The Chapter Closes

is the sixteenth episode of the eighth chapter of Critical Role and the final episode of Vox Machina's campaign. On the final episode of our campaign, victory is celebrated, and all debts are paid.

Pre-Show

 * This will be the final episode of the five-year Vox Machina campaign, but Critical Role will return in the new year with a new campaign and new characters. There will be a variety of one-shots and fun things in the interim.

Announcements

 * Shadow of War just came out, which several of the cast have worked on.
 * Sam, Laura, Travis, and Darin De Paul played in a Shadow of War-themed one shot to celebrate the game's release.
 * Liam can now officially announce his part in Shadow of War, reprising the role of Gollum. He did both voiceover and motion capture for the role.
 * Liam and Taliesin show a preview of the forthcoming Critical Role art book, titled The Chronicles of Exandria: Volume I. There will be more details on the next Talks Machina. In addition to the normal book, there will be a special edition version bound in red leather. Check out geekandsundry.com/artbook for updates; the books should be on sale in time for the holidays.
 * Ashley will be joining for the game tonight; she is just finishing shooting with Blindspot.
 * Liam gives Travis a late birthday present: his very own replica Belt of Dwarvenkind.
 * The second installment of Vox Machina: Origins, the Critical Role comic, will be available October 18th via Comixology and Dark Horse.
 * Wednesday Club will be discussing Hellboy. Liam offers to join in for that topic.
 * Taliesin is also taking over a revamped Gather Your Party on Friday nights. This Friday will be Gather Your Goth: a goth makeover.
 * The new Pact episode of the Telltale Batman game is out, featuring Matt as Mr. Freeze.
 * The cast list for Sagas of Sundry: Madness is out now. Marisha and Liam both have roles.
 * Sub-tober: Twitch is offering half-off subscriptions until October 18th.
 * Matt gives a shout out to the Critical Role crew members.

Previously on Critical Role
"Vox Machina, through their trials and tribulations, had eventually come to realize the machinations of Vecna, who ascended into godhood, transported his city from the Shadowfell of Thar Amphala to the top of a long-dead earth primordial titan, rising it and making its way toward Vasselheim, the Dawn City, the beginning of creation.

"[They] battled [their] way through its innards, up within the arcane dome that protected it. [They] managed to defeat one half of the long, frustrating Briarwood coupling, fought [their] way to the top of the tower, Entropis, did battle with Vecna, the Ascended, and, through careful planning and sacrifices, [they] managed to apply the Trammels, complete the sealing ritual, and send Venca screaming across the Divine Gate, to be sealed to wherever his divine demi-plane resides on the other side.

"As [they] all fell down upon the ruined, floating platforms of the Tower Entropis, [they] glanced over as [their] recent ally, Arkhan the Cruel, proceeded to sever his own hand, attach the Hand of Vecna, and, catching [them] off guard, transport himself beyond [their] current reach."

Vecna Defeated
As the titan's reaching arm grinds to a halt above them, the arcane energy that was holding together the Tower of Entropis dissipates, and the tower begins to fall.

Vex and Vax retrieve the body of their half-sister, Velora, while Keyleth flies down to the base of the tower. There she finds Zahra and Kash, battered but alive. They take a moment to catch up; Kash reveals that Zahra is pregnant. Vex asks Kash to help bring Velora back. He does so, and Velora wakes up to Trinket licking her face. Kash and Zahra say their goodbyes and fly off to check on the Slayer's Take.

To declare their victory, Percy and Vex fire off purple and gold flares into the sky, and Keyleth uses Skywrite to signal "VECNA DEFEATED" to the city of Vasselheim. Scanlan fires a shot through the 'N' with the gun he took from Percy some time ago.

Grog, still under the influence of the Sword of Kas, has Vax cast Locate Object on Arkhan's amputated hand. Grog digs it out from the rubble of the tower. He wants to go hunt down Arkhan and find the Hand of Vecna immediately. The rest of the party convinces Grog to put Arkhan's hand in the Bag of Colding for now. Percy then convinces Scanlan to give him back the gun by promising to make him a fancy similar device that's less dangerous. Keyleth scries on Sylas Briarwood; she discovers that he is in bat form flying somewhere through the Vesper Timberlands. They decide to leave that problem for another day.

In the Platinum Sanctuary
J'mon Sa Ord approaches and offers them a lift down into the city. They go to the Platinum Sanctuary. Highbearer Vord and Allura Vysoren are inside. Allura and Vox Machina share a brief group hug and Vex asks after Kima. Allura tells them Kima is still cleaning up the streets and had battled in the city while Vox Machina was in the tower.

Vax assures Highbearer Vord that the Raven Queen has been allowing him to sense Vecna and he no longer can. The city is safe. The Highbearer thanks Vox Machina for their service to Vasselheim. On the urging of her friends, Keyleth steps forward to address the people gathered there.

As Keyleth finishes her speech and the crowd begins to disperse, Vax feels a cold pain in his chest and looks around to see the face of the Raven Queen. As she appears before them, Percy tries to intervene, but is held back. Vax says his goodbyes, one by one, to each of them, before walking toward the Raven Queen and the figure of his mother, Elaina. As he goes, he uses Druidcraft to send snowdrops out behind him before disappearing into feathers.

Part II
Vox Machina take a moment to work out their feelings in the wake of the loss of Vax. Scanlan tries to lighten the tension with a joke about how he could have fought the Raven Queen if he still had the gun. Percy angrily uses Manners to lock Scanlan up in iron bands. After briefly searching Scanlan's pockets but not finding anything he thinks he should take, Percy lets him out at Vex's request. Vex tells Keyleth that even though there was never a marriage ceremony, she still considers Keyleth to be her sister.

Loose Ends
Grog confides to Pike and Scanlan that he wants the priests of Bahamut to take over the search for Arkhan, so they go to find Highbearer Vord. The Sword of Kas resists. Pike convinces Scanlan to help Grog fight the sword. Scanlan casts Suggestion on Grog but the spell fails. Grog is finally able to resist the sword when Pike casts Greater Restoration on him. Grog is able to relinquish it, along with Arkhan's hand.

Meanwhile, Percy has been sitting in a corner contemplating Ipkesh's contract from the Nine Hells. He addresses the contract, asking if Ipkesh could bring Vax back, but hears no response. As his wife sits down beside him, he comes out of his dark mood and admits that he misses his own family; that he was going to be a clockmaker once. Percy does not use the contract and he and Vex rejoin the rest of the group. Percy apologizes to Scanlan for using Manners on him. Shocked, Scanlan apologizes for leaving Vox Machina. Percy continues handing out apologies and tells Grog he's sorry about the skull they fought over after the Chroma Conclave attack. As Grog asks where the skull is now, Allura joins the group to assure him it is beyond any of their reach now.

Allura offers to help Pike check in on her temple. They make their way together to the Quadroads, to the restored temple of Sarenrae. The temple is still in good repair and filled with refugees, so Keyleth lends them a few spells to replenish their clean water reservoir. In the meantime, Percy entrusts Pike with the contract he has been holding, saying it is a "terrible thing waiting to happen." She promises to keep it far away from him.

On Vex's request, Allura sends a message to Syldor to let him know that his daughter Velora is safe, and that Vex will bring her home soon (but not quite yet).

In the Evening
Allura brings them next to a nearby dive bar called The Quarry's End, where they are joined by Kima for a round of drinks. They raise a toast to Vax'ildan, their fallen companion.

Grog tries, unsuccessfully, to convince everyone to pull a card from the Deck of Many Things. They leave the bar, and Keyleth brings them back to Whitestone.

In Whitestone, Scanlan goes to check on Kaylie, and the two of them discuss moving on with their lives. Neither of them want to go back to the criminal life. They decide to find someone to take over the persona of "The Meat Man" so Kaylie can go to a top school. Percy and Vex go out into the woods to camp together for the night, but not before Vex sends Trinket to keep Keyleth company in her room. Pike finds a clearing in the woods to sit for a moment, where she is joined by the wolf Galdric. He recognizes Pike and gives a howl that Pike understands to be a tribute for Vax. Galdric allows Pike to hug him and the two howl together in memory of Vax.

Grog, meanwhile, steps out to the front courtyard of Whitestone Castle, checks that no one is watching, and pulls out the Deck of Many Things. Just as Pike is returning from the forest, she sees him draw a card. The card he pulls is The Void, and he is left, catatonic, his soul drawn from his body, with an open deck of cards in his hand.

Epilogue
The party spend the next two weeks of their lives hunting through the Halls of Pandemonium on an unexpected quest to recover Grog's soul. They find it, and Grog wakes up, after two weeks in a coma, surrounded by his very angry friends. They inform him that he has lost his Deck of Many Things privileges. Scanlan lies that Percy lost his arm trying to rescue Grog.

Pike reveals to Vex and Keyleth that she has constructed a bench to put in the clearing she found in the woods, as a memorial for Vax. She gives them each a raven feather from his armor.

Pike then goes to Scanlan, who asks if perhaps he can take her on a date; she confesses she was going to ask him the same.

Scanlan Shorthalt
Over the next few years, Scanlan spends his time with Pike, helping her rebuild Vasselheim or whatever she likes. He pays for Kaylie to be educated at the Alabaster Lyceum in Emon, where he visits her occasionally. He sends some rather fine jewelry anonymously to Sybil, Kaylie's mother, to make sure she's taken care of. In his free time, and with some help from Ioun and Sprigg, he writes down the story of Vox Machina, titled In the Belly of Dragons: The Legend of Scanlan Shorthalt and Vox Machina. Scanlan attempts to finish the book by the time he turns 71, finally revealing his age to have been 69 at the start of the campaign.

Taryon Darrington
"As the months pass, the Darrington family had adjusted somewhat to a more humble lifestyle, and their work of charity within the city of Deastok and the neighboring lands goes far to cleaning the family name from where it once was. While their influence was greatly diminished and they're essentially a political laughingstock, the message of their work still strikes a chord in some of the more philanthropic lords to the north and an alliance is made that protects the Darrington name and interests from The Myriad's ever wiley grasp for the time being. Doty 3.0 now stands a shiny golden color, gifted the materials by a thankful ore-baron whom Taryon's Brigade of Adventurers saved from a terrifying doppelgänger's plot. His troupe continues to gain a small bit of notoriety in the southern lands of the Dwendalian Empire, some good, some humorous. His mother, Mariya, ever cheering them on and making their tabards for years before passing away peacefully, proud of her boy. Her passing brings the rest of the family closer together than it's ever been. The charitable efforts, surprisingly of Howaardt, now encompass the Darrington Brigade, as a non-profit adventuring league.

During a gambling run in Port Damali to follow, Taryon stumbles upon a now slightly more haggard Lawrence, now working as a tanner. They immediately fell right back where they left off, and Lawrence cashed in his life as a leather worker to join the Brigade alongside Taryon."

- Matt's epilogue for Tary

Wilhand Trickfoot
"Pike, Wilhand spends his twilight years helping with small tasks around the emerging House of the Everlight as it is built on the northern edge of Westruun, before age finally takes him in peace amongst friends and family. The red brick house you grew up in, and Grog grew along with you for a while, is left in your name and there you know you have ever a homestead in Westruun in memory of Wilhand and the friendships you forged."

- Matt's epilogue for Wilhand

Pike Trickfoot
On his passing, Wilhand leaves to Pike the house in which she grew up with Grog. She moves into it, while still adventuring with Grog and finishing the reconstruction of Sarenrae's temple in Vasselheim. As things go well with Scanlan, she eventually asks him for his hand in marriage. Scanlan asks Grog for his permission to accept Pike's proposal since Wilhand has passed away. Grog gives Scanlan a black sapphire for Pike, and agrees to carry Scanlan down the aisle at the wedding.

Percival and Vex'ahlia
Percy turns his engineering mind from weapons to an art project: the construction of an intricate clocktower in Whitestone, which tells the story of Vox Machina. Vex builds a statue to Trinket, "the wonder bear," and a yearly festival in Whitestone would come to celebrate both bears and feats of engineering. The two of them travel often, but return to Whitestone long enough for the birth of their children, of which they have at least five.

Vex never stops trying to contact her lost brother. Though she never succeeds in this, she does notice the population of ravens in Whitestone increasing over the years.

She also spends some time expanding the temple of her patron, Pelor.

Cassandra de Rolo
"Cassandra had a few pretty difficult brushes with death and the experience has definitely left a mark on her. Within the year following the battle with Vecna, she begins to remind [Percy] of [himself] at a very dark time. Recognizing that, [he] comes to her and helps pull her from a dangerous edge of lashing out at the place she’s worked so hard to build. And [Percy] help her realize that this guilt she's been holding as being a tool of manipulation the times that she has been is not her fault and used against the ones she loves. In that determination to no longer be a tool for others to use, she asks Vex to teach her and train her: to not just be the lady beacon of Whitestone, but also join in as one of its protectors."

- Matt's epilogue for Cassandra

Vex agrees to train her. Percy also insists that once a year Cassandra leave Whitestone for a period to have fun and do nothing.

Vasselheim
"For generations to come in Vasselheim, that titan will stand there, lording over the city, as a reminder of what transpired, of what could have been lost, and what was saved that day, in memory of those that were lost."

- Matt's epilogue for the city of Vasselheim

Grog Strongjaw
Grog returns to Vasselheim to turn himself in for punching a guard in a certain potion merchant's shop. However, he is recognized as one of the saviors of the city and forgiven of his crime. The merchant is initially indignant at Grog's release, until Grog offers him 8,000 gold to become his own personal reading tutor. He agrees.

While in the city, Grog helps Earthbreaker Groon rebuild the temple of Kord, and occasionally has Pike join him in the Crucible to defend their titles there. His next great challenge, however, is to improve his mind.

Keyleth
The Voice of the Tempest, after helping Pike for a while in the rebuilding of Vasselheim, eventually retires to Zephrah to take up her duties there. She adventures with her friends when called upon, and reconnects with Kerrek in Westruun. Taking the raven feather given to her by Pike, she embeds it into the sprig she once took from the Sun Tree in Whitestone. This grows over time into a new Raven Tree of the Ashari, into which she will someday retreat to become a part of the realm; but that is a long way off for an archdruid.

In the meantime, Keyleth lends her wisdom to the councils of Tal'Dorei and Whitestone. She eventually considers dating again, though not for a long time after Vax's loss.

One cold day in Zephrah, on the 13th day of the tenth month of the year, Keyleth is visited by a single raven, larger than the ones she has seen before. She blows it a kiss, and the raven lands on her shoulder.

Vox Machina

 * Taryon Darrington (epilogue)
 * Doty 2.0
 * Keyleth
 * Percival de Rolo
 * Scanlan Shorthalt
 * Grog Strongjaw
 * Pike Trickfoot
 * Trinket
 * Vax'ildan
 * Vex'ahlia

New

 * Doty 3.0 (epilogue)
 * Elaina

Returning

 * Sylas Briarwood (seen via Scrying)
 * Cassandra de Rolo
 * Galdric
 * Cydric Gillsman
 * Zahra Hydris
 * J'mon Sa Ord
 * Kashaw Vesh
 * Kaylie
 * Lady Kima of Vord
 * Korren
 * Raven Queen
 * Sword of Kas
 * Velora Vessar
 * Highbearer Vord
 * Allura Vysoren
 * Scalebearer Yon

Mentioned

 * Arkhan
 * Bahamut
 * Delilah Briarwood
 * Shaun Gilmore
 * Ioun
 * Ipkesh
 * Kerrek
 * Kord
 * Lawrence
 * Lillith Daturai
 * Osysa
 * Pelor
 * Sarenrae
 * Sprigg
 * Purvan Suul
 * Sybil
 * Tiamat
 * Vecna
 * Vesh
 * Syldor Vessar

Quotations
Vax: "I will bring it with me to remind me of you." Scanlan: "Are you apologizing for something?" Percy: "Yes." Scanlan: "That's stupid. I never said sorry for leaving!" Percy: "Yeah, but you're you. You don't have to apologize, we just assume." Scanlan: "Then I'm sorry. Sorry I left." Percy: "I will not accept it! So that when you come to your senses later, you don't feel like you’ve compromised. But thank you." Keyleth: The most selfless. Scanlan: The most frequently naked. Keyleth: Second to you. Grog: The most frustrating. Percy: The brightest and the darkest.
 * The Raven Queen (to Vax): "You have done well, my champion. The skein of destiny has tugged in your wake, and even this victory culminates with the crossing of a few fate-touched souls. By your hand, your bravery, your sacrifice, you ensure a future for all you love and all who will come to love you and what you've done. You may never know the import of your time here, but take solace in the knowledge that you will see the ripples of your actions carry hope for generations to come."
 * Scanlan (to Vax): "If you want us to fight her, just say 'Jenga' and we will."
 * Percy's final words to Vax: "I do not accept this."
 * Vex (saying goodbye to Vax): "I feel like she's taking part of me away."
 * Matt (describing Vax joining the Raven Queen): "The rest of you watch as her cloak begins to fade like a slowly scattered shadow in creeping sunlight. And as the snowdrop flowers continue with each step, you blink, and it's just feathers."
 * Percy (to Vex): "I think I really miss my family. I think I miss my sisters and my parents. I think I was going to be a clockmaker once. I haven't thought about that. There was a moment. Do you remember when we met? I, for a brief time, thought that I had died within that prison and I was having a fever dream from starvation and this was what that felt like, was my mind making stories of friends and adventures and these things I would never do because I was a coward and fool. I miss my family so much and I've done some terrible things."
 * Vex (to Percy): "You're a good person and you're not broken anymore. All right? We're filling each other's gaps. We'll be the glue."
 * Percy: "Sorry about Manners. That was rude."
 * Vex: To Vax'ildan. He was the best of us.
 * Scanlan (to Kaylie): "Thank you for coming into my life." Kaylie: "Thank you for being enough of a shitbag to bring me into it." Scanlan: "I'm so happy. I made so many mistakes, but it turns out that some of them weren't mistakes, after all."
 * Scanlan (to Grog): "Percy lost his arm rescuing you!" Grog: "I'm sorry." Percy: "Are you?" Grog: "No."
 * Pike (to Scanlan): "Well, I think if we spend enough time together, maybe, um, I don't know, can we see what else life has for us together?" Scanlan: "Absolutely." Pike: "That doesn't have to mean anything more. I know your life, what you like to do, and I'll give you freedom." Scanlan: "No, I think the most free I've ever been is with you." Pike: "I think there's no one I would rather spend the rest of my days with, besides my pal Grog."
 * Scanlan: "Grog, as the father figure in our weird household, I would like to ask for your permission to wed your not daughter Pike, who is much smarter and older than you." Grog: "You're a scoundrel. Do you have any money?" Scanlan: "I have this little black rock that you gave me." Grog: "That's worth literally nothing. How about you give her this?" Travis: "And I take out the rare black sapphire and put it in your hand."
 * Keyleth: "It's weird. Once you reach a life goal and then realize you have the rest of your life."

Trivia

 * After it rolled a natural 1 to search Scanlan's pockets, Taliesin tossed his "Golden Snitch" die (a gold colored die that has rolled many natural 20s) into the center of the table. Matt claimed it to use in the next campaign.
 * The final roll of the campaign was a natural 20 on Grog's Persuasion check to convince Cydric Gillsman, the potion merchant he once punched in the face, to teach him to read.