Critical Role - A Bridge Too Far | Critical Role | Campaign 4, Episode 14 Part 1

Episode Date: February 12, 2026

Part 1 The druids of Shaungarten question Thaisha's decision to bring the undead Occtis to their sanctuary and debate their continued aid... New Episodes Release Weekly on Thursdays.Learn more about Campaign 4 at https://critrole.com/campaign4/   GET MORE CAMPAIGN 4 WITH BEACONWe're excited to bring you even MORE Campaign 4 with a Beacon membership! Get access to exclusive shows like our behind-the-scenes Critical Role Cooldown and ask the Campaign 4 cast your burning questions directly through our LIVE monthly Fireside Chats.You'll also receive NEW Beacon exclusive series, instant ad-free access to VODs & podcasts, live event pre-sales, merch discounts, & a private Discord.Start your 7-day free trial today at https://beacon.tv/join and get unparalleled access to everything Critical Role! OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN 4 CASTGAME MASTER Brennan Lee MulliganLaura Bailey as ThimbleLuis Carazo as Azune NayarRobbie Daymond as Kattigan ValeAabria Iyengar as Thaisha LloyTaliesin Jaffe as Bolaire LathaliaAshley Johnson as VaelusMatthew Mercer as Sir Julien DavinosWhitney Moore as TyrannyLiam O’Brien as Halandil "Hal" FangMarisha Ray as Murray Mag’NessonSam Riegel as Wicander ""Wick"" HalovarAlexander Ward as Occtis TachonisTravis Willingham as Teor Pridesire CREDITSProduced by Maxwell James, Steve Failows, & Kyle ShireSet Designed by Shaun EllisProduction Designer: Noxweiler BerfCharacter Art by Loren HontanillaEdited by Taylor Burke and Emily "Stevie" StevensonCritical Role Announcement Playhouse Editor: Vinny CelestiOpening Title Editor: Paul FoyderOpening Title Colorist: Peter KoocheradisWindow Effects by Christian BrownGraphic Design by Aaron Monroy & Jordyn TorrenceDol-Makjar art by Daniel Jiménez VillalbaMiniatures Painted by Payton Keo LacebalOpening Title Theme by Neal AcreeCampaign 4 Key art by Hannah FriederichsAdditional Art & Design by Hannah Friederichs Episode QC by Catherine Zimmerman & Paula FloresAssistant Editor: Gianna GencarellaPost Production Coordinators: M Swing & Bryn HubbardClosed Caption Editing by Margaret Dill, Nikki Kindelberger, Courtney Knewtson, Danielle Lackie, Eleanor Smith-Dufresne & Alice TsoiPost Production Supervisor: Tal Levitas HEALTH & WELL-BEINGDue to the improv nature of Critical Role and other RPG content on our channels, some themes and situations that occur in-game may be difficult for some to handle. If certain episodes or scenes become uncomfortable, we strongly suggest taking a break or skipping that particular episode.Your health and well-being is important to us and Psycom has a great list of international mental health resources, in case it’s useful: http://bit.ly/PsycomResources Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why, hello there. I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan, and welcome to Campaign 4 of Critical Role. Thank you for joining us on this journey as we explore Aramon, a world of fractured kingdoms, tumultuous rebellion, and sorcery that rises from the graveyard of the gods. You're listening to Part 1 of this adventure, with Part 2 arriving this upcoming Tuesday. Our episodes typically arrive on the Critical Role podcast network a week after our initial Thursday night streams, on Beacon, YouTube, and Twitch. But if you'd rather listen to a full podcast episode of Campaign 4, right when it airs, without any ads, consider becoming a Beacon member.

You'll receive access to exclusive content, discounts at all our online Critical Role shops, pre-sales for live events, and so much more. Start your seven-day free trial today at beacon.tv. Now, without further ado, let's begin this episode of Critical Role. We return to Timony, kingdom to the north of Dolmachiar and Khahad, where on the King's Highway headed southeast towards Argyran,

our friends retrace their steps, though not so faithfully, for you came to Tyree's Leaf from, the Miller's Road, the magical path that the Hounds of the King had led you on, and now we find Thimble and Teor, hidden in a wagon venturing back south, under open daylight, trying to keep hidden your secret cargo, the stolen stone statue that in truth is the body, neither living nor dead, of your brother, Talcitimere Pride

Sire. The wagon trunders along outside. You hear the voices of Cadigan, tyranny, and wick nearby. We come to this moment as you mean. Take your way southeast, back to the road that will lead you to Dolmachyar and to Bolair, who you know to have at least some means by which to counteract petrification. In this moment, you both gaze on the face of Sid Pride Sire, frozen in statuesque rictus, stone face.

The face looks quite similar to Teor. You have this long, trundling road ahead of you as you reenter danger once again, but with at least a day's travel of respite in the beautiful countryside of Timony. You know, double machyar is foreign to me. I feel like we should feel good about going back to friends and some sort of resolution, but I... I am full of anxiety. Well, yeah, they want to kill you there, so... They don't want to kill me. They want to strip my shadow from my being. It's very different.

Well, if the Deconuses didn't have reason to hurt us before, they do now. So now we'll have a few families after us. How are we going to get my brother through the city? Even if we get to Boller, a giant lion. is one thing made of stone, entirely other. How do you... You've lived here. Are you able to...

I was going to ask if you hide, but... Not the same. But what do we think? You know, I mean, Thas and I got a lot of stuff into the city. There's got to be one of those routes are open, right? A smuggler's route? Yeah, my only concern is that we attack the crow keepers.

But you know, maybe I can scout ahead as we get closer and see if any of them are open and we can come in a different way. I can't imagine we can go through the gates. No, I don't imagine so. Are you gonna be able to carry him? If we have to ditch the wagon? No. I mean, he's rock.

He is stone. You're stone too, Teor. Oh, thank you. He's very kind. I tend to agree. But no, the card is going to be the only way. Unless you have some sort of alternative magical means.

Vimble, you can give me a perception check and I'd also like an insight check from you. Okay, this is the insight. Spit on him and make him a picture. My insight is 16. My perception is nine. Gotcha. You remember seeing the Knight of Saramai,

who you faced in the cellars of Castle Delani, heave the stone statue with those bracers. The braces? The bracers! That guy wasn't strong. Use the breezers. Did you put them on? Who put them on?

Did they move it on? They look best on. Get them out, put them on. That I'm wearing them. Make them yours. Work. Make me strong. You see.

Go ahead and give me an Arcana check with disadvantage. Why? I'm not gonna roll much lower than that. Nope. It's a four. It's a four. On a four, you fail to attune to the braces. You hold them.

Thimble, you remember seeing Callowin Royce wear these. These are the braces of oak, and they not only allowed Callowin to have an enormous strength like that of mighty trees of the deep woods of fairy, but also precluded him from the need to wear armor. His skin was as dense and resilient as like a living tree. You once saw him take a sword to the arm at full swing

that only got about a quarter of an inch in before it stopped and hardened around it. It sort of bled green sap for a while afterwards. No, wait, those braces are, those are the shit. You've really got to learn to make them work for you. Okay, I will sleep in them, I will. Like, you know, what? I mean, I know your fur helps.

helps a lot, but you don't have a lot of armor on. No, it is an encumbrance. Yeah, so you... But if these will be enough to move Sid, then great. But we will have to find somewhere to put him, a storage place. We can't take him straight to Boller if we're seeing, then we would be bringing heat right to him. I'll go in, I'll talk to Polair.

I know he has ways to get things to him without people seeing it. Maybe through the sewers. All right, sewers. We could even put him in some sort of a storage space and bring Boller to us. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What about you? I mean, you were attacked before all this.

You are not as free as you might think. Well, no, but I'm small. You know, I've hidden a lot. And if we get Sid unpetrified, then what? And then I gotta find Octus. And Lady Aranesa. They made it seem like Octus is dead.

That's what it sounded like. I sent him off, you know. I sent him to go with Sir Julian. What if Sir Julian helped take care of him? What if, you know, I let him go, and I didn't have his back, and I could have had his back, and I did it again? No, no.

Dimbled, that is not fair. But then the orchard's gone, too. I have to find out what's happening. Obviously, Sid is, is massively, important, we have to find that, but it- You don't have to explain, this is your home. I will find Boler, I'll make sure that this happens, but I have to find out.

I know. I know. And if you help me with Sid, I will be eternally grateful, but you also don't have to stay. I feel like I owe you in turn. If you can- You already owe your life to wake into your name, right. It's a list.

It's a list. What if after, you know, everything happens with You can help me find, you can help me find Octus. You can help me find... Of course. What if we have to go to the orchard? Do they allow my kind in the orchard? Why not?

I don't know. One of them tried to put his hat in me. That guy's not at the orchard. He's not? My own family's there. My own family. They could put shoes. My family won't attack you. They won't try to put a hat in you, I promise.

If you. If it will help you, then I will be there, and hopefully with my brother there to help. And if not, I am here for you. I wish I could have been here for the Ozzy, and I will not make that mistake again. Teor, give me an insight check. And on that 16 insight check from Thimbel,

I think you're exactly on the money. You know that a lot of things that you and the Ozzie had coming into the city, the reason that Boler was the, reluctant and unwilling fence for a lot of what Theossey needed to move through the city was because the Arkanaut had such an enormous infrastructure of getting important magical things secretly into and out of the city. You know that if you can fly into the city, that there will be a way to get even a full carriage in surreptitiously somewhere safe.

Poss. 22 are my dope-ass inside. Finally. Hey, congratulations. Do you see? That was brutal. It's not just in front of the cameras, Brendan. It's not just in front of the cameras. That was truly brutal.

On a 22 insight, I have to ask a question, actually, of what Tay or C is looking at Thimble? Because you, I think, Tair C, Thimble, in this moment of victory, Kazimir lies dead. Sid has been recovered, and there seems to be a a straightforward path to unpetrifying him. And I think you see the flittering of pixie wings

moving swiftly to the next quest, almost urgently, almost desperately. On a 22 insight, what does Tayor see in Thimble's eyes? An unsettled, almost manic need. to find the next distraction. A light glowing modes of gold, like those that fall from the ever-shining leaves of the orchard in which you were born,

cascade from your wings. But that light almost imperceptibly diminishes as some light in this land continues to wane. Teor, that golden light in dancing motes of fairy magic, glimmers with a similar radiance that on a 22 only you perceive, coming from the eyes of that lion-headed emblem that you carry. And we will continue this story in another episode of Critical Role. Everybody and welcome to the Critical Role Announcement Playhouse.

We-hoo! All right. What else we got, Matt? I believe that concludes our now. So let's get back in now. And welcome to another episode of... We return to Riesengertl. The seat of House Einfasson, rulers of the country of Helva.

There's so many R's in this sentence. It is fun to say the R in this sort of... this sort of voice, Reese and Good. We can never leave the city. We can never leave. We're bad seekers. Having journeyed east through the Dvallmar Pass, our companions and adventurers found themselves

here in Reisengirdle, a massive belt of a city, the giant's belt, stretching across the cliffs overlooking the far western edge of the old and fallen Obridemian Empire. having arrived in time for some chicken and apple cobbler and staying in a very vertical hostel and discovering Julian with some quick spy work seeing that some of the candescent creed here

in the city preparing for candle feast were none other than demon aspirants, the sisters of one tyranny, currently elsewhere in the region of Timony. Looking for a chance to get through the city, the decision was made actually to approach House Einfazen with Octus Tacitus disguised as Erlick Kursingblad, a knight who,

it turns out, enjoys a brother sterling reputation. And in tow, Sir Julian Davinos, who happened to connect on potentially even a chivalrous and romantic level with the young lady, Ingrid Einfusses. Delightful. A beautiful young woman, tall and fair.

A little self-conscious about her shoulders. We're going to have to hold that against her. Everyone's got their thing. Everyone's got their thing. I went home at night. It was like, I can't. I feel so bad at making that choice for the character

of anyone at home being like, your shoulders is beautiful. You just instilled a new. new fear in a million critter. Your shoulders are beautiful and you're beautiful, okay? Don't worry. Ingrid is not, yes, exactly. I have the shenny shoulders.

Oh, that's pretty good. Perfect, I needed a coaster. Thank you. A few members of our party got to enjoy a lovely hot bath. Not so, Julian Devinos, who had to climb to the tall tower, taking quite some pains to get a letter sent back to the Golden Orchard to inform his family of what might have transpired.

House Einfossen proved themselves maybe not party to the treachery of House Taconas, but perhaps their embrace of their ally, House Royce was not as warm or forthcoming as it might have been. Some conversation with the Lady Erinessa alone from the brutal and violent, although seemingly, at least not in this moment, actively moving against you, Lord Otto Einfossen.

Eindfazen, who was the height of propriety when it came to honoring your call for aid in his castle, but certainly dashed a young spywoman's skull across the floor the moment he discovered her treachery. As we've said of house Einfazen, it is a house that goes from green to red, with no orange in between. We, after sort of coming together, Julian with his bottles of wine, Okt, having sent PIN out with some companions, Tysha seeing a carriage of the Taconas immediately after Octus' summoned undead vulture, who should not have returned quickly did, leaving some indication that perhaps the pigeon

that had been sent was not flying as far as Dolmachiar, but instead somewhere much, much closer. Some feather fall out the window, some horses liberated from a held stable hand. Poor guy. He's fine. It's fine. Racing through the streets of ReasonGirdle,

having basically ascertained that you could not be certain of your safety. You didn't feel like, I guess, gambling on how the conversation between Octus's eldest sisters, Petra and Raya, two tall gaunt sorceresses of the house of Taconas, naturally gifted of the magic that Octus has spent many years laboring over in the Penteverel. You raced through the streets, and the decision was made to not gamble on the pulley gate not being there at the edge of the city, and instead went to Schengarten, the druidic holy site here within Riesengertl. Entering through the sanctuary gate, your horses stabled, you found the long haul,

fragrant with wood smoke and other sleeping pilgrims and traveling druids, those whose business has taken them through the Duvalmar Pass are here to the Kavrosi Mountains, and found a place of rest, though not as luxurious as the Schneffenkeep of Castle Klipenblik. You... I love that. All the words are so good!

You... You... It's a scary. Can he be is everything so wins and good, though. Everything's so whimsical. Don't worry, it will be extremely delightful up until the moment you have crossed me. Summined up to the

sort of central glacial boulder, this massive lichen-covered circular stone. This boulder is so enormous that it almost stands as wide as the floor of a cathedral. Enormous dolmens. topped with sideways plinths covered in ancient druidic, a language that combines some of the core phonemes and script of both giant and sylvan

and some of the earliest and most primordial languages of Aramon. You stand under the moonlight with three elders of different circles of the old path. There is Amida, the bare folk druidess who sits on her haunches, still about a foot taller than you sitting. You see that there is Mozor,

who is the caretaker of this holy place, Shungarten, who is a dwarven druid of the Circle of Stone, and an as yet unintroduced elven druid of the hunt, who behold you now in this place. Tisha, what is going through your mind as the words of Hannon echo in your ears? You have brought something dead to this place. It's that mingled... The first instinct is, of course, defensiveness.

Octus is my friend. So it's defensiveness on his behalf, and the defensiveness on my behalf. He is my friend, and my judgment is sound. who are these people to ask nothing, but assume immediately. And all of that is just being slowly walked back to have a normal conversation.

Everything's fine. You don't have to start at a 10. You were around the Ein Fasins for like 20 minutes. Calm down. You have an orange. Use your orange. Use your orange. Amadell looks at you

and says, if it is all right, Can you help us to understand? And then that little moment, where I have to decide how much truth to offer, because we've only been in freezing girl for a little bit, and I've already been rightfully called out for giving a bit too much away immediately.

But I wouldn't have come here if I didn't implicitly trust in the strength and wisdom of my people. Young Octus Deconis was slain by his family. And at some point in his death was able to be turned from the path. He's returned, but I've spent time in Vanatus, and I have walked this world. for decades.

I know well the undead that we seek to remove as a threat from the world, and he is not that. He is something different, very much himself, but something new is walking on the face of Aramon. And I call him my friend. The Elven Druid turns to regard the other two. Mozor, you see, is gripping his fingers in his other fist, looking into the middle distance,

considering your words. Hamida looks to you and says, can I offer you a blessing if that is all right, my cousin? That is incredibly gracious. I gratefully accept. She places a massive paw on your back, lowers her head to be forehead to foreword with you, your long, bear-like snout pressing up against your face and chin.

And she says, to walk always free amongst the family of living things. To know no confusion, charm, or sinister words. To be free of body, body, mind, and soul. She snorts. and the smell of Jasmine and honeysuckle comes out of her nose, and she casts a spell of restoration on you that would destroy any charm condition

or dominating effect or anything like that. I think when Tysha pulls back, there is a single little tear going down her eye because there is always that little fear. I think there's something in a world where magic does exist. trust, perfect trust, is really hard to come by. And there is something very nice about knowing that there are people looking out for you. So that was treated truly as a blessing and not as like a sign of doubt or disbelief.

Your friend, have you come to know him as your friend after the events of his rising? We traveled together for six months. before his death. He was my friend then. The elf and druid looks you and says, you knew him in life. Yes. Whatever he is now, I still consider

more adjacent to life than on death for what it's worth. You see that the elf looks over at Mosor who looks at him and says, when these companions came to the door of this place, four living footfalls fell upon the stone. Not five. He looks up at the elf.

Amadell looks and says, Hanon, would you allow a conversation? I see Hanon crosses his arms and says, I see no need for urgency in this regard. We are in a holy place, and I am not so detached from the earth that I cannot smell and sense the one of which we speak.

And I can sense that he is not running. You see that Hannon looks up to you and says, were you present for the magic responsible for the raising of this undead? I was. What made you of it? Old, connected to the shaper. of life. I do not know it well, but it was leveraged by his family. His father told me that his goal, via this, via other plans that I still don't understand was to scrub the old path from this, from this world.

And whatever happened to Octus, the corruption of that. That ritual that allows him to stand here, whatever he is is a flaw in their plan. Whatever he is is something that House Taconas has never accounted for and doesn't understand. And we don't understand it either. If I thought he needed to be hidden, I would have hidden him from you and everyone else that would seek to do him harm without understanding first. Give me an insight check. Alex, I swear to God, if it's a natural one, I'm going to fight you.

It's a four. I'm not fighting. Nine. Annan shifts to look at you and says, a relic of the shaper of life. Came you by this, or the Taconas first? The Taconas had it in their possession when they attacked the Palazzo de Venus. Hannan looks over. Moser looks up and says, shrugs.

Hamida says, your companions are very tied up in this. Is that fair to say? It is. Perhaps we should speak with all involved. Hanan goes, you don't think it wise to settle this matter between us first? Hamida shrugs herself and goes, the conviction of our cousin of the circle of ancients is sincere. We're all wrong from time to time, of course, but you believe it.

Yes, I do. She looks and says, the Taconas had a relic of the shaper of life, and they wished to destroy the old path. Moser looks at you and says, Do you mean us or, no, you mean the path itself? The path. They have made of themselves in the time since the fall of the shapers

into new middlemen in the cycle of life and death. And I think they seek to be the only game in town. Annan looks and says, the Triconus of old were middlemen, as you say. But they knew their place, guardians of the spirits of man, shepherding the souls of mortal humans to that endless golden paradise

beneath the rays of the sun. I suppose they don't fashion themselves as taking a demotion. What I've noticed from even my brief stays in dolmock yards of late as the sundered houses don't quite know what to do with themselves without shapers to follow. And I think they are all trying to find new shapes

for themselves closer and closer to their lost deity. You see, Hanan looks up at you and says, the raising of this friend disrupted the ritual. Yes. Is your friend necessary for the completion of the ritual? The thing you ask, I will answer honestly.

But in that honesty, I will tell you that I am concerned. That might move us both closer to action that I would not consider very familial. I don't know. He nods. Omita looks soft, sorrowful. Cousin, were you present for the magic that did this thing to your friend?

For some amount of it, yes. He was slewn. When I reached him in the middle of a pitched fight, I was knocked unconscious in the place between places. spoke with him briefly as he wandered before setting a foot on the bath. I don't know what effect the words of a grief-stricken

and panicked friend may have had on this whatever brought him back. I was there. I held his body, but I don't know what that magic was. I don't know if... I'm going to roll an insight check in front of the board. This goes so well for us. What's your passive deception?

What? Oh, God. Or passive persuasion, whichever is higher. 10 plus. Yeah, yeah. It's a natural one. The faces assembled before you. You realize Amida is regarded

very highly by Mozart here in this moment. It turns to him, and you see For reasons you don't know, she regards your story as fully told. I'd like you to roll persuasion. You may do so with advantage because you have told the truth. And in your station of the circle of ancients,

the difficulty of this check will be lowered. I'll say that you get, I'll give you the DC's editing because you'll be able to tell right away. A DC-10 gets you the person, the most sort of affable, and DC-20 gets you everybody. Okay, okay. Go ahead and give me a persuasion one with advantage.

12. Amida, Amida turns, Mozoor looks at her and says, and of course provide sanctuary here, but I cannot provide sanctuary of the heart to those druids who have lost and bid the souls of those they lost to walk the path, nor to prevent the...

You see, Hanon comes in and speaks and says, of the many circles of this world, there is one truth that unites all members of the old path, which is that life springs eternal from death. Ever, the great cycle moves, and we return. Even for those of us, given the gift of never aging, one day when deaths come, I will go sprinting down that path.

Do you believe that? Everything that mattered to me is gone. I do not wish for a thousand years to miss it. I take the danger upon myself to hunt in the darkest places of this world to make sure the dead remain beyond. I put myself in those places so that new mortals might not know

the danger that the dead pose. And if I am being honest, cousin, as you have been, I do it to hasten an end to something that has gone on far longer than it should. I don't imagine the burden of a life so long lived, but I think something that we all know is in the end. We guide them down the old path because every soul shakes. in the face of the unknown. We are no different in that regard, despite our calling.

Hamid al leans in and says, I will vouch, turns to Mozart and Hannon. You wish to speak to the companions? Hannan nods, and you see that... Mozar just looks and says, I tend to the stones of this place and listen to the deep roots of the earth. I do not wish for hardship for you and your companions,

but the coming of this great unknown here does give me fear. If you would gather your companions, we would wish to speak with them. Turn immediately. In the long house, as you guys walk in, you look over and see that there is an sort of enormous mained wolf, this like long-legged red fox wolf thing that looks over as you walk in and you see in a sort of friendly way nudges some like a napkin off of a little basket of fresh baked bread. You see there's a little stew pot and you're sort of welcomed into this place. You can hear some light conversation. The corner it's very dim and red and smoky in here. There's some curtains drawn. You see that people are speaking. very quietly because they're being respectful of people that are already sleeping in here.

As the four of use, this is Octus, Vailas, and Julian walk in with Aranesa. She just looks and says, Yes, they are. I gathered that much. We'll see how it turns out. But I think there's a lot stacked against me.

Be used to gambling. Yeah. Hungry, those of us that eat? If necessary, always hide in doubt until the night's over, if they really don't want me here. Go with you. As with I. Can you, that little feather trick you pulled, can you do that again? Yes.

I say this as the lady of House Royce ascended to the seat of my house. In some ways, I think too early, my parents passed, and taking the reins of the house has been challenging. I pronounce it as the position of House Royce, to the Honorable Lord of House Taconas, that if things go squirly, we jump out the back and jump off the cliff. All right, I can take that deal.

No, I don't think. How long does this last? She says, if you need to crack the books, go for it. Just doing math. On holsters the book at his side that has been holstered there for a while. And it opened up, and you see on the cover is this sort of design. It is a human anatomy textbook that he has pulled from the holster. And so he starts flipping through pages.

He goes, I think I can make it down. It'll be fine. How far is Gerwyn in relation to Golden Orchard from where we currently are? Garwin is much closer than the Golden Orchard. So that would be, it's a great question. Where you are in Helvar, you are probably only, when you get to the base of the cliff, you're only about 30 miles from Garwin.

Oh, okay. But the Golden Orchard is probably maybe like 100 miles to the north. All right. So I guess as we begin to gather bits of food and anxiously await the return of Taisha, kind of glance over towards Veilis and Octus and acknowledging Aranesa.

All right, either way, we're not too far from Gerwen and Castle Torch. You follow whatever this vision was that you had for the importance of which might have some bearing on what we're doing, and then we move on to the Golden Archard. to ensure that our people are safe. Right. And you're coming with us.

You're welcome to come if you wish. I don't really have much choice. Can't go home. You guys take a moment to eat. You see Aranesa takes a little bite, looking around. And you see that she eats rather quickly, and then as you're sitting there, Octus, you see she takes out her little thumb piano,

and plays it again. And a plane. the got him after a few minutes of eating Tisha I think you walk in and see your companions here Question

Does Aranesa speak druidic She speaks Sylvan But that is I'm going to rule that Sylvan actually It's a little bit like There's like a Spanish and Italian kind of thing There's a little bit of a root there

Perfect Then I think in Tisha turning away Because she had brought out Hala Hala gone forward with the aim of having Hala actually intercept Aranesa first before Tysha walks normally, not panicked even a little bit. And we'll say in Jurydick hoping to do the Spanish to Italian, like romance language, to warn you to hide the stone. Aranessa looks over and goes, Can you see it?

I think it's pretty hidden. Great. I'm not going to ask. Wait, he's... You want to try to find it? No. Maybe. No, we...

I will have walked in, like, a minute after that. Right. So, are we in a place with friends, or do we have to run again? Okay. Big energy. We'll talk to someone with a cooler temperament. And I think you see, like, Tisha's, like, kind of doing that weird, like, messing with your hair when it's like on the back of your neck.

And she's got a series of metal plates that go down where her vertees. And they are all red-hot and she's trying to get them to cool off. So she's not in the mood for whatever the fuck this is. And we'll turn in the dress to the rest of the group. We need to go have a conversation

with my cousins. Yeah, I thought that might happen. Yeah. Okay. Do they know he's here? They know he's here. They know what he is. And they know some manner of how

his current status came to be. They're not going to let him stay. If we have to leave, then we leave. The entire intention here was just to make a safe exit from the city. Really? Okay.

Let me go talk to some druids who hate me. They don't hate you. I'm not lying to you. Okay. They're worried about you. We don't know what you are. Sheath's his book.

Okay. That I'll come here, are they? Do we have to go to them? No, we'll go to them. Okay. You guys step out and return to the small summit of this holy grotto, this beautiful little alpine garden. As you approach, everyone here give me an insight to check.

What if you've gotten away with it the whole time? What is this, Amber? Oh, that's an match 20. We're back. We're back. 18 minus 1. That's a good role. Did you say insight?

Insight. 16. 16. 22. 22. 22. On a nap 20, what is Tysha looking for most of all as she approaches this tribunal? Is Octus in danger?

On a Nat 20, Octus's existence is not particularly in danger. His freedom very much might be. Julian, what did you roll here? 18. What is Julian most concerned about as he approaches the tribunal? I think Julian's begin to lose any hope or patience of finding allies at the moment. So he's more looking for places. more looking for places to exit.

Cool. And staying as close to Aranesa and, like, between him and Aranesa and Octus as possible to grab them both to run if they need to. I'll say on an 18 insight, we'll just translate that to a good perception check. If you're like, insight, I'm looking for the fucking door. There's a large, what you would recognize from your time in recent girdle, there's a large staircase at the back of the grotto that doesn't go into the main city and goes up to the Hakvalenbuka, which is a, large memorial bridge over some cascading waterfalls that come off the cliffs. Okay. And you would just recognize that because that goes to a more scenic, natural part of the cliffs,

it has ways to get to the actual cliffside if you wanted to try something fucking risky. Other fall, take us away. I have two spell slots left, so I got to save one of those for further. Hell yeah. That is going to be and then, Ashley, you've got a 22. Sorry, Alex, what did Octus gas? 16.

What are you looking for in particular? I'm trying to just keep an eye on the people I'm talking to and try to gauge how they're feeling about me as we speak. Yeah. And find a way to be the least offensive as possible in this situation. On your approach, nobody here seems to recoil at your approach.

Veilis, on a 22, what are you looking for as you approach? I mean, I think firstly I'm looking for a safe exit. Yeah. a place where if we need to run immediately, we can take that path. Yeah. But also, I'm just watching the three of, the three of them just seeing what they,

I wanna know what they think of him. I wanna know, I want to, if I feel like there's any type of danger, towards a lot of us. Also with that, before we walk in, is there a way? I don't want them to know, but I would just cast shield of faith on Octus. Okay, beautiful. But I, would he feel it?

How long does that last? It's 10 minutes. Okay, okay. You cast a little shield of faith in there 10 minutes. As you approach on that 22, You see Tysha also on that Nat 20. As you guys approach, something shifts very much so in this moment. Walking up that final step, Hanon looks to you,

his eyes trained on this undead, and then dart to valis. And his lip curls, and he goes into a crouch. I want to interject in druidic. Do not make me regret that I told my friends this was a place that they did not need to run from, Cousin. He looks at you and says,

Cousin, the one who walks beside you does not recognize the sanctuary of this place. You cannot understand the language that is being spoken right now. They're speaking in druidic. He says, The one who walks beside you is nothing more than a cruel

and careless follower of the dead tyrants and you are knowingly in her side. Do you know what she would have seen become of us? Do you know what rightful place she sees you holding in this world? She is nothing more than a mindless follower of those who start to plunge us into ruin and terror forever. What would you have me do, cousin? Slid her throat on the stone, let the earth be watered by her blood. I'm going to crouch. he looks at you, and he spits a word out. Who here speaks Elvin?

You have to. Checking is crazy. You just have to. I know it's crazy, but it's not written in my languages. Yeah, let's assume. Let's assume you speak that because that's wild. That'd be so funny if you're like simply doing. That would be crazy.

I'd be like, I really don't understand. I speak common sign language, though, so you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You see that feathers are growing off of Hanon's back in this moment as he has crouched down, and you see he spits a word out of you. He goes, Manalas, which is Elven for Flower Doll. And it is a word that anyone here can give me a history check to know of what that means. It feels bad. It's so nice. You know it's the worst thing.

15. What was it, insight? History. Oh, history. Twenty-two. Twenty-two. All of you know. Fifteen. So Julian and Tysia, you know the word means flower doll.

Octus. In this context, the term, so elven druids were some of the most persecuted, tortured, and killed druids of the world. The goddess of life was a goddess of forest. She married the king of fairy. What possible insights into the living world could a druid, hope to offer. And for Hannon, this elf that you can see is partially living wood and is turning into a beast and sort of partially in front of you, the term flower doll or menelaus was a term

of joy and love because they had religious significance in the petitioning of Salandri by her Elven faithful. When the Shapers were started, and for the first time in thousands of years, Elven Druids actually were welcomed as some elves started to rebel and had answers about they had been foiling the magic of elven clerics of the goddess of life for thousands of years to stay hidden and safe. In one of the early sort of speeches that was given to convince a family group of elves to come into the rebellion, into the beginning of the Shaper's War. The term Menelaus was used to describe the highest ambitions of the faithful elves. But what they wanted to be was the flower dolls of the goddess of life forever.

And it basically became a, you don't want to be free. You don't want to find truth. You don't want to live as a being of the world of Aramon. You have your mother and you wish to be her flower doll forever. I catch that word and hearing the tonality with it as well. I speak back in Elvish. And I say, the tone at which you use that leads me to believe you're being unkind. And I believe this meeting is about me, not about her.

And I would hope that you would get to know someone before being aggressive. I'm going to need an intimidation check. And for your sake, Alex, I hope you will hide. Holy no. This seems to be going well. Golly. Where's my intimidation? There it is, okay.

We're gonna, you want me to set it for you? Yeah, it'd be a surprise, let's see. Let's call it a DC-20. Natural 20. Oh my God! Yes! What's the? Let's go!

Yes. Blah, well damn. As it, letting my eyes, these, has had, ha, ha, ha. My eyes, my eyes, that have been like subtly glowing green since he came back kind of flare a little bit. This meeting is about me.

You see him crouched staring at you. Unsure in this moment. I also think on a Nat 20 intimidation, pins, buttons go venom green. And all of you watch that Octus's shadow from the small lit scone of this Holy Grove, stretch behind him. And Tysha, all of you feel a tremendous cold fall upon this place

and see that a small ribulet of the stream running by the Holy Brook here freezes solid in this moment. The veil between life and death is extremely fragile here. She has been very kind to me, and I will not allow you to be unkind to her. for no reason. Amida speaks and says, Cousins, cooler heads. Let us all speak in Kahadi so that all can understand and all the words that we use in this holy place.

You see, she turns to Hannon and says, Cousin, our task here is to keep this grove and garden safe. You see, he turns, says, that's what I'm trying to do. She turns and says, Travella, have you come here to despoil or be foul this holy place? No. Have you come here? You see, Hannah turns to Amada and says, ask her if she accepts the sanctuary offered by this holy place. Amida looks at you and says, do you seek and accept the sanctuary offered by this holy place? Is it being offered? It is being offered to those.

By you? Valus. Kindness for kindness. Kindness. Yes, I accept. This most generous of sanctuaries. You see, Hannan does not take his eyes off of you. Same.

The, I think in this moment to Tisha looking at Hanon, you just see elven immortality is so strange and so unlike anything that any of the peoples of Aramon deal with. And I think in this moment, you just see you're in your early 40s. The Shaper's War is still happening. It's happening right here in this moment. It's out of living memory for you. Even this immortal undead creature, he's the farthest away from the Shaper's War of any of you. I think you just see in this moment

that each of the people in this circle with having this interaction obviously had people that died and it's the other person's fault. And it's extremely, it's happening right now. Amida looks and says. Immediately, Octa just like smiles and just lets everything go. Hi.

My lord Tacones. I bowes very deeply. My cousin, Moser, has some questions for you. He was happy to invite you into this grotto. And I appreciate it so much, and I will happily answer any questions to the best of my ability. Moser turns and says,

The path you tread, What are your aims here? here in this place and moreover your time as a living thing in this world has passed and you did not walk to find new life instead you have sought to hold fast to your name and body I say this without anger or bitterness. It is a little, I think, more complicated than a decision that I made. It wasn't.

In your mind, do you have some inkling as to what this ritual was for? And by the way, Tasha, to recall, did you say that the relic was with you? I know. I did not speak to that. No. He says, and the relic of the shaper of life, do you know what became of it?

I'll try and lay this out as well as I can, being that I don't fully understand what happened. We need a deception check from Valles in this moment. I'm assuming you know who my family is, the eighth child of my house, and I was born without... its source visibility. Through a series of events, found my way when I was, well, only about six months ago now, a little over, became adventuring with Miss Loi. And we became friends.

While I was very much alive through another series of events, we ended up in Domachiar together, where my family killed me and much of house Royce and de Vinos. And Octus will open his shirt and show the mended piece of metal that is holding him shut. You can see where they opened me up.

They took my heart and placed a stone inside of me, which I believe is the relic you're referring to. What did we get on that deception check, Ashley? Which I think is pretty good. Yeah, it's so good. Pretty solid. It's like, boom. It's just like a big lump in your shirt.

Amida looks to you. You see here, Aranesa actually puts a hand on your back. Right before that, you get a message cantrip in your mind, Julian, that just says, sort of fun to not be the center of attention. Do you have a way for us to get out? of here. I quick whisper. I think I have a possible exit, yes.

Great. If we need to pick up whichever one of us you feel is slowest, and I will ask the spirits of the Golden Orchard to hasten our exit. You see, and she says, and if no one takes you up on it, I'll do it. And you see that she puts a hand on your shoulder and says, We stand in a grove of the circle of stones whose sacred charge in the tending of these mountains is appreciated and endeavors to leave a sense of gratitude throughout all members of House Royce.

My Lord Taconas is a born ally of House Royce and stands as the last faithful member of his house, to my knowledge, to the compact sworn in. the age of my father. Now to the part that I'm sure actually you're concerned about, through a series of things that I was not awake for, the stone was removed from my body, and life returned to me. Well, consciousness returned to me. As you are very much aware, I am not alive.

I have no heart. But while I was on the past, It is fuzzy. I can't remember everything. But something was put inside me, and in between worlds, I took it out of me. And in doing so disrupted, I think, the plans that my family had, although those plans are unknown to me. But something went wrong. And I think I am in a unique position to stand against my family with whatever these plans. But I am. Go ahead and give me a persuasion check if you'd be so kind.

Natural 20. Are you, are you feeling? Are you, are you kidding me? Absolutely right there. Let's go. Let's go. Amida looks at you and turns to look at Mozoor. Mozoer looks up at this moment.

And you see that she looks away. Mosor just looks and says, It would be clear to even a fool that you have suffered greatly and that you believe what you are saying. Ammaa looks and starts weeping. He's right. Our cousin of the circle of ancients,

I think you have done something ill-advised. But for decades, Those who walk the old path have been trying to do only very reasonable things. And we have been failing. I didn't mean to make you cry. No, no, no. We are trying to put together what we are, how we are meant to move and operate through this world. Seven years.

We're trying to rebuild ourselves after thousands of years of dominions. under the shapers. There is so much we don't know. You see that Amida turns to Mozar and says, because we have been trying to scramble up the sheer wall of a cliff and because we know how important it is to summit that cliff,

we have believed that it is our responsibility to keep bashing our heads into the side of a sheer wall as hard as we can. And I think our cousin, Tisha, maybe took a few steps back to see the mountain range. And that is not heresy. Young man. Thank you for. Hanan speaks and says, she has it. You see that Amidus says, Hanan, what? He says, she has it, the relic. Perhaps she gave it to them. How did the Taconas come by a relic of the shapely? It was stolen.

Stolen. It was stolen from the temple by a man that we know, Theazi Fang? You see that Hannan says, did Theazi come there? Did Mara? I don't know who Mara is. He turns over to Amida and Amida sort of shrugs and says, Mara the wing. Know you this name? I'm sorry if I'm the one to tell you this name.

if I'm the one to tell you this, the Ozzy is dead. She looks over. These druids don't appear to have a close relationship with Theazi, but the name is familiar to them. You see, Hanan looks to you and goes, you carry this thing, this shapers relic of life and death. Yes.

Produce it. Why? That we may see the truth of this young man's words, Ahmed a transitorone and says, we know the truth of his words, Hanan. She regards you and says, your business. Will you answer me, in honesty, my Lord Taconas? Yes.

Do you believe the ritual that your family endeavored to commit in their betrayal of your sadly lost life? Do you believe that the ritual is permanently foiled? No. My family, I'm sure you know their reputation. Their magic comes from death. It is what makes them powerful. They no longer seem to care how it grows.

So I think they will attempt to... regain control of whatever they were trying to do. And I think that myself and that artifact are important. And we are linked, I think. I'm going to reach into my jacket. And if there is a table, I will sit it in front of Amada. Amada looks. Thank you. I'm not giving it to you.

Even to show it is a kind of. I don't let go of it. They are on the table, and you see they look at it. You see Mozor, his palms go hot as embers, as he and a bit of fire comes between his hands, lights his eyes, and you see ancient ruins of giant stretching across his eyes over and over again. As he looks and beholds the stone,

dostis have a name. It is the stone of Nizzov. Very powerful and not a true stone. This was carved from the bones of El Nomury. This stone, dense and heavy is made of a rib. You see here, looks at Hannon, of a warrior of autumn leaves, broad wings, a celestial servant of Celandri who died of grief in the moment of the first elf's passing.

He looks at Hannan here before even you or my cousin Hannan here were born thousands of years ago. When El Numeri died, Tizumriel, another angel. of salantry, an angel of deep forest, and of birdsong, nightingale. Carved this into the stone you see before you. Here in this place, El Nomri would not permit the soul of the young elf who died to walk into the shadow alone, and El Nomri became the first angel of death of the Elven people. biding their passing. A job

that would be well known to a Taconas who stands in our midst. It is powerful. What I can tell you is this. This stone is of great sacredness to one of your faith. A faith which bore

in ages past no kindness to those who walk the old path. It would no more respect in this glade for a thousand years than for a second in the hands of your family and what they were attempting to do with it. I'm sure. This the Asi Fang, he was working with the taconis to steal it? You see that Hamida says, do you feel some connection to the stone? Is there I have, we've been a little busy. I haven't really had a chance to sit with it

and figure out how we react to each other. I just know that I can feel that there will be something. But I haven't had the chance to sit and figure it out yet. I'm not really interested in, trying to touch it? She holds her paws aloft, and I would not ask you to. I just don't know what'll happen.

This is all still very much a mystery to me. The fact is this. Hannan, and you see here, Hanon looks up and says, and gets out of his crouch and stands up again. You see that Amida turns and says, The threat you pose to this world by walking animated seems very negligible.

It is a sorrow and a sadness. In that it is very clear that something altogether miraculous has happened with you. We are given to comfort those who have lost their loved ones, and we ask them to accept that death is a part of life. There are many undead things in this world that seek to cling to life for reasons of slaughter, selfishness. I know that I tell you nothing new.

We have made it our lives worked to make sure that this world is a world filled with life. To consider you a threat in this moment would be the height of foolishness. One day, perhaps, I will ask you to consider if your time on this earth has concluded. But for right now, you represent the first thing that has felt like hope to me

in quite some time. Cousin, thank you for engaging in something this reckless. Thank you for trusting that a conversation could be had. Always. We do not move hastily. We speak, we consider, we listen to the earth. But who knows, maybe we should have been a little more hasty, seems to have worked for you, my cousin.

I am sorry to have visited this tension upon you. No, I fully understand why you would be uncertain, and you should know that two of my sisters are in. in Reese and Gertl. And they are, I don't know what they're doing, but we saw them before we left. And just keep an eye out. I don't have much I can do at this current moment

with them. They're far more powerful than I am. But I'm hoping I'll be able to figure something out in the future. Where to from here? What was the name? East to Gervyn, it's our immediate destination.

She. looks up and says there are eagles across the Hakvalenbroker. Is your urgency so great that you would wish to travel at once or would you welcome rest? The longer we stay, the better chance we have of being surrounded or taken. Yeah.

If your sisters are indeed here, then my vote has stood my case. The description I was given was accurate to that. So if that's not them, then that's a different problem. But I will go if you want. I have no, I appreciate very much your hospitality that we have been shown so far. But maybe it would be better if we just...

Mozoor looks at you and says, Thank you. You have important work. Your presence brings danger because of it. And Amida says, It is not good enough for me. There must be a way to give you more aid than that. I will meet you at the Eagle's Erie and prepare for you safe passage there. If you are, I don't know if they can carry your horses,

but they could perhaps carry you as far as Garwin. I'm sure we could get new horses. She nods and says, I think moving swiftly, direct flight will put you far away from those that seek you here and reason, Colonel. I'll see if I can rummage up some help. Cousin, my circle should know, but once word spreads, it will spread. I am not afraid of the truth. In fact, I would ask one more favor. Will you write to my grandmother and Dolranya? Let them know.

We will get there as soon as we can. Your circle does not know. This happened five days ago. I was going to talk to you. Yeah. She looks at you and changes into druidic and says, cousin, you have done great work. I am sensing that you are in need of you are.

Yeah, yeah. If I stop to think about everything that's happened and maybe my part in it, I'll die. You are a beautiful gemstone, tumbling at top speed down the mountainside. Gorgeous and off balance. And if she kills me, I look forward to you talking me down the old path.

Thank you so much. She says, I will inform the circle of ancients of what they are doing. Great. And she turns and says, and one last thing goes, you have put me in some trouble here. You know that.

Yes, all right. You're so strong and so brave. And she goes, All right. And says, what food you need, gather your belongings. And do you know if it will be rough travel past Castle Garwin? I have to assume so.

You do not know the way it passed there. Let us, you see, she looks at the clothes you are in and says, true travel clothes, fine rations, the best things that we can provide you, they will be waiting for you at the Erie. Thank you. Thank you. She turns and says,

as you put the stone back away. In your pocket. You see Hannon looks and says, he speaks to Ahmed and Druidic and says, I'll leave myself. And you see Amida says to follow. And Hannon says, I will leave so that you will discuss further business with these travelers

so that I may not hear it. I do not hear it. I don't wish for the temptation of following the sister. And you see that she looks and says, this hatred, Hanna, he snaps his face over to her. She says, your circles ways are your own. I recognize that I walk beside you on a different path, my cousin. And he leaves. Before you leave it?

Mm-hmm. I meant no disrespect earlier, and I'm sorry. I just was scared for someone who's been kind to me. I appreciate and notice the restraint and the kindness you are doing. So thank you. I see, even in all of my readiness for battle, that your heart is yours. I am a grim foe.

And I seek. and I seek no mercy nor quarter, but I can see that your heart is yours. My readiness for blood will never render me a fool. I grieve for you, traveler. What they have done to you has visited something upon you that no one should have, not me or you. As he leaves,

I want, Hala wasn't standing with us. I'll have Hala intercept him, like out of, visual range and in Druid, it just says to him, I am walking with him, with her, but I am watching her. Hannon looks at Hala and you can see through her eyes in this moment, and you see that he puts a hand on the back of Hala's neck and puts his head on her head. Speaking through her ears, you can like smell blood and hackle raising pheromones. He just says, open heart, great promise,

miracles abound, stay ever ready. I am here if you need me. I hope that your great heart is not broken. And the connection breaks. Is there anything you do in preparing it? No. Okay. I'm not gonna say what I was gonna say

after you said that. Is there anything that you guys do to prepare here in this moment? As walking away, just because, oh my God, that was so scary. I think this is the first time any instinct Tysha has to go and comfort you. She is standing off in a way because this is the first time she's seen you operate in a way that here is In such a druidic spot, your eyes flashing and freezing the like water over. It's not fear, but she is wary of you

in the same way that she is wary of Aalus. Sorry, that was, um, risky, I didn't mean, I just, he was gonna, I thought he was gonna do something and I didn't, that was probably dumb. Um. No, it was very nice. I don't think anybody's ever called me kind in my life.

Well, you've been kind to me. Um, but I don't think they're gonna kill us. Who? All of them? The Druids? I don't know, or at least kill me. You would know our intentions. Look, I know, I would know your intentions.

I've never met anybody else. Traveling rations assembled, things brought to bear. Uh, you see, that there is a moment after the rations are being brought in where Mozor ducks his head in. Looking at it and says, the time has come. Are you ready? Yes, thank you.

Oh, good. All right. Let's come this way. You guys head out and you see that Mozar gets some, like, gear together. You see there's two other. two other young druids that sort of accompany him, and you guys start heading towards the Hakvalen Buhlha. As you begin to move across it, everybody here give me a perception check.

Okay. I can say it's, as we're moving in this kind of quiet space here. Here, we'll do this first since we're in five. Five. Elliot, as you're moving away, though, what does Julian do? I figure as we're kind of quietly moving alongside, I saunter up beside Tysha, not making eye contact, just as we're kind of walking with intent

and say, I acknowledge that you have done well to keep us safe for the time being and have brought the first semblance of actual alliance since these days have come upon us, and I just want to say I apologize. for being driven by emotion and distrust. There's that little moment where she was gonna say something a little shitty and swallows it.

Thank you for your rigorous diligence for our safety. I follow immediately. Walking across the bridge, approaching a gatehouse, what did we get on these perception checks? 12? 16. 16. Nine. 21. 21. Valis, as you're walking across the bridge,

Mozor, the two other druids leading you carrying some gear, you see Mozor turns behind you and says, Amur should be waiting when we get there. On a 21, you look back the direction you came at the grotto, kind of wondering if Hannan is still around and see up on the steps towards the sanctuary gate that Mozor is sweeping. And you turn and Mozor is leading you

across the bridge. Stop. Hmm? Did you forget something? Is everything all right? Tasha. What's wrong? Who's that?

And I point back to Mozar who's sleeping. You hear from the gate in front of you a creaking. And you- I stand in front of Octus. You hear a shout and you soar it out, and you see Mozoor beside you looks and says, everything's all right. As the gate opens, you suddenly hear,

stand down and see a group of Taconas guards moving from this place, and you hear, you see Mozoar right in front of you, goes in a completely different voice. Oh, fuck. And I'm going to need everybody here to roll into shows. Yeah. Okay. You guys will tell me during our break.

We'll go like a great comeback, baby. And that's where we'll leave our story for now. Part two of this episode of Campaign 4 drops this Tuesday. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you soon for more Critical Role.