Misery Loves Company

is the ninety-third episode of the second campaign of Critical Role.

Previously on Critical Role
''So, last we left off: The Mighty Nein, upon watching and aiding Caleb finally finish his design, completing what Halas once had attempted to complete, designing a spell in which you could transmogrify another person into a different body of their choosing, the ritual attempted but failing at the realization that a curse still remained on Nott that prevented any sort of shift or change. Trailing the source back, it seems, to the individual responsible for cursing her with the goblin body in the first place, you returned to Zadash to research this possible individual, coming to find it might be this Isharnai the Prism Sage, an individual that lives north of Kamordah in the Bromkiln Hills within the Cyrios Mountains near Mount Mentiri.''

''After this moment, you realized you had to travel west from Zadash to Kamordah, and wanting to clarify the possible link of this sage that had originally done this terrible deed to Nott at the request of the goblins that had killed her, you met the Lionett family. A tense reunion, long held back, ensued, at which point it was confirmed that it seems this same sage that helped bring her family’s fortune, and had put a black cloud over her name and life since she was born, may indeed be the same one that’s responsible for Nott’s predicament. This tense reunion complete, you all stepped outside to the evening rain and gave Beau a hug of support after the emotional, exhausting interaction. And that’s where we left off. As you all pull away outside of the Lionett Estate, the darkened sky above, the cold rain pattering around you in the muddy streets, the smell of sulfur and minerals still strong in the air, what would you like to do?''

Part I
The party heads to town to a nearby tavern Beau knows of, the Gemmed Hearth, a ramshackle inn with three re-purposed storage rooms it rents out for sleeping. The whiskey is bad, the goat's milk is questionable, and the rooms are disappointing, but a night's rest is had.

In the morning, they head out on horseback north into the Cyrios Mountains towards Mount Mentiri in the rain. Jester suggests she Commune with the Traveler for advice on which pathway to take, and sets up a makeshift altar in a little alcove in the rock as the party watches. The Traveler appears, emerging from the stone, and the party for the first time sees the figure as well, although they hear only Jester's side of the ensuing conversation. As she chats with the Traveler, Fjord uses his Divine Sense on the figure and is initially told he senses no celestials, undead, or fiends in the vicinity. However, when Travis tells Matt that it would also sense anything affected by the Hallow spell, he learns that he does sense something, suggesting that the Traveler is either fey or elemental in nature.

Jester asks if they need to kill Isharnai to break the curse, and is told that while that is one method, there are many ways to break such curses. At her request, he points the shortest route to Isharnai, but when for her final question she asks if there is anything they can do to prepare themselves to meet her, he simply answers, "Yes," and disappears in a flash of greenish-blue light that the whole party sees.

They begin their journey along the route the Traveler suggested. They must succeed on four skill challenges to reach their goal. Beau succeeds by using her survival skills to guide them, but Caduceus's use of animal handling to urge the horses to help them along leads to a clearing filled with harpies, who attack when the party's attempt to bargain with them fails. After a brief battle (during which Nott becomes drunk in order to become immune to Fear), they kill the harpies, reclaim the horses, and move on. Jester succeeds in perceiving the correct path to go forward and they reach the top of the next mountain crest, seeing before them a foggy valley.

Caleb uses Frumpkin to attempt to scout the way, but he fails to notice the acid geysers along the way that strike the party, inflicting damage and killing three of their horses. They decide the remaining horses can go no further and send them back towards their home, after Caleb makes them all appear to be moorbounders in an attempt to frighten off potential predators. Yasha tries and fails to use her athletic ability to travel through the trees, and Fjord, Beau, Nott, and Caduceus become slightly exhausted. Nott successfully investigates the paths that animals use to traverse the swamp they have found themselves in, but Fjord fails at deceiving his way through, leading them into a lifeforce-stealing fog. They reach a thick wall of brambles, and Yasha successfully uses her strength to cut through it.

Traveling single file through the path cut by Yasha, they get through the bramble wall, reaching a clearing scattered with tar puddles pushing through the deep red earth and rock. On a small hillock ahead, they see a small thatched-roof cottage with a partially ajar door spilling warm light from the inside.

The Mighty Nein

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

Returning

 * The Traveler
 * Isharnai