The world oftabletop actual caper seriesCritical Role is forever expanding , fromthe show up themselves , to comics , animated series , and of course , novels . While our last smell at the world of Critical Role book took us into the past oftwo of Vox Machina ’s hero sandwich , our late is a flavour at a baddie from the world of the Mighty Nein .
io9 has an undivided look inside Madeleine Roux ’s new novel The Mighty Nein — The Nine Eyes of Lucien , a new novel out next month that explore the past of one of Critical Role ’s most memorable foes , the mysterious Lucien . The Tiefling master of the Tombtakers , Lucien play a major function in the show ’s second campaign , The Mighty Nein . Picking up before the events of that campaign , The Nine Eyes of Lucien follows the immature Tiefling pedigree hunter as he crosses fateful course with the Tombtakers on a newfangled mission … and happen upon a promise of power that he can not resist .
turn back out an excerpt from The Nine Eyes of Lucien below , as Lucien and his Modern allies find the tables flex in a job gone wrong .
Image: Penguin Random House
The whole blank space was as fragrant and cheap as the ale it served . The first trading floor moderate only two visible rooms—the combined kitchen and buttery in the back , and the large , assailable serving and eating region where they had been haggling . The main way had about a dozen or so board scatter randomly , with as random numbers of uneven death chair . Three wrought-iron chandelier hung from the ceiling . Deg and Sundry intelligibly had an phylogenetic relation for search , or knew someone who did , as many unlike stuffed and preserve heads beautify the wall . Lucien had examine not to look at them throughout the eve , derange by their ghoulish , moldering visual aspect .
The kitchen was part hidden behind the single bar counter . The cellar they ask would be back there , but it was senseless to approach when he could already hear blades being unsheathed .
“ Is it walking into a trap if you do it the bloodbath is do ? ” Lucien mused , take a flying head count .
Image: Penguin Random House
“ Ha ! You ’re just prosperous I arrived when I did , ” Brevyn reply . “ No chance you could break this many skull without me . ”
“ My dear , why would I require to ? ”
She draw a shrewd , gold hairpin from her passel of yellow-blond hair . The long waves tumbled free as she take out the pointed border of the pin down her forearm . blood line ooze through the wound , then sprayed into a mist , drawn in two stream toward her fists . firmly , black stone gurgle with molten fire formed around her hands—hands that straight off started swing out . A soldier of fortune at the board behind them crumple in a heap before he even knew the engagement had set about .
Lucien took the high ground , stepping from his own chair onto the tap house table before leaping onto the tabulator . patsy and pewter scale scattered . He flicked a dagger out of his belt , one formerly concealed by his long , oiled pelage . He chip the cutis of his midway chest , elemental powerfulness rising from his vein , manipulated , and pulled to his steel , giving the weapon a crackling sheen of ice .
The floorboards and rafters shook as the mercenaries filling the inn toss out back their cloak and pelage to reveal their own arsenal . Lucien view the barmaid dive behind the counter , cowering under his feet . Brevyn did n’t waste an second , catch the table they had just vacated , snarf it high-pitched over her head and grunt , throwing it across the room and pinning a flailing nanus underneath . Eight of the remain ten soldier of fortune turn their aid on Brevyn , rightly assessing her as the larger threat . But Lucien was not without fang . A dwarf and a halfling in mottled , tawny cloak and wan leather armor dove toward the counter .
The nanus swing her clayey pike , trying to swing out Lucien ’s stage . He agilely danced down the length of the counter , throw away his obelisk into the air , catching it by the pointed tip , and then hurl it with mortal speed at the midget ’s dominant hand , shards of frappe following . The blade and sherd scratch true , then were take up back by a blast of Lucien ’s magic and bump off again to slice up across the halfling ’s pharynx .
The throughway clattered to the floor , an arterial spray reach the injure midget as she flailed for her weapon , disarmed . Through the stemma , Lucien discover a physique like a disastrous phantasma skid down the stairs .
Brevyn had taken up another mesa , using this one to screen herself from the onset of blows aimed her way . She used it like a banging random-access memory , shove hard against the body pile up on the other side—but the tide crusade back , pin Brevyn against the far wall . Lucien hopped down from the bar counter , kicking the injured nanus hard in the header and strike hard her out . He then scooped up the now wilted and more and more lifeless halfling , heave him up into the air over the bunch of advancing mercenaries .
Cree , flatten against the wall near the door , ascertain her opportunity at once . She raised her arms , catching the halfling , not with her hand but with a spell . The halfling halt in midair , suspend above his comrades , the gash across his neck weeping freely . That blood ply Cree what she need , big businessman surging through her hands , a blue miasma emanating from her palm , the magic spell gradually encircling the soldier of fortune , tie down them , prevail them .
Those closelipped to Cree notice first , crying out and struggling against the magic . It was the perfect distraction for Brevyn . She drop the carapace tabular array and swung mighty with her molten-rock-encrusted fists . The mercenaries were surrounded , and while one or two managed to land a blow on her , it was nothing a chip of Cree ’s illusion could n’t heal later .
More chaos , more blood . More stock , more power .
Only a moment afterward the affray was fierce enough to give Cree another monolithic rush , the floor slippery with blood , earmark her to plunge the whole mess of scrabbling , fighting , gnashing thugs into a deep , instant rest .
Bodies thud to the trading floor , a sudden , terrible silence descend on the inn .
A cupful rove aside toward the door . The barmaid , excite , poked her top dog up above the counter . She had taken a pewter home , holding it with both tremble hands to protect her face .
“ Is . . . Is it over ? ”
Nobody answer her . Brevyn kicked away a few useless limbs blocking her way , tearing off the bottom bit of her tunic to envelop around a excision on her upper arm . Lucien , Cree , and Brevyn taciturnly marched toward the back room , Lucien develop the key for the cellar from his coat air pocket . As they pass on , he jerk the barmaid one last tip .
Reprinted from Critical Role : The Mighty Nein — The Nine Eyes of Lucien by Madeleine Roux and Critical Role . Copyright © 2022 by Gilmore ’s Glorious Goods LLC . print by Del Rey , an imprint of Random House , a division of Penguin Random House LLC .
vital Role : The Mighty Nein — The Nine Eyes of Lucien is set to release from Penguin Random House on November 1 — discover out where you canpre - order here .
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