Shadows of Thomara

is the twelfth episode of the eighth chapter of Critical Role. Vox Machina make their way through the cursed caverns of the undead dwarven city of Thomara, hoping their presence won't be discovered.

Announcements

 * Middle Earth: Shadow of War is coming out October 10, including voices from Matt, Sam, Travis, and Laura.
 * Matt encouraged viewers to donate to the Red Cross to support those affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
 * Merchandising!
 * Podcast released up to Episode 40.
 * Marisha cancelled a plan to roll on announcements.
 * Dark Horse is releasing a Critical Role comic book series starting on September 20 (digital). Trade version released in Spring 2018.
 * Talks Machina on September 19 about.
 * The entire archive of Critical Role has been added to Alpha.
 * Twitch is having "Subtember," halving the price of subscriptions
 * Travis and Laura will be at Anime Weekend Atlanta, which takes place September 28-October 1.
 * Travis and Laura are going to Australia (Adelaide and Brisbane) in November (if Laura gets a passport).

Previously on Critical Role
"Vox Machina, preparing themselves for a final fray with the recently ascended god Vecna, the Undying King, discovered that he had brought the city of Thar Amphala about 300 miles northwest of Vasselheim on the continent of Issylra. Upon gathering allies to assail this region, you discovered that it was shifting, moving, and apparently the corpse of a long dead primordial earth titan had been risen and began marching its way towards Vasselheim with Thar Amphala embedded at the top of its torso, protected by some sort of a magical barrier.

"With an advance army of wyvern riders at your back, and J'mon Sa Ord giving you a ride between their wings, you made your way southward, quickly depositing yourselves within what appeared to be a waterfall-expelling opening towards the hip of this large titan-like undead beast. You began to fight your way through the interior, dealing with corrupted earth elemental shards.

"You began to make your way through the catacombs, the long ruined and abandoned dwarven city of Thomara, where you encountered the tomb of the dwarven king. Where you also managed to raid the tomb, found a magical item, and dealt with some fun traps in the process.

"Then continuing to follow where this route led you, upward, hopefully towards the underbelly of the city of Thar Amphala. You uncovered a mostly cleaned out vault and did battle with some undead trolls that immediately rushed in and attacked you. You managed to destroy them and make your way out through a small cavern that had just momentarily collapsed. Clearing it out of the way, you all begin to squeeze through the opening to find the next length of your journey."

Part I
As the small tunnel leads upward, Vex and Vax head up a short distance ahead of the party to investigate. They find that the path has been blocked by a rockslide. Grog goes into a rage and destroys the rocks with the Titanstone Knuckles, allowing them to proceed.

Afterwards, Vox Machina finds a stone hallway of dwarven make that connects to an iron room with a brazier, mirror, and buttons on the walls. Vax uses his Serpent Belt to press one of the buttons from outside of the room, revealing it to be an automatically sealing incinerator. When the room opens back up, Scanlan notices arcane marks visible in the corners opposite the buttons. Grog and Vex uncover vertical lines in each of these corners underneath layers of ash, while Pike finds and translates dwarven numbers on the entrance archway. Scanlan uses this information to tell his Unseen Servant (dubbed Simon 2 in honor of the belt) to press the buttons with a lance in a specific order. The causes the mirror to become a portal, which Vox Machina traverses.

The portal leads to a hallway and staircase, eventually coming out into a central portion of the dwarven city of Thomara. After attracting and dispatching some undead dwarves, Vox Machina investigates a temple full of more undead dwarves in the area. With Grog distracting the dwarves and Vax and Vex dispatching the two undead dwarves who were not distracted, Scanlan uses Simon 2 to retrieve a crystal from the temple. Vox Machina bid Simon 2 farewell and ascend towards a gap in the roof of the city-sized cavern.

Part II
Vox Machina came out into a domed chamber, which appeared to have drained water into Thomara at some point. They debated destroying the crystal, agreeing to wait before a final decision. Grog opened doors on the sides of the chamber, ultimately revealing a single path upwards. After looting some boxes, Vex and Vax scouted ahead into a hallway.

Three cloaked figures appeared in the hallway, wearing Vecna symbols. Upon noticing the symbols, Vex and Vax attacked, killing one and wounding the others. One of the cultists, Viskorad, ordered another, Odell, to alert others to Vox Machina's presence, beginning a fight.

Vex managed to attack Odell before Viskorad summoned wraiths and a Wall of Force. Scanlan, Keyleth, and Percy wasted time attempting to attack through the Wall of Force. Odell moved a Sphere of Annihilation into the side of the room containing Vox Machina. One of the wraiths reduced Vex's maximum health.

Scanlan shifted the course of the fight by using Dimension Door to move past the Wall of Force. Viskorad assumed Scanlan had less than 150 HP and attempted Power Word Stun (to no effect). Scanlan used Bigby's Hand to punch Viskorad, breaking his concentration on the Wall of Force. In the ensuing flurry of attacks, Vex killed Odell and Percy killed Viskorad, while Pike and Vax eliminated the wraiths.

Vox Machina looted the bodies of the three Remnant members. Scanlan attempted to grab the Sphere of Annihilation with Bigby's Hand, followed by two attempts to control it with his mind. The first attempt led the sphere to move into and injure Scanlan, but the second attempt allowed him to move the Sphere, which he dubbed Simon 3. Pike and Vax decided to combine Zone of Truth and Speak with Dead to compel one of the cultists to share information about the titan and Thar Amphala. After Vax cast Zone of Truth, Pike attempted Speak with Dead on Odell. The spell did not function as intended and Pike was psychically damaged in the process. Vox Machina threw the three bodies into Simon 3.

Vox Machina

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

New

 * Odell
 * Viskorad
 * An unnamed Remnant member

Mentioned

 * J'mon Sa Ord
 * Kaylie
 * Vecna