Scaldseat (episode)

is the eighth episode of the eighth chapter of Critical Role. Vox Machina descend into the heart of an undersea volcano to find the forge of the gods.

Previously on Critical Role
"Vox Machina, in facing the terrible threat of Vecna returned to physical form, went to seek audiences with a number of the deities of Exandria. After getting Blessings and fragments of the essence of three of the gods, they discovered that Vecna had completed the Ritual of Seeding and ascended into godhood. However, discussing with Ioun, the Knowing Mistress, it will take a little bit of time for him to both understand the extent of his power, to claim his domains, and expand beyond just his current condensed avatar form, so time is of the essence. Not to mention that in order to claim the full strength, there needs to be a showing of power and faith, something to gather attention and faith from the masses.

"So with that information, Ioun imbued upon Grog the ability to blacksmith, and Percival the knowledge of the construct of these divine trammels, things that could possibly be used to seal, and have been used previously to seal a god, as killing them is a very, very difficult and dangerous thing.

"Vox Machina discovered the place where these can be crafted is called the Core Anvil, once belonging to the Allhammer, the deity of construction, design, and craftsmanship. It resides beneath an underwater volcano known as Scaldseat off the shore of a city called Shorecomb in Issylra. They also had a little run-in with Vecna recently, taunting them all.

"Vox Machina found themselves in Vasselheim, went to the Trial Forge to speak with Earthbreaker Groon and discovered what would be required to attempt to make contact with Kord. Vax'ildan made communion with the Raven Queen, and in declaring his complete faith in her, she offered a piece of her essence to give them the third seed with which to make a third divine trammel.

"They all fell asleep within Scanlan's Magnificent Mansion. Scanlan cast True Polymorph on himself to take the form of a planetar and...did whatever he did in that form as they all went to sleep that evening."

Part I
Before bed, Vax has a word with Keyleth concerning his deal with the Raven Queen and how she feels about it.

The next morning, they plan their excursion to Scaldseat. Pike prepares a Heroes' Feast, though she herself will have to stay in Vasselheim. Keyleth does an Inspiring Leader interpretive dance to boost their health even further. Pike gets word to Kaylie and Tary that everyone is doing okay (for the moment). Keyleth opens a tree portal to Shorecomb.

They find themselves on a seaside cliff, near a dock, and pay a local fellow named Fenna to introduce them to someone who can rent them a boat. He brings them to Senth, a half-orc woman who dislikes gnomes. She rents them a boat called the Shore Shanty, helmed by Captain Santy, for three days' use.

After about two hours of sailing, they arrive above the undersea volcano. Keyleth casts Water Breathing on the party, and they all dive in. Vax explores the main shaft of the volcano for a way in, but finds it difficult to swim against the pressure. They make a circuit of the volcanic cone, finding a small hole that Grog is able to punch wide enough to admit all of them. They navigate their way through a combination of air- and water-filled tunnels, using water from Grog's Alchemy Jug to breathe through the sections that have only deoxygenated air.

As they are making their way through one of the tunnels, past a river of magma that they all jump over, they begin to hear a rumbling sound in the earth and quickly hide themselves.

Part II
The rumbling turns out to be a magma bulette and two of its children. Scanlan True Polymorphs himself into a planetar for the fight, but the three bulettes are dispatched with little trouble.

They move further into the tunnels. In his planetar form, Scanlan finds runes on what appears to be an exit seal, saying, "Here the Crafter's Halls lay dark, the means of making the World Ender gone. Allhammer protect us all." Grog uses his gauntlets to rip open the seal, revealing a stairway that leads downward into darkness.

Down the stairs, they find some breathable air, as well as walls carved with metal reliefs of armored warriors. They emerge into a massive hexagonal chamber. In the floor is a pit of heated coals, and on the wall is a solid gold relief with a large, triangular opening in its center. To either side are large metal warrior reliefs, similar to the ones in the hallway, with a third on another wall. Behind the staircase that led into the room is a smelter. At this point, Scanlan's planetar form expires.

Percy notices that each of the carved warriors is faceless, but has an opening in its face like a smaller version of the one in the gold relief. As he inspects the shapes of the openings, there is a flash of orange light and all three warriors come to life, stepping out of their walls.

Vox Machina

 * Taryon Darrington (absent; mentioned only)
 * Doty 2.0 (absent; not mentioned)
 * Keyleth
 * Percival de Rolo
 * Scanlan Shorthalt
 * Grog Strongjaw
 * Pike Trickfoot (DM-controlled)
 * Trinket
 * Vax'ildan
 * Vex'ahlia

New

 * Fenna
 * Captain Santy
 * Senth

Mentioned

 * Delilah Briarwood
 * Ioun
 * Kaylie
 * Moradin, the Allhammer
 * Raven Queen
 * Sarenrae
 * Sprigg
 * Vecna