Joule is sitting at the Axe and Thistle speaking with the same bartender as her previous visit.
“Any news? No? Hmm. I went looking for her but haven’t had any luck. That place is even weirder than we originally thought. Listen to this. So I get another group together, smaller, more elite, should be easier to manage right? Well, not quite. We make it back to the cave with no hassles. Inside was a room we had previously looted but there’s a new chest. Just as myself and Rimmy walk up to it BOOM!”
Joule slams her hand on the bar.
“This thing explodes in our faces. Rimmy goes down, poor fella. Me, being a polite and kind individual, gives Rimmy one of the berries he so helpfully distributed for this reason. Do you think he does it because this happens to him often? Kinda seems that way. Anyway, I digress. We take a rest and I’m feeling hale and hearty again. We continue looking for this lady. We battle more bots and then some…. creature tries to befriend Rimmy. Hmmm, Rimmy again, I’m noticing a pattern. Anyway, he was trying to make him a friend by sticking a harpoon-hand through his chest, not very nice at all. I hear Rimmy say something about having a lot of wisdom and the next thing I hear is him hitting the floor.”
Joule shakes her head and chuckles a little at the pattern of events.
“GreGory gives Rimmy a berry and we dispatch this creature and carry on while Rimmy and Valorean attempt to patch Rimmy up. No further shenanigans ensue but we did come across a map that states something about hemitoma stones and their use. They seem to have something to do with these bots we encountered and the possibility of the building of bigger bots! Anyway, the marking is faaaar to the northeast, right along the coast.”
Joule excitedly points out on the map where the markings for the hemitoma stones were.
“I bet this is where that lady went! She seems to be the mastermind behind the constructs! Being a party of four and Rimmy being so unlucky, did I mention he almost fell in a pit? Yeah, he should probably get looked at to make sure he isn’t cursed, he was having such bad luck. Anyway, being a small party, we decided that the stones were a bit beyond what we were feeling up to this day and rested.”
Joule’s eyes narrow in suspicion.
“The hob-goblin merchants know something about this lady. They came to the area while we were resting and, in the morning, they asked if we knew where she went. They regularly come to her cave and trade for tools and such. Should have asked if they know her name. I just told them she was my mom.” Joule busted out in laughter. “They believed it. Anyway, we made it back to the JubJubs and I’m still looking for her. I hope I am on the team that heads for the stones.” Joule pauses for a moment. “By the way, heard anything about knolls around the JubJub becoming more aggressive? We encountered one of their scouting parties on the way back to the JubJub but they fled. We spoke with a guard and he relayed they were gearing up for a conflict with the knolls and there were some fortifications around the JubJub settlement. Something to also be on the lookout for.”