiberius identifies the creature attacking them as an otyugh, accompanied by several swarms of rats. He, Keyleth, and Kashaw hold their own against the attackers while Vax and Thorbir hurry to catch up from down the corridor. Keyleth kills the otyugh with a Blight spell just as Vax and Thorbir are arriving. In a streak of characteristic bad luck, Thorbir manages to not damage any of the remaining rats but instead get bitten in the crotch by one. However, the rest of the party manage to eventually scatter the swarm.

Moving on, the party find a long-abandoned underground prison of sorts. In one of the cells they find a relatively fresh corpse, on which Kashaw casts Speak with Dead. They learn that the corpse was killed by a woman who was not supposed to be there, some 14 weeks ago. The corpse has since seen others pass by, particularly a dwarf. The corpse notes that they are in the lower halls of the Amaranthine Oubliette and that it last saw someone pass by its cell two weeks ago, heading the direction they came from.

A couple of guards, Duskmeadow Bastions, pass by, but the party hide from them and proceed past the cells to a locked door. As Vax is attempting to unlock the door, a spectral face emerges from the wood. They are beset by a pair of ghosts which immediately possess Keyleth and Vax, forcing their teammates to attack them. Keyleth is quickly knocked unconscious, forcing the first ghost out of her body. Kash rescues Vax from the other using Turn Undead. With that, the two ghosts flee into the nearest wall.

With two of their members now severely hurt, the party decides to take a short rest, Keyleth preparing a Heroes' Feast for them while they sit. That done, they begin to plan their way forward, using Locate Creature to determine the direction that the rakshasa has gone.

Part II
Finding that their way forward is blocked by a stream of acid, the party mount up on the flying carpet. As they cross the acid, however, a pair of arcane sigils flash and neutralize the magic of the carpet, causing them to plummet. Though Keyleth, quickly shifting to giant eagle form, is able to rescue them all, the carpet is irreparably damaged by its dip in the acid. Beyond the acid stream, they find the entrance to a hidden room. Inside is a statue of Dispater, one of the archdevils of the Nine Hells. They are greeted by the voice of the rakshasa, who calls himself Hotis and offers them a new contract to replace their current one. Thorbir senses Hotis' insincerity and refuses the deal.

Hotis then attempts to flee but is held back by Tiberius. As the team assaults him, a suit of armor animates and comes to his aid, hitting them all with a stored Fireball. Though Hotis and his guardian put up a hearty fight, the party severely damages both of them. The rakshasa decides to take its leave, attempting to Plain Shift away but is Counterspelled by Tiberius. This gives Vax enough time to strike it dead. With its dying breath, the rakshasa threatens to return and find him.



The party collect the parts they need for their contract before returning to the Slayer's Take guild hall. There, they are greeted by Mertin and the Huntmaster Vanessa, who pays them for their completed contract and welcomes them to the guild. Thorbir vouches for the new inductees' competence. Kashaw, meanwhile, says his farewells before planting a kiss on Keyleth and walking out the door.

Vox Machina

 * Keyleth
 * Percival de Rolo (absent)
 * Scanlan Shorthalt (absent)
 * Tiberius Stormwind
 * Grog Strongjaw (absent)
 * Pike Trickfoot (absent)
 * Trinket (absent)
 * Vax'ildan
 * Vex'ahlia (absent)

Returning

 * Thorbir Falbek
 * Kashaw Vesh
 * Vanessa Cyndrial
 * Mertin Cyndrial
 * Hotis

Quotations

 * Hotis: (to Keyleth, Tiberius, Vax and Thorbir) Well, this has been a lot of fun. I appreciate this little scuffle. However, I have other business to attend to. Looking at the rest of you, at least I know where to hit you all the hardest. I know you have a father you seek. I know you have family in Draconia. I know you have a sister that is not too far from here. And you, I know you have one you hold dear to your heart. I can now see your minds, see their faces, and I will see them soon. However, I must say adieu.
 * Vax: You talk about my sister again.