Race to the Ziggurat

is the eleventh episode of the third chapter of Critical Role. Vox Machina vs. the Briarwoods:  who will survive? And what terrible secret awaits our heroes beneath Whitestone?

Recap
"The party, Vox Machina, after having a relatively violent encounter with a couple known as the Briarwoods, Lady Delilah Briarwood and Lord Sylas Briarwood, two individuals that were responsible for essentially torturing and murdering Percy's family and taking over his town of Whitestone, and for the past five years have ruled it, guiding it into some dark direction they've begun to recently unravel. The party traveled to Whitestone to clear their name, as they were essentially put in a bad political position with their hometown of Emon, and to possibly bring vengeance for what Percy's family had undergone five years before. 

''Upon arriving they found the town in a very dark emotional place: zombie giants roving the streets as controlled centurions, a number of the individuals in the town feeling unrest. So they decided to build a revolt. Percy, helming the de Rolo crest, Vox Machina went around inciting the thoughts of rebellion within the city- not the first, but apparently the one with the most chance of succeeding they've had to this date. After some infiltrations and sizeable victories, cutting down some of the underlings of the Briarwoods within the city, the people began to arm themselves, rise up- fire, blade, and screaming took the city as the denizens began to fight back. In this chaos, Vox Machina made their way underneath the castle Whitestone, where the Lord and Lady Briarwood currently reside, seeking some sort of project called a Ziggurat. ''

''While they were down there they found a woman, apparently imprisoned, under an illusion, who they revealed to be Dr. Anna Ripley, one of the torturers of Percy five years before and seemingly interested in the black powder-based gun tech [Percy] had been developing. However, they took her captive, went upstairs, and discovered that Percy's sister Cassandra is indeed still alive and being held captive within the castle. In the process of trying to save her, Anna Ripley got away, Cassandra got her throat cut but was thankfully saved by the quick actions of Vox Machina and the near-death's door stepping of Vax once again. Nevertheless, [they] prevented her disastrous fate. So having Cassandra saved, some intense conversations began, some discussions of some elements of the Briarwoods' real intentions. They found notes within Professor Anders' room - one of the other individuals responsible for rising up against Percy's family back in the day - found materials that could clear their name back in Emon. ''

''Cassandra armed up, and they made their way down to the basement of the city, into the undercroft, and through the mausoleum that contained the descendants of the de Rolo family. After which, a series of ghosts - seemingly haunting that vicinity since the darkness that took this kingdom - took hold, began to possess the party into a rough battle in which they were forced to fight themselves. The ghosts were ousted, destroyed, and the party, regathering what powers they still have at their disposal, begin to delve into the seemingly recently-dug tunnel beneath the city of Whitestone towards wherever this Ziggurat project is."''