The Stowaway

is the forty-fifth episode of the second campaign of Critical Role. The Mighty Nein find a stowaway on the Squalleater, who carries a mysterious item that holds dangerous consequences for the curious...

Pre-Show
We should just have a sound cue for Travis at this point. It's expected at this point: it's Critical Role's *bwa-bwa-bwa-bwaaaaa*.

Announcements

 * First and foremost, we have two fantastic sponsors tonight:
 * Our fantastic friends from D&D Beyond return! D&D Beyond has been with Critical Role all campaign and all year-long. To thank D&D Beyond for such a wonderful 2018, Sam is giving them a gift: an ad that will hopefully live forever. He is calling it his "Christmas GIF"...that's right: "GIF", not "gift". (Sam tries to make a "G" and a "F" with his hand, but it's just two Cs.) Sam doesn't know how to make a GIF, but Critters do. So the crew will bring out a green screen, and the cast will do some acting and reactions in front of it, and you can add your own backgrounds to make memorable GIFs! That way, when you are online searching through the Twitters, the Reddits, the "Immagurrs" (Imugrs...Sam's an old man), and the Giphys, you might see one of these bad boys and give some love to D&D Beyond. Sam starts by doing his version of the "guy who blinks like, 'That's weird'". Taliesin does an applause GIF. Sam directs Laura to do a fail GIF where she rolls a dice but the result sucked, but Laura realizes what he's trying to get her to do, and it turns into a "I'm-so-angry-I-gonna-punch-you" GIF. Matt does a "this" GIF. And last but not least, Sam tries to do a success GIF, but then Travis suggests "dramatic prairie dog" instead.
 * Speaking of fantastic partners through this campaign, we have our returning friends from The Rook & The Raven! They have been with Critical Role before, and they are creators of handcrafted, high-quality, disc-bound notebooks for your campaign notes and character notes. Marisha has the "Mischief & Misadventure" book. For the month of December, The Rook & The Raven is donating 100% of their profits to schools, teachers, and community centers for them to grow gaming clubs and RPG classes through their "adventure club gaming kits". They're putting everything together to make sure that these schools and facilities have the necessary materials to help facilitate these clubs and get these kids to build the same strong bonds that Matt did in his school's D&D club. Give the gift of gaming now by supporting their work (and thus, supporting these kids) at therookandtheraven.com/criticalrole. Travis thinks that's so cool. Matt thinks it's badass! Matt loves seeing messages online from gaming clubs that there are TOO MANY kids playing: YAY! It's such a surreal reality: Matt loves it!
 * Critical Role has a fantastic art show coming up soon. You all got a chance to see "The Chronicles of Exandria: Vol. II": the final volume of the art for Vox Machina's campaign. Now Critical Role gets to announce that they are having their very first art gallery to celebrate the fantastic art community that has come out of Critical Role. Each piece was created by community artists and curated by the cast. Tickets for the opening reception will available Monday, December 17, 2018. Tickets are completely free and are just for the reception on Friday, January 18, 2019: you don't need tickets for the rest of the weekend, as the gallery will be open through Sunday, January 20, 2019. It's going to be at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA, and you can find all the information for that at critrole.com.
 * Also announced for that same weekend, on Saturday, January 19, 2019, Critical Role is returning to the first campaign with a Vox Machina one-shot. It's going to be "The Search for Grog". No spoilers, but towards the very, very, very end of the campaign, something happened: one of our players pulled the thing from a Deck of Thingy Things (Travis moans, "I'M SORRY!") and briefly derailed the entire thing. They had just glossed over it, but they are actually going to play through that adventure as a one-shot with all returning members of Vox Machina but two, because Grog is being sought after and another character will not be present. VIP tickets go on sale this Saturday, December 15, 2018, and General Admission goes on sale Sunday, December 16, 2018. VIP attendees get a special swag bag (including a Vox Machina print signed by the whole cast), as well as a special Q&A before the show, moderated by Brian Wayne Foster.
 * Be sure to join us next week for our very special holiday one-shot that is being DMed by our fantastic Liam O'Brien. Liam is so excited: he's had this idea in his head for TWO YEARS! He was going to do this last December, but they ended up doing the Level 20 Battle Royale instead. But now it's HERE, and he's mostly ready! Matt was not expecting that much exuberance out of Liam. Matt is pumped now just from that: that was adorable! It's gonna be so much fun, and it's going to be called "The Night Before Critmas"! It will air on Friday, December 21, 2018 at 7:00 pm PST at twitch.tv/criticalrole.
 * Last but not least, Critical Role will be having its very special end-of-the-year "State of the Role" tomorrow on Friday, December 14, 2018. It will give more insight to Critical Role's holiday programming schedule and reveal a few fun things that Critical Role has coming in 2019.
 * Whatever Laura said before they came back from the intro, Matt says it was "adorable".

Previously on Critical Role
So last we left off, the Mighty Nein, after spending an exorbitant amount of time at sea at the behest of Captain Avantika, on the ship the Squalleater'', got pulled into piracy under the banner of The Revelry, brought to the pirate city and island of Darktow amongst the Dragshallow Reefs. There you uncovered information, proof, that she had plans to overthrow the Plank King and rule the seas, along with her fanatical obsession with Uk'otoa. You managed to dodge through the night, grab the necessary journal, uncover the information through the cipher, and through a scuffle survive this fiery battle on the docks from the ship. And through some tactical use of spells and quick members of your party you got it in the hands of the Plank King.''

''Judgement was brought between the two of you at the dock, and he chose Avantika to go. Upon... having her make her leave, violently, gave you guys your reward, which was sparing your lives and telling you to get the fuck out of Darktow and never come back. You were gifted the kinda hobbled, burned form of the Squalleater and let to make your way out towards the ocean, where you attempted to search into the backstory of Fjord's relationship with his patron, in search of one of these, and what seems to be the third and final sphere. You made your way down into the wreckage of his ship, the Tide's Breath, and discovered it was one of many in what was called the Diver's Grave: a ship graveyard here in the center of the Lucidian Ocean. ''

''In trying to find out where this orb went you were drawn into the underwater lair of Dashilla the Dreadful. You encountered spirits of long dead sailors bound there by her magic. You discovered the essence of how she's able to maintain this graveyard and draw ships down below. And while she managed to flee before being killed you grabbed what you were looking for, fled to the surface, and with your ship escaped the growing storm before any more danger was brought to you. And that's where we left off. ''

''So, Mighty Nein, as you've all gathered your things you can hear the distant crack of thunder as the storm gets smaller and smaller behind you on the horizon. What do you want to do?''

Twiggy & Trixie
Fjord instructed Orly Skiffback to plot a course for Bisaft Isle. The Squalleater still needs repairs from the battle with Avantika and her crew on Darktow Isle. During the first day of about three days travel, Nott tried to make more explosive bolts. She successfully made two, but the third one exploded.

In the light of the explosion, Nott saw a shape moving through the galley. The rest of the Mighty Nein heard the explosion and started to run belowdecks. Nott came up and told them there was no need. She explained the soot on her face by saying Avantika had set a booby trap. Nott said in Halfling (which none of the Mighty Nein except Beau understand) that there was someone downstairs. The others were confused by the different language. When Fjord asked what they were talking about, Beau told him rudely it was none of his business. Nott gave up trying to be sneaky and told the whole group about the shape.

Fjord sent Beau, Jester and Nott to find out what the shape was. The others would wait on deck in case whoever it was got past them and tried to escape. Jester speculated it might be Vera. The last they saw of Vera, she was very badly burned by the Fireball Caleb cast at the Squalleater; but they were not sure if she was dead or not. They did not see Vera brought to Avantika's trial either. Before going belowdecks, Beau apologized to Fjord for being rude then ran before he could respond.

Jester saw the shape and heard footsteps go from the galley to the cargo hold. Beau, Jester, and Nott followed quietly and saw the shape duck behind some boxes. Jester sent her illusory duplicate towards the boxes and cast Thaumaturgy to amplify her voice saying "There are ghosts on the ship!". The three flanked the box to see a tiny gnome girl with chocolate smeared all over her face curled up in the corner. At the mention of ghosts, she excitedly told them she is scared of ghosts. Jester immediately liked her and offered her candy. Nott pointed her crossbow at the gnome, who then created an illusion of a hand coming out of her hand and wagging a finger at Nott. After this Nott was also won over by the new arrival, who introduced herself as Twiggy and pointed to something in her pocket called "Trixie".

Jester asked what Trixie looks like. Twiggy opened her pocket to reveal a tiny squirrel. Jester excitedly brought out Sprinkle to meet Trixie. Beau was still suspicious and asked Twiggy to explain why she was on the ship. Twiggy told them hid inside a box that got loaded on the Squalleater. She was looking for a place to hide because she stole something to keep a "really bad guy" from getting it. Twiggy pulled several trinkets and drawings she's made from her backpack until she finds a large (for a gnome) brass and golden sphere. The sphere has multiple layers of rotating bands and sliding puzzle pieces. Jester noticed that parts of the sphere Twiggy was not touching were moving on their own. It seems to be a combination of clockwork and magic.

Twiggy showed off a way she's found to spin pieces of the artifact that causes gold coins to fall out of it. Jester showed Twiggy the dodecahedron and invited her to look at it. Twiggy felt herself get drawn into it. Her surroundings faded. She saw herself surrounded by stars and little ghost versions of herself. A glowing warm light appeared in front of Twiggy, who reached out and touched it. She felt warm, closed her eyes, and opened her eyes to find herself back on the Squalleater. Nott said they should go upstairs and show Twiggy's artifact to Caleb because he is much smarter than any of them.

Beauregard lied to Twiggy that receiving a Fragment of Possibility from the dodecahedron means that she is now bonded to the Mighty Nein. Twiggy wasn't concerned by the threat and responded happily that she likes hanging out with people and trusting people. Nott and Twiggy showed each other the flowers in their hair. Jester looked sad after Twiggy said she and Nott were best friends now. Noticing Jester felt left out, Nott clarified that all three of them could be best friends. Both Nott and Twiggy gave Jester flowers for her hair to make her feel better. Passing by a very confused Marius LePual, Beau, Jester, and Nott take Twiggy to the deck to meet the rest of the Mighty Nein. Twiggy emerged on to the deck of the Squalleater dancing.

Jester pulled a very confused Fjord aside. She assured him that she trusts Twiggy; but just in case Fjord is still suspicious, Jester could cast Zone of Truth on Twiggy. Fjord expressed concern that Twiggy seems very young and worried that parents may be looking for her. Twiggy told the Mighty Nein she has been on the Squalleater for about a week. She is from Port Damali but has been stowing away on multiple ships for a while now. When Jester asked about her family, Twiggy cheerfully responded that they have been dead a while. Beau noticed that when Twiggy walks through a shadow she looks like an old woman. Twiggy cheerfully replied "Who knows!" when Beau asked about her age. Fjord was still suspicious and told Twiggy to keep Trixie to herself and stay out of his quarters.

Happy Fun Ball of Tricks
Caleb finished casting Identify on Twiggy's artifact. The spell failed because the artifact blocked it. Caleb questioned Twiggy more about the sphere and where she got it. Twiggy said she called the sphere her Happy Fun Ball of Tricks. She stole it from somewhere (she's not sure what kind of place it was) in Port Damali. Twiggy took it because she saw a "mean man" named Sir Cadigan there. Jester thought Twiggy's description sounds like the Exalted Collection Auction House, an invite only auction house for rich people. As Caleb continued to examine the ball, he found there were Conjuration glyphs carved all over it. Twiggy demonstrated how she made gold appear from the Happy Fun Ball, causing eight gold to appear. Caleb replicated her movements. This time four gold appeared.

Fjord asked Twiggy if she would be all right with them dropping her off when they get to Bisaft Isle. When Jester said Twiggy could stay with the Mighty Nein forever, Fjord said he did not want to be responsible for someone like Kiri who could not defend themselves. Twiggy proved her magical abilities by casting Tasha's Hideous Laughter on Caleb. Caleb resisted the effect, but Fjord was a little more confident that Twiggy could handle herself. Fjord put Jester in charge of watching Twiggy. At Jester's request, Twiggy promised not to steal from the Mighty Nein. Apart from the rest of the group, Beau and Fjord agreed that they were still suspicious of Twiggy. They think she is too sweet and there has to be something else going on with her. Beau also said she thinks Twiggy's illusion magic is unnerving.

Beau asked Fjord to train her to be first mate since he is officially captain now. Fjord agreed. She apologized again for being rude earlier. Fjord assured her he was used to her by now and it didn't bother him. The Mighty Nein realized they were heading back into Clovis Concord territory with a known pirate ship. Nott comes with a new name for the ship, the Balleater. Twiggy cast Mage Hand and used it to repaint the side of the ship beautifully with the new name.

Caduceus let Caleb know that when he cast Detect Magic earlier, he noted that Twiggy has two other magical items besides the Happy Fun Ball of Tricks. Caduceus doesn't think Twiggy is dangerous, just a little loopy from the chocolate and being in a confined space for a long time. Caleb went to talk to Twiggy, calling her down from swinging on the ropes. He cast Suggestion on her, compelling her to share any unique magic items she has. The spell succeeded. Twiggy tried to sit in Caleb's lap, but he stopped her. She sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. She showed him a little cube she called her "a-choo dust" and that her cloak could create an illusion of another Twiggy next to her. Caleb apologized to Twiggy for using a spell on her and summoned Frumpkin. He said she could play with Frumpkin for one hour. As the Suggestion spell wore off, Twiggy told Caleb she knew that "trick" and gave him a high five.

Black Hole
As the Balleater continued towards Bisaft Isle, Jester told Twiggy all about The Traveler. Nott looked through the rest of Avantika and her crew's ammunition stores. Beau and Jester raided Avantika's closet. Jester paraded around the deck in her outfits. Caleb continued to study the Happy Fun Ball of Tricks. He found a different way of twisting the rings and caused four pieces of jade to appear from the ball. He asked Twiggy if she would consider selling him the ball. She said she did not like money but might be interested in a trade. Caleb told her she could be an honorary member of the Mighty Nein. Twiggy kissed him the cheek and thanked him for letting her play with Frumpkin. Caleb thanked Twiggy for letting him play with the Happy Fun Ball and said she could have the whole day with Frumpkin.

Caleb continued to further twist the Happy Fun Ball as Twiggy played with Frumpkin. A black hole appeared in the middle of the floor next to him. After stopping Twiggy from jumping in with Frumpkin, Caleb called for Fjord. Twiggy dropped some ball bearings in the hole. They disappeared without making any noise. Caleb dropped a length of rope in and back out. Fjord stuck his finger in as well. Both the rope and Fjord's finger came out without a problem. Seconds later, the hole closed up and disappeared.

Caleb told the others Twiggy was now an honorary member of the Mighty Nein. Jester used her magical paint to make Twiggy a pirate hat.

Caleb pushed a still visible button on the Happy Fun Ball of Tricks. The black hole appeared again and lasted about one minute. The whole group (except for Yasha) got together and chose Beau to go in the hole. Caleb made the hole reappear while Caduceus and Fjord lowered Beau in. Beau came out with an armful of red cloth and a strange metal object. The hole closed up behind her. The pile of clothes included a pair of boots and a velvet heavy cloak with an unfamiliar symbol embroidered on the back.

Caleb cast Identify and Comprehend Languages on everything Beau pulled out of the hole. The clothes are not magical, but the metal object is a magical hand warmer. The Mighty Nein appeared to have found a set of cold weather travel gear. The symbol on the clothes is a name: Halas. None of the group recognized the name.

Nott and Twiggy tied rope around their waists and prepared to jump in again. They joined hands and jumped in when Caleb reopened the portal. They dropped into a small cylindrical room empty except for the last few ball bearings Twiggy dropped in before. They tugged on the ropes and were pulled back out of the hole.

Twiggy tried to remember if Sir Cadigan had anything to do with the name Halas. She doesn't think he did. Twiggy said she thinks she may be "a little weird" because of Sir Cadigan. He kept her in a cage all alone for a long time. She would make up people to talk to and practice her magic. Twiggy described Sir Cadigan as twice her size, very skinny, and wearing a big ring with a green gem in it. Twiggy got away by making Sir Cadigan chase an illusion of her. Fjord said "It sounds real familiar". Caleb tried to unlock the Happy Fun Ball of Tricks further but was unable to. Twiggy offered to help.

Caleb and Twiggy together managed to unlock another phase. A flash of green light filled the entire chamber.

Banners
After the flash of green light, the Mighty Nein and Twiggy realized they were no longer on the Balleater and Yasha was not with with them. They were in a stone room with four pillars. Twelve feet off the ground were four different colored banners hanging on the walls parallel to each other. The banners were four different colors (red, green, blue, and black) but all had the symbol of Halas in gold in the center. Two mummified corpses with looks of horror on their faces laid in the center of the room. The Happy Fun Ball of Tricks was nowhere to be seen. The room had no visible exits.

Twiggy cast Mage Hand and used it to pull aside the blue banner. In the wall behind the banner was a stone statue of a dragon with sapphires for eyes. The mouth lit up blue and electrical energy shot out of the wall, hitting Caleb, Nott, and Twiggy. Nott and Twiggy ducked, but Caleb is unable to avoid the bolt. Caduceus suggested using Speak with Dead before pulling aside any of the other banners. The group agreed and adjusted their positions so they were not in line with any of the banners. Caduceus talked to the corpse. The body told him they were killed by "the wailing creature" that came from behind the black banner. They ended up in the room because they found an object and played with it. The body does not recognize the name Halas and does not know the way out.

The group gathered together in the center of the room as Caleb cast Leomund's Tiny Hut to protect them from whatever came out from behind the other banners. They planned to stay inside the hut while Twiggy's Mage Hand opened all the banners. Caleb and Twiggy used some of their spell casting components (honeycomb and gum) to make earplugs for everyone since sound can still come through the barrier. Twiggy stuck her hand outside the hut to cast her spell and move the green banner aside.

Behind the banner was a statue of a sickly, bloated humanoid creature. A green gas filled the chamber but did not go through Leomund's Tiny Hut. Twiggy used her Mage Hand to pull aside the red banner. Behind the banner was a wooden, red door with the symbol of Halas painted on it. The Mage Hand pushed the handle. The door was locked. Twiggy called back the hand and gave it her Thieves' Tools. The hand successfully picked the lock. When the lock was picked, a magical flame burst out of the door, burning far into the room. The Mighty Nein and Twiggy were still protected by Leomund's Tiny Hut and avoided the flame. Twiggy had her Mage Hand try the door handle again. It opened.

Caleb sent Frumpkin into the hallway. Twiggy followed him, with the rest of the Mighty Nein following slowly behind. Caleb realized that the hallway they are walking through has an extraplanar essence to it, similar to the small area where they found the clothes. As they continued walking, a study type room with a desk and several bookshelves came into view in the distance.

Library
The Mighty Nein enter a seventy foot tall chamber full of books. One wall has a forty foot tall, fifty foot wide stained glass window up one level of ladders. Above one of the desks is a twelve foot tall, six foot wide picture of a man sitting in a chair. He has light brown skin, long dark hair, and amber-yellow eyes. The robes he wears are the same red color with gold trim as the robes from the black hole.

Looking at the stained glass window, Beau and Fjord realized it is a layout of the planes. The Ethereal Plane, Astral Plane, and four Elemental Planes are all pictured. They noticed that there is no Divine Gate pictured in the window, indicating this design may be over 800 years old. The other strange thing about the window is a small, red circle in the Astral Sea that is not tethered to anything.

Fjord touched the red circle. The window loudly shattered. Pieces flew out and stopped in midair. Fjord, standing in front of the window, was sucked into a black void and vanished. The window reformed and closed behind him. Beau and Jester ran up to the window where Fjord vanished. Caleb ran to the desk to look for notes about the window. Nott and Twiggy checked one of the closed cabinets. Together they picked the lock to find the cabinet empty. Reaching their hands inside, the cabinet doors closed on their arms, holding them in place. Both Nott and Twiggy managed to pull their arms out of the cabinet and back away. However, the cabinet moved forward, opened its doors, and pulled Twiggy back inside of it.

Caleb continued to search the desk for something that could help Fjord. He finds a jar of glass beads, a large vial of ink, and a small porcelain doll with oddly realistic hair. Jester's duplicate cast Inflict Wounds on the moving cabinet while the real Jester continued to search the stained glass window for a sign of Fjord. Twiggy attacked the cabinet from the inside, causing it to spit her out. Nott fired one of her explosive arrows, not realizing the one she grabbed was filled with pepper instead of black powder. Even without the extra explosive damage, the arrow was enough to finish off the cabinet.

Caduceus asked Twiggy for help with a stack of books with individual brass locks holding them shut. Twiggy opened one and called to Caleb she had a book for him. Caleb ignored her and continued to examine the area around where Fjord vanished. While there are no buttons or hidden doors, there is a large red leather-bound book with sapphires embedded in the cover conspicuously placed in the center of a bookshelf. Caleb ignored it as well.

Caduceus examined the book newly opened by Twiggy. After it opened, a title appeared: Public Debate Records: Forum of Ziedel. Twiggy picked the lock on another book. Instead of a title, a burn mark appeared on the front where a title should be. It looked blank but had more burn marks in it and about one hundred pages torn out. Caleb got distracted when he noticed that the burned book has spells in it. He put it in his bag. At Caleb's request, Nott and Twiggy grabbed the jar of glass beads and bottle of ink from the desk he had opened before with Mage Hand. Beau, still by the stained glass window with Jester, noticed a fingerprint left by Fjord on the red dot. She pointed it out to the rest of the group. Caduceus moved over to the other desk in the room and cast Dispel Magic to get rid of the arcane lock.

Before anyone could investigate further, Beau touched the same red piece on the window Fjord touched. The glass shattered, Beau and Jester disappeared, and the window reformed. Twiggy ran ran up to the window, pushed the red piece, and disappeared. Caduceus looked inside the desk he just opened and saw that it looked empty. He grabbed the debate record book and followed the others into the window, leaving Caleb and Nott alone in the library.

Nott was excited about the two of them being alone in a room full of books. Caleb was conflicted. Flustered, he tried to pull a book off a shelf, but it was locked in place. Nott picked the mechanism and freed it. Caleb took the book. He told Nott to pick just two more locks and then they will go after the others. Nott failed to unlock the next book down the shelf, but successfully opened the lock on the book after that. Caleb ran back to the stained glass window and started screaming "Let's go!". Nott tried to grab more books on the way towards Caleb, but they are all locked into the shelf. Even with Caleb still yelling, Nott tried one more time to pick the lock on another book. She failed then decided to join Caleb. They pushed the red piece of the stained glass window together and were pulled through.

Lord of the Manor
Fjord found himself falling through darkness onto a stone raised platform. The platform is in the center of an arrow-shaped chamber filled with gold, gems, and bone fragments. A huge mass of blue scales uncurled and revealed itself to be a young blue dragon. The dragon tauntingly spoke to Fjord, asking what flavors it should expect when its eats him. Fjord tried to remain calm and stall until the rest of the Mighty Nein arrive. The dragon said Fjord would be its entertainment since Halas has not returned. Halas and the dragon have an arrangement: it watches some of the chambers and Halas sends it "gifts". One day, it intends to grow big enough to eat Halas and take over the manor. When Fjord asked if they were in a house, the dragon told him there were in one of about one hundred connected chambers. Fjord told the dragon Halas is likely dead and offered to help the dragon in his place. The dragon was not interested.

At that moment, Beau and Jester fell onto the raised platform, catching the dragon off guard. As the dragon reared up to attack, Fjord cast Blink on himself, vanishing into the Ethereal Plane. Beau smashed her red elemental gem and summoned a fire elemental to attack the dragon. The elemental hit the dragon and caught it on fire, but the dragon retaliated with lightning breath.

Caduceus and Twiggy fell from the ceiling on either side of the dragon and saw Jester surrounded by spectral unicorn Spirit Guardians, a fire elemental, and a smoking mark in the wall left by the dragon's lightning breath. Caduceus cast Bane on the dragon, weakening its attacks. He then turned invisible and ran into one of the dark hallways. Fjord found a green-blue crystal with a light similar to the flash that appeared when the Mighty Nein were first transported away from the Balleater down one of the hallways. This time his Blink spell did not pull him back to the Ethereal Plane. Beau found a similar crystal set in a wall alcove in the other hallway. She noticed a groove running from the crystal's alcove towards the pedestal where she landed when she first dropped into the room. Twiggy cast Disguise Self to look like the portrait from the library, hoping the dragon would mistake her for Halas. However, the spell could only make Twiggy look one foot taller than she actually is, and the deception failed.

Jester cast Polymorph on the dragon, temporarily turning it into a crimson weasel. The dragon, twenty feet in the air, fell to the ground as it no longer had wings. The dragon was immediately attacked by the fire elemental, taking enough damage to revert back to dragon form. The dragon furiously turned its attention towards Jester and unleashed its lightning breath. Jester cast Hellish Rebuke as a response; but instead of hitting the dragon, the cold energy shot behind her to the crystal in the hallway by Beau.

The crystal began to glow. Energy from the crystal ran through the groove in the floor towards the center room pedestal and something further in the room they could not see. Taking a cue from Jester shouting "cold damage", Fjord cast Armor of Agathys on himself then smashed his head against the crystal in the other hallway. It absorbed the cold energy in the same way. Energy running through two grooves in the floor led to another glowing orb in an alcove near the raised pedestal.

Beau ran to the newly glowing orb, which was the same size and shape as the Happy Fun Ball of Tricks. She reached out intending to replicate Twiggy's manipulation of the Happy Fun Ball that brought the Mighty Nein into the manor. As soon as she touched the sphere, Beau vanished.

Beau's control over the fire elemental dropped since she was no longer present. The elemental turned on Twiggy, who cast Invisibility on herself. The elemental charged the only enemies left it could see: Caduceus and Fjord. Jester, pinned in the back of the hallway by the dragon, cast Blink on herself but did not manage to enter the Ethereal Plane.

The dragon swooped down on Jester. Still under the effect of Caduceus's Bane spell, the dragon was unable to bite Jester but did slash her with its claws. Caduceus, on fire and concerned that Caleb and Nott still have not shown up, cast Meld Into Stone on himself. He became part of the wall and put out the fire on himself. Fjord ran into the center room and cast Eldritch Blast at the dragon, drawing its attention away from Jester towards him. However, his Blink spell caused him to disappear again, leaving Jester apparently alone against the dragon.

Twiggy dropped Invisibility to hit the dragon with her bow then immediately ducked out of sight. The fire elemental also attacked the dragon but ran through Jester to do so, setting her on fire. After multiple attacks from the elemental, continually being on fire, and Twiggy's Sneak Attack, the dragon was now looking injured. Jester, facing down the dragon alone, attempted to cast Inflict Wounds but the fear got to her. The attack missed, but she was able to Blink into the Ethereal Plane afterwards.

Finally Caleb and Nott dropped into the chaos. All Caleb and Nott saw was the angry dragon on fire, the fire elemental, and a four foot tall Halas (Twiggy's Disguise Self spell was still in effect). Caduceus stepped out of the wall and yelled for them to run. Before running to the sphere and vanishing, he cast Blindness on the dragon. Unfortunately, the dragon could still sense through blindness and continued to attack. Fjord reappeared, cast Misty Step using the feature of Summer's Dance absorbed by his falchion to avoid getting in the dragon's range, and vanished through the sphere. Twiggy attempted to cast Suggestion on the dragon, but the spell failed. She pointed out the exit to Caleb and Nott before hiding. The fire elemental attacked Nott, setting her on fire. Nott fired an explosive arrow straight up at the dragon. The arrow hit, but the explosion also damaged Caleb. Unable to see anyone but Nott and already injured, Caleb cast Expeditious Retreat on himself, ran to the sphere, and vanished.

Jester reappeared, cast Cure Wounds on herself, and ran as far as she could. This time she did not Blink out. Even after healing, she was still severely hurt and in range of the dragon. After slashing Nott, the dragon rounded on Jester. She closed her eyes waiting for the attack to come. She heard the voice of The Traveler in her head say "Don't worry. I'm watching." She felt a hand push her arm up. Jester's shield deflected the dragon's attack, causing two teeth to break out of its mouth.

Twiggy popped out of hiding, yelled "You leave my friends alone!" and shot the dragon right in the throat. She shouted to Jester and Nott to save themselves and hid inside the room again. Very badly hurt, Nott ran away from the dragon. The dragon bit at her as she left, giving Jester time to run to the sphere and escape. Nott fired one more bolt before touching the sphere and vanishing. The fire elemental and dragon, unable to see any other enemies, attacked each other. Twiggy, still looking like Halas, popped out of hiding and shot the dragon, severely injured and still on fire. Her arrow hit the dragon right in the heart as she shouted "This is for my only friends!". As the dragon stumbled towards Twiggy, she dropped her Disguise Self spell and showed her real form just as the dragon died. Twiggy ran to the sphere, touched it, and vanished.

Seven Days
After touching the sphere, Beau teleported back to the Balleater. Half the crew, including Marius LePual and Orly Skiffback, were clustered around the Happy Fun Ball of Tricks on a table. Moments later the rest of the Mighty Nein appeared one by one in the next few moments, some still on fire. Twiggy came through last, excitedly telling the others she killed the dragon. The group was skeptical but then Caduceus confirmed she was being honest. Twiggy found a dragon tooth stuck in her boot and showed it off. Nott took back the flower she had put in Jester's hair earlier, saying it worked. Jester hugged Nott and buried her face in Nott's cloak.

Marius told them they've been gone for days even thought it felt like only about an hour to them. From the crew's perspective, they all vanished and nothing was left behind but the Happy Fun Ball. While they were gone, the Balleater docked at Bisaft Isle and got repaired. However the dockmaster is very annoyed that he has not been paid. Fjord gave Marius money to pay the dockmaster and suggested the Mighty Nein rest.

Fjord pointed out that since Twiggy killed the dragon they could go back. No one seemed to be very keen on the idea, not even Fjord. Twiggy thanked the Mighty Nein for being the best friends she's ever had and for the best adventure she's ever had. She better keep moving because Sir Cadigan is still after her. Twiggy put up the hood of her cloak, creating her illusory duplicate. Both Twiggys waved goodbye as she went down the gangplank to explore Bisaft Isle.

Jester was visibly upset. Despite this, she insisted she was fine when Beau asked then immediately went to her room. Nott showed Caleb the book she had grabbed, but Caleb was not interested. He said they would look at it tomorrow then went to their room. Now that she has a moment to breathe, Beau realized she did not know what any of their experiences with the Happy Fun Ball meant. Fjord agreed and went to his quarters to rest.

Beau stayed on deck to keep watch. Caduceus joined Beau, bringing a pot of tea and two cups. Beau asked him how he is feeling. Caduceus said he was feeling great. Beau asked was it wrong of her to feel ok when everyone else felt so bad. Caduceus said no. It was their job to comfort the group and make them feel good again.

As the Mighty Nein rest up from their close call docked on Bisaft Isle, the episode closes.

The Mighty Nein

 * Beauregard
 * Caduceus Clay
 * Fjord
 * Frumpkin
 * Jester Lavorre
 * Nott
 * Yasha Nydoorin (DM-controlled)
 * Caleb Widogast

New

 * Twiggy
 * Trixie
 * Thelashas

Returning

 * Marius LePual
 * Orly Skiffback
 * Sprinkle
 * The Traveler

Mentioned

 * Avantika
 * Calianna Mordsson
 * Sir Cadigan
 * Halas
 * Kiri
 * Vera

Quotations

 * Nott: (in Halfling to Beauregard, which only the two of them understand) "There's someone hiding downstairs. We need to act fast, but don't alert the others yet; they'll overreact. You and I are the calm and steady ones. We can deal with this."
 * Marisha: "Before I go down, I go- (in character as Beauregard) 'Uh, Fjord, uhhhh, sorry for being a dick.' -and then just go." Fjord: "Apologies." Caduceus: "That's an improvement."
 * Twiggy: "I'm Twiggy!" (points in pocket) "This is Trixie. Trixie's my bestest friend, and we got kind of stuck on this ship. But I have lots of chocolate and lots of apples. As you can tell, that's all I've been eating. And I wonder if it's ok if I could hang out with you guys for a while? Until we get to shore?"
 * Twiggy: "So, I don't know, I kind of- So there was this really pretty thing, and this really bad guy was going to get it. And I was like, that's not fair, right? So I took it, okay? I took it. You don't care right?"
 * Beau: "Hey Twiggy. Now that you've looked at the fragment, you're bonded to us. Which means if you betray us, we'll know how to find you." Twiggy: "Wow. Well, that sounds pretty serious. So cool with me! I like people. I like hanging out with people. I like trusting people. So that sounds great!"
 * Beau: "Don't gnomes live for a pretty long time?" Twiggy: "Yeah!" Beau: "So you could actually be fairly old-" Twiggy: "Who knows!"
 * Deborah: (in character as Twiggy) "I just go around looking for friends." (out of character) "I give my most winningest smile." Fjord: "That is heavily disarming."
 * Twiggy: (to Caleb) "How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?" Caleb: "Oh, no, don't you dare." Deborah: (in character as Twiggy) "Ten tickles!" (out of character) "And I cast Hideous Laughter."
 * Beau: (to Fjord, apologizing for being rude) "You could've been a scarecrow, and I would've been like 'Fuck off, bro!'"
 * Jester: (to Twiggy, about The Traveler) "I feel like he would like you a lot, you know, because number one: he likes people that can be sneaky because it's fun, right? And you can be sneaky." Twiggy: "It's the most fun ever!" Jester: "Also he has a cloak, just you have a cloak. Really cool. Also, he always kept me company. I know that you had a lot of time by yourself, right? And so did I, and he always kept me company."
 * Fjord: (to Beau, about her status as first mate) "You don't have to announce it when you show up. Don't yell your superiority. We'll get you a shirt or something."
 * Nott: "You know, I like Twiggy. But she picks all the locks; she does the Mage Hand thing; she does the Hideous Laughter thing; she paints-" Jester: "-she makes a duplicate of herself-" Nott: "-she has a cute animal-" Jester: "-and she likes chocolate." Nott: "Are we being replaced?"
 * Nott: (to Caleb) "This is everything we ever wanted: a room full of books and it's just us."
 * Caleb: (to Nott, trying to get her to leave the library) "Nott, this is torture to me! Let's go!"
 * Fjord: (to the blue dragon) "If you would simply point towards the exit, I would be most obliged."
 * Fjord: (to the blue dragon) "I have recently been putting my hands where they don't belong. And this time, it sent me to you." Blue Dragon: "And what have we learned?" Fjord: "Probably to look and not touch."
 * Caduceus: (to Caleb and Nott when they drop into the middle of the dragon fight) "We're running! It's bad!"
 * Twiggy: "You guys have been the greatest friends ever, but I've spent my whole life in a box. I'm going to go exploring."
 * Beau: "Thanks, Twiggy. Sorry I found your cuteness alarming." Twiggy: "I have that effect on people."
 * Caduceus: (to Beau) "Well, in the morning, we're going to comfort everybody. We're going to take care of them. We're going to feed them. It's going to be our job to feel good for them and bring them back around. They did good work. They just don't believe it."

Trivia

 * Sam's giant flask says "We're going to need a bigger flask."
 * This episode was the Mighty Nein's first encounter with a dragon.
 * Nott had 1 HP when she escaped the dragon's lair. She had 19 HP when she voluntarily took an attack from the dragon to save Jester.
 * Jester had 13 HP when she escaped the dragon's lair.
 * Twiggy is the fifth guest player character to get a "How do you want to do this?" on stream, following Zahra Hydris, Kerrek, Tova, and Shakäste.
 * The name of the young blue dragon was Thelashas.
 * The in-game date that the party met Twiggy was 14 Duscar 835.