Dubious Pursuits

 is the fortieth episode of the second campaign of Critical Role. The Mighty Nein undergo a dangerous watery escape from the temple, and go to great lengths to maintain their alliance with Captain Avantika...

Previously on Critical Role
Last we left off, The Mighty Nein, in pursuing a thread of a mysterious orb that seemed to connect in some way to the entity in which Fjord has somehow connect[ed] himself to, and as such been granted these strange eldritch powers, led you southward from the Menagerie Coast after commandeering a ship called The Mist, turned into The Mistake''. Followed it through some dangerous reefs to a pirate ship called the Squall-Eater, and there on the captain, Avantika.''

''You made a pact with her, where the choice was to either die, to help aid her and a companion she hired for this to help navigate this island. This kind of strange, seemingly dangerous or cursed island, to which you made your way through the jungle of this Urukaxl. Managed to avoid lizardmen. Managed to barely sneak through a ancient city of yuan-ti. Making your way to the top of this temple and through the interior. A series of battles later, an encounter with a strange lightless internal orchard in which two of the fruit within had been eaten by two members of your team and have been tripping balls ever since.''

''You made your way to the bottom, subterranean, guardian chamber, where you met a yuan-ti abomination that was laying guard to the true guardian: a large hydra. The hydra had turned around and laid waste to much of your party, but you managed to, through a series of clever choices, uses of fire magic, and some rapid assaults, managed to cleave all the heads from its body and kill it just in time. Its corpse now lying fresh on the ground, Captain Avantika seeming pleased and impressed by the display of the strange, new compatriots that have now come to work under her. You now sit in the stillness of this chamber, able to now finally take a moment to look about and see what secrets or mysteries it holds.''

Part II
Avantika told Fjord she knew someone else who had a falchion similar to Fjord's. His name was Vandren. He called his falchion the "Sword of Fathoms". Avantika told Fjord Vandren was the one who introduced her to the power of Uk'otoa, but later abandoned her and took a Cloven Crystal with him. The orb Vandren took may be the one Fjord now has or Vandren may still have it.

Fjord asked Avantika how she got her Cloven Crystal. She tells him Vandren helped her. They discovered one was being auctioned off in Port Damali. Avantika and Vandren stalked the collector who bought it to an unknown island, killed him, and took the crystal. Avantika absorbed it, causing Uk'otoa's eye to appear in her palm. Avantika continued to press Fjord about why he has the same sword and possibly the same orb as Vandren. Fjord claimed he did not know Vandren. He told her he found the falchion after being lost at sea in a storm and washing up on as island with it, not mentioning Sabian's act of sabotage.

Avantika was not fooled by Fjord's lie. He admitted Vandren had been the captain of the ship that sank. Avantika concluded Vandren would not have traveled without the orb so it is likely still at the site of the wreck. Fjord showed her the location of the storm on a map and agreed to help her find it. Fjord and Avantika slept together to seal their pact.

Fjord attempted to sneak back to the room he shares with Caduceus, but Caduceus heard him. Caduceus only commented "Sleep well with your bad decisions."

The Mighty Nein

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

New

 * Jeremiah Willowhisk

Returning

 * Captain Avantika
 * Bouldergut
 * Jamedi Cosko
 * Vera

Mentioned

 * Vandren

Quotations
Matt: "You, yeah." (Fjord and Caduceus  stare at each other; Fjord awkward and Caduceus dubious as the former crawls into his bunk) Caduceus: "Sleep well with your bad decisions."
 * Taliesin: "Can I figure out what happened just by looking at him?"

Trivia

 * Sam's flask bears an image of a mostly-naked McCree riding a mechanical bull, with two Nott stickers above it.
 * At the end of this episode, the Mighty Nein reached level 7.