"Give and Take" (E4x01) is the first episode of Exandria Unlimited: Divergence, beginning just before the Divergence over 800 years before the events of the three main campaigns. As the Calamity continues, a group of prisoners deep within Rybad-Kol plot their escape from the Strife Emperor's fortress...
Synopsis[]
Announcements[]
- Brennan Lee Mulligan welcomes everyone to Exandria Unlimited: Divergence, but turns it over to Matt and the OG guys for a Sam ad reminiscing about how it all used to be, like reading the ad copy for Avowed, available to pre-order now. Also, don't miss Critical Role's "Avowed" one-shot on February 18.
- Matt does the ad for the new Quip 360 electric toothbrush.
- Daggerheart releases May 20.
- Campaign Three: Bells Hells had its grand finale last week in an 8 1/2 hour epic episode.
- See Matt's latest Fireside Chat only on Beacon.
- Merch alert! Bells Hells Final Stand t-shirt coming soon.
- The Chronicles of Exandria - The Mighty Nein Part Two is now available in regular and deluxe editions.
Part I[]
Sundering Lord Azmog, vampiric hobgoblin commander of the garrison of the Steel Keep, a prison camp in Rybad-Kol near the southern tip of the continent of Gwessar (later known as Tal'Dorei), is addressing the thousand assembled prisoners on their knees before him. He informs them that soon they will be marching to fight in the final defeat of the Prime Deities in the forces of the Strife Emperor. The hobgoblin prisoner in his grasp, a secret follower of the Changebringer who had preached the hope for change, recants under the threat of his family being killed before his eyes, but Azmog cruelly kills him anyway, licking the viscera from his fingers before sending the prisoners back to work.
One of his audience, the Dwarven stonemason and prisoner Garen, returns to work in The Pit, with memories of his long-ago, half-forgotten family passing through his mind. He comes out of his reverie to find himself passed out on the ground and being kicked awake by Kuzzle, a goblin enforcer, significantly damaging him. When Garen asks for water, he is further beaten and his water ration given to others. Just then, Rei'nia Saph (or "Nia"), a nurse whose job it is to keep the workers productive despite their horrific treatment, walks through and asks if he wants her help this time. They move off toward The Mop, the infirmary in which Nia works.
Fan art of Lady Cyrulia, by Megzilla87.[art 1]
Meanwhile in The Slop, an enormous kitchen from which the prison is fed and in which Fiedra Marrow is working, she asks her co-workers if anyone has heard from their friend Crokas who assaulted a fellow prisoner and was dragged off. No one has. Acherus Blix, a relatively friendly guard, tells them that Crokas is already at the Hall of Parting and won't be returning, since the prison is sending a carriage of tieflings as frontline soldiers for The Lord of the Hells tonight, and tomorrow morning "a bunch" of dragonborn will be sent to The Scaled Tyrant. Acheris believes Asmodeus intends to attack near Ghor Dranas, while the dragonborn are to be sent north. While Crokas will likely be a soldier, Nia's dragonborn friend Erro will be devoured by Tiamat herself. The only way someone might be removed from this pending caravan is if they were sick, and then they'd be put in the Wandering Walls (the oubliettes) and left there. Suddenly, Lady Cyrulia, a beautiful, gowned, pale woman with hundreds of fish-like teeth comes in to request a special dinner for eight to be served tonight in the high tower of the Steel Keep. Fiedra decides to visit Nia in The Mop to explore the sickness idea.
Elsewhere in an enormous black-spired hall, a fire giant caravan awaits, commanded by Captain Rustgut. It has been filled by chained prisoners, one of which is Erro Mordaurum, an elderly gold dragonborn in tattered and filthy clothing. Sitting across from him is Crokas, an enormous and strong white dragonborn in more restraints than the others. Rustgut addresses them, telling them they have the honor of being sent either to the Scaled Tyrant, or to the front lines. Either way, they'll die.
Back in The Mop, Nia has tended Garen's injuries when Barbithrix enters, checking on which of the injured have outlived their usefulness. When he leaves, Fiedra comes to talk to Nia, but while they're gone, Garen notices mice in the infirmary, which is very unusual. There is a small spark of green in their eyes. Following them into a hole, Garen finds a living root, for the first time in more than a century. Then, he notices tiny fleas on the mice, some of which begin biting him and the other patients leaving tiny glows that quickly fade. Meanwhile, Fiedra tells Nia that their dragonborn friends are about to be sent to their deaths, but that she has an idea: Crokas has a small harmless growth on his neck. She could tell the guards it's contagious, and the dragonborn all need to be checked. Nia immediately agrees. They realize Garen might know about the construction of the oubliettes to which sick prisoners would be taken, and Garen hints that he knows their weak points.
Nia goes to to the Halls of Parting, where she persuades Rustgut and the high priestess Sata'al to let her inspect the dragonborn prisoners. She convinces them that Crokas' mottled scales and neck growth are signs of something contagious and serious. However, Sata'al will agree to delay the departure only of the six dragonborn immediately around Crokas, who are to be put into the oubliettes. The others go to their deaths as planned. When Nia attempts to argue, Sata'al is calm but deadly in telling her she and her opinions are nothing.
Meanwhile, Fiedra goes to the tower where Sundering Lord Azmog is serving dinner to many of the more vicious guards and officers along with Lord and Lady Callister and their young son. There, she overhears in conversation that in a recent battle between the gods, the Arch Heart struck out one of the Ruiner's eyes, and things are not going well for many others of the Betrayer Gods: they are missing and presumed dead. Remaining are the Lord of the Hells, the Strife Emperor, and the Scaled Tyrant. However, many of the Prime Deities are injured or missing as well. Bored by the conversation around him, the young boy has been playing at the table when his father plunges a knife into his hand to stop him, then continues conversing as though nothing happened. As Feidra clears his plate, the child whispers, "It's okay, I wouldn't want to help me either."
Break[]
- Promos for sponsors Avowed (coming February 18, 2025) and the Quip 360 toothbrush.
- Promos for Daggerheart, Beacon, Narrative Telephone, Unend, and The Re-Slayer's Take Season 2.
- Merch Alert! Bells Hells last stand, Whitestone is for lovers, and Hope Blooms t-shirts not in AU; Taste of Tal'Dorei t-shirt in US and Canada only; Grog denim jacket, Scanlan boxers and sleep mask, Lavish Chateau bathrobe and plaid pajamas in all shops;
- Welcome to Tal'Dorei and Welcome to Wildemount soundtrack albums 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.
- Beacon doesn't help in an escape room.
Part II[]
Left alone in the infirmary, Garen looks outside and notices black birds flying in the distance, which give him a strange feeling of nausea. He climbs upward for a better view and sees something gigantic and red to the west, and after a moment realizes it is the Strife Emperor moving upon the land, and that he needs to take cover. Meanwhile, Erro and Crokas are taken to the incredibly narrow Wandering Walls oubliettes, where Crokas gets stuck but they realize they have some time now. Nia and Fiedra return to the infirmary where Garen tell them of the god's approach. Nia thinks they can use this as a distraction. When she goes to gather her medical supplies, she finds that her contraband locket holding the picture of her sister Liana is glowing from within. She opens it, releasing a cloud of glowing, minuscule fireflies, and when one bites her, it bestows the effects of the Bless spell on her.
Garen leads them through secret ways to the oubliettes and to a location where they break in and connect up with Erro, attracted by the noise, but there's no way the larger Crokas can get there. Just then, guards notice Fiedra and chase her into the hole as well where Garen hammers the first pursuer. The other guards run off for reinforcements and the rest of the party reaches the stuck Crokas just as the ground shakes and they hear a cracking sound as hundreds of long, spindly finger-like roots reach into the hallway ahead of them and begin growing toward them, blocking the way forward and with a portcullis behind them. Erro uses his fire breath, beginning to soften the metal of the lock, and Nia's locket glows again, filling the air with glowing fireflies that bite the rest of the party, Blessing them as well. Garen realizes the noise and the tremors are caused by an entire tower being ripped from the ground and they are all flung prone. The roots growing toward them avoid the fireflies, which protects the party from being harmed, but they are trapped.
From outside they hear the sounds of mighty battle, with god-like lightning and thunder. Eventually the noise recedes and a wave of several thousand mice rush past as a wolf howls in the distance. Garen, Erro, and Crokas continue to work at the door as a strange silence descends outside and after some hours manage to break it down. The group proceeds cautiously, finding the fortress prison largely reduced to rubble by the battle: the Steel Keep has been thrown two miles into a mountainside, while other towers have been torn down by briars. Some of the followers of the Strife Emperor appear to have been slain by hordes of mice or killed by larger beasts (including a huge bear and some prehistoric beasts), while others were beheaded by a tide of rapidly growing thorny vines. A group of fire giants was felled by a powerful blast of lightning. Azmog, the vampiric leader of the prison and its garrison, was incinerated by a catastrophic burst of sunlight, presumably from the Dawnfather. The evidence left is of a mighty battle between the gods.
The group has escaped their prison into ruin and an ash-filled wilderness. Their friends have presumably died in the massive chaos of battle. Aided by the Wildmother's mice, Erro succeeds in finding his possessions, including the map of Gwessar that he spent decades crafting. Looking at it, he notices a tiny insect and when it takes wing, it leaves a small phosphorescent glow at the location of a pass with which he is familiar at the bottom of the Stormpoint Mountains, far to the north.
While the others also search for and locate some of their treasured possessions, Garen notices that almost all the dead are soldiers rather than prisoners and that the scene has the appearance of an ambush. He wonders how long the mice and fleas had been scouting before the final attack. The prisoners appear to have fled generally northeast, but he finds two survivors and former companions of Nia (Starmian Fiddleflask and Gond Gulfsome). Fiedra digs through the ruins and finds some food, while the group notices that pieces of the Strife Emperor's armor are strewn everywhere but the body of the god himself is nowhere to be seen.
Fan art of Crokas carrying the children, by Lyadrielle.[art 2]
The group discusses what to do now. There are 12 of them: the five party members, plus Starmian, Gond, and the five rescued dragonborn including Marlath. They decide to head north toward Torm's Hill, hidden in a line of blasted trees, but food and water quickly become an issue. Erro is able to use druidic magic to create a small, furtive bonfire and enough sustenance from a single pinecone to feed almost everyone, but as the days go on they grow hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, slowing them. Starmian approaches Nia in the night as they are getting in truly bad shape, and (along with Erro) they walk a little bit searching for water, but his exhaustion and thirst overtakes him. Saying he just wants to feel water once more, he tries to start back to their fire, but falls to the ground and dies. Nia keeps moving forward but after only a few steps there is a flash of lightning and rain begins to fall. Erro and Nia look up and see a distant colossus moving across the land, the Lord of Storms.
The rest of the group, awakened by the rainfall, can see the god's glow through the trees. They move to the edge of the trees to see better and find Starmian's body. Picking it up, they join the others watching the approach of the Stormlord. Crokas, unfamiliar with gods, does not realize what he is looking at, but the god meets his gaze directly. Seeing Crokas has exhausted himself by using his strength to carry the dragonborn children, the Stormlord tells him, "That is what strength is for." He exhales a mist around Crokas, telling him that the gods are leaving forever and he hopes he will be strong. With that, he strides away, but when the mist clears, Crokas sees at his feet a thick leather belt clasped with dragon ivory, Stormgirdle.
The falling rain is now becoming chilling. They need shelter, and have only themselves to rely on.
Featured characters[]
Player Characters
Returning
- The gods
Mentioned
- Donaea, a former companion of Erro
- The gods
- Yari, cousin of Garen's grandchild (in a memory)
New
- Acherus Blix, a prison guard
- Asha, Garen's niece (in a memory)
- Azmog, the Sundering Lord
- Barbithrix, a prison worker
- Celdria, dragonborn child
- Celeste, mother and rescued dragonborn
- Celwyn, dragonborn child
- Coswald, one of the rescued dragonborn
- Callister family, visiting nobles
- Lord and Lady Callister and their young son
- Lady Cyrulia, an undead-looking noble[1]
- Dari, Garen's son (in a memory)
- Gond Gulfsome, Nia's former traveling companion
- The Iron Scorpion, a visiting dignitary
- Kuzzle, a goblin enforcer
- Liana, Nia's sister
- Marlath, rescued bronze dragonborn prisoner
- Mizphir, the Aching Prince, a visiting noble
- Oghman, Garen's relative (in a memory)
- The Roaches, workers in The Slop with Fiedra
- Rufus, Barbithrix' servant and actuary
- Captain Rustgut
- High Priestess Sata'al of the Strife Emperor
- Starmian Fiddleflask
Official art of the EXU Divergence party, by Hannah Friederichs.[art 3]
Quotations[]
- Kuzzle: (to Nia) We knock 'em down; you set 'em up.
- Erro: (greeting the rescuing Nia) Is there a part two of this plan?
- Starmian Fiddleflask: (being discovered in the rubble, coughing) I'm dead.
Garen: If only it was so easy. - Nia: If the rain never comes, we make our own.[3]
- The Stormlord: Are you afraid?
Crokas: Y-y-yes.
The Stormlord: Will you flee?
Crokas: Would it help? - The Stormlord: We are leaving, forever. You witness the final miracles. You will need to be strong. You will need to stand and lift up those who cannot lift themselves. Our age of doing so is at an end. I hope you will be strong.
Trivia[]
- The twelve survivors of the prison who set out northward together were: Celdria, Celeste, Celwyn, Coswald, Crokas, Erro Mordaurum, Fiedra Marrow, Garen, Gond Gulfsome, Marlath, Starmian Fiddleflask, and Rei'nia Saph ("Nia").
References[]
Art:
- ↑ Fan art of Lady Cyrulia, by Megzilla87 (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Crokas carrying the children, by Lyadrielle (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Official art of the EXU Divergence party, by Hannah Friederichs (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
- ↑ Fan art of Crokas and the Stormlord, by Odd (source). Used with permission.
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