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"Ancient Sins" (3x97) is the ninety-seventh episode of the third campaign of Critical Role. Bells Hells encounter Aeorian terrors as they explore the ruined city and seek out the wrinkle in Ludinus' plans...

Synopsis[]

Announcements[]

  • Darrington Press will be at Gen Con in Indianapolis August 1-4.
  • Tickets still available for the Bells Hells live show at the Greek Amphitheater in Los Angeles 15 June 2024, streaming Thursday, June 20th at 7 pm Pacific as "The Nox Engine" (3x98), so no new episode next Thursday. Instead, there will be a Menagerie Part Three live special featuring the Daggerheart gameplay system.
  • Merch alert! Shattered Teeth dice set now available.

Previously on Critical Role[]

The hammer creature - JdIllustrates

Fan art of the hammer creature, by Jason deBit.[art 1]

Last we left off: Bells Hells, upon hearing that Ludinus Da'leth was indeed not on Ruidus but was dealing with another important factor in Exandria, had been noted to be towards Eiselcross, specifically in the long-buried and frozen ruins of Aeor, to the far north of Wildemount. After gathering yourselves, after gathering Dorian Storm who has returned to the troop, gathering some materials in Zadash after an interrogation, after making some orders and setting yourselves up for a dangerous and chilly journey and a number of failed Teleports, you managed to finally arrive on the outskirts of the ruins of Aeor, your guide, revealed to be Essek Thelyss, a fugitive from the Kryn Dynasty, who previously had experience wandering through these ruins a number of times, guiding you through.

You began to traverse the subterranean ice-covered layers, the strange and oddly magical and magic altering auras that occasionally flow through this space. You found the shattered, broken, and in some cases still locked-in-time memory of this ancient mage city. As you began to delve towards the central portion of the Genesis Ward, in which, looking for information on this locale that came up in the interrogation, the Occultus Thalamus seemed to be tied to what Ludinus and the Vanguard had been doing down here and where he likely will be. You investigated a Vanguard tent, finding the people within had all been slaughtered, Vanguard members, bloodily, and it looked like one of their own had done the deed before killing themselves after carving an odd symbol into their chest with a blade. During this investigation, some heavy thuds were heard nearby, and as you all gathered yourselves and darted off into the nearby shadows, some strange creature began to lumber around.

Part I[]

Double Lightning Bolt by Odd

Fan art of a double Lightning Bolt, by Odd.[art 2]

Void Puppet by Dim

Fan art of Laudna summoning a screaming spirit, by Dim.[art 3]

As the hugely tall creature and its accompanying eight small translucent scorpion-like creatures begin looking for the party, they attack. Ashton enters a time rage and hammers a scorpion, discovering while killing one that they splash acid and cling to weapons when wounded. The other scorpions attack doing piercing and acid damage to Ashton. Fearne casts a Flaming Sphere on the large creature. Orym does a successful goading attack against it, wounding it but learning it has a 15-foot reach with its sledgehammer when he suffers an attack of opportunity after retreating for significant damage. Essek casts Gravity Fissure killing four more scorpions but also damaging Fearne and Ashton significantly. The large creature lumbers to Orym, biting and holding him with its stomach mouth, wounding and grappling him. It then hits Dorian with its sledgehammer and sending him flying and prone, but Dorian immediately uses his winged boots to move into position for a joint attack casting Lightning Bolt on it with Imogen. However, it doesn't seem to do quite as much damage as they expected. Wild magic hits Imogen, however, and she accidentally casts Fireball on herself, Laudna, and a scorpion. Chetney casts Shatter, then transforms into his hybrid form. Laudna uses Void Puppet to summon a spirit in the form of the young blonde halfling hanged from the Sun Tree at the same time as Laudna, then Fireballs the remaining scorpions and wipes them out.

That leaves only the large creature. Ashton Hyper Rages to gain speed and an additional attack and whacks it. Fearne casts Scorching Ray but learns it is immune to fire. Still being chewed on, Orym takes more damage and feels it attempt to suck magic from him. He Misty Steps onto its arm and attacks four times, killing it. In the sudden quiet, Chetney hears far away movement. While the others investigate the bodies and clean up, Dorian gives a Motivational Speech to give 10 temporary hit points and advantage on Wisdom saves to everyone except Laudna and Chetney. They stealth to a nearby tower and Orym sees several hound-like creatures sniffing around below. He also notices faint sunlight coming from above, and that the ceiling here is solid ice through to the surface. Essek proposes they take a short rest, and as they do two more ape-like creatures wander through. Later, they see a long filament fall from a creature on the ceiling, sticking to one of the hound-creatures and pulling it upward.

The Descent into Aeor - Shara Maestache

Fan art of the descent, by Shara Maestache.[art 4]

After their rest, they get ready to continue onward, and Essek suggests using magic to aid their journey. They all begin flying (Orym carried piggyback by Dorian) and move further downward into the buried, ruined city. Essek comments on the amount the Ruby Vanguard has removed. When they reach the eighth level, formerly devoted to arcane experimentation, Essek indicates this is possibly where the Occultus Thalamus might be located. They follow him to an outcropping overhanging the deep pit through the center of the Genesis Ward, where in a semi-intact room they find the remains of another Ruby Vanguard encampment.

They all suddenly hear a dull hum or breath from further within before it fades, and when Orym lights an oil lantern, he sees a streak of humanoid blood leading into a dark tunnel ahead holding many footprints. Laudna summons Pâté and sends him invisibly scouting down the tunnel.

Break[]

Part II[]

Following Pâté and the trail of blood, they all move cautiously further into the ruins, eventually reaching a room that Essek indicates is the furthest he has ever been. Previously, however, he had found an old notebook here that referred to "the Thalamus", which is why he thought it might be found nearby. Orym asks about Essek's partner, the person with whom he traveled here before, and is told his name is Bren and he is a powerful magic practitioner who also teaches on occasion. Still following the scouting Pâté, they continue slowly exploring rooms, find among others a room holding a stone slab bearing a glowing glyph and multiple ancient bodies. Orym enters and hears a faint noise from within a large opaque glass tube. When Essek enters, he identifies the glyph as an arcane locking mechanism and the room as being used for experimentation in the school of enchantment.

Eventually Pâté reaches a hub-like room with tunnels leading out from each of its four sides. From its ceiling, multiple wicked-looking black chains dangle down, some with hooks at the end and over a dozen with bodies speared onto those hooks. Pâté is able to determine that the bodies are relatively recent and wearing Ruby Vanguard regalia. Over half of them wear the same manic, euphoric smile as on the murder/suicide perpetrator they found earlier. The floor is also piled in tangled, knotted chains. Laudna shares this with the party, but her connection to Pâté is suddenly severed.

Losing patience with the party's discussion and dithering, Chetney sets off down the hallway to the room where Pâté disappeared, followed by the others. When Chetney reaches the room, the floor is wet with pools of fresh blood under some of the many bodies and Pâté lies in the floor in two separate pieces. Chetney's Hunter's Bane smells a distinct fiendish odor in the room, and Laudna determines the chains were conjured through the stone. Chetney transforms into hybrid form.

A very uneasy Essek pulls out a brass bracelet bearing a finger bone that allows the wearer to cast Speak with Dead twice per day, and Imogen volunteers to use it. They choose a fresh, non-smiling body, and she learns the creature that did this to him was called Dominox, the whispers in their heads. The group was to hold the chamber, when one of their own lifted him onto a hook where he bled out. He thinks this started with the Engine Room.

Teven Klask - SleepySkeh

Fan art of Teven Klask, by SleepySkeh.[art 5]

Fearne uses Mage Hand to pull open the robes of a smiling body, finding the same rune as on the body in the tent. She asks the others if they think she should try using her connection with the devil Teven Klask, and decides to try. When she kisses the symbol his kiss left on her hand, Teven appears before them and announces, "The pact begins." They ask him about Dominox, and he responds that's a name not uttered in a long time. Dominox is a grand demon who was not seen throughout The Calamity, and an enemy of the devils. Since Asmodeus (whom Teven serves) does not want Predathos unleashed, Teven will stay with the party for a time, but he is not encouraging about slaying a Grand Demon. He identifies the sigil carved into the flesh of some of the bodies as Dominox's sigil, the carving of gifting, by those who offer what he desires: their oblivion.

Chetney goes randomly to one of the exit doors from the room to inspect it. As he does, he turns to look at the group and instead of his friends, he sees a dozen children with bloody claw marks across their bodies. They ask if he has forgotten the terrible things he has done, and how many more he will kill. In a panic, Chetney backs up against a wall, unable to hear Bells Hells calling to him. The others see and hear only Chetney, no children. Telling himself he's dreaming, Chetney pushes the door open, but a child stands in the way and he sees flashes of himself running through a forest and slashing her. Chetney knows there are pieces of his early life as a werewolf that he does not remember, and more horrific visions come. When Orym places a hand on his shoulder, Chetney feels a blade and swipes at it, hitting Orym's shoulder. He continues to perceive the children, crying out that he can make it right, when suddenly he is released and can see Orym and the room again, realizing it was all in his head.

Dorian gives another Motivational Speech giving advantage on Wisdom saves to everyone but Orym, Ashton, and Fearne. Chetney makes a Grim Psychometry check of the room, finding an intense demonic presence and visions of people being thrown onto hooks, and then putting themselves onto them voluntarily. Imogen uses Essek's bracelet again to speak to another body, learning that Dominox was captured through the Pinion of Service, an abyssal soul anchor that was used by ancient Aeorians to contain shadow magic and prevent a demon returning to the Abyss upon death, leaving Dominox shackled to the engine to which he returns when slain by the engine's extraction process. The body points the way to the engine, the doorway Chetney almost went through. The body believes the engine should be on, with the seals intact, and as long as they are, Dominox should be harmless. Dominox feeds on insecurity, introducing the suffering of self-loathing until the victim presents themself to oblivion.

Dorian has followed the chains, inspecting them, and suddenly notices that one of the bodies dangling from the ceiling is that of Cyrus, his recently deceased brother, who looks at him, accusing him of never letting him fix his own mistakes, and causing his death.

Featured characters[]

Quotations[]

  • Orym: (about FCG) It feels needlessly cruel that they're not here right now.
    Ashton: Like most cruelty is needless.
    Essek: That's what makes it cruelty, isn't it?
  • Teven Klask: (to Fearne) You called me. I told you I'd come when you called. The pact begins. What do you require?
  • Aeorian body: Dominox feeds on insecurity.
    Imogen: Oh, god.
    Ashton: We're fucked. I, for one, welcome our new demonic master.

Inventory[]

Adjustment Count Item Source Destination Notes
Acquired 1 Oil lantern The Genesis Ward Orym

Trivia[]

Bells Hells line up - C3 intro

Bells Hells, by Kamille Areopagita and Kevin Areopagita from "Ancient Sins" (3x97).[art 6]

  • In the intro Dorian was finally added to the party line up, which still maintains FCG in it.
  • Marisha Ray brought back her black fan, this time with the phrase "SHADOW DADDY???",[1] a reference to Essek Thelyss as the former Shadowhand of the Kryn Dynasty, and to a recent fantasy romance trope describing an attractive male love interest with dark-themed powers, with at least slightly villainous touches but ultimately involved with the protagonist for one reason or another.
  • When Laudna used Void Puppet to summon a screaming spirit from her past she brought one of the people that was hanged with her in the Sun Tree, a young blond woman, possibly of halfling blood.[2] Although this is a reference to a character briefly featured in The Legend of Vox Machina as Pike Trickfoot's double, in Campaign One the character was never present because the Briarwoods never met Pike before going back to Whitestone. Thus, if the blond woman existed in the campaign, she might have been hanged like Laudna, but not displayed in the Sun Tree for the same reason.
  • Assuming Exandrian gravity is the same as Earth's, if Essek's coin took about 25-30 seconds to fall[3], the hole in the middle of the Genesis Ward is about 1.9-2.7 miles (3.1-4.4 km) deep.[4]

References[]

  1. See "Ancient Sins" (3x97) from 29:15 through 30:30.
  2. See "Ancient Sins" (3x97) from 46:55 through 47:25.
  3. See "Ancient Sins" (3x97) from 1:41:45 through 1:42:20.
  4. See the Free Fall Calculator. Thanks to @MintisMusings for pointing this out.

Art:

  1. Fan art of the hammer creature, by Jason deBit (source). Used with permission.
  2. Fan art of a double Lightning Bolt, by Odd (source). Used with permission.
  3. Fan art of Laudna summoning a screaming spirit, by Dim (source). Used with permission.
  4. Fan art of the descent, by Shara Maestache (source). Used with permission.
  5. Fan art of Teven Klask, by SleepySkeh (source). Used with permission.
  6. Bells Hells, by Kamille Areopagita and Kevin Areopagita from "Ancient Sins" (3x97). Used with permission.
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