Realms S2E12 Far From Home

Now partially reunited, the group must once again brave the environment to locate Keywynn, who has found herself captured by a man named The Artificer.

Player Characters Present
Eclipse, Naphako, Keywynn, Kyrealle, Kerrick

Synopsis
With Kyrealle, Eclipse, Naphako and Kerrick reunited they begin to discuss how to find their friend Keywynn. The discussions got a little heated as to where they should search, the north or south side of the mountains. Eventually Naphako and Eclipse took her horse along the southern side of the mountain while Kyrealle and Kerrick took the direwolf carriage along the north side. Agreeing to touch base in a few hours the two groups split again. Naphako and Eclipse traveled back the way they came, passing the place where Naphako and Kerrick camped for the night. Later on down the path the two found a bloody massacre of a campsite recently vacated. The two stood in horror and attempted to gain their composure to investigate if this was the remains of their friend. It was not but there were large footprints leaving the area. Kerrick and Kyrealle followed the path north and eventually found a campsite that had hooves leaving the area. Being the only clue and around the time to check in Kyrealle cast sending to Naphako to share their findings and hear Naphako’s. Both groups agreed to continue their search.

Naphako and Eclipse followed the footprints to another camp along the mountain. This one was occupied by a large Goliath. Greeting the cautious travelers, Kvor offered to share his fire and food. After further conversation the pair agreed that Kvor was not a threat and asked more prying questions about their lost friend. Kvor had not seen a Firbolg in a very long time however when Eclipse brought up the pet yeti he got very aggressive. Insisting on learning about the creature that later revealed Elskon was the companion to his late wife Kindri. Kvor explained The Artificer had killed his wife for his experiments but before her death she teleported Kvor away to safety. Knowing now that the new friends also are enemies of The Artificer he vowed that he would join them to get his revenge. The three slept the night and continued their journey together through a hidden pass to meet up with Kerrick and Kyrealle.

Once Kerrick and Kyrealle got close enough to The Artificer’s tower they decided to set up camp. As they began to settle in the direwolves that were pulling the cart stood on their back feet and shifted forms, revealing they were in fact Werewolves. Speaking with them their leader Rylle ordered two of them to follow the hoof marks to see where they went. Shortly after they returned with the news that the hoof marks ended at the tower doors and another set of footprints walked into the tower. Kyrealle cast her tiny hut spell again when they finished setting up camp and noticed that Theren was feeding on a squirrel. Two small fangs protruded out of his upper teeth. The group conversed a little longer before also calling it a night, awakening in the morning to meet up with their friends.

Once Keywynn arrived inside of the tower she looked around and saw dozens of cells with various creatures imprisoned. The Artificer spoke to her about some of his dealings, and while examining his prisoner discovered three Krek babies were growing inside Keywynn. Wanting to keep his new prize alive he offered to remove them for her and used a strange device to rip the creatures from her body and then healing the wound he created.

He left her in a cell with a promise to start experiments in the morning. As she arrived in her cell she saw her brother Rolan in the neighboring cell, his appearance and voice greatly altered. The two embraced through the bars and then Rolan grew angry at Keywynn, explaining she shouldn’t have left the swamp nor come looking for him. He explained the changes came from The Artificer’s experiments. After some conflict they realize they can’t stay mad at each other and fall asleep.

The next morning Kerrick and Kyrealle met up with Naphako and Eclipse along with their new friend Kvor. When they arrived the Werewolves spoke to Kvor who then turned into and revealed that he was actually a Werebear. The werekin had words back and forth for a moment before calming down. Both parties agreed they will honor the contracts at hand before finishing this discussion. Kvor reverted to his Goliath form and led the group to the tower. Upon arriving the doors opened and the path cleared. Entering the tower with caution the group noticed dozens of imprisoned people. After a brief inspection Kyrealle found they were all locked with an arcane lock and they vowed to return after they found their friend. As they pressed on they walk into a large room with more and more constructs and prisoners. The group saw Keywynn and what looked like her brother yelling out to them but they heard no sound. Suddenly a voice bellowed in the chambers revealing himself as The Artificer, and let them know how excited he was that they’d finally arrived so he could test his latest creation. A burst of blue and purple smoke filled the room and a figure hovered above the party. He had a long black cloak, a red silk shirt and black hair. As Viktor spoke, the group noticed two large fangs.