Refjorged

is the seventy-sixth episode of the second campaign of Critical Role. Having returned to Uthodurn, the Mighty Nein attempt to tie up loose ends before heading back to the Cinderrest Sanctum...

Pre-Show
Liam says "Yes, and--" to Mica. Mica says he will die tonight.

Previously on Critical Role
So, last we left off: The Mighty Nein, along with their new ally Reani, had made their way from the city of Uthodurn to the city of Rosohna to pull in a favor with the Shadowhand Essek, to bring them instantaneously to the mouth of Mythburrow, where there supposedly lived a white dragon, one capable of enchanting the mythril that you had melted down, and hoped to, once enchanted as iceflex, to be utilized in reforming the shattered pieces of an ancient magical sword that you’ve slowly acquired through your adventures in this campaign.

''Upon delving into the cavern, battling yeti, hiding amongst the shadows, making your way towards the ice tunnels that led to its lair, you led it out with an ice spider queen used as bait. However, the item you wished to retrieve was dragged into the lair, and you found yourselves having to distract, stealth in, steal, and escape, which you barely managed to do, as the dragon proved to be far more formidable than you had ever expected. In those heightened moments of intensity, and through an extremely on-point Caleb Widogast, you managed to step through the Teleportation Circle leading you back to the city of Uthodurn, where you all crashed out into the center of the Vellum Steeple, to the surprise and confusion of all the various members within. And that is where we’re picking up today.''

Part I
The Mighty Nein make their way out of the Vellum Steeple, heal up a bit, and go off for celebratory drinks to a dive bar Reani suggests called the Tumbled Tankards. She remembers she was supposed to get Umi a dragon scale, and Jester creates one using her magic paint.

They are greeted by the barkeeper Vonnie, who is apparently another good friend of Reani's, and have root meads or chocolate milks. Nott slips Caleb the two items stolen from Gelidon's lair. He identifies the rainbow stone as a single-use Dispel Magic grenade, and the other item as elven chain. The group (except Caleb) plays beer pong for the grenade and Reani wins, but doesn't want it and Fjord ends up with it. As the group leaves, Caleb hangs back and takes a throw, scoring highest of all, but no one sees except Frumpkin.

They head to the Anvil of Smeltborne and give Umagorn the iceflex. He says it's good to go and they'll need to head to the Cinderrest Sanctum to re-forge the blade, so the group decides to get the refined residuum Caduceus needs before they leave town by doing the burglary Ava had requested. Reani gives Umi the dragon scale and the elven chain shirt that the group had thought none of them could utilize, but they discover that Caleb could wear it and Umi happily returns it to him. This improves Caleb's armor class from 11 to 15, making him very happy.

They decide to scout the Tumblecarve residence, where the ring that Ava wants back is being held. The Tumblecarves are a wealthy, ancient line of nobility who have a reputation as collectors with mysteriously good knowledge of new items arriving. Umi is very wary of them and warns the party to be careful. The Tumblecarve home has three stories and large balconies on the front, with the back being built into the rock wall of the alcove it sits in. It also has at least two private guards patrolling.

Reani, Jester, and Caleb turn into bats to get closer and scout the roof, but Jester and Caleb have the intelligence of a bat and become very distracted by the promise of bread as a reward somewhere. They do, however, find a hatch on the roof. The party regathers, and decides to sleep at Reani's house, then in the morning go in through the roof of the house. Beau suggests meeting Archivist Demid as he'd suggested, and she and Caleb have a long and boring conversation about the moons while hopefully managing to ingratiate themselves with the Vellum Steeple. They duck out and head back to the rest of the party for a long rest at Reani's.

The Mighty Nein

 * Beauregard
 * Caduceus Clay
 * Fjord
 * Frumpkin
 * Jester Lavorre
 * Nott
 * Yasha Nydoorin (absent)
 * Caleb Widogast

New

 * Von Bragg
 * Samliel (in Reani's dream)

Returning

 * Reani
 * Umagorn Smeltborne
 * Deilin
 * Scribewarden Ressia Uvesic
 * Chief Auditor Keenash
 * Archivist Demid Sunlash
 * Ava Endlewood
 * The Wildmother (in Fjord's vision)
 * The Traveler

Mentioned

 * Gelidon
 * The Tumblecarve Family
 * The Jagentoth Family
 * Ichabod Dust
 * Khemdal Dust
 * Brumhelm Dust

Quotations
Matt: (as several bats) "I like bread." "I like bread." "I like bread." Caleb: (as a bat) Do you think that the three of us could have some of the bread now? Reani: I don't have any bread on me. Jester: Oh, but you promised bread. Reani: Bread after. Caleb: Where are you keeping the bread? Reani: Oh, god, are they just as dumb as bats? Fjord: I tried that once. I saw, and then I went and did it, and I couldn't-- everything hurt for two days. Like rusty hinge. Beau: That's like every day of my life. Fjord: Oh, really? God, you don't show it. Beau: The pain kind of turns me on just a little.
 * Jester: (as a bat) I like bread.
 * Beau: When your body is your weapon, everything needs to be in tip-top shape.
 * Matt (as the Wildmother) "You have been lost, caught in a dark current and undertow. These depths seed you with an alien wound, too deep to heal, and leave your mind a torrent. Fear, love, pursuit for self worth. You found my gaze through chance, through deed. Through company. These waters are your home, and always have been. These waters are me, and I am them. I am the lands that rise from them, I am the trees that bind them, I am the beasts that keep them. This seed of darkness--" And you look down, and you can feel this black rock, this coal that is chilled within your chest. "This seed I cannot heal, but I can help you carry the burden. I can free you from the fiend that feeds, if you would but protect all that is me. Will you walk my lands, swim my shores, and guide my children as one of my own?" Fjord: Yes. Yes, I would. Matt: The smile widens. "Then embrace me. My boon is yours. And it is our nature to adapt. Come." And you feel tendrils of kelp and seaweed begin to rise from the warm water beneath you, and wrap around you, and tie, and bind, and your heart rate begins to jump. There is still warmth but it's beginning to cut the light off as your face begins to be blanketed, and you feel yourself being pulled beneath the waters. Do you struggle? Fjord: No.
 * Jester's Note to Reani: "Life is all about balance. You can't live in black and white. Everything is a beautiful color of gray. Trust yourself. You know what is good. Love, Jester. And the Traveler."
 * Nott: I feel like I need to be there to protect you all, to rescue you when there is a dragon about to kill you, and use my body as a shield, or to pull Beauregard out of the mouth of a worm, or to catch you when someone falls with a Feather Fall spell. But here's the thing: it's really scary to do all those things, and to go out in the front, and to look for traps, and to disarm things and to scout ahead and steal things from terrible lairs and it's scary, and I don't-- I know you all have my back. I know you all care for me. But no one has my front. So this flask that I drink from, it's not for fun. I'm not taking nips because I'm looking for fun. If I wanted fun, I'd be in Nicodranas with my family. This flask is my shield. It allows me to do these things. To go forward and to protect all of you.
 * Fjord: Fuckin' seaweed wraps are the shit!