10/12/25

River Run

Day 1

• Small cottage in -1,0, sign with Shepherd’s handwriting
• Debris is river, myconids in mine chucking building materials and stuff in there
• Strange artefact is STILL IN MINE
• Sparkles in right river branch - magic ore from mine, gives wild magic effects to potions made with water
• Left river branch - minerals giving opposite effect
• I take first night’s watch, Mot shows up! Mot can cast detect thoughts - he’s my companion now!
• One hound shows up and fights the guards

Day 2

• Found owlbear lair! If I get the pelt, can bring it to Golden Thread sisters to get a very nice cloak :) The sisters have swanky shops in Caelia

• Hadari goes into the cave - is attacked by 2 owlbears - NARROW ESCAPE thanks to Hadari’s animal handling and Exeter tweaking fate (making me succeed a luck check) so that Mot communicates with the owlbears and saves us!

• Mot grows alcoholic mushrooms for us and we celebrate :)

• Explore up left river fork - very cold, crisp biting wind - lots of game, less Imperial presence

• Lots of fish in river, unusual for winter, salmony, unnatural inky blackness to scales from silt?

• Arcana ch on vial of water and silt - Exeter channels a little magic into it w prestidigitation - pulls magic from her, absorbs magic and dissipates it harmlessly - reminds me of my innate family power?!?!

• Mine upriver where this is coming from

• Yin Yang effect - one ore great for enchanting, the other for anti-magic

• Night uneventful- it snows!

Day 3

• Snow has settled. Come across v old (100s yrs) ruined settlement, large village/small town - Halfling(-5, -5) (Named Springhill)
• Dwarven carved door on floor of workshop - Springhill Hold - Knocked (spell), bricks shuffle open revealing a carved dwarven face - needs us to speak a name deemed worthy - opens up for Exeter! (ie. the worthy needs to be a Halfling)
• Dwarven make, gnomish objects (torches)
• Stairs lead to massive underground library/workshop!! Very magical, loads of stuff inside, Gnomish magic
• Banner: Till death we serve, but never beyond
• Vampire hunter’s hold!
• Map: Mine along river - Null River Mines
• Books in library, oldest dwarvish, gnomish, giant (Very old), more recent books written in Halfling
• Everything labelled fastidiously, except for giant stuff (weapons and armour etc) - one spot where a weapon is missing (Staff of the Matron) - wielded by Shepherd?
• Layers and layers of history, loads of maps - all maps showing north of mountains have been destroyed 
• Upright metal chest, two opening sections - it’s a fucking FRIDGE!! “Staff room”
• Offices, bedrooms, etc etc…
• Loads of spellcasting supplies
• Find little metal dragon construct, 1 of 7, only one still working - can be fixed up by tinkerer
• Made of Arcanite - (the greedful iron)
• The opposite metal: “Null ore” absorbs magic, but take a lot of energy to do so
• Dwarves that built the mine also built this place, is passage from the hold
• Frozen river can be traversed by sled dog team
• Armoury section: small room, one half stuff made of Arcanite, other of Null items (few, need fixing)
• Null shield - once per long rest, bearer hit by spell, use charge to dissipate magic - historical relic, protected
• Arcanite natural, local but mined heavily during last Empire reign - crystal dwarves can help
• Null ore is not - was created, not occurring, accidental, mines were closed 
• Teleport circle at old temple near mine - these temples specifically will hold teleport circles, need crystals to work - built by ancestors of the Hold - also can work as vaults that can store treasure, creatures, etc., be careful when opening 
• Hadari takes a null ore ingot
• We can rest here without setting a watch, we can long rest
• Kiona the Dreadlord - demon, undead - BLUE LADY who most likely killed Shepherd, she follows the Matron of Ravens, archeologist of the citadel
• The matron of ravens: likes the dead to stay dead, so dislikes undead, dislikes abyss and demons
• Hold originally founded by person who would become emperor, fought vampire scourge removed from realm, crown fell, darkness and shadowy scourge came back etc. etc. if pursuing this topic, be careful
• Can bring knowledge to dragon, build shop up top to divert suspicions if we travel here often