Critical Recap: Critical Role C4E20 “The Vanishing”

Hello and welcome to Critical Recap! I’m Jared Deiro, the Critical Role Junior Lore Keeper. Let’s get right into Critical Role Campaign 4 Episode 20 The Vanishing!

NOTHING TO FEAR

Chilling winds howl across the sands of the Eternal Night while Vaelus and Occtis keep watch and the rest of the Seekers sleep. Occtis tells Vaelus how much he appreciates her help on their journey. Vaelus hopes Occtis doesn’t think she is using him to aid her fallen Shaper. When Occtis asks why she is here, Vaelus doesn’t have an answer; she believes they were pulled together for a certain reason.

Occtis binds Tertia’s head to Dame Seremai’s body as Vaelus casts speak with dead. At the edge of the Teneberal Reaches, Vaelus watches as Tertia’s eyes glow beneath the gauze. A translucent spirit of a young, healthy woman appears with spectral wings sprouting from her back, and a lump of fossilized ivory where her heart should be.

Vaelus helps the spirit up, the heavy wings breaking from her back and turning to spectral nightingales. Tertia tells Occtis how proud she was to serve her family and admits that she knew she wouldn’t survive the ritual. Still, she believed she would become something good. Occtis explains what happened and how she became “something else”.

Tertia shouts out, apologizing to her father and Uncle Primus. Suddenly, Vaelus is knocked back as a spectral ichor-covered talon takes Tertia’s spirit away. Vaelus rushes to keep Tertia grounded, but Tertia whispers, “I’m not scared” before her spirit dissipates.

TEAM EMPLOYMENT

Days earlier, back in Dol-Makjar, Murray bursts into Bolaire’s office with a stack of applications on interns interested in working at the Archanade. Murray notices star student, Demodus Blix, isn’t in the stack. Bolaire doesn’t like knowing that Demodus may be missing. He remembers the optimistic young student performing in Sir Ogrimok’s Marketplace, utilizing his signature blue flame illusions in every trick. After the Marketplace closed, Demodus told Bolaire he would talk to Dean Tallbarrel about finding work.

Walking from the Brethren Hall to investigate Palazzo Davinos, Azune makes a quick stop at the Archanade. He gives Bolaire the  misty step glyph, the false glyph, and the black candle he found in the Palazzo. Azune feels this is the opportune moment to pit the Houses against each other. With Einfasen in his pocket, and the evidence from Tachonis, he wants the Revolutionary Guard to leave the Palazzo, knowing something terrible happened. Bolaire and Murray agree to help.

Outside the Grey Library in the neighborhood of Marud, Hal watches the king’s hounds search for King Augustus Valian. The hounds recognize the famous playwright while the king’s sister, Duchess Lisabetta, steps out of her carriage. She apologizes to Hal for the loss of his brother and asks if there’s a place for Gus to find good company in the city. Hal suggests the Seven Stars.

Hal eventually makes his way back to the Hallowed Round, where he learns there’s been no word from their Dramatis Arcana, Misha Undragor. Another magic user missing.

THE PALAZZO SCHEME

With Enquirer Groto scanning for magic at his side, Azune senses faded illusions throughout the West Wing of Palazzo Davinos until he eventually finds a small bedroom without ANY magic. In a home of fae sorcerers, Azune feels this room is way too clean. He also notices a desk missing, a wall mended, and a nasty knife mark atop a beautiful table.

Azune brings these reports to Lord Harondus Einfasen while Groto continues to investigate the room. Einfasen notifies Azune that he has been requested by a member of the Chamber of the Lords-Advisory – Azune doesn’t know why. Einfasen finds it difficult to understand Azune, and wonders how many Falconer friends he has that Harondus doesn’t know about. Azune lies to Harondus – There is nothing in Azune’s heart that is in service to that Rebellion. Yes, he had a relationship with Thjazi Fang, but only because Thjazi stole him and other children from their families, forcing them into the rebellion.

Harondus agrees that Thjazi was a villain and apologizes for the torment done to Azune. He tells Azune to serve him well, and Azune’s life will be a fruitful one. Then Harondus immediately expands Azune’s detail along with his responsibilities. In addition to patrolling the Penteveral and the Archanade, Harondus wants Azune to inspect Halandil Fang’s Hallowed Round with the utmost detailed arcane inspection.

Meanwhile, Murray and Bolaire sneak into the Palazzo and finds Groto in the scrubbed room. Murray implants the screams of the murdered Davinos and Royce in Groto’s head, while Bolaire casts a phantasmal force, creating a “recording” of someone in the midst of dying, a last effort to call for help as the family is murdered.

Groto stumbles back, screaming, absorbing all of the visions and sounds. Azune casts a message into Groto’s mind, repeating, “The Priestly Houses are coming for us. ThePriestlyHousesarecomingforusThePriestlyHousesarecomingforus…” Groto stumbles out of the room, telling Azune there was a murder here, “they killed Occtis Tachonis.” With this, the Schemers watch the last candelabra in the room turn to a blue flame before it snuffs out.

Azune pulls Groto away and takes his statement. Azune presents the snapped glyph and Thimble’s hand-drawn image of the Stone of Nightsong to the other investigators.

ARROWS PATH

Azune, Bolaire, and Murray arrive at the Hallowed Round, where Hal has still not seen Misha. Bolaire and Murray realize the blue flame from the Palazzo matched Demodus’s signature blue flame. But what does this all mean?

Murray searches the amphoras of paint, finding a symbol of the ”Hand and Wheel” on the bottom. She senses a faint pit of illusory magic pinging from the paint, but not the amphoras. She looks at Shadia’s murals and feels that the illusion is like a wrapping, a weak magic concealing something important. She senses conjuration and necromancy. Like something right at the cusp of both, with an illusory overlay.

Murray sits in the audience, center row, center seat, staring at the full set. She thinks about Thjazi’s last wishes; Paints, Murray, Thimble, and she casts augury.

She is hit with a wave; she feels that Thjazi has launched an arrow from a bow and died before seeing it hit its mark. The path she walks now is walking towards helping that arrow hit its mark. How much can she trust a liar? How much can she trust a man who believed the world could be fairer? Great strife lies before her. Turn from the path, and the strife will wait for her. Keep going, and she will face that strife in the light, with others by her side. Murray tells Hal that this is gonna be a damn good show. The dance master Drengur Tosh arrives, telling Hal that Misha has been arrested.

LOOSE ENDS

In the late afternoon, Azune takes the Schemers to the Brethren Hall, where they find a stressed Lt. Shemad Il-Kafsareh sitting at the record keeper’s desk. Azune looks at the lieutenant’s report, where Misha has been accused of theft from Obrimus Manor and is being questioned about his accomplice, Demodus Blix.

Hal defends Misha, but Shemad tells them that Misha will walk, only if he talks. They realize Misha is not the target; Demodus is. Hal bribes Shemad with money to release Misha into his care, putting him under house arrest.

They find Misha in a holding cell, manacled to a chair. He tells Hal that he didn’t help anyone steal anything, and Demodus is too kind a kid to ever do that! But yesterday, Demodus told Misha a big job listing from one of the Sundered Houses had come through the university. Demodus asked Misha if he knew anything about faerie music.

The Schemers realize that Misha was a lingering thread, and Demodus is a living witness to what the Tachonis did. They need to find Demodus Blix.

That is it for Episode 20 of Critical Role!

FINAL THOUGHTS

• I know there are a lot of bigger things happening in this city, but man, I LOVE a good Hound scene.
• That play at the Palazzo Davinos was very smooth! Also that Einfasen lie was CLEEAN!
• Yoooo if the Tachonis and the Revolutionary Guard are looking for you, you gotta get the hell outta Dol-Makjar!

Catch Episode 21 of Critical Role Campaign 4 on Thursday, April 2nd at 7pm Pacific on beacon.tv, where Beacon members get access to the entire episode, podcast included! The episode will also release on twitch.tv/criticalrole and on youtube.com/criticalrole and in two parts on our podcast. Is it Thursday yet?