Session 14: R? Report

We went back in time, a bit where Guen cracked the code in the old book she has with her. Guen took a crack at the box Lady Olynder had, and managed to get into it finding a crystal of some sort (Flick did identify this at the end of the session), and then later getting it all the way open and finding a mirror (has not been identified). The group wakes up on the final morning of travel and Rosa does not appear, deciding to go investigate, they venture over in a direction Olin has a feeling she might be in, and sure enough about 130 ft away near a cliff is her crawler, and a campsite that is set up, used, but she is not there. Pipus sees footprints in the sand about her size going down towards the rock to the ravine edge. Olin and Guen see a place where the same size footprint turns into a drag mark, and wagon wheel rut marks. Deciding the wagon wheel with the drag marks are more worrying the group follows those, and eventually arrive outside the digsite of 'R?'. They seem to unanimously decide that Rosa would have also only gotten them this far, and so enter the digsite, deciding to worry about Rosa later if it comes to it.   Upon looking at the place, there are rows of white tents blowing in the wind, the sand not being blown harshly, but the wind still present. They see an ornate wagon (Olin recognizes it as the same one from a few days ago) and about 15 Ironbane people working in and around these tents. There is one who has a more ornate silver piece they wear, and Olin pegs them as the one in charge. Without really waiting for a plan, Olin (and Flick) head into the camp, getting stopped by a Lionin named Harold. Olin says they are there to talk with Iwo or help him out, and Olin drops that they are "Olin and the wandering scholars". They are allowed in, with the others trailing a little bit behind. ((As a note, there is a half-Naga who is named Hank that the attention was also brought to in this conversation)).   Upon entering, Olin heads towards the one who seems to be in charge, and meets Itzmin. Itzmin is a midnight blue tiefling, with their left horn a prosthetic jade (decorated in gold ornaments) and their right horn a charred black at about the 3 inch long mark, their skin is littered with silver freckles that makes it reminisent of the night sky. They converse with Olin, and talk about Sereno, which is the disease that the people who are stone in the tents have. (assures the group that the bodies are safe to touch though), and is a bit cagey. But they do invite the group to go about their business as long as they stay out of the way of the Ironbane contingent that are in the digsite.   Itzmin does refer to Iwo and Armessis, as well as Dr. Herreng, Dr. Bitsmoth, and lets them go on their way.   Dr Bitsmoth is an aquatic elf, whom Pipus scared half to death. Dr Herreng is Armessis' second, so while Armessis and Iwo would go to do onsite study, Dr Herreng would compile more complete notes and maps. She provided one such map to the group of the underground cavern/mine system that is where Iwo and Armessis were working. Iwo and Armessis have been missing for a week.   The group upon talking to Dr Herreng and taking most if not all of the notes from Armessis' and Iwo's tent went up on the ridge above R? but outside of its covered area to set up camp for the evening.   Pipus and Guen head into R? to investigate the crates being loaded up into the wagon, and manage to grab one of the group of metal vials before returning to camp. (They were turned invisible).   We will pick up before they return, if Olin, Flick, Johannes, and/or Francis have anything they wish to discuss. (Though Francis might be having map envy...)