IC: After action report, Vee Woodson:
This is the second report I have written regarding a quest, bear with me if I start to wander. To start, we were in a tavern. Always a good spot to begin, the tavern. Though this one was a bit odd, in that there were no tables, chairs, or even a bar… It did however, have some unusual features; chief among them being a banner workshop. A good deal of banners were made and put on display, showcasing the abilities of the Realms quite well. More importantly though, was the arena, something I believe every good tavern should have (take note Zarine, they can be multifunctional). Toah, Viktor, Kwido, I, and a surprisingly familiar face from across the sea, Gep, all met up and decided our best set up for our upcoming quest. I had a surprising number of potions on me, to the point that I could not wear my normal heavy armor without breaking them. As such, I was relegated to the role of healer. One healer amongst three fighters and a full mage, not the best set up, but we were determined to make it work. With our plans thus laid, we followed Orion out to the forward camp. Upon arrival, we received our briefing. It was rather… brief, all things considered. The lake was frozen over, and a tunnel had been opened to get underneath. We were being sent down to locate the problem and if possible, fix it.
Upon descending into the tunnels, we quickly found a room of skeletal warriors with weapons in surprisingly good condition. Making quick work of them, we were joined by Larrysaurus who had missed the carriage to camp. Feeling emboldened by the appearance of a second healer, we pressed deeper into the caverns. Reaching the main cavern, we encountered a Fae named Fern. They came over to try and save the fish frozen in the ice and recruited us to aid in this endeavor. Fern promised us Potions of Fishy Freedom and Potions of Gill Generation in exchange for gathering the materials and help in freeing the fish. It was at this point that I noticed Toah was missing and not responding to shouts. With this in mind, Kwido and myself split from the main party in an attempt to find our missing compatriot.
We found a frozen alcove that required us to jump from platform to platform. Any time we missed our jumps, we quickly found ourselves breaking through the ice and submerged in icy water. After more than a few close calls, we found our way into an antechamber with more skeletal warriors. Kwido and I were coaxing them out one by one, taking time to heal up between each fight. Then the archers came into play… their bows set fire to us, and in an attempt to extinguish myself, I made a break for the river. Unfortunately, I did not make it in time and burned into unconsciousness.
This next part was relayed to me after the fact. While Kwido and myself were moving through our athletics competition; our compatriots had found a trader who sold hot rocks. How he found his way down into the caverns, I’m not quite sure. However, those hot rocks proved invaluable as the other party used them to melt the ice covering a crystal in the trader’s cavern. Gep dove into the water and destroyed the crystal, costing him his life. With no healers present, the trader was asked to retrieve his body and keep it safe until one could be procured.
After bringing myself back; Kwido, Larry, and I found another crystal in the cavern that had resulted in my death. After destroying it, we made our way back to the main chamber and proceeded in the same direction as the main group (who had managed to find Toah). In following them, we found the body of Gep and brought him back. He filled us in on our way back to the main cavern, and we found everyone… well, not hale, but alive. After topping up, we found our way to the last sub cavern. There, we navigated a series of floating icebergs over a freezing river and found our way up to the last crystal. When we destroyed it, we had an intense urge to vacate the premises… This urge was further backed up when we reached the main cavern to find it flooding. Thinking quickly, we made a break for our entrance, only to find it had filled in with gravel. Fortunately, there was a smaller tunnel that we used to escape as the water rose. Upon reaching the surface, Orion greeted us and bid us to see the lake as it melted.
We’re still not exactly sure what caused those crystals to form and freeze the lake, but at least it is seemingly back to normal.
OOC:
This was a great fill in, in my opinion, for an actual quest. It brought all the elements you typically find in the Realms; with combat, puzzles, and athletics all being tested and rewarded. Obviously with Covid ruining in person events, this was a fantastic way to bring the Realms into your own house. The design of everything was absolutely fantastic. During the first RealmsCraft event, I was a little concerned when I saw a sparsely decorated tavern… but the rest of the set blew me away. The builders deserve all the credit in the world for what they built and coded, the idea was brilliant, and altogether the atmosphere was perfect. As someone who loves building and designing structures in Minecraft, I found myself repeatedly distracted by the details placed into each area we were in. Altogether, it was an excellently designed and put together quest.