CRS Episode 2 Skin Made of Iron, Steel in its Bones
After triumphing over the Metal Mutt we we guided over the hills in pursuit of Joshua.
As we peered over the hills we noticed a shack not too far in the distance.
Upon closer inspection we noticed there was a note pinned onto the door. The note mentioned that Joshua left for the highest mountain in the continent along with his full collection of space rocks. We decided to head inside and investigate. I stumbled upon some spices such as: “Dwarven stone”, Saffron, Dille and a few others. I took a bit of “Dwarven stone” and Saffron and wrapped it in some parchment. Aronim-e found a painting of the great Galiminus and decided to roll it up and bring it along. Njirp seemed intrigued by a sketch portraying a few green fellas. He fainted and when he awoke he couldn’t stop saying “Joshua”, he decided to take the sketch with him. I assume it might have to do with his origins. Aronim-e stumbled across a a book of Folklore and Myths which included all sorts of information including a portrayal of Selune in her full moon figure. It was accompanied with some dwarvish writing stating a temple somewhere by the highest peaks. We decided we should take the book, it might be useful later. Looking at some shelfs Aronim-e found a goblet, upon filling it he noticed it was terrible at holding water, perhaps we can sell it of to some merchant as it seems of no use to us at all.Njirp felt an intrigued by the bed and while looking underneath found a staff with a grin engraved at the top. He handed it to Sara who shot a bolt at Maru making him smile. Njirp has been acting strange, I think something came over him after seeing the sketch, i’ll be keeping an eye on him. He might end up remembering something about Joshua or his origins. We headed back to deepstead where we stumbled upon Jason the townhead again. We told him of our goal and he asked is we needed any equipment. I felt bad taking from a village in ruin be he persisted we entered the local shop. Jason dove down under the counter and not a second later he reappeared wearing a Fez. His accent was different and he greeted us with the name Guan. I assume Guan was one of Jason’s close friends who was lost during the recent attacks, this might be a way for him to cope with his feelings of loss. I thanked him and left the store not long after Aronim-e did. I tried tricking him with a glowing pebble saying it was a space rock, he wasn’t amused. I also tried to play a prank on Jason using a disguise but he didn’t seem confused or intrigued at all so we headed out (ik ben echt ni subtiel aant haten).
We headed of into the forest again walking west, night fell and it was getting quite dark outside.Aronim-e spotted a shadowy creature further up ahead.
I charged forward casting light on my emblem, it lit up the creature revealing it to be a mighty Owlbear. Maru tried to insult it to no avail. Njirp reacted by throwing a rock at the beast.
The owlbear now infuriated clawed away at my thick skin, his might knocked me down with ease. I don’t remember what happened but I awoke to Maru’s motivating words. I quickly held my hands out letting necrotic energy surround the beast but once again it remained unfazed. Maru spoke out calling the creature’s mom fat. Quite rude if you ask me but the owlbear seemed to think the same and didn’t take it very well. through the distraction Njirp launched a firebolt at the owlbear, scorching it’s feathers. Aronim-e shot a swift arrow at it hitting for a lot of damage. In a fits of vengeance I surrounded the beast with a Hellish Rebuke, roasting the creature and ending it’s life. It seems it’s hunt or be hunted in these parts. We celebrated our victory by eating the perfectly roasted meat. I stared up at the moon. We set up camp, Aronim-e and I decided to take first watch. Soon after an old man came walking up from the distance. He introduced himself as Sir Lancelot. He seemed suspicious but we followed him to his home. Maru played Citar along the way. Sir Lancelot led us to a dark orange house decorated with swirls and figures. The inside seemed strangely larger then the outside. My magical sense detected a whole lot of magic activity all around, I didn’t trust a thing and so I decided to pick up a bed and barricade the opening of the door with it. We went to sleep but when we woke up everything was gone, no beds, no house, nothing. We decided not to worry too much and move on. We continued further and came upon a forest called “Emsor Woods.A bit further up a sign was visible saying “Jorghedge” signifying the existence of a settlement. I could sense alot of different magic types, this place isn’t what it seemed. We noticed Sara started to rapidly age and I too felt my hips weakening. Sara sprinted of without a word and we chased right after her. We went through some sort of barrier, the aging reversed but now the surrounding trees were blue with blue fruits growing off of them. Aronim-e ate one, affecting Njirp who was standing nearby. It seems they’ve been afflicted with some sort of condition.
Moving further along the forest started moaning, all these things were so strange. Could this be the Feywild I heard so much about? Some sorts of spirits appeared, they seemed entranced by Maru’s music, Njirp mimic their moans. We moved along, the trees turned green again. Maru took Joshua’s book of myths and tried to find something relating to the blueberry phenomena. It seems like a serious issue and we should seek the antidote soon, they are described as red berries. Going deeper into the forest we came across a seemingly abandoned village. The architecture and writing seemed elvish and the sign “Welcome to Jorghedge” confirmed it was the settlement we were hoping to find. We immediately spotted a huge tower (about 300ft). Atop was a wizard of sorts who without much introduction didn’t want us there.Aronim-e mentioned he was the son of Cyrus. The wizard jumped down yelling “I CANT LET THE SON OF CYRUS LIVE”. As he plummeted down we readied up for a brawl. Maru and Aronim-e charged forward. Aronim-E launching an arrow but missing sadly. Maru chanted some mean words which didn’t seem to land. I guided moonlight straight into the wizard revealing a weakness. Aronim-e took advantage and shot an arrow at it. Njirp was onverwhelmed and struggled to attack. The wizard used some magical coin and in an instant Aronim-e went down. I surrounded him in flames but he resisted, Maru’s words seemed ineffective. He was a tough opponent. A crown of pure madness appeared on Maru’s head making him hostile to the recently revitalized Aronim-e. Luckily he missed and Aronim-e could get out on time. Njirp scorched his face with one of his firebolts, finishing him of in a powerful blow. I retrieved his coins, it looks like a coin of absolutes, I’m sure it’ll find a use one day. We ran up the tower (yes 100m of stairs with only stairs, what an incredible tower) Up above there were alot of hateful marks against Cyrus visible along with an armorstand with a necklace. I tried to grab the necklace but the armor rudely interrupted me and nearly took my life. I don’t remember much but we managed to defeat him eventually. I took his necklace and went around the room managing to retrieve a spellbook. I had a look around to check for magic and it seemed safe. This is where we’ll spend a while to rest.**