Critical Recap: Age of Umbra: Sallowlands Ep 6 “The Ancient Wound”

Hello and welcome to Critical Recap! I’m Jared Deiro, the Critical Role Junior Lore Keeper. Let’s dive into Age of Umbra: Sallowlands Episode 6 The Ancient Wound!

OURS FOR THE TAKING

Dilly crawls slowly to Mercy’s body and breaks off two ribbons of mycelium, turning it into a sash. Among the cliffs above, the beastfolk, the templars, Oathwell faithfuls, and many more fight in a chaotic frenzy.

Sister uses her death connection on the fallen priest, attempting to find a memory of what’s going on below. She sees droves of red-fleshed thralls and creatures of demonic heritage from the city digging and scheming for something that calls to them below.

After the survivors take a short rest, they scurry further down the crevasse, hearing the figures above drawing closer.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN

A vision comes to Dilly while traveling; she senses a beautiful, verdant landscape. She watches a figure with black hair and red robes walk among his people as they help each other gather vegetation beneath an ivory-and-red temple. Dilly feels a sense of warmth – a love for what this world was and a destiny the faithful felt. Dilly feels love from a partner as green eyes lock onto them — she snaps back.

The deeper the group goes, the closer the lines of strange purple arcane scripture become, and the scent of decay grows stronger. Dilly averts her eyes from the core. She doesn’t want to be pulled in again.

Sister and Dilly feel a tug at the edges of their minds as they sense a new vision: a gathering of the new faithful marching toward the city of Amber Reach. A bright light smites the land from above as the Usurper and his people are buried in darkness. Over time, the Usurper’s people pass, while he cannot, and the Usurper is forever sealed in isolation.

The survivors keep going. The arcane source takes shape as a perfect, thrumming sphere of vibrant, violet hue. Sister, Caguama, and Dilly feel the visions return.

CRY FOR HELP

FLASHES of images flow through them: a cerulean mountainscape, an alien starry sky, the city, a subterranean flame. The city flashes from world to world, like a traveler of many realms. The Usurper took this as his chance, and when he screamed, the city came – or perhaps it was just luck.

They watch shapes of massive, twisted, incredible black church-like spires. A woman in massive wings and a scythe wipes blood from her face. FLASH. A multi-armed leviathan with a trident and octopus limbs. FLASH. A flaming goatheaded horned beast. FLASH.

The Usurper reaches out for any who would listen. Exemplar knights, elements of Oathwell faithful, and figures who have been in this city through multiple realms all come together for one final ritual. Then, with the citywide sigil complete, the city of Mourningstar is sent back into the ether and away from the Halcyon Domain. The Usurper, now able to see a purple light breaking through his prison, knows that his cage is exposed and weakened.

As the Survivors reach the base, they bear witness to the 20-ft. thrumming sphere with bone-like hooks holding it in place. The violet blinks to a vibrant red as a massive skeletal arm wearing a black-and-red-shrouded robe, with a head of endless skulls and a bone-carved scythe, emerges.

A battle breaks out as the Usurper and a horde of skeletons crawl out of the sphere and attack the survivors. In her final moments, Sister looks to Dilly and asks them to find her Veiled Sisters. She then steps up to reclaim this creature into nature’s cycle – her spores fly out and into the Usurper’s bones. Then, as light pours from Sister, fungus erupts from the ground and devours the creature.

THE CYCLE

With the dust and spores settled, Dilly takes Sister’s veil and makes it a shoulder cape. The three survivors see a golden glow of divine spark beneath the remains of the Usurper. Caguama and Dilly start pushing their way into his remains. They can hear the soldiers closing in behind them.

They put the mote of light into Caguama’s staff as Caguama thinks of home. Bolts are fired at the group, and feathers sprout from Caguama’s shell. The survivors take flight, just as a bolt hits Dilly. With their fingers slipping, they feel the golden wings hold them, seeping love and health into their body.

The survivors fly from the wound, soar across the Sallowlands, and blast toward the Rustsaw Wood, where they find the subterranean tunnels leading to the Veiled Sisters’ home.

Upon entering the throne room, Dilly goes to the one that appears to be the leader. Dilly recounts their journey. They want to give the golden light to the Sisters. She places the light on the unmoving Sister’s lap, and the mote of miracles fades into her. The golden glow passes through her legs into the ground, into the splay of mycelium that interweaves through the space. The tunnels are suffused with golden light.

Then one by one, each Veiled Sister wakes up and the long-withering Rustsaw begins to find renewed vibrance, becoming the first healthy forest since the Age of Umbra began.

EPILOGUE

Dillwyn lives the rest of their life in the Rustsaw Woods, where she finds a new family and becomes guardian of the wood.

Caguama returns to Desperloch to live a peaceful life with their son.

Alphonse and Bowen travel to the Sorrowheart Sanctum, where Alphonse hands Bowen his helmet and spreads Marianne’s ashes, setting them both free.

That’s it on Episode 6 and this season of Age of Umbra: Sallowlands, friends!

FINAL THOUGHTS

• I need more about this traveling city… what the hell. This is awesome.
• NOOooooO! Not Sister!!
• BUT YAY! Sister’s sacrifice saved her home – how beautiful! The Umbra tides are turning………… ?

Catch our return to Aramán with Episode 32 of Campaign 4 on Thursday, August 27th 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!?