I may have made a slight error today. They don't happen often but they do, I can try to blame our lack of rest and long traveling but I nearly put us at risk, at least the others had my back. I need to do better.
We left Windelcrest on the night of the 28th, traveling to Dragoon Lake to make use of its underwater passages which traveled deeper than many know, prepared with potions of water breathing and the spell-casting of R. we took the plunge into the deep. The unending darkness was not unexpected but there was a terrifying eeriness to it, anything could've been down there. I was honestly expecting a horde of gold at the bottom but all we found was rock, with my elvish sight I was able to see better than some of my counterparts and managed to find a strange crevice jutting from the rock, it was a detour but it peaked my curiosity, and guiding my friends through we found the forgotten ruins of a long drowned civilization. Taking deep care of the surrounding marine life with their sharp teeth we explored, managing to find airtight chests which we discovered held silver and scrolls, much to my satisfaction.
A few of the others had gone ahead, no doubt uninterested in the findings of this dead civilization but happened across something else, I believe described like an animated whirlpool in the middle of a passage. The desperation of B.B. may have gotten the better of him in the moment, longing to be reconnected with the Rivers, the next I heard was an eruption and before I knew it sounds of battle. A dormant elemental was awakened.
I only caught glimpses of it from a distance before it was dispatched, but following the passage we proceeded together, to a larger more open chamber with a ceiling reaching to the darkness. Our party did manage to spot familiar whirlpools, avoiding them and leaving the slumbering elemental beings dormant. There was another oddity we discovered within the large chamber, voices. Our wisp in the darkness, K.E was quick to discover the creatures, and to our amazement seemed to be a type of river mermaid, speaking ancient elvish and from our observation, benevolent creatures. We approached and conversed before discovering what they were protecting, the passage behind them was an entryway to a resting place of a so-called ancient deity, the Avatar of the River. I believe in the moment we were allowed into the chamber, the glint of hope that remained in B.B. was sparked, we did lose a piece of him in Whitechapel and here deep under the waters, within the ruins of a drowned civilization he found salvation.
He's very welcome that my curiosity got us here. I cannot detail everything that transpired within the chamber but the Avatar, once awakening by B.B's presence asked him to discard his cursed possessions, he removed the Mimicry Blade throwing it into a pile of lost riches and embraced the flowing waters of this Primal Elemental. In these moments B.B was cleansed of his impurities and while all were enthralled by the moment, A.V. slunk past to retrieve the item, which now rests within my care. I'm not sure what to do with it, I hardly have the skill to swing it but perhaps someone else does, these Artifacts of power, cursed or not will help our cause.
Following these events we departed, B.B was cleansed and the kind mermaids directed us out of the chamber, to a sort of geyser that would send us back up to where we originally delved deep and whether it was our luck or not on our way to a current that would whisk us away through the tunnels we made an additional discovery. A desolate cavern tucked away on its own, hoarding a variant of shining shells and more noticeably, bones of all shapes and sizes, large to small. This was the resting place of what we discovered was the Wrath of Gylder. We quickly departed upon this discovery, fighting underwater surely leading to a watery grave, we decided to use the underwater passage and its current to guide us, placing faith with B.B's regained power. If we were not under the effects of a potion of water breathing then I am sure the air would have been knocked out of our lungs, the current was strong and fast but before we knew it we washed up above ground next to a loch, at the base of a recently established Otterfolk Village.
Upon meeting with the people of the village, their Chief had assumed we defeated the Wrath, telling us tales of how it would snatch his people as they wandered too close, as a result of this they started giving offerings of shells. In this moment we all realised including the Otterfolk that A.V has borrowed a shiny object, a shell. The Otterfolk were greatly offended but with our skills of diplomacy and A.V returning the shell we managed to calm the villagers, who offered us food and a place to rest momentarily, unbeknownst to them the Wrath was still alive. Make no mistake, I made it clear to my companions we couldn't leave these folk to their fates so we waited and watched.
Hours past by until the chief approached me for conversation, in my fashion to be honest I may have slipped that the Wrath was alive, the Chief was not happy upon hearing this but before anything could be done K.E alerted us of something stirring in the deep loch and before we knew the raging Wrath of Glyder was upon us but this time we had the advantage or so we thought. It was hard fought, A.V was separated from us knocked unconscious by a large blast from the Wrath, R. struggling to reach her while keeping a renewed B.B alive locked in combat with the Wrath. I myself was peppering the beast with my Infused-Repeating Pistol, charging up my gauntlets to blast it with lightning when I could while trying to keep K.E calm, the beast's emergence and subsequent roar had shaken her core. At some point during our battle the beast had decided to flee, and we roared in victory with the otterfolk until it decided to return, charged up with the power of the river similar in a way to B.B, we gritted and steeled ourselves to fight again.
It was a lengthy battle, and after being exhausted and almost being eaten myself, we managed to defeat the beast. It let out its final roar before collapsing into the shallow waters. As its elemental energy dissipated, I took the opportunity to remove the Wrath's horn. It took me a good thirty minutes, but my tools were up to the challenge. Once it was separated, the beast itself began to dissolve into the water, becoming one with the river, one might say. The Otterfolk thanked us for saving their village, and after taking a moment to catch our breath, we decided to move on. Although we sustained a few injuries, they were nothing we couldn't heal over time or with the powers of magic and artifice.
As we left the village, we found ourselves in a place somewhat familiar to most of us - the Stormwoods, with its towering trees and massive mushrooms populating the landscape. We came to a crossroads, and without proper direction, we initially decided to turn left. Following the road led us to a rather unfortunate discovery - a Blackhorned Wyvern had made an outcropping its home. It seemed to notice us, but paid us no interest and rested. The party was already exhausted after defeating the Wrath, so we decided to return to the crossroad and take another direction. This time, we chanced upon other creatures - Otterfolk quite similar to those in the village but who had decided to leave for their own adventures. Their names were Ekore Potter and Otto Potter, and they were speaking to a previous acquaintance of ours - one who had offered the quest to find a stolen book that had belonged to him.
It was Rasmus, and he was quite delighted to see us with his hovering cyclops bodyguard. Forgetting about the otters for a moment, he directed his attention to us and asked what had become of his book. As adventurers, we had obviously gone to quite the effort to retrieve it by defeating the lich previously mentioned in my last entry. At first, I was quite hesitant to reveal to Rasmus that we had the book. It was quite obviously cursed, screaming and bleeding as if alive. A.V did mention, however, that we had it, and in an instant, Rasmus demanded the book. I declined for good reason. A.V was quite adamant to return it, and I understood her reasons, but I simply couldn't. Such a dangerous magical item could not be left in the hands of an eccentric like Rasmus. There were several back-and-forth discussions, and even his cyclops bodyguard approached me, but B.B was quick to step up to my protection. If you ever read this, you have my everlasting gratitude, Great-Grandfather, but you shouldn't be reading this.
Eventually, we decided to show Rasmus the book, making sure not to make physical contact with it. His obsession with the book was quite clear, as it seemed to have a strange hold over him. While I didn't want to disappoint my friends, A.V declared that she had a method to look into the history of grim relics. This ability was similar to my goggles, which allow me to identify magical items, but more personal.When A.V laid her hands on the book, she revealed a vision she had seen, showing offerings of blood being made to the dark book by none other than Rasmus himself. The book was consuming him, and we had to nearly pull A.V away from the cursed object. She then swore off interacting with it completely, stating the terrible pacts the book had made with Rasmus.In an act of kindness, B.B approached Rasmus, placed a hand on him, and uttered enchanted words, seemingly breaking the dark bond between Rasmus and Volkrag's Book of Greed. We parted ways soon after, not on the best of terms, with the book still in our possession. I'm not sure what to do with it, but perhaps the Secret Librarians of Greenfield might have the answer. For now, it is kept safe under an Arcane Lock within my care.
After Rasmus had departed, we had a proper conversation with the Otterfolk. We discovered that we were heading in the same direction, so we decided to travel together for the company. We traveled for several hours before happening upon an old statue of the Silver Prince. After taking a moment to catch our breath, we talked amongst ourselves, and the subject of the dog competition arose. We knew that Archibald needed some training, as he was not the best-trained dog despite our efforts to encourage him. After a brief rest, we continued along the road, but K.E noticed that the area was beginning to fog up, and a mist had appeared in front of us. With no other choice, we proceeded through and were met by a group of Goblins. Since we didn't share a language with them, there wasn't much I could do, but K.E's skill in Undercommon revealed that we had to hand over our valuables or be attacked.
We don't take kindly to threats, and as fast as they were uttered, we sprang into action. K.E fired an explosive arrow while I discharged my Stormbound Gauntlets. Once the fog had cleared, the goblins were no more, and a subtle coughing was heard. A Kenku had taken the place of the goblins, his disguise enchantment, along with the surrounding fog, clearing. We discovered it was none other than F.F.F.F, a professor at the Arcane Academy, the missing Master of Divination himself.We had a polite discussion about his highway antics before discovering why he was there. He had spoken to the Lord of Oakheart, a hardy man who was having troubles with his faith. Informing him of our own mission, I had a feeling he already knew what was ahead of us and decided to bless us, recharging our equipment and restoring our magical energies. It was quite the fortunate event that many would take as just a chance encounter on the roads, but as a student of his, I knew much better, and his words resonated with me. He is ever watching.For a moment in my travels, I may have misplaced my faith, but we were on the right path. I made sure to inform F.F.F.F of potential safe havens, keeping in mind the current ban on Divination. We departed soon after; I hope he stays safe. He was a brilliant teacher and confidant at the Academy
Following the road we came across a sign, one pointing to Honeyfair our destination and the other Oakheart. As we began to move along the road I spotted something, bodies hanging from stakes. A grim sight we have seen before on our travels and the mark of The Silver Dominion. No doubt people branded heretics and strung up. In my mind they were most likely innocent folk but in my heart I knew they didn't deserve this, and without question I informed the party we had to bring them down and give them proper rest. He is watching. This was the least we could do. With the help of the others, including O.O we gently brought them down, B.B giving them rites and R. covering them with her druidic magic. I quickly made the link between the bodies and the plight of the Lord of Oakheart and discussed with the party that we should change course, towards Oakheart. We did have days until the competition so it would only be a slight deviation.