Deals in the Dark

is the ninety-second episode of the first campaign of Critical Role. After Keyleth scares off her would-be attackers, Vox Machina continues their trek through the City of Dis, and Percy makes a deal with the devil Ipkesh to assassinate Utugash. Their mission takes them to the pit fiend's abode, where they also encounter and rescue a new ally in Tova. Will they fulfill the deal, or will Percy's soul be forfeit?

Pre-Show

 * The updated Critical Role fan art appreciation gallery was shown.

Announcements

 * Liam is Skyping in from New Jersey.
 * Laura is late due to work, but will be here in the next thirty minutes or so.
 * Tonight's sponsor is Loot Crate.
 * The cast open the recent Loot Crate with the theme of "Primal".
 * Sam reads his Loot Crate announcement as "SAM 5000", a futuristic robot here to make sure that humans make the right choices for the timeline by subscribing to Loot Crate. This month's theme is "Investigate".
 * There's a survey up on the Geek & Sundry website to learn about what the Critical Role fanbase is like and what kind of merchandise they would like to see in the store.
 * The cast will be at WonderCon this Saturday, April 1st for the Talks Machina live panel. The panel will be recorded and aired on Twitch and Alpha that Tuesday in place of the normal Talks Machina episode.
 * Taliesin says that they don't have a subject yet for next week's Wednesday Club, so they're taking suggestions from Twitter and the chat room.
 * Matt reminds everyone that the new show Roundtable is up on Alpha, where a bunch of GMs talk about tabletop gaming.
 * A ringtone of the Signal Boost theme has been released. They've also released a free screensaver because they thought it was funny.
 * Will Friedle, player of Kashaw Vesh, will be at the Wales Comic Con in the UK on April 8th and 9th.
 * Matt, Marisha, and Taliesin will be at MomoCon from May 25th to 28th in Atlanta, Georgia.
 * Talks Machina is Tuesday nights at 7pm Pacific time on Twitch and Alpha.
 * Liam has one last announcement: his father is hiding six feet away from him off-camera (he rolled very high on his stealth check). While Liam's father may not understand what his son's career is, he does believe that he has one.

Part I
Keyleth stands in the alleyway behind the tavern as the chain devil and strange dwarf begin to flank her with violent intentions. The chains on the chain devil begin moving rapidly and from underneath the dwarf's skin, wormlike tendrils begin to appear.

Returning to her original plan, the druid casts Shapechange to become an erinyes. Her skin becomes pale white, her eyes turn dark red with burning gold pupils, and giant dark red wings unfold from her back.

The chain devil and dwarf immediately stop advancing and take a few steps back.

Thoroughly intimidated by the higher-ranking devil, the chain devil's chains fall limp to its sides and it take another step back, apologizing for the intrusion. Keyleth persists with her threatening tone, saying she would like to add the two of them to her collection.

The chain devil bows its head and backs out of the alleyway, the dwarf following behind it, both of them with very submissive body language. Keyleth taunts them one more time before turning around and very quickly and nervously walking in the other direction.

She glances up and sees an imp wearing gold armor watching her from above. She looks at it and slowly nods. It doesn't respond, still just watching her. Keyleth changes back to tiefling form and returns to the tavern, the two beings that had confronted her now nowhere in sight.

She heads back upstairs, rejoins the rest of Vox Machina, and tells them what happened. They debate for a minute whether the devils were interested in Vax because of his connection to the Raven Queen or just because he looked like an albino tiefling. Vax himself doesn't think an albino tiefling is all that odd; they have met Lillith after all.

Vax asks what the plan is for now. Keyleth still has about fifty-five more minutes before her Shapechange spell ends. She shows off her erinyes form again, which greatly impresses Taryon. Grog asks why she didn't just continue her original plan of locating Hotis if the other devils were so scared of her; she explains how she can only concentrate on one spell at a time, so she had to drop her Locate Creature spell.

Keyleth tells them about the golden-armored imp that had been watching her. Vax remembers that they met an imp over a year ago when they were investigating the home of Sir Gregory Fince, although that one had not been wearing golden armor.

Grog suddenly remembers that he kept a ring from one of the devils they killed in the basement of that house. Keyleth and Percy convince him to pull the ring out of the Bag of Holding so they can take a look at it. Tary casts Identify on the ring, but it does not have any magical properties. It's a signet ring, with a symbol that Percy recognizes as the symbol of Asmodeus.

Percy tries to determine if the ring is meant to signify rank or some other meaning, but he can't really tell. Neither can Tary. Percy reminds the group that Asmodeus is the ruler of the Nine Hells, so carrying his symbol around could be useful.

Grog and Tary ask if Vox Machina is going to accept the deal proposed by Ipkesh. Vex'ahlia requests more details about the deal before they accept anything. Percy tells her that the owner of the tavern works for a man he doesn't like, and is curious what would happen if his boss was no longer around. Vox Machina would probably be arrested if they did everything right, which would bring them closer to Hotis. Percy then cautions the group to be careful what they say, due to the potential surveillance all over the city.

Keyleth doesn't think they need to make a deal with a devil in order to get arrested; she's gotten arrested on her own several times before. Grog points out that the deal involves getting help from within the prison once they've been arrested. They debate whether or not to take the deal for several more minutes.

Going back to an earlier topic, Vex reminds them that Ipkesh said the imps in the gold armor are basically the guards of the city, so they should be avoided. Keyleth says that taking the first deal offered by the first devil they talk to in the first tavern they find seems a little too convenient.

Grog eventually calls for a vote. Tary, Percy, and Grog want to sign the contract. Keyleth, Vax, and Vex would prefer to wait another day before agreeing to anything. Tary offers up Doty as the tiebreaker. Vex counters with Trinket. Tary suggests they arm-wrestle. Vex agrees.

Tary orders Doty to arm-wrestle Trinket. Vex points out that the bear's arms don't bend the right way for this, but she encourages him anyway. They drag a table over to the center of the room. Doty gets into his arm-wrestling stance and Trinket walks up to the table curiously.

Vex tells Trinket to "put his whole body into it", so the bear rears back and takes a massive claw strike at Doty's hand, causing the arm to pop out of its socket briefly. Tary protests that Trinket didn't follow the rules of arm-wrestling. Vex points out that it wasn't fair to begin with because Trinket does not have humanoid arm joints. The artificer says she should have designed her robot bear with arms joints; Vex tells him Trinket is a real bear, which he does not believe. Vex tells Trinket to pee on Tary, which he does. The human is too scared to try and stop him.

With thirty minutes left of Keyleth's Shapechange spell, Vox Machina decides to go search the town. They head downstairs, Keyleth in her tiefling form and the rest not disguised. There is only one devil patron in the tavern, tearing into some of that strange meat. Ipkesh is at the same table he was previously, still holding a glass of wine.

Ipkesh nods at the group when he sees them. There is a piece of paper on the table in front of him. He requests that they read it and let him know if they need to make any revisions. Percy and Tary read the contract out loud to the rest of the group.

Only one person needs to sign the contract, and only the first pact needs to be completed; the second and third pacts can be triggered later by the recipient, but doing so is completely optional.

Percy thinks the first pact could use some more negotiating, and he would like to think it over a bit longer before signing anything. Ipkesh understands, telling Percy to come back when he is more certain of what he wants out of the contract.

Vox Machina exit the tavern and begin heading down the street. Keyleth says that if she has a piece of the prison, she can use Find the Path to figure out where it it. They look around for any sort of oddities shop and eventually find a building that seems close enough.

With only ten minutes of Keyleth's Shapechange spell left, they enter the store. A devil is slouched on a stool inside and offers to sell them "pretties". Keyleth asks if they have any items from the prison, which they do not.

Turning back into an erinyes, Keyleth begins coercing the devil into giving them any information about the prison. The devil doesn't know much because the city is constantly changing due to Dispater's paranoia. Pretty much only the devils that work in the prison know how to get into the prison. Keyleth continues pressing the nervous devil for information. He says that the chain devils would be better to ask about the prison.

Percy's asks the devil to show them what he sells. He pulls out a purple geode jutting with crystals. He tells them it carries pure condensed souls. Inside, dozens of faces can be seen pressing up against the crystal, similar to the orb they saw with the pit fiend earlier that day.

Percy asks if he has anything unique. The devil pulls out a partially-mummified, humanoid arm with a brass bracelet around the wrist. Tary identifies the bracelet as a divination beacon; it allows a secondary device to keep watch on it. Presumably the adventurer it came from was transmitting their journeys to someone else before they died.

Keyleth takes the bracelet and gives the devil twenty gold in return. Tary buys the purple soul geode for 1500 gold.

Vox Machina steps out of the store just as Keyleth's Shapechange spell expires. Some of those golden-armored imps fly overhead. Keyleth uses Alter Self to switch back to tiefling form. The twins keep an eye out for more imps; they see the shadows of hundreds of creature flying in the sky, many wearing gold armor and seemingly patrolling the area. A few of the imps are watching Vox Machina, but they are also watching anyone else out in the streets.

Vox Machina heads back to the tavern and up to their rooms. Keyleth, thinking that the chain devil she encountered earlier might have information, decides to try and scry on him. However the devil manages to resist the spell, which backfires on the druid by flashing in her eyes.

Grog decides to head downstairs to try some of that meat the devils have been eating. Vax follows him. There are four imps tearing into the meat at table that turn and look at the two new arrivals. Ipkesh is also present, sitting at the bar and talking with the bartender.

Grog asks for a bit of the meat. The bartender—after glancing at Ipkesh—gives it to Grog for free. The goliath examines the meat. It looks like really, really raw meat, purplish-red with jagged bone shards sticking out everywhere and seeping sludgy blood. Grog offers some to Vax, who declines but places a hand on Grog's shoulder.

Using one of the bone shards, Grog scoops up a bit of the meat and pops it into his mouth. It is warm and gamey with a strong taste of iron. The bones tear into his mouth, causing him a bit of damage. A bit of Grog's blood, redder than the blood from the meat, trickles down his chin.

Grog swallows painfully. The meat doesn't have any noticeable effect aside from a bit of numbness. Vax asks if he is okay, and also what it tasted like. Grog says it tasted like it would if "you took a bunch of rusty nails and shoved them in your thumb and then sucked on that for a while".

Grog continues eating the meat, taking a bit more damage. He compliments the chef, who turns out the be the bartender. Vax tastes a tiny bit of the meat and spits it out immediately. The two of them head back upstairs.

Not knowing what else to do, Percy says they should just take the contract. He offers to sign it himself, but he has some amendments to make first: they will need a guide as well as safe passage out of the prison and back to the Material Plane. Taryon requests to be the one to sign the contract. Percy immediately accepts the offer and Tary starts backpedaling as Vox Machina jokingly praises his bravery and heroism.

Percy assures his fellow human that they were only messing with him; Percy will be signing the contract, much to Tary's relief.

They all head downstairs. Ipkesh is back at his original table, no wine glass this time, but the contract paper still rests in front of him. Percy requests that a guide through the city. He then asks what happens to his soul if he dies during their assassination mission. Ipkesh says that if the rest of Vox Machina completes the contract for him, then his soul is fine. If the contract is not completed, then his soul belongs to Ipkesh; just Percy's soul, not the others'.

Percy confirms that Ipkesh will make sure they get into the prison unharmed and given access to Hotis. He also requests that the contract only be considered completed once Vox Machina is safely back on their home plane, but Ipkesh doesn't think that he should have to pay for their stupidity. The devil tells them that normally the jailers would confiscate their possessions upon their arrest, but Ipkesh can arrange for them to keep their items on their persons.

Ipkesh takes the contract and writes in the new amendments: Ipkesh will provide a guide to lead them where they need to go and he will make sure they do not have their equipment taken from them.

Grog shows Ipkesh the ring with the symbol of Asmodeus on it. Ipkesh tells them it is the signet of the Cult of Asmodeus. It doesn't mean much within the Hells, but on the Material Plane it is used to assert belonging.

Percy has one last question: how powerful is the devil they will be assassinating? Ipkesh says that Utugash is quite powerful and resides within his stronghold, which Vox Machina would need to enter. There are approximately a dozen devils guarding the stronghold. Ipkesh stresses that they enter unseen and unheard; if they run into any resistance, they must kill the guard before the alarm is raised. The guards are mostly bearded devils with maybe one or two bone devils. Utugash himself is a pit fiend. He is strong, but he is slow, slovenly, and sluggish.

Percival de Rolo signs the contract with the devil Ipkesh.

The inks flashes and burns into the paper. Ipkesh takes the contract. He snaps his fingers and an imp appears on his shoulder. He introduces the imp as Vasa, their guide. Ipkesh tells Vox Machina to rest and prepare for their mission, advising them to be stealthy. Percy asks if he could get them a Silence spell; he can provide one or two.

Ipkesh tells them that once Utugash has been killed, the alarm will call the guards that work for Ipkesh. As for the other guards, Vox Machina are encouraged to wipe them out.

Vox Machina heads back upstairs.

Break

 * There is a Wyrmwood giveaway for a tiger maple dice tower. The word to enter into the chat is "PACT".
 * Taliesin reminds everyone to take the Critical Role survey.
 * A Loot Crate advertisement is shown.
 * The Critical Role fan art appreciation gallery is shown.
 * An advertisement for International Tabletop Day is shown. Viewers are encouraged to submit a 30-60 second video to www.tabletopday.com about how board games changed their life.
 * An advertisement for the Signal Boost ringtone, screensaver, and Winamp skin (cancelled) is shown.
 * The Loot Crate advertisement is shown again.
 * The Critical Role fan art gallery is shown again.
 * The winner of the Wyrmwood dice tower is Iccara.
 * Matt remembers that he will be a guest at Sakura-Con on April 14-16 in Seattle, Washington.
 * Marisha will be going camping during that time.

Part II
Vox Machina begins planning how to kill a pit fiend. They think back to their last battle with a pit fiend, Ghurrix, which mostly consisted of not knowing what they were doing and getting lucky. They remember that they didn't notice any weaknesses he had, he was very frightening, and he also used poisons.

Knowing that they still have plenty of time left from the Heroes' Feast they enjoyed earlier that day, Vox Machina sleeps for the night. It is still very hot in Hell, so Tary gets Doty to fan him all night.

They all wake some time later, feeling as rested as can be given their situation. Vex pulls some boar meat out of her Bag of Colding and cooks it on the burning floor of their room for breakfast.

The party heads downstairs where Ipkesh is sitting alone in the tavern, with Vasa sitting on his shoulder. The devil tells them that Vasa is a master of not being seen and will lead them where they need to go, however the imp will not help them in battle due to being incredibly weak. Ipkesh then provides a Silence spell scroll to the group.

Vex asks if the Whisperers, the golden-armored imps, can see through illusions. Ipkesh says they cannot, but some of the larger ones can see through Invisibility.

The party discusses various ways of sneaking into Utugash's stronghold. Vax points out that he can do some heavy damage to the pit fiend if they manage to get in without revealing themselves. Eventually they just decide to have Vasa guide them there.

Vasa tells the group to come with him and then flies out of the tavern. Vox Machina follows, Keyleth back in her tiefling form. Vasa heads down the alleyway that Keyleth was nearly assaulted in the day before.

The imp darts from wall to wall, occasionally turning invisible, while Vox Machina stealthily follows behind him. As they travel, Vex sees large concentrations of lemures and lesser devils who are constantly constructing and demolishing buildings, keeping the city in a constant state of flux, although the Iron Tower is always visible.

A few minutes later, Percy and Tary get distracted looking around and fall behind the group. As they rush to catch up, Percy trips over the uneven group and landing hard on his elbow. One of the golden-armored imps hears the sound and comes to investigate. The rest of the group sees this happen but Percy breaks away from them, attempting to look like he's just nursing his wound and hasn't noticed the imp. Tary stays behind with Percy rather than trying to catch up with the rest.

The imp crawls along the roof, then chitters for another imp to join. The two imps follow Tary and Percy. Percy pulls out one of the soul stone slivers, pretends to be disgusted by it, and flings it away from himself. One of the imps eagerly darts after it. The other continues to follow the pair of humans.

Percy attempts to turn a corner and lose the imp, but the tiny fiend sticks close. Tary casts Invisibility on himself and follows closely. Percy keeps in contact with the rest of the group over their Earrings of Whisper, but stays a block away from them as he walks.

A strange, eerie green glow begins to drift towards Percy. Spectral arms and an elongated, horrifying face emerge from the ground. The imp is leaping from perch to perch behind Percy. Vax begins sneaking towards them. Tary reaches into his alchemist's satchel and pulls out a bag of tar, then throws it at the imp, which gets glued to the wall.

Vax makes it to the alley into the alley where the two humans and imp are, unseen, and throws Whisper at the imp. The dagger completely shreds the imp, tearing it into four pieces that remain glued to the wall.

The imp that Percy had distracted earlier tries to catch up with the group. Vax, Tary, and Percy manage to evade it and reunite with the rest of Vox Machina. In the distance they hear the imp letting out a barking call, announcing that one of their own has been slain.

Vasa leads the group further into the city. As they turn a corner they see gargantuan forge where numerous devils and lemures are throwing iron ingots and scrap metal into it. The refined metal is being pulled out and taken to other parts of the city.

A few minutes later, Vasa takes the to the edge of a large black metallic structure; a stronghold with a barrier of iron brambles surrounding it. The humans and half-elves squeeze through without much of a problem, but Grog and Doty are too large to make it through unharmed. Once Vex gets through, she releases Trinket from Raven's Slumber, then turns back, puts Grog into the amulet, and release him safely on the other side before putting Trinket back in.

At Tary's order, Doty begins pulling the iron brambles apart, causing some damage to his armor, but he does manage to get through. The Doty-sized hole in the iron is rather noticeable, though. Grog bends it back into place, cutting his hands a bit in the process.

Vasa is perched on the wall at the edge of the stronghold. Tary pulls a patch from his Robe of Useful Items, places it on the wall, and creates a door that opens for Vox Machina.

The room is very dark inside. Within are many hooked chains dangling from the ceiling, caked with blood and bits of flesh. There are two tables in the chamber, each with a humanoid figure strapped to it. The first figure is cut in half at the waist. Vax takes a closer look at the room and sees that the second figure is still breathing.

Walking into the room, Vax sees that the living humanoid is an unconscious dwarven woman who appears to have been tortured. The paladin uses his Divine Sense: no creature in the room appears to be evil, but the fortress itself is full of evil presence, especially one of the rooms close by. Vax tells the others what he found.

The rest of Vox Machina enters the chamber. The dwarf begins to stir. Vex and Tary greet her. She asks who they are. Percy tells her they can help her if she stays quiet, which she agrees to.

Vex casts Cure Wounds on the dwarf and the twins easily unlock the manacles attaching her to the table. She sits up and rubs her wrists. Keyleth asks what her name is. The dwarf introduces herself as Tova.

Vox Machina introduces themselves then explains that they're here to kill someone. They ask Tova if she'd like to help them. She agrees if they'll help her find her equipment, specifically her maul. Grog gives her a greatsword in the meantime.

They hear a door opening on the north wall of the room. Vox Machina hurries to hide; Grog lays flat on the floor; Tary freezes in place like a statue; Tova flops back down on the table.

A devil enters the room, similar to Ipkesh but thicker and burlier. He takes one look around the room, notices that something is amiss and begins turning to leave and tell someone.

Percy rushes toward the door and tries to tumble past the devil to shut the door, but it kicks him in the face to stop him, knocking him prone. Percy pulls out his sword and slashes three times at the devil. Two of the strikes hit and he also releases some of the lightning energy from Cabal's Ruin into the attack.

Tova grabs her new greatsword, stands up on the table, and leaps at the devil's head. She swings at it but the fiend dodges. Tova's form suddenly grows as she transforms into a bipedal bear with rippling muscles. The werebear growls, still wielding the greatsword.

The devil begins rushing back the way it came. Percy and Tova both swing at it as it goes by, but only Tova hits. The devil throws open the next door and enters the newly-opened chamber.

Vax runs up to the first door to get a view of the devil. He manages to hit the fiend in the back with his Dagger of Venom.

Vex shoots an arrow past her brother and into the devil's back, remembers to use Hunter's Mark, then hits the devil with a second arrow.

Grog jumps to his feet and sprints after the devil. The next chamber contains several cells and two lemures in the corners. Grog rages and attacks the devil. The first strike hits him in the shoulder, the second caves his face in. The devil falls to the ground, unmoving.

Taryon casts Haste on himself and follows after Grog, telling Doty to come with him. Seeing the lemures beginning to move toward them, Tary pulls out his rod, turns it into a lance, and begins charging towards the nearest lemure.

Keyleth turns to Tova, tells her that she's really awesome, and asks if she's also a druid. The werebear shakes her head "no" but doesn't say anything. Keyleth heads past Vax through the door and asks Grog what she should do. He just replies that he killed the devil. Not knowing what else to do, Keyleth casts Enhance Ability on Grog to boost his Dexterity.

Percy looks around the other hallway leading out of the torture chamber but nothing catches his interest. He follows the rest of the group, using his Boots of Spider Climbing to walk along the wall.

Tova charges into the next chamber, passing over the slain devil and attacking one of the lemures. Her greatsword slices the pile of flesh in half. She spits on it as it liquefies.

The remaining lemure shambles towards Tova.

Another devil similar to the first appears around the corner to inspect the sounds. She snarls and points at Tary, but he manages to resist the fiend's influence. Seeing her magic fail and many other individuals rushing into the room, the devil turns back and begins retreating down the hallway.

Vax throws Whisper at the remaining lemure and teleports along with it, completely eviscerating the lemure. Vax then backs into a corner and hides.

Vex catches up with the rest of the group, releasing Trinket from the necklace along the way. She asks if they've taken care of all the enemies; Grog alerts her to the devil running away. Vex tells Trinket to chase after her. The bear catches up to the devil and begins clawing and biting at her, causing her to scream.

Grog runs after the devil as well. He hits her twice with his hammer, slamming her into the wall.

Tary joins the bear and the goliath in the hallway. Barely able to see past the massive figures of fur and muscle, Tary lights his lance on fire and literally pokes the devil to death, stabbing her through the throat.

Doty pulls out the book and begins writing. Tary throws up.

Keyleth backs into a corner and casts Locate Creature on Utugash. She immediately senses a large, heavy source of energy in the next chamber. She quietly alerts the rest of the group. A faint sound of shifting stone is heard through the wall.

Percy goes to investigate the cells. There are five doors, all locked. Everyone begins heading down the hallway to find the door to the next chamber. Using her bear senses, Tova confirms that Utugash is in the next room. There is no door, just an open wall.

Grog moves ahead as the party bickers amongst themselves. The goliath triggers a pressure plate that spills hot oil from above, however he manages to dodge out of the way in time.

Grog peeks into the chamber. It is very low-lit, with the only light sources being two pools of glowing red liquid. A giant chair is in the center of the chamber, next to an altar. On the chair is a massive pit fiend, reclining lazily and propping its arm up on an axe. The other hand is tapping its fingers, staring directly at Grog.

Over his Earring of Whisper, Grog says "Fucking Jenga" and ducks back behind the wall.

Post-Game

 * ND will be back next week because she really wants to kill Utugash.
 * Matt reminds the audience that the Critical Role cast will be at WonderCon on Saturday.
 * The Loot Crate advertisement is shown again.
 * The Critical Role fan art appreciation gallery is shown again.

Vox Machina

 * Keyleth
 * Percival de Rolo
 * Grog Strongjaw
 * Pike Trickfoot (absent; mentioned)
 * Trinket
 * Vax'ildan
 * Vex'ahlia

New

 * Unnamed devil shopkeeper
 * Tova
 * Utugash
 * Vasa

Returning

 * Unnamed bartender
 * Taryon Darrington
 * Doty
 * Ipkesh

Mentioned

 * Asmodeus
 * Lillith Daturai
 * Dispater
 * Sir Gregory Fince
 * Hotis
 * General Krieg
 * Raven Queen
 * Syldor Vessar

Quotations
Vax'ildan: "Jeez, Tary, you've gone straight gangster in so little time." Taryon: "Well I just want to get the FUCK out of here and go back home so I can enjoy some wine." Vex'ahlia: "I'll be one of them." Percy: "Bless you."
 * Taryon: "I say we take this deal, kill that employer, and...go to prison, oh my god."
 * Percy: "You know, it's entirely possible that there will be several creatures fighting over my body when I die—and my soul when I die—already."
 * DM: (to Keyleth) "Your new friend turned into a bear and everyone ran through a door."