Uthodurn (episode)

is the seventy-third episode of the second campaign of Critical Role. Live from Indianapolis, the Mighty Nein journey through the Greying Wildlands to Uthodurn, in hopes of finding someone who can reforge the Star Razor...

Previously on Critical Role
"So, last we left off: The Mighty Nein, after sending some friends and family to safety in Nicodranas, made their way to the Greying Wildlands in search of answers regarding both the fractured halves of this blade that have been gathered across their adventures, and possibly these visions that had come through the Wildmother to Caduceus Clay. Upon seeking another remnant of the Raven Queen’s historical pact with the Wildmother, you made your way toward Kravaraad, the volcanic mountain, to Cinderrest Sanctum, or as you know it, to the Burning Lodge, amongst the Clay family, to meet the Dust family.

"While you were here, you learned a bit of the history of this blade, and the individual, Dulgrim Smeltborne, who apparently still resides in the city of Uthodurn. As you spent the evening there, visions came to Fjord of his – I don’t know what you would call it. Faithful? Not at all. A dark entity known as Uk'otoa, in which you had fallen into a pact with long ago, who is very unhappy that you had absconded with the third and final means of unsealing his current fate, and showed that the power you had been granted can indeed be taken away. You, however, in the face of this challenge, placed your own blade into your chest, played essentially chicken with this entity, and when it wasn’t going your way, threw your pact blade into the actual molten center of the Cinderrest Sanctum.

"Seemingly now absolved of your pact, powerless compared to your previous travels, you came forward with your friends about your current predicament. As you gathered various items of support, you all sought for more answers, seeking this Dulgrim, possible elements of the refined residuum that may be connected to Caduceus Clay’s vision, and leaving the mountain into the freshly snow-set mountainsides of the Flotket Alps, began traveling southwest, towards the city of Uthodurn. So, Mighty Nein, how would you like to progress?"

Part I
Jester and Beau get directions for the day-and-a-half trek to Uthodurn from Jeramiz, who also advises them to try their best not to be seen on the way. They set off with Fjord and Caleb in the middle of the marching order, as now the two weakest members of the party. There are two mountains along the way. As they pass the first one, Beau sees what looks like a watchtower on its top, but can make out no details.

Midday, Caduceus notices two winter wolves ahead, which spot the party and crouch to attack. Just as the attack begins, a large blue and white centipede-like creature erupts from beneath the ice and snow and swallows one of the wolves in one bite, then turns on the party. Nott gets in a good crossbow hit, but at that moment an even larger second remorhaz rises up and attacks as well. It hits Jester for 52 points of damage and bites down on her, grappling and restraining her. Anyone hitting the creature from melee range takes additional fire damage from it as well, including Jester in its mouth, and she gets down to single digit health points. Beau learns that it is immune to fire and cold damage, but takes almost as much damage as she deals from her melee attacks.

Caduceus gives the half-eaten Jester a few health points with Healing Word. Caleb then uses Polymorph to turn her into a mighty mammoth, which breaks open the creature's jaws, releasing the grapple on her. The creature attacks Caleb but misses. The younger one bites Nott, who retaliates with another strong crossbow hit. The adult bites and half-swallows Beau, knocking her out while holding her in its jaws, and then burrows underground with her, disappearing.

Since mammoth-Jester can't see the adult and can't chase it in her giant mammoth form, she goes after the baby, trampling, stomping, and goring it, which finishes it off. Fjord runs to the hole where the creature holding Beau disappeared, and uses his Inescapable Lash to catch its tail and one leg. Caduceus seriously damages it with Blight, and Fjord continues to hang onto the whip as it withdraws further into the hole, dragging him with it.

Caleb casts Cat's Ire and uses it to grapple Fjord's feet as they are disappearing into the hole behind the worm. Fjord succeeds in hanging on while they are both pulled back out of the hole, despite taking repeated damage. Nott uses Phantasmal Force to make the creature believe Beau has escaped its mouth and is running away, and when it snaps out at the illusion it drops Beau's unconscious body. It then bites and swallows Caduceus.

Jester starts to cast Guiding Bolt, but is convinced by a chorus of pigeons that since Beau is down two failed death saves, healing her is the better option. The party continues to attack, trying to free Caduceus, and Fjord is able to prevent the remorhaz's escape back down into the earth. Jester gets the how do you want to do this with her Guiding Bolt. Fjord climbs down the dead beast's throat after Caduceus, grabbing his foot, but taking acid damage as well. Caleb then uses Cat's Ire to shred the beast enough that Jester can reach Fjord and Caduceus and pull them out.

They heal up a bit and even though all of the party save Caleb (who was unscathed by the battle) are still in pretty bad shape, they decide to press on until nightfall, going stealthily. As dark falls, they try to camp in a tree to stay off the ground, but the branches give way dropping them ten feet, and they instead put up the dome on the rocky mountainside.

Part II
After a long rest, the party sets off again, this time moving stealthily with the help of several casts of Jester's Pass Without a Trace. In the afternoon she runs out of spell slots for it, but they continue to attempt stealth. They find an empty camping spot with a fire left from the previous night, and footprints moving in the direction they are heading. Beau and Nott have a fiercely competitive race up a tree, culminating in Nott using her single bullet to shoot Beau in the butt. Beau wins the race, but rolls a nine for perception at the top and can only see a few shapes at the base of the mountain a distance away. The party begins traveling at a full run towards the shapes, and as dusk arrives, begin hearing wolf howls behind them, drawing closer and closer. They see ahead a dozen or so stone towers rising out of the snowy mountainside with eight or nine heavy fur-cloaked figures standing there, and run towards them. Caduceus calls out, "Travelers requesting sanctuary. We've got a wolf problem," as they run, and the guards pull out their bows and shoot past the party into the wolves, driving them away.

After being inspected and questioned, the Nein are admitted. Fjord can't resist trying to scare one of the giant goats there and starts a small stampede, but the guards don't stop the party, and they go down a spiral staircase into an immense pit leading to the large, underground dwarven city of Uthodurn.

Uthodurn is a single immense burrowed cavern spiraling into the earth like a giant augur. The population is majority dwarven, with a large minority of elves and a smattering of other races, and they have merged cultures and amalgamated since the elves fled to this city after the corruption of Molaesmyr and the surrounding Savalirwood. They are directed to the Broken Stool Tavern for food, drink, and rooms for the night. Nott buys a round for a group of miners, who tell her about the layout of the city and where to find the Smeltborne forge. Before they go to bed, Caleb asks Jester to use Sending to contact Essek, asking him to try to keep the captured Scourger alive until he can question her. Essek responds that he'll try, but can't promise anything.

In the morning, they head off downward to the Volition Disk. On the way, Jester buys some cupcakes and they make an offering of a Jester-created ball peen hammer at the temple to the Allhammer. At the Anvil of Smeltborne, they find Umagorn Smeltborne, who tells them his father Dulgrim died four years ago but has taught him his trade. They also meet his mute assistant Deilen, a waifish elf in her mid-teens who compares arm muscles with Beau.

Plied with ale and cupcakes, Umagorn looks through his father's notes and find the sword they are attempting to have repaired, the Star Razor. He tells them that he can fix it, but he will need iceflex, formed by a white dragon breathing on mithril, which he does not have. He directs them to the Vellum Steeple archive for more information, and to Ava at the Plexus Post for possible iceflex. After a very persuasive argument from Fjord, he agrees to do the repairs if they bring him the materials.

As they leave the smithy, a cloaked figure emerges from the shadows behind the temple and approaches.

The Mighty Nein

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

New

 * Senior Glassblade Berad
 * Deilen
 * Luda
 * Umagorn Smeltborne

Returning

 * Jeramiz Dust
 * Essek Thelyss (via Jester's Sending spell)

Mentioned

 * Dulgrim Smeltborne

Quotations

 * Jester: Fuck it, I'm a mammoth. I don't care.
 * Jester: (casting Cure Wounds on the unconscious Beau) I'm a cleric... Man, I think I could have killed it.
 * Caduceus: Either they're friendly, or they have terrible aim. Either way, we're pretty good.
 * Nott: Hello, stranger! Can I contribute to the delinquency of you miners?