Critical Role Review C2 Episode 66
By: I.Am.No.Man
Episode 66: Beneath Bazzoxan
Welcome back to Critical Role Review. Let's dive right into this week's episode, We find the Nein still stuck in a giant tree. They have alerted a giant Roc to their presence and the bird is now defending it's nest. Nott and Caleb (who polymorphs as an eagle) circle the tree trying to save their friends. Jester, Fjord and Beau have leaped from hundreds of feet above the ground and Featherfall slowly back down. Unfortunately this makes them easy targets and the Roc attacks them relentlessly. Jester manages to polymorph the Roc into a less annoying, though still equally ferocious bat, allowing everyone to retreat to the safety of a nearby cave.
After successfully shaking off the giant Roc, the group refocuses on their main mission. They take off once again...and immediately run into a (possibly?) hostile band of Orcs. Without even slowing down, the group manage to single-handedly wreck the entire Orc party. In one of my favorite quotes of the night, Nott says, "Did we defeat a whole village in like thirty seconds, but it took us days to leave a tree?" I feel you Nott. I feel you.
The second half of the episode moves the story along very quickly. The Nein begin to explore Bazzoxan. Yasha still doesn't see anyone or anything familiar, though this is the area she is from. We'll have to wait another episode or two for more Yasha backstory. Bazzoxan seems to be a mostly military presence, but the Nein to manage to haggle their way into a couple rooms for the night.
In a moment that (in my humble opinion) is on par with Fjord losing his warlock abilities, Nott suddenly discovers her beloved platinum, enchanted, endless flask...is missing....(Did you catch the moment Jester stole it earlier in the episode?) She promptly 'freaks the fuck out'' and begins to interrogate everyone, accusing them of stealing her flask. The group mostly manages to placate her by promising that they will buy her booze for now and look for the flask soon. It will be very interesting to see how Nott faces the horrors to come without her liquid courage.
Jester suggests that they send a message to their escaped Drown friend Obon and let him know they are still on his trail. In a beautifully worded, sincerely exquisite message ( those freeverse doo, doo doo's were masterful) Jester learns that Obon wants them to continue north and find the hidden tombs. They are able to gather some clues about the location of The Tomb. The tomb was once a temple to a betrayer god, then a site of terrible destruction during the Calamity. It appears that the Tomb is plagued by abyssal creatures, maybe connecting a location to all of the rifts being torn open by Empire spies. They also get the ominous warning that none who have entered have ever returned (ooooOOOoooh).
The Nein are able to find the entrance to the tombs and find the entrance covered in celestial runes. They begin to make their way into the tunnels and find more strange obelisks leading towards a large open cavern. the Obelisks have defaced abyssal symbols speaking of becoming nightmares and feasting on hearts. The creep meter starts flying off the charts as the Nein look around the cavern and find the room filled with angelic statues.
The statues all face towards what appears to be the base of a tower. They weep a dark crimson blood, their wings folded against their robed bodies.
The Nein press deeper into the tomb and discover that the ground is littered with the bones of celestial beings. (How concerned should we be about Yasha right now?) The statues hum with a strange, haunting tone filling the room with an eerie sound. They have the feeling that the celestial beings may be locking away something very evil here. But still, they press on, with their Aasimar companion Yasha, deeper into the tunnels towards new, unknown horrors.
Whhhhhat is happening???! I feel like we go from being stuck in a tree for a day and a half to the center of the creepiest, weeping angel filled room of death in less than a day. This episode was NUTS! I am very glad that the story did move so quickly, but the next episode is going to be an intense one. We may get a lot of new story, bigger hints at a big baddie, or an interesting dive into an intense backstory. We will just have to wait and see what The Nein have gotten themselves into.
