Critical Role — “Knives and Thorns” | Campaign 4, Episode 6 Part 2

Original Airdate: November 25, 2025
Podcast: Critical Role
Setting: The Fey wilds and mysterious Glades of Ahriman

Episode Overview

This episode continues the party’s journey deeper into a hidden fey glade, rife with magical politics and perilous secrets. After a startling display of radiant power, the party faces suspicions from their fey hosts, struggles with choices involving trust and secrecy, and undertakes a desperate search for a missing companion. The adventure builds towards a climactic battle in a haunted grove, testing both the party’s resolve and their mysterious connection to the powers of light and death.

Key Discussion Points & Story Beats

1. Aftermath of the Radiant Display (00:43–04:20)

• Wickander (Wick)’s burst of radiant magic leaves the fey deeply unsettled, with Hawthorne (the dryad leader) questioning the party's nature and intentions.
• The group scrambles to explain themselves amid lingering suspicion, highlighting their faith, bond, and uncertain connection to the “light.”

Notable Quote (A):
Hawthorne (to Wick):

"I have asked you a question twice and I will ask it again. What are you? … You said a believer. Believer in truths. I don’t know any truths to believe in that would make me capable of that." (05:40)

2. The Glade’s Social Order & Trust (14:15–28:00)

• Fey politics and their suspicion of outsiders dominate, with Rainbloom (the myconid) and Honeysuckle (a pixie) acting as bridges between the party and the glade.
• Tension emerges over whether mortals, especially "tall folk", can remain, and what their presence means for fey safety.
• The group learns Hawthorne and Rainbloom have kept their people safe by fiercely guarding their home and repelling intruders.

Notable Moment:

• Skinner (the abrasive redcap) and Honeysuckle’s antics introduce levity, but also highlight the fey’s wariness.

3. Discovery of the Glade’s Heart: The Moon Crystal (30:30–39:20)

• The party is taken through the glade, witnessing both its beauty—explosions of color, laughter, magical flora—and its vulnerability—sick fey, signs of hasty refuge.
• At the base of Hawthorne’s tree, they see a huge crystal (the “Moon Crystal”): the magical linchpin for the glade’s protection.
• Insight checks reveal the settlement clings to this single source of safety, and that its time may be short.

Notable Quote (Rainbloom, on the Moon Crystal):

"We've been calling it the Moon Crystal because it dims as the new moon approaches, and it seems to wax and wane with the moon. But it's just a name we've given it." (36:10)

4. Sid's Fate & Fey Secrets Revealed (52:00–1:28:00)

• The group pushes for information about Sid, Teor’s brother, who sought visions here and has since been sent on in a mysterious direction.
• Subbri (the wounded faun soothsayer) and the sinister hag Sallow expose internal divisions:
  • Hawthorne prioritized safety and decided to send untrusted outsiders to the Wraith Tree rather than risk violence in the glade.
  • It’s revealed Sid went north to the haunted Wraith Tree, a fate Hawthorne and Subbri now regret.
• Sallow bargains with Thimble for knowledge, exacting a psychic toll—a memory in exchange for directions.

Notable Quotes:
Subbri (on Sid):

"He was seeking to make his way to a place known as Gormalais... He was searching for passage to the Far East, to old Obrademia, searching for his brother." (1:12:45)

Sallow (the hag):

"Follow the blooming jasmine past the promontory rock where the moss grows. Take a right... The Wraith Tree lies at the end of that gulch... The dead stalk this forest." (1:21:15)

5. Tensions Among the Fey & Party Exile (1:29:00–1:41:00)

• A misstep by Cadogan breaks trust and leads to the group’s banishment by Hawthorne, who insists all outsiders must leave before dark for the safety of the glade.
• The looming threat: the glade’s magical protections are strained, and the fey cannot risk further exposure.

Memorable Moment:
Cadogan receives a heartfelt letter and relic from Ulbhed, an old acquaintance, underlining themes of memory and loss. (1:00:00)

6. Destination: The Wraith Tree (1:41:00–2:09:30)

• Racing the falling sun, the party leaves the glade, guided by Sallow’s cryptic directions.
• As they cross magical boundaries (Sylvan warning stones), checks reveal their protection works against undead, but not for longs.
• A brief, tense trek through the woods sets the tone for the horror to come.

Thimble’s investigation: “All who would seek to stab at the heart of creation know that it is your heart you seek to destroy.” (1:37:00)

7. Battle at the Wraith Tree: The Dead Awaken (2:09:30–End)

• The party is ambushed by a spectral Wraith and a horde of undead, animated by the cursed Wraith Tree—where Sid was sent and likely where the party’s next answers lie.
• Battle Highlights:
  • Thimble uses moonstone-powered faerie fire and lands a decisive blow with a magical “toy” sword (gifted by Ulbhed), unexpectedly devastating to the wraith.
  • Wick, ravaged by doubts, conjures radiant magic to bind and blind the wraith, channeling his mysterious connection to the “light.”
  • Teor unleashes paladin smites with his flail, delivering the wraith’s deathblow and dispersing its tormented spirit.
  • The party, realizing the Wraith Tree itself is the source of the undead, coordinates to set it ablaze—Thimble pours oil and lights it with flint, the “welcome home” message burning as the dead fall.

Notable Quotes:
The Wraith (to Wick):

"You wish to burn me away? I do. I was promised paradise." (2:33:00)

Brennan Lee Mulligan (DM):

"You look at this rune and see that it is beginning to grow across the tree... This is something like a vampire’s coffin... the hole that the Wraith crawled out of the underworld from." (2:58:40)

Party, after victory:

"And the words 'welcome home,' written in many bright colors, race through the oil. As fire of every color under the sun races over the tree. As the oil touches the rune, all of the undead fall to rest. You have won this combat." (3:07:05)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Faith and Doubt:

  • Wick (to Tyranny): "I said I was a believer. And I don’t know if that’s true anymore. But they seemed to go for it." (22:58)

• Fey Warnings:

  • On a Sylvan boundary stone: "All who would seek to stab at the heart of creation know that it is your heart you seek to destroy..." (1:37:00)

• Magic Weapon Reveal:

  • The toy sword, gifted for sweet dreams, unexpectedly destroys nightmares instead: "You made the choice totally on your own... deals an extra 2d6 damage to Incorporeal foes." (2:28:00)

• Wraith’s Final Moments:

  • As it’s banished by Teor's smite: "You send this spirit back to an underworld bursting at its seams with spirits of the restless dead." (2:59:10)

Key Timestamps

• Wick’s Radiant Burst & Fey Interrogation: 00:43–10:40
• Inside the Glade, Bonds and Suspicions: 14:15–28:00
• The Heart of the Glade, the Moon Crystal: 30:30–39:20
• Sid’s Fate, Fey Politics, and the Hag Sallow: 52:00–1:28:00
• Banishment and the Rush to the Wraith Tree: 1:29:00–1:41:00
• Grove of the Dead, Wraith Confrontation Begins: 2:09:30
• Climactic Battle, Tree Ablaze, Aftermath: 2:35:00–End

Flowing Commentary & Tone

Brennan Lee Mulligan’s DMing is vivid and cinematic, blending whimsy, horror, and high fantasy. The table’s tone fluctuates from comedic banter (especially among the fey NPCs and party members) to intense pathos (loss, the cost of memory, moral dilemmas) and edge-of-your-seat tension during battle. The party’s doubts, trust, and improvisation ground the tale; the themes of light vs. shadow, faith vs. doubt, and the suffering of those stranded far from home run throughout.

Conclusion

“Knives and Thorns” Part 2 propels the campaign forward with dazzling magic, moral intrigue in fey society, and a nail-biting undead battle at the edge of the unknown. The party’s fate—and Sid’s—remain uncertain as they push further into the wilds, their mettle and purpose tested by ancient forces. The episode is a masterclass in narrative TTRPG, balancing humor, danger, and heart.

For newcomers:
This episode is a great demonstration of Critical Role’s blend of high-concept fantasy, collaborative storytelling, and spontaneous magic—an accessible but richly layered adventure packed with personality!

“As the oil touches the rune, all of the undead fall to rest. You have won this combat.” — Brennan Lee Mulligan, 3:07:05