8 Marpenoth 1492

14.5.2024

On the morning after the festivities in Beasanport, the group sat together to decide where to go from here. Lyra told them of her encounter with the librarian and that she needs to go to Candlekeep to learn more about magic, maybe even find a spell to reverse her brother’s transformation. The rest of the group decided to join her and have a stopover in Waterdeep to run some errands.
Before we left, Gigi paid a visit to the Harford Herald, and asked Jim/James to print a note that read:

Harford Herald is hiring for the first time!

The harford Herald is looking for an apprentice.

You will be working for the famous James Harford, head journalist and investigator of the Harford Herald.
The salary consists of room and board, plus the unprizable opportunity to learn from one of the best in the business.

Interested individuals can come to the Hartford herald and ask for James, John or Janet

She explained that after all the trouble we caused for him and almost bankrupted him, she wanted to do some good and gave him an apprentice, so he wouldn’t have to be by himself anymore (possibly the root of his multiple personality thingy…). Jim was very happy about the offering and reluctantly asked for another favor: To deliver a letter to his uncle Alfred who lived on a farm just north of Waterdeep.

Just as she left, Lyra also came to give Jim her first reading sample of her novel “Moonlit desires: The seduction of Silverleaf”, with the request he read it and consider being the publisher once it is finished.

Off to Waterdeep! Five days on the High Road.

After two days’ travel we encountered a group of deer fleeing from two hunters. One of the deers looked different from the others, with shiny fur and antlers. We followed them to some ruins and commanded/suggested to the hunters to drop their weapons and the hunting business altogether, rather seeking their fortune with a foraging business for magic ingredients.

We found that the special deer was in fact a cursed elven man, dressed in a crown made of antlers and tattered clothes. From what we could gather from his crying and babbling, he wanted to marry a woman against his father’s will, who in turn cursed him to remain here around those ruins, being transformed into a deer every time he left this place. He has possibly been her for hundreds of years, going mad in the process.
To make matters worse the ruins sometimes shifted, probably to the Feywild, leaving him stranded here and hunted for his fur, because a magician in Waterdeep had put a price of 1000 GPs on his fur. We would have to have a talk to this guy.

Unfortunately we couldn’t find a way to help the guy right away but promised to come back once we learned how to lift a curse. Also, we now know a place to transition to the Feywild! Since the guy neither remembered his father’s nor his own name, we decided to call him Bambi before we left.

Lyra had asked Casmos for a tarot reading before on how her quest would end. Casmos explained that the cards do not deal well with endings. But later, we found a better question: What will help break the curse? Thus, Casmos did a reading:

Requirement	Warning	Core Issue
The Chariot	The Hermit Reversed	The Devil

„The Chariot reveals you must summon incredible willpower and discipline to see this quest through. Stay focused, for the path will be arduous. However, The Hermit reversed suggests you cannot do this entirely alone. Isolating yourself could lead you astray. Seek wisdom where you can find it.
Most critically, The Devil warns that some form of bondage, whether literal or metaphorical, has a grip on you both. Confront whatever vices or fears enslave you. Only by breaking your own inner shackles can you hope to break the curse enslaving your brother’s form.“

While the cards reveal serious challenges, there is also guidance on what Lyra needs to overcome them - discipline, openness to others’ aid, and incredible inner strength. The reading does not foretell success or failure, only factors that will shape the outcome based on how she moves forward.

We travelled two more days and, just as described, found the Harford Farm, a uninviting place with a huge fence around it, and delivered the letter to Alfred, an equally unviting person. We learned he was raising owlbears but saw nothing else to do here so we continued to Waterdeep.

Finally, on the fifth day, we reached the city of Waterdeep. None of us, except Gigi, has been in a city of this size before. What would await us here…?

Things to do in Waterdeep:
- Deliver Instant Photo Device to Alchemist Lowell Northtouch
- Talk to the magician that put a price on Bambi’s fur (did we get his name??)
- Lyra: Parchment/Ink. Temple of Mystra

Background info:
- Casmos is from a village in the Sword Mountains called Silverwind
- Eldara’s last home was some monastery close to Neverwinter