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Axiom Shaken

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"Axiom Shaken" (3x43) is the forty-third episode of the third campaign of Critical Role. Bells Hells seek out answers about the stolen texts from members of the Grim Verity, but the knowledge revealed could change everything they know about the gods of Exandria…

Synopsis[]

Announcements[]

  • Taliesin is unfortunately out tonight due to illness.
  • First sponsor tonight is Cash App. Vince McSam is back to fight the Finger Ladies of Wrestling but his superpower is growing feet on his hand, overpowering the first two combatants with disgust. But The Thumb saves the day, gaining the ladies' release from their eternal contract. Use code CRITROLE for $15 on Cash App.
  • Second sponsor is Battle Spirits Saga, a new trading card game from Bandai, coming Spring 2023. Check out the trailer on Bandai's YouTube channel and comment on its pinned tweet with #BSSxCriticalRole to enter a drawing for test print cards.
  • Reminder, no show next week, but they'll be back on 5 January 2023.
  • The Mighty Nein Origins: Fjord Stone is now available in local comic shops; full release in January. Coming soon: The Mighty Nein Origins: Nott the Brave.
  • Season Two of The Legend of Vox Machina releases 20 January 2023!

Previously on Critical Role[]

So, last we left off, Bells Hells, after finishing their excursion to meet up with the Gorgynei to aid Chetney in dealing with this strange new tethered Ruidus-odd lycanthrope incursion, took on elements of the bestial spirit that existed within the temple, went through the trial, and in doing so, walked away with a little bit of inspiration to move forward with this curse that he bears. All of you then absconded back to the skyship that awaited you, and headed off to the City of Flowing Light, Yios itself. Upon arrival in the evening there in the skyport, lounge, and casino, you played some games of chance. You made some coin; you lost some coin. You gathered a little bit of information about the surroundings, and essentially prepared yourselves for the following day. You booked a room for the night and met an individual named Landon, who was eager to show you around the city for a bit, for a little bit of coin.

He met you first thing in the morning, as you made your way to the bottom part of the tower and then began your first day out amongst the city here in the middle of the lake. Wandering around, you had some tidbits of a history lesson on the town. You managed to eyeball a few interesting locations as you headed toward the northern ward of the city, the ring that contained your destination for the morning: the Aydinlan Seminary. While you walked through the wide, well-groomed streets, you eventually found among the statues of various historical figures who founded and maintained the city of Yios since its first construction, to the grounds of the seminary itself, the high walls and gardened elements, the free-standing archways, and the visage of the massive buildings that form the actual seminary halls. Upon approaching the tall climbing stairs and leaving your companion Landon behind to possibly go about his business and maybe come back around if you need more help wandering through the city, you began to ascend the stairs before FCG heard a familiar sound, and saw a familiar sight.

Part I[]

Fearne sheltering FCG - Cae chromaheart Farrington

Fan art of Fearne sheltering FCG, by Cae "chromaheart" Farrington.[art 1]

The bird-like entity dives at Fresh Cut Grass, defecating on their head although they escape being poisoned. Fearne hides FCG under her dress while Orym uses Bait and Switch to stand in front of them, Imogen hits with Inflict Wounds, and when Fearne hits with Ice Knife the creature tumbles to the ground, unconscious. Chetney grapples it and FCG casts Spare the Dying, but the creature then seems to be slowly healing itself, and Chetney senses it has an undead signature. When FCG casts Speak with Animals and demands what it wants with him, Shithead responds that there's just something about him he has to ruin. He just doesn't like the way he looks. With that, the bird breaks free and flies off, pursued fruitlessly by Pâté de Rolo.

The party then notices Ashton is missing, and when Imogen Sends to them, they reply that they're "following a thing". Laudna confirms she hasn't heard Delilah Briarwood in her head since she was raised from the dead.

They decide to go forward with exploring the Aydinlan Seminary, entering and asking Carolle the receptionist for Ebenold Kai, but are told he cancelled his classes a few months ago and hasn't been there since. He lives in the Vigil Quarter of the Dominion Ring. Kadija Sumal still works at the Seminary, although they're not scheduled to be present until tomorrow at noon. Suddenly, the busy hall grows silent with polite apprehension as a hulking figure enters wearing a bronze mask bearing fine script and symbols but without eyeholes or features. It had arrived in town with a representative from Vasselheim, and Fearne recognizes it as a Judicator, a guardian of one of the High Temples of that city. It silently scans the room and exits, to the relief of the students and faculty present. Carolle says there are at least two currently present in the city, and the Seminary staff has been instructed to leave them alone, as they don't want to get involved in any "messy theological business".

Carolle is reluctant to share Ebenold's home address and is beginning to grow suspicious of their questions. FCG casts Fast Friends on her and she shares the name of the head of automaton studies and directs them there. She also volunteers to escort them to Ebenold's home, and along the way they try to befriend her so she'll still like them when the spell wears off. She admits she has a thriving side business in selling the various knick-knacks she finds, including a "really nice" bronze statue with emerald eyes that had been being used as a paperweight in the Seminary by a Professor Dinon. When they reach the home, Orym gives her 5 platinum as they part.

Chetney in the chimney - thespiceyhoney

Fan art of Chetney in the chimney, by thespicyhoney.[art 2]

The house has a fence in front, and the gate is padlocked. Chetney goes invisible, is boosted by Ferne over the fence and unlocks the gate. He notices the front door is trapped and there is no answer to his knock, so Imogen makes Orym invisible as well and both he and Chetney climb up onto the house while the others act like gardeners. The windows are Alarmed, so they move onto the roof, and Orym warns the rest of the party about approaching sentries. Chetney shimmies down the chimney into the main bedroom, which has an Alarm thread all around it. He steps over it and out while Orym stays on the roof. Chetney catches a faint smell of nervous sweat, but sees nothing. He cautiously explores, then calls out with no response, so he tries to disarm the trap on the front door but sets it off. A black substance spreads out in front of the door, so he opens a window and the rest of the party climb in.

Orym investigates the front room but finds nothing, while Imogen reaches out telepathically and senses two minds beneath them. Chetney lockpicks a rolltop desk, setting off its trap and taking acid damage but finding nothing inside. Meanwhile, FCG moves to the kitchen, taking some baking supplies, and Laudna notices some oddness in the stones of the kitchen wall. Working together, she and FCG pull up the wall into the ceiling, revealing a rough staircase descending into darkness.

Orym and Chetney stealth down, still invisible, and the scent of sweat grows stronger. They hear a voice and see a skull gently tossed to roll in front of them. Its eyes flash searingly white, blinding and frightening Orym. Two figures in the back of the room overturn a table and shelter behind its barricade. Chetney calls for the others, and Orym fearfully asks that the figures not kill them if one of them is Ebenold Kai - they were sent by Roe Estani. As the rest of the party enters, the female half-elven woman with Ebenold finishes reading a scroll, and their corner alights with a large circle of glyphs and symbols on the floor. Ebenold and the woman run into the circle and vanish, followed by Laudna, Imogen, and the rest of the party.

Break[]

Part II[]

The party find themselves in a hot, dim cavern lit by indirect firelight and a channel of slowly flowing lava.[1] Bookshelves and other furniture are scattered about. The two fleeing figures are across the chamber, but Ebenold stops the woman from firing her crossbow at Orym's shout that they have a letter from Roe Estani, which he hands over. Orym tells them they're seeking aid from the Grim Verity as Ebenold reads the letter. He tells her to put down the bow and introduces himself.

Planerider Ryn by Clara

Fan art of Ryn, by Clara.[art 3]

When Imogen suggests the judicators are in Yios looking for them, Ebenold agrees. While he did not steal the ancient texts referring to the two forgotten gods from Vasselheim,[2] his companion Dr. Baryn Vestisho was one of the three who did, and she believes the judicators are pursuing her. Right now, they are all in the Elemental Plane of Fire in Planerider Ryn's home. She has been quietly standing in one corner. Ryn is wary at first, summoning a guardian fire elemental, but the party explains they are also researching Ruidus and following the trail of the Lumas twins.

Imogen shares that she and her mother are both Ruidusborn, and that her powers and the dreams have been increasing, causing Ebenold to wonder if she is an "Exaltant", a Ruidusborn who exhibits particularly strong connections. The lightning marks on her arms are very like some of the others. When Imogen mentions Liliana, her mother, Ebenold knew her.

Ebenold explains there are many members of Grim Verity across Exandria, but he and his compatriots in Yios have been helming the development of the Omen Archive. Meanwhile, Baryn and her group had located some "inconsistencies" in the historical records and had dedicated themselves to finding ancient texts dealing with forgotten gods. One of her compatriots was taken during their recovery of the texts, but she and the other, Janina, escaped to Yios. Janina is now investigating the potential nexus site in the Hellcatch Valley of the coming apogee solstice. Recently, judicators have appeared in Ank'Harel and then Bassuras, where Hondir's home was destroyed. The rest of Grim Verity is scattered and in hiding.

Ryn joined the group through her research into the link between the movement of the ley lines throughout Exandria, producing bursts of energy that coincided with Ruidus's flares. In researching this, she discovered the Omen Archive project and became friends with members of the Grim Verity. She also discovered abnormalities in the two planes closest to the Prime Material: the Feywild and the Shadowfell, where mechanisms with an unknown purpose were being built. The party tells her about the city on Ruidus and the magical woven divine latticework surrounding the moon.

Baryn tells them the contents of the ancient texts: Ruidus was created by the gods during The Founding, when an entity they feared arrived from beyond the stars, called Predathos, which destroyed the deities known as Ethedok, the Endless Shadow, and Vordo, the Fateshaper. The other gods struck an accord with the Primordials, who helped imprisoned Predathos within the moon where it remains, forgotten. However, the recent increase in flare activity, along with the coming apogee solstice, has led Grim Verity to fear that something is about to happen. Their concerns were ignored by the temples of Vasselheim, and they are now being hunted.

The party asks about Otohan Thull. Grim Verity believes that Thull is assembling an army of Ruidusborn in the Hellcatch Valley of Marquet, but they do not know for what purpose. They theorize Predathos is creating anchors to Exandria through the Ruidusborn, and that their powers come from that entity. Liliana was the first and strongest of the Exaltant, but Otohan and the Cerberus Assembly found her and her need for answers overrode her judgment. Ryn's current goal is to stop Otohan from accomplishing what Ryn believes is Thull's goal: to release Predathos.

Fearne tells them that Imogen has advanced abilities, and that she once blew out a city block, and Ryn agrees to try to teach her some control over her power. Ryn also explains that the Cerberus Assembly and Otohan have been building matching devices in the Shadowfell and Fey Realm where the planes overlap to the nexus on Exandria. The Exandrian site is at the excavation of an ancient Tishtan ruin in the Hellcatch Valley commandeered by the Assembly from the Aydinlan Seminary three months earlier. It was the focus site for an apogee solstice many centuries before, leading Ryn to believe the ley lines shift in a recurring pattern.

Ebenold and Ryn both counsel against trying a full-out assault on Otohan's group, as they are seriously outnumbered, but suggest infiltration and stealth. Chetney suggests they have someone on the inside they can take advantage of: Imogen's mother. Laudna suggests Imogen herself could be a double agent, but FCG is convinced it's too potentially dangerous for Imogen's emotional health. Chetney points out they don't even know what the machines do that Otohan and the Assembly are building. Ryn knows only that they have a planar projector or tether aspect, and suggests that the machine in the Shadowfell is the most ramshackle of the three. However, they have a strong potential ally in the Feywild in Fearne's grandmother Morri Calloway, the Fatestitcher. The Exandrian location seems to be the central focus, with the other two being supplementary, but it is also the best guarded. Fearne is only slightly familiar with the Unseelie Court, and doesn't really seem to know all that much about her grandmother. But she remembers that when the Unseelie came after her parents, she was left with Morri because it was somewhere the Court was unlikely to look.

When Ira Wendagoth and his lack of loyalty to any faction is mentioned, Ryn suggests that that chaos might work in their favor. However, Morri seems like their best bet, if they can avoid the time distortions of the Fey Realm. Fearne is excited at the idea of the party visiting her home. Imogen casts Sending to Morri, saying that Fearne wants to come visit and asking if Morri can get them back without time "wibble-wobbles". Morri responds in a terrifying hag-like voice that it's nice to hear from her and tell Fearne to come visit. "I can help... always."

Fearne is thrilled, but they remember they need to pick up Ashton in Yios. Ebenold and Baryn decide to stay with Ryn, for safety, for a while, and Ryn Plane Shifts them back to the cellar in Yios from which they departed. As Chetney runs up the stairs, he hears crashing from above and quickly shuts the secret door. They hear a strange voice telling another to "smell them, then find them".

Featured characters[]

Bells Hells

Returning

New

Mentioned

Quotations[]

  • Planerider Ryn: The wonderful thing about magic is that eventually you become everyone's transport device.
  • Chetney: (dropping Invisibility) It was so hard to find you. Hello, Planerider.
    FCG: Oh, were you searching for a while?
    Chetney: Yes, I'm Planewalker Chetney. I used to ride, but not at this age.
  • Imogen: I'm a strong independent woman.
    FCG: You're strongest when you're with us, and if you're not, then I would just be worried about you.
  • Orym: I think when we got started with all this, we had a lot of personal stakes. A lot of good people were dying for no good reason. Now we all know this is a lot bigger than that even.
  • Planerider Ryn: There's a lot of terrible things coming to Exandria in the next few weeks. Not just this, not just what we're dealing with. This is a historical challenge worldwide for many different interests, good, bad, and in-between. And while I've tried to keep an eye on a few, this seems to be at least my lot to focus on this round. So, it's brought us together. We'll see who else it can bring together as well to help. But this is dangerous. It is likely some of us won't make it through. Just know that where we step, sacrifices will happen and we have to keep our eyes on the prize.

Inventory[]

Adjustment Count Item Source Destination Notes
Transferred 5 Platinum coins Orym Carolle In payment for escorting them to Ebenold's home.
Acquired Baking supplies Ebenold's house FCG
Transferred Letter of introduction Orym Ebenold Kai Roe Estani gave it to Orym to give to Ebenold.

Trivia[]

  • Taliesin Jaffe was not present for this episode due to illness. The character of Ashton Greymoore briefly appeared (played by Matt) via Imogen's Sending.
  • The in-game date at the end of this episode was still 8 Fessuran 843. The apogee solstice will take place in 13 to 15 days.
  • Sam's jerrycan shows a list headed "CR New Years Resolutions":[3]
    • More Shopping Episodes
    • More Beloved Character Deaths
    • Bigger Tongue For FCG

References[]

  1. ↑ This location had been previously visited by the Mighty Nein.  See "Between a Ball and a Hot Place" (2x129) at 0:52:57.
  2. ↑ See "Dark Portents" (3x29) at 2:43:42.
  3. ↑ See "Axiom Shaken" (3x43) from 1:59:15 through 1:59:40.

Art:

  1. ↑ Fan art of Fearne sheltering FCG, by Cae "chromaheart" Farrington (source). Used with permission.
  2. ↑ Fan art of Chetney in the chimney, by thespicyhoney (source). Used with permission.
  3. ↑ Fan art of Ryn, by Clara (source). Used with permission.
v • d • e
Campaign Three Arc 2 episodes
<< Arc 1: Jrusar Arc 2: Ruidus Rising (Episodes 24–51) Arc 3: Separations and Explorations >>
"The Hellcatch Valley" (3x24) • "A Taste of Tal'Dorei" (3x25) • "Hidden Truths" (3x26) • "A Race for the Prize" (3x27) • "The Deathwish Run" (3x28) • "Dark Portents" (3x29)
"Reunion & Revelation" (3x30) • "Breaking Point" (3x31) • "A Stage Set" (3x32) • "Blood and Dust" (3x33)
"What Dreams May Come" (3x34) • "Pyrrhic Return" (3x35) • "A Desperate Call" (3x36) • "From the Boughs" (3x37) • "A Dark Balance" (3x38)
"The Momentum of Murder" (3x39) • "Compulsions" (3x40) • "Call of the Wild" (3x41) • "The City of Flowing Light" (3x42) • "Axiom Shaken" (3x43) • "Bawdy Basement Belligerence" (3x44) • "Ominous Lectures" (3x45)
"Night at the Ligament Manor" (3x46) • "The Fey Key" (3x47) • "An Exit Most Fraught" (3x48) • "The Aurora Grows" (3x49) • "Red Moon Rising" (3x50) • "The Apogee Solstice" (3x51)
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