Beyond the Eyes of Angels

is the sixty-seventh episode of the second campaign of Critical Role. The Mighty Nein delve further under Bazzoxan, where dangerous traps and ghostly horrors lie in wait...

Announcements
Due to his being so upset at the bombshell in the previous episode, Sam found himself unable to create new content for a D&D Beyond advertisement; instead, he introduced a video advert for D&D Beyond that was supposed to be played in the event of his death. The video also included his last will and testament where he bequeathed the following:


 * Matthew: His t-shirt collection, on the condition that he wears them and never destroys them.
 * Laura: His dice (Because really, who gives a shit about dice?) - He later changed his mind and left them to Dani instead.
 * Marisha, Liam and Ashley collectively: His flasks (because you guys lurve to drank).
 * Dani: His dice.
 * Taliesin: His -
 * Collection of cars and motorcycles
 * Furs
 * Brooches
 * Wine collection
 * Exotic birds
 * Piece of the true cross.
 * Amazing Fantasy #15, mint-condition comic book.
 * Rare butterflies.
 * $650,000 in cash and jewelry.

Matthew spoke about the second sponsor for the show, The Rook and The Raven advertising their new fully customisable book system. He went on to speak about the new closed caption system using a stenographer in real time, so the programme is now more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing.

Then Matthew mentioned a forthcoming One Shot that was one of the stretch goals for the kickstarter campaign, which will be following Vox Machina as they search for Bob, now that Grog has been freed and attempt to retrieve the components he stole that they require to escape from Pandemonium.

Finally, he spoke about next issue of the Origins of Vox Machina comic which will be available next month from Dark Horse Digital as well as local comic book shops.

Previously on Critical Role
''So, last we left off: the Mighty Nein had made their way northward across the Barbed Fields, the ground zero of the most heinous battles of the Calamity. You avoided a hunting roc from atop a massive tree known as the Arbor Exemplar, raided parts of its nest while it was distracted in perpetual bat form, made your way northward past the dangers to the city of Bazzoxan, discovered elements of its history, and headed westward across the base of the mountain range through the dust storms and difficult visibility, eventually uncovering through divine spells the opening, the hidden entrance to this strange underground location, of where your quarry, Oban, was seemingly searching.''

''There, you went through the various tunnels into this deep, dark interior, this subterranean realm, came upon some strange obelisk, made your way to a doorway where you found carved statues of celestial entities, while the door was left open, and you saw fresh blood was pouring from their eyes. Entering into the following courtyard, this cavern-like enclosed underground courtyard, you saw a massive curved wall, like the outside of some temple or tower that lay buried deep in the earth, exposed within this courtyard, and surrounding it, rubble, broken and torn pieces of armor and metal and weaponry, and over a dozen alabaster angelic statues, like the doors themselves, all facing this entrance portal, also bleeding from the eyes.'' ''You scavenged around, found some bones, tried to find information about whether it was recent or ancient, but you did discover that the front adamantine door that seals this location is partially open, and beneath it, about a foot and a half of space seems to continue inward into the chamber. And that is where we left off.''

Part I
Caleb follows the invisible Nott under the door while Jester and Caduceus are discussing whether it's disrespectful to put one of the angel skulls into her haversack for a later Speak with Dead. The others follow them while Jester stashes the skull. They find themselves in a large chamber with one collapsed corner. Nott moves forward and gets entangled in a web. Beau creeps up and pulls her just enough to allow Caleb to free Nott with a Fire Bolt, but it disturbs the webs, and they see spider legs creeping out of the holes in the corners.

There are multiple spiders, and one large mama spider who immediately webs and pulls Caleb to her. Beau attempts to hold Caleb but is herself pulled toward the mama. Caleb Polymorphs into an image of the mama, but unfortunately without her stats. Nott, with a natural 20 and sneak attack, manages to kill the mama spider quickly, and the swarm of lesser spiders is fairly quickly dispatched, but not without burning through many of the spellcasters' spells. They investigate the room, finding a key and a spell scroll of Protection from Energy.

The key fits a latticed gate at the other end, through which mist is emerging. They go through into a noticeably cooler hallway leading to an immense descending spiral staircase from which the mist seems to be coming. They creep downward stealthily, but Fjord, in the lead, steps on a trapped step, and a low humming sound begins. They move down as quickly as possible, being attacked by a shape emerging periodically from the mist. At set intervals and with increasing intensity, lightning from below shocks and damages all of them. Beau uses Slow Fall to reach the bottom quickly, finding there a large gold, silver, and brass tower that arcs and spirals upward, with a blue crystal pulsating at its top. Fjord's Eldritch Blast only intensifies its damage.

Jester and Caleb both Polymorph into giant eagles. Jester grabs Nott and Caduceus in her talons and flies them to the bottom. Meanwhile, Beau finds a blue-sparking piece of brass held in the center of a small alcove, and grabs it, taking a shock-- but as she does, the shock-generating crystal at the top of the tower goes dark. She then inserts the piece of metal into the doorway there, and it gets pulled in and the door opens. She goes through.

The others work their way down, Caleb taking enough damage from the mist creature to be forced from eagle into his own form, and with Jester hanging back to help Yasha down and make sure everyone is safely through the door before she drops her eagle form and runs through herself, and Caduceus slams it shut (and apparently locked) behind her.

The room they find themselves in appears to be an old torture chamber, with manacles on the wall, racks of implements, blood marks on the floor, and sloping pits to either side holding huge numbers of bodies.

Break

 * D&D Beyond animation
 * Clip of Travis Willingham's Yeehaw Game Ranch, featuring Drak' Ar Noir.
 * Advertisment for Baby Got Back Stories t-shirts, featuring Brian Foster.
 * Clip from Talks Machina.
 * Advert for the Critical Role Twitch channel subscription featuring Taliesin Jaffe.
 * Vox Machina: The Search for Bob.
 * Critters' Art Montage.

Part II
The ancient torture chamber has a closed door on the other side, and a table-like pedestal in its center, with three small bowl-like indentations on the top leading to grooves spiraling down its side. The bodies in the side pits are countless numbers of undead. As Beau puts her hands on the pedestal while investigating it, it seems to shift down an inch, and the masses of undead in the piles below begin to move and attack. The party quickly discovers that the undead are easy to hit, but hard to kill, as they get a save against what would be a death blow. They also notice that as some of them are destroyed, they leave behind a faintly glowing golden heart.

After much experimentation, they realize that the glowing hearts are random drops as the undead are killed, and that they need three glowing hearts to put in the three indentations in the pedestal. As each one goes in, one of the grooves in the pedestal lights up. As the third glowing heart is dropped into the pedestal, all the remaining undead collapse and both doors to the chamber open.

They move into the next room and find themselves in a natural cavern at the edge of a dark chasm. A massive iron bridge crosses it, but the other side and the bottom (if any) is lost in darkness. At Fjord's urging, Beau tosses a ball bearing into the chasm, awakening a chorus of hundreds of whispering, moaning, screaming voices which gradually subside as she resists their influence and backs away.

Caleb casts the tiny hut, and the reluctant concensus of the party is that they need a long rest for their spellcasters to recharge. Jester Sends to Oban, saying, "This place is really scary. We have her. How far is it? What is this place? Did you know there were gold hearts? Okay, anyway, bye." He replies, "Oh, yes. I've made my way as well. I'm glad you've kept up. Hope to see you soon. Just be careful. Wouldn't want you spoiled." Locate Object on his cowl finds nothing within 1000 feet.

Nott raises her voice at one point and the whispers rise up again from the chasm, this time causing Nott, Yasha, and Beau to go catatonic for six seconds. Beau offers Nott the wineskin containing the last of her family's wine, and Nott guzzles it all down. Caleb wraps his silver thread around the party's little fingers so they'll know if anyone tries to wander off, putting Yasha at one end at her request. With Beau volunteering to take first watch, they try to start a long rest.

The Mighty Nein

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

Returning

 * Oban