"Aid of the Tempest" (3x66) is the sixty-sixth episode of the third campaign of Critical Role. Bells Hells arrive in Orym's hometown of Zephrah and learn of a possible solution to Keyleth's lingering wounds, but acquiring the key ingredient is a dangerous endeavor...
Synopsis[]
Announcements[]
- First sponsor tonight is Stray Gods, the branching roleplaying musical game coming on multiple platforms August 10, combining roleplaying games with video games and tabletop. In its honor, Sam has written and performs an alleged song, which is definitely not from the game.
- Second sponsor is Roll & Play, the Game Master's Fantasy Toolkit, with hundreds of random tables and content generators, available now at . Use code BELLSHELLS10 for 10% off.
- The finale of Candela Obscura Chapter One is set for next Thursday, 27 July 2023 at 7pm Pacific. Explore more at DarringtonPress.com/Candela.
- Darrington Press will be at GenCon August 3-6 with copies of Queen by Midnight, a first look at the upcoming Daggerheart fantasy tabletop RPG system, and running games of Dressed to Kill from the Candela Obscura Quickstart Guide. Find them at Booth 2835.
- Critical Role will be at San Diego Comic-Con this Saturday, 22 July, with a Fireside Chat and Q&A, and a panel on Candela Obscura.
Previously on Critical Role[]
So, last we left off, Bells Hells reunited in the aftermath of the Apogee Solstice. The red moon Ruidus remains hung in the air still, locked in orbit with the rest of Exandria. In searching for the location of some of your chased antagonists, you discovered some of them may not be on Exandria anymore. However, sending some of your new allies off to their own ventures, circling your wagons a bit and discussing what you found, there are some interesting hanging threads to be pursued. There are some artifacts from Ludinus' past that have some intriguing possibility should their purpose and reason be discovered. There are some scattered elements of previous allies, some known, some not, and the discovery that Keyleth remains extremely, seemingly irrevocably wounded from the encounter in Marquet when all of this went down. As you prepped yourselves in Jrusar, you decided to pay her a visit, and in doing so, transported yourselves via the scepter that is carried by Imogen to Zephrah, the city of the Air Ashari in Tal'Dorei.
Part I[]
Bells Hells arrives on a windswept cliffside overlooking the beautiful Air Ashari village of Zephrah. Orym is happy and excited to be home. Suddenly, a massive gust of wind slams into the party, knocking over Laudna, Chetney, and Imogen and pushing them toward the cliff edge. Two shadows swoop in on skysails accompanied by three more guards, but Orym calls out to them and is immediately recognized. His sister-in-law Maeve rushes up and Orym joyfully hugs her, then introduces the group. Maeve apologizes for knocking them down with her Gust of Wind, and tells them the Voice of the Tempest is resting after the Battle of the Red Center, during which some of the Ashari fighting there were teleported elsewhere. Most, though not all, have now been retrieved, and many of the Ashari were wounded and are recovering.
Fan art of Orym with the wounded Keyleth, by Matthew Johnson.[art 1]
Maeve escorts them through the beautiful village to the central building where the Voice of the Tempest resides. There they meet another of Orym's sisters-in-law, Leeta, the Master of Defenses. She guides them to the art-filled bedroom where Keyleth rests in a large four-poster bed, still horribly wounded with red gashes that, though not bloody, look as fresh as when they were made. Otohan Thull's anti-resurrection toxin also prevents healing, it seems, but they have found a potential remedy: an ointment made from the Blue Perennem flower. Keyleth has sent a group of Ashari including Orym's sister-in-law Baernie to get more of these flowers from the Grey Valley, but they have not returned for three days.
Fan art of Keyleth's anger, by Jenny Dolfen.[art 2]
In addition to Keyleth herself, there are three other wounded waiting, and the village lost a little more than two dozen of their people in the battle. The last thing Keyleth saw at the Malleus Key was "someone important to me, someone I lost long ago," and she has sworn vengeance against Otohan, Ludinus, and Liliana. Imogen hesitantly suggests that perhaps Liliana caused the explosion of white light that sent so many far away from the battle and saved many lives, and Orym shares with Keyleth that Imogen is related to Liliana. Keyleth accepts this, but warns against any signs of betrayal. She wants to be well enough to travel to the Birth Heart of Vasselheim and speak to the great hierophants there, and she asks Orym and the party to look into what has happened to the first group sent to collect the blue perennem flowers. Orym accepts, admitting he is angrier than he has ever been, and Keyleth responds that she's been angry for thirty years. Sometimes anger is exactly what you need.
Fan art of Leeta, Maeve and Orym, by Jenny Dolfen.[art 3]
Leeta leads them out. She confirms she was present with the other Ashari warriors during the activation of the Malleus Key by Ludinus Da'leth at the Apogee Solstice, about halfway up the crater wall, and tells them that the airship they dropped killed about 30 of the enemy and damaged the Key itself. The white explosion transported some, but not all of those present, and she was one of the ones who remained to help get Keyleth to safety and back to Zephrah.
When they ask about the Grey Valley, Leeta gets Thollo, who fills them in on its cursed history as a demonic battlefield and the lingering influence of the Abyss there. When Ashton learns Thollo is a loremaster and historian of sorts, he shows him the Hishari helmet he stole months ago from the Twilight Mirror Museum, and Thollo confirms the facts Ashton had already uncovered about the Hishari group.
Fan art of Alma hugging her son (and the artist's reaction), by Jenny Dolfen.[art 4]
Orym wants to visit his mother, so he leads the group to a small, charming cottage and introduces them to Alma, who greets everyone happily and makes them carrot bran muffins. With recent events, she's worried about Orym's safety (urging him not to be a hero if he doesn't have to be), and he tries to reassure her. She shares a little about his childhood with the party and shows them his old clothes and toys. Chetney presents her with a small statue of Orym lunging with his sword and shield, carved with C-POP on the side, and they discover many of his old wooden toys were also created by C-POP Industries. This leads FCG and Imogen to wonder if Chetney and Alma have a past acquaintance.
They head to the shop of Torth the local weapon and armor-crafter, where Orym orders new leather armor to provide more coverage on his arms and legs. Ashton is referred to Fanny Z for new clothing, and he orders clothing reflecting his new goal of trying to help people, giving her some samples he stole from someone he says has better taste than he does. She suggests an "antihero chic" look, and they settle on "legendary hero but make it fashion." It should be ready in a few days. Meanwhile, Laudna is flying Pâté in the wind off one of the cliffs.
Done with shopping, they find Maeve at the tree near where they arrived, along with Keyleth's advisors and many of the Tempest Blades, gathered to see them off. Maeve gives Orym an empty backpack, telling him it needs to be filled with the perennem flowers. She also gives them three powerful healing potions and a sample flower to help their search. Leeta tells Orym, "He'd be very proud of you," and Orym hugs both his sisters. He salutes the gathered Tempest Blades, who return the salute. Maeve casts her spell opening the tree trunk, and through the gap they see a monochrome valley. They all dash through.
Break[]
- Trailer for Stray Gods.
- Roll & Play Press introduces One-Shot Wonders with over 100 session ideas for 5e games.
- Obann the Punished mini now available for pre-order at WizKids.com. Use code CRITHIT2023 to save 10%.
- Merch Alert! Air Ashari dice set in the US shop; Critical Role backpack and watercolor journal, Critical Role Land t-shirt, Bells Hells dice sets for Chetney and FCG, Essek Thelyss ReAction figure and dice set, and EXU Calamity chibi pins in all five shops; Bells Hells hoodie in all shops except Australia.
- Cast at San Diego Comic Con 22 July 2023, Rose City Comic Con in Portland September 23-24, New York City Comic Con October 12-13, London MCM Comic Com October 28-29. More info at the CR website.
- Trailer for Candela Obscura.
- Trailer for the Midst Podcast.
- Welcome to Tal'Dorei and Welcome to Wildemount Critical Role soundtrack albums available now on all digital music platforms.
- Critical Recap every Wednesday on CritRole.com.
- Submit fan art and cosplay for possible inclusion in the weekly online gallery.
- Jester and Duplicate Jester don't draw dicks while talking about Critical Role Twitch subscriptions.
Part II[]
Fan art of the Grey Valley, by Ana Paula Alvarez.[art 5]
The party emerges in the center of the Grey Valley, surrounded by a colorless and petrified forest. They see no blue anywhere, so Fresh Cut Grass flips their Coin of the Changebringer to seek advice through Divination on the direction the Blue Perennem flowers might lie in, and the answer is "west". Chetney is able to determine there is a faint smell of burned fat around them, and it comes from extraplanar fiendish creatures. Laudna warns Pâté they may be encountering some of his relatives and sends him invisibly west to look for blue flowers and fiends. Using Ashton's Pass Without Trace, they move stealthily through the forest.
Eventually, they notice bits of tarnished metal and find a dome-shaped one that Chetney digs up, discovering the remains of a once-helmeted soldier. He keeps the damaged helmet. FCG casts Death Ward on Orym just before two very large black flying creatures pass overhead, hunting, without noticing them. As they stealthily continue, Chetney catches a strong odor of burning and sees burning trees southwest. They speculate the burning could be a fiendish entry point, and they spread out to look for Ashari tracks and flowers while moving that way. When they reach the burning trees, they find they have perpetually burning cinders within them in an area a little over 200 feet across. Orym approaches and notices some of them are damaged, as if by heavy movement. They speculate again it indicates an infernal entry point, and move away straight west.
Eventually they reach an ash marsh, the remnants of a forgotten battlefield, scattered with black stones. As Orym approaches, he notices a glimmer of blue, and Pâté's scouting discovers weapons and armored skeletal bodies in the area, as well as a small number of blue flowers in a small bush growing on top of a scorched stone surrounded by black crystals shaped somewhat like a hand or crown. The party is very suspicious, but Chetney moves forward to investigate and discovers about 30 of the flowers they seek growing on the bush. As he collects them, he uses Hunter's Bane and gets a tickle of an undead or fiendish presence. Orym, 40 feet away, notices two of the armored bodies nearby begin to move slightly, and can see they are not skeletal and ancient, but more recent. Behind them, a shadowy horned figure with glowing coal-like eyes sits on a rock, watching Chetney.
Fan art of the devourer, by Savs Creates.[art 6]
Chetney is growing increasingly uneasy and stuffs the six flowers he's harvested into the bag, standing to look back at Orym, who is staring past him at the horned figure. Orym gives him a thumbs-down, and Chetney turns, sees the horned figure, and keeps turning, trying to casually walk away while pretending to see nothing. The creature rises ominously to its full height and the two moving bodies snap upright. The rest of the party can now see them as well. Roll initiative!
The two shambling wights both move to Chetney, and one is able to grapple him. Disturbingly, he can tell they are both very recently deceased half-elves. FCG casts Compulsion on both and orders them to move toward the nearby mud, but the grappled Chetney is carried along. Imogen casts Watery Sphere at the horned devourer but it evades it, then sinks into the ground, emerging amid the party and creating a Soul Rend vortex of massive necrotic damage that hits Laudna, FCG, Fearne, and Orym, although the latter two save for half damage. They can see that inside its rib cage appears to be an imprisoned, screaming humanoid. Ashton starts a Gravity rage and is able to hit the large creature hard and knock it backward. Orym releases Chetney by slashing the wight holding him, but recognizes it as one of the missing Ashari. On his turn, Chetney assumes his full wolf form and attacks, while Fearne casts an Aura of Life and Laudna summons her Hound of Ill Omen (in the form of a skeletal wolf) to attack the demon that had been holding Chetney.
The dark mists form together into three wraiths that wound both Ashton and FCG, but Fearne's Aura halves the necrotic damage and prevents the loss of total hit points that would otherwise occur, while Laudna's Silvery Barbs saves FCG from a critical hit. One of the undead Ashari wights slashes Orym, and he ripostes, pushing it back and apologizing to his former comrade Turan. FCG summons their Spiritual Weapon and crits on a wight. Imogen's Watery Sphere captures one of the wraiths, and after deciding not to chance firing through Ashton's modified but untested crystal hammer and possibly hitting the party, Lightning Bolts both the devourer and the other wraith. The devourer, however, moves to Fearne and both his claw attacks hit for massive damage on her, followed by a Soul Rend hitting everyone but Orym, which is thankfully reduced by Fearne's Aura but puts her in single digit HPs. Orym moves her back with a Bait and Switch and he and Chetney both attack it. Orym recognizes the humanoid captive within its rib cage: Fira, a young Ashari. Chetney manages to grapple the devourer, and Fearne casts Daylight, lighting up the entire area. Laudna sends Pâté into the watery sphere and casts a twinned Shocking Grasp through him, killing two of the wraiths.
The last wraith, at disadvantage because of the Daylight, attacks Fearne and she goes down, along with her Aura of Life. FCG immediately casts Mass Cure Wounds on everyone, bringing her back to consciousness, then uses their Spiritual Weapon to hit a wight. Imogen's Witch Bolt finishes off the devourer and its last summoned wraith also disappears. The two wights, already near death, are quickly finished off.
Orym moves to the remains of the fallen demon, and finds a blue glow within it. He reaches in, encountering no physical body but a faint fading energy of the Ashari Fira. With an open palm, he tries to give one last living contact. The energy forms into a young elven figure who places her hand on his, before moving on to her destination. They gather the personal effects of the three fallen Ashari to return to their families, and lay them to rest. The blue flowers growing in the area fill only about a third of their satchel, so they take a short rest in the shelter of the rocks, watching a hint of smoke rising in the direction they seek.
Featured characters[]
Bells Hells
New
Quotations[]
- Keyleth: The last thing that I saw, before the light took us, was someone important to me, someone I lost long ago. And I will do everything in my power to destroy them who did this.
Orym: Allow me to be your blade, Tempest.
Keyleth: Otohan, Ludinus, Liliana, all of them. I will tear down everything they represent, and I will see that they leave no more pain in their wake. - Orym: I've been struggling with the blood in my eye for a few weeks now. I've never been so fucking angry! But it doesn't matter, because it's still what needs to be done. Let my friends prove themselves to you in this. Let me prove myself to you in any way that you need. You've always told me that we're stronger if we stand together.
Keyleth: Anger can be... challenging. It can cloud your focus, your wisdom, lead to wanton impulse, and sometimes put those you care about in danger. But sometimes... Sometimes it's exactly what you need. So don't lose that anger. Just learn when to use it.
Orym: Working on it.
Keyleth: I've been angry for thirty years. Help me find a place to use it. - Chetney: (after they discover C-POP carved on Orym's old toys) I've been with you longer than you know.
Orym: Did you create my childhood, Chetney? Did you create Optimus Prime?
Chetney: I killed him, too.[1]
Inventory[]
| Adjustment | Count | Item | Source | Destination | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Crafted Transferred |
1 | Wooden statue of Orym | Chetney | Alma | |
| Acquired | 3 | Potions of healing | Maeve | Imogen, Laudna, Orym | 2 Greater and 1 Superior. The Superior went to Laudna. |
| Acquired | 1 | Helmet | The Grey Valley | Chetney | Found on a dead body of indeterminate age. |
Trivia[]
- Sam's jerrycan has a picture of Imogen going in for a kiss with an upside-down Laudna, with the caption "Spider Woman".[2]
- The devourer fought by the party appeared to have the ability to summon wraiths and teleport, in addition to the standard abilities for the creature.
- Imogen asked in the Ashari had tried using Greater Restoration to heal Keyleth, similar to how Vex asked Raishan if she'd tried the same method to heal her disease.
References[]
- ↑ This refers to an incident in a one-shot DMed by Liam in which Chutney Chocolatecane (no relation to Chetney) appeared. See "The Night Before Critmas" (Sx41) at 4:09:05.
- ↑ See "Aid of the Tempest" (3x66) from 3:26:05 through 3:26:30.
Art:
- ↑ Fan art of Orym with the wounded Keyleth, by Matthew Johnson (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Keyleth's anger, by Jenny Dolfen (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Leeta, Maeve and Orym, by Jenny Dolfen (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Alma hugging her son (and the artist's reaction), by Jenny Dolfen (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of the Grey Valley, by Ana Paula Alvarez (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of the devourer, by Savs Creates (source). Used with permission.
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