Beneath Bazzoxan

is the sixty-sixth episode of the second campaign of Critical Role. The Mighty Nein tussle with a roc and make their way to Bazzoxan, a village holding the line against historical terrors.

Previously on Critical Role
''Last we left off: The Mighty Nein, after making their alliances in Rosohna and the Dynasty of Xhorhas, you have been seeking an individual you believe is connected to the placing of these various abyssal anchors that have been tearing open portals between the Prime Material Plane and the Abyss. You've encountered it a few times since you've crossed over the Ashkeeper Peaks, or I should say, under, and you've been able to scry and put together a couple of individuals that are involved with this endeavor. You nearly got them in Rosohna, and then they escaped and made their way north, where you've been chasing them off and on -- pretty much all on -- through the Barbed Fields, not around it, but through the Barbed Fields, where you've encountered strange oddities and dangerous creatures and gloomstalkers, and eventually a mysterious, majestic, divine tree that sits in the center of this barren, destroyed, desolate wasteland where the final battles of the Calamity took place.''

''You slept beneath this tree for protection. You climbed it, some of you in very unique ways, and stumbled upon a giant nest of some sort of a creature, that you later on came to understand to be a roc, a massive bird that was asleep, until it was rustled from slumber. In hopes of escaping, a number of you -- Fjord, Jester, Nott, and Beau -- had all leapt from the tree, plummeting down about 150 feet before Feather Fall kicked in and now you're all gently floating to the floor, as tearing out of the canopy of this massive tree is the screeching, hunting, rustled-awake roc. And that's where we left off.''

Part I
As they Feather Fall down from the boughs of the Arbor Exemplar, Jester casts Disguise Self to make herself look as much like a leaf as possible, and Fjord makes himself look like a decaying, rotten zombie. Nott turns invisible. Jester tries to Command the attacking roc, but fails, and it comes toward her and Fjord, who Misty Steps out of reach. Caleb, in eagle form, lands and resumes his human form. When the roc comes back around, Jester uses Dimension Door to bamf her and Beau into safety in the alcove at the bottom of the tree. The roc attacks Fjord, wounding him, grappling him in a talon, and carrying him off. Fjord uses Relentless Hex to teleport out of the claws and onto the roc's back. Jester Polymorphs it into a bat, sending Fjord crashing to the ground and causing him more damage.

Caleb resumes eagle form and taxis Beau back up to the nest in the tree, where they find a baby roc and some minor treasure. Meanwhile, Jester captures the extremely angry bat in her cloak, from which it periodically escapes and tries to attack. Caduceus's continuing castings of Bane keep it from being very successful. However, Beau and Caleb get too close to the baby roc, who manages to wound Caleb enough that he becomes a wizard again. He is able to re-cast Polymorph to return them both to the ground with ten minutes to spare before the mama roc is no longer a bat. They mount the moorbounders and charge off at full speed, finding a cavern where they manage to hide from the searching, persistant roc flying above.

While they're waiting, they go through the treasure. There is a locked wooden box, which Nott, who has been drinking steadily, picks without disarming, setting off a Fireball on the entire party. While the party is distracted, Jester manages to grab Nott's flask without her noticing. The ring found inside the box is a Ring of Protection, which is given to Yasha.

During the afternoon, they ride past an orc village and are attacked, but an Insect Plague from Jester and a few Fireballs from Caleb convince the orcs to let them go past. They continue to see the roc, still searching for them, throughout the afternoon, but it doesn't notice them. Towards nightfall, they spot Bazzoxan in the distance, and press on through the night, reaching the village after dark.

The Mighty Nein

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

New

 * Delez
 * Prima

Mentioned

 * Essek Thelyss

Quotations

 * Inscription: (on the seal of the entrance to the cavern, in Celestial) "Let lie the King's instrument, deathless and detained, until the world ends."
 * Inscription: (on the obelisk inside the cavern, in Abyssal) "Build every bridge. Become every nightmare. Feast on every heart."