The Stowaway

is the forty-fifth episode of the second campaign of Critical Role. The Mighty Nein find a stowaway on the Squall-Eater, who carries a mysterious item that holds dangerous consequences for the curious...

Pre-Show
We should just have a sound cue for Travis at this point. It's expected at this point: it's Critical Role's *bwa-bwa-bwa-bwaaaaa*.

Announcements

 * First and foremost, we have two fantastic sponsors tonight:
 * Our fantastic friends from D&D Beyond return! D&D Beyond has been with Critical Role all campaign and all year-long. To thank D&D Beyond for such a wonderful 2018, Sam is giving them a gift: an ad that will hopefully live forever. He is calling it his "Christmas GIF"...that's right: "GIF", not "gift". (Sam tries to make a "G" and a "F" with his hand, but it's just two Cs.) Sam doesn't know how to make a GIF, but Critters do. So the crew will bring out a green screen, and the cast will do some acting and reactions in front of it, and you can add your own backgrounds to make memorable GIFs! That way, when you are online searching through the Twitters, the Reddits, the "Immagurrs" (Imugrs...Sam's an old man), and the Giphys, you might see one of these bad boys and give some love to D&D Beyond. Sam starts by doing his version of the "guy who blinks like, 'That's weird'". Taliesin does an applause GIF. Sam directs Laura to do a fail GIF where she rolls a dice but the result sucked, but Laura realizes what he's trying to get her to do, and it turns into a "I'm-so-angry-I-gonna-punch-you" GIF. Matt does a "this" GIF. And last but not least, Sam tries to do a success GIF, but then Travis suggests "dramatic prairie dog" instead.
 * Speaking of fantastic partners through this campaign, we have our returning friends from The Rook & The Raven! They have been with Critical Role before, and they are creators of handcrafted, high-quality, disc-bound notebooks for your campaign notes and character notes. Marisha has the "Mischief & Misadventure" book. For the month of December, The Rook & The Raven is donating 100% of their profits to schools, teachers, and community centers for them to grow gaming clubs and RPG classes through their "adventure club gaming kits". They're putting everything together to make sure that these schools and facilities have the necessary materials to help facilitate these clubs and get these kids to build the same strong bonds that Matt did in his school's D&D club. Give the gift of gaming now by supporting their work (and thus, supporting these kids) at therookandtheraven.com/criticalrole. Travis thinks that's so cool. Matt thinks it's badass! Matt loves seeing messages online from gaming clubs that there are TOO MANY kids playing: YAY! It's such a surreal reality: Matt loves it!
 * Critical Role has a fantastic art show coming up soon. You all got a chance to see "The Chronicles of Exandria: Vol. II": the final volume of the art for Vox Machina's campaign. Now Critical Role gets to announce that they are having their very first art gallery to celebrate the fantastic art community that has come out of Critical Role. Each piece was created by community artists and curated by the cast. Tickets for the opening reception will available Monday, December 17, 2018. Tickets are completely free and are just for the reception on Friday, January 18, 2019: you don't need tickets for the rest of the weekend, as the gallery will be open through Sunday, January 20, 2019. It's going to be at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA, and you can find all the information for that at critrole.com.
 * Also announced for that same weekend, on Saturday, January 19, 2019, Critical Role is returning to the first campaign with a Vox Machina one-shot. It's going to be "The Search for Grog". No spoilers, but towards the very, very, very end of the campaign, something happened: one of our players pulled the thing from a Deck of Thingy Things (Travis moans, "I'M SORRY!") and briefly derailed the entire thing. They had just glossed over it, but they are actually going to play through that adventure as a one-shot with all returning members of Vox Machina but two, because Grog is being sought after and another character will not be present. VIP tickets go on sale this Saturday, December 15, 2018, and General Admission goes on sale Sunday, December 16, 2018. VIP attendees get a special swag bag (including a Vox Machina print signed by the whole cast), as well as a special Q&A before the show, moderated by Brian Wayne Foster.
 * Be sure to join us next week for our very special holiday one-shot that is being DMed by our fantastic Liam O'Brien. Liam is so excited: he's had this idea in his head for TWO YEARS! He was going to do this last December, but they ended up doing the Level 20 Battle Royale instead. But now it's HERE, and he's mostly ready! Matt was not expecting that much exuberance out of Liam. Matt is pumped now just from that: that was adorable! It's gonna be so much fun, and it's going to be called "The Night Before Critmas"! It will air on Friday, December 21, 2018 at 7:00 pm PST at twitch.tv/criticalrole.
 * Last but not least, Critical Role will be having its very special end-of-the-year "State of the Role" tomorrow on Friday, December 14, 2018. It will give more insight to Critical Role's holiday programming schedule and reveal a few fun things that Critical Role has coming in 2019.
 * Whatever Laura said before they came back from the intro, Matt says it was "adorable".

Previously on Critical Role
The Mighty Nein, after spending an exorbitant amount of time at sea at the behest of Captain Avantika, on the ship the Squall Eater'', got pulled into piracy under the banner of The Revelry, brought to the pirate city and island of Darktow amongst the Dragshallow Reefs. There you uncovered information, proof, that she had plans to overthrow the Plank King and rule the seas, along with her fanatical obsession with Uk'otoa. You managed to dodge through the night, grab the necessary journal, uncover the information through the cipher, and through a scuffle survive this fiery battle on the docks from the ship. And through some tactical use of spells and quick members of your party you got it in the hands of the Plank King.''

''Judgement was brought between the two of you at the dock, and he chose Avantika to go. Upon... having her make her leave, violently, gave you guys your reward, which was sparing your lives and telling you to get the fuck out of Darktow and never come back. You were gifted the kinda hobbled, burned form of the Squall Eater and let to make your way out towards the ocean, where you attempted to search into the backstory of Fjord's relationship with his patron, in search of one of these, and what seems to be the third and final sphere. You made your way down into the wreckage of his ship, the Tide's Breath, and discovered it was one of many in what was called the Diver's Grave: a ship graveyard here in the center of the Lucidian Ocean. ''

''In trying to find out where this orb went you were drawn into the underwater lair of Dashilla the Dreadful. You encountered spirits of long dead sailors bound there by her magic. You discovered the essence of how she's able to maintain this graveyard and draw ships down below. And while she managed to flee before being killed you grabbed what you were looking for, fled to the surface, and with your ship escaped the growing storm before any more danger was brought to you. And that's where we left off. ''

''So, Mighty Nein, as you've all gathered your things you can hear the distant crack of thunder as the storm gets smaller and smaller behind you on the horizon. What do you want to do?''

Twiggy & Trixie
Fjord instructed Orly Skiffback to plot a course for Bisaft. The Squall Eater still needs repairs from the battle with Avantika and her crew on Darktow Isle. During the first day of about three days travel, Nott tried to make more explosive bolts. She successfully made two, but the third one exploded.

In the light of the explosion, Nott saw a shape moving through the galley. The rest of the Mighty Nein heard the explosion and started to run belowdecks. Nott came up and told them there was no need. She explained the soot on her face by saying Avantika had set a booby trap. Nott said in Halfling (which none of the Mighty Nein except Beau understand) that there was someone downstairs. The others were confused by the different language. When Fjord asked what they were talking about, Beau told him rudely it was none of his business. Nott gave up trying to be sneaky and told the whole group about the shape.

Fjord sent Beau, Jester and Nott to find out what the shape was. The others would wait on deck in case whoever it was got past them and tried to escape. Jester speculated it might be Vera. The last they saw of Vera, she was very badly burned by the Fireball Caleb cast at the Squall Eater; but they were not sure if she was dead or not. They did not see Vera brought to Avantika's trial either. Before going belowdecks, Beau apologized to Fjord for being rude then ran before he could respond.

Jester saw the shape and heard footsteps go from the galley to the cargo hold. Beau, Jester, and Nott followed quietly and saw the shape duck behind some boxes. Jester sent her illusory duplicate towards the boxes and cast Thaumaturgy to amplify her voice saying "There are ghosts on the ship!". The three flanked the box to see a tiny gnome girl with chocolate smeared all over her face curled up in the corner. At the mention of ghosts, she excitedly told them she is scared of ghosts. Jester immediately liked her and offered her candy. Nott pointed her crossbow at the gnome, who then created an illusion of a hand coming out of her hand and wagging a finger at Nott. After this Nott was also won over by the new arrival, who introduced herself as Twiggy and pointed to something in her pocket called "Trixie".

Jester asked what Trixie looks like. Twiggy opened her pocket to reveal a tiny squirrel. Jester excitedly brought out Sprinkle to meet Trixie. Beau was still suspicious and asked Twiggy to explain why she was on the ship. Twiggy told them hid inside a box that got loaded on the Squall Eater. She was looking for a place to hide because she stole something to keep a "really bad guy" from getting it. Twiggy pulled several trinkets and drawings she's made from her backpack until she finds a large (for a gnome) brass and golden sphere. The sphere has multiple layers of rotating bands and sliding puzzle pieces. Jester noticed that parts of the sphere Twiggy was not touching were moving on their own. It seems to be a combination of clockwork and magic.

Twiggy showed off a way she's found to spin pieces of the artifact that causes gold coins to fall out of it. Jester showed Twiggy the dodecahedron and invited her to look at it. Twiggy felt herself get drawn into it. Her surroundings faded. She saw herself surrounded by stars and little ghost versions of herself. A glowing warm light appeared in front of Twiggy, who reached out and touched it. She felt warm, closed her eyes, and opened her eyes to find herself back on the Squall Eater. Nott said they should go upstairs and show Twiggy's artifact to Caleb because he is much smarter than any of them.

Beauregard lied to Twiggy that receiving a Fragment of Possibility from the dodecahedron means that she is now bonded to the Mighty Nein. Twiggy wasn't concerned by the threat and responded happily that she likes hanging out with people and trusting people. Passing by a very confused Marius LePual, Beau, Jester, and Nott take Twiggy to the deck to meet the rest of the Mighty Nein. Twiggy emerged on to the deck of the Squall Eater dancing.

Jester pulled a very confused Fjord aside. She assured him that she trusts Twiggy; but just in case Fjord is still suspicious, Jester could cast Zone of Truth on Twiggy. Fjord expressed concern that Twiggy seems very young and worried that parents may be looking for her. Twiggy told the Mighty Nein she has been on the Squall Eater for about a week. She is from Port Damali but has been stowing away on multiple ships for a while now. When Jester asked about her family, Twiggy cheerfully responded that they have been dead a while. Beau noticed that when Twiggy walks through a shadow she looks like an old woman. Twiggy cheerfully replied "Who knows!" when Beau asked about her age. Fjord was suspicious of Trixie and told Twiggy to keep Trixie to herself.

Happy Fun Ball of Tricks
Caleb finished casting Identify on Twiggy's artifact. The spell failed because the artifact blocked it. Caleb questioned Twiggy more about the sphere and where she got it. Twiggy said she called the sphere her Happy Fun Ball of Tricks. She stole it from somewhere (she's not sure what kind of place it was) in Port Damali. Twiggy took it because she saw a "mean man" named Sir Catagan there. Jester thought Twiggy's description sounds like the Exalted Collection Auction House, an invite only auction house for rich people. As Caleb continued to examine the ball, he found there were Conjuration glyphs carved all over it. Twiggy demonstrated how she made gold appear from the Happy Fun Ball, causing eight gold to appear. Caleb replicated her movements. This time four gold appeared.

Fjord asked Twiggy if she would be all right with them dropping her off when they get to Bisaft. When Jester said Twiggy could stay with the Mighty Nein forever, Fjord said he did not want to be responsible for someone like Kiri who could not defend themselves. Twiggy proved her magical abilities by casting Tasha's Hideous Laughter on Caleb. Caleb resisted the effect, but Fjord was a little more confident that Twiggy could handle herself. Fjord put Jester in charge of watching Twiggy. At Jester's request, Twiggy promised not to steal from the Mighty Nein. Apart from the rest of the group, Beau and Fjord agreed that they were still suspicious of Twiggy. They think she is too sweet and there has to be something else going on with her. Beau also said she thinks Twiggy's illusion magic is unnerving.

Beau asked Fjord to train her to be first mate since he is officially captain now. Fjord agreed. She apologized again for being rude earlier. Fjord assured her he was used to her by now and it didn't bother him. The Mighty Nein realized they were heading back into Clovis Concord territory with a known pirate ship. Nott comes with a new name for the ship, the Ball-Eater. Twiggy cast Mage Hand and used it to repaint the side of the ship beautifully with the new name.

Caduceus let Caleb know that when he cast Detect Magic earlier, he noted that Twiggy has two other magical items besides the Happy Fun Ball of Tricks. Caduceus doesn't think Twiggy is dangerous, just a little loopy from the chocolate and being in a confined space for a long time. Caleb went to talk to Twiggy, calling her down from swinging on the ropes. He cast Suggestion on her, compelling her to share any unique magic items she has. The spell succeeded. Twiggy tried to sit in Caleb's lap, but he stopped her. She sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. She showed him a little cube she called her "a-choo dust" and that her cloak could create an illusion of another Twiggy next to her. Caleb apologized to Twiggy for using a spell on her and summoned Frumpkin. He said she could play with Frumpkin for one hour. As the Suggestion spell wore off, Twiggy told Caleb she knew that "trick" and gave him a high five.

Black Hole
As the Ball-Eater continued towards Bisaft, Jester told Twiggy all about The Traveler. Nott looked through the rest of Avantika and her crew's ammunition stores. Beau and Jester raided Avantika's closet. Jester paraded around the deck in her outfits. Caleb continued to study the Happy Fun Ball of Tricks. He found a different way of twisting the rings and caused four pieces of jade to appear from the ball. He asked Twiggy if she would consider selling him the ball. She said she did not like money but might be interested in a trade. Caleb told her she could be an honorary member of the Mighty Nein. Twiggy kissed him the cheek and thanked him for letting her play with Frumpkin. Caleb thanked Twiggy for letting him play with the Happy Fun Ball and said she could have the whole day with Frumpkin.

Caleb continued to further twist the Happy Fun Ball as Twiggy played with Frumpkin. A black hole appeared in the middle of the floor next to him. After stopping Twiggy from jumping in with Frumpkin, Caleb called for Fjord. Twiggy dropped some ball bearings in the hole. They disappeared without making any noise. Caleb dropped a length of rope in and back out. Fjord stuck his finger in as well. Both the rope and Fjord's finger came out without a problem. Seconds later, the hole closed up and disappeared.

Caleb told the others Twiggy was now an honorary member of the Mighty Nein. Jester used her magical paint to make Twiggy a pirate hat.

Caleb pushed a still visible button on the Happy Fun Ball of Tricks. A black hole appeared again and lasted about one minute. The whole group (except for Yasha got together and chose Beau to go in the hole. Caleb made the hole reappear while Caduceus and Fjord lowered Beau in. Beau came out with an armful of red cloth and a strange metal object. The hole closed up behind her. The pile of clothes included a pair of boots and a velvet heavy cloak with an unfamiliar symbol embroidered on the back.

Caleb cast Identify and Comprehend Languages on everything Beau pulled out of the hole. The clothes are not magical, but the metal object is a magical hand warmer. The Mighty Nein appeared to have found a set of cold weather travel gear. The symbol on the clothes is a name: Halas. None of the group recognized the name.

Nott and Twiggy tied rope around their waists and prepared to jump in again. They joined hands and jumped in when Caleb reopened the portal. They dropped into a small cylindrical room empty except for the last few ball bearings Twiggy dropped in before. They tugged on the ropes and were pulled back out of the hole.

Twiggy tried to remember if Sir Catagan had anything to do with the name Halas. She doesn't think he did. Twiggy said she thinks she may be "a little weird" because of Sir Catagan. He kept her in a cage all alone for a long time. She would make up people to talk to and practice her magic. Twiggy described Sir Catagan as twice her size, very skinny, and wearing a big ring with a green gem in it. Twiggy got away by making Sir Catagan chase an illusion of her. Fjord said "It sounds real familiar". Caleb tried to unlock the Happy Fun Ball of Tricks further but was unable to. Twiggy offered to help.

Caleb and Twiggy together managed to unlock another phase. A flash of green light filled the entire chamber.

Halas's Library
After the flash of green light, the Mighty Nein and Twiggy realized they were no longer on the Ball-Eater and Yasha was not with with them. They were in a stone room with four pillars. Twelve feet off the ground were four different colored banners hanging on the walls parallel to each other. The banners were four different colors (red, green, blue, and black) but all had the symbol of Halas in gold in the center. Two mummified corpses with looks of horror on their faces laid in the center of the room. The Happy Fun Ball of Tricks was nowhere to be seen. The room had no visible exits.

Twiggy cast Mage Hand and used it to pull aside the blue banner. In the wall behind the banner was a stone statue of a dragon with sapphires for eyes. The mouth lit up blue and electrical energy shot out of the wall, hitting Caleb, Nott, and Twiggy. Nott and Twiggy ducked, but Caleb is unable to avoid the bolt. Caduceus suggested using Speak with Dead before pulling aside any of the other banners. The group agreed and adjusted their positions so they were not in line with any of the banners. Caduceus talked to the corpse. The body told him they were killed by "the wailing creature" that came from behind the black banner. They ended up in the room because they found an object and played with it. The body does not recognize the name Halas and does not know the way out.

The group gathered together in the center of the room as Caleb cast Leomund's Tiny Hut to protect them from whatever came out from behind the other banners. They planned to stay inside the hut while Twiggy's Mage Hand opened all the banners. Caleb and Twiggy used some of their spell casting components (honeycomb and gum) to make earplugs for everyone since sound can still come through the barrier. Twiggy stuck her hand outside the hut to cast her spell and move the green banner aside.

Behind the banner was a statue of a sickly, bloated humanoid creature. A green gas filled the chamber but did not go through Leomund's Tiny Hut. Twiggy used her Mage Hand to pull aside the red banner. Behind the banner was a wooden, red door with the symbol of Halas painted on it. The Mage Hand pushed the handle. The door was locked. Twiggy called back the hand and gave it her Thieves' Tools. The hand successfully picked the lock. When the lock was picked, a magical flame burst out of the door, burning far into the room. The Mighty Nein and Twiggy were still protected by Leomund's Tiny Hut and avoided the flame. Twiggy had her Mage Hand try the door handle again. It opened.

Caleb sent Frumpkin into the hallway. Twiggy followed him, with the rest of the Mighty Nein following slowly behind. Caleb realized that the hallway they are walking through has an extraplanar essence to it, similar to the small area where they found the clothes. As they continued walking, a study type room with a desk and several bookshelves came into view in the distance.

The Mighty Nein enter a seventy foot tall chamber full of books. One wall has a forty foot tall, fifty foot wide stained glass window up one level of ladders. Above one of the desks is a twelve foot tall, six foot wide picture of a man sitting in a chair. He has light brown skin, long dark hair, and amber-yellow eyes. The robes he wears are the same red color with gold trim as the robes from the black hole.

Looking at the stained glass window, Beau and Fjord realized it is a layout of the planes. The Ethereal Plane, Astral Plane, and four Elemental Planes are all pictured. They noticed that there is no Divine Gate pictured in the window, indicating this design may be over 800 years old. The other strange thing about the window is a small, red circle in the Astral Sea that is not tethered to anything.

Fjord touched the red circle. The window loudly shattered. Pieces flew out and stopped in midair. Fjord, standing in front of the window, was sucked into a black void and vanished. The window reformed and closed behind him.

Beau and Jester ran up to the window where Fjord vanished. Caleb ran to the desk to look for notes about the window. Nott and Twiggy checked one of the closed cabinets. Together they picked the lock to find the cabinet empty. Reaching their hands inside, the cabinet doors closed on their arms, holding them in place. Both Nott and Twiggy managed to pull their arms out of the cabinet and back away. However, the cabinet moved forward, opened its doors, and pulled Twiggy back inside of it.

Caleb continued to search the desk for something that could help Fjord. He finds a jar of glass beads, a large vial of ink, and a small porcelain doll with oddly realistic hair. Jester's duplicate cast Inflict Wounds on the moving cabinet while the real Jester continued to search the stained glass window for a sign of Fjord. Twiggy attacked the cabinet from the inside, causing it to spit her out. Nott fired one of her explosive arrows, not realizing the one she grabbed was filled with pepper instead of black powder. Even without the extra explosive damage, the arrow was enough to finish off the cabinet.

Caduceus asked Twiggy for help with a stack of books with individual brass locks holding them shut. Twiggy opened one and called to Caleb she had a book for him. Caleb ignored her and continued to examine the area around where Fjord vanished. While he does not see any buttons or hidden doors, he does notice a large red leather bound book with sapphires embedded in the cover conspicuously placed in the center of a bookshelf.

The Mighty Nein

 * Beauregard
 * Caduceus Clay
 * Fjord
 * Frumpkin
 * Jester Lavorre
 * Nott
 * Yasha Nydoorin (played by Matt)
 * Caleb Widogast

New

 * Twiggy
 * Trixie
 * Unnamed young blue dragon

Returning

 * Marius LePual
 * Orly Skiffback
 * Sprinkle
 * The Traveler

Mentioned

 * Avantika
 * Calianna
 * Catagan
 * Halas
 * Kiri
 * Vera

Quotations

 * Nott: (in Halfling to Beauregard, which only the two of them understand) "There's someone hiding downstairs. We need to act fast, but don't alert the others yet; they'll overreact. You and I are the calm and steady ones. We can deal with this."
 * Marisha: "Before I go down, I go-" (in character as Beauregard): 'Uh, Fjord, uhhhh, sorry for being a dick.' Marisha: "-and then just go." Fjord: "Apologies." Caduceus: "That's an improvement."
 * Twiggy: "I'm Twiggy!" (points in pocket) "This is Trixie." Travis: (out of character) "Oh, no." Nott: "Woah!" Twiggy: "Trixie's my bestest friend, and we got kind of stuck on this ship. But I have lots of chocolate and lots of apples. As you can tell, that's all I've been eating. And I wonder if it's ok if I could hang out with you guys for a while? Until we get to shore?"
 * Twiggy: "So, I don't know, I kind of- So there was this really pretty thing, and this really bad guy was going to get it. And I was like, that's not fair, right? So I took it, okay? I took it. You don't care right?"
 * Beau: "Hey Twiggy. Now that you've looked at the fragment, you're bonded to us. Which means if you betray us, we'll know how to find you." Twiggy: "Wow. Well, that sounds pretty serious. So cool with me! I like people. I like hanging out with people. I like trusting people. So that sounds great!"
 * Beau: "Don't gnomes live for a pretty long time?" Twiggy: "Yeah!" Beau: "So you could actually be fairly old-" Twiggy: "Who knows!"
 * Twiggy: "How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?" Caleb: "Oh, no, don't you dare." Twiggy: "Ten tickles!"
 * Beau: "Sorry again for being a dick. I think I've been a little on edge with the boat." Fjord: "It's all right. I'm kind of immune now. I just take it." Beau: "It's really just a knee-jerk. It would've happened if it was anybody. You could've been a scarecrow, and I would've been like 'Fuck off, bro!'"
 * Jester: (to Twiggy, about The Traveler) "I feel like he would like you a lot, you know, because number one: he likes people that can be sneaky because it's fun, right? And you can be sneaky." Twiggy: "It's the most fun ever!" Jester: "Also he has a cloak, just you have a cloak. Really cool. Also, he always kept me company. I know that you had a lot of time by yourself, right? And so did I, and he always kept me company."
 * Fjord: (coming below deck when Caleb calls for the captain) "Yeah, what is it?" Beau: "And his first mate." Fjord: "You don't have to announce it when you show up. Don't yell your superiority. We'll get you a shirt or something."
 * Nott: "You know, I like Twiggy. But she picks all the locks; she does the Mage Hand thing; she does the Hideous Laughter thing; she paints." Jester: "She makes a duplicate of herself." Nott: "She has a cute animal." Jester: "And she likes chocolate!" Nott: "Are we being replaced?"