The Eye Over Illmire

Finally we decided to go to the Observer's Tower, as Elayne learned that the wizard has something she needs. We arrived, with giant rat-people greeting us at the tower. It was very underwhelming, half-torn down and falling into disrepair. The only astonishing thing about it was that the top half was floating, disconnected from the bottom. We entered to find a floor covered in leaves, to which we dismissed. Inside was a statue of an elven lady, with a broken amphora at her feet. Bibimbap fixed it, while Elayne translated the elvish text on it (though I can speak elven, she seemed to enjoy being useful). Its contents contained all kinds of worship of the moon.
 
After we placed the amphora back into the statue's hands, the Observer spoke to us. Informed us that he had a dragon scale that Bibimbap was looking for, as well as another piece of the instrument Elayne desired. He tasked us with killing the ratkin, as they were called, infesting his tower. He offered us other jobs as well, none to our liking. He has some weird thing about numbers, only wanting to pay in certain amounts such as 999 Gold, or 1,998. I suspect a geas, though he denied the claim.
 
Loathe as I was to cull the ratkin, they left us no choice. They closed the doors in on us and chucked some explosives that set fire to the leaves, filling the room with smoke and flames. After battling our way up the tower, we encountered an older man who called himself a Major. I'm not familiar on military matters so I do not recognize this rank. I first thought it was his name, truth be told. He was battling a ratkin who stole his flaming magical sword. We agreed to help him retrieve his sword, and he agreed to help us defeat the ratkin.
 
We fought the rats, who had the help from a mutated displacer beast. This pleased Bibimbap, he was looking for one. With the battle over, we spoke to the Observer again. He gave us more jobs, which we have to consider. He wants to study a zombie raised by Rancidius, to find how he did it. Also wants us to investigate the circus troupe to find spies hired by the fortune teller, Esmerelda. Allegedly, she is a witch who attempted to kill him and take over his tower. She summoned demons to do this however lost control of them and sealed them in a cavern atop the Klepperhorn. Her ring is capable of unsealing them, and the Observer wants it to make deals with them. None of these jobs seems particularly enticing, however, I do not see the harm in getting him a zombie to study. If we do not complete one of these jobs, he will not meet with us personally, nor trade with us.
 
He seems afraid of us, but I don't understand why. He appears to be an extremely powerful wizard but believes we could harm him somehow. I also question why he did not deal with the ratkin plaguing his tower himself. Perhaps he was left weakened after his fight with Esmerelda. Only time will tell it seems. We suspect he created Ashe, the giant spider. Bibimbap does not like nor trust him, and I'm inclined to agree. He has spoken about killing him. I cannot lie, the thought occurred to me as well. Frankly, I do not need him, and it appears he deserves it. He conducts experiments on living creatures, granting them sapience sometimes, then throws them away like garbage or uses them as tools. He even offered to give a growth serum to Yarras to enlarge the eels in the lake, and pledges to pay for any inconvenience it would cause. He knows it will likely cause damage or ruin the ecosystem, that is why he offers to pay if some such thing were to happen. I wonder if he created the Hoarder, using a similar potion that he offers Yarras. I'm unsure what we will do about him, but my main concern is Rancidius and the Fearmother.
 
Major told us a little bit about himself after we inquired. He's in Illmire to find a man named Grant, who has a bounty placed on his head. Some dark wizard or such. Sounds like Rancidius. He has no idea what he looks like, and we were quite baffled on how he would find this character with only a name. Names can be changed easily. Stolen even. Yarras and Elayne left, while us remaining three, Bibimbap, Major, and myself went to Bibimbap's forge. Major offered me coffee, however when he tried to use Bibimbaps forge to heat it up, Bibimbap kicked us out. He was uncharacteristically rude, appearing to dislike Major. I tried to excuse him, calling him strange. I intended to state that he is not used to human customs and hospitality, however I couldn't find the words. He threw a rock at me because of it. Hopefully his feelings were not hurt.
 
I escorted Major to Illmire, we discussed some of the previous adventures of Sanctuary. He saw some of the militia guards, and proceeded to reprimand them and told them to work harder. I found it odd, feeling its unnecessarily harsh. Perhaps that's how the military is. My own training was hard, harder than that. Maybe that's why I did not enjoy seeing that... Is it possible for a strong soldier to be made through gentle teaching?
 
I split up with Major after that, gathering magical items for Bibimbap to craft the glaive made of cold iron. I returned to him and talked with Bibimbap. He told me he doesn't like Major since he served in the Hedelen military, which was used to expand their country, conquering others. I'm not sure of Major's past, so I cannot form judgements yet. It seems we have a common enemy, if Grant is really Rancidius. With Lucy and Ray gone from the party, we could use another.
 
Using Yarras' augury spell we were able to determine that it's possible for us to attack Rancidius and win, with some risk. Every battle has risks involved though. My goal is to minimize that risk right now and convince the party that we should confront Rancidius. After that, we can focus on everyone else's wants and desires. I will study the Deathly Lily and how to use it to cure vampirism, then find Lucy.