Critical Recap: Exandria Unlimited Divergence – Episode 3 “Mirror and Key”

Hello! Welcome to Critical Recap! I’m Dani Carr, the Critical Role Lore Keeper. Let’s dive into our recap of Exandria Unlimited: Divergence Episode 3: Mirror and Key!

FREE PEOPLES

People greet the morning in Torm’s Hill, mesmerized by the return of the sun and areas of green that have sprouted overnight. It is a potent symbol of renewal to stoke the fire that now exists in the people, thanks to the party yesterday. The group prepares to leave in search for Liana, Nia’s sister, and everyone says their goodbyes to the free people of Torm’s Hill. Fiedra instructs the Roach Gang to protect the town and Celeste gives Crokas a symbol of the Knowing Mentor – the hands are open to hold knowledge. She wants him to hold the knowledge of who he truly is.

The group travels up the mountainside, this time with a better grasp of their surroundings. They won’t have to worry about the elements destroying them, though it is very cold. They get lost, seeing a skeleton army in a massive pit that forces them to double back. They come upon a watch tower that Erro does not recall from his previous time here and at night, they meet the tower’s lone guardian – a goblin named Captain Gubbling. He is the guardian of Snowgrave Pass and a follower of the Strife Emperor.

Captain Gubbling is surprised to hear that Rybad-Kol has fallen. A week ago, he watched a celestial smite a demon and destroy an undead army. That celestial asked him if he believed in a world of freedom, where beings should be free and live in peace. His heart responded yes, but the other guards had different answers – he is the only survivor. Gubbling never even took a life, calling himself a faithless servant and a coward. They point him to Torm’s Hill and he tells them he saw Liana four months ago, alive and hale. He’ll find the Roach Gang, at Crokas’ suggestion.

ASH AND SNOW

The group stays the night at the watch tower, taking some armor and weapons. Garen recognizes a block in the watch tower as the same block that fell in the quarry and crushed his arm. He hammers a symbol of the All-Hammer into the block to make a sign of hope – the world can change through the love of creation. The next day, Erro successfully leads the group to the snowy lake of Snowgrave Pass. He is clearly moved to be back and opens up about his life.

Erro is from Seagate in Issylra. His parents were devout followers of the Platinum Dragon who assisted refugees traveling to Vasselheim. His father was killed when the armies of the Lord of the Hells spilled into his village. He and his mother fled across the sea to Gwessar, where they met a man named Skoll who taught Garen to survive the wilds. They found community, but it eventually fell to sickness. His mother passed and he was raised by Skoll, who also died. Then Erro was alone, with no faith left.

He traveled here and met a white dragonborn named Donaea. He found belief again with her at his side and the two lived here together for over a year. Then the Strife Emperor’s forces found them. Erro’s throat was cut and Donaea killed three of them before she was killed on this very rock. Erro killed the last of them and fled, giving up again. Donaea would tell him change is coming, even then. Nia and Garen comfort him on his loss and the change he has experienced.

WHAT’S HIDDEN

The group, still led by Erro’s map and the mark placed by a magic firefly, finds an ascending path along the mountainside, where the moon lights their path. Fiedra opens a pathway into the stone itself, discovering a hidden chamber in the mountains that is filled with treasures of the world, like books and art. Nia notices a symbol of the Moonweaver carved into a wall and Erro sees a shield he immediately recognizes – his mother’s shield when she was a paladin of the Order of the Last Banner. She called it Honor’s Last Stand.

Fiedra spots a magical looking key with a red ruby that points her to a crossbow called Condemner. There is a beautiful hammer, the Hearth’s Hammer, that Garen is drawn to and feels like he recognizes, and a beautiful fey mirror that Nia picks up. Crokas finds a chest labeled “Agrupnin Vault” – within it is a beautiful golden orb. It fits perfectly in the hands of the symbol that Celeste gifted him.

Nia looks in the mirror and sees her sister behind her. Liana shushes her and rushes up the stairs. Nia goes invisible and follows, taking the Moon’s Mirror with her. Outside, Liana is somehow on the other mountain peak. The two sisters yell to each other across the snow and wind. Liana tells her that she always loved her and that they couldn’t think of any other way. Nia watches as Liana’s body falls to the ground.

SISTERS OF THE MOON

Nia feels confusion and rage bubbling inside her. She shouts at the moon above, bargaining with a god. She and her sister had promised to meet on the moon. Nia hears Liana’s voice in the wind, telling her to come to her side. If she believes, she won’t fall. As the others watch, Nia steps on solid moonlight and crosses the air to her sister’s side. The Moonweaver herself appears above Nia. She is wearing Liana’s face. She is Liana. Liana is the Moonweaver.

Liana shrinks to Nia’s size and holds her, promising they will be sisters in the moonlight. She always knew there was something inside her. Liana tells Nia to find their parents in Vasselheim. The gods are leaving and putting a blanket of magic over the world so the gods can never harm it again, but their love will pass through the gate. Liana ensured it, because the love of a sister is strong enough to cross any barrier.

The Moonweaver will be the first god to leave. There was no gift greater than the mortal life she shared with her. Liana tells Nia to prove to mortals that the gods won’t really be gone. She will be the first cleric to wield the power of a departed god and she must teach the others.

ORBS AND HORNS

Below, the others watch this miracle and Crokas realizes that his mind is running faster than it ever has before as things begin to compute. The Orb of Avalir is affecting his mind, raising his intelligence and bestowing knowledge upon him. Fiedra touches the orb and sees it being passed from talon to talon through generations, until an eisfuura with a symbol of an eye and wielding twin hawks gives it to Liana. She sees Liana collecting these vestiges and laying Donaea to rest.

Nia wants to go to Vasselheim, the last city of safety. She knows she has to share this knowledge with the faithful of the city. It’s no longer about surviving – it’s about building the world to come. Erro will go where Nia goes, but Garen wants to go north to the ruins of Uthtor. He agrees to take them to the sea to find a ship, then decide where to go from there. Before leaving, Erro writes a note in celestial – if the world is just, let hope be reforged. He pins it to the door and the Hallow spell is cast on the chamber.

They travel across what will one day become the Mornset Countryside for eight days. They meet giant treants who give them coconut sized nuts of healing while on their way to reseed the poisoned south. Erro teaches Crokas to speak draconic. They come across devils of the Lord of the Hells battling a horde of unicorns. They join the fight and nearly fall, but the healing nuts keep them from staying down. They slay the devils with the aid of the unicorns and Erro’s shield enters its awakened state.

UNUSUAL AID

Gryphons of the Archheart descend and the tide turns, with the remaining devils fleeing back to the Hells. The unicorns point them to a road that will lead them to a harbor. If there are any ships to take, they will be there. They eventually arrive at a small village by the road’s end, where they meet a gnome named Armley and a half-elf seafarer named Tristan, who agrees to guide them to the harbor. He leads them to the Narrows, but there are no ships docked.

That night, Fiedra hears a voice – her key has begun speaking to her. Key wants to do what keys do, which is unlock places. So if she wants to find a ship, Key can find her a ship. The ruby glows and Key finds a door on the water. Fiedra has to formally ask, though. She does and Key sends a beam of red light toward the ocean. The ship with its door will be here in the morning.

True to Key’s word, a ship arrives and bears a familiar face – Grenalin, a soldier of Vasselheim and one of Erro’s parents’ former adventuring friends. A sailor in the crow’s nest saw the beam of red light, so they came looking for survivors. The crew will take them to Vasselheim, but Garen is unsure if he should join them. Garen needs to go to the Cliffkeep and is getting old. Erro promises Garen that he will personally get Garen back, so he agrees to the journey.

That is it for Episode 3 of Exandria Unlimited: Divergence!

FINAL THOUGHTS

• A trove of Vestiges of Divergence! Is that cache still there? Still undiscovered in present day Tal’Dorei?
• The key is likely the Infiltrator’s Key. Chattier than expected, though. And we got Patia’s Orb! The Agrupnins kept it safe!
• The love of a sibling is strong enough to break any barrier – completely agreed, Moonweaver. What are the gods but a family
• What will Vasselheim hold for these adventurers? And how will they react to Nia’s news?

Catch Episode 4, the finale, on Thursday, March 6th 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 a week later on our podcast. Is it Thursday yet?