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in: Campaign Three episodes, Campaign Three Arc 3

A Long Walk of Reflection

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"A Long Walk of Reflection" (3x62) is the sixty-second episode of the third campaign of Critical Role. Team Issylra trek towards the mountains of the Demithore Valley in search of a teleport spell while taking time to bond as friends and as a team...

Synopsis[]

Announcements[]

Previously on Critical Role[]

So, last we left off: Our troop of ragtag, thrown-together, circumstantial heroes and friends have been wandering the center of Issylra. It is here, in the Demithore Valley, that they encountered a village beneath one of the nexus points of the now seemingly continuous Apogee Solstice, upon which you freed the local villagers of what seemed to be an oppressive influx of the Dawnfather faith, the temple encroaching and pressing its will upon the people as well as the worship. Through relatively violent means, stormed the temple, and helped them and the guardian spirits of the land, the eidolans, to destroy the temple and send the surviving faithful to the Dawnfather away, not to return.

In thanks, the people celebrated, and the local elder, Abaddina, granted you some scrying of your requests before sending you onto the next leg of what you seek, which is a means to return home, or at least for some of you, return to the people that are your home. As part of that gift, Abaddina sent a guide spirit, one of the smaller eidolons in the form of a wind cougar that is guiding you towards your destination, an individual named Hevestro, the Hierophant of the Emerald Tree that resides to the far north within the Irriam Canyon, told if you follow the precipice in the distance of the Ascendant Bridge Mountain about four or five days' travel, you should reach the chasm that is the canyon. Within there, a shrine awaits, surrounded by blue flora.

Part I[]

In the morning, the party sets out from Hearthdell northward toward the Irriam Canyon. As they go, Prism mentions her summoning of the demon during the battle and checks to see if anyone was made uncomfortable by this. Ashton liked it. They talk about Bor'Dor's new-found powers and encourage him to practice as they travel deeper into the Serratus Wilderness, making camp at nightfall after Pâté, Mother, and Dynios scout out a suitable location.

Ashton and Orym by Cha Cha Rae

Fan art of Ashton and Orym, by Cha Cha Rae.[art 1]

Bor'Dor forages berries and Deni$e hunts a rabbit for dinner. Ashton asks Orym for advice on meditation, admitting that the last few days "kind of threw" them and they're trying to recenter, and they agree to support each other through what lies ahead. Orym massages Ashton's hand pressure points, trying to relieve their pain a bit. Experimentally, Prism carves runes into Bor'Dor's crossbow, discovering that they would allow it to be enchanted in a limited way prior to battle although leaving it slightly charred. They make a practice dummy for Bor'Dor and he practices shooting Fire Bolt at it. In an effort to help Ashton meditate, Bor'Dor casts Calm Emotions on Ashton, making him feel very good and wander off to talk to a rock. Seeing the effect, Bor'Dor casts it on everyone else as well and they get an excellent night's sleep (Bor'Dor curled up with the wind cougar). Ashton takes the first watch, continuing to practice their meditation.

After a long rest, the next day of travel is uneventful. They come across a 15-foot grown-over crater in the ground, and Orym Druidcrafts flowers similar to those growing in the crater as the party descends into it. They notice an ancient petrified skeleton embedded in its wall. Ashton merges with the stone and with the assistance of Deni$e's ability to cleave stone and Laudna's decorative worn rock chisel they pull the skull free. Prism Identifies it as a githzerai from the Astral Sea, placed within a long-ago meteor as a punishment. They recover a ring from its finger, which Prism Identifies as a Ring of Volcanic Flesh and Ashton keeps.

Orym's Zeph'aeratum - Odd

Fan art of Orym's Zeph'aeratam, by Odd.[art 2]

That night, Ashton pulls out his Pipe of Remembrance and loans it to Prism. The smoke reveals the moment of her past she considers the most heroic was being invited by a visiting mage to leave the Shadow Realm and train with the Cobalt Soul in Exandria. While on watch, Orym notices soft, glowing, comforting eyes watching him in the darkness and wisps of small sprite-like spirits moving and drifting in the smoke of the campfire. He wakes Prism and she identifies them as local spirits, playfully sharing the space with them. She casts Bigby's Hand, lifting Orym up so he can dance with them, performing a weaponless Zeph'aeratam among the firefly-like sprites and reflecting on the need to appreciate beauty and joy amid even the worst of times.

In the morning, their travel takes them just outside the Serratus Wilderness itself, skirting the forest in beautiful rolling grass-covered hills. Bor'Dor asks Laudna about the person in their earlier Scry on Team Wildemount that seemed more important to her than the others: Imogen. Laudna says they've been together for two or three years before meeting the rest of Bells Hells, and she feels as though they are "sisters from another mister". She worries about the effect the Apogee Solstice may have had on her, since Imogen is Ruidusborn. Bor'Dor agrees to try another Scry on his brother, this time using a sling that everyone in the household used. Bor'Dor is secretly afraid his brother is dead, and is not reassured when the Scry reveals only the cabin which he identifies as the place where his brother stays, but his brother is nowhere in sight.

That evening, Prism attempts a Scry on Ludinus Da'leth, but is unsuccessful. Bor'Dor goes fishing and catches a tiny one that Prism casts Enlarge on. Laudna asks Bor'Dor how he's doing, and he responds that he's afraid the group, even with their "more powerful" friends, won't be enough to kill a god killer. He asks how many they killed while trying to stop Ludinus, hoping they got enough and asking if they're trying to take down Predathos, or just stop Ludinus. They decide they need to focus on Ludinus and on getting back to their friends, and Laudna suggests that perhaps some change to Exandria is inevitable. But they know too much to simply walk away from the problem. During their watch together, Ashton loans the Pipe of Remembrance to Bor'Dor, whose most heroic memory is of succeeding in casting a Fire Bolt a few days ago, feeling like he belongs for the first time. Later, Orym wakes, planting Seedling point-down in the ground and adorning the hilt with flowers. He addresses the Wildmother, telling her he's heard much about the good she and the other gods have done and asking for her aid.

Break[]

Part II[]

In the morning, Deni$e succeeds in an unrevealed act of sleight-of-hand without being noticed by the target.[1] After a number of hours, they reach the edge of a wide crevasse surrounded by trees which their guiding wind cougar proceeds down into. Prism enlarges Mother into the size of the hawk and Orym hang glides down on her, narrowly avoiding a crash but spotting some blue flora in the distance to the northeast. The others leap off the edge, caught by Laudna's Feather Fall but taking some injuries from the slanting cliff wall.[2]

At the bottom, Prism sends Dynios to explore behind a waterfall, and he returns wet and unhappy, finding nothing. Deni$e's Whip of Warning is faintly warm, so they proceed cautiously, passing a muddy hill near the water crowned with vibrant flowers. Prism notices that something about the hill seems off, and Pâté discovers both that the flowers are illusory and that there is a hidden cavern entrance in a crack in the canyon wall behind it with writing in Primordial inscribed into it. Deni$e's whip is now hot, so with Pass Without Trace they cautiously approach. As they pass the hill, they hear a deep breathing and notice the whole hill seems to be slightly moving as it does, but it doesn't notice them pass by.

They reach the blue plant growth which surrounds the cavern, noticing prismatic crystals emerging from small cracks and wreathing the entrance. Ashton reads the inscription around the entrance: "Within the Verdant Tomb, we keep her spirit enduring." Bor'Dor picks up one of the loose crystals, and when Prism experimentally casts Ray of Frost through it, it splinters the spell and refracts it into nine smaller rays, narrowly missing the party. Having led them this far, the wind cougar disappears. They decide not to take any more crystals but to move deeper into the cavern.

They move stealthily inward to a 40-foot wide chamber holding living quarters for a small community with branching tunnels and six alcoves naturally formed in the rock. It appears orderly and recently untouched. Straight ahead, the main cavern descends further and they notice bare elven or half-elven footprints leading into and out of it. Bor'Dor yells into it, introducing himself, but there is no response. They move lower, passing planters filled with soil and vibrant blue plants, and decorative metal support arches.

The passageway widens into another majestic chamber filled with green light. A central platform climbs in natural mineral steps, and multiple light-refracting crystals fill the walls. At the apex of the platform is a glowing green 12-foot monolithic crystal obelisk that appears shaded or obscured in its center. Recent ritual runic marks and drawings fill in those places on the walls not bearing crystals, which Prism recognizes as ritualistic markers used to channel magical energies. The chamber is not only a shrine, but has been prepared for some event. Ashton notices the crystals look very much like residuum, and Orym notices the shadowed space in the crystal looks as if it could hold a body. Looking up, among the crystals on the ceiling he sees a face. As he meets its eyes, it smiles.

Featured characters[]

Bells Hells

New

Quotations[]

  • Prism: Anxiety is just excitement without the breath.
  • Bor'Dor: Anxiety is just breath before fear.
  • Orym: (to Prism, after his dance with the forest spirits) Breath before fear and anxiety.
  • Prism: Curiosity is a blessing and a curse.
  • Ashton: I'm starting to think about my situation in ways that I'm not...I'm not being quiet about it. I've decided maybe it's time to start thinking about my situation. How I got here, what it means, what happened to me. [...] I feel a little lost and confused, and I don't think I'm the only one.
    Orym: The best that we can do for each other right now is if you see me falling down, pick me up. And I'll do the same.
  • Ashton: I left school a little early to pursue a very lucrative life of crime.
    Prism: It's a little bit fun, though, right?
    Ashton: Yes. Except when it isn't. But when it is, yes, it's very fun.
    Prism: I think I'm starting to get a taste for adrenaline.
    Ashton: When it goes poorly, it goes very poorly.
    Prism: I kind of look forward to finding out how that feels.
  • Laudna: (about Imogen) She kind of saved me, and I'd like to think I saved her as well. So yes, we're kind of... sisters from another mister.
  • Orym: (addressing the Wildmother) I don't know if you have anything left in you, but I'm praying. We could really use a little help down here. I know you can, too, and we'll do our best. But any miracle you can spare.

Inventory[]

Adjustment Count Item Source Destination Notes
Crafted Berry fruit leather Bor'Dor Made from blue berries, there was enough for a few days.
Acquired 1 Ring of Volcanic Flesh Githzerai skeleton Ashton +1 to AC, expend charges to reduce and deal fire damage.
Acquired 1 Prismatic crystal the cavern Bor'Dor Imperfect, semi-opaque and about the size of a golf ball.

Trivia[]

  • Travis, Ashley, and Laura were missing from the episode entirely, including for the announcements at the beginning.
  • During the dates this episode took place, Team Wildemount encountered the sentinel beast Umudara, dealt with Chetney's former employer Oltgar Dradegon's new partner, and met the king and queen of the Diarchy of Uthodurn before buying flot goats and starting the journey to Molaesmyr. Interestingly, the same night Orym prayed to the Wildmother, Fearne visited her shrine outside Uthodurn and asked her to contact Orym and let him know that she and her group were safe. See the Timeline for more details.
  • Marisha Ray brought back her black fan, this time with the phrase "Allergies suck", since she suffers from an allergy to pollen, which was particularly abundant in the area at the time the episode was recorded.
  • Throughout the episode, the cast members were giving the wind cougar the names of famous mature women (who are colloquially associated with the slang "cougar").

References[]

  1. ↑ In the following episode, "A Haunted Past" (3x63), it was revealed that the item stolen was Bor'Dor's slingshot, which Deni$e then used to lure him close enough to grapple before confronting him about his past.  See "A Haunted Past" (3x63) at 2:21:36.  This was later confirmed by Aimee in "4-Sided Dive: A Very Special Six-Sided Dive" (4SDx14) at 1:17:14.
  2. ↑ Matt's comment "Long live the goldfish" refers to the incident in Campaign One where Keyleth jumped off a similar cliff and died on the rocks below when she panicked and turned into a goldfish.  See "Taryon, My Wayward Son" (1x97) from 0:12:47 through 0:16:01.

Art:

  1. ↑ Fan art of Ashton and Orym, by Cha Cha Rae (source). Used with permission.
  2. ↑ Fan art of Orym's Zeph'aeratam, by Odd (source). Used with permission.
v • d • e
Campaign Three Arc 3 episodes
<< Arc 2: Ruidus Rising Arc 3: Separations and Explorations (Episode 52-75) Arc 4: Ruidus to Aeor >>
"Far From The Others" (3x52) • "Ripples" (3x53) • "Treacherous Toys" (3x54) • "Hope Within History" (3x55) • "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) • "The Sorrow of Molaesmyr" (3x57) •
"Escape From The Past" (3x58)
"Somewhere Out There" (3x59) • "Faith or Famine" (3x60) • "Crisis of Faith" (3x61) • "A Long Walk of Reflection" (3x62) • "A Haunted Past" (3x63)
"Reunited" (3x64) • "A Path of Vengeance" (3x65) • "Aid of the Tempest" (3x66) • "Bloody Flowers" (3x67) • "For The Tempest" (3x68) • "Nice" (3x69) •
"Embattled in Bassuras" (3x70)
"Mist and Whimsy" (3x71) • "Phantasmal Parley" (3x72) • "Kindling the Spirits" (3x73) • "Roots Between Worlds" (3x74) • "An Ancient Flame" (3x75)
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