Whispers

is the sixth episode of the third chapter of Critical Role. Vox Machina begins a campaign to sow the seeds of rebellion amongst the people of Whitestone. The cruel Sir Kerrion Stonefell is the first target on their list, but will the attack against him unleash a darker power?

Recap
"Two nasty individuals known as the Briarwoods, Lord and Lady Briarwood, have for the past five years been occupying the city of Whitestone, which was once the home to Percival here, after it was forcefully taken from his family, most of which seemingly have been either killed or lost in the process, and he was scattered to the four winds, to find Vox Machina. After encountering the Briarwoods in Emon, in a scuffle that took place, the Briarwoods retreated to Whitestone, inviting the party to come and say hello. Since then the party has prepared the best they could, made their way towards Whitestone, and through some bit of infiltration and subterfuge managed to sneak into the city itself.

"They, under the guise of Scanlan's Seeming illusion, appeared to be as common folk as the rest of the poor saps that still live in Whitestone. They scoped out an abandoned tavern which they fitted to their needs as kind of a base of operations and also managed to come across a central portion of Whitestone's city structure and history known as the Sun Tree. A tree once risen to the might of the sun god Pelor, now lies dead in the center of town, and from it hung eight figures that appeared to have been individuals killed, hung, and painted up and dressed to resemble Vox Machina, as essentially a warning or a welcome; it's hard to tell when it comes to the Briarwoods. Nevertheless, a message was definitely delivered. The party, retreating back to the tavern, set up for the remainder of the afternoon. Keyleth carved, through her druidic magical ways, through the ground to find some of the roots of the Sun Tree and began preparing an extensive time-consuming ritual in hopes of restoring some semblance of life to the entity itself."

Part I
In the tunnel below the tavern, Keyleth continues her ritual to revive the Sun Tree. On the second floor of the tavern, Vax'ildan replaces some of the daggers in his Blinkback Belt with wooden stakes he had purchased in Emon. He also takes the symbol of Sarenrae he received from Father Tristan and sews it onto the back of his right glove. Vax tells Grog he's going downstairs and heads through the tunnel. Kneeling down next to Keyleth, he asks if she needs anything. She requests Holy Water, but Vax only has Holy Oil. He gives the vial to Keyleth anyway. She also requests some drinking water, as the tavern only has old wine and ale.

Percy, Vax, and Scanlan exit the tavern through the window and Percy leads them to a well. They manage to pull up a bucketful of clean water and take it back to the tavern.

Leaving Vex'ahlia, Trinket, and Grog to guard Keyleth while she performs her ritual, Percy leads Vax and Scanlan to The Zenith, Whitestone's temple to Pelor. Vax and Percy stick to the shadows and alleyways, while Scanlan, still disguised as a peasant boy, walks down the middle of the street.

Reaching the far eastern side of Whitestone, they follow the path through the woods and come upon the graveyard. As they enter the gate they see a stone temple with stained glass windows. Percy walks up to the doors and tries to open them, but can't. Vax prepares to unlock it, but there isn't a lock; the doors are barred from the inside. Scanlan uses Dimension Door to get inside the temple and sees three stained glass windows on either side of the building, some shattered, along with pews that have been pushed off to the sides, some of which have been destroyed. There is a red carpet going down the center and leading up to the altar.

Scanlan attempts to lift the large wooden bar holding the doors shut, but between the weight of the bar and its height relative to a gnome's, he is unable to move it. Percy pulls out a blade that he never uses and he and Vax stick it between the two doors, under the bar, telling Scanlan to wrap some cloth around the blade and help them lift it. The combined strength of the three men is unable to budge the bar and Scanlan ends up cutting himself on the blade. Vax goes around the side of the temple, leaps up the wall, and climbs in through the window, landing safely inside. Scanlan calls his Unseen Servant to assist him and Vax, but they still cannot open the door. Finally, Scanlan summons Bigby's Hand, which easily flicks the bar off the doors.

Percy enters the temple and looks around. The inside looks ransacked and the broken windows were shattered from the outside. As they approach the altar, they see that one of the braziers on the side is gently smoldering. Percy quietly calls out for someone named Father Reynal. On top of the altar are several overturned glass vials. Percy examines some of the spilled liquid and finds it to be caustic in nature. From the way things are scattered around the altar he gets the feeling that someone had hastily packed up. Looking closer, Percy sees ash scattered around the smoldering brazier, which is absent from the other braziers. Smelling the ash, he determines its source to be paper and finds a portion of a burnt note underneath the ashes.



"[...]without sufficient magical essence, the distillation has proven to consistently fail. A shame, really. I shall seek an influx of materials elsewhere before I can continue this project.

''Regarding the weapon, after a year of taking notes from eyewitness accounts, my original designs were faulty (and recently cost me my hand). The winds of fortune have seen a shift, it seems, as Sylas just returned from Emon, having encountered the still-living subject, and had the pleasure of seeing his work first hand. His unnatural eyes took in much detail, and I believe his observations have brought me to the brink of finishing my design. I intend to journey from Whitestone within a couple of months to gather the components needed, but if Delilah's hunch is correct and the subject is heading here, I may find myself needing to leave sooner than anticipated.''

I have reason[...]"

Taking a second look at the altar, Percy recognizes similar elements to the black powder he uses for making ammunition. Looking through the pouches on the floor beside the altar, he finds phosphorous and traces of other chemical reagents, most of which have been emptied.

Percy and Vax walk to the door on the right. As they open the door, they are immediately hit with the smell of decay. Shoved partially under the bed are the remains of Father Reynal, long passed. Scanlan investigates the body and discovers a series of puncture wounds from a rapier in his torso. Everything of interest has been taken from the room and body. The various symbols of Pelor throughout the temple have all been defaced or destroyed.