Summary of Make Merry | Critical Role | Campaign 4, Episode 11 Part 1

Overview of Make Merry | Critical Role | Campaign 4, Episode 11 Part 1

This episode follows the Seeker Table as they travel east through the Dvalmar Pass and then regroup in Dolmachiar to assess the fallout from recent city-shaking events. The party encounters religious tension in a dwarven roadside shrine, uncovers an odd inscription tied to an earth primordial, and returns to the city to plot a response to political purges, shifting mercenary loyalties, and the mysterious, violent consequences surrounding the recent deaths (including Thiazzi Fang). The episode ends on a tense reveal about a magical glyph and a cliffhanger leading into part two.

Setting & immediate action

• Journey through the Dvalmar Pass:
  • Three-day, cold descent into Helvar winds and the storm rack to the south.
  • Route is a mix of ancient dwarven roadwork and newer Revolutionary-era construction.
  • A recent mountain collapse partially blocks the pass; banners (including a Taconus banner) visible near the detour.
• Detour through Odzar (dwarven trading village) to avoid the collapse; the village bears memorials and writing on a cliffside shrine.

Key scenes and plot beats

Odzar — dwarven shrine encounter

• Taisha (druid of the Old Path) talks to an old dwarf woman praying at a wall with many lanterns and repeated dwarven inscriptions.
• Taisha recognizes the wall’s significance; the old woman reacts with disgust/aversion to Taisha’s presence.
• A natural-20 Perception reveals hidden writing in a dwarven base: a Druidic inscription tying the site to Tehanna (earth primordial/Tahana). Statues to Trojna (forge) had been shattered and re-inscribed as contrition; Taisha reacts strongly and withdraws.

Dolmachiar — Seven Stars tavern, the Schemers reconvene

• Recap of recent chaos: Ozi/Thiazzi Fang’s execution and farav; failed rescue; incidents at Palazzo Divinos; political upheaval in the city (dismissal of Revolutionary Guard by House Einfassen, entrance of mercenary Candescent Creed).
• The group strategizes:
  • Immediate priority: prevent the dismissed Revolutionary Guard from being poached by the Candescent Creed.
  • Proposed approach: use available funds (Belair/Bolaire has an opening to siphon money through museum transfers) to pay and temporarily house dismissed guards, recruit mole-agents inside newly reorganized forces, and hide/replicate museum artifacts if needed.
  • Contacts discussed: Varen Cadorn (a guard tied to the Falconer Rest), inside people and gossip sources (e.g., Betteen), underworld contacts (thieves/black market), and sympathetic Revolutionary Guard.
• Social scene at the tavern:
  • Nobles/merchant-class interlopers (Camilla Blushthrace and Orris Blade) are present; Camilla recognizes Hal (or a famous performer in the group) and flirts; Hal performs on a dusty harpsichord, winning a coin and attention.
  • Observations: Orris fidgets with a disposable spell glyph (sea invisibility). After some conversation, he snaps/breaks the glyph—an action that draws notice.

Major revelations & mysteries

• Hidden inscription at Odzar references Tehanna (earth primordial) and suggests a layer of religious history or conflict tied to the smashed Trojna statues. This may deepen current tensions between faiths and local cultic memory.
• Political purge in Dolmachiar: Einfassen has dismissed much of the Revolutionary Guard; the Candescent Creed is recruiting them — immediate risk of shifting power balance and placing mercenaries into the city.
• Museum upheaval: A rapid move to merge and relocate museum wings provides cover for siphoning artifacts and funds (Belair has leverage).
• The glyph/gimmick around Thiazzi Fang’s death:
  • Thiazzi’s death involved a glyph that should have been broken to activate some effect (or signal), but the group finds the glyph unbroken yet the expected outcome still occurred.
  • This implies someone else intervened, or Thiazzi was killed/neutralized differently before he could trigger the glyph—introducing a new, more dangerous unknown behind his death.
• Auris/Orris/Barlaird interactions raise social and intelligence-gathering leads; Orris’s nervousness and possession of a spell glyph mark him as potentially important.

Characters — emotional/strategic states

• Taisha: grieving (recent losses), then increasingly resolute; strong reaction to shrine and dwarven reverence for the earth primordial.
• Hal (Thiazzi’s brother / famous actor): emotionally raw, performing and using social channels to gather information; juggling personal grief with broader scheming.
• Belair/Bolaire: pragmatic, socially connected, and positioned to siphon museum funds and influence donors.
• Azune / Murray / others: exhausted but active; plotting infiltration and recruitment of dismissed guards.
• Octus: introspective, changed by recent trauma—senses and perceptions altered; detached but vigilant.
• Aranessa: polite but distant, pragmatic in public interactions.
• Orris Blade and Camilla Blushthrace: nobles/merchant-class players—Camilla is flirtatious and connected; Orris is nervous and carries a sea invisibility glyph.

Political stakes & plans discussed

• Immediate objective: slow or prevent the mass absorption of dismissed Revolutionary Guards by the Candescent Creed and instead create a controlled alternative (temporary pay, employment, or shell mercenary group).
• Covert operations:
  • Siphon museum funds and move/replicate artifacts during chaotic wing relocation.
  • Plant moles among the dismissed guards and within rival houses.
  • Use gossip and social leverage to create distrust inside enemy ranks (spread doubt about loyalties).
• Risks: no resurrection exists post-gods, city in open power scramble, trust is scarce, and speed of political moves is much faster than expected.

Notable lines & beats

• “Not rain, but tears.” — inscription translation at the dwarven shrine (conveys contrition/atonement).
• The party’s muttered realization: the glyph associated with Thiazzi’s death should have been broken to work — it wasn’t, suggesting someone else achieved the death or intervened.
• Multiple moments emphasize exhaustion, grief, and the necessity of cold strategy despite personal losses.

Hooks for part 2

• The mystery of how Thiazzi actually died despite the glyph not being broken — who intervened, and why?
• The Dorvazi / Tehanna inscription implications — how does this connect to broader cultic or primordial activity?
• How the group will execute the plan to protect and co-opt dismissed Revolutionary Guard, and whether they can hide or move museum artifacts.
• Political fallout as the Candescent Creed recruits from the streets; potential immediate conflict inside the city.

Quick reference — things to watch next episode

• Discovery of who killed Thiazzi and the true function of the glyph.
• Reactions from House Einfassen and the Candescent Creed to any recruitment or interference.
• Follow-up on Taisha’s connection to Tehanna and whether that site becomes strategically important.
• How the Seeker Table moves to operationalize the museum-fund siphon and their mole placements.

This part sets the travel, religious, and political tone and ends on a tense, investigative cliffhanger—part two should pick up the conspiracy threads and reveal more about the glyph and Thiazzi’s death.