In Ruins

is the third episode of the fourth chapter of Critical Role. Vox Machina searches the ruins of Emon for survivors of the Chroma Conclave's attack. With the help of a new friend, they find an old one on death's door.

Previously on Critical Role
"Vox Machina—the intrepid band of adventurers who have been enjoying being honorary members of the Council of Tal'Dorei, returning from a harsh adventure in Whitestone, having the Winter's Crest Festival, and then going and reinspecting the death place of a blue dragon they once fought over a year ago—returned just in time for a series of chromatic dragons—white, black, red, and green—all attacking Emon at once. This union of extremely powerful dragons just tore through the city, with the red staying behind, named Thordak, the Cinder King, basically housing himself in Emon and claiming himself essentially ruler of that area.

"The party fled to their Keep, attempted to help a bunch of refugees inside, and then were immediately attacked by Vorugal, the white dragon. A heavy battle commenced that was ill in favor of [their] victory, until Thordak himself knocked Vorugal out of the sky, claiming that there were better things to be done. So three of the four of this Chroma Conclave have now gone east, while Thordak sits in the middle of his new nesting place. [Vox Machina] decided to try and help those who were in the Keep at the time, those who survived that encounter on the outside of Greyskull, however Percy and Grog had a conversation about this magical skull artifact they had acquired. [It was] whispering in exchange for a Wish if it got freedom. This led to a rather intense bit of conflict which, thanks to the luck of the die, seemed to avoid a unique circumstance, whatever that might've been.

"However, the party in this tense scenario were then visited by a dwarven elementalist named Drake, along with [their] old-time friend and guide Allura Vysoren, who had sensed the connection to her teleportation circles here in Emon severed immediately. There was discussion about how this came about, who is to blame, and it appears that this dragon has a history, fifteen years before, of having conflict with Allura and her then-party of adventurers, many who lost their lives in a final battle. [Allura's party] realized they were unable to actually defeat Thordak, and hatched a plan to seal him within the Elemental Plane of Fire, and have managed to keep him there for fifteen years, until recently. We left off with Allura suddenly sensing her connection to the Westruun sigil severed as well."

Part I
Lady Allura reveals that there are two bastions of knowledge that might hold insight into what could be the undoing of dragonkind. There were battles of powerful entities before the Penance (the historical wiping of civilization). Some of these books remain in Vasselheim—being the only city to survive those times. A few have found their way into the Cobalt Reserve, a well-fortified library in Westruun. Lady Allura intended to travel to the Cobalt Reserve to research the spinning anti-magical orb beneath Whitestone, but the Chroma Conclave's assault on Tal'Dorei disrupted her plans.

Trivia

 * Matt was rolling checks for whether Gilmore would live through the night or until Vox Machina managed to find him, as his situation grew more dire with each passing moment.