A Silver Tongue

is the eighth episode of the first season of The Legend of Vox Machina. Vox Machina battles the vicious Professor Anders and his unique magical abilities, while Delilah Briarwood uses magic to summon a demonic army to rise against our heroes. Meanwhile, Pike searches for a way to reconnect with her deity, even if it means risking her life.

Plot summary
Pike, via a ritual in the temple of the Everlight, enters the same dark space with light at the horizon. Thorns arise from the ground and chase her, and she comes back from her vision. The head cleric tells her to rest and try again later, but Pike insists on trying again on her own.

In Whitestone, Keyleth and Vax run in and Percy tells them to save Cassandra. Keyleth and Vax work together so that Keyleth can heal her. Meanwhile, Anders taunts Percy, who shoots at him but misses. Anders escapes to his darkened library, where Percy follows. Anders, using his strange, silver tongue, commands several suits of armor to defend him and attack Percy. Vax, having left Keyleth with Cassandra, joins him.

Back in the main entry hall, Grog and Vex kill the remaining guards and hear the others calling them to join the fight against Anders and his servants. After a few moments, Cassandra responds to Keyleth's healing, and after Keyleth introduces herself, she joins the fight as well in her beast form. Percy is able to identify a weakness in the joins of the armor, and he, Vax and Vex are able to quickly disable the remaining constructs. Anders then uses his silver tongue to command Grog to turn on the rest of Vox Machina.

In the temple, Pike is caught again by the thorns and is unable to return this time. She is instead pulled under the water, through to the other side. A massive, sun-like light appears, and within it, the form of a woman. Pike tells the The Everlight that she is trying to find her way back, and the Everlight responds "Lies will not lead you back".

The rest of Vox Machina try to disarm or restrain Grog but fail. Anders uses the tongue to control them as well and sets them all upon Percy. Percy apologizes to Anders for his parents' mistreatment of him, but it is merely a distraction tactic, and Percy's eyes go black as he ricochets a bullet which pierces through Anders' mouth, knocking out his tongue. The rest of the party return to themselves as Percy puts on his mask and kills Anders. Keyleth notices the smoke around Percy again. Cassandra then calls out, and Percy rushes towards her as the rest of the party leaves to clear the house. Percy asks Cassandra if she is okay, and he apologizes for leaving her behind, as he'd thought she'd died. She tells him that the Briarwoods kept her alive as a figurehead, but that she had been working as a double-agent for the resistance.

Vex finds a star chart in the house, which Keyleth identifies as being for the solstice, which is in five days. The party goes out to signal Archie, and Keyleth writes the de Rolo crest in the sky. The people of Whitestone as well as Yennen see it, but so does Delilah Briarwood. She kills her steward for use in a necromantic ritual to raise an army of undead.

Back in the temple, the lead cleric and an acolyte see Pike struggling, and observe that she needs to find the way back herself at this point - their magic acannot help her. In the Everlight's realm, the goddess tells Pike that she is lying to herself. Pike confesses that she enjoys the drinking and violence she finds with her friends in Vox Machina. The Everlight asks her why she believes this is wrong, and Pike realizes that she, not the Everlight, had cut off her connection. The Everlight tells her that "any path can be a holy one," provided she is honest with herself.

Scanlan, somewhat injured from his adventure in Vedmire's house, walks through the streets of Whitestone and notices the de Rolo crest in the sky. He sees what appears to be an amorous couple in the shadows and asks if he can join, only to realize it is in fact a zombie killing a villager. Scanlan runs to reunite with the rest of the party, and warns them about the horde of undead.

Cast
End credits list main cast, then guest cast in alphabetical order.

Vox Machina
These characters are Vox Machina and their adventuring companions.
 * Keyleth
 * Percival de Rolo
 * Scanlan Shorthalt
 * Grog Strongjaw
 * Pike Trickfoot
 * Vax'ildan
 * Vex'ahlia

Returning
These characters previously appeared in an episode of The Legend of Vox Machina
 * Cassandra de Rolo
 * Byron Anders
 * Head Cleric of the Everlight
 * Delilah Briarwood

New
These characters have not previously appeared in The Legend of Vox Machina, though they may have been previously mentioned.
 * The Everlight

Quotations

 * Percy: (to Anders) You're the face I saw when murder entered my heart.